Ignite (Explosive)

by Tessa Teevan

  Grinning, she gives me a tight hug. “I can’t believe you’re here! I thought you couldn’t make it until tomorrow?” she asks, kissing all over my face.

  I grin at her as she drops to her feet so I can hand her the flowers. Her eyes light up when she smells the stargazer lilies that have always been her favorite.

  “I had my bag packed and hit the road as soon as we were released from duty today. I may have gone a little over the speed limit once or twice,” I tell her with a wink. “Speaking of my bag, I need to go grab that. Be right back.”

  Once I run out to my car and get my stuff, I come back inside and see her sitting on the edge of the couch, smelling the flowers. She grins at me sheepishly as I watch her. I notice that only the hall light is on, and I can see the television lighting up her bedroom.

  Cocking an eyebrow, I ask, “So what were you doing before I so pleasantly surprised you?”

  A slow blush paints her cheeks as she bites her lower lip. I’m even more curious now about what has her so embarrassed.

  “I was just watching a movie in bed. That’s all,” she says quickly.

  Interested, I follow as she motions for me to come with her to the bedroom. Setting down my bag, I turn towards her TV. The movie is paused, and the screen is filled with five half-naked men who are wearing neckties. What the hell?

  “Umm, am I interrupting something?” I ask teasingly.

  She punches me playfully before responding. “Sierra dropped it off last weekend. She said it was the movie of the year and I couldn’t be considered a woman unless I watched it. And salivated. And by some immaculate Hollywood conception had a Channing Tatum baby.”

  “Movie of the year? What is this crap?”

  “Seriously? Magic Mike? Only the most highly anticipated movie of 2012 for women everywhere? It’s not every day that Hollywood’s hottest make a stripping film,” she tells me.

  “Umm, if you remember, for most of this year I’ve been in a country where all I heard about was propaganda films that teach little kids how to build bombs. I missed out on all the stripping news,” I say, grimacing at my words as I immediately regret them.

  Alexa inhales sharply, and I’m quick to recover. I grab her hand, and we both sit down on the bed.

  Cupping her cheek, I speak. “I’m sorry, babe, I shouldn’t have said that. You just get used to thinking about these things lightly, because when you’re over there, you can’t dwell on the fact that every person you see could be a potential threat.” She pales at my words, and I want to walk back out the door and pretend this conversation never happened. “Alexa, most of the kids we come in contact with just want to say hi or to get some candy. I promise you.”

  She looks up at me with shimmering eyes. “Can we not talk about that? I’m already uneasy about you going back again, and I’m trying to put it out of my mind until I absolutely have to deal with it.”

  I press my lips to her forehead. “We have a long ways to go, babe. So let’s not think about it for the rest of the weekend, okay?”

  “Let’s not think about it until we absolutely have to,” she requests.

  I nod and climb off the bed so I can get comfortable. Her eyes are on my body as I remove my combat boots and take off my top. My undershirt stretches tight against my chest, and she can’t look away. I make a show of unbuttoning and then slowly moving the pants down my legs, inch by slow inch. She can forget all about that guy on the screen. Magic McAllister’s in the house. I cringe at the cheesy thought and quickly get undressed down to my boxer briefs.

  When I lean across the bed to kiss her before going to get some water, she grabs ahold of my dog tags and pulls me down to her. Her fingers wrapped up in my tags is a total turn-on, and I make a mental note to wear them more often when I’m around her.

  She pulls me close enough so that our lips touch, but it’s just a light kiss at the moment. As much as I want to be inside her right now, I want to go at her pace, let her call the shots. I promised myself that I’d let her do this her way. Do I want to? No, but I know I need to so that the walls she’s already built don’t get any higher. I know I’ve knocked holes in them, and it’s only a matter of time until they come crashing down.

  “I’ve missed you so much, Jace,” she whispers, her hand rubbing the back of my neck.

  My lips quirk up and I know she can feel my smile against her lips. “Oh yeah?”

  “Mmmhmm,” she moans, deepening our kiss before she slides down my body, showing me just how much she’s been craving this. Once she brings me to the brink, I push her onto her back, spending the next hour reciprocating, desperate to portray how much she means to me and how much I can’t stand our time apart.

  WHEN I wake up the next morning, I can’t help the smile that comes over my face as I take in his gorgeous features. He’s still asleep on his side with his arm possessively draped around my middle. His dark hair has been cut since I last saw him, but I notice that he’s still keeping it just long enough for me to run my fingers through. I realize that he must’ve finally adjusted to a new sleeping schedule. He’s never slept longer than I have, but I don’t mind, because watching him asleep in my bed is a beautiful sight.

  I got spoiled on his visit to Cincinnati, and these weeks apart just aren’t cutting it. It feels like we’re in limbo, stopping and starting over again whenever we get a chance to steal some time away together. Don’t get me wrong, I love the time we get to spend together, but the weeks in between are the worst. When he’s with me, I don’t have time to have nerves or think about my fears, but the days after he leaves, they all rise to the surface again. I know he’s going to get frustrated—any guy would in this situation.

  I hear him greet me, interrupting my thoughts. “Mornin’, beautiful.”

  I lean over to place a soft kiss on his lips as my hands roam his chest until they take hold of his dog tags. “Morning, Soldier.”

  Rolling onto his back, he pulls me onto him so that I’m straddling his hips. He leans up and draws my wild bed hair into his hands, guiding my mouth towards him. As if he’s erasing away all the time spent apart, his lips devour mine. His tongue forcefully enters my mouth where he assails mine, and I let out a soft moan as my hands trace the muscles on his back. He lifts his hips up and I can feel his erection. Breaking our kiss, I roll off of him and quickly get off the bed before he can catch my arm and pull me back in.

  Propping himself up on one arm, he gives me a look of disapproval. He crooks his finger at me, and I stay put, planting my hands on my hips, shaking my head.

  “Get your ass back in this bed, woman,” he growls.

  “Jace, we don’t have time. We’ve got to be at my parents’ house for Thanksgiving soon and I still need to shower.”

  Getting up from the bed, he stalks towards me. He quickly pulls the t-shirt up and over my head, throwing it on the ground. Losing his boxers, he picks me up and carries me towards the bathroom.

  “So we’ll multi-task. I’m not sitting through hours of food and football with your family with a hard-on the whole time.”

  I giggle as he holds me in his arms while we wait for the water to heat up. He makes good on his word, showing me just how well he can multi-task when he wants to. An hour later, we’re out the door, both fully satisfied, relaxed, and ready to face whatever holiday craziness my family has prepared.

  SEVERAL HOURS and a ton of food later, I’m settled in the living room with the guys as I listen to my dad and Jeremy bicker back and forth over whether Houston or Detroit will win the game in overtime. It’s only the first game of the day and the arguing has already begun. Although, after all these years, I think I’ve figured out that Jeremy does it on purpose just to get Dad all riled up.

  Jace has been watching them mouth off back and forth, but he’s kept quiet, not seeming to care who wins the game.

  “Are they always like this?” he leans in to ask me quietly when my dad starts to challenge Jeremy to a wager.

  “Unfortunately, yes. I swear, it
never fails. Whatever team Dad’s rooting for, Jeremy finds some illogical reason as to why he has to cheer for the other team. They get some kind of weird joy out of arguing with each other, but it’s Jeremy. What do you expect?”

  A while later, Sierra and Mom join us, Ava trailing close behind. Her eyes light up when she sees Jace and she takes no time making her way onto his lap. Sierra plops down next to us and wastes no time with her questioning.

  “So what’s the deal, you two?” she asks, and I swear the room goes silent as everyone waits for the answer.

  I pretend not to know what she means. “What deal? The only deal in here is the one Dad’s trying to make with your husband as they fight about yet another sporting event.”

  Rolling her eyes, she asks again, waving her finger between the two of us. “This, you two here, together. Spending weekends with each other. Are you dating or what?”

  I can feel Jace stiffen beside me, and I want to kill my sister for putting us on the spot like this in front of everyone. I clear my throat, trying to think of an appropriate response that will satisfy her and shut her up.

  “Umm, well, we’re getting to know each other again by spending a lot of time together. We’re, uh… We’re seeing where it goes,” I say, knowing how lame it sounds.

  She snorts, not liking my answer, but my mom starts asking her about Ava’s pre-school, and I’m thankful that for once she’s not joining in on Sierra’s meddling. I glance at Jace and he gives me a small smile, squeezing my hand, letting me know that everything’s okay.

  MY HEART stopped when Sierra asked that question, and it didn’t exactly warm up at Alexa’s answer. I know she was caught off guard, but we’ve got to be something more than just “getting to know each other.”

  The rest of the day went off without a hitch. No more personal questions from Sierra as we watched their dad win two out of the three bets with Jeremy. Her mom sent us home with a huge bag full of leftover-filled Tupperware containers, and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to have to cook this entire weekend.

  Once we get back to the house, she puts everything away before joining me in the living room. She sits down on the opposite end of the couch, placing her feet in my lap. I absentmindedly begin to massage one foot as I stare at the TV.

  “So, do you want to talk about it?” she surprises me by asking.

  Although I’m pretty sure I know what she means, I ask her to clarify.

  She pulls her feet out of my lap and sits up on the couch with her legs crossed underneath her as she fidgets with the throw pillow in her lap.

  “Sierra’s question. Umm, about us dating,” she informs me, not looking at my face.

  “What’s there to talk about? You gave her your answer,” I say, probably too briskly, but I can’t help but feel frustrated at the situation.

  She sighs before replying. “I just wasn’t expecting the question. I know that this is so much more than us just becoming reacquainted. I think we got past that phase a while ago. We haven’t talked about it, so I didn’t know how to answer her.”

  “We haven’t talked about it because you’re on your whole no-labels kick. Has that changed?”

  She sucks in her bottom lip, still not looking at me, and immediately I know her answer. I get up and head to the kitchen to grab a beer, needing something to take the edge off. I turn around and she’s leaning against the doorframe, watching me.

  “What if I’d told her yes, that we are dating?” she asks hesitantly.

  I pause before taking a sip of my drink. “What do you mean, Alexa?”

  Her eyes dance as a small smile comes to her face. “I mean, what if I wanted to say yes when she asked? Would that have been okay?”

  I set my beer on the counter and cross the room to where she’s standing. I cup her face in my hands and search her eyes. “What exactly are you trying to ask me?”

  Her tongue darts out of her mouth as she moistens her lips. My thumb brushes her cheek as I wait for her answer.

  “I think…it’s probably safe to say that we’re dating.”

  I know it’s what we’ve already been doing, but the air from my lungs rushes out as she finally admits it.

  “We’re dating?” I ask, needing confirmation.

  “Yes.”

  “Dating exclusively?”

  “Yes, Jace.”

  “And as for the future?” I throw in, knowing I’m pushing my luck.

  She gives me a sly grin, and I can’t help but shoot her a sweet smile. “We’re dating now. Let’s just stick with that, okay?”

  I lean in to kiss her, happy with what I can get. I know she just needs more time, so I can enjoy this small victory, more than ecstatic that I can truly call her my girl now. She wraps her arms around me, and I lead her back towards the bedroom, where I begin to show her just how good of a boyfriend I can be.

  THE NEXT few months pass in a quick blur. To be honest, it felt good to finally admit to myself that what Jace and I were doing was definitely dating. The disappointment in his eyes that day pinched at my heart, and I knew I was only fooling myself by thinking we were anything less. Since then, he’s been more than happy to play the dutiful boyfriend role. We’ve been able to fall into a routine of alternating visits twice a month, with hours of phone calls in between. It’s not perfect, but for now it’s all we have.

  Knocking on my office door, Brady walks in and plops down in one of the chairs across from my desk. He places his hand over his heart and sighs dramatically.

  “Is someone having a bad day?” I ask, wondering what’s wrong this time.

  “That, my dear, is an understatement. I am having the worst day ever. So you know how I had Valentine’s Day all planned up?”

  I nod, having seen the schedule Brady had meticulously created. Brady gets a little crazy when it comes to holidays, and Valentine’s Day is the ultimate for him. It also happens to be his and Stephen’s fifth anniversary, so he’s been driving me crazy these past few weeks, running around, trying to perfect everything.

  “Well, Stephen just called and he has to work that night! He’s never had to work on Valentine’s Day. Now everything’s ruined,” he whines, burying his face in his hands.

  “Brady, it’s not the end of the world. Just shift all your plans to the next day,” I suggest.

  His shoulders slump as he sighs. “I know. It’s just that it’s been five years and I wanted to make it special.”

  Crossing around the desk I, give him a hug. “It will still be special because it’ll be with you. That’s all that Stephen cares about,” I comment, causing him to laugh.

  “That was so cheesy, but thanks. I guess I shouldn’t complain to you of all people. Jace isn’t coming into town, is he?”

  “Nope. He can’t get away this weekend, but he’ll be down the next. It’s not really a big deal. I don’t buy into all that Valentine’s Day stuff anyways. It’s just another day.”

  He looks like I’ve stepped on his favorite kitten and I struggle not to laugh at his reaction. “Woman! What is wrong with you?”

  I shrug. “Ty and I never really did the whole holiday, anniversary thing. We were so broke when we first started off, so we’d do things for each other when we could, not because a date dictated that we needed to. Once we both got good jobs, it just kind of stuck.”

  Brady waits a minute, as if letting the idea soak into his brain. “Okay, I guess I can see that. But forewarning, I’m going to show you the best Valentine’s Day ever.”

  “If you say so. I’ll get the wine if you get the movies. And Brady, don’t you dare bring Steel Magnolias over to my house again. If I have to sit there and listen to you blubber in your wine glass one more time…” I warn him as he grins at me.

  “I just can’t help it. Every damn time, Alexa. Every damn time. But fine, I’ll leave it at home. How about scary movies? I don’t want to watch sappy romances with you and be reminded that I should be out creating my own.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I say as I check
the clock and see that it’s just about time to head home for the day. I gather up my things and Brady follows me out to the parking garage. Walking towards my car, I realize that there’s something on my windshield. It’s an envelope with nothing but my name on it, and I grab it, throwing Brady a curious glance. When I look closer at the handwriting, a slow smile spreads across my face as I realize that it’s from Jace. I look up at Brady, who simply grins at me and shrugs his shoulders.

  “He may have given that to me with specific instructions to wait until today to deliver it,” he informs me. “And he wouldn’t tell me what it said, and he sealed it so I couldn’t snoop. I expect a full report later on.”

  We say our goodbyes as we both leave the parking garage, going our separate ways for the evening. I’m eager to get home so I can rip the envelope open and read what he’s written. This is the first time he’s written me anything by hand since he returned from Afghanistan, so I’m not sure why he chose today to change that.

  Once I get home, I make sure that Toby’s fed before I heat a frozen dinner for myself. Pouring a glass of my favorite Chilean Malbec, I settle in at the table to read Jace’s letter.

  February 9, 2013

  Hey Beautiful,

  I’m sure that mind of yours is running a thousand miles a minute since Brady delivered this to you, wondering why you’re getting a hand-written letter from me on this date. Knowing you, you’ve waited to get home until you read it. That way you don’t have to share it with him, so you’ve had the wheels turning in your head.

  I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but one year ago today, our journey back to each other truly began. When I heard your voice over the phone, my heart damn near stopped. I never, not in a million years, expected to be a part of your life again, so as frustrating as she can be, I’m going to owe Sierra for the rest of my life. Now if only she’d taught you proper phone etiquette. It’s rather rude to hang up on a guy you haven’t spoken to in ten years. I can think of ways for you to make it up to me though. Just warning you.