Duty, honor, and sacrifice. Dedicating my life to these      elements, for family and country, leaves little for myself in      return. It's why I indulge in a no-strings hookup with a      handsome stranger mere days before heading half-a-world      away. Except one night turns into a week-long fling, creating a connection at the most inopportune time. And neither of us want it to end. Staying in touch is easy at first, but dwindles to radio silence and distant memories as time passes. I didn't expect him to reemerge in my life months later, now belonging to someone else. It should be enough for us both to walk away. To push down this relentless, aching want. But we don't... We can't. Because the heart always wants what it can't have