The Traveler Part 1

It all started many years back. I will tell it from my best recollection of the events as they unfolded.

Being new to both the military and to the beautiful state of Hawai'i on the island of O'a'hu, I didn't quite understand the importance of rules. The importance as well as the consequences of keeping rules, also of the punishment for breaking rules.

"You must learn the rules so you can properly break them."
~ Dalai Lama.

I performed my military duties mostly as a gate guard during that time. Checking military IDs of drivers of incoming vehicles, monitoring my radio, also, outbound vehicle traffic. Translation =
Boring duties for the lowest ranking people in the USAF cop shop.

After 3 weeks of doing gate guard duty, a POV drove up to my gate. As an E-1 in the USAF, officers, to me, anyway, were to be feared. The driver of the POV was an attractive blonde, blue eyed guy of around the age of 26. He was around 7 years older than me at the time, he was also an officer in the USAF. When I saw his blue decal and his rank on his ID card, I snapped to attention & gave him a salute as an enlisted person was required to do.

He laughed, "You don't have to do that!"
Me: "Well sir, yes, I do."
He laughed again, " I should be saluting a girl as pretty as you."
Me: "Have a nice evening, sir."

I thought nothing of it.

A week later, I was in the BX = Base Exchange.

In civilian clothes.  :)

Mr. You don't have to do that, walked up to me, smiling. He asked me if I would like to go out for lunch or dinner some time. I was shocked!
Fraternization or socially mingling between officers & enlisted people is frowned upon in the military. It had been drilled into myself and everyone in the 3703rd BMTS over and over.

An officer is telling me, it's okay to break a basic military rule?

He asked me if I would like to sit down somewhere & talk. I was really stunned, really scared. I nodded, yes, he took my hand and we went outside, to sit down right out in public view!!! DANGER!

This guy was brazen, from my point of view. I liked it!!!

I asked him if he was afraid to be seen talking to me. He blushed and said, "Nope, in fact I'm happy to be seen talking with a beautiful girl as long as we're not in uniform."

This was different.

He then said, "I'm not afraid to take you out for lunch, either! Are you hungry?"

I was a bit hungry.

He said,
"You can follow me in your car if you feel better that way."

Me: "Um, I don't have a car."
Him: "It didn't arrive, yet, hmm?"
Me: "I'm only 19, I've never had a car."
Him: "Well, let's go! I'm hungry."

We drove off the base to downtown Honolulu to the Ward Warehouse. There were many places to choose from. I didn't know much about anything at that point. He chose The Old Spaghetti Factory. It was such a fun place, with good food!

We talked, he blushed easily, he was a gentleman the whole time. he asked me if I would like to go out for dinner on the following Friday night. It felt so risky, yet, exciting in a good way, too.
We worked out a place where he could pick me up that was somewhere people of enlisted and officer ranking went, so we would be less obvious when getting into & out of his car.

We returned to the base after lunch. The shoppette was across the street from my barracks, so he parked in the parking lot and told me he would pick me up there, on Friday, at 1800 hrs. He leaned in for a kiss, I made a peace sign with my middle & pointer finger, blocked his kiss, and smiled & said, "Peace, sir!" He laughed.

He picked me up on Friday, I got to the location at 1745. He was already there! He had a fragrant Hawai'ian lei for me. He put it around my neck and kissed my cheek. Awwww.
We drove to the Waikiki area, parking was hard to find. He stopped in front of the restaurant, let me out of the car while he went to find a parking spot. Just 5 minutes later he came walking up, smiling.
He had such a nice, warm, friendly smile.
He took my hand, led me into the restaurant, it was a steak house with a local Hawai'ian twist. Everything was perfection! Yummy food, light conversation, it was a nice evening.
We had eaten, conversed. It was time to leave. He asked me if I would like to walk around a little, said that he wasn't ready for the night to end. I was fine with that.
He paid the tab, left a generous tip, then, we left.

He was around 6' maybe 6'2 or 6'3. Large, light blue eyes, dark blonde, a slim, muscular build. I remember how good he smelled!

He led me to an area of the Waikiki district known as
"Kings Alley"
This area was nothing but expensive shops filled with tropical clothes, jewelry, little cafes, high dollar over priced, touristy items.
We were walking along, when the clothing in one of the window displays caught his eye. He was holding my hand, leading me inside. The lady at the cash register smiled. Seems like she had seen this scenario many times. Ching- Ching, easy commission!

He looked in the racks, asked me what size I was. The sales lady, put her palms on my hips, turned me around, put her palms on the sides of my ribs from behind.
She looked at him, "I know her size."

She thumbed through the rack, pulling out 4, light silky mandarin style dresses. She said, "You like try on?"
He smiled, "Go ahead! Just for fun!"
The sales lady led me to the dressing room, hung the dresses. None of them looked right, to me. Even my date wasn't too jazzed.

Having always been one who knows what I like, I walked over to the rack, a gorgeous ocean blue one caught my attention. My date perked up in approval, I went in, tried it on.......magic!!!

There was that blush in his face, it spread to his ears, then a smile!

It was a long dress, mandarin collar, cap sleeves. There were "frog" clasping buttons that closed at the neck.
A zipper in back.
Clinging in all the right places, loose in all the right ones.
Perfect fit!
For the price, it had better be a perfect fit! It was the equivalent of 2 weeks pay for me!
Sadly, I changed back into my own clothes. It felt like I was Cinderella changing from ball gown back to dismal rags. I came out and handed the dress to the sales lady, she was more sad than I!

I felt the need to find a ladies room, nature calls! I excused myself. All the food & water, the excitement of being with this hot guy, the jolt of seeing myself in such a gorgeous dress, then not being able to have it. *sigh* It had taken it's toll!

Exiting the Ladies Room, the sales lady told me that my date would meet me outside. I was a bit afraid. Had he left me in downtown Honolulu by myself? I had no idea how to get back home.
I walked out into the Honolulu night, he walked up to me, smiling.

"It looked too perfect on you to leave it here."

He handed the bag to me, with the dress, carefully wrapped in tissue paper. I was amazed!

What happened next?

Stay tuned.

*smile*