Love Is In the Air Volume 1

by Susan Stoker

  “And how many are you going to give me tonight?” I ask, my eyebrows disappearing into my hairline, I’m sure.

  “As many as I can.” He bounces his own eyebrows at me as he slides up my body.

  “I think you’re a little overdressed, then,” I quip.

  “I can fix that, sweetheart.” He pushes off the bed and strips out of his jeans, T-shirt, and boxers. “Now who’s overdressed?” he asks.

  I get lost watching as he strokes his cock, forgetting to answer him or move a muscle of my own. “Allison.” His voice pulls me out of my trance.

  “Yeah,” I attempt to say, having to stop and clear my throat before repeating it.

  “Strip, and we can continue.” He smirks. I tug my shirt off over my head, then quickly lose my bra and thong. I lay back on the bed, naked now, and turn my full attention back to Lee. I watch his every move as he goes to his nightstand and pulls out a strip of condoms. He tears off one of the packets and tosses it on the bed next to me, then places another two on the nightstand before returning the rest of the strip to the drawer. I snag the packet, tearing it open with my teeth and pulling it out of the package. I crook a finger at him, beckoning him to join me on the bed so that I can sheath his cock. He kneels on the bed, staying up on his knees as he comes next to me.

  I lean forward, taking his cock in my mouth. I suck him deep, adding a fist to his shaft as I pull back. I can feel a hand sink into my hair as he helps direct my mouth up and down his cock. I give him a few hard, cheek-hallowing sucks before I pop his dick from my mouth and slide the condom down his length. I give his chest a little shove and demand, “Lay back; I want to be on top.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He complies. His hands go to my hips as I straddle his. I reach between us and grip his cock so that I can line it up with my entrance. I slowly sink down on him, his size stretching me out as I take in every last inch he’s packing.

  “Holy shit,” I moan, feeling full as I start to move. His shaft is hitting me just right, causing my body to already want to pulse around him, but I hold it off as I find a faster rhythm. The bed is protesting, and we might leave a hole in his wall, but at this moment, I don’t care about any of that. All I care about is finding this release.

  “That’s it, sweetheart,” Lee encourages me, his hands having moved from my hips. One is rubbing circles on my clit as the other pinches and tweaks my nipples as we both chase our release.

  “I’m coming!” I cry out as my body convulses around his cock. I fall forward, my heart about ready to beat out of my chest as I suck in lungsful of air.

  “Fucking-A. I could come in your pussy daily and never get tired of it,” Lee calls out as I feel him crest over his own release. I try not to let his words sink in. I know he’s just saying things in the moment of pleasure.

  I roll off him, snuggling into his side. We might be in this FWB situation, but he’s never just kicked me out. He’s unlike anyone else I’ve ever had a fling with. He actually wants to cuddle and talk and spend some time together, so I take what I can get and try not to let the rest get to me.

  “Where are you going?” Lee’s sleep-filled voice calls out as I slip out of his warm king-size bed.

  “I was going to go to the bathroom and then head home,” I tell him, turning to look at him over my shoulder.

  “Why?” he asks, sitting up.

  “Um, because?” I reply, but it comes out more like a question.

  “Go to the bathroom, but then come back to bed. I’m not done with you,” he states. I watch as he tugs back the covers on his bed. I stall for another second before padding my way into his bathroom to take care of business.

  As I wash my hands, I take a good look at my reflection in the mirror. I can see the sadness lingering in the depths of my own eyes. Continuing with this little charade is slowly killing me inside. I know when I walk back out into that room, Lee is going to flash me that smile I can’t resist, and I’ll slide right back between his sheets instead of pulling my clothes on and going home, where I would drink and cry myself to sleep.

  “Hurry up, the sheets are getting cold,” Lee calls from the bedroom. I shut the water off, drying my hands on the towel hanging from the hook on the wall.

  I step out of the bathroom, still naked. I can feel his eyes roaming over my exposed flesh. My mind and heart are fighting internally as to who is going to win this war.

  “What’s wrong?” Lee asks, sitting up in bed. The look of concern on his face has my heart melting just a bit.

  “Just not feeling all that great. I think I’m going to head home,” I tell him, taking a few steps towards where my clothes are strewn around his room. He meets me at the side of the bed, stopping me from pulling my clothes back on as he slides a hand around my waist and pulling me until our bodies are flush against one another.

  “You’d tell me if it was something else, if something was bothering you, right?” he asks as if he already knows that something is bothering me.

  “Yeah,” I lie, the words coming out as a whisper. I have to suck in a breath to keep the tears at bay.

  “Do you need anything? Some 7-Up and crackers? Soup? Sleep?” he asks, rapid fire.

  “No.” I shake my head slightly. “I just need a good night's sleep.”

  “Then come to bed, let me hold you. I promise no funny business, I’ll just hold you all night and let you sleep,” he offers.

  I suck my bottom lip between my teeth, chewing on it as I ponder what I’m going to do. Get dressed and go home, or allow him to hold me in bed? Once again, my heart and mind are boxing it out. Lee must recognize the war that is raging inside my mind as he tugs my hand the few feet to the edge of the bed. He slides in, pulling me with him until we’re settled. Lee’s head is on his pillow, and he’s situated me with my head on his chest with his arm around my body, holding me tight. I hold back the tears, his touch soothing, as his hand glides up and down my back, lulling me to sleep as I start to dream about what things could be like if this all wasn’t just a temporary moment.

  3

  Lee

  Allison was up and out of here early this morning. Something was off with her last night, and I really wish I knew what exactly it was. We’ve got a good thing going between us, but I’m out if things get too weird. I’d rather have her as a friend than have things going sideways.

  I hop out of the shower, drying off and wrapping the towel around my waist as I step up in front of my sink and mirror. I start with my electric razor before cleaning the rest of my scruff up with my handheld one, and then head into my bedroom to get dressed and ready for my shift. I pack a bag since I’ll be at the firehouse for a full twenty-four-hour shift.

  “What’s up, man?” Tucker asks, strolling into the locker room, his own bag slung over his shoulder. He bumps fists with me before offloading his things into his locker.

  “Nothing much, how about you?” I ask him as I shut my locker door and close the few feet between us.

  “Just an easy day, spent it with my girl before I had to come to work.”

  I smirk at him, referring to Lindsay as his girl. Settling down actually suits him.

  I kick back in the great room, a random car show on the TV, as the rest of our crew is milling about waiting for the first call of our shift to come in. It only takes us sitting around for about thirty minutes before the bells are ringing, and we all go running for the rigs in the bays.

  We roll up on the house, smoke billowing from the upper windows. I can already tell this is going to be a total loss for this family.

  “Ma’am,” I call out to the woman standing at the end of the driveway, tears streaming down her face as she looks at the burning house. “Is anyone still inside?” I ask, wanting to know if we need to get in and rescue anyone.

  “No,” she chokes out between sobs. “I was the only one home. My husband was gone with our kids.”

  “That’s good,” I tell her, trying to show her as much sympathy as I can. “Do you know how the fire started?”
I ask.

  “I think from the dryer, but I really don’t know. I was busy cleaning the bathroom when the smoke detector went off,” she tells me as some of my crew starts spraying water on the house as others head inside to fight this from both sides. “When I came out of the bathroom, the hallway was already filled with smoke, so I ran out of the house and called you guys.”

  “You did great, ma’am. We’ll get things under control as quickly as we can. Do you need any medical attention? Does it hurt to breathe?” I question. Smoke inhalation can cause damage quickly, so depending on how much smoke she had to go through before making it outside, it could possibly have caused damage to her lungs.

  “I don’t think so,” she answers, her body visibly shaking, most likely from the shock the fire has caused.

  We do everything we can to get the fire out, but as I feared when we rolled up, the house is a complete loss. Between the smoke, fire, and water damage, not much will be salvageable. By the time we got the flames knocked down, the husband and kids had shown back up. I noticed the man holding his wife as she cried into his shoulder when I walked back to the truck for one of the axes.

  We finish up, making sure we’ve put out all the smoldering embers everywhere before we pack up our equipment and head back to the station.

  “Who’s on dinner duty tonight?” I ask the group as I finish dressing after a quick shower. Fighting fires is not only a dirty job because of the ashes and soot that we end up covered in, but we’re a sweaty mess by the time we’re done. Turnout gear only protects you from so much.

  “I think we’re going to order in,” Tucker says, flipping through the menu book we keep with all the restaurants' menus, not that any of us really need them to know what we’d want from anywhere. In the last five years or so, we’ve had more chain places popping up since we’re on the interstate, but the really good, hole in the wall, local places are where it's at.

  “Good, I’m starving,” I tell him as my stomach growls loudly.

  “Then you pick,” he says, handing over the menu binder.

  “Like you even have to ask,” I scoff. I always pick our local BBQ place. They’ve got large servings, are usually super-fast, and best of all, not that far from the station.

  “Figured.” Tucker laughs and shakes his head at me. “I swear you’d eat there every day if you could.”

  “What can I say? I like their food.”

  It doesn’t take long before we’ve got our order called in and back here at the station so we can all dive in. Thankfully, things are on our side tonight as we don’t get called out on our next call until well after we’ve had dinner.

  My shift finally ticks by; I swear tonight felt like it was never going to end. Thankfully, I was able to get a decent stretch of sleep, not that I won’t still just head home and crash for the next few hours.

  I pull into my garage, shutting my truck off before hitting the button on my opener to close the door before I step out of the truck. The sun is bright, and with it no longer shining in, my eyes take a few minutes to adjust to the dimmer room. I snag my bag from the truck seat, slinging it over my shoulder as I head into my house.

  I drop everything just inside the door and head straight for my bed. I slide between the sheets, my phone pinging from the nightstand as I do. I grab it to see who’s texting me this morning, and see I’ve got a message from Allison. My dick twitches just reading her name, but now’s not the time for that appendage to be in charge.

  Allison: Hey! Are you free tonight? Maybe we can grab a drink?

  Her text comes across as her usual bubbly self, so I can only hope that means whatever was bugging her the other night is no longer bothering her.

  Lee: Sure, I just got home and was going to crash for a few more hours. Did you want to get together this afternoon?

  Allison: I’m off today, so we can get together whenever.

  Lee: How about I text you when I’m up and moving for the day?

  Allison: Works for me; enjoy your nap. {winky face}

  I toss my phone aside once again, doing my best to shut my mind off long enough to fall asleep for a few more hours.

  4

  AllisoN

  Two months later

  I pace around my living room as I wait for Lee to arrive. He texted me ten minutes ago, saying that he was up and ready to get together. I’ve been rehearsing what I’m going to tell him all day. I need to lay all my cards on the table, so to speak, and let them fall where they’re going to fall.

  I know I’m about to blow up what we’ve had going on, but my heart can’t take it anymore. I see how happy my best friend is and I want that. I want someone to come home to most nights. I want someone I can call when I’ve had a bad shift or someone to celebrate with when things are great.

  I suck in a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before I let it out in a whoosh. I look out the window again and see Lee getting out of his truck. He is that quintessential southern boy. He has all the swagger in his jeans, boots, and a tight T-shirt pulling across his biceps.

  I open the front door before he can reach it, leaning against the jamb as I watch him close the distance from my driveway to the porch.

  “Hey,” I greet, holding my hand up in an awkward-as-fuck wave. I mentally smack myself in the forehead for being so nervous and stupid.

  “Hey, yourself,” he greets, stopping just inches in front of me. All that separates us is the threshold of my front door. “Can I come inside, or are we talking out here?” he asks, motioning to the two chairs on my porch.

  “Sorry,” I say, stepping aside and letting him in.

  My front door leads right into the living room, so I head for the chair I have, leaving the couch open for Lee to take a seat on.

  “Everything okay?” he asks after taking a seat.

  I wring my hands, realizing that I probably look like a lunatic right about now.

  “I can’t do this,” I spit out, almost tripping over my own words.

  I can tell I’ve caught him by complete surprise when his eyebrows just about disappear into his hairline.

  “Do this…what?” he asks for clarification.

  “This…us,” I try and clarify, pointing between the two of us. “I thought I’d be okay with the casual, friends with benefits thing, but I’ve realized that I’m not. I want more. I want the commitment. I want a real relationship. I want to know you’re not out fucking some random woman you meet at the bar.”

  “I can’t offer you more, Allison. That’s just not who I am,” he states matter-of-factly. He’s so strong in his conviction, almost as if he’s had to give this speech a time or two before.

  “I disagree. You’re an amazing man, Lee. You don’t give yourself enough credit. Even though we’ve known each other most of our lives, I’d like to think that I’ve gotten to know you even better these last few months, and I think you’re a great guy. You have so much love to give and a hell of a lot to receive; you just have to let it happen.”

  “That’s just not me,” he states again as he stands from where he sits across from me. “I’m sorry, Allison. I’m going to go before I say or do something to hurt you more. I’m sorry what I could offer wasn’t enough. I hope you find what you’re looking for,” he says before heading out the door. He pauses long enough to pull the door shut behind him. Our eyes lock for a second as he looks over his shoulder just before it latches closed.

  I don’t hold back my tears as I sink against the chair. I let it all out, crying until I don’t think I could cry another drop. I finally force myself up, stopping in my kitchen to pour a glass of wine, the middle of the afternoon be damned. One glass will not cut it tonight, so I bring the entire bottle with me as I head for my bathroom and turn on the hot water to fill up my jacuzzi tub. I light a couple of candles, placing them around my bathroom to give a soft glow of light. I set my wine glass down on the handy tray Lindsay got me for my last birthday that fits across the tub to hold things that I might want within reach. I toss in
a bath bomb and then go snag my Kindle from my nightstand before I strip and slip into the hot water.

  I sink into the water up to my chin, allowing the heat to relax my tense muscles. My head lulls back on the bath pillow—another gift from Lindsay—and I enjoy the swirling water as the jets keep things moving and hot.

  I reach for my glass of wine, gulping down half of it before returning it to the tray. My cell buzzes against the wood of the tray, and I almost want to ignore it. I don’t think I can stomach talking to Lee right now. I don’t really care what he has to say to me; my heart is battered. Just in case it is someone or something important, I flip my phone over and see a text from Lindsay.

  Linds: Hey! How are you holding up? Lee showed up here a little bit ago, and Tucker’s been outside with him since. Didn’t appear to be in a good mood.

  Allison: I’m not. I’ve cried myself out of tears and am currently soaking away my misery both in the bath and with a bottle of wine.

  Lind: Oh, babe. Want me to come over? We can have a sleepover. Watch trashy movies and eat our weight in take out and candy. I can even stop and get some ice cream or canned cinnamon rolls. I know they’re your favorite.

  Allison: I don’t want to ruin your night. I’ll be fine.

  Linds: We didn’t have anything important going on, just an evening at home. And even if we did have plans, you know I’d drop anything at any time to come to your aide. You’re my ride-or-die, sister from another mister. You’re stuck with me for life, woman.

  I smile at her text. Lindsay really is the best friend anyone could have. They don’t come any better than she is. You’ll never find anyone more loyal, trustworthy, loving, basically the perfect person ever.

  Allison: I mean, I won’t lock you out if you showed up, but I’d also feel guilty asking you to come.