2. Nate
TWO
nate
BLACKOUT BASE, AFRICA
I’d just come back inside the wire after four days of recognizance and couldn’t decide if I wanted chow or a shower first. In the end, my stomach won. After eating chicken—always chicken—I headed to the shower, accustomed at this point to the not-so-favorable conditions, including insects everywhere, in the bathhouse.
Normally I’d be hitting the MWR tent for a card game right about now, but no rec center for me tonight. The only thing I’d be doing was racking out in my bunk, exhausted. I broke my own rule about bringing my phone into the bed and lay down. Christmas lights strung above me across the bare, wooden walls afforded some light, but my phone provided the rest.
Clicking it on, I wasn’t surprised at the deluge of texts after four days.
First, my mother. Assuring her I was fine, I messaged my sister next. Then checked the degenerate gambling group I was a part of and, seeing over two hundred messages, I skipped to the last few and read those but didn’t bother responding.
Next in line, Lucas. I sent off a quick message to him and scrolled down to an unknown number.
Hi, this is Zoe Harrison. Charlee said you wanted my number to say thank you for the note so I figured I’d reach out myself.
Ahh, note girl.
The only thing I knew about Zoe was she was a friend of Charlee’s, and her dad was career military who was wounded during a firefight in Afghanistan.
Hi, Zoe. Thanks for your note!
I was about to move down to answer the next message when text bubbles appeared.
My pleasure!
I liked that she didn’t wait to text me back. So, I did the same.
You said your dad was a captain in the navy?
Yep. Lots of moving around, as you can imagine.
I tried to think back to what Lucas had told me about her, but all I could remember was that she was Charlee’s friend. So, she must be about the same age, probably a year or two older than me, close to thirty. Or not. Just because she and Charlee were friends didn’t mean they were exactly the same age.
My dad served but only for one term. That had to be tough moving so much.
She didn’t hesitate.
It was. . . hard to make friends.
That was the kind of casual statement that packed way more of a punch as a reality than a one-line text. But I didn’t know her well or at all. So, I let it go.
Where you from originally?
Born at a naval base in Saratoga Springs
So you really are a military brat?
Born and raised ;)
Now, I wasn’t one to read into the whole emoji thing, but a wink was a wink. Did Zoe have a boyfriend? Lucas would know.
You live in Kitchi Falls now?
Yep. Moved here about a year ago. I work as a hotel manager for Charlee’s dad’s company.
Ahh, the infamous Mr. Donovan. Although they got along well enough now, Lucas and Charlee’s dad had quite a history. It was the father who convinced Charlee to break up with Lucas in high school, just before he enlisted. Thankfully, the two of them came to a tentative truce when he and Charlee got back together recently.
I hear he’s quite the character?
LOL. Understatement.
How is he as a boss?
If you think I’m putting that in writing, you’re out of your mind.
Easier question. What does Zoe Harrison typically do on a Sunday afternoon in Kitchi Falls?
Oh, that’s right, you’re ahead of me. What time is it there?
Almost 21:00. You’re seven hours behind me.
On this particular Sunday, hitting a winery soon. A new one for us. Just left the gym.
So, she worked out.
Sundays aren’t always winery days?
For the first time, she paused.
Sometimes. But we were out yesterday, so normally we might take it easy today.
So, what was it about this particular Sunday that was different? I was curious but wouldn’t pry. So instead, I picked up on the gym comment.
A workout in air conditioning. Sounds great.
Hot over there?
Humid!
I nearly said humid as fuck .
I think I lost seven pounds of sweat this morning.
What do you do? For workouts?
Weights. Run. Ruck march. Depends on the day.
Carrying a backpack around in the heat? No thank you.
You know ruck march? Impressive.
Military brat
Of course. No rucksack for you then?
Nope. I’m more of a weights girl.
Nice. What kind of splits?
Push, pull. I try for six days a week.
Impressed again.
Usually only make four though. . .
I laughed aloud. She had a sense of humor.
Still better than zero.
Have to balance out the wine, you know?
LOL. I hear ya.
Work hard, play hard. That’s my motto. What’s yours?
I thought about that for a second.
Sometimes you win. Sometimes you learn.
Pause.
I had a few other mottos that weren’t appropriate for a first conversation. I shifted in the bed, surprisingly not as tired as I should be.
Mistakes are an opportunity to learn.
Exactly
I hesitated, then typed.
Hope I’m not keeping you from your winery?
You are, but it’s okay.
LOL
Hope I’m not keeping you from. . .?
Bed
There were a lot of things I couldn’t tell her, but the fact that I’d usually be in bed now wasn’t one of them.
So early?
Depends. Had a long couple of days.
To say the least.
Why don’t you get some sleep then.
I was such a stupid fuck. Why had I initiated the end of our conversation by mentioning bedtime?
You’ll have to let me know how the new winery was.
That might have been presumptuous. After all, I asked for her number just to thank her. But she seemed cool.
Have you been to the Finger Lakes?
She opened the door again for more conversation. Good.
I’m from Monticello, New York. Sure have.
I’ve heard of that.
Probably because it’s not far from Saratoga Springs.
I didn’t want to stop chatting with her. But I didn’t want to keep Zoe from her friends either. Looking back up, I realized she’d never answered my previous message about texting her tomorrow. I didn’t push it.
I watched my phone, waiting.
So, I’ll definitely let you know how the new winery was. Will wait till tomorrow to text since you’ll be sleeping.
No need, text anytime.
What if you’re in the middle of a top-secret mission?”
With her dad career military, I was pretty sure she was teasing. But I played along.
Ah, well. In that case, maybe you shouldn’t text anytime
I smiled at the frown face she sent. And then realized I was smiling at my phone. Not a good sign.
JK. Seriously. Anytime.
10-4, good buddy!
We would say ‘out.’
Alright. Then ‘out.’
LOL. Enjoy the winery.
Will do.
And then nothing. Conversation over.
I personally wasn’t on social media. It had never been my thing. But I was in the minority, so it didn’t take me long to find Zoe.
And then text Lucas.
You forgot to mention Zoe is hotter than hell.
I went back to her pictures and scrolled through them. Dirty blonde hair, a great smile, and even better tits. Zoe was about Charlee’s age, as predicted. Unfortunately, though, her pics showed that I’d completely misread her texts. Zoe was being friendly. That was all. Shit.
I added to my text to Lucas.
And has a boyfriend.
Jumping off the bed, I turned off and plugged in my phone. Time for sleep and to forget that very pleasant conversation. Zoe had a boyfriend at best. Maybe a fiancé or husband for all I knew. Her socials didn’t say.
Oh, well.
You win some, you lose some.
And this one was definitely a loss.