Tessa Teevan - Inflame

“Well, Jesus, Lucy, I figured you’d be happy to see me, but I didn’t expect the waterworks. I’m here, babe. You don’t have to cry,” he whispers softly, his thumb rubbing gentle circles on my back.

I burrow my face in his chest, breathing his scent it, and I’m suddenly aware of how much I missed that smell. “God, Kale, I’ve been so worried about you. I was borderline freaking out. I tried not to but I couldn’t help but expect the worst. I missed you so much, and when I didn’t hear from you, I was so scared,” I admit, barely getting out the last few words.

His chest rumbles underneath my cheek as he chuckles lowly. “I missed you, too, Luce. And I’m fine, I promise. Well, mostly fine. It’s a long, long fucking story, and I’ll tell you, but let me just enjoy holding you for a moment,” he insists.

He’s okay, I think to myself, and I can hear my breath catch at the thought. Suddenly, I pull back, needing to study him, to take in every beautiful feature so I know this is real, that this isn’t a dream. My eyes narrow when I see that his arm is in a sling and there are cuts on his otherwise beautiful face.

“Oh my God, Kale! What the hell happened to you? Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Oh my gosh, how did I miss that damn sling when I flung myself at you? I am so, so sorry. Please tell me it didn’t hurt,” I beg, beginning to look all over his body, damning the uniform for covering whatever bandages may lie beneath.

“No, you didn’t hurt me. I’m tougher than nails, baby,” he says, laughing, but I don’t join him. I’m still staring at the sling, wondering what in the hell happened.

“Not funny, Montgomery,” I whisper, and he lifts my chin so I’m looking into his eyes.

“Hey, I’m fine. I’m here,” he tells me reassuringly. “There was an explosion. And then I was shot,” he explains, and my eyes widen. He must see the flash of panic that crosses my face because he continues quickly. “I was far enough away from the blast that little damage was done, and it was only a minor gunshot wound. I have a dislocated shoulder, a shit-ton of cuts and bruises, and a couple of minor burns. No big deal. I’ll be as good as new soon. I promise.”

His nonchalance does little to appease my worry, and in this moment, I need more than words of reassurance. I need to feel him, to really convince myself. Stepping up on my tiptoes, I press my lips to his. He freezes as if I’ve caught him off guard.

At first, the kiss is slow, hesitant even. I wrap my arms around his neck, careful not to hurt his shoulder. I pull him closer and push my body into his. The closeness unleashes something inside of us both and our kisses turn frantic. He slips his tongue into my mouth and mine meets his in a dueling passion, as if we’ve been waiting for this for so long and no amount of contact will ever been enough. I have no clue how long we stay there, and I don’t even care. All I want are these moments. These memories. These feelings. Right now, all I want is Kale. Nine months of separation melts away and is replaced by a burning desperation as I drink him in.

Somewhere out in the hall, a door slams, and the sound causes Kale to begin to pull away. When I try to keep my arms locked around him, he chuckles and shakes me off. His eyes darken as they rake over my body as if he’s checking me out for the first time.

“Jesus, Lucy, I really have missed you—hell, I’ve missed that—but any more and I’ll be taking you to the supply closet and sinking into you the way I’ve been dreaming about for nine months. Unfortunately, I have a feeling the school principal might frown upon that, not to mention your boyfriend.”

Oh. Freaking. Hell. When Kale walked in my classroom, I couldn’t think of anything but his being here. I realize he has no idea we broke up. Even more so, he has no idea that he was the reason for said breakup.

“Actually, Kale—” I begin, but he cuts me off.

“Sorry, Lucy. It’s been nine long, lonely months, and I couldn’t resist your soft lips. No disrespect to him. I mean that. Seriously. Let’s just call it a welcome-home kiss between friends,” he says pleasantly, and my heart falls at that damn word. Friends.

“No, seriously, it’s fine. Actually, Aidan and I broke up a few days ago, so really, it’s not a big deal.”

Now it’s his turn for his eyes to widen. “Seriously? Oh damn, I’m sorry. I had no idea.” He actually looks like he pities me, and I hate it, not wanting his sympathy, but I laugh it off.

“How could you have known? It’s fine. I’m fine. I tried to have a relationship and it failed miserably. I have no idea what I was thinking. But I don’t want to talk about that. I want to know all about your deployment and what the hell really happened.”

The truth is, I want him to ask what happened with Aidan, why we broke up, because then maybe I could admit that he’s the reason. At the same time, I know that, no matter my feelings, I’m in no shape to be jumping into a relationship right away and especially not right before I leave for the summer. Anything quick and drastic now could hurt our friendship, so I decide to be patient and push away any thoughts of telling Kale that I can’t seem to be with anyone but him.

Kale presses a soft kiss to my forehead. “Happy anniversary, babe,” he whispers, and I pull back, confused.

“Anniversary?” I ask, seemingly confused.

A wide grin spreads over his face. “Exactly one year ago, I showed up for the wrong Bring Your Dad to School Day. Kinda fitting I found myself back here again today, right? I guess you and me, baby? It’s fate,” he explains, his shoulders shaking as he laughs. “Seriously, though, can we get out of here? I want to change my clothes and then I’ll tell you all the dirty, boring details of my last nine months over dinner. I’ve been approved leave and am heading down to visit my mom and sisters, but I had to see you first.”

Even though I know it’s selfish, I hate knowing that our time is yet again limited. I throw a smile on my face, gather up my things, and loop my arm through his.

“Sounds perfect,” I tell him, my heart happier than it’s been in a very long time.

Present, November 2013

Lucy

“SO THERE you go. That’s the down and dirty history of Kale and me,” I finish, but Charlie narrows her eyes at me.

“Wow. I knew something was going on with you two, but I never expected all that. Even the Aidan stuff. Now I guess it all makes sense why you never wanted to actually get serious with him. But wait a minute… You’re leaving out the rest of the story. What happened when he got back from his mom’s? What about the entire summer?” she asks persistently.

I knew she would ask, but a small part of me hoped she wouldn’t. Either way, I decide to gloss over it because we didn’t have some crazy, clandestine summer affair like the year before. Unfortunately.

“Once he got back, we only had a week left before I went to Florida. And well, we kind of fell back into old habits. It was only for a week and one thing led to another.” I shrug, giving her an unabashed smile. “He’d just gotten back into the country, and who can say no to an American hero? He deserved it, and I missed him, and I wanted it to be me who gave him an exciting welcome home. The rest of the summer…we kept in touch, and as you know, he came to visit once.” I don’t inform her that Kale and I fell right back into the comfortable fling when I got home. Charlie’s not an idiot, but she’s been wrapped up in Knox. I’m not sure she’s had time to notice the way Kale and I always end up leaving the bar together—or at least time to care.

Smiling, I remember the day I came back to town and he descended on me before I could even unpack. I rub my stomach, pretending to caress my baby, our baby, knowing that night was most likely the night he was conceived, if I have my timelines correct.

“So you’re telling me that, all that time you were with Aidan, you were harboring secret feelings for Kale? But you never told him?” she asks.

I simply nod, knowing she’s just trying to wrap her brain around it all.

“Damn,” she whispers, looking at my belly.

I protectively wrap my arms around my middle, not wanting to know the implications of that word. “Yep. Damn,” I echo.

“What are you going to do?” she asks. “Are you still excited at the prospect like you were the other night?”

I give her a noncommittal, “I have no idea,” as I’m reminded of the night Kale made me take the test when I told Charlie part of me was ready to become a mom. Now that it’s actually happening and I’ve had time to think about it, I decide to allow myself to feel the excitement that’s wanting to rush out. The hardest part is going to be figuring out what this means for my relationship with Kale, because regardless of what I want or what he wants, things are about to change for us—big time. And right now, that’s the last thing I want to think about.

Getting up off the couch, I decide not to stick around this apartment and wallow in self-pity I shouldn’t even be feeling. Charlie watches me silently as I rush back to my room. I throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that’s lying on the floor, flinching slightly when I get a look at myself in the bathroom mirror. Running a brush through my wild hair, I tame it and put it up in a ponytail before splashing water over my face. I pinch my cheeks, deciding to forgo makeup, and figure this is as good as I’m going to get for now.

“What are you doing, Lucy?” Charlie asks when I walk back into the living room.

I grab my purse and slide my feet into my most comfortable flats before answering her. “I have a baby on the way. I might as well start preparing,” I tell her, causing her to grin widely.