"Mila! The new stock is in! Close down your register and go help Tisha."

A week had passed. I hadn't spoken to Luca since that night that I saw him embracing sergeant Leer. He called, texted and tried coming by to talk to me though. I shut him down by responding with one simple sentence.

I saw you hugging Stephanie.

After that, I wouldn't even read his messages. They kept coming in but I left them unread. Childish? Possibly. What I needed to do for my own sanity? Yes, for now.

"Hey girl, we gotta get all this ish on the shelves by clock out. I'll take the shampoos and you take the loose stuff."

I got the Navy Exchange job and was immediately put to work. So far, it was a great thing. I liked my coworkers a lot and even made a few friends, Tisha being one of them.

"Got it." I said, taking out my box cutter.

"You seen those marines that came in a bit ago? Ohhhhh damn...would I love to get asked out by one of those!"

Laughing I looked at her. She was a beautiful black woman but middle aged and divorced. I doubted a young single marine would go for her.

"Tisha, seriously?"

"You laugh! I know what you're thinking...I'm old, and divorced. Right?"

She knew me too well.

"Well..."

She tossed a wad of plastic packing at me.

"I'll have you know I dated a young guy right after my divorce. That's right! He was young! It was fun alright but of course didn't last. He was deploying then after that he PCS'd to another base."

"You never told me that!" I laughed, in disbelief.

"Just cause my jack ass of a cheating ex husband was a marine doesn't mean I'm against them all."

I shoved hair tie bundles onto the racks.

"I get it. There's just something about them.."

"Mila." She muttered, stopping her work to stare at me.

I sighed. She knew about Luca. I'd told her on day two of working together. What could I say? The woman was beyond approachable. She could make anyone open up.

"I can't. Not yet."

She resumed working, stacking shampoo bottles at a lightning speed.

"I bet there is a reasonable explanation for what he's done."

I didn't want to think about it. Not yet. Luca could very well have been helping sergeant Leer, not secretly seeing her. Who knows? I had the messages all unopened on my phone. It wasn't a matter of just looking at them. I needed to be emotionally ready to. Right now, I was hurt and I was angry.

"But you do it in your own time." Tisha said.

Time.

That's all I needed. Emptying out the first box, I turned to throw it into an empty cart and my eyes caught the group of marines that Tisha was talking about. One in particular made my heart drop.

Luca.

💋💋

He stood still, staring back at me. His face looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes. I felt how he looked. Exhausted and overwhelmed by the situation. His buddies on the other hand were joking and laughing.

Neither of us moved.

"Is that him?" Tisha whispered by my ear.

She'd seen our exchange no doubt.

"Yes.."

Then as suddenly as he appeared, he turned and walked away. The chatter of the men carrying towards the checkout area. I was left with the imprint of him stuck in my mind. It hurt and made me more conflicted than I was before. Thankfully, Luca made the first move to leave, otherwise I don't think I could have kept working.

Tisha threw her empty box in the shopping cart by me and gripped my shoulder, giving it a tiny squeeze. Her way of saying it would be ok. But would it?

"I hope you reconsider going out fishing with your neighbor. That might be just what you need."

I shook my head, "Maybe, but I want to stay away from marines right now."

"Mila, hunny, you can't stay away from them. You work on the base. But you don't have to make out with anyone or go on dates. Just enjoy the hell out of the compliments!"

I laughed, giving her a look. She was right. I didn't need to do anything with anyone. I'd let Terry down by not going out on Saturday. I needed to talk to him, see if he had any other jobs he needed help with.

"And when it comes to Luca, girl, talk to him. Look at his messages. Then talk to him. Please."

"Tisha..I'm not ready."

"Were you in love?" She asked quickly.

Love? How could I be in love with him? I'd only known him for a few weeks..

"I barely know him!"

She laughed. "That's not true. You know him more than you think. You told me his family history, about his job, that's way more than I ever knew about the marine I dated!"

"Ok, but I'm not in love. I just like him a lot. We have chemistry...it's crazy."

We worked for another hour until the stock was all neatly on the shelves.

"Break time..let's go out back and you're looking at your phone. I'm playing match maker and I've decided Luca is for you. The way he looked at you a bit ago...you aren't throwing that man away, not yet!" Tisha exclaimed.

I worked underneath of her as a trainee so technically, she was my boss. This wasn't a topic she was going to let go either.

I sighed. "Fine."

Luca's sad face flashed before my eyes. He was clearly not himself and I had to wonder if it was because of me or Stephanie. Or both? The way he'd kissed me in my living room was so vivid. He was soft and sensitive to my body but oh so turned on. No other man had been this way with me before. He was either my soul mate or my worst heartbreak.

💋💋

Morning beautiful, I kept thinking of you all night.

When can I see you for lunch? I was thinking of grabbing food truck to go. Do you like sushi?

Hey..haven't heard from you all day. Everything ok?

Did I do something wrong?

Mila, are you ok? I'm worried now. I'm going to try and stop by.

You didn't answer the door but I saw lights on. I take it you don't want to talk to me...can you tell me why?

"Girl! You let that poor hot man come to your house and didn't even answer his texts?!"

Tisha read from my phone as she paced in the sun. The messages got progressively sadder and a pit formed in my stomach. He ended them this morning with one last try.

Mila, I wish I could talk to you. I wish I could let you know more about what I'm dealing with. I still only want you. I want to date you. If we ever were able to talk, that was the first thing I wanted to tell you. I'll leave you alone. But I'm always here if you change your mind.

Silence settled over us as the warm breeze picked up, making my hair sway. Luca admitted he wanted to date me. Date me. That's what I had wanted. He alluded to telling me what he was 'dealing with'. I wondered if that was the blonde sergeant. It hurt to think of her in his place. I had never even gone there.

"We have to head back in. Mila, text him. Meet up after work. At least you'll get answers about the other woman. It sounds like he's not seeing her though. It's time to get answers."

She was right. I should. What would my mom have said, if she was still alive? Probably to confront him. Most likely tell me to talk to my dad. After my college breakup, dad took me golfing and tried to explain how men worked. It was awkward but I knew he was just scared of my getting hurt. But life is full of hurting. It's just how it is. I couldn't hide from it anymore. Not after actually hearing everything Luca said.

The rest of the day I tried my best to focus. People came in for clothing, alcohol, snacks, everything under the sun. I even was flirted with by random guys in uniform, though none of them mattered. There was one man on my mind and they weren't it. Finally, our shift ended at 5:30. It was dinner time. Tisha kept eyeing me as we clocked out in the break room.

"Have you texted him yet?" She asked.

I swallowed and shook my head, anxiety rearing up. "Going to now."

"Good. Just see what he has to say. Call me if you need me, ok? I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded and sat at one of the break tables. I could do this. Maybe he wouldn't even reply.

Can we meet?

I sent the text and held my breath. Nothing came through. Seconds ticked by.

Yes. I'm outside.

**This story is only found on Wattpad. If found on another site, it was stolen. Thank you for reading.💋**