The characters and names contained in this story are purely fictional.
*
Master Sergeant Tony Puleo was pondering fate, or luck, or karma, or whatever it was that landed him in that stateside VA hospital. His buddies in the 11th Light Infantry Brigade called it the "million dollar wound". The bullet had gone clean through a portion of Sergeant Puleo's upper thigh without hitting bone or any large arteries. It was a ticket back to the world with relatively minor damage. However, Tony couldn't shake the what-ifs from his thoughts. If the bullet had been six inches to his right, goodbye family jewels. He had never been lucky... why now? Would a sane person call getting shot lucky? Why does some nice young kid get killed, but the scumbag in the foxhole next to him barely gets a scratch? He tried to drive these thoughts from his head.
The summer of 1969 was going to be a hot one, he thought, as he laid in his bed in just his boxer shorts. The nurses were wearing their skimpier summer uniforms which Tony appreciated, even though he could only fantasize. He hadn't been with a woman since that night in Duc Pho, and he was horny regardless of his wound. More thoughts to put out of his mind.
During the pre-shift nurses meeting, Lieutenant Melinda Baines noted that another new patient had arrived during her two days off. She would see him during her first rounds. As one of only two RN's on her ward, Melinda knew how much these unfortunate young men relied on her. She always tried to let new patients know that she would be there for them.
When Tony heard a feminine voice, he looked in her direction. A nurse was walking toward him, chatting with some of the patients as she passed. From a distance, Tony could see that she was African American and about 5'6". She smiled reassuringly at each patient she spoke to. Tony's bed was at the end of the ward, but she soon reached him, smiled at him, and picked up the clipboard holding his paperwork.
"Good morning, Master Sergeant Puleo," Melinda said with as warm a smile as Tony had ever seen. She even pronounced his name correctly. "I'm Lieutenant Baines."
"Good morning, Lieutenant Baines," Tony said, returning her smile.
It took just an instant for Tony to realize that he was gazing at one of the most beautiful faces he'd ever seen. Her brown, almond-shaped eyes with their long lashes, were hypnotically beautiful. Her lips were full and sensuous. Her nose was neither too big nor too small. She wore her hair in a shorter military style, with a white nurses cap bobby-pinned to her tight black curls, but she was unmistakably feminine. Her white nurses uniform showed off her ample chest, slim waist, and shapely ass. Her skin was the color of dark chocolate. Like most, Tony underestimated her age to be about thirty-two, when she was actually forty-two.
Melinda tried not to stare at the nearly naked, muscular young man lying before her. His chart said he was 6'3" tall, 210 pounds, twenty-seven years-old, and single. The chart failed to mention that he possessed one of the finest physiques Melinda had ever seen. The slight perspiration on his tanned skin made his powerful muscles glisten in the sunlight. With his inviting brown eyes, sexy lips, and short brown hair, Melinda found his face to be very handsome also.
"How are you feeling today, Master Sergeant Puleo?" Melinda asked.
"Except for pain in the leg, terrific. Scuse me ma'am, but any chance you'd just call me Tony?"
"I guess we can be less formal if you prefer...Tony," Melinda said with a smile. Her straight white smile made Tony feel even warmer inside. He was glad that she wasn't hardass military.
Pulling a thermometer from her pocket, Melinda said, "I want to take your temperature. Please open your mouth."
Tony did as instructed. Melinda inserted the thermometer under his tongue and glanced at her watch.
"Sergeant Puleo... Tony... I want you to know that I'm here to help get you feeling better and back on your feet as soon as possible. If you need anything, just let me know, but please understand that there's a lot of wounded soldiers here and only a few nurses and aides."
Tony nodded and winked.
Melinda hummed quietly to herself while she waited. Tony quickly recognized the song . Finally, Melinda removed the thermometer and looked at it.
"Just a little above normal. Not unusual with bullet wounds, but we'll keep checking for infection," Melinda said.
"Reach Out I'll Be There by The Four Tops," Tony said, "That's a great song."
"You have a good ear," Melinda smiled.
"I really like music," Tony shrugged. Why did conversation with beautiful women seem so clumsy?
"Then we have something in common already," Melinda smiled.
After pulling a large privacy screen next to Tony's bed, Melinda found a washcloth and wet it in cool water. She gently cleaned the perspiration from Tony's face. Next, Melinda swabbed his neck, shoulders, chest, and then continued down his stomach and abdomen. Not only did the cooling effect of the cloth feel nice, but the touch of a sexy woman aroused Tony. Melinda set the washcloth aside. Tony tried to calm himself.
"I should have a look at that wound now," Melinda said as she hooked her fingers into the waistband of his shorts. Tony lifted his hips and Melinda gently eased the shorts past the dressing. Melinda had seen hundreds of naked patients, but every once in awhile she secretly thought, wow! Even semi-erect, his ivory cock was seven inches long and proportionally thick. The circumcised head reached to his navel.
"Sorry ma'am. I haven't had a beautiful woman touch me in a long time," Tony said, feeling embarrassed.
On the outside, Melinda remained the cool professional.
"It's okay... just try to relax," Melinda said. She noted the beautiful woman comment, and then gently removed the bandage. Her patient didn't even flinch. Tony was trying to think of his favorite songs. Anything to take his mind off the soft feminine fingers inches away from his dick. Melinda was trying to keep her eyes from wandering from the wound to the enticing vanilla erection. By the time Melinda had re-dressed the wound, Tony had calmed himself. Melinda helped pull his shorts back up.
"Your wound is healing well," Melinda said. "The tough part is going to be building strength in the leg again."
Tony nodded and replied, "I'd like to start using crutches or canes as soon as you think it's okay, ma'am."
"I'll speak to your doctor and try to get you some crutches as soon as possible," Melinda said, then lowered her voice and added, "And I wouldn't object if you dropped the ma'am and just called me Melinda when nobody else is around."
Tony smiled and said quietly, "Thanks, Melinda... for everything."
Tony received crutches the day after Lt. Baines' request. During the days that followed, as Tony hobbled up and down the hallway, Melinda would walk with him whenever she could. They'd chat and laugh quietly as the attraction grew.
In a matter of days, Melinda and Tony became unlikely friends. The mature black nurse and the young white soldier found they both liked music, basketball, and movies. They discovered that they shared a slightly perverted sense of humor. Melinda learned that Tony was not prejudiced. He'd explained to her that in the jungles of South Vietnam, a soldier's best chance for survival was when the members of a squad could count on each other regardless of skin color. He'd been more color blind than most ever since.
Tony learned that Melinda was divorced and had a grown daughter. When Tony expressed disbelief that Melinda could have a grown child, Melinda admitted to being forty-two. She also later admitted to having no hang-ups about dating white men.
