Inflame

Chapter 7

Lucy

IT’S BEEN nearly four months since that first night, and this summer passed by way too quickly. I’m getting ready to head to Kale’s place for one last hurrah before he gets on a plane and walks out of my life for the next nine months. I’ve come to rely on seeing him on an almost daily basis, and having to go back to Channing again is going to suck. When I went to Kale’s in my sexy teacher getup, I figured I was getting ready for one-night stand or at least a short fling with a few fun nights. Instead, I gained a best friend…who just so happens to also be really good in bed. I smile as I remember the rest of that night—the night we solidified our relationship.

After not embarrassing himself in front of the delivery guy, we gorged on pizza, and Kale introduced me to the strangest drink concoction. I was snuggling on the couch in a pair of his sweatpants and an Army t-shirt, thankful he’d taken pity on me and not made me lounge around in that short skirt and barely there tank. When he set the mixed drink in front of me, I asked what it was, but he wouldn’t tell me.

“Just take a sip, Lucy,” he said, and I eyed him suspiciously. He looked at me with exasperation. “What do you think I’m going to do? I already had you naked—well, almost—in my bed, and you were screaming my name. It’s just a drink.”

Remembering the way it had felt when he’d made me come brought a smile to my face, and I did as he’d asked. There was a definite burn, but the sweetness of the drink helped calm it down. He was right. It was pretty damn delicious. When he told me it was Mountain Dew and Fireball Whiskey, I was a little surprised, but I didn’t question it.

Several—or well, probably six—cocktails later, he pulled me down on the couch, properly preparing for his oral exam. I’m more than happy to report that he earned very high marks and has been doing so ever since. Afterwards, we ended up in his bed. I hadn’t planned on staying over, but six whiskeys later, I really had no choice. I offered to sleep on the couch, causing him to scoff at me. He took my hand, led me back to his bedroom, and surprised me by handing me an unopened toothbrush and giving me access to all his toiletries. It felt a little weird, knowing this was just supposed to be a random hook-up, but I appreciated that he was being a gentleman.

Upon exiting the bathroom, he went in after me, and I went out to the living room to get my purse. I dug around until I found my phone and saw about fifteen texts from Charlie, all ranging from “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” to “Don’t listen to that advice,” to “How big is his cock?” The latter made me laugh out loud, and before I knew it, my phone was being pulled out of my hands.

I jumped up, trying to grab it away from him, but he was too tall. It wasn’t until he read the messages that he handed it back to me. He stood there, crossing his arms, watching me.

“Well? What are you going to tell her?” I hesitated, and he grinned at me. “I can grab a ruler if you want.”

Shutting off my phone, I pushed his shoulder, telling him to fuck off. He just laughed as we made our way back to his room. We both settled on the bed, and I set the alarm on my phone so I could get out of there at a reasonable hour. Fluffing my pillow, I cuddled up underneath the covers and wondered what the hell I was doing. Kale turned towards me and gave me that heart-stopping smile that was already starting to be a panty dampener. Well, if I were wearing any.

“I’m glad I met you, Lucy Dawson,” he said, as if it were the most natural thing to say after we’d spend the night in various sexual positions.

Surprisingly, I felt the same way. Knowing that he was only going to be around for the summer and that he was in the same boat relationship-wise that I was made me think that this could be the best summer yet. In fact, a summer fling never sounded better.

“And I’m more than grateful that you creepily wandered into my elementary school classroom.”

He laughed and leaned in, placing a kiss on my nose. “I like you, Lucy. And I’d like to spend more time with you. Like I told you, I’m heading to Afghanistan in the fall, and like you, I’m not looking for anything. What do you say we see where this friendship goes?”

I gasp in mock horror. “Kale Montgomery, are you suggesting that we become friends with benefits? You know that only works in the movies, right?” I teased, wanting nothing more than to agree with a very enthusiastic yes, but I held myself back.

“Well, I didn’t put it that way, but if that’s what you want, Lucy, then I’m game. But can I be the Justin Timberlake kind of friend? I’m more partial to him than Ashton Kutcher.”

The moment he said the words, I busted out laughing.

“What? My sisters have been in love with JT since I was in middle school. My fondness for him has grown ever since. It’s fucking true that he brought sexy back.”

“Okay, okay, Kale. A summer not needing my vibrator sounds perfect. You can be my JT as long as I can be your Mila. I do kind of have a girl crush on her.”

A slow grin spread over his face, and I knew that he agreed.

“You’ve got yourself a deal.”

WE’VE BEEN practically inseparable since then. Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking getting into a long-term friends-with-benefits situation. Justin and Mila’s story has a happily ever after. Kale and I pretended that part of the movie didn’t happen. Don’t get me wrong. It hasn’t been all about sex. Once the school year was over and I was no longer Lily’s teacher, I often accompanied them to the park, the aquarium, and the movies, even though Kale despised sitting in a dark theater with kids. Something about their talking incessantly drove him nuts, but for Lily, he didn’t mind. He was so tender and loving with her, and he treated her as if she were his own. It didn’t make sense with his whole playboy persona. It was like he was born to be a dad, and until he could become one, Lily was the next best thing. It’s one of the things I love about Kale—seeing all the different sides to him.

Charlie kept trying to hook me up with Drew’s friends, but I always begged off, pretending to have other things to do. I think she suspected that I had a guy on the side. She’d bugged me about my night spent with Kale, but I waved her off, not giving her any details, and apparently she bought my indifference. She never again asked about Kale, and I never offered the information. What was going on between us was complicated enough even for me, and trying to explain it to her would probably make my head explode—and hers, for that matter.

Here’s the thing. I’m not going to tell you that I’ve fallen in love with Kale Montgomery. I haven’t. I have, however, realized that he’s exactly the type of man I’d settle down with, and watching him with Lily has made it even worse. That biological clock has started ticking, and each tock is louder than the last. I’m not saying I want to have a child right now. It’s just… I think I’m finally in a place where I might try to actually settle down and try to find someone who fills my heart with ultimate joy. Could that be Kale? Maybe, but I won’t let my heart open up to the possibility. I knew this summer had an expiration date, and now that it’s here, I’m glad I’ve kept my feelings closed off. Perhaps once he’s gone, I can finally open up my heart and find someone worth settling down with, because after Kale, I think I’m done with casual.

I finally pull myself out of my mind and check the time. Realizing that I was supposed to be at Kale’s twenty minutes ago, I rush to grab my purse and the gift I got him. Checking my phone, I see that I have two missed calls, but instead of calling him back, I figure I’ll see him in ten minutes and hit the road.

He’s pacing his porch when I pull into his driveway. As I get out of the car and make my way towards him, he stops to watch me.

“Where the hell have you been?” he asks gruffly. “I tried called you and it kept going to voicemail.”

Taken aback, I walk towards him and wrap my arms around his waist, trying to read his mood. I know he went over to Anna’s to say bye to Lily, and I wonder if that’s what’s bugging him.

“Kale, I was just running late. No big deal. What’s going on?”

He sighs, pulling me into a warm hug. I can feel his lips press against my forehead, and I’m confused as to what’s going on. He’s not acting like his usual playful self. By now, he’d have at least slapped me on the ass once or twice.

“Nothing, Luce. It’s nothing,” he whispers as he pulls away. Taking my hand, he pulls me inside, not stopping until we get to the kitchen. I see that the table is fully decorated with candles, a bouquet of flowers, and two perfectly placed table settings.

I stop in my tracks, wondering about the implications of this sudden turn of events. Last I knew is that we were going to finish binge watching season six of Lost. He said that he needed to know all the answers before he left for Afghanistan. A dinner by candlelight? This wasn’t in the cards for us.

He must see the look on my face, because he chuckles as he guides me to an open seat.

“It’s been a great summer, Luce. I’m going to miss the hell out of you and thought it’d be fitting to finish it off with a nice meal since the first time around all I gave you was pizza.”

His words warm my heart, and I love how thoughtful he is. Truth be told, I’ll miss the hell out of him, too. This is completely different from how things ended with Eric. The idea of saying goodbye to Kale actually hurts, which lets me know that it’s actually perfect timing. If I get in any deeper, I’m going to fall, and with him, that’s just not possible.

I smile at him and nod. “Trust me. You gave me a whole lot more than that. But as much as I love pizza, this means even more. Thanks, Montgomery,” I tell him, causing him to grin. He always tells me that he can’t decide if he likes Kale or Montgomery more, and I like to alternate between the two.

We settle in to eat, making small talk, both ignoring the elephant in the room. We’ve become close this summer, in a friendship capacity, and it’s normal not to want your friend to go off to a warzone for nine months, right? That’s what I tell myself.

After dinner, Kale holds his hand out to me. I place mine in his, and he pulls me out of my chair, leading me to his bedroom. Thankfully I knew we’d end up here, so I placed my gift in here earlier when I’d excused myself to go to the bathroom. He sits me down on the bed and goes to his closet, pulling out a small gift bag. I blush when he hands it to me, not having expected anything from him. Leaning across the bed, I grab my own gift bag from his nightstand and hand it to him. He quirks a brow up at me, and I grin devilishly. He’s going to love the hell out of my gift. I only wish I could be there to see what he does with it.

“You first,” he prompts, and he doesn’t have to tell me twice.

After I pull out the tissue paper, my eyes light up when I see what’s inside. I stick my hand in and find a t-shirt. It’s my favorite of his, the one I wore that very first night. I hold it up in front of me, letting it naturally unfold. Something hard falls in my lap. I look down, unable to help the blush that covers my cheeks when I see what’s there. A brand new LELO vibrator is staring up at me, and when I check out the box, it promises to hit that g-spot every single time. Kale’s teased me often about my vibrator usage, and this gift does not surprise me. I freaking love it.

I glance up at him, and his smile is cocky. He raises an eyebrow and then gestures to the device.

“If I’m going to be thousands of miles away, I can’t have you getting off to some piece named Channing. What the fuck kind of name is that?”

I get up on my knees and wrap my arms around him, pressing a kiss to his lips. “Not a good enough one. Now this new toy? What do you suggest I call it?” I ask saucily even though I know what his answer is going to be.

He grins against my mouth, and his hands wrap around me, pulling me in tight so his erection is pressing into me. “You can call it whatever you want as long as you’re imagining that I’m the one inside you fucking you into oblivion or wishing I were there sucking, licking your clit. I’ve heard you call out my name so many times that I know you’ll be thinking of me, baby.”

His words send a fire in my belly, and I want to wrap my legs around him. He’s right. I’ve become addicted this summer, and for the foreseeable future, he’ll be the one I imagine. I don’t want to think about it, this whole friends with benefits scenario ending, so I get up from the bed and grab the gift I brought him.

Handing it to him, I wait as he hesitates, almost like it’s weird that I’m giving him a gift. It’s no vibrator, but I hope it’s equally as…special?

He tears through the wrapping paper, and I feel silly when he pulls out the skirt I wore on the night we first were together. He grins up at me, and on his fingers, I see the skirt dangling, making my grin match his. Looking back in the bag, he laughs when he pulls out a ruler. I may not have let Charlie know the precise measurement, but I want to know it myself, and I make a mental note to put that ruler to use later.

His eyes widen when he holds up a stainless-steel Wartenberg wheel, and I flush, remembering the last time he used it on me. He didn’t last a week after we met before he mentioned my promise of introducing it to him, and boy, what an introduction it was.

“What am I supposed to do with this when I’m halfway around the world?” he asks, rolling the tiny pinpricks over his thumb.

“I figured that’s up to you. Either keep it for memory’s sake or practice for when you get home.”

He bites his lip and then looks at me, his gaze heated. “We’ll have to make one last memory before I leave,” he insists, and heat rushes between my thighs as I think of one last night tied down with Kale.

I watch as he sets the wheel on the nightstand and goes back to the bag. The last thing he finds is a copy of a Scantron with his name on it. His grin widens when he sees the content, and I blush, knowing he’s definitely earned all those high marks.

He tosses the items to the side and wraps me up in his arms. Shuddering, I relish in his closeness, knowing I have to soak it all in so I can last nine months without him.

“Oh, Ms. Dawson, what am I going to do without you?” he whispers.

I bring a lone finger up to trace his cheek. “Don’t worry about that right now. Instead, spend this time showing me what you’re not going to be doing but will still be wishing for every single day.”

Without preamble, he pushes me onto the bed, covering my body with his. He rains kisses down my face, nipping on my jawline and sucking at the skin on my neck. Kale knows every inch of me, and knowing it’s our last night together, I want to cherish every single moment of us together.

He doesn’t waste a single second before sinking into me, and my pussy is more than ready for him. Sliding my arms around to grip his ass, I try to match his movements, feeling the way he furiously pumps in and out of me. Something about this night, though, is different, and I can’t keep up. He’s fucking me with wild abandon, as if he can’t get enough. Instead of trying to match his pace, I hold on for the ride, letting him drive his hard cock into me time and time again.

It’s not long before I’m panting my release as I cry out his name. I can feel his dick emptying into the condom inside me.

“God dammit, Lucy,” he says, the same words he whispers every single night. This time, though, his voice is strained, and tears prick my eyes, knowing I won’t get to be with him for at least nine months—and possibly never again.

Sliding out of me, he presses a kiss on my lips then disappears into the bathroom. I turn over, wrapping myself up in the sheets. My mind’s running a thousand miles a minute, not wanting to think that this is our last time together, but I know I have to get used to it. When Kale comes out of the bathroom, he lies down in the bed and draws me into his body.

“You’ve become a damn good friend this summer, Lucy. One of my best,” he whispers, kissing the top of my head.

My breath stops at his admission. If I admit it to myself, I want to be so much more than his friend, but instead of letting him know, I stamp down my feelings, too scared to even think about them.

“Kale,” I breathe, but he brings a finger to my lips.

“I’ll miss you, babe,” he informs me, and my heart melts and breaks at the same time. I’ve never really had anyone to miss and I don’t know what to expect. When he says nothing else, I take that as a dismissal for any other feelings, so I bottle up my own and bury them deep, not expecting them to surface any time soon. Or well, at least hoping that they won’t.

Surprisingly, he folds his arms around me, and I settle into his embrace. Normally, we sleep on opposite sides of the bed, but tonight, apparently, we both want to be close. There’s an intimacy there that’s foreign, and as much as I liked the idea of using toys and restraints, it feels wrong. Instead, it’s just me, Kale, and nothing else. All night, we’re wrapped up in each other, talking and making love—not that I’d usually call it that, but fucking just doesn’t seem like the right term for what this is anymore.

The next morning, we linger in bed, neither one of us wanting to admit that our summer fling is over. When I drop him off on post, it’s no easier. We get out of the car, meeting at the hood of the car, and things feel awkward, not like us at all. He hesitates for a moment before taking me into his arms.

Drawing in his scent, I commit it to memory, not knowing when I’ll ever smell it again. I can feel hot tears forming in my eyes even though I promised myself I wouldn’t cry. That’s easy to say until you get to that moment. The final goodbye. I can’t imagine how girlfriends and wives feel. It feel likes the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, and we’re just friends.

I pull away from him, not wanting to stain his uniform if my mascara is running from the stupid tears that are now falling. A small smile spreads over his face, and he cups my chin as he uses his thumbs to wipe them away. A laugh escapes me at knowing that he probably thinks I’m being ridiculous. Hell, I think I’m being ridiculous. I don’t cry. I just don’t, but it’s been one hell of a summer, and I tell myself that I’m crying over all the lost orgasms, not the fact that there’s a small pang in my heart at the thought of saying goodbye.

“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.