Heart of Valor

by Adriana Peck

  A while later, Jake pulls back. The fireflies are still aglow, the crickets still chirping gently. I’ve never known a more peaceful moment than right here, right now.

  “You still tired?” he asks me.

  I nod. “Yeah. Been a long day today.”

  Jake turns, points his thumb back at his truck. “We can get out of here, I’ll take you back to your place. Or…?”

  “Or?” I grin. I’ve liked all his suggestions so far.

  “Or we could just spend the night out here.”

  I feel my heart missing a beat as my knees turn to rubber.

  “It’s completely private out here,” Jake explains. “Like I told you, I don’t think anyone else in town knows about this little area. Except for my family, and they don’t come here anymore. Never even came here at night. They couldn’t stick around, wait to see the natural beauty of things. I’m the only one who’s come out here after the sun would go down, and I’m glad I can keep that secret. It lets me share it with you.”

  “Where will we sleep?” I ask playfully.

  Jake grins. “I’ve got some emergency blankets in the bed of my truck, stowed away. Down blankets, old quilts. We won’t have to sleep on hard metal.”

  I nod up at Jake, grinning eagerly.

  “Nothing would make me happier,” I say.

  “I’ll race you there,” Jake says.

  We turn around, sprinting back to his truck as Jake slaps my ass playfully.

  And I really, really liked that.

  ◆◆◆

  We lay there in the bed of the truck atop the massive stack of old quilts that Jake had brought out, my body curled around him as my head rests on his chest. We both look upwards, gazing at the plentiful stars above us. It’s so beautiful, I can see more stars than I’d ever seen before in my entire life. The Milky Way is out, too, and it stretches across the starry sky like a watery ribbon on paper.

  “Hey,” Jake breathes.

  “Hey,” I whisper back, smiling down at my date, “Do you know any constellations?” Jake asks me. “Because I don’t. And I’ve always been curious about them.”

  “I do. C’mere.”

  I snuggle up closer to Jake, my side pressing into him. When we’re this close I can feel the gentle rise and fall of his breath. His heartbeat. I reach out, taking Jake’s hand in mine as I point it upwards.

  “You see that really bright star? The one I’m pointing at?”

  “Hang on,” Jake re-shuffles his weight, scooting down so we’re perfectly at eye level together. “Yeah. I see it.”

  “That’s the North Star. It’s always brightest this time of night. It’ll always help you find home if you ever get lost.”

  “Might help me find you,” Jake says quietly. I swoon just a little at that. He’s a real gentleman sometimes, when he wants to be. And thank God it’s dark out, I couldn’t imagine Jake seeing me blush this hard.

  “Okay,” I say, looking back up at the sky as I hold Jake’s hand in mine. “Follow my finger. We start from the North Star…” and I trace an outline with our hands interlocked. A square with a little leg sticking out.

  “What’s that one?”

  “Little Dipper. It’s like a bear or something,” I giggle. “I’m not that sure. There’s a Big Dipper somewhere, too, but I can’t see it right now.”

  I nestle in a little closer to Jake, my head still propped up on his chest. He pulls his other arm out from under his head, wrapping it around me as he pulls me in closer. I moan softly, involuntarily. I can’t help it.

  “You wanna learn one more?”

  “Absolutely.”

  I smile, taking Jake’s hand in mine one more time. I trace the pattern above us, three stars in a row making up a belt. I draw the head, the legs, the bow.

  “Who’s this one?”

  “He is Orion,” I explain. “The Hunter.”

  “What’s he known for?”

  “I dunno. Probably his basket weaving skills.”

  We both laugh at that, and Jake pulls me in closer with his arm still wrapped tight around me. I can feel the muscles on his forearm, his massive bicep from his time in the military. I’m not usually the kind of girl who goes for big muscly dudes, but seeing Jake without any clothes on was truly a sight to behold. I still can’t get that memory out of my head of the night we shared together, and imagining him on top of me again gets me way more excited than I ought to be.

  And right now, I’d kinda like to do it again.

  I can still hear the crickets chirping around us. Besides that, it’s dead silent. No cars, no people within miles of earshot. It’s just us. Every once in a while, a firefly dances overhead, showering us with its soft bioluminescent glow.

  There’s nowhere else I'd rather be than right here, right now.

  I look up at Jake, and I see him already smiling down at me.

  Without another word, he leans down, kissing me tenderly as his arms stay wrapped tightly around me.

  I feel my whole body melt, my joints all turn to rubber like clay in his hands.

  I’ve never wanted anybody more in my entire life. With every kiss I know I want him more, and I’m positive that this is where we’re meant to be.

  I lean closer to Jake, tugging at the bottom of his hoodie to pull it up. He thrusts his hips up just a bit, but I know it’s involuntary. He grins as we kiss, and I manage to let out a giggle in between smooches.

  “You’re excited, huh?” Jake breathes, teasing me as his arm traces down the length of my back.

  I nod, unable to pull away from him a second longer. I can feel my excitement pulsating, my heart’s been beating at double-time. I can feel Jake’s heart, too, and I know he’s just as anxious as I am right now.

  Jake’s hand slides underneath my shirt, gently caressing the small of my back as he pulls me closer to him with every kiss. I shift my weight up, hitching one leg over Jake as I press my entire body up against his. Now that our hips are aligned I can feel his excitement, too. Good. It’s pressing up against me through his jeans, and I’ve never wanted to jump anyone as badly as I do Jake.

  I pull back for just a moment, grinning down at him as I readjust my hair to get it out of my face. Jake leans up, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

  “You wanna stay out here tonight?” he asks me.

  “Of course,” I say, smiling as big as I can. I probably look like some lovestruck idiot, but I don’t care. “I wanna be with you."

  “I wanna be with you, too.”

  Jake pulls me back down into him, his lips planting onto mine as his hips thrust up. I can feel his stiffness, I know he’s as ready as I am for this. I’ve never wanted anyone more than I do right now.

  Jake shifts up, grabbing the hem of my tee-shirt as he pulls it up off of me. I toss it aside in the truck bed, reaching back as I sit up. I unhook my bra, and Jake pulls me back down to him as I toss that aside, too.

  “Not fair,” I groan playfully as he tries kissing me again. “You too.”

  I sit back up, grinning bare-chested as Jake giggles. God, he’s so fucking cute. He sits up, too, and I can feel his hardness pressing up against me as he shifts his weight and pulls off his hoodie. He tosses that aside, and I immediately reach down and start feeling his sculpted abs. To hell with waiting, I want him now.

  Jake laughs, pulling me back down as we kiss again. I can feel his skin on mine, it’s positively electric. I’ve never felt like this before, I know there’s a bond between us that can no longer be broken. His muscles rise and fall as he kisses me, and with each moment I feel myself falling for Jake more and more.

  I pull back for just a second, grinning as he stares up at me.

  “How do you want me?” I ask, biting my lip playfully.

  Jake stiffens.

  “Like this,” he says, a devilish look flashing in his eyes.

  He grabs my waist, pulling me up suddenly as I squeal with pleasure. He whirls us about, standing on his knees as he sets me back down on the tru
ck bed, back-first. He’s on top of me, his jeans pressing up against mine.

  Fuck, he’s good.

  I feel his eagerness, his excitement, and Jake leans back on his knees as he starts to unbuckle his belt. I sit up, pawing at his jeans as he pulls his belt out of the loops, putting it somewhere next to us in the truck bed. I unbutton his jeans, pull down the zipper.

  I grin up at Jake, and he smiles down at me as he runs a hand through my messy blonde hair.

  I bet I want this more waaay than he does. I’ve honestly never been more excited to try something new like this.

  I pull Jake’s pants down, and he shifts his weight as he shuffles them aside. I grab him in my hands, feeling his throbbing pressure as I grin eagerly up at him. His hand runs through my hair, and I know I want this to feel as good for him as it does for me.

  I take him in my mouth, slowly at first, kissing up and down his length. Jake trembles, his weight buckling as he stays propped up on his knees. I gasp playfully, eyeing him devilishly from waist-level.

  “You’re excited, huh?”

  Jake laughs, his hand still running through my hair. He pushes down on me, gently but firmly, enough for it to be hot as fuck. As I take him in my mouth, I can sense my wanting growing stronger. His grip clutches my hair, guiding me up and down as I feel myself wanting more. I know he want that, too, and I giggle as I pull back up for air a minute later.

  His grip on my hair loosens, and Jake leans me back down as he shifts his weight on top of me.

  “You’re fucking good at that,” he moans before kissing me again. He props one hand next to me, balancing his weight perfectly on top of me. The other hand caresses me, cupping my breast before working its way down to my arching hips.

  “Hey, don’t knock yourself either,” I breathe back as Jake starts to unbutton my jeans. He thumbs the zipper, pressing it down. With his free hand he pulls off my jeans, panties and all as he kicks them aside.

  Jake shifts his weight back down on top of me.

  Holy fuck, I’ve never wanted anyone as badly as I do him.

  I reach down, guiding him as he enters me. I gasp instinctively, wrapping my legs up around Jake as he finds the perfect rhythm. With each thrust I feel him getting deeper and deeper, and I do everything I can to let him in.

  Jake leans over me, kissing my neck as he continues his rhythm. I press down on his back with my calves, wanting him to stay as deep as he can for as long as possible. He moans, grunting as he bites down on the soft of my neck. I squeal with delight, wrapping my arms around his neck as I grip him tightly everywhere I can. I’ve never felt this close to anyone before, and I never want this moment to end.

  Jake pulls back, panting heavily as he shifts his weight back on top of me. I feel my excitement growing, building to its natural finale. I pull Jake back on top of my with my legs, and he giggles again as he gets back up to speed.

  “You ready?” he breathes into my ear.

  I nod eagerly, holding on to him as tight as I can.

  He speeds up as I feel myself letting go, sinking deeper and deeper into the blankets as my pleasure grows to a climax.

  Jake does, too, pulling out at just the right time as he sinks into me.

  My legs tighten their grip around him, holding him close.

  I can see the stars above us, twinkling down at the earth. The fireflies dance, the crickets chirp.

  I’m in Heaven.

  Wherever Jake goes, that’s where it is. And that’s where I’ll be.

  Twenty-Six

  Jake

  I wake up the next day to the perfect dew of the natural morning. There’s a gentle fog that hangs over the clearing, the sun’s barely over the tree line just past the truck. The crickets have all dispersed, the fireflies gone for the day. In their place, the birds sing an early morning song. Nancy rests peacefully on my chest, sound asleep. I’ve never been with anyone more perfect, more amazing. And again, a real goddess in the sack. I’m surrounded by the perfect endcap to a perfect night, and I don’t think anything could possibly screw this up.

  Suddenly I remember something that’ll definitely screw this up.

  Oh no. No, no, no.

  My heart starts to race. I can’t believe I’d completely forgotten I have work today. I scramble over, gently moving Nancy aside so I can fish my phone out of my jeans pocket. I check the time.

  It’s eight-thirty. My shift started three and a half hours ago.

  Fuck.

  In a panic, I gently shake Nancy awake. I hate disturbing her like this, I hate dragging her out of a peaceful slumber like this. But it’s my job, our shot at a future on the line.

  Her eyes flutter open, and she looks up at me with a smile. “You rang?”

  I laugh, I can’t help it. But there are bigger fish to fry, larger matters to attend to. “Hey, Nancy, we gotta go.”

  She sits up, fast as lightning, clutching the blanket around her midsection. “Why? Is someone here? Are we in trouble?”

  “No, I’m late for work. Fuck. Nancy, I’m sorry. I really am. But we gotta go, now. Before I get canned from the box factory. I’ll take you home first, but I’m going to be utterly screwed if we don’t hurry.”

  Nancy nods, fully alert. “I’ll get dressed,” she says.

  ◆◆◆

  We race down the dirt roads leading us back to town, and I keep my foot glued to the gas pedal. We zoom past hiking trails, buck down bumpy hills as I reach the outskirts of Twin Orchards. I speed into Nancy’s parking lot, slamming on my brakes as she immediately unbuckles her seat belt.

  “Hey, we’ll catch up later, alright?” I do my best to sound as reassuring as possible, but I know I’m letting out my nervousness. Nancy’s going to sense it, I just know it.

  She freezes up before she can answer, I hear her phone vibrating in her pocket. Nancy opens my truck door, pulling out her phone as she keeps one hand on the door’s handle.

  “Hello?”

  She pauses, then her eyes widen as she stares at me. “Janice? What—No. No, what happened?”

  I want to ask Nancy to step back, let me get going to work. I’m late enough. But I know she wouldn’t be keeping me if this wasn’t important, and I trust her more than enough to make that decision.

  “Janice, we—I—fuck. No, that was me. Us. I’m sorry, Janice, we’ll…we’ll try to make this right, okay? But I’m in a hurry, I’ve gotta go. Okay? Okay. Thanks, Janice. Bye.”

  She hangs up, and I can see Nancy’s face going white as she turns and faces me again.

  “What happened?” I ask. I don’t care about being late for work right now, I just need to make sure Nancy’s going to be okay. And right now she sure doesn’t look like it.

  “That was Janice, from the Bridal?”

  “Uh-huh?” I’m confused, but I know Nancy’s worried so I keep my eyes focused intently on her.

  “She told me that the entire town’s freaking out. Practically breaking down her door.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I returned a third of the letters,” she says gravely. She looks back over at her sedan, parked just a few spaces over. “Shit. A third of the town thinks we hate them, sending their gifts back like that without a word. The rest of them think we either conned them out of their money and ran, or we split up and kept the gifts for ourselves. Either way, we’re in big trouble, Jake.”

  My already-racing heart palpitates, and I feel like I’m about to go into cardiac arrest.

  I don’t know how much more bad news I can take today.

  “Nancy, what…what are we going to do?” I ask, utterly clueless.

  Nancy shrugs grimly. “I don’t know. But you have to get to work. We can figure this out when you get back, okay?”

  I nod, remembering my task ahead. I’ve got to get to work before somebody notices how fucking late I am. “Yeah, I can swing that. I’ll be over as soon as I can, Nancy.”

  She steps back, closes my truck door. “I’ll miss you,” she says.

  I
give her one last look. “I’ll miss you, too.”

  A moment later I speed off, racing as fast as I can to my job before I’m fucked beyond belief.

  ◆◆◆

  When I make it to the factory, I park as close as I can to the main building and sprint inside. Nobody’s outside, they’re still hard at work before the first mid-morning break bell rings. I pass through the massive double-doors, scurry over to the industrial punch-in clock as I find my card. I clock in, officially four hours late to my shift. But nobody’s shouted me down yet, and I turn around as I start to head to my station—

  “Reeves!”

  Fucking hell.

  I turn around, grimacing as the foreman stomps over to me. I kick myself for not bothering to learn his name, I’ve only been here a week. He’s wearing his usual coveralls, and his hard hat leans lopsided over one ear.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he barks at me.

  I want to cower instinctively, but I can’t back down like that without a fight. “Clocking in,” I say matter-of-factly.

  “You—Just—You don’t get to show up late whenever you want!” the foreman screeches, face red-hot with anger. “I told you when I hired you, five a.m. every morning. It’s taken you, what, a day to forget that?”

  “Two days, actually,” I say.

  “Don't get smart with me. You’re on thin ice.”

  “Right. You didn’t hire me for my brains, right? You hired me because I could lift things. Am I wrong in thinking that?”

  “Exactly.”

  Fuck this guy, I’m sick of this nonsense. So here goes nothing.

  “So how much longer ‘till they pay us to start lifting your fat ass out of bed each morning?” I ask, grinning with as much snark as I can muster.

  The foreman groans, rubbing his face with a meaty hand. “You’re fucking fired, Reeves. We’ll send you your one measly paycheck in the mail. Don’t bother coming back here.”