Inflame (Explosive) (10 page)

“Hey, Lucy, don’t cry. I know you’re going to miss seeing this sexy body every damn day, but we can still Skype. Remember our deal. If you show me yours, I’ll show you mine,” he teases, putting me at ease.

Shaking my head, I wonder how long it’s going to be before he gets me to take clothes off via webcam. I’m guessing it won’t take too long.

“And when have I ever had a problem showing you mine?” I ask, and he grins at all the memories.

“Well, if you’d have let me take naked pictures of you, then we wouldn’t have to Skype and I could just look at them every day.”

A slow, wicked smile crosses my face. There is one more present I haven’t given him yet, and I was going to let him discover it on his own, but I’d rather tease him about it now.

“Oh, Montgomery, how little faith you have in me. Do you really think I’d send you off to war with nothing to work with? You must really think I’m mean,” I say, giggling when I see him raise an eyebrow in confusion.

“Ms. Dawson, you wicked woman. What have you done?” he asks, his voice sounding a little more husky than usual.

I’m not going to spell it out for him. I want him to enjoy the find. “Now, now. It’s the last part of your gift, and I’d hate to ruin the surprise. Let’s just say I may have hidden a new folder on your laptop, and it’s your job to find it and report back.”

Leaning down, he presses his lips against mine, slipping his tongue in my mouth. We stand there, savoring each and every moment, knowing they’re our last. All too soon, he’s pulling away from me. He plants one last kiss on my nose before he picks up his gear.

“I meant what I said last night, Lucy. I’m going to miss you,” he confesses, and I can hear the sincerity in his voice. My heart tightens from knowing that this is it. Everything about our relationship is about to change, and I couldn’t have prepared for the pain that flows straight to my heart.

I stand up on my tiptoes and give him one last kiss on the lips. “I’ll miss you, too, Kale. More than you know.”

He nods, and our eyes lock as we both mentally prepare for this shift in our friendship. He looks like he’s about to say something else, but before he can, someone calls out his name, effectively ruining the moment.

“It’s that time, I guess,” he says, breathing out.

My nose starts burning, and I can feel the tears starting to form again. Not wanting to let him see me cry, I throw my arms around him, giving him a tight squeeze.

“You stay safe over there, Kale Montgomery. You promise me?” I haven’t let myself think about the dangers he’ll be facing, but now that we’re down to the wire, I need to hear him say it. To promise me that he’ll take care of himself.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head off. I know what I’m doing, and I won’t let anything happen to me. See you on the other side, babe,” he murmurs before he leans down, gives me one last kiss, and walks away.

I lean back against the hood of my car and watch until he’s almost out of sight. He’s about to enter a building when he turns back to look at me. His hand moves to his mouth and he blows me a huge kiss. Shaking my head, I grin as I make a show of catching it. Instead of placing it on my lips, I touch my hand to my ass, and I can see him laugh. He gives me one last wave, and in a split second, he’s gone.

Knowing I shouldn’t loiter on post, I suck it up and get in my car even though I want to follow Kale into the building, throw my arms around him, and get one more kiss. I sigh, but then I stand up straight and set my shoulders. As I start my car and make the drive home, I chastise myself for feeling down. I just spent an amazing summer with a sexy-as-sin soldier and had more orgasms in those four months than I have in my entire life.

With new focus, I decide that maybe this was my last hurrah. Maybe I am ready to settle down, to move on with my life. Perhaps this was life’s way of saying,
“Hey, Lucy, here’s one last good time. Now it’s time to get serious.”
Truth be told, no random hookup will ever match up to Kale, and I know that.

Pulling into my apartment complex, I finally know what I’m going to do. It’s time to hang up Loosie Lou. The next guy who graces my bed, fingers crossed, will be the last one.

9/4/12

Lucy,

So I know I said we’d be pen pals, but snail mail takes way too long and I can’t wait to tell you about this place. How about keyboard pals? Yeah, doesn’t have as much of a nice ring to it, but I figure daily interactions are better than reading letters every other week, right?

I hope everything’s going well back in Clarksville and that you’re not breaking any more hearts. You’ve done enough damage to mine, Freckles. ;) <-- Just imagine me doing that. It’s much sexier than some damn emoticon. But seriously, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. I know what you’re thinking. That it gives you free rein to do anything, but guess again. I don’t do men—so you shouldn’t either. Wait for me, Lucy Dawson. My poor little heart can’t take the thought of you finding another man while I’m gone. Okay, I know you’re rolling your eyes by now, so I’ll stop fucking around.

The flight over was pretty uneventful, and I’ve mostly settled in. I have a good team and I think we’ll work well together over the next nine months. Hopefully your nine months will be more exciting than mine. All I see in my future is work-gym-sleep-eat, wash, rinse, repeat. Good thing I have a pretty kickass keyboard pal to give me something to look forward to at the end of the day. You know that means I expect daily correspondence. I know you can get busy (I like when you get busy, Lucy) but I also know you have at least twenty minutes of free time when your kids are at recess. Didn’t anyone ever tell you you’re not supposed to sleep during school hours, Ms. Dawson? Take your time to write me instead. I’d hate for you to end up in detention.

On second thought, go for it, babe. The thought of you needing a punishment is a hot one, as long as I’m the one delivering.

And now I’m off to the showers with thoughts of that damn pastry cutter rolling over your skin. I’m still pissed as hell we didn’t get to try the new one out. Such a damn tease. You better have it shined, polished, and ready for me when I get home. Oh, by the way, Luce? Those fucking pictures? Best fucking gift ever. My dick thanks you.

Miss you, babe. If you see Lily, give her a hug from me.

Your sexy keyboard pal,

Kale

I click send and immediately pull up the photos Lucy sent me. That fucking girl. Saying goodbye to her was harder than I’d expected it to be, and when I saw her tears, my heart fell. I don’t know what the hell happened between Lucy and me this past summer, but I can tell you this. I was definitely beginning to feel like Justin Timberlake, not quite satisfied with being just friends, yet there was no way I was putting my heart out there. We had both laid it on the line when we first started hooking up, and in the meantime, I gained a best friend. I wasn’t going to fuck that up my expressing my feelings, and well, here I am. Thousands of miles away, pining ridiculously for my best friend, my favorite hook-up, probably the one girl I could settle down with who’d accept all my shit.

A moment later, my computer pings, and I grin when I see that I have a Skype chat invitation. The subject line states
Ms. Lucy Dawson Requests Your Presence: Clothing Optional,
and I’m all too eager to hit the accept button. Immediately, her image fills the screen, and my heart and dick both swell at the sight of her.

She waves, and I don’t miss the way her breasts are hanging out of the tank top she’s wearing as she bends over to look at the screen. Her green eyes are bright as she look as me too, and I’m glad I changed out of my uniform once I got back in the door and dressed in nothing but a pair of black basketball shorts.

“Hey, babe,” she says, her voice sounding through my computer, and I smile at the term of endearment we somehow adopted over the summer. The sound of her voice does something to me, and as ridiculous as it is, I think I miss her even more than I imagined possible.

“Hi, Ms. Dawson. I hope I’m pleasing you by responding to your request,” I tell her, winking in the process.

She giggles, and I love it. God, what the hell has this girl done to me?

“I’m very pleased, Sergeant Montgomery, especially since you decided to show up shirtless. I saw your email but wanted to see if I could catch you, and I’m glad I did.”

Settling in my desk chair, I turn the volume up, more than happy to see her. “I’m glad you caught me, too. I miss you, Luce. Things going okay there?” I ask.

She nods and gives me a thousand-watt smile. “Things are fine. A little quiet and lonely, but I’ll make do. What about you? How are things there? Making all the women on post fall in love with you?”

I shake my head, knowing that I haven’t seen a single female who could compare to her. “None at all, Lucy. Hey, I don’t have much time. Do a soldier a favor and get naked for me. I need something to think of when I’m jacking off in the shower later. My poor dick got way too used to your pussy, and he’s missing the fuck out of you.”

I watch as she throws her head back and laughs. “You certainly don’t hold back, but okay, Kale. I can make haste just for you,” she tells me as she takes her top off, filling the screen with her naked breasts, making me salivate at the sight. She brings her hands up and rubs both of her breasts. “Is this what you want to see, Kale? I wish these were your hands touching me, teasing my nipples,” she breathes, and my dick instantly goes hard as I slip a hand into my shorts.

“God dammit, Lucy, that is so fucking hot. My dick misses the shit out of you,” I repeat, needing to say it again for emphasis. “I wish I were on top of you, sliding in between your gorgeous breasts, feeling the friction of my skin on yours.”

A slight blush creeps over her face, but it doesn’t stop her. “Mmm, Kale, what I wouldn’t give to have you between my legs right now.”

I watch as she fondles herself, and I start to jack off, wishing my hand were hers. My eyes are locked in on her, captivated by her every movement. She scoots her chair back so I can see all of her, and I go crazy the moment I see that she’s in nothing but a lacy thong. Her hand dips down into her panties, and my mind runs wild, wishing those were my fingers playing with her clit.

“Kale, I miss you so fucking much. I need you. Now,” she breathes, and I watch as she continues to rub herself.

I’m about to respond when I hear my door open, and Xavier walks in. Jerking my hand out of my shorts, I sit and turn towards him. His eyes are wide, and he’s staring at my screen. At Lucy. I’m about to see fucking red, so I slam the screen shut.

“Dude, my bad. I’ll…I’ll be back in a few,” he tells me, leaving the room, and I want to punch something. After having been held up, he’s finally on his way back to the States and we were supposed to meet up for dinner, but obviously I was preoccupied.

Catching my breath, I make sure I’m alone before reopening my screen. When I do, I see that Lucy’s dressed, and clearly, the moment’s been ruined.

She raises an eyebrow at me. “So much for privacy. I hope he didn’t get too much of a show,” she says, laughing it off.

“He saw nothing, I promise. I guess I’ll have to be more careful with these Skype dates. I’m going to go shower, babe. Thanks for the visuals. Miss you,” I tell her, meaning it more than ever.

She sighs. “Miss you, too, Kale. I miss you, too.