now. It’s been a lot of extra work, but my graduation date has been revised again.
I’m so proud of you for being wherever it is that you are, and I hope you’re proud of me, too. Can you believe we’re really doing this? That we’ve already gotten this far? Because I can’t.
Anyway, I’m going to stop writing now. If I don’t, I might not have enough left to say for the letters for the rest of the weeks. I really want you to have one love letter a week until you come home.
Stay safe, baby. I love you with all of my heart and soul. And also with every orgasm I have ;-)
Sofia.
P.S. I’ve got a middle-schoolish poem I thought you might enjoy.
Roses are red, violets are blue. Lincoln Dobbs, Sofia loves you.
What do you think? I might have it written in the sky on the day you get home.
By the time I’d reread the letter for the third time, the first tears I’d felt in more than a decade rested on my lower lashes. My throat was tight again, but swallowing didn’t make it go away.
Eventually, I curled up with her letter clutched to my chest and fell asleep in the fetal position. Thank God I had a tent to myself because I would never have lived that display down. The weirdest thing of all was that I wouldn’t have cared.
The girl who had my heart was thousands of miles away, and the gaping hole in my chest ached tonight. I missed her so much that it hurt to breathe.
But she was right.
Five months were down, and there was only one left to go. Surely, I would survive that. When I got home, though, I was locking the two of us away somewhere for at least a month. There was no one else I wanted to see, no one else I wanted to spend time with, and no one that would come between us and our time together.
Epilogue
Lincoln
The last month had been a bitch. It had flown by, but it had also hurt five times more than the first five had. I’d read Sofia’s letters so many times that the paper was soft now, smooth from being handled so much and so often.
When our plane touched the ground, there was a small bump, and just like that, we were home. Eden grinned beside me, poking me in the side with his elbow.
“I won’t plan on hearing from you for a few days at least,” he teased. “Send my love to your girl. Tell her we’re all proud of her for graduating early.”
Dave whirled around in his seat. “You know, I’d have thought she was a smart girl for graduating early, but she can’t be. I mean, how could she be if she’s in love with your miserable ass?”
“Hey,” Turner chimed in. “His ass was only visibly miserable at night and only because he misses the officer’s daughter. He’s in love, idiot.”
I was. I really was so unbelievably in love, and six months apart hadn’t done a thing to change it. I’d never been happier to be home. I couldn’t fucking wait to see her.
But I was also proud of what I’d achieved while I’d been away. Sure, the time without Sofia had been hell, but it had also been exactly what I’d needed.
My teammates continued to give me and each other a hard time while our plane taxied to a stop. Even hearing them banter like this made me proud. They’d gotten onto this plane six months ago as a bunch of strangers, and now they were brothers. I’d had a hand in that, which made me prouder than any of the successful missions had.
I, leader of the Misfits, had brought together and built a cohesive team. And what a hell of a team it was.
“Just so all of you know, I’m out that door the second it opens,” I said, unsnapping my seatbelt to stand up. I met each of my teammates’ eyes in turn. “It’s been a real honor serving with you boys. We’ll be seeing each other again soon, but in the meantime, take care of yourselves. Drink plenty of water or tequila, and get some well-deserved rest.”
Dave led the round of applause, pressing a hand to his massive chest once he stopped clapping. “Thanks, boss. Happy fucking to you. We hope we won’t be seeing you before you get it out of your system.”
I flipped him off but took his hand when he extended it