The Marine I Know

Chapter 15

I feel my head on something comfortable, and I snuggle into it, only to find that it moves. I open my eyes suddenly and find that my head is laying on Parker's fully clothed chest. He starts twirling my hair around his finger, and he looks down at me.

"Morning darling." He whispers, laying a kiss on my lips.

"Morning handsome. Sorry to ruin the moment, but please tell me my mom knows about this." I say, really hoping nothing happened.

"She knows. Since you were passed out in my arms, she suggested laying you down on the bed, then said that I could stay as long as I didn't do anything to you." He says, moving so he can lean against my headboard and I lay my head on his shoulder.

"How did I end up with a guy like you?" I start, "Funny, good-looking, charming, but also one who serves his country." I finish. I try not to cry, but I feel tears fall down my face as I hide my face from Parker. He notices and immediately sits up, wrapping his arms around me.

"Hey, darling, what's wrong?" He says, running his hand up and down my arm as I cry into his chest.

"I'm scared I'm gonna lose you, like how mom lost dad," I reply, sobbing. I hear the door open and a gasp. The bed dips and another pair of arms wrap around me, causing me to look up and see my mom looking down at me with tears in her eyes.

"No baby girl. Don't let what happened to your dad; keep you from loving Parker." She says. I look at Parker to see a hurt expression on his face, and my heart feels as if a stake pierced through it. I let go of mom to grab Parker around the arm, barely getting my fingers around his bicep. Mom sees what is happening. "I'll leave, but be careful." She says, getting up then walking out of the bedroom.

"Parker, I love you," I say, kissing him on the lips and he returns it. "I love what you do, and I will support you, you do know that...right?" I say, pulling my dog tags from underneath my shirt. Suddenly, I'm on my back, and Parker is on top of me.

"I love you too, Belle." He says, leaning down to kiss me on the lips once more. He snuggles his face into my neck.

Parker's P.O.V

My heart was swelling up at the fact that she was scared to lose me, and sadly, I agree with her. She doesn't know where I will be, and I don't want her to miss out on life simply because her boyfriend is in the Marines.

"I'll get through this." She whispers, and I roll off of her, leaning my back against the headboard and I wrap my arms around Belle, holding her onto my lap.

"We'll get through this together." I say, "Now, let's get up and go see what mom is cooking. We don't want her getting worried about us, do you?" I say, smirking. Her hazel eyes twinkle with amusement in them, and she gets off my lap to lay back down. I get up and feel a pillow in my back. I turn around with a smirking on my face, and she's standing up, shock written all over her face as she's trying to hold in laughter. "Oh, your gonna get it, Princess," I say, slowly walking towards her and she takes off running out the bedroom door. I chase after her and reach her when we hit the living room. My arms go around her waist as I lift her feet off the ground. She squeals as I spin her around, careful not to break anything.

"Parker please." She begs. I whisper in her ear.

"Not gonna happy darling." I take her into the backyard to the in-ground pool and stand on the edge of it. She squeals and tries to get out of my arms.

"Please don't Parker." She says, and I lean down, so her feet touched the water surface.

"Let me go!" She says, and I smirk.

"If you say so, darling." She stops struggling and looks up at me with a scared look in her eyes, begging me not to let her go, but I do. She falls into the water, but somehow ends up grabbing my shirt and takes me down into the water with her. She pops up, laughing, splashing water at me. I didn't get my glasses all wet, and I share in the laughter. I look to see her trying to get out of the water, and I swim over to her, careful not to hurt her. I grab her waist and gently pull her back into my arms.

"I-uh." She stutters, and I smile, knowing how adorable she is when she does that. My arms tighten around her as I lean down to kiss her on the lips. She sighs against my lips and deepens the kiss. After a few minutes, she pulls back and leans her forehead against mine with a smile on her face. "How did a shy girl like me end up with a guy like you?" She looks into my eyes, and I can see the fear in them.

"Hey, look at me," I say. "I'll be safe, but there are situations that happen that I'm not in control of, but I will call you once I'm able to." I lay my hands on each side of her waist and lift her out of the pool. I set her on the side before sitting next to her. She starts shivering, and I stand up to grab a couple of towels from the table and wrap one around her shoulders.

"Thanks." She says, wrapping it tighter around herself. I wrap the other towel around my shoulders, and she lays her head on my shoulder.

"Parker?" I look towards the door and see Mrs. Mitchell in the doorway with my phone in her hands, and she looks scared. I stand up and help Belle up, curious what's going on.

"What is it?" I say, wrapping my hand around Belle's small hand. Her mom is about to cry.

"You depart tonight."