I was a man.

Not that there had been any doubt before, but I had had sex in the back of a jeep which was in the back parking lot of a swingers club. My life was now complete.

It was almost midnight before we all left the real restaurant.

Maybe it was the steak she had eaten or the sex, but once we got in the car Diana settled back in her seat, pulled her legs up underneath her and closed her eyes. I would have thought she was asleep if she hadn't pulled her shoes off and hooked herself in.

By the time I had drove from the parking lot she looked asleep.

I loved this little town. Night or day. Some places were nicer at night when everything was lit up and others were better during the day. But this was one of those old southern towns that once was the gold rush capitol of the south. So all the buildings were wood and the walkways were brick. The town courthouse was still in the square.

Shops lined both sides of the street as we drove out of town. Following Sam back to the base, who sped up to get through the red light as soon as it changed, I stopped.

With the jeep not moving Diana looked over at me and opened her eyes. A smile came over her face in the dark car, visible by the streetlights.

"What?" I asked.

She grinned, "I love you."

I leaned over and kissed her, just once, just incase the light suddenly turned green. Her next words surprised me.

"Hoot, I think I want to elope."

Elope?

That caught my attention, I looked back at her, "Elope?"

Diana nodded, "I was thinking about it. I don't really want a huge wedding. Something small, just a couple people but in a church. I want a church Hoot."

Personally, there were maybe two relatives I wanted at my wedding. Eloping sounded great to me. I knew McKnight had been wondering how we would

afford a wedding when one of the kids on base had had a huge bash for his.

"Any special church?"

Diana pursed her lips, "Catholic Church."

Catholic Church, "Do I have to convert to that?"

Diana shook her head, "We'll lie and say your Catholic."

I couldn't help but smile, "Ain't it a sin to lie to a priest?" The light turned green and off we went, but I only looked at the road now and then. Diana smiled and told me, "Hoot, I have lied to Priests all my life, if it were a sin I'd be charred black from lightning."

I rolled my eyes, then slowed and turned onto a shortcut.

"Do you want to elope?"

I nodded, "Yeah, in someplace old though…..and I want Sanderson there."

Diana smiled, "Well I want my father there."

I flipped on the Jeeps high beams and said, "Well I want my brother and Momma there."

Diana pointed her finger at me, "I don't want your whole family there."

"Hell woman, I don't want my whole family there. Just Momma and Albert." My mother and brother and Sanderson. I slowed down to sixty around the tight curves of the road. Diana sat in her seat as if I weren't speeding. Though she was used to her fathers driving, the man drove like a lunatic.

"Is there anywhere you want to get married?"

I shrugged, not taking my eyes off the road, "Wherever you want darlin, where are we gonna go for our honeymoon?"

Diana laughed, "Honeymoon? Ok sweetie, where would you like to go?"

Well I had been to Europe, Asia, Mexico, and the Middle East. "Aruba."

I slowed to a roll, and crept through a four way stop, then sped up.

"Well that was quick….Aruba?" Diana teased but then she caught on, "You've never been to the Caribbean have you?"

"Not yet," I replied, the lights of the base out in the distance brought a warm feeling to me. Like I was almost home.

"All right, since you have your heart set on Aruba. Do you want to do the hotel spa thing or a bed and breakfast or like a bungalow or something?" She asked.

"Don't care, I wanna stay on the beach. An I don't wanna wear shoes."

That made her laugh.

As we came closer Diana fished her Military I.D. from her purse, I pulled my wallet out where my card was. I stopped at the gate and rolled the window down, I grabbed her card and held both cards out the window. The three guards peeked at the cards then shone the lights in our faces.

"That McKnight's daughter?"

"Yep," I told them.

The three of them laughed and waved to the guard to raise the gate, "You poor bastard."

I gave Diana her card back and waved as I drove through the gate, it closed behind me as Sanderson pulled up.

"I'll have to get a new I.D., and divers certificate and drivers license," Diana mused aloud.

I flipped my high beams off and navigated my way through the base, to the house, a grin forming in my face. She would change her last name to mine. It brought out a giddy feeling almost. I don't even know why, but she would be Diana Gibson and that made me grin.

I pulled onto our street and into the small drive, McKnight wasn't back yet.

Beside me Diana sighed, then she kissed my cheek while I turned the jeep off, "I'll go hop online and look for a bungalow." She hopped out of the jeep before I could kiss her back, so I opened my door and shouted after her, "I wanna walk outta the door and onta sand!"

Diana ran up the walk and onto the front porch but stopped, she froze and stared at the front door. I locked the jeep and made my way across the lawn. In no big hurry until I saw what she was staring at, the front door was cracked open.

"I locked it," Diana told me.