3 - Three Men & A Little Lady (of super model size)

This could actually get pretty tricky, now that I think about it... I'm trying to decide the best way to tell you about the important people in my life without actually using real names. The entire purpose of this blog was the opportunity to be completely honest, and if someone figures out who these people are, well then I can't imagine very much would go over well...
Either way, I'll figure it out.

So I am an unmarried woman with no boyfriend or commitment. I'm about as single as they come. But I have some very important men in my life. And of course, a lady. Of the men that are important to me, most of them are military. It comes with the lifestyle, and it's natural to make friends with people you can relate to. Anyone can say "I understand how you feel" but only another person who's gone through boot camp can really understand how you felt when you were forced to strip down to undergarments and roll around in the sand after working up a sweat in 114 degree weather in the middle of Texas. Only then can you tell me you know what it's like to be covered in sand under your uniform all day.
Anyways, these are the small handful of people I would do anything for. Bailing them out of jail, driving them out of state to pick up a car or for a trip, take a bullet for them. I can honestly say that I love every single one of these guys (and lady) and without them I don't know where I'd be.

Kilo* - This is my best female friend. She's beautiful. 5'9, tan, brown and blonde hair, killer smile. She's a super model, without actually being one. I met her through the Marine Corps, her and I attended the same Marine Corps Birthday Ball. We've been inseparable since then. We joke around and call each other 'wife.' If same sex marriage was a lot more out in the open and a lot more popular I'm sure a lot more people would mistakenly think we're serious. I couldn't have asked for a better friend. The only girl I have ever met who will honestly and whole-heartedly do anything for me, and I the same for her. She's stuck around through thick and thin and the best part about our relationship, is that sometimes we fight. I know that sounds strange, but if you think about it it makes sense. Think about most of your friendships, how many of those people can you honestly say you've fought with? Most of the time you don't spend enough time with a person to disagree with them or not get along, so there's nothing to argue about. Or they're not around enough to make it even worth saying something, when there is something that upset you. With Kilo, I can tell her when she hurt my feelings or when she plain ol' pissed me off, and she'll tell me when to shut the hell up. It works out for the both of us, and in an hour or by the next day we're completely over it. I love it. I can be completely honest with her, tell her anything, and she's still supportive. It's the most uncomplicated relationship I have ever had.

Bravo* - I've known this guy since 7th grade. Best thing about us, is that we've never tried to be more than friends. Never went out on a date, never kissed. Maybe that sounds weird to you too. But it's true when I tell you that when you know someone for that long, especially at such a young age, more times than not you think you have feelings for the person and try to make something of it. Bravo and I have always been strictly platonic friends and because of that we've been able to be best buds since forever. We both got arrested for the first time together (stealing street signs when we were 16. oh well), we've climbed to the tops of huge buildings, been there through breakups and makeups, gone on plenty of double dates. As straight as Bravo is, it's almost like having a gay best friend. I can talk to him about cramps, sex, anything... And he doesn't get grossed out or tell me to go find a girlfriend. Bravo, to Bravo.

Charlie* - What a pain in my ass. But he means the world to me. This is a bad, bad situation. He's the most stubborn, thick headed, hot tempered, impatient son of a bitch I've ever met. But there's just something about him... And unfortunately I wasn't the only one to feel that way. We tried to date, at least that's what I thought we were doing... And we drove each other absolutely crazy. I was convinced we were trying to make things work, and went insane when he was constantly talking to 1000 girls a day. Cell phone was non-stop. Really annoying. Well, he went crazy when he got sick of hearing me complain about it. It all came crashing down from there, but for some reason I never stopped talking to him. He completely lead me on to think we were exclusive, and broke my heart by telling me otherwise in the worst possible way. Like I said, there's just something about him. He's in the Marine Corps as well, and is currently stationed in Iraq. We write letters back and forth to each other, and of course he's the asshole who writes "I miss you" or "I really regret screwing everything up between us." Oohh what an idiot I am to carry on with it.

November* - This guy, is like my student. I pretty much teach him everything he knows. Like me, he went right into the military at the ripe age of 17. Except with him, he's now 22 and is still enlisted. He's never been a civilian, always was a Mamma's boy before he enlisted. He's never cooked with anything other than a microwave, has no idea how to do laundry, and couldn't tell you how to balance a checkbook. Thing with him is, he thinks he's absolutely in love with me. He believes I'm the greatest woman to ever walk the planet. My opinion, I think he's in love with my life, not me. I think it's that I've travelled so much, I've seen a ton of places and events, met a lot of truly unique people, and know how to live a normal, civilian life. Because he's based so far away from his home, I'm really the only person he knows that doesn't share the same base with him and isn't enlisted in the Marine Corps. I think for him, I'm a safety net. The closest thing to his Mum while he's away from home. I couldn't be in a relationship with him, ever. I feel so much older than him, even though technically he's a year older than me. We're on totally different pages in life, I'm much further up the ladder to Heaven. But, he's one of the best guy friends I've ever had. Extremely reliable, trustworthy and the best damn cuddle buddy for a movie. He, fortunately, is still in the States so at least I have one of my boys home, but he is set to leave for deployment come March.

Juliet* - Oooh the ex boyfriend. Also a Marine, might I add, and also not in Iraq. He just came home from his 3rd deployment in September. We started out as best friends, got ourselves into one hell of a relationship, it didn't work out and now we're friends. Except neither of us has completely let go. I see him 5 days out of 7. We occasionally still say I love you. We're extremely territorial of each other, but not in a jealous fashion. More like in a "don't you dare break my best friend's heart" fashion. Neither of us ever think the other's date is good enough. Always something wrong with them. And we're not in denial about not wanting to be together. Believe me it just doesn't work between us. I guess it's just hard to see each other with someone else, when we remember all of the good days we had together. Seeing him flirt or talk to other girls reminds me of when we used to get along, and everything was perfect. We've had a couple of relapses over this past year, tried to get back together. It was like... Trying to put out a fire with a tank of gasoline. We're exactly the same kind of stubborn and argumentative. We just pushed each other's buttons. But as friends, completely the opposite. Oh well. I'll continue to enjoy our poker nights, movie nights and occasional dinner/movie outings.

Lima* - here's the sticky tricky part... This boy is quite possibly the love of my life. We've only known each other just this year, and while we talk every single day on the phone or online, we've only ever hung out face to face a total of 6 days. Here's the story on that. He's from Myrtle Beach, SC but is stationed in Savannah, GA with the Army. My favorite travel spot is Myrtle Beach, so that's how I met him. We hit it off right away, and even when I came back to Rhode Island we talked just about everyday. We got closer to each other as we got to know each other, and the next time I went down there was September. It was like a dang 4th of July, fireworks everywhere. Everything was just so perfect. He is, also, currently stationed in Iraq and I talk to him usually twice a day. Our relationship continues to get stronger, but I'm afraid that he and I are on 2 totally different pages... My plan is to take things slow, since he is so far away and not coming home until next September. We've also only spent 6 days together, even though we've gotten to know each other a LOT by telephone. I don't want to jump into anything or make plans for a time that is so far away. It isn't hard for me to care about him so much, and I'm sure that when he's back I'll certainly end up in Georgia, but like I said... I'm just trying to take things slow. His plan... Quite the opposite. He's admitted to being in love with me and says I love you on a daily basis, has plans to get a bigger apartment in Georgia so that when he's back in September I can move down there immediately. He wants to come to Rhode Island to meet all of my friends and my family, which I think is absolutely wonderful. He wants them to "see who the guy is that you'll be moving away with." Yikes... Scary words for a girl who's not into commitment, trying to focus on work and school, and terrified of the word "marriage." Which brings me to the worst part of all... Remember I told you I call Kilo my wife? Well he jokes about how "when we get married, Kilo will have to stop calling you her wife, because you'll be my wife now." Whhooaaa cowboy. I understand the statement is a joke, but understand when I tell you this boy is dead serious. I wouldn't be surprised if he's bought a ring already. And you know... with all of this on my plate and him talking about it regularly, I'm surprisingly calm. I think I'm actually okay with the idea of moving, and eventually becoming a wife. I can't explain to you how that is possible with someone I've spent so little time with in person, but who can really put an explanation to love? If the definition includes smiling like an idiot, butterflies in the stomach, and endlessly talking about him to friends, family, co-workers, really anyone who will listen; well then I've got all that. Who knows. Guess we'll find out come September :)

Well, that about sums up my best friends. I have a lot of other friends that pop in and out of my life, but I probably won't be mentioning any of them in my posts. These are the people you'll be hearing a lot of, especially Lima =)

xo
kay_ski

* names have been changed