To Love a Soldier (7 page)

Karma is a Bitch

Mandy

Once we hit the city limits, we drove around until we found a place to park. Liz wanted to do some shopping and then get an early dinner, because she wanted to get back home when Brady got out of work. I didn’t care what we did, or where we went, as long as it
meant spending as much time with John as possible before he left.

We spent the next few hours going from store to store, trying on outfits and checking out accessories. John just followed us obediently and made himself a giant rack to hang our bags and jackets on, while we would go into changing rooms. We were shopping sales racks, but even at that, we were out of money quick
, so we headed to Galluci’s, a well-known Italian restaurant. John, in his typical gentlemanly fashion, held doors and pulled seats out for Liz and me. The menu looked great, and I couldn’t wait to try the food.

Moments later, our waitress made her way to the table. I watched her walking towards us as she eyed John up. “Hello,” she
said, only making eye contact with John. “My name is Candy and I’m as sweet as my name says.”

Wow, that wasn’t subtle or anything
. I swear women were in heat when it came to him.

“Hi Candy,” all three of us said at the same time. I noticed John continuing to smile at her. This was the first time I had seen him give any attention to another woman, besides his mother or sister
, since I’d known him.

“Can I start you off with some drinks?” Candy asked, finally removing her eyes off my man and looking around the table.

“Long Island Iced Tea for me,” I ordered first. “My boyfriend and I are celebrating him teaching me how to shoot a handgun.” I glared.

“I’ll just have a Diet Coke,” Liz said. “I’m not celebrating because I already knew how to shoot.”

“Jack and Coke for me, please,” John followed.

Right then, the waitress dropped her pen on the floor. I swear it was intentional. She bent over to pick it up, practically sticking her ass in John’s face while making a slow, shaking motion before straightening back up. John’s eyes got big as he looked away. I could only hope it was from being shocked.

“Let me get those drinks for you all,” the waitress said, walking away.

“Her hips weren’t shaking like that on her way over,” I sneered.

“Oh, man, this is too fucking good.” Liz started laughing. “Karma’s a bitch, right, Mandy? Best part is her name is fucking Candy!”

Yes, I realized this is exactly what I did to Liz and Brady when they came to Carmine’s that night. And I was much worse, but it didn’t seem too funny when it was happening to me.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, again. I definitely would never do anything like that now.”

“You don’t need to,” John jumped in. “You have a boyfriend now.” He smiled.

Yeah. I did say he was my boyfriend, didn’t I?

“Well, I guess it’s official.” I smiled, taking in his loving eyes.

The waitress continued her flirting, but John wasn’t indulging her, so it bothered me less. We placed our orders, and he excused himself to use the restroom.

“Give me the salt,” I demanded of Liz.

“Why? You have one by you,” she pointed out.

“I know, but John’s going to use that one.” She handed me the salt with a confused look. “Press my ass against the window,” I mumbled while I loosened the cap on the salt. “Here, put it back and don’t say a word.”

Our dinner came shortly after he sat back down and, like clockwork, John tried some of his food and immediately reached for the salt. I just sat back and took it all in. A few shakes and the lid gave, spilling the container onto his food. He knew I had gotten him back. His typical smirk appeared as he placed the cap back on the salt. He wouldn’t look up to give me the satisfaction, so instead, he just brushed the pile of salt off with his knife.

“How’s everyone’s food? Good?” he asked without raising his head.

Liz and I just laughed. We finished up, and John took the bill. He left a generous tip and got up, pulling our seats to help us up. Liz waited for him to turn around and grabbed the tip he left and slid it in her pocket. I gave her a look.

“Shut up.” She pushed me forward, forcing me to keep walking. “I did the same thing to you that night.”

Son of a bitch, she totally did!
We headed out the front door to see a crowd had grown, waiting to be seated at the restaurant. A friendly looking older couple stood at the front. The old gentleman reached out to get John’s attention.

“This is our first time here,” he stated. “We were just wondering how the food is?”

“It was pretty good,” John answered. “But mine was a little too salty.” He gave me a look.

We headed back to town and, with light traffic, we were back in record time. I insisted that Liz drop John and me off at my place, so we could hang out and she and Brady could have some alone time.

Concerns

Liz

I’d had such a great day with John and Mandy and couldn’t wait to have a
great night with Brady. He was already out of work and waiting for me when I pulled into my driveway. I pulled my car behind his, making a clear statement that he wasn’t going home tonight. I got out of my car and met him on my porch with a big hug.

“Hey, baby,” I said. “How was work?”

“Hey.” His voice sounded off. “I worked a double shift, so it sucked. How was the range and dinner?”

“Oh, I wish you could’ve come with. Mandy got her ass stuck in the window on the way to the city. It was hilarious!” I couldn’t help but start laughing again at the mental image that popped into my head.

“I guess I had to be there, huh?”

“Yeah, and I wish you were,” I told him. “Best part of the night was at dinner. John got hit on by our waitress.”

Brady laughed. “How did she like it?”

“She didn’t,
at all,
” I said. “Come in, I’ll tell you all about it.”

Walking in the front door, I tossed my coat onto the back of the couch and headed into the kitchen to grab a water for me and a soda for Brady. Rounding the corner back into the living room, I saw him peering out the front blinds.

“What’s up? Are you expecting anyone?” I asked, confused.

Turning his head to look at me, he said, “I hope not.”

“What does that even mean? Is everything okay?” I asked, suddenly feeling concerned.

“Yeah, everything is fine,” he said, taking the soda from me. “Thanks.”

Since I didn’t eat much earlier, I figured I’d make dinner for Brady and just have a little myself. I went back to the kitchen and heated up some leftover Chinese food. I couldn’t remember when I had eaten it last, so I had no idea how old it was. It smelled all right, so I figured I’d let Brady eat it first to test it.

“Here you go.” I put his plate on the coffee table and went back to the kitchen, giving him time to be the guinea pig. When I came back out with my plate, Brady was at another window, peeking through the blinds.
Damn, he didn’t touch the Chinese
. I put my plate down and walked over to him.

“Seriously, what the hell is wrong?”

His face was angry. “I saw Mike at the mall today. He wasn’t at work, but one of my buddies told me he saw him hanging around outside your store.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I took a step back, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach.

“No, I’m not,” he said, closing the blind. “My buddy covered for me and I played spy. He wasn’t doing anything, but walking around, but he kept slowing down and looking inside the jewelry store.”

“I wonder what he
would’ve done if I was working?” I thought aloud.

“I really wanna beat this motherfucker down, babe. I know I’d end up getting arrested, but I don’t know how much longer I can control myself.”

“You have to, Brady,” I pleaded. “You’re right; you’ll be the one who goes to jail and it’s not worth it. He’ll get his.”

“I know. I just hope something happens to him sooner rather than later. I feel like such a pussy not doing anything about what he did to you.” He walked away from the window and took a seat next to me, picking up his plate.

“You’re not a pussy. You’re just not stupid. Let’s just eat and forget about it for now.”

He agreed. Stalling for
time, I turned on the TV and started flipping through channels. Brady spun some noodles around on his fork and then stuck a piece of chicken with it. He took the first bite and started chewing. I noticed his chewing got slower. He had a look on his face like he had just eaten a lemon and spit the food out onto his plate.

“Fuck, Liz!” He said in between spitting on the plate. “How old is this?”

“It’s not that old,” I lied.
Shit, that’s right! I got Chinese takeout about three weeks ago
.
Whoopsie!
“It must be bad chicken or something,” I tried to cover. “I’ll make us something else.”

I grabbed both our plates and tossed the leftovers into the garbage. I didn’t have much food, but I managed to find a box of macaroni and cheese, so I grabbed a pot and started to boil some water.

“Watch some TV and I’ll bring out dinner in a few,” I yelled from the kitchen.

It took about 15 minutes to throw dinner together. I scooped some in our bowls, tossed a fork on top, and headed back to the living room. Brady was waiting patiently.

“Sorry, baby,” I said, handing him the plate.

“No worries.” He smiled. “It would take a lot more than food poisoning to get rid of me.”

We finished eating and snuggled on the couch, watching shows as the night grew late. I’d had a long day and was exhausted, but I wanted to end it right. My head had been resting on Brady’s chest for the last 30 minutes. I was taking in his cologne, making me hotter by the minute.

“You’re staying over tonight,” I told him
, as I started rubbing his thigh on the outside of his pants.

“I’d like that,” he said, not taking his eyes off the TV.
Okay, maybe he’s not getting it. I’ll have to make it clearer.
I moved my hand over his package and started gently rubbing and squeezing.

Tilting my head, I slowly began running my tongue up his neck toward his ear. His eyes rolled back as he leaned his head on the back of the couch. Unbuttoning his pants, I pulled the zipper of his jeans down, making my intentions clear. I slid my fingers into his belt loops and tugged at his pants to get them off. He gladly rose to help me pull them the rest of the way off. His cock was already starting to harden, begging for my touch.
Sliding my fingers up his shirt, I exposed his six-pack and ran my tongue down his stomach until I reached the tip of his erection.

Taking him in my mouth greedily, I started bobbing my head in an up and down motion, using my hand
to gently caress his sac. He let out a moan, remaining still, letting me take control. Working my mouth down to the base, I stayed there for several seconds before coming up. I could feel my panties getting wetter by the second.
I need him, now!

I ran over to my purse and grabbed a condom. He tried to get up, but I pushed him back down and unwrapped the condom, placing it next to him. Giving him a few more up and downs before quickly removing my clothes, I slid the condom firmly in place and put my hands on his shoulders, straddling him with my nipples in perfect position for his mouth. Leaning his head forward, he took one in his mouth and began sucking lightly.

Lining him up with my entrance, I slid down his length in a slow, steady motion until I reached the base. We both let out a moan, and I picked up the pace as I started riding him. He took my breasts in his hands and began rolling my nipples between his thumb and forefinger, sending waves of pleasure coursing through my body. Picking up my pace, I rode him as hard and fast as I could. He joined me by thrusting upward as I came down on him.

“I don’t think I can last much longer,” he panted.

“Then don’t,” I said, as I felt my muscles tightening. “I want to come with you.”

He let my breasts go and grabbed my hips, fiercely pulling me down onto his hard cock. He pounded away at my
heat, and we both erupted simultaneously. I stayed on top of him, catching my breath and enjoying the feeling of him inside me. We had a long kiss before I climbed off of him. I started collecting clothes, making a show out of it, bending over and showing off my ass.

“I love you,” he said, grinning. “Your ass totally makes up for your inability to cook.”

Shaking my head, “love you, too.”

We headed upstairs
and I stopped in the bathroom to clean up, brush my teeth, and take my makeup off. Sneaking back downstairs when I was done, I sent Mandy a quick text about what Brady had said about Mike. I wasn’t sure what to make of it and wanted her insight. Since she didn’t reply, I’m assumed she was doing something that I didn’t want to know about with my brother. Shutting my phone off, I headed back upstairs and climbed into bed next to Brady, who was already there holding his arms out for me. I could barely keep my eyes open and, after a quick goodnight, I was out.