Just to see you smile

I'd do anything that you wanted me to

When all is said and done, I'd never count the cost

It's worth all that's lost

Just to see you smile.

-Tim McGraw, "Just to See You Smile" 

Tallahassee, Florida

Rachel

On December 9th, the Friday before the last day of class, the counseling department had planned a holiday party. We were asked to dress formally and bring our significant others, if we had them.

Which, ordinarily, I would be excited about.

Except... Alex would be there. And I was definitely not looking forward to that meeting. But I had to go to the party, and I was not going to go without Miles.

"Oh, I'd love to come meet your professors," Miles said as he put the last dish in the dishwasher.

I swallowed. "Yeah, that'll be nice." I paused a moment before going on. "You should also know... Alex will be there," I said, dropping my voice on the last sentence.

He turned around and closed the dishwasher door with his hip, looking at me. "Oh, is that right?" he asked, his blue eyes glinting.

"Now, Miles. You have to promise to be good. Please do not embarrass me," I begged.

He kissed me on the forehead and smiled. "I won't. I promise," he said, holding his fingers up and saluting Scout's Honor.

I cocked my head to the side. "You really expect me to believe that you're not going to make a scene?" I asked in amusement, hopping up on the counter and letting my legs dangle against the cabinets.

He smirked at me and stood between my knees, putting his hands on my hips and squeezing slightly. "I won't make a scene and embarrass you," he repeated. "But..." he started, kissing my neck gently. "It will be made known that I'm yours," he murmured, his lips moving from my neck to my collarbone.

I grinned and rested my head against the cabinet behind me. "Is that right?"

"Mmhmm," he hummed against my skin.

***

"Rachel, baby. Are you almost ready?" Miles called from the living room.

"Yes! Two minutes!" I called back, putting the finishing touches on my hair – which was curled down my back – and spritzing setting spray on my face so my makeup would stay in place.

I smoothed my forest green satin a-line dress, grabbed my purse, and walked down the hall to the living room, where my lips parted in surprise.

Miles was wearing his dress uniform, looking absolutely gorgeous. They hadn't worn these at graduation, so I had never seen him in them before. I was so proud of him; my heart was full to bursting.

"Miles... you look so handsome!" I murmured, running my fingers down the lapel of his jacket and then along the ribbon rack on one side of his chest and his name tag on the other.

He smiled and kissed my forehead. "You're beautiful. And you said formal, so I figured I'd use this excuse to break out the dress uniform."

I grinned. "Well, I'm glad you did." I hooked my arm through his. "I can't wait to show you off."

His face flushed, and when he led me to the Jeep, I had hope that this night would turn out all right – after all, he definitelywouldn't make a scene in his dress uniform.

Right?

Miles

When we got to the country club where the holiday party was being held, I started to get a little bit antsy. I fully planned on keeping my promise to Rachel; I did not intend to create a scene. In fact, that was one of the reasons I wore my dress uniform. I could not get in a fight in uniform. It would mean the end of my career if it got back to my commander. So I had two things holding me back: the promise I'd made to Rachel and my obvious affiliation with the United States Army.

But I did not want to meet this Alex character. If he so much as looked at Rachel the wrong way or came at me sideways, it was going to be difficult to hold back.

Surely, though, he wouldn't be that stupid. Rachel told me that he had apologized for his indiscretion and that there had been no more weird happenings.

I didn't like being that over-protective fiancé but being so far away for so long had made me want to protect her even more fiercely than before.

I felt her grip on my arm tighten, and I followed her eyes to the door, where a tall, broad-shouldered brunette came in, with the girl I recognized as Brittany on his arm.

She didn't need to tell me who he was. I knew by the way his eyes landed on us.

This was Alex.

Rachel leaned into me and whispered, "Remember, you promised. Be nice, okay?"

I nodded stiffly. "I remember. Stop worrying."

He and Brittany approached us and I forced a smile as Rachel pulled Brittany in for a hug.

"Brittany, you remember Miles," she said, and I nodded politely.

"Yes, how are you? Congratulations on graduating boot camp," she commented.

"Thank you very much, I appreciate that," I responded, willing myself to loosen the hell up.

Rachel stepped in just a hair closer to me and said tentatively, "Miles, this is Alex." I could almost sense her holding her breath.

Alex gave me an apologetic smile and held his hand out for me to shake.

I looked at it for a moment and heard Rachel's voice in my head. Be nice, Miles.

So I smiled, making sure it met my eyes, and grasped his hand. "Nice to meet you, Alex."

His face relaxed in relief as we shared a firm handshake.

"Nice to meet you too, Miles. Thank you for your service," he said, nodding toward my uniform.

I nodded. "It's my pleasure."

We stood for a moment before Brittany broke the silence. "Guys, will you go get us a drink?"

Rachel looked at her with wide eyes, no doubt ready to kill her friend.

Alex and I looked at each other and shrugged, walking off toward the drink table. We each had two glasses of champagne in our hand and had turned to walk back to the girls when Alex spoke up.

"Listen, Miles," he started, and I stopped to look at him. When I didn't respond, he continued. "I really wanted to apologize for the bullshit I pulled with Rachel. It was wrong, and even though I was drunk, that was no excuse. But I wanted you to know that it won't happen again. And I hope you can forgive my mistake, because I'd like for us all to be able to be friends."

I looked at him in shock, hardly able to believe what he was saying. I almost told him to forget it, that there was no way I could forgive but... I couldn't. "I – well, thank you, Alex. You know what? I do forgive you. Life is too short to stay angry. And besides, you seem like a decent guy. And when I'm gone to Iraq for an entire year, it will be nice to know that Rachel has people looking out for her best interests."

Plus, forgiving him would make her happy. And that's all I ever really wanted.

Maybe joining the Army had taught me more than engineering skills and how to be a soldier.

Maybe it had also taught me to live life in the best way possible– to not waste it on holding a grudge, and to take an olive branch when it was extended. 

***

On the way home from the party, Rachel squeezed my hand hard. I looked over at her and smiled.

"Did you have fun?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I did." She paused for a moment. "Thank you."

"For what?" I asked.

"For keeping your promise and not causing a scene with Alex."

I grinned. "I told you I wouldn't. Plus, the guy is actually pretty cool. And I like the idea of you having as many people around you while I'm gone," I admitted.

She smiled and looked out the window. "Miles?"

"Yeah?"

"I think we need to plan our wedding date," she said, and I glanced over at her. "I was thinking that planning the wedding and school would keep me busy enough for the year that it would go by faster."

I nodded. "Good idea babe. Check out the calendar," I said.

She pulled out her phone and scrolled to the next year – 2024.

"All right... what about... the month of March? Either the 16thor the 23rd?" she asked.

"Sounds good. Find a place that's available one of those days and plan it... then just after I get back, we'll be married." My heart warmed at the thought.

She smiled and lay her head on my shoulder. "I love you, Miles."

"I love you too, babe."

In that moment, I almost forgot that I'd be leaving for Iraq in less than a month.

Almost, but not quite.