Page 37 of When I Found You

“Don’t be a stranger. You’re welcome here anytime, whether he’s in town or not. I won’t turn away a beautiful young woman as a dinner companion.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind,” she says, as a small smile crests her lips.

I finish saying goodbye to my dad and haul my stuff out to my truck before walking back inside. Stacey followed me over here in her own car, knowing we’d say goodbye when we both parted from here.

“Bye, Dad, I’ll see you in a few weeks,” I tell him, shaking his hand one last time.

“Drive safe,” he tells me before I follow Stacey outside.

“Fuck, this is harder than I thought it would be,” Stacey says as I pull her into my arms. I bury my face into her hair and neck, pulling in a lungful of air filled with her scent.

“I’m going to miss you so damn much,” I mumble into her hair.

“Me too.” She sniffles.

I lean back and cup her face in both hands, swiping at the tears sliding down her cheeks with the pads of my thumbs.

“Friday night will be here before we know it, and we’ll spend the entire weekend together, just you and me.”

“Promise?” she asks with a wobbly smile.

“Promise,” I confirm, dropping my lips to hers. I hold her close and deepen the kiss. Not wanting to let her go, I back her up against her car and kiss her for who knows how long. I kiss her until our lips are swollen. The wordsI love youare on the tip of my tongue, but it has to be way too early to say them to her, doesn’t it? I don’t want to scare her, so I hold them back, knowing there will be a better time to tell her how much she means to me.

“I should probably go,” I finally tell her, putting one step of distance between us.

“Okay,” she says, another tear sliding down her face. I pull her in for one last hug, holding her as tight as I can against me.

“Drive safe and call me when you make it home, please,” she asks before we break apart.

“Of course,” I promise her.

She kisses me one more time and turns to open her car door. I hold it open for her while she slides in, then lean in and press a kiss to her lips before I pull back and shut the door. I double tap the roof of her car, then step back while she pulls out of the driveway. I watch as she disappears down the street before I climb up into my truck and pull out myself, wondering how I’m going to make it through the coming week without her.

Chapter Twelve

PEYTON

Thankfully,the past week back on base has kept me crazy busy. So busy, I hardly had time to miss Stacey during the day. My nights were a completely different story. We FaceTimed each night once we were both home. Not being able to hold her and kiss her each day sucked ass, but that will make her arriving here in just a little while all worth it.

She texted me about twenty minutes ago that she was leaving her apartment, so I expect her to be pulling up to the base gates in about an hour, depending on traffic. I have to meet her up at the visitor center to get her a pass to get on base when she visits.

I take another look around my apartment to make sure I didn’t miss cleaning anything. Not quite sure why I’m worried, I’ve always kept a clean and tidy living space. I check the fridge to make sure everything is ready for the dinner I plan to make for the two of us once Stacey is safely here. I’m not sure either of us will be able to keep from tearing each other’s clothes off as soon as we walk back in the door, so I’ve decided against making dinner before she gets here. This way, I can make it whenever we’re ready to eat tonight.

After checking and double-checking, I glance at the clock and see the hour has finally almost passed. I head out to my truckand drive over to the base visitor center. I pull in the parking lot but don’t see her car yet, so I head inside to get a start on the paperwork I have to fill out.

A short while later, with all the information I can fill out without her driver’s license and car information, I sit back and wait for her to arrive. It feels like forever, when in reality, it’s only about five minutes before the door opens, and in she walks.

“Hey!” She practically runs over to me, throwing her arms around my neck as I lift her off her feet, pulling her tight against my body. I take in a deep breath, breathing her into my lungs. Her sweet smell has my dick hardening against the zipper of my jeans. “I missed you,” she says against my ear.

“Missed you, too, gorgeous,” I reply, kissing her just under and behind her ear. I feel the shiver that slides down her body from the contact. “What do you say we get you that pass and get out of here? I’ve got plans for tonight that don’t include standing around the guard shack.”

“Sounds like a plan.” She drops a quick kiss to my lips before I set her back down on her feet.

We quickly finish up the paperwork. The soldier on duty issues her the pass and we make our way out to the parking lot.

“Have you ever been on a military base before?”

“Nope. At least, not that I can remember.”

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