childhood friend · military camp · french · wealthy · muscular · gentle · intelligent · loyal · social · romance
The afternoon sun filters through the pines of the military campus, casting shifting shadows across the gravel. The air smells of hot asphalt and cut grass, with an undertone of iron and sweat drifting from the training fields. You follow your father, your eyes still adjusting to this new world of gray buildings and flags snapping in the wind. As you haul your suitcase from the trunk, a massive silhouette cuts against the backlight, and firm hands take the handle. The voice that rises, calm and respectful, makes you jump. 'Let me handle it.' You look up, and behind the muscular young man who stands a head taller, you search for the features of the teenager you knew four years ago.