by Cat Johnson
She held her breath and waited what seemed like an eternity for him to speak.
“Are you bored with us?” Jeff asked, his voice tinged with something she couldn’t identify.
“I asked you first.”
After an agonizingly long moment, Jeff shook his head. “No. I’m not bored.”
“I’m not either. Especially after last week, I mean, that was great.” She realized she was babbling.
Jeff still watched her. “I agree. So what exactly are you suggesting, Meg?”
This was it. Do or die. She took a deep breath and launched head first into what could end up coming back to haunt her if he didn’t feel the same way. “That maybe we should consider becoming exclusive.”
She thought she saw his mouth twitch, but it was too quick to be sure.
“But that would make us boyfriend and girlfriend, not just fuck buddies anymore, wouldn’t it?”
Didn’t he want to be girlfriend and boyfriend? Maybe the nurse was already his girlfriend. She was stupid to even bring this up. “Well, no, not necessarily…unless you wanted to be, of course. And if you did, then that would be fine with me. Or not. Whatever.” Damn. Way to play it cool, Meg.
Jeff chewed on his lip before saying, “Meg. I need to know. Is this all about your being jealous of the nurse?”
Meg stifled a groan. She hated he knew her so well.
“Jealous? Me? No. I’m not jealous.”
“Meg…”
Meg let out a huge sigh. “Yes. Okay. I’m jealous as hell. When I called you last Saturday and you said you had plans already…” She let the sentence trail off, unable, no more unwilling, to tell him how devastated she felt. “And if it was only jealousy, I could probably handle it, but I’m afraid it’s more.”
Jeff was suddenly out of his seat and standing beside her, pulling her up out of her chair so she could look him eye to eye. “How much more?”
She forced herself to look into his eyes. “I think I like you.”
His laugh sounded a tad bit bitter. “I should hope so. We’ve been friends since eighth grade.”
“I mean I like-like you.” She blushed.
Jeff let out a short laugh. “Now I feel like we’re back in eighth grade.”
Meg smacked him in the arm for that comment.
Capturing both of her hands in his, Jeff asked, “Do you want to know something?”
“What?” She pouted, not sure she did want to know.
“You have no need to be jealous.”
“No?”
“No. My plans last week were tickets to a game with the guys from work.”
She felt ridiculously relieved.
“Wanna know something else?”
Meg looked into his eyes hopefully. “What?”
“The nurse called me earlier today. She saw my buddy at the bar after work last night and he gave her my number.”
Suddenly Meg was on an emotional roller coaster with no exit in sight. She felt acid fill the pit of her stomach. This was why she didn’t date. She remembered now. It sucked.
“What did she want?” Meg could barely hear past the rush of blood in her ears.
“To see me tonight.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. So Nurse Naughty called after he had already said yes to dinner with her and he felt he couldn’t get out of it. Great. He would probably rather be with the slutty nurse tonight. This was horrible. She could barely breathe.
Afraid she might cry, Meg managed to choke out, “What did you tell her?”
“That I was already involved with someone and that sleeping with her that one time had been a mistake.”
That one time. He hadn’t slept with her again. Relief flooded her entire body. She could barely whisper, “You did?”
“Yeah, but that wasn’t totally true.”
Of course it wasn’t true. Jeff wasn’t involved with her. Meg herself had made up that stupid rule that they wouldn’t get “involved”. They would be just friends with benefits who would have sex with no involvement. She dropped her gaze from his. “I guess you’re right. It’s not true.”
“It’s not true because sleeping with her wasn’t totally a mistake.” Meg’s head whipped up as he continued, “Because it wasn’t until I was with her that you decided you like-liked me.” Jeff paused, smiled and ran his hands up Meg’s arms. He cupped her face with one palm before he went on. “And it wasn’t until I was with her that I realized I never wanted to be with anyone else except you.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He smiled wider.
As she felt her heart begin to pound, Jeff leaned in, touching his lips to hers. He kissed her deeply until her knees felt weak and she finally had to pull away to catch her breath…and confess one more thing. She couldn’t keep this to herself any longer. “Jeff?”
“Yes, Meg.”
She hesitated. “I think I might more than like-like you.”
He grinned. “That’s okay, sweetie. I more than like-like you too. I think I have for awhile now.”
So much for Vicki’s theory about men.
Meg broke into a huge satisfied smile. “I’m really glad that you do.”
“Me too, Meg. Me too. Oh and you better stock up on batteries for Bunny. And we’ll buy some lube too. I think we’re gonna need both. Now that we’re officially exclusively dating, I plan on being here a lot more often.”
Meg felt her entire body warm. She certainly hoped so.
The End
The Soldier and the Siren
The transport touched down with a bump and a squeak of rubber against tarmac. This was it. He was home. Stateside once more, but for perhaps the first time in his decade-long career in the Army, David couldn't have cared less.
What did it matter whether he was in Afghanistan getting shot at or home? She had pierced his heart completely. As accurately as if she'd been wielding a sniper's weapon, and all from thousands of miles away. He felt the outline of the folded letter in the pocket of his cammies. A five-year relationship, ended by one piece of paper and four heart wrenching words. "I've met someone else."
Maybe the Army should hire Jan. She could take out half the Taliban and probably Osama too by breaking them so completely they'd wish they were dead.
The door swung wide and the smells of the airfield rushed inside the cabin as the members of his platoon sprang into movement around him. They gathered possessions and lined up in the aisle, brushing past his elbow and jostling for position, all anxious to push toward the exit. David remained seated. What was the hurry?
"Sergeant?"
He looked up at the word and realized that though he had no desire to get off this flight, the guy sitting next to him trapped in the window seat did.
"Sorry." David stood. He couldn't hide on the plane forever.
Before descending the metal stairs, he glanced at the waiting family members, some holding banners, others waving flags. Women. Children. His treacherous eyes scanned the faces. Who the hell was he looking for? She wouldn't be there. So why was his pulse pounding?
Stupid.
Gaze firmly lowered, he planted his well-worn combat boots on the steps. Once on the ground, he made a beeline to the pile of bags. He pawed through a few, all identical except for the names, until he found his. He hefted the heavy weight onto his shoulder and walked quickly past the happy, tearful reunions.
Wives and girlfriends leapt into loved ones’ arms. Children called out "Daddy".
Stoically keeping his attention downward David didn't look up again until he'd reached the sidewalk where he'd have to find a payphone to call a taxi. He'd turned his cell phone account off for the deployment. He'd be happy to have it back on again but that would have to wait until tomorrow. Right now, he needed a cab, a shower and his bed. Food would probably have to be in there somewhere as well, not that he had an appetite.
Grabbing the receiver, David pushed the buttons for information. He didn't know the number or even the name of the local ta
xi company. He'd always had someone waiting for him. Boy, how things changed.
Absently, he glanced at an ad plastered next to the phone for the local radio station. It featured a picture of a smiling female. He was still waiting for the operator to come on the line when a minivan pulled up.
"Sergeant! You need a ride?" One of his guys, smiling wide and face covered in lipstick, yelled out the open passenger window.
"Nah, I'm good. I can just call a cab."
The door swung open and the younger soldier jumped out. "No need. You're on our way. Really, it's no problem at all."
Before he could protest his bag was thrown in the trunk and David was stashed in the back between two car seats filled with tiny clones of his team leader. David had planned on having kids himself one day. When the hell would he get around to that? Thank God he hadn't had them with Jan.
As the van pulled up to the bachelor housing on base, he sent up another thanks that he'd never moved in with her either. He sighed and directed his attention to saying the proper thanks to the happy family of four who served as the painful reminder of what he didn't have.
Just a couple of hours later, he felt like a new man. Or at least a less broken one. A nice hot shower could solve a number of ills. So could a good cold beer, or six. He shoved the half eaten pizza, still in its box, onto the bare shelf of the fridge. That was one benefit of having no food at his place. There was plenty of room. While he was in the fridge, he grabbed the last beer out of the cardboard six-pack holder on the shelf above.
Maybe after this he'd be able to sleep. Though the quiet was starting to get to him. After being surrounded by his guys twenty-four hours a day for six months, being totally alone was disconcerting.
David switched on the radio next to his bed and scrolled through the stations. He landed on a talk show. The woman's voice was soothing. Sultry and warm. He left that on. In nothing but his PT shorts, he lay down on top of the smooth bedspread and closed his eyes, willing peace to come.
“Another?” The bartender, rag in hand, paused in his wiping of the bar top directly in front of David.
“Yeah, sure. Thanks.” He pushed his empty bottle closer to the man and reached to grab another peanut out of the bowl to his right.
“Mind if I steal a few of those?”
The voice stopped David’s hand in mid motion, its tenor so familiar he would know it anywhere. It was the voice from the radio. The one that had lulled him to sleep last night as surely as a lullaby.
Almost fearful to look and find the exterior package didn’t match the image he’d conjured in his mind while listening to her, he turned his head in her direction. “Help yourself.”
Relief flooded him. He needn’t have worried. She was all he’d imagined and more.
Chestnut hair pulled into a messy knot at the back of her head begged his hands to pull it down so he could feel it against his skin. Her smile, as warm as her voice, was punctuated with dimples on either side.
No, she wasn’t perfection. The crinkles that appeared in the corners of her eyes when she smiled would probably be airbrushed out of a picture if she were a model, but he liked them. They made her more real.
“Thanks.” She popped a few nuts into her mouth while continuing to size him up. “I haven’t seen you around here before.”
David felt his pulse speed. He may have been out of the dating world for a few years, and out of the country for a few months, but he knew the look of a woman who was interested.
Swallowing hard, he tried to play it cool. Meanwhile, between that sultry voice and the way she kept looking at him, he was so aroused he could happily take her right there on top of the bar.
“I’ve been away.” The bartender plunked his beer down. David said thanks and glanced in her direction. “Drink?”
“I’ll just have a sip of yours.” The woman reached right out, brazen as anything, and grabbed the longneck. She pressed it to her lips. After a long swallow that had him imagining all sorts of things, she licked her lips and handed the bottle back to him. “Mmm. Nice. Thanks.”
He drew in a deep breath and angled his body toward the bar so she wouldn’t see the growing bulge in his jeans. “No problem.”
Taking a sip himself, he debated his next move. Not that he was in charge here. She was clearly in the driver’s seat.
“So, you live around here?” Her words drew his gaze to her mouth. He seemed unable to tear his attention away from her when she spoke.
“Not far.” He also seemed unable to form sentences of more than a few words. David brought the bottle back to his lips and took another swig.
“What do you say we finish that baby up and head to your place? I’m dying to get out of these heels.”
After that statement, swallowing the beer in his mouth without choking took some doing. The expression on her face clearly said the shoes weren’t the only things she wanted to take off.
He nodded. “Sounds good.”
She plucked the beer from his hand and downed a large swallow, nearly emptying the bottle. “Good. Let’s go.”
He struggled to pull a few bills out of his wallet, threw them on the bar and rushed after her as she waited by the door.
She didn’t say another word, and neither did he, until he’d closed the door of his room behind them. Then her beer-scented lips were pressed against his. He’d been six months in Afghanistan without beer or women. Tonight he had both and he wasn’t going to let them go to waste.
When she hopped up and wrapped her legs around him, he carried her across the room. They tumbled together on top of the unmade bed. Amid the already messy covers, they pawed at each other’s clothes until nothing remained between them. As he braced above her, she pulled his hips forward and plunged him effortlessly into her warmth.
David let out a groan as long absent sensations assaulted him. She bit his chest hard while pulling him deeper. He tangled his fingers in her hair, yanked it to the side and retaliated with a bite of his own. With a moan that cut straight to his core, she angled her head to give him better access.
Feeling like a teenager again, David worked the spot below her ear until he’d left his mark. He pulled back, admired his work, then let his gaze move down her body to appreciate the rest of her. In particular, he took in the tantalizing view of where their bodies met.
He continued to thrust into her like there was no end in sight. Like he was eighteen again and he could go all night. As she cried out her pleasure beneath him, he knew she’d let him.
Her body tensed. She grabbed his hips and held him tight against her. He didn’t fight it as he felt her body clutching his. He squeezed his eyes shut and enjoyed her muscles pulsing around him. When her grip eased up enough he could move again, he rocked into her hard and fast until he roared with his own release.
Collapsing heavily and breathless upon her, David laughed, his heart feeling whole again for the first time in a while.
“Sleep now.” She stroked his hair as her voice poured warm and thick over him.
David opened his eyes to a room flooded with brilliant morning sunlight. Her words filled the room but they had a distant quality. He turned his head and saw the radio was on. It was the source of his siren’s voice. She wasn’t there at all.
He frowned as memories crept into his head. He still lay on top of his neatly made bed in his PT shorts. Reaching down, he plucked sticky fabric away from his skin.
It had been a dream. An incredible one that had him coming in his sleep like a pubescent boy, but still just a dream.
Running a hand over his face and hair in frustration, he swung his legs over the side of the bed. The voice from the radio chattered on, each syllable making his body crave more of what he apparently had never had. Her.
“We’re broadcasting live this morning from the PX. Come on down and join me. We’ve got t-shirts to give away…”
Out of bed and on his hurried way to the bathroom, he didn’t hear the rest of what she said. It was crazy, yeah, but he
had to meet her.
Faster than even when he’d been under fire, David finished his shower, got dressed and was out the door. Sprinting across the post, he was out of breath by the time the radio station van parked in front of the PX came into view. He dodged around the vehicle to see a small crowd pressing toward banks of speakers and a woman seated behind a table.
Long chestnut hair pulled into a knot at the back of her head. Dimples a man could get lost in. That voice, amplified so it filled the air and surrounded him. Defying all logic, the woman of his dreams sat before him, chatting with the crowd.
The station took a break to play some music and someone official-looking organized the visitors into a line. Numbly he got on the end, not knowing what it was for, just that it would lead him to her. Eventually, it was his turn to stand before her. She smiled that smile that was familiar even though there was no earthly way it could be.
“Hi. You look like you need an extra-large.” She reached for a pile next to her on the table and plucked a t-shirt off the top. “Here you go.”
Blindly, he reached out and took it from her, unable to draw his gaze from her face. “Thanks.”
She smiled brightly. “You’re very welcome. I’m taking questions for when we go back on air after the break. Anything you’d like to ask?”
“Um, yeah. Can I buy you a cup of coffee or…lunch when you’re done here?” David swallowed hard, waiting for her probable rejection.
Her surprise was evident from her expression. The long pause during which she didn’t answer didn’t bode well, yet still a spark of hope lived inside him.
Finally, she nodded. “Yeah. I think I’d enjoy that.”
A wide grin he couldn’t control and didn’t want to spread across his face, stretching from ear to ear. “Me too.
The End…or just the beginning?
FIREWORKS
“Who the hell schedules a leadership training over the fourth of July?” Leaning back from the computer, Joe huffed out an annoyed breath. “And we’ve got freaking homework to do too. On a holiday. It’s un-American.”
“Forget about the holiday. Who the fuck decided a training at a post in Georgia in July was a good idea?” Brad wiped the sweat from his face one more time. It figured the air conditioning in their room would be on the fritz. Just his luck. Sometimes a guy just couldn’t catch a break.
