Chapter Fifteen

Collin took one last look at the city skyline. Even though the Gulf War was beginning and troops would soon enough be deployed from Germany, he knew he would not be back. He was going to go AWOL. He had some leave time approved, and he wasn’t coming back from it.

Collin settled into his seat and got as comfortable as he could on the military transport plane. Collin rummaged in his bag and found his Walkman cassette player. He placed the headphones over his ears and turned it on. The voice of Madonna reminded him of the life he had left when he came to Germany.

The reason Collin was leaving the army was simple. They had discovered his homosexuality. When he came back, if he came back, he would likely be given a discharge anyway. That’s if his buddies didn’t beat the crap out of him first. That was Collin’s biggest fear. The guys in his unit were all pretty upset when Collin was outed. Several of them threatened him if he came back.

It seemed harmless at the time, but in hindsight, sleeping with the base commander’s 20-year-old son probably wasn’t a good idea. Being only 22-years-old himself, Collin wasn’t known for making the best life choices.

When the plane touched down in London, Collin checked his itinerary. He would only have an hour to collect his bag and get to the next plane. The army did not give him much time for sightseeing.

He got on another military transport plane to Heathrow, where Collin traveled on a commercial flight to New York, which was supposed to connect to a flight to Nashville, Tennessee. He would rent a car for the drive home. He would normally have asked his family to meet him at the Nashville International Airport and ride home with them, but this visit was a surprise. He could return the rental car in a couple of days.

The plane was delayed in New York and didn’t land in Nashville until 10:00 PM. Collin considered getting a hotel room and staying in Nashville for the night. He decided against it and wanted to get on the road. He picked up the rental car from the 24-hour rental service and began his drive south.

After a couple of hours of driving, Collin felt drowsy. Rather than risking an accident, he decided a hotel room would be in order after all. He began checking the signs at the exits for lodging. At exit 37, he saw a sign for the Silverwood Manor. He took the exit and turned right. After about five miles, the massive hotel loomed on the horizon, illuminated by the moonlight.

Collin left the main highway and turned down a gravel road. After about a mile, he came to the gates and parked in the large front parking lot. He shouldered his bag and walked inside to the front desk.

The desk clerk was friendly and gave Collin a key to his room, 510. He also mentioned that the bar was open until 2:00 AM. As he made his way up the staircase, Collin marveled at the exquisite grandeur of the hotel. He’d never seen anything like it before.

The room was simply furnished with a bed, nightstand, and dresser. It was not as exquisite as the rest of the hotel, but it was nice enough to get a good night’s sleep. Collin went back downstairs to the bar.

He sat at the bar, nursing a drink. He noticed a handsome-looking man at the other end of the bar, who kept smiling at him. After a few minutes, the other man walked over to Collin and sat down beside him.

“Hey, soldier. Come here often?” The man asked.

“Never,” Collin replied.

“Well, I can show you around. There’s not much to see here.”

Collin chuckled at the cheesy pickup line. He turned back to his drink and said, “I don’t pick up guys in bars.”

The bartender walked back over to Collin. “Who are you talking to?” he asked.

Collin looked beside him. The man was gone. “Nobody, I guess.”

The bartender eyed him warily. Collin finished his drink and began walking back toward the staircase. He really was tired now.

On the second floor, he ran into the strange man again. The man smiled and beckoned him to close together. His hormones surged throughout his body in a rush, and he forgot how tired he was. Collin grabbed the man by the shoulders and shoved him against the wall, then kissed him deeply. By the time he stopped, they were both gasping for air.

“I’m on the fifth floor,” Collin said. The two hurried up the stairs, and Collin fumbled with the key for a minute before the door opened. There was a frenzy of kissing, groping, and clothes flying as they hurried to undress. Neither of them noticed, or cared, that the door had not fully closed behind them.

The man lay on the bed, on his left side, lubricating his backside with lotion. It was obvious he wanted Collin inside him. Collin removed his underwear and lay down on the bed as well, sliding his penis through the man’s legs, to give him an idea of how massive it was. They both giggled with excitement. Just before Collin was about to penetrate him, the door burst open.

“I thought you loved me!” Collin recognized the voice. It was the son of his base commander, the one he had been caught sleeping with in Germany. Collin had not noticed that he had been followed all the way home.

“I thought I was special,” thee younger man continued. “But no. I followed you all the way from Europe, and where do I find you? In some fancy hotel, sleeping with some random stranger. Well, let me tell you, buddy, that’s not gonna work for me.”

He pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at Collin. The naked man ran from the room, leaving Collin to face the commander’s son alone.

“Now, wait just a minute. Let’s talk about this. It’s not what it looks like.” Collin lunged forward to grab the gun. It went off, and Collin felt the impact of the bullet just above his right eye. He fell to the floor, dead.