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  She’s not real. She can’t be.

  Fucking, Lena.

  That little shit is always up to something. She likely wrote this, thinking I’d be desperate enough to respond back or some fucked up shit.

  Crumpling the crazy letter in my hand, I toss it in the trash on my way out to the ops tent. I got shit to do. I can’t be thinking about how much I could relate to this girl if she actually exists.

  Which she doesn’t.

  Fucking, Lena.

  I hate my best friend. Totally and completely. I’m plotting her death while she sleeps on my couch. Hate.

  She’s evil. The queen of narcissistic assholes and she must die a horrible burning death. Or something equally as evil but not so messy because I’m a chickenshit and can’t deal with gore.

  I tossed out the letter to Maverick; at least, I thought I had. Turns out the wench dug through my trash and mailed it!

  She mailed my rambling, stupid letter to a man who has no idea I exist. Except now he does, and now he knows I’m a rambling idiot.

  “Stupid bitch,” I mutter walking past the couch where Lena is fake sleeping, so I don’t clobber her to death.

  “Whatever, just open the fucking thing already,” she mumbles.

  I pause, wondering if I could get away with it.

  “You’d miss me.”

  “Not anymore.”

  Ignoring the asshole friend on my sofa, I go to my room and lock the door. No way she gets to witness this embarrassment. Ripping the stupid envelope with my stupid name open, my need to murder Lena intensifies.

  Dear “True,”

  I get it, Lena, you’re bored. Can’t bug me at home, so you do it where I need all my concentration and wits about me. Piss off you spoiled brat, or next time, I won’t “accidentally” run over your foot like when you were 16.

  You’ve done some pretty shitty fucking things over the years, but this is your lowest, girl. Go find one of your brothers to pester. I don’t need your shit.

  Now, on the off chance that letter was legit and there really is a girl named True Sidero on the other side of this letter then, well, my cousin sucks even more.

  She likely mailed this damn thing when you thought you were safe. I wish I could say it’s the first time she’s been an asshole, but it’s not.

  Ask her why I ran her damn foot over. You might question that friendship.

  Unfortunately, she’s right. (Tell her I said that, and I’ll deny it.) You do need to connect with someone, True. It’s human nature.

  I won’t mind hearing from you in the future should you choose to write me again. Barring you’re a flesh and blood human being and not Lena being Lena.

  Officer Maverick Conners

  I’m laughing so hard the entire bed is shaking and rattling against the wall. I’m kind of glad I’m not the only one cursing Lena. I do wonder about the running over of her foot, though.

  Dashing from bed, I rush out to the living room and ask her. “Why’d Maverick run your foot over?”

  Lena shoots up so quickly she loses her balance and falls off the couch. “He told you about that?”

  Smirking, I finally have the upper hand with this wenchy friend of mine. “He said next time, it wouldn’t be accidental.”

  “That rat bastard! What else did he say?” She grabs for the letter I’m holding out of her reach.

  “That you’re a spoiled brat. And you need to find better shit to do than mess with people.” She looks sheepish at the accusation, and I almost feel bad.

  “Fine. Whatever. I’m going home.”

  As she walks to the door, I say to her, “I hope you enjoy all the gorilla humping!”

  She flips me off as the door slams behind her.

  Her roommate has a new boyfriend, and all they do is have sex. Lena can’t stand it because they sound like zoo animals, so she’s been sleeping and eating her way through my tiny apartment.

  Gazing down at the paper in my hand, I wonder if it would be so bad to write Maverick back? Maybe he needs friendship, too.

  Dear Maverick,

  Well, I assure you, I’m as real as the sunset. True is actually my name, and I am the hot mess I portrayed myself as.

  Lena, however, that bitch, ran away without telling me about the running over of her foot. Care to spill?

  I’m really sorry about the first letter. Normally, I’m a pretty happy person. I love the stupidest sci-fi movies on Netflix, I have like a gazillion books that make me calm, and generally, I love to joke around.

  Stupid men and their stupid “tools” have turned me off from life. (No dumb pun intended.) I guess I’m bitter, and maybe I really am the old spinster lady!

  Crap, if I get any cats, just toss me in the looney bin!

  Enough about me and my drama, tell me about you. Lena says you’re in the Navy? That’s exciting, and amazing, and inspiring. Are you deployed anywhere you can tell me about?

  What do you think about all that you do? Have you been on active duty long?

  Wow, okay, so if you can’t tell, I ramble when I’m nervous, or happy. Come to think of it, even when I’m mad. Basically, whenever I feel anything but tired.

  I think.

  I’ll leave you to this mess of a letter and go bake something.

  Hey! Maybe I’ll include a treat! If I don’t burn it that is.

  Weirdly, True

  Damn, this girl can talk. I bet she’d yammer my ear off if we were together. I’d like that to happen. There’s something oddly relaxing and amusing about True. She’s real and wholesome all at the same time.

  I’m incredibly glad she chose to write me back. It would have been a tad stalkerish if I’d sent her a second letter just to make sure she knew I wanted to hear from her.

  True to her word, she included a canister of cookies with a warning note, saying: it’s not my fault. Opening the container, the smell of peanut butter and cinnamon hits my nostrils, and I inhale deeply.

  Peanut butter snickerdoodles. My favorite. Guess Lena must have been nice for once and told her friend what I like.

  Biting into the first one, a burst or flavor overwhelms me, and I close my eyes to savor the deliciousness of that initial bite.

  “You gonna lose your grip there Mav, or what?” Desmond’s laughing voice doesn’t distract me from my girl’s goods, though.

  “Dude, best thing ever,” I mumble through another mouthful.

  “Whoooey, she’s a gorgeous one, man.” It takes a full minute for his words to register.

  “There’s a picture?” My eyes snap to the image in his hand, and I grab it before he can back away.

  Dark brown hair, it looks soft and thick, the perfect combination to run my fingers through as I kiss those full red lips. Her deep brown eyes beckon me to peek into her soul. She’s curled up on a sofa in a too big sweater and tight black leggings showcasing full, luscious thighs.

  “True,” I murmur running a finger along her photo.

  “Didn’t know you had a girl, man,” Des mutters.

  “I didn’t,” I say, compelled to search every inch of her picture. Find all the hidden details.

  “Another love letter then?” He laughs, knowing our captain and lieutenant found love through anonymous letters a few months back.

  “Don’t knock it till you try it, bro.” My words are fading as I leave him to go sit in the crisp morning air. I could stare at her photo all damn day.

  True,

  I know what your surname means. My boy Desmond has this thing for names, and he told me a little secret. I’m curious if you know it, too.

  So, I guess Lena did good for once and told you peanut butter snickerdoodles are a favorite of mine, huh. Can’t keep plotting the breaking of her other foot anymore, I suppose.

  I think it’s endearing that you ramble when you’re so worked up. Plus, I don’t mind the questions, it gives me something to do in this desert heat.

  So here goes:

  I’m in a branch of the Navy, I sort of float around
wherever I’m needed.

  I can tell you where I am, but only when I come home. Just think lots of sand and not the fun kind.

  I love what I do. I love helping make the world a better place, even though it takes longer than anyone would like. We don’t always get the results we want, but in the end, we’ve done something right.

  I’ve been enlisted for 9 years. Signed up the day after I turned 18. I’ve always wanted to make a difference in our harsh world, and this was the best I could come up with and still get an education.

  I’m not only a soldier, but also a heavy-duty machines mechanic, and I enjoy both. Over here, I’m mostly a soldier, but I’ve got the skills for a decent job when I come home.

  Speaking of, I’ve got some leave time coming up in 8 months and haven’t seen Lena in a while, so I thought I’d make my way out to Cali and pester the little shit. Maybe you’ll be there, too.

  The picture you sent was hot. All soft and supple, with those big chocolate eyes. You could melt a man’s heart with those babies.

  Tell me all there is to know about you, True.

  Mav

  Lena was right, the wench. He’s soft and hard all at once. I wonder if he realizes it?

  I spent the better part of the day studying for final exams next week. Anticipation kept me cemented long enough to keep up with it while I waited for the mail to come. The poor mail man probably thinks I’m nuts now.

  Lena has been scarce around here the past couple of weeks, knowing how pissed off I was at her. It was a smart move. I’m over it now, though. I think Maverick was on point when he said she was right. Not that either of us will ever admit that to her.

  Sending him the picture of myself was a last minute bold move I hadn’t meant to do. Well, I did, but I didn’t. My mom took that picture the last time she was here, and it’s always been one of my favorites. Until I tossed it in the care package, it had been on the fridge. A reminder of the happy me. When I’d been packing the snickerdoodles into the box, it caught my eye, and I thought what the hell. Why not?

  With his reaction, I’m quite glad I stuck to my decision instead of chickening out like I normally would have.

  His words quiet my mind from the usual chaos as I sink into the couch. A piece of worn paper falls from the envelope, and as I bend down to pick it up, I know immediately it’s him.

  Maverick.

  Tall, stoic, strong.

  His short, dark hair is almost the color of my own, with matching chocolate eyes, a strong jaw, and thick, pillowy lips.

  Lips that just might know how to kiss a woman properly.

  Mav,

  You remember how I said I ramble? Well, I forgot to mention I also sometimes have no filter. Like the wire from my brain to lips, it’s just gone.

  And even though I’m mortified to even be writing this, I can’t seem to stop. In fact, when I tried to crumple the paper up and toss it in the garbage, I started writing the same thing over and over again. And so, here I am about to admit something totally and completely stupid, and I’ll likely never hear from you again, and that’s okay.

  You’re gorgeous.

  Completely and totally ruggedly handsome. Like any girl who sees you would want to climb you like a tree, hot. Except Lena, that’d be weird. But the fool would do it just to screw with you.

  Anyway, well, needless to say, I find you attractive. And your lips? They’re so full and perfect, and I bet you know how to kiss a girl. Like really kiss.

  Straight down to her soul, curl her toes, body melting kiss. I can tell.

  On another less creepy note, I think it’s really cool that you find yourself in a position to make a difference. Sometimes it’s little things that make the most impact on the world.

  I’ve just finished my final exam for school, and I’m happy to say come this time next month, I’ll be a full-fledged registered nurse.

  Even though blood makes me squirm and vomiting makes me, well…you know, I’m determined to help those who need it, too. As long as I don’t pass out at every turn.

  Come to Cali, you say?

  You sure you want to see Lena? I think she’s losing her mind. Always mumbling about gorillas in her apartment that won’t stop rutting.

  If you do come, can I kiss you? See if my theory is right?

  Crazy about your lips,

  True

  Did the girl just ask me if she could kiss me? I have to reread the letter a dozen times to absorb everything her rambling mind spat out.

  She sure as shit didn’t kid about that.

  Life has been quiet in the desert, which none of us are complaining about, and True is a refreshing break from life on the base.

  “Yo, Mav! The kids are back!” Des calls from the small courtyard we’d set up for some of the local children.

  “Coming!” We’ve been teaching them a few American sports like basketball, soccer, and baseball, and they keep coming back for more. Most of them don’t attend school because it’s been blown up or their parents aren’t around to force them to go.

  “Mav!” Amid, one of the kids that follows me around, calls with excitement.

  “Hey, kid, how’s it going?” His oldest brother was killed three months ago in a riot gone bad. It was a bit before my unit arrived. When he first came to us with one of his other brothers, he was reserved and kind of shy. Didn’t speak unless prompted by his sibling.

  “Good. Mama’s in the market.” For someone who only goes to school twice a week, his English is better than most.

  “Hey, Amid, your man’s got himself a new girl.” Des winks at the boy after squealing on me.

  “Shut up, Des.”

  “Is she pretty?” the boy asks. Reluctantly, I pull out True’s picture from my chest pocket and hand it to him. His eyes widen in the same way mine had—with appreciation. “Wow, she has beautiful eyes like Mama.”

  “Ain’t she something?” My muttered words come out distracted as he hands the photo back, and I’m once again lost in True’s gaze.

  “Lena, for crying out loud, say something to them! This isn’t healthy.” I caught her sneaking in before dawn with bags that had bags under her eyes.

  “Can’t I just move in here with you? I’m tiny, I won’t take up much room,” she whines beside me in bed.

  “Your body might not, but all your crap sure would.”

  “I can downsize.” Her cringe tells me otherwise.

  “Say. Something,” I insist in long drawn out words, slowly, so her tired mind understands.

  “I did, and it seems they’ve ramped it up. How can two people screw so much? You’d think they’d have worn each other, or their hoohah’s, out by now. This can’t be normal.” The disgust on Lena’s face likely matches my own.

  “Hoohah?” I try—unsuccessfully—to tamp down my laughter.

  The smack she delivers increases my hysteria. “Shut up, True. It’s not even funny.”

  “About as funny as you mailing a letter I tossed in the trash.” I level her with a glare. I refuse to admit that I’m glad she ignored my privacy. I love the girl, but she’d gloat like crazy.

  “Oh, whatever. You guys are still writing.”

  Speaking of, I didn’t check the mail yesterday. Getting up from the bed, Lena’s sarcastic laughter isn’t missed while I toss on my slippers and a sweater to go check it out. My heart flutters when I open the mail box and see his masculine scrawl across a thick envelope with my name on it.

  Ignoring my friend’s yelling and kissing sounds, I head straight for the bathroom where I fill up the tub with hot water, lavender, and bubbles. Relaxing in the soothing water, I open the envelope and the contents nearly spill into the water. Mav’s sent half a dozen pictures of himself and his unit. There’s even one with him and a little boy playing basketball. Lord, he’s just the sweetest.

  My True,

  Baby girl, you can kiss me anytime you like. Never ask, ‘cause, doll, I’m not gonna say no. Since we’re going for broke here, I’m every bit as enthralled
with you, too. It helps that I find your quirky personality just as appealing as those luscious thighs of yours.

  You’ve been the source of many pleasant dreams that I’ve not wanted to wake up from. Tell me, is your voice husky? Or soft and sweet? I imagine both, especially when you’re moaning my name.

  My boy Des told some of the kids around base camp about you, and the youngest, Amid, asked me to include a picture of him after I showed him yours. He says you’re as beautiful as his mama, by the way.

  It’s been rather boring here the past few months. No action, but that’s a good thing. It means what we’re doing is working. The people are settled and planning to rebuild a school that was bombed last year.

  My troop is being sent to provide safe passage for all the supplies. Which, unfortunately, means I may not be able to write you for a while. It’s a month-long project with the trip both ways. We head out in two weeks, so if you’re feeling generous, help a guy out and send me some more pictures.

  My imagination can only do so much with the one I’ve got.

  I commend you for jumping into a profession you know will likely leave you looking like a fool when things get…messy. Nursing is no joke, sweet girl. Do you have any job prospects lined up? Hospital, private practice?

  To be honest, when I find my way to the west coast, it ain’t gonna be for Lena.

  It’ll be for you.

  And if she has an issue with the gorillas rutting at home, she’s gonna have bigger problems at your place, so tell her to grow up and be a woman about shit.

  When I get there, you’re all mine. Every last curve.

  Each of those sexy smiles I imagine on your face.

  The breathy moans that follow me into sleep.

  You’ll be all for me, True.

  Yours,

  Maverick

  “Oh. My. Stars.”

  Sinking into the tub, I can’t believe how…dominant he sounds.

  Which also gives me a naughty idea.

  I’m having a hard time processing what I’m looking at. At the time, I was teasing True. I didn’t think she’d actually do it. Let alone this!