Page 284 of 5+Us Makes Seven

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I made it to the front door of her building, not seeing a doorman. After finding her name, I pressed the button to ring her apartment. She’s not home, I thought immediately, stepping away. I’ll come back some other day.

“Hello? Who is this?”

The sound of her voice thrilled me.

“Me,” I said.

“Who is me?”

“Cooper.”

“Cooper?”

“Yeah, from Afghanistan.”

“Oh, Cooper! Come in.”

The door buzzed and clicked, unlocking. I walked through, entering the lobby. On the way to the elevator, I thought about the two years since I’d last seen her.

Was I insane for showing up out of the blue? Questions went through my mind as I rode the elevator up to her apartment on the eleventh floor.

The moment I reached her door, I knocked. The door swung open immediately. When I saw her beautiful face, memories of the naked moment we shared in Afghanistan flashed through my mind.

“Cooper,” she said, her long, dark hair as curly as ever. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s been two years since we met, and I thought I’d look you up.”

She didn’t seem thrilled to see me. I guess I didn’t know what to expect.

“Come inside a minute. I need to leave for work.”

I stepped into her apartment.

“Anyway, like I said, we were separated a bit abruptly, and…”

“Yeah,” she interrupted then took a step toward the floor-to-ceiling windows on the other side of the living room.

Her shoes tapped on the well-polished wood floor as she walked over.

I followed her, captivated by her body. She hadn’t changed a bit.

“That’s quite a view.”

“Right? It’s why I moved here. The rent is crazy expensive, but I think it’s worth it.”

“You must be some big-name journalist by now.”

She frowned.

“No. I’m an editor now.”

“Oh, working on the other side of the equation? Still a journalist though. They kicked me out of the Army about a year after you left. I’ve been roaming around since then.”

“I’m not actually a journalist anymore. I edit…other stuff.”

The way she said “other stuff” peaked my interest.