Eros Army

"Well, that's great." I said reluctantly.

"You were right. I need to let my guard down and give him a chance. There's no telling when another nice guy might come into my life."

That one hurt a little. All this talk about a nice guy and I've been right under her nose the whole time. I was good to her, attentive... ...and I believe I had proven myself in the sack. Ultimately, I set my feelings aside and showed her all the support she'd come to expect from her bestie.

"Good for you." I said, encouragingly. "Good for both of you."

"And about last night..." She began.

"Goddamnit!" I nearly said out loud. Somehow, I stayed silent and maintained a poker face. Deep down I was squirming. I wanted to profess my adoration for her and tell her that I was the good guy she needed and that I was the one who deserved a shot.

Perhaps it was her hesitancy. Her whole disposition expressed how difficult this was to face down and how long she must have thought on it. Making a scene and vying for her love would be selfish and probably cost us both our friendship.

...best we not talk about it." She almost flippantly blurted. Finding it hard to maintain eye contact, she tried to continue. "It was like..."

"A fluke," I injected. "...a one off, right? I mean, we've both been starved for sex. Something had to give."

"Right, a fluke," she agreed. "...and Steve, you now, he doesn't really need to hear about it."

"Well, how could he? Nobody was there but us." I said sarcastically, letting her know we were on the same page.

"I know you won't but promise me." She stated soberly, "Don't tell a soul."

I smiled, nodded and linked my pinky finger with hers, sealing the pact. Just like that, I had been reeled back into the friend zone. The rest of the deployment remained strictly business between us as well as when we returned stateside. While I was disappointed that I wasn't going to get the chance Steve was getting, I took solace in the fact that we, at long last, got to do the deed and our friendship came out unscathed.

* * * * * *

For the next few weeks, I would be assigned to the camp aid station covering night shift. Our platoon sergeant had been fielding complaints that our duties were not doled out equally and his solution was to rotate personnel between jobs. Another couple of soldiers took up the task of covering ranges and I would either be helping treatment platoon or transporting patients back to Kuwait City if needed.

During the day, I was mostly allowed to sleep. My rest would only be interrupted to perform humdrum Army tasks like filling sandbags and unloading trucks. At night I'd stay up in helping out in the treatment tent.

Late afternoon only two days removed from the AT-4 range, I was awakened to help unload supplies. A convoy had just arrived with food rations, medical supplies, mail and other essential oddities. Hoping to get it over with and perhaps catch a few more z's before chow, I dressed promptly and reported to the task.

From the back of a five-ton, personnel began climbing out. My eyes had barely adjusted to the sun when a familiar, long and curvy figure emerged from under the tan canvas shrouding the cargo compartment. Her boots had hardly hit the sand before I ran over and scooped her up for a quite unprofessional embrace.

"Well, hey there, loser!" Michelle exclaimed. "This is a real surprise."

"I'm surprised," I declared. "I wasn't sure when I'd get to see you again."

"Oh shit, don't even get me started." She said with a groan. "So, I guess some people were getting all jealous of us getting to work in the city while everybody else was sweating it out in the desert. I got reassigned here and someone else rotated over to my spot."

"Yeah, we all got switched over. I was in the field, now I have to cover nights at the aid station." I grumbled.

"Really?" she said with a gasp.

"Yeah, why," I responded.

"Guess who else got night shift?" She asked with a lusty grin.

"What? No shit?"

She nodded yes. The implications raced through both our heads as an NCO directed us back to our duties. Before she left for her sleep tent to settle in, I asked if she worked that night and again, she affirmed.

"I usually hit the showers right before I start my shift." I suggested.

"Yeah okay, I might check that out." She said, clearly picking up what I was putting down.

That very night, she and I reunited in a fast, but filthy iteration of our very own brand of sex. I absolutely cherished all the things I loved about her. Burying my face in her enormous rack, I was transported to a much less extraneous place. We knew each other, and neither had to put on airs. Oh, and when I fucked her from behind, we both stood flat footed, and I nailed her full force without issue. It was like being home again.

Until we got reassigned, we humped almost every night. Much more often, by the way, than we ever could stateside. The MD we worked with in the aid station was hip to our situation and had no problem covering for us in the few minutes we need to do the nasty. I even introduced her to the desert sky, which she hadn't been able to see from the city lights.

I was lucky in many ways. Sex was a big part of it, for sure. Though life at camp was still shitty, it beat living out of an ambulance. Above all, I didn't really have time to fuss over what happened or might have happened between Lucy and me. If an errant thought ever lured me to a dark place, Michelle was there to literally suck me out of it.

Back in Texas, Lucy and I were peas in a pod again; that is, until she and Steve started spending more and more time together. When she bought a car, it left me with much less of her and when she moved in with Steve, I hardly saw her at all. The process was slow and gradual, but even before I, myself, had reenlisted and was off to another duty station had been completely weened out of her life.

* * * * * *

This is my very first contest entry, I beg you be merciful. Actually, only kidding. Any type of feedback is greatly appreciated. I'd like to thank you for giving my story a look. If this tale tickled your fancy or if you are generally interested in adult life in the Army, check out some of my earlier works under Army Exploits Series.

Epilogue

Always averse to technology, I was probably the last person in the country to get a cell phone. Peers had to drag me kicking and screaming into the world of social media. It was 2007, years after getting out of the Army, before I finally got a Facebook account.

It didn't take long before I found how valuable it was. I was able to reconnect with high school friends, creep out on ex-girlfriends, and eventually I started touching base with my old Army buds. Every click and scroll broadened my reach. A connection made meant I could look through their friends to find dozens more.

Somewhere through my explorations, I ran across her. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd thought about Chun, but there she was, now known as Lucy Scott. Her picture was recent, but I swear, she hadn't aged a day.

After some snooping, I found some pictures at the lake in a tasteful bathing suit. Her body, even after two pregnancies, had held up nicely as well. I closed my eyes and conjured images of her beautiful nude form in the dim light of our patient compartment. The memory of that moment of impulsive carnal eruption quickened my pulse and awakened ancient urges.

After an ashamedly long stint pouring over her photos, I finally worked up the nerve to a friend request and soon after send a direct message.

Me: Hey, Lucy, how's it going?

Lucy: OMG, little bro. I'm good, you?

Me: ; )

We carried on, back and forth catching up for hours while I did chores around my apartment. I asked her about family life and how Steve was doing. She asked me about work and if I had any marriage prospects. It didn't take long for us to start reminiscing about the old days, and I think she was the one who brought up Kuwait. I mentioned the rocket range and sitting on top of the ambulance taking in the stars. We hit all around it but didn't dare speak of the most interesting part of that endeavor.

I was willing to let it lie, but the mere mentioning of that evening stirred lost regions my brain (among other organs.) All of my senses were transported there, and I remembered with every ounce of my being. Emboldened that I there were miles between us and convinced of only the good that could come of it, I said what we both were thinking.

Me: When I think of that night... I can't help thinking about us making love.

Me: Out there in the desert, we disregarded rules and expectations. We finally did what we should have been doing since the day we met; we gave in to each other.

Lucy: ...

Me: I'll admit, I've tried not to think of it, if only to save my sanity. ...but believe me, it is a memory I cherish dearly. Is it the same for you? Do you ever think of what might have been?

Lucy: ...

I sat patiently by my keyboard for a reply, but... ...nothing. A few times, I saw a dialog box with dots pop up and then disappear. It was nerve racking, having put my heart out there without restitution. Of course, I was worried that I offended her, but it was possible she could have lost internet or something.

Also, it was possible that Steve stumbled upon our chat and shut the whole thing down. "Fuck, that was stupid." I thought. Things were just fine, but I just had to say something. There was no way of knowing what kind of shit I had stirred up on her end.

I went on doing chores but kept checking the screen. After a while, I decided to let it simmer until morning before I drove myself nuts. The next day when I looked, I saw all my DMs to her had been deleted, and when I tried to message back I couldn't. She had blocked me.

Not that I blamed her. She and I had sworn not to bring it up again. It was a harmless onetime thing. Harmless, that is, unless Steve found out.

Fuck's sake, she was married, kids and all. She had so much to lose. It was obviously best for both of us to keep ties severed. Hopefully I hadn't done any damage already.

Almost a week later, I had forgotten the whole exchange. No doubt my subconscious had suppressed the embarrassment I should have felt over bringing the whole thing up. Checking my account, I had a lone DM waiting for me.

Lucy: Yes, Nunan, yes to both. All the time.