She had been sitting in the O'Hare parking garage for the better part of ten minutes. Glancing at her watch for the last time, Leslie slid out of her car and headed for the baggage claim area. After five months of phone calls, emails, and instant messages, Nate was coming home, and he was coming home to her. Five more minutes, and she would be in his arms, and could begin the process of forgetting all about Iraq, the bombs, and the fear that her man, her Marine, would be hurt.
The baggage claim was practically deserted at this hour. At two o'clock in the morning, the only people around were haggard looking businessmen, a few anxiously waiting family members, and one very exhausted car rental clerk. Nervously, Leslie smoothed her hair, and once again checked her clothes. It had been so hard to find the right outfit to highlight her 5'10" frame, waist length brown hair, and round face, but the money had been worth it. She knew Nate would love the short brown skirt and off the shoulder tan sweater. Any minute now, he would be there, she reminded herself.
With a jolt, the baggage carousel started up, and weary travelers began to trickle in, searching for their luggage. Leslie began to search for Nate, scanning each face as they came in, but as the flow tapered off, her shoulders slumped in disappointment. How could he not have been there? Reaching into her handbag, Leslie fumbled for the scrap of paper with Nate's flight number and time written on it. Distracted with her search, she never noticed the hand descending to tap her on the shoulder. When she spun around, expecting to see Nate's smiling face, she was astonished to have a bouquet of roses pushed into her arms by a small, white haired woman with a massive smile.
"My dear, you are a very lucky young woman," the woman chirped. Gently turning her, the woman pointed to the grinning Marine leaning against the car rental counter, still in fatigues, and obviously straight from the Iraqi desert.
"Hey, sweetie," Nate said, laughing, his brown eyes sparkling at her, as she ran across the room and threw herself into his arms, his name lodged in her throat. He caught her up in his arms, and with a flex of his rock-hard muscles, he lifted her in the air and spun her around. As she slid down to the floor against his body, he lifted her face to his descending mouth with a finger under her chin. Just before his mouth closed over hers, she heard him whisper, "Missed you, baby."
For a moment, it seemed as though time had stood still; then the room around them exploded in applause for the reunited couple. Leslie clung to him for a moment longer, then turned to face their audience. She was blushing, but managed to smile and wave, but Nate raised his arms like a victorious Olympian, to much amusement. Nate leaned down and kissed her neck, then grabbed her hand and led her to the carousel where his duffel bag was on its second trip around.
"Did you have this all planned," Leslie asked, indicating the roses and the still beaming little old lady.
"Sweetie, that woman damn near ripped my arm off grabbing those roses from me when I asked her to give them to you. I think she liked the idea more than I did," Nate replied, still trying to stifle his laughter as they wove their way out of the terminal.
"Now, the question is, where did you park, and when can I get a shower?"
"Yeah, you are a little dirty, babe," she said, giggling. That was an understatement, to her way of seeing. Nate had three days of beard sprouting, his red hair was grubby, and his fatigues creased with desert sand and dirt. She thought he looked rough and sexy, but knew how he prided himself on looking every inch the Marine sergeant that he was.
Leslie still had her nose buried in the roses when they arrived at her car, and popped the trunk so Nate could stow his gear. When she moved to go around him to get to the car door, he trapped her against the door.
"Now, where were we?" he murmured as his mouth once again claimed hers, feeding at her with a hunger borne of months without her. Leslie felt her knees go weak, and wound her arms around his neck to keep herself from falling. This was the kind of kiss she had been dreaming of, every night for five months.
When they finally drew apart, her breathing was ragged, and her eyes glazed with passion. Nate reached past her and opened the door, and Leslie almost collapsed into the seat. It was a few moments until she could concentrate well enough to drive, which gave Nate enough time to get to his seat. The hotel that they were staying at was over an hour away, which gave them plenty of time to catch up, to flirt, and to revel in Nate's safe return.
Walking into the hotel room, Leslie was amazed again at her Marine's romantic streak. Apparently he had called ahead to make arrangements, because there rose petals scattered across the bed, roses on the nightstand, and champagne cooling on the nightstand. She stood frozen in the doorway for a full minute, then turned to Nate, who waited patiently behind her. She took his head between her hands and raised up to kiss him, trying to express her love for him without words. "How did you get all this set up?" she asked as they drew apart. "There wasn't enough time for you to have called."
"Honey, I think you underestimate the amount of time I sat around waiting for my flight. I must have sat in San Diego for two hours with my thumb up my butt, waiting, so I just called the hotel and told them what I wanted." He shrugged, then grinned. "I'm glad you like it," then walked past her into the room.
"Like it?" she exclaimed. "Baby, I love it! No one has ever done something so sweet for me, ever."
He paused, then turned back to her, a slight smile creasing his face. "Well, sweetie, you better get used to it, because I plan on spoiling you for a very long time."
