I stand in the terminal shaking with anticipation. I really don't need this sign; I know what he looks like by heart. Shorter hair and a desert tan aren't going to throw me off.
Of course, I haven't seen Even in person in over two years, but his face is imprinted on my soul. He's the picture behind my eyelids right before sleep descends every night.
Flight 2274 from Georgia arrived ten minutes ago so it's a wait for him to get to where I am. I strain to see through the crowd that is always swarming McCarran International Airport. Among the hundreds of tourists set to spend all their money on the Las Vegas Strip is one man dressed in his dark blue service dress uniform. The inverted chevrons on his shoulders make me smile as he glances over the crowd to find me.
The sign I'm holding does its job as a fail-safe while my mouth goes dry and my vocal chords freeze. Instead of his name, he sees two CG characters with a heart around them. I pulled that screenshot from Warcrack a week ago. When you're trying to find someone with a common name like Evan, you come up with some creative solutions.
At the recognition of our characters, he makes a beeline for me barely saying "excuse me" as he nudges people out of his way. "Missed you Niesy," he whispers once he finds me and then closes his lips on mine.
There's a rule about public displays of affection in uniform in the UCMJ, but I figure, no one will care. My baby's back on this side of the ocean and in my arms. Someone will have to use a gun to stop me from returning this kiss.
I sink into him and caress the downy fuzz of his hair. After two years in the desert, he still tastes the same; he still smells the same; his instant hard on still grinds into my hip...
"Maybe we should get your bag," I gasp when it hits me that, if we don't stop ourselves, airport security will have to do it for us. Evan looks disappointed but nods his understanding.
* * * * *
Fifteen minutes of baggage handling chaos and thirty minutes of airport traffic later, I hit the highway. "They had to drop you in on the Friday before July fourth, didn't they?" I tease. "The only worse decision would've been between Christmas and New Year."
"Well," he smirks back, "they could've C-130'd me right on the base..."
I give him a little smack on the knee as a retort. He knows I'd come pick him up in a July snowstorm if that's when they Air Force sent him back.
The trip to Nellis AFB takes a long time seeing as rush hour started when his plane landed. The whole way there he regales me with the stories of his tour. He tells me about trading Playboys for anything and bandaging little Arab kids' scrapped knees. He discreetly skirts the firefights and the near miss bombing runs I've heard so much about on the news.
We try to keep the conversation from turning where we want it to go. I haven't seen him since he proposed to me over video phone six months ago and haven't touched him since eighteen months prior to that.
* * * * *
The guards at the gate take my license and Evan's ID and orders before letting us through. They give us directions to where he has to report in order to get set up here. I grab a bottle of water from a vending machine and wait outside Base HQ for only about fifteen minutes before he comes bounding out with orders for the supply sergeant.
"Commandant's out," he explains buoyantly. "They said they didn't know how long he'd be and that I could catch up with him later."
"So where's supply?" I ask knowing Supply is one step away from him having a room. Technically, he can't leave base until his CO says so, so we're stuck with permanent party barracks for at least today.
The supply sergeant hands him a stack of clean, folded bedclothes and me a slip of paper with a building and room number and a key taped to the bottom.
"Doubles," she tells me without blinking, "but Massey's a nice kid, if you're nice to him."
I grin at the amount of information she's given me in so few words. "Thank you," I say while my eyes rest on the three gold chevrons on her green shirt, "Sergeant."
She smiles back. Army NCO's despise being called "Sir" and "Ma'am". As I always tell Evan, "No matter what it takes, get on Supply's good side."