Finally, August had arrived. It was that crazy time of year for Airmen who had tested for rank. This was when they released the news of who got promoted. I was sitting at my desk working on a project. There was an upcoming deployment to the desert. They needed several jets that had no major maintenance due over two months.
As I sat reviewing the data, the first sergeant and the unit commander walked in, and we all stood at attention and greeted them.
“As you were,” the unit commander said as he continued into the senior non-commissioned officer’s office and shut the door.
Ro smiled at me, “I think they’re going to tell us who got promoted.”
“You think so?”
She was so nervous. She and her husband had both tested. My husband and I had tested as well, but I wasn’t worried about making technical sergeant. It was the hardest rank to achieve in my career field because the number of available slots was small. Plus, I had so much going on that I didn’t have time to think about it.
The door opened and everyone was on edge. The three men walked out and stood in the middle of the office. The Major spoke, “We came here for two reasons,” he said as he looked around, “The first is the deployment coming up next week. We need two production managers and one supply person from this office to complete the package.”
At that moment. I stopped listening. The word on the street was they would need a tech sergeant or at least a technical sergeant select along with one senior airman production manager and a tech sergeant supply person. I didn’t fit the description.
“We have chosen SrA Lawson, SSgt Hernandez, and SSgt Wilson.”
Ro smiled and jumped around. I never saw someone so happy to be headed to the desert. After being stationed in New Mexico, I was over it. I smiled. He shook her hand and then SrA Lawson’s hand.
I saw him walking over to my desk, “Congratulations SSgt Wilson.”
“For?”
“You’re going to represent us on this deployment package.”
It still had not registered with me. “I thought you needed a tech sergeant?”
He laughed heartily, “Right. That’s the second reason we’re here: to congratulate the new promotees.”
My face beamed with joy, “So I?”
“Yes ma’am, congratulations.”
Suddenly, my phone rang like crazy. The list was out. I had made technical sergeant, one step closer to chief master sergeant. My husband had made master sergeant, and Ro’s husband had gotten promoted to technical sergeant as well.
That night, the NCO club was filled with people all doing the same thing, listening to music, drinking, and celebrating the news about moving up in rank. The four of us sat at a table drinking beer after beer.
As I sat there, my phone flashed with a message. I saw the name, Kelly. I smiled and read his words, “Congrats…one step closer to becoming Chief.”
I replied, “Congrats to you as well.”
My husband saw the message, “Who was that?”
“That’s a friend from New Mexico. Congratulating me on making rank.”
He sipped his beer and nodded. Diego held up his bottle, “I can’t believe my baby is leaving me for two months.”
Ro laughed, “Yeah, it’s just two months not like when you’re gone for four months to half a year.”
“I promise babe, now that I’m a tech, I’ll be home more. We can start working on babies number two, and three,” he joked as he tickled her.
It got a little quiet. They looked at us, “Sorry.”
“No. there’s no reason to be sorry. We’ll be happy for you,” I replied. I turned to Warren and kissed his mouth, “I love you.”
“I love you too and as soon as y’all get back from the desert, I’m taking my baby to Cancun at a fancy resort right on the beach to celebrate her birthday.”
My face lit up. I kissed him repeatedly, “Don’t play Warren, seriously?”
He nodded. I bit my bottom lip, “You’re getting the royal treatment tonight.”
He grinned, “Oh I know and I can’t wait.”
“Oh, I wanna go. You can’t take my friend to Cancun without me.” She looked at Diego. Diego looked at Warren.
“I’ll send you my travel plans man. It would be great for all of us to go to Cancun.”
“Yay!” we both exclaimed.
*****
Home. Warren loved it when I was extra freaky. I sat in front of the sofa butt naked as he stood in front of me holding my head. Warren tasted divine. His diet was clean and a man that ate clean had the sweetest cum. I felt a little touch my tongue and melt. I smiled. He looked down at me and grinned. He loved that I loved his dick in my mouth. As far as I was concerned…two married people should be able to fuck no holds barred and there wasn’t anything I wasn’t willing to explore with Warren. I trusted him completely.
My hands touched his tight muscular ass as I sat between his thighs licking the length of that meaty love sausage. “Damn, babe, fuck,” he said as he humped my mouth. I held his dick in one hand and licked from the bottom to the tip and then put it in my mouth as far as it could go.
When my jaws grew tired, I moved my head. He held his dick, “You tired baby?”
I nodded. He helped me up, “Turn that ass around and grab your ankles so I can wear that pussy out.”
Even though Warren was Christian and didn’t cuss outside the confines of our home when it came to having sex, his mouth was filthy and I loved it. My ass was in the air when he pushed into my pussy and went to work.
Every time I tried to lift my head, he’d say, “Uh-uh, stay down.”
He worked my wet paradise until I creamed all over his shaft. After I pulsated on his dick, he went super slow trying to get me to cum again on his rod. I loved how Warren studied my body. I was trembling and shaking. He pulled out and sat on the sofa, “Come here babe,” he said as he held that thick thing up for me to sit on.
I got to look into his brown eyes as I rode his dick. He held me close. Our hearts beat as one. We perspired and shared the wetness of our mouths as he burst inside of me. It was no longer about trying to get pregnant. We hadn’t given up on it but we decided to just make love, enjoy sex, and not make it a chore.
*********
The day had come for us to leave for our deployment. A commercial flight to Germany and later into the Middle East where we would be picked up and driven to an undisclosed location. As we sat in the airport in Germany, Ro showed me a picture of an actor, “He’s fine. I would tear him up in a heartbeat.”
I laughed. She was always talking crazy as if we had access to actors, singers, or ball players. “You have a man, remember,” I reminded her.
She sucked her teeth, “Come on you wouldn’t hit that?” she asked as she pointed at Morris Chestnut’s chiseled frame and dark chocolate skin.
I shook my head, “I’m married.”
“Oh, I see, I bet if Kelly came around, you’d drop those panties.”
I laughed. “Kelly and I are friends.”
“So are you trying to tell me if he was on this deployment and the opportunity presented itself, you wouldn’t?”
“No.”
“Bull shit and you know it, come on Jackie.”
I looked into her eyes, “I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t want Warren to do that to me. Look, I am my parents’ oldest and only child but…I have a younger sister and two younger brothers.”
Her eyes widened.
“I used to hear my mother and father argue about these kids, the ones that grew up in the same town as I did not more than a few miles away. She would cry herself to sleep over being made a fool out of not once, not twice, but three times.”
“I’m sorry, damn.”
“My mom and I don’t always see eye-to-eye on many things but she didn’t deserve what my father put her through and she stayed. Mainly because of me. She wanted my dad in my life.”
“I get it. That’s crazy.”
*****
We arrived at our destination, we got settled into our dorm room. One we’d share. As we walked with our gear toward the dorm with sand kicking up as vehicles drove by I saw a familiar face.
He stopped right in front of me, “Wilkes? I mean,” he looked at my uniform, “Wilson?”
I nodded, “Yeah, I’m married now. This is my girl Ro or SSgt Hernandez.”
They shook hands. She smiled, “So this is the famous SSgt Kelly.”
I nudged her. He blushed, “I don’t know about famous.” It was awkwardly quiet before we all attempted to speak.
“Um, I guess, I’ll see you around,” I said to him.
“Yeah, I’ll see you around SSgt Wilson.”
She nudged me, “Girl that thang is fine.” She looked back and I did too. Our eyes met. I smiled and turned away. He was still fine. Even more muscular and fit than before, and his green eyes sparkled in the sunlight.
“You ever going to tell him about you know?” she asked. I had pushed that moment into a black hole in my mind. I hated it when it surfaced.
I made a face and rolled my eyes, “Now why would I do that?”
“Just wondering,” she stated as we continued to our room.
Once we were settled, we headed to the chow hall for a bite to eat. As we sat, there was a group of guys checking us out. One commented, “Finally, something pretty to look at.”
Ro blushed, “Glad you think so.”
We sat, “You better behave yourself.”
“Oh, I am Mother Theresa,” she joked as she made prayer hands.
We laughed. Now we were deployed with other units and other branches of the military. It’s known that we military folk like to poke fun at each other but that’s off-limits to civilians. As we ate and chatted one of the guys, tall, fair in skin tone looked like a mixture of Filipino and Black sat at our table, “Hello ladies, let me guess, Army?”
We both smiled and replied, “No.”
Another of his friends joined, a red-haired green-eyed fellow, “These ladies have to be in the good old chair force,” he joked.
They all chuckled.
“Yes, because we scored high enough to get in.”
His face nearly cracked, “Good one. I’m Corporal McMann.”
“And I’m Sargent Cabugao.”
“It’s nice to meet you, I’m SSgt Wilson and this is SSgt Hernandez.”
As the evening progressed, we ended up with four guys at our table Abel Cabugao, Sheldon McMann, Jodie St. Pierre, and Henry Rosenberg. We laughed and joked until they kicked us out of the chow hall.
As we headed back to our room, she said, “I’m going to go make a phone call, “I’ll see you in the room later.”
“Oh okay,” I replied and continued. I saw a familiar face standing outside, “Hey,” I said to him.
He walked up to me, “I just came over not long ago and thought I’d wait to catch up.”
We both chuckled, “Um okay,” I said nervously.
“I didn’t know you had gotten married. I mean. I knew you were dating but I didn’t know you had gotten married. I guess a great woman like you wasn’t going to stay single forever.”
I nodded, “Yeah. I should have said something but I don’t know, it just never seemed like the right moment.”
He laughed, “That explains why I couldn’t find you on the global network.”
“Then how did you know that I was promoted?”
“We still have a lot of the same friends on social media remember, Torres posted a picture of you and her saying congrats to her old supervisor that made rank. I still had your number so, I texted you.”
I nodded, “How are things with you and your family?”
“Surprisingly well. She’s been good. The baby is growing.” He pulled out his phone and showed me a picture.”
“He’s handsome like his father.”
“Any kids?”
I shook my head, “We’ve been trying. Nothing yet.”
“It’ll happen when it’s supposed to.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Of course, I’m right. You know I’m rarely wrong.”
I laughed, “There you go with that Virgo energy. Speaking of which, your birthday is coming up.”
He laughed, “It is. Well, SSgt Wilson, I won’t hold you up. I just wanted a chance to catch up. It’s great seeing you again.”
“Good night, Kelly.” I watched him walk away. There was still some energy between us. I had to hurry to my room to take a cold shower.
After speaking with Warren, I went to bed. I thought it strange that Ro hadn’t returned, but my eyelids were heavy, so I drifted off. I didn’t wake until around 2:00 am when my cell phone sounded with a text message from Diego asking me if Ro was okay.
I looked over at her bed. It was empty. I didn’t know how to respond, so I didn’t. I got out of bed just as she was walking through the door. “Girl, where the hell have you been?” I asked.
“We were hanging out by the pool listening to music.”
I nodded, “Did you call your husband?”
“Yeah. I called him earlier.” She took off her clothes and headed into the bathroom. I heard the shower run. I shrugged and got back into bed. when she finished, she got in bed and passed out. After about thirty minutes of rampant thoughts, I fell asleep. After all, 5:30 am was fast approaching.
******
Ro and I worked opposite shifts. I worked 6:30 am to 3:00 pm and she’d work from 3:00 pm to midnight. This was designed to help roommates not get tired of each other. I left for work that morning and headed to chow.
I sat eating my Frosted Flakes when a McMann joined me, “Hello there SSgt Wilson.”
“Good morning there Corporal McMann.”
“So, are you anything like your friend?”
My eyes squinted, “What do you mean?”
He shrugged, “Nothing. So, what do you do Wilson?”
“I’m a scheduler, production manager, or whatever they are calling it these days.”
He chuckled, “Basically admin.”
“Yep. Admin.”
“Sweet. At least you get to sit in the AC and not be out in the dirt and heat with us wrench turners.
“All jobs are important, right?” I smiled.
He nodded, “True.” As he sat checking me out, Kelly arrived and sat down with us. He didn’t look happy to see another guy sit so close to me.
“Good morning, Wilson,” said Kelly as he placed his tray down.
“Kelly this is Corporal McMann, he’s an Army guy.”
Kelly nodded, “Nice. My dad was Army.”
He turned up his nose, “I guess you weren’t as tough as your old man,” he hissed and left the table.
I looked at Kelly and he was about to say something but I gave him an eyebrow, “Don’t.”
“That guy is a real douchebag. I guess he thinks I’m pissing on his fire hydrant.”
I sighed, “Don’t worry about him.”
“I’m not. Looks like we’ll be working together.”
“I figured.”
He smiled and we continued eating until it was time to head to work.
*****
Over the next several days, things were a little awkward with Ro and me. Mostly because I had asked her one morning why it took her so long to get back to the room after her shift. She snapped at me, “If I don’t ask you what you and Kelly be doing after work why are you tripping about what I’m doing with Abel?”
I had to check her ass with the quickness, “First of all, me and Kelly don’t do anything after work besides workouts and talk. I’m in my room at a decent time.”
“So, you think you’re the only one that knows how to have a platonic relationship?”
“You know what Ro, just, don’t worry about it.” I didn’t want to get into a full-blown argument with her. It wasn’t going to be good. I had seen a lot of things regarding inappropriate relationships and most of the time, I minded my business.
But this was my girl. I was friends with her husband too. I loved their child as if he were my own. How would I be able to break bread with her family knowing she was out in the desert giving up her biscuit?
I was sitting at work working on the schedule. Kelly nudged me, “You’re quiet today,” he said as he stood on my left side watching me type.
I looked at him and smiled, “You know how it is. Just life.”
He nodded, “Life. Yeah. Let’s go get some lunch.”
I locked my computer and we headed out to the chow hall. As we walked, we saw Corporal McMann and a couple of the other guys. He eyed us and then whispered something to his buddies and they laughed. He had put out a rumor that I was fucking Kelly. I didn’t care. I knew that I was being true to my husband.
Kelly said, “I wanna kick that dude’s ass.”
“I know you do.”
We chuckled. “So, how are things with you and your friend?”
“Good. Good.”
He nudged me, “Come on Jackie.”
“Oh, wow, Jackie?”
“You know I love calling you Jackie or Jacqueline.”
I chuckled, “Well, Jonathan, things are tense but friends go through this. Relationships go through this…highs and lows.”
“Yeah, I get it,” he replied as we entered the facility. We obtained some food, went to a table, and sat. I changed the subject to him and his family. I loved hearing him tell stories about his son. He was such a proud papa.
“She wants to start trying again when I get back,” he confessed with a heavy heart.
“You don’t want anymore?”
“I do. I just think we should wait another year. Financially, we’re not there. I don’t want to struggle. I like how things are now. We have enough money to take care of what we have going on. I want to buy a house. Get a dog, you know.”
I smiled, “Yes, I remember you wanting a bulldog.”
He pointed with a huge smile, “Yes, but do you remember what I wanted to name him?”
“Potato Chip.”
We laughed.
“Please don’t name the dog that.”
“I love potato chips.”
“Okay then.”
We continued to eat. As I sat there enjoying my meal, out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a guy Abel sitting with a woman. She was Latina, very pretty. I saw her flirty nature and how she touched his hand.
“You, okay?” he asked me as I stared at the table.
I turned to him, “Yeah, I’m good. Just some fuckery going on.”
He chuckled, “Um, you talking about the guy over there with the pretty Puerto Rican girl?”
I nodded, “Yeah.”
“She came in a couple of days ago. He’s been all over her.”
I nodded, “It seems he has a thing for new arrivals.”
“Especially if they’re pretty.”
I shook my head. He was supposed to be sleeping since he worked the late shift. I knew this because he spent ample time with Ro after work talking.
We finished our meal and then returned to the office to finish our day. When my shift ended, Ro arrived noticeably upset. She was shaky. I whispered to her, “You good?”
She nodded vigorously. But I knew she was upset. She held up her hand like she didn’t want to talk about anything at that moment. I nodded, “Okay, I’ll be up when you get off if you want to talk.” I wanted her to know that I was still her friend. That I was there if she needed me.
