A Man In Uniform
By Logan Lee
Rev 1.0
Copyright Logan Lee 2011
Cover Image by Roland Darby – freedigitalphotos.net
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This is a work of fiction, and all names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A Man In Uniform
At twenty eight years old, there were days when if you asked Ben whether or not he wanted to stay in the Army he would say no but today was not one of those days. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something making him feel somehow more alive today. Maybe “alive” isn’t the best word he thought; maybe it should be “frisky”.
The day had started fine, physical training at 0600 (or 6 AM for everyone not in the Army) followed by easy classes all day at the Army Logistics University at Fort Lee, Virginia. Physical Training usually didn’t make him feel like he wanted to do anything other than go back to bed at 0600, but today was somehow different. He had reveled in the physical activity. Maybe that was a sign that he had been away from his girlfriend for too long he mused as he pulled his rental car into a front row spot at the Holiday Inn the Army was nice enough to put him up in for the entire four month course.
Ben still couldn’t believe that he lucked out with that, but the new barracks facilities were under construction and until they were done almost every student coming to the school house was being put up in a local hotel. Some of the apartment places nearby had even started offering month to month leases just to the soldiers arriving here believe it or not.
Ben though of his girlfriend back home and sighed. She was constantly on his mind and they talked every night on the phone, video chatted on their lap tops and texted all day. It just wasn’t the same though. Before he had left on this four month trip Jackie had made him promise that he would be good. That meant that she didn’t want him fooling around; something that he had been known to do from time to time.
If she wasn’t so god damned hot I wouldn’t agree to crap like this.
Ben was still thinking about her as he walked through the doors of the hotel. He probably would have still been thinking about Jackie all the way up the elevator to his sixth floor room and into a nice long, cold shower if Holly, the girl at the front desk hadn’t startled him.
“Hey you,” Holly said with a smile, “how’s your day going?”
“Pretty good so far, glad to be off work though. How about yours?” Ben replied as he walked past the desk towards his elevator. It was a little weird living in a hotel, but after being here a month Ben pretty much knew everyone who worked here by name, just like they knew his.
Of course, it didn’t hurt that Holly was a cute little thing with a southern accent and red shoulder length hair, fair skin, and a pretty smile. She stood about five foot two Ben guessed, but couldn’t have been more than maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet. He would have guessed closer to ninety five the more he thought about it. Skinny didn’t begin to describe her, but for all of that she still looked pretty good.
“I know what you mean,” Holly said with a wink, “I can’t wait until I’m off. I’m heading right over there.” She gestured with a nod of her head at the bar, “It’s been a long week and I need a drink like you wouldn’t believe.”
Ben hit the button to call the elevator and then turned to face her again as he waited. “Oh yeah, you wouldn’t want some company would you?”
“I’d love some company, but I don’t want to keep you from working out.”
Ben couldn’t tell if she was joking or what that comment meant, but then again Holly struck him as hot, not smart. “It’s a Friday so I think I can handle a few drinks with you. What time are you off?”
The elevator dinged behind him and Ben stepped backwards into the opening doors as Holly answered.
“I’m off at seven.” She smiled at him.
Ben hit the button to close the doors and looked straight into Holly’s eyes holding her gaze as he answered, “I’ll see you at seven then, Holly.”
A few hours later Ben made his way downstairs feeling much more relaxed after a nice shower, changing out of the uniform, and picking up the hotel room some. Ben smiled to himself realizing that what he was doing was rationalizing his own actions, but that didn’t stop him from doing it.
Ten minutes ago Ben had rooted through the dresser at the foot of the bed and found the package of Magnum brand condoms that he had bought his second day here. They were still unopened until that moment, longer than a package had gone without being opened around him in over ten years. The only reason that he had bought them when he got here was because he knew himself well enough to be able to say with a certainty that not having them wouldn’t stop him from doing whatever he was going to do, so it was generally better to be safe than sorry.
That’s why Ben had opened the box and left a few in the dresser drawer where he got them from, put two in the night stand on each side of the bed, and put another two in the coffee table drawer beside the small sofa in the hotel room. There was conveniently enough, almost a full case of beer left in the mini fridge as well. Ben didn’t drink a lot, but usually had a beer a night or so when he got off work. Maybe saying it wasn’t a lot was more rationalizing since that wasn’t counting the weekends.
As the doors to the elevator opened on the ground floor and Ben stepped out into the lobby of the hotel Holly turned to look at him from behind the desk and her face lit up with a smile.
“Hey you,” Holly said teasingly, “you’re early.”
“Only about ten minutes,” Ben winked at her, “I just couldn’t go another second without seeing you again, Holly.”