Tomorrow is Promised Pt. 02

This is the second part of a three-part series.

The following events occurred in the early 80s to early to mid-90s, just before the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy was implemented in the military. Even with the implementation of that policy, being an active lesbian risked your career, especially for an officer.

This story begins immediately after "Throwin' Pennies in the Bay" ends.

© 2020 Candy_Kane54

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August 1981

As I pulled up to the main gate at Robins AFB in my 1978 Datsun 280ZX, I wondered if I'd ever get over Virginia. Here I was, starting my new assignment and meeting my new commander today. I reflected on the past week as I waited my turn to be admitted to the base.

My mind went back to that night when Virginia walked out of my life. She was being investigated to get her Top Secret Special Compartmental Access (SCA) clearance for her new assignment at FTD. Virginia had been visited by an Office of Special Investigations (OSI) agent who had been suspicious of our relationship. I replayed the memory of her walking away and never looking back over and over in my mind. I had gone home and cried myself to sleep.

The next day, I dragged myself into work, glad I was leaving Friday. As I was wrapping up my last day at my old assignment, I got a visit from an OSI agent. He spent an hour asking me about Virginia, and I told him the truth. Nothing was going on between us. We were friends, and I had helped her move to Wright Patterson AFB. Yes, we had shared a room at the hotel in Hancock, MI, but we had done it to save money since the per diem was so low there. I was moving on to my next assignment at Robins AFB Friday. He thanked me for my time and left. He said nothing about keeping an eye on me, so I was glad that was over.

The movers arrived early on Friday, and all my belongings were loaded by noon. I gave them the address of the apartment where I would live at Northcrest Apartments and said I'd meet them there. They had a couple of other pickups and deliveries to attend to, so they wouldn't be at my new place until tomorrow. I drove to Robins AFB, a usually beautiful drive down I-75 through Kentucky, Tennessee, and halfway through Georgia. As I traveled, I thought about how my relationship with Virginia had come to a screeching halt. It was nearly midnight when I got to Robins AFB, and I spent that night in the VOQ on base. The movers showed up the next day, and I spent that Saturday unpacking and settling into my apartment.

I was shaken from my reverie by the car in front of me being waved through the gate. I displayed my military ID to the airman as I approached the barrier. He looked over my vehicle and whistled in appreciation, saying, "Nice ride!" before saluting and raising the gate. I returned his salute, flashed him a smile, and said, "Yes, it is, Airman," as I drove into the base and over to the building where I would be working. It was a hanger that had been converted from its original use. There was a section on the second story for offices. The main floor was set up like a manufacturing line since they supported avionics components deployed on F-15s and F-16s.

I was looking forward to this assignment to the 402 SMXG - Software Maintenance Group. I'd get a chance to get my hands figuratively dirty. I'd be getting hands-on experience with the avionics systems hardware and, at the same time, how the firmware and software were supported. I would also be overseeing the airmen who were responsible for the support.

Our group would also work closely with the 402 EMXG - Electronics Maintenance Group. They were responsible for refurbishing and calibrating the units when their rack time had expired. Additionally, units pulled by the techs maintaining the aircraft because they weren't in spec or had glitched would also be re-calibrated there. Any of the test or calibration equipment used had to be calibrated. So they had to be periodically rotated out and sent to the Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory (PMEL) to make sure they were still in spec.

A lot of documentation was needed for this organization to work effectively. Checking and rechecking the paperwork generated was a lot of meticulous work because there were so many chances to make a mistake. One thing I wanted to do during my assignment here was to computerize all the paperwork. That would make the documentation simpler and more accessible to the techs on the flight line who were maintaining the aircraft.

Whenever the software/firmware was updated in any avionics units supported here, they'd have to rotate the boxes out of the aircraft to be updated. So it was important that each unit's location is tracked and what versions of software/firmware they have installed in them. Also, I'd evaluate the performance, suggest changes, and do Quality Assurance (QA) on the software/firmware if requested. The airmen supporting the software/firmware had their desks up on the second floor with me. It would keep me busy and out of my head so I could forget about Virginia.

My first meeting with my commander, Colonel Steve Oldiges, went great. He welcomed me aboard and said he had heard good things about me and was looking forward to my contributions to the program. Col. Oldiges took the time to show me around the facilities, explaining why the floor was laid out the way it was, and introduced me to the airmen working on the hardware. I was impressed that he knew everybody by name and was willing to dive in and get hands-on with the equipment. His enthusiasm buoyed me up, and I knew I would enjoy this assignment.

I pinned on Captain the third week I was there. It wasn't much of a ceremony since hardly anybody outside my group knew me and vice versa. It would have been so lovely if Virginia could have been there. As it was, I ended up having Col. Oldiges pin me on at the end of the staff meeting in an abridged ceremony. It was not exactly how I had pictured my first real promotion ceremony. At least I was a real officer now, as I was now an officer in the Regular Air Force instead of in the Reserve Air Force. As a bonus, I outranked the other two lieutenants in the organization. They were academy grads (ring knockers) and were already Regular Air Force. Because I went through OTS, I was commissioned in the Reserve Air Force. For ring knockers, the two lieutenants weren't jerks like a lot of the older ones were since women were now going through the academy, so they didn't look down on women officers.

I immersed myself in my assignment, keeping busy and avoiding socializing outside of work. I got to know all of the enlisted airmen who were working on the floor. We got along fabulously. I had to admit that a couple of female airmen could have tempted me, except that they were enlisted and straight, two lines that were never crossed except with great peril. Fraternization between enlisted and officers was probably the worst offense you could commit, other than treason or being homosexual. We were able to work with each other and had a great time doing it.

Despite the prohibition on fraternization between officers and enlisted, our group always got together at Martin's BBQ shack, just outside the main gate, every Friday after work. No one would be in uniform, so no one outside our group could complain. We did chaperone each other, making sure no lines were crossed. If at least two officers couldn't make it, we'd let the enlisted hang out alone. It was a great way to informally work out any grievances the enlisted would have with the officers and vice versa. Because of that bonding, our group worked great together and got our unit an Air Force Organizational Excellence Award in 1982.

I found out that Georgia State had an extension program on base. I looked at it and decided to work on my Master's degree in computer science. I signed up for the program, despite it being State, a long-time rival of Tech. I would be going part-time to work on my degree, having been able to test out of twelve credits due to my work experience. I should be done with the program before I have to work on my next assignment.

September 1982

The first year of my assignment quickly passed as I immersed myself in my job. My effort to computerize the documentation was coming along quite well. I had written up my plan and presented it to Col. Oldiges, extolling the advantages of having that information available to everyone on the flight line and in the shop. He enthusiastically endorsed the plan and asked me to organize the resources and get started on it as soon as possible.

Warner Robins wasn't the biggest town, and since I was only 100 miles from Tech, I decided to visit my alma mater in Atlanta. The 1982 volleyball season had started. I even attended some home volleyball matches, work permitting, to root for my Yellow Jackets. At one such Friday night match against the Tar Heels, I noticed one of the spectators kept looking over at me with a puzzled look on her face. She was about my height, with straight sandy blonde hair down to the middle of her back and blue eyes. She was easy to look at, so I kept an eye on her as the set progressed. After a while, I saw a look of recognition on her face, and she got up and approached me.

"Excuse me, aren't you Alex Summers?" she asked as she approached me.

"Yes, I am," I replied, looking up at her with a questioning look.

"I thought I recognized you," she gushed as she sat beside me and put her hand out. "Oh, excuse me, I'm Lauren Brown. I played volleyball for the '78 to '80 seasons."

I took her hand and shook it. It felt good in my hand. A slight shock traveled up my arm, and I was sure she had experienced it too. I didn't immediately let go, and she was in no hurry to let go, either. "So, a fellow Yellow Jacket," I said before reluctantly letting her hand go.

"Yes," Lauren said, after swallowing a couple of times, "Because of you, I picked Tech to play volleyball."

"Me?" I asked, intrigued. "What did I do to make you pick Tech?"

"I watched the final match of the '76 season with my high school coach," she explained, locking eyes with me in her enthusiasm. "We had come down to visit to see the program and the facilities. So we stayed to watch the match. You were fantastic that night, and thanks to you serving those seven straight aces in the final set, you won the regular-season championship."

That brought back memories as I thought back to that night. It was the final match of the season. We were down 14-9 in the last set, with the game tied at 2-2 when I got the serve. I don't know how, but I got those seven aces, even though they had called timeout twice and rearranged their defense. That was probably the highlight of my career.

"Yes, I was in the zone that night," I said, pleased to have a fan and that I had influenced someone enough to come play for Tech.

"In the zone? You were a monster that night," Lauren gushed, a look of adoration on her face.

"Not a scary monster, I hope?" I asked, intrigued by this beautiful woman next to me. I ran my eyes over her body, which was fit and toned as an athlete should be. I started feeling a little heat down below.

"No," Lauren said, twigging to my sudden interest in her. She ran her eyes over my body before smiling. She said in a lower voice, "To be honest, I had your senior team poster on the wall of my dorm room my entire freshman year. You stood there, looking so confident with the ball on your hip, staring into the camera. I always imagined that you were looking at me with that little half-smile on your face. Kind of like you're doing right now," she finished, looking down and blushing prettily.

"Whoa," I thought to myself. "Is this what I think it is? Be careful, Alex," I warned myself.

I reached over with my left hand, lightly touched her right arm, and said, "If you had been standing there, I'm sure I would have been looking at you instead of the camera."

I felt a spark as I touched her, and I knew she felt it too. Goosebumps had suddenly appeared on her arm, and her breath hitched. Lauren looked up at me, and her eyes were dilated, almost black, as I'm sure my eyes were. The heat I felt below burst into flames, and my pussy got wet, trying to put it out.

Before anything more could happen, another woman, obviously Lauren's friend, approached us and said, "Lauren, let's go. I need to get back."

Lauren gave me a weak grimace before turning to the woman and said, "Okay, Cindy. I was just talking to a former volleyball player for Tech, Alex Summers."

Cindy looked at me and said, "Oh, nice to meet you, Alex." Turning back to Lauren, she implored, "Come on, let's go."

As Lauren got up, she looked at me hopefully and asked, "Will you be coming to any other matches?"

"I'll try to be here for every home match if my job lets me," I said.

"Great," Lauren said, a smile spreading over her face. She then turned and walked off with Cindy, looking back several times as they headed into the crowd toward the exit.

While we had been talking, the match had ended. That's why Cindy had been in a hurry to leave. Unfortunately, the Tar Heels prevailed. "Oh, well," I thought, "the team isn't going to be very good this year."

As I headed out, I made a note to ensure I made it to the next match.

It was actually two matches later before I saw Lauren again.

I was going into the main entrance of O'Keefe Gymnasium when I spied Lauren waiting there. Her eyes lit up when she saw me. She came running over and nearly knocked me down with her hug.

"Oh, Alex, you came!" she said breathlessly as my arms encircled her reflexively as she held the hug. Her body felt nice on mine, and I was in no hurry to disengage from her.

Then she surprised me by leaning in and planting her lips on mine, her lips so soft and sweet. She made sure I had no question in my mind what her intentions were. She let me go, took my hand, and pulled me into the arena.

I'm sure I had a bemused look on my face as we went in to get our seats. Lauren looked at me and said, "Oh, Alex, I hope I wasn't too forward? I got the impression from our first meeting that you were into me," she finished, looking a little sheepish. She stepped back, letting go of my hand.

I leaned in and quietly said, "Lauren. I am into you. However, we need to be discreet. I'm an Air Force officer, and I can't do this kind of thing in public. In fact, if they find out I'm a lesbian, they can throw me out of the Air Force."

When I said that, Lauren's eyes went big, and she almost started to cry. I took her hand and said, "It's okay, Lauren. As long as nobody recognizes me, who knows I'm in the military, I'll be fine."

Lauren perked up when I said that and said, "Okay, Alex. I'll be discreet."

We found suitable seats and sat down. True to Lauren's word, she made no more overt moves. We did sit close enough together that our thighs and shoulders were in contact throughout the match, except when we jumped up to cheer after a spectacular play. To be honest, I spent more time paying attention to Lauren than I did to the sets. I know I was getting wet from reacting to our bodies continually touching each other.

Unfortunately, our Yellow Jackets lost again. As we trooped out of the gym, I suggested we meet up at The Varsity, a favorite off-campus hangout for college students. Twenty minutes later, Lauren and I met up outside and went in and up to the counter. I ordered my favorite combo, two chili dogs with onions and rings. I got a Yuengling Dark Brewed Porter to drink with my meal. My love for regional beers started here since it was my favorite off-campus hangout while I attended Tech. Lauren got the chili cheese dog and chili cheeseburger combo with rings and a Miller Lite. Needless to say, while I wasn't impressed with her taste in beer, I wouldn't hold it against her.

We found a table to sit down at and tucked into our meals. As we ate, we chatted about ourselves. I regaled Lauren about my Air Force career and the issues caused by my being a lesbian when the military was against homosexuality. Lauren told me about her volleyball career and how she's now a legal secretary at a local law firm. She really enjoyed her job. In fact, the group of lawyers that Lauren was working for were focused on defending people who were willing to out themselves to forward acceptance of gay and lesbian lifestyles. She had outed herself to them, glad she could be open with her sexuality in her workplace.

"I wish you didn't have to hide who you are," Lauren said, reaching over the table to take my hand.

"I do, too," I said as a sense of sadness came over me as my affair with Virginia came to mind.

Lauren twigged to my change in emotion and squeezed my hand, asking, "Why so sad, Alex?"

"Sorry," I said, scrubbing at the tears in the corners of my eyes, "I was thinking about another Air Force officer I had fallen in love with. She loved me too but broke it off because she didn't want to risk her career."

"That's horrible," Lauren said. Realizing what she had just said, she hurriedly added, "I don't mean horrible that you fell in love, but horrible in that you had to deny your love for the sake of your career. That is so unfair."

"Yes," I said, "but that's what I signed up for, so I have to live with it, like it or not."

"So," said Lauren, looking at me with a look that made my insides melt while twirling her thumb on my hand, "does this mean that we're not going to get wild and naked tonight?"

I grinned back at her and leaned in, saying, "Why don't we go to your place and find out?"

Before we left, Lauren gave me her address in case we got separated along the way. We did make it to her place without separating, and when we parked our cars, we walked up to her door hand-in-hand. She turned to me, and I moved in and kissed her. My arms went around her, pulling her in tight to my body. Lauren's arms went around me. She moaned as our mouths opened simultaneously, and our tongues invaded each other's mouths. My answering moan resonated with hers, making a noise that was beautiful to my ears. After a minute, which felt like hours, we broke our kiss and leaned our foreheads together, our eyes locked while we gasped from the intensity of the kiss.

"I can't believe my fantasy is about to come true," Lauren said once our breathing steadied.

My stomach lurched when I heard that. I realized the problematic position I could find myself in if this didn't live up to Lauren's expectations. I decided to attempt to soft-pedal her expectations by saying, "Lauren, I'm a real person, not a fantasy. I hope you keep that in mind and not set your expectations too high."

Lauren's eyes went big when I said that. She said, "Oh, Alex, that's not what I meant. I just meant that I've had a crush on you, and I now get a chance to find out what it's like. I'm fully prepared for whatever happens ... no expectations other than having sex with my hero."

"Oh?" I said as I started grinning. "So, I was your hero, eh?"

"Oh, yes," Lauren gushed. "I used your inspirational play to make myself a better volleyball player."

"Okay," I said, "just don't conflate my playing ability with my lovemaking ability."

"No problem, Alex," Lauren said. "We'll just take it one step at a time."