by KJ Reed
“She’s turned into a nerd, is what she means,” Mary Ellen put in. She grunted when Ariel elbowed her in the ribs.
“I’m just making sure I graduate on time,” Ariel corrected. She flashed him a smile. “So have you guys already eaten?”
“Donovan!”
She laughed, that deep, rich sound he remembered from last night. “Guess that answers the question. Go get your food and sit with us,” she added, pointing to the couch across from them.
He picked up his food and Pete’s, which was next up, and brought the trays back over. Mary Ellen and Pete had shifted to the empty couch, which left Ariel alone. Perfect. He sat down, giving her space so she didn’t feel crowded.
“So what are you studying for?” he asked as he unwrapped his bagel.
Ariel put her highlighter in the book to keep her page and shut it, displaying the front cover. “Social work, getting my masters. At least I’m trying to.”
He liked that. Nobody went into social work for the money, that was for sure. She seemed dedicated to it though. He tapped the side of her cup and asked, “Ariel?”
She blushed. “Yeah. Um, my name.” A sheepish smile crept onto her face. “Sorry. We usually use different names when we first meet guys. Just a habit we’ve picked up. That and staying in pairs.”
He nodded. Dedicated and smart. “Not a bad idea. Can’t fault you for it. So is Mackenzie some secret alternative identity you’ve created?” he asked with a grin.
She laughed at that and his stomach tightened at the arousing sound. “Nope. Sorry to be boring, but it’s just my middle name. So how long are you two in town for?”
A quick glance showed Pete and Mary Ellen in the middle of a conversation. “About a week. We’re on post-deployment leave so it’s a time crunch.”
“And what brings you to our fair city?” she asked with a smile, scooting closer. Their legs were an inch apart. He wanted to grab her and pull her onto his lap.
“Visiting family.” Hopefully. “So, this is a quite a coincidence, bumping into you guys like this.”
“It’s our favorite coffee place,” she said and took a sip. “We needed a break so we headed here. Plus, it’s nice to mix up where I study.” She shifted to put her cup back on the coffee table and her leg brushed his.
“I hate to break this up,” Mary Ellen said, “but we need to head back soon.”
“Do you want to go to dinner tomorrow tonight?” The words flew out before he could stop them. But the thought of her leaving and not being able to find her again was terrifying.
Her eyes widened then crinkled as she smiled. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
“Dinner shift tomorrow,” Mary Ellen said in a singsong voice.
“Shit,” Ariel mumbled. “Well, we could do a late dinner?”
Dinner shift? He let the question pass. There’d be time that night for talking. “Yeah. Good. Sounds good. Do you have a suggestion of where to go?”
She named a place and a time.
“All right. Do you want us to pick you up or—”
“We’ll meet you there,” Mary Ellen put in as she stuffed a stack of magazines into a big bag.
“That’ll probably work best,” Ariel agreed as she put the textbook in her own bag.
“Sounds good.” Trav stood along with the girls. “We’ll see you then.”
Mary Ellen gave Pete a hug, waved at Trav and headed through the door. Ariel hung back and looked up at him, slipping the shoulder strap of her bag over her neck.
“What?” he asked, praying she wouldn’t change her mind.
“For some reason you remind me of someone, but I can’t place who.” She shook her head and smiled. “Oh well. See you tonight.” She took a step back then turned to face him again. To his amazement she stood on her toes, placed her palms on his chest and gave him a light kiss on the lips.
A kiss that had his heart clenching like a fist.
She pulled back and grinned. “Just wanted to make sure last night wasn’t an aberration. Later.” And with that she walked out the door, bag bumping against her hip with each step.
“What now?”
Trav turned to look at Pete. “Beats the hell outta me.” He flopped back down on the couch and rubbed a hand over his face. “I have to say something. Now that I know, I have to.”
“We’re leaving in a week. Can’t you just not say anything? What would it change, other than probably being accused of being a stalking perv and losing the chance for more sex before you leave?”
“It’s not about the sex,” Trav bit off. Pete was his best friend, but did he always have to think with his dick?
“We’re leaving in a week,” Pete reminded him again. “In a week we’ll be back at Camp Pendleton and this won’t matter. Why push it?”
“It matters,” Trav said with finality. “Whatever comes of this, it matters.”
* * * * *
Ariel sat on Mary Ellen’s bed, waiting for her friend to stop primping so they could go to dinner. She picked invisible lint off her khaki pants and checked her watch for the eighth time.
“Can you get the lead out? We’ll be late as it is.”
“Cranky much?” Mary Ellen held up a different earring to each ear, comparing how they looked. “Why are you so gung-ho about seeing this guy again anyway? You always say you’re not in a good place for a relationship and one-nighters are easier all around.”
“I’m not gung-ho. I’m just…” She didn’t know how to finish. She wanted to see Donovan again. Something was driving her to see him, spend more time with him.
Mary Ellen picked a pair and slid them onto her ears. She turned around and placed her palms back on the dresser behind her. “I love you. You’re the sister I never had. So I’m going to be blunt and I’m sorry if this hurts.” She took a deep breath, let it out. “He’s leaving.”
Ariel held back the flinch at the harsh words—barely.
“He’s leaving and you’re staying,” Mary Ellen continued. “He’s a Marine and there are no bases near us. You’re about to graduate with your degree and work for Child Protective Services here and partner with your parents’ camp. There’s no future.”
“I know.” The truth hurt, more than it probably should for a man she’d just met. But it did.
“You seem attached.” Mary Ellen slid her feet into sky-high heels. “More so than I’ve seen before with another guy.”
Ariel’s phone beeped in her bag and she reached for it, glad for the disruption. There was a dull ache in her chest that she couldn’t give a name to. But as she opened the phone, the pain eased just a little.
What are you up to tonight?
Trav
“Another one you shouldn’t be attached to,” Mary Ellen murmured next to her ear. She sank down on the bed and waved her hand at the phone. “Go ahead, get it over with now so we can put it behind us for the night.”
Ariel rolled her eyes but texted an answer anyway.
About to hang out with a new friend.
Ariel
They were walking along a hard-packed dirt path to the staff parking lot when her phone beeped again.
Do you wish it was me?
Trav
Her breath caught in her chest. She stopped walking and stared at her phone. What did that mean?
Mary Ellen pulled her arm to make her walk again. “Let’s go. As you said earlier, we’re already late.”
Ariel slid into the passenger seat and buckled up. But all the way to the restaurant she couldn’t stop thinking that yeah, she wished it was him.
* * * * *
Trav wanted to punch something. He’d spent the entire day combing the city, showing Sarah’s picture. It was old, yeah, but it’s all he had. Nobody had ever seen her, or didn’t remember if they had. And nobody had heard the name.
At this rate, he might have to resort to doing the one thing he swore he’d never do again.
Talk to his father.
The idea depressed him. No, it pissed him off.
But he couldn’t seem to drag his mind away from the unpleasant, yet necessary, plans he had to make regarding his father. It wasn’t helping that the girls were running behind. He never should have sent that text to Ariel. It was stupid and it would only add to the things he’d have to explain once he told her the truth. But curiosity got the better of him and he had to know if she was coming.
“There they are,” Pete said and nudged him with his elbow.
They sat at a high-top table facing the door. Guilt and anxiety gnawed at his gut like an ulcer as he watched Mary Ellen and Ariel wind their way through the tables. Mary Ellen, he had to admit, was sexy in her tight jeans and heels. But once his gaze hit Ariel, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Simple black shoes, khaki pants and a cardigan sweater. Her hair was pulled back on the sides and flowed down her back between her shoulder blades. It wasn’t overtly sexual. Hell, she could have been a kindergarten teacher reading a story to students dressed the way she was. But his pulse raced and his throat seized at the sight of her smile.
“Hey boys,” Mary Ellen said as she sat in the chair Pete pulled out for her.
Trav remembered his manners a minute too late and reached to pull out Ariel’s chair. But she’d already done so herself. “Sorry,” he muttered, pushing it in for her.
“It’s okay. I’m a big girl,” she said with a grin. “So what’d you do today?”
“Just walked around, soaked in some of the culture,” Pete said.
“I actually grew up not far from here, so for me it was more a trip down memory lane.” Trav threw out the information casually, hoping to use it to build on later for the big confession.
“Oh wow, we might have gone to rival schools then.” She smiled and bumped his arm with her shoulder. “I played a mean game of tennis.”
“Given I’m a few years older than you I was probably already out of high school when you were a freshman.” The image of her running around a tennis court with her short skirt flapping wouldn’t leave his mind. He cleared his throat, hoping his mind would clear with it. “So how was work?”
Mary Ellen sighed. “Long. We had the dinner shift where we work and there’s another corporate retreat. Why fifty-year-old men think the phrase ‘nice tits’ is a good idea for a pick-up line, I’ll never know.”
Pete used one hand as a pad, miming crossing something out. “Cross that one off my list of possible pick-up lines.” They all laughed.
A waitress showed up to take their order. After she was gone they fell into small talk, general subjects. Unlike a lot of tag chasers he’d known in the past, the girls didn’t beg for details about their deployments, hoping for juicy—or gory—tidbits. It was like they knew without being told that it was a sensitive subject best left alone. He appreciated the understanding.
“So what do you plan on doing with your degree after you’re done?” he asked Ariel after a line of servers brought their dishes.
Her smile lit up the darkened corner and warmth slid into his belly.
“I’m getting my Master’s in social work right now—”
“Oh boy, here we go,” Mary Ellen muttered.
“Shut up,” Ariel shot at her, then turned back to Trav. “I’m going to work with the foster system here in Philly. I’ve already interviewed and the job is lined up, thank goodness. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since, I don’t know, forever I think. My brother was adopted out of foster care, actually. He was twelve when he came to us.” She paused to take a bite of food.
“Insensitive jerk,” Mary Ellen put in.
Ariel just rolled her eyes as she chewed and swallowed. “Anyway, the great part is that I’ll be close to home. I can work with the foster system and my parents’ camp in conjunction. They own a summer camp,” she clarified. “Just your normal summer camp that kids spend a few weeks at during the school break. Swimming at the lake, learning to ride horses, that sort of thing. But they try to offer as many scholarships as they can for underprivileged kids to go.”
“Where’s the cash from that come from?” Pete asked.
“Well, sometimes from businesses donating. But mostly throughout the year they host corporate retreats for executives. You know, like two-day team-building workshops. Businesses are willing to pay for stuff like that, and they don’t use nearly as many resources as summer camp kids do. So that goes into scholarships as well.”
“Hence why we put up with the butt-pinching geezers,” Mary Ellen added. “I run the stables, which don’t always get a lot of use when the kids aren’t there. But I also give private lessons throughout the year.”
“So I hope to help my parents get hooked up with more at-risk kids for scholarships, maybe even build in a long weekend at the camp for special kids.”
She sparkled. Her eyes glowed and she bubbled with enthusiasm. The passion she felt for this future project was evident to everyone. His respect—as well as desire—only climbed.
The meal ended and the foursome headed out the front door. Pete, taking his cue from Trav, enacted their previously discussed plan to give Trav some time alone with Ariel.
“Mary Ellen, I wondered if you wanted to take a walk,” he started as he took her elbow and walked her down the sidewalk.
“Oh, um,” she stuttered, throwing a glance over her shoulder.
“Go on. I’ll call you,” Ariel called and waved a hand.
“All right.” She walked with Pete the opposite way, leaving Trav and Ariel alone.
“Come on, let’s walk this way.” Ariel grabbed his hand and tugged until he caught up, checking his stride to match hers as they walked away from the commercial area of downtown. “I’m glad to get some time with you.”
“Yeah, me too.” His throat felt as if it were swollen shut. Now was the time. “I wanted to say something, actually.”
“Oh, me first,” she said, eyes sparkling. “I’m glad I met you. I’d been avoiding relationships or attachments for a while because I’m too busy. And I know you’ll head back to your base and all. But…” She stopped and looked up at him. “But I’m glad we met. You’re a good guy. And I won’t regret a moment of our time when you go back.”
Well. What the hell could he say to that? “I’m glad I met you, too. But I need—”
“Shh,” she murmured and reached up to press her lips to his. “I think I know what you need. I need it, too. We’re two blocks away from my apartment. I want you to come back with me. Make love to me in my own bed.”
He had to say no. He had to resist the urge to blindly accept her offer, drag her back to her place, strip her bare and give them the pleasure they both wanted. Must resist.
She twined her arms around his neck and pressed her body into his. “Come home with me, Donovan.”
“I would love to but—”
She nipped his earlobe and his good-intentioned resistance died a quick death. He sucked in a breath and she chuckled into his neck.
“Come home with me,” she said again.
He simply nodded and followed along, docile as a puppy, when she took his hand and led the way.
Chapter Seven
She couldn’t fall in love with him. That would just be stupid. She wouldn’t fall in love with him. He’d be gone before she had the chance.
But at this rate, she might be well on her way to a broken heart before he went back to California. And it was a risk she was willing to take.
Donovan followed her through the main hallway of her building, up the flight of stairs to her front door without a word. He was thinking of something. He’d been gearing up for a big speech. Probably the You know this isn’t going anywhere, right? speech. He was the kind of guy who would want her to know. And she appreciated that. But she didn’t want to hear it. Not yet. One more night first.
Reality could wait until tomorrow.
“Are you sure?” he asked as she unlocked her door. “I know how women are about their space and male invasions. We could head back to the hotel.”
The offer was ni
ce and she knew what he meant. But the hotel was impersonal. Cold. She wanted the warmth of coming home with someone she really liked. At least once.
“Nope. This is what I want.” She flipped on lights as she walked through the living room and small dining area. “Nothing special to see, just your average apartment that caters to college students.” She didn’t look behind to see how he was taking it all in, just assumed he was following as she walked past the room she used as an office and straight to her master bedroom.
She stopped by the foot of her bed and turned.
Donovan ambled through her bedroom door a moment behind her, hands in his pockets as if he were afraid to touch anything. “It’s nice.”
“It’s efficient,” she corrected. Clean and safe, those were her two necessities. Past that, she hadn’t wasted time or money on beautifying the place. “I’m only here about four days a week and I have a cabin at the camp that I stay at if I’m there too late.” She ran a hand over her simple cream and blue comforter. “It works for now. I’m hoping to buy a place halfway between camp and the city in a few years, when I’ve saved up enough.”
“It’s a nice goal.” Donovan shrugged out of his jacket, folded it and placed it on top of her dresser. His eyes roamed the relatively unadorned room. White walls, no artwork or pictures other than a frame holding a family photo. Plain curtains.
His brows scrunched, two parallel lines were etched between them. He was looking around her room, but for some reason she felt as if his eyes weren’t truly seeing anything.
What was going on in that head of his?
Ariel walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressed her forehead to his chest. After a moment, the solid comfort of his arms held her tightly to him. His chin rested on her head.
“You okay?” she asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.
“Yup. Just got distracted for a second.” He used one hand to tip her chin until she could see his face. “Won’t happen again.” And he kissed her.
The kiss was slow, steady and intoxicating. He kissed her as though he were in no hurry to move on. As if they had a lifetime to spend exploring each other rather than a few days. Warmth pooled in her belly and spread out through her limbs, her nerves buzzed and she squeezed her thighs together when she felt the first tingle of anticipation.
