Love on Leave

by Leah McDonnell

He sets me down. “No, Kate. I want you now.”

  Davis grabs my hand and leads me through the crowd, to the long, heavy-lit, restroom hallway. I know I should stop him, but I can’t. I have to have him. My body is on fire for him.

  He locks the door of the single stall bathroom and I’m back in his arms in an instant. I can feel him through his jeans, pressing against my stomach. He lifts me on the counter as I fumble with his belt buckle. The countertop is cold against my bare ass, as he slides my panties off. Electricity rushes through my body as I watch him tear open the foil wrapper. My body is ready as he pushes into me. He wraps his large hands around my waist, as we sync in perfect rhythm.

  He stops, moving his hands to my face. “You might possibly be the sexiest woman I have ever met.” I bite my lip as his hungry eyes show me how much he’s enjoying this.

  I lay back, using the mirror as leverage. Drowning in the intense pleasure of him. I can’t hold back my screams any longer, causing him to moan loudly. Faster and faster, never taking our eyes off each other. The intensity of his stare almost brings me to tears.

  His hands squeeze tightly around my waist, pushing harder until he falls breathlessly into me.

  We stay paralyzed, panting as sweat drips from our bodies. He lifts his head enough to grab a few paper towels from the machine. He hands me my panties, as a sudden burst of embarrassment floods through me. I try not to let it show as we silently pull ourselves back together.

  As we leave, he kisses the top of my forehead. “Promise me we won’t let things get weird between us?”

  I wave it off. “Pfff! No. Of course not.” Even though I’m already feeling that way.

  He reaches for the bathroom handle. “Are you sure? Because if we need to talk about this…”

  I smack his chest. “It’s all good, Lurch. It was a random bang among friends. Nothing more. Nothing less.” I try my best to say it as convincingly as possible.

  Lana gives me the death stare as I scurry back to the table, with Davis a few steps behind me. “Where the hell have you two been?”

  I act casual. “We went for some air.”

  “Oh, right! Air my ass!”

  I kick her foot under the table. Which is code for shut the hell up! And mouth “I’ll tell you later,” when Davis isn’t looking.

  Overwhelmed with what’s taken place over the last thirty minutes, I’m desperate to get out of here.

  Hoping not to be obvious, I glance at my watch. “Wow! It’s getting late. Y’all think we should start heading back?” Praying they say yes.

  “Hell yes! These heels are killing me,” Lana whines.

  Artie, who’s the DD, rounds up Ashley and Santos. As Lana, Davis and I wait for them outside. Except for a few random tourists filing out of the bars, the streets are empty. Making it eerily quiet. The temperatures dropped and can feel myself shivering. Davis swoops Lana and me into each of his arms to keep us warm.

  “Oh my God, Davis! Thank you!” she shouts, reveling in his warmth. “You’re like a human heating pad.”

  She was right. His tall, burly, stature is like having our very own Paul Bunyan. It’s sexy as hell, but I try to not let it show.

  We spot a tipsy Ashley staggering out the door, singing. Artie laughs, as he and Santos, guide her to the sidewalk. “I convinced her to go, but only after promising her we’d stop at the candy store on our way back to the car.”

  “Chocolate… Chocolate... Chocolate!” she chants.

  Lana nods. “Sounds like a pretty good idea, if ya ask me!”

  “Candy shop it is!” Santos shouts.

  With six bags of different types of Griffin’s Chocolates; Ashley, Santos, Davis and I, are once again piled in the back of Lana’s tiny Civic like sardines. I’m on Davis’s lap and thankful it’s a short drive.

  The four of them chat amongst themselves as Davis and I remain uncommonly quiet. His arm is around me and I’m intently aware of his every move. He slides his hand up my back and under my hair. No one else sees as his giant hand grabs the nape of my neck, giving it a gentle squeeze. I close my eyes as my body goes limp under his touch. What a fool I am for letting this happen, but what we’d done was too incredible to care.

  It’s after two in the morning by the time we make it back, and the cabin is dark and quiet. Jackson and Jenn are already in bed. We try the best five drunk people could do, to not make a big commotion coming in. But we sound more like a marching band in reality.

  “I’m not tired yet. Anybody up for the hot tub?”

  Santos is quick to take Ashley up on the offer.

  “Sorry, friend. My baby and I are crashing.” Artie says, grabbing Lana by the hand.

  “Kate? You joining us?” Ash asks as Santos gives me a pleading, please say no look.

  I glance over at Davis and I can tell he’s waiting for me to respond before making a decision.

  “Y’all two go ahead. I think I’m going to call it a night.”

  Davis stretches his arms above his head. “Yeah, me too. I think today’s adventures have finally caught up to me.”

  Twenty minutes later, Ash and Santos are in the hot tub as I fumble through the hall closet for my blanket and pillow. My mind spinning from the alcohol. Nerves set in my stomach as Davis heads up the hallway. I stumble into the closet door.

  He throws his hands up to catch me. “You ok there, Ms. Long Island?”

  “I’m fine. Just fighting with my damn pillow here.”

  “Why don’t you take the bedroom tonight? It’s not right for me to be hogging a king-size bed, while you’re out here sleeping on a shitty sofa mattress.”

  It’s music to my ears the second he says it. “It would be nice to sleep in tomorrow.”

  I walk in the bedroom, trying desperately to not let the fact we just had steamy, drunk sex in a bar bathroom freak me out. Do not overthink this, Kate! It was only a hook-up. Repeating it over and over, as I choke down the awkwardness.

  “You know it’s fine if you want to sleep in here too,” I say, pulling my hair into a ponytail.

  “It’s a good thing because I was already going to,” he says while rummaging through one of the bags of chocolates.

  A line forms between his eyes as he studies my face.

  “Hmm!”

  I scratch my nose, suddenly self-conscious. “What?”

  “You look pretty damn cute all bummed out. I’m diggin’ the glasses.

  “Well enjoy it while it lasts. Only at bedtime. It’s contacts ninety-percent of the time.”

  He pulls his shirt over his head, exposing the thick mass of hair covering his firm chest. He isn’t chiseled but his tall frame makes up for it. He fumbles around his rucksack for a few seconds, before pulling out a clean pair of boxers.

  He smirks. “These got a little dirty tonight.”

  I laugh, but my face flush. I crawl into bed, turning my back while he changes his underwear.

  “You don’t have to turn away, especially since my Johnson was in your hand less than an hour ago.”

  I pull the covers over my head. “You’re trying to embarrass me,” I stutter.

  He turns off the light and climbs into bed, settling in close. My body immediately affected by the intimacy of it all.

  “Did you try the chocolate turtles?” he asks, handing over the paper bag from the nightstand.

  I grab one out. “I think these are the only ones I missed.”

  My eyes roll back in my head. “Mmmmm!” I mumble. “Hands down the best one.”

  “I know! I can’t stop. They’re addictive.”

  I lick chocolate from my fingers. “I think we might have to make another trip for more before we head home.”

  He puffs an exhausted breath. “This has been one hell of a day.”

  “Yes, it has. When I woke up this morning, I couldn’t have imagined what today would have in store for us.”

  “You have to admit. The weekend wouldn’t have been near as exciting if I hadn’t been here.”

  I
laugh. “This is true. You always add a certain flair to everything we do. Too bad it’s flying by. Only one more day, then it’s back to reality.”

  “Well, I guess we need to get Lana busy planning our next big adventure.”

  Something in the way he says it pulls at my heartstrings, causing my voice to crack. “I honestly can’t put into words how much I needed this trip.” He understands why without me saying it.

  I roll to my stomach and watch him. The moonlight casts a glow across the bed, lighting his smooth-shaven face.

  He rubs his hand over the scar on my shoulder blade. “What happened here?”

  I close my eyes as snippets of the accident flash through my head. “I was in a pretty bad motorcycle wreck a couple of years ago. Like a freaking idiot, I jumped on the back of Wayne’s crotch rocket. Ten minutes later he laid it over right smack in the middle of I-85.”

  “Holy shit! Are you serious?”

  “Luckily, I don’t remember much. The lights from the ambulance, mostly. I was shouting for him to slow down, then my memory goes blank. Sometimes I dream about being in a cold, white room and my clothes are being cut off, so I’m guessing that’s a memory too.”

  “Jesus, Kate. You could have been killed.”

  I raise up on my elbows. “It could have been a lot worse. Other than being covered in scrapes and bruises, I was lucky to walk away with only a broken arm and the wicked burn that left the scar.”

  “Was he drunk or something?”

  “Oddly enough, no. The hospital tested him for everything imaginable, but they all came back clean. So the cops ruled it an accident.”

  “I guess it’s a blessing you don’t remember anything from it.”

  “Yep. And thanks to the forever reminder of my stupidity, my days of being reckless are over. Although, you wouldn’t know it after I went barreling down The Beast today.”

  He smiles. “You showed it who's boss.”

  “I’ve actually been thinking about getting a tattoo to cover it.” I gesture to the American flag wrapped around dog tags on his bicep. “I just haven’t decided what I want yet.”

  “There’s a great place a couple of miles from Post. I’ll take you when you’re ready.”

  We lay quietly as he slowly runs his fingers through my hair.

  “Are you having any regrets about what happened tonight?” he asks.

  “No. None at all.” I roll to my side to face him. “What happened was pretty amazing, and I’d lying if I tried to deny it.”

  His cocky smirk appears. “It was pretty damn incredible.”

  “I hope when the sun comes up and the alcohol wears off, it won’t change things. We’re too good of friends for any weird awkwardness between us, ya know?” I say tongue-tied. “I’m probably not making any sense.”

  “No, no. I get it and agree with you. We have to make a point to not let it happen.”

  “Promise me one thing,” I ask.

  “What’s that?”

  “Please don’t start treating me like one of your conquest girls.”

  His head tilts. “You aren’t some random girl I picked up for a quick lay, Kate. You’re important to me. You’re one of the few girls in my life I actually like being around.”

  I appreciate his words, but it immediately causes The Fourth of July to pop in my head.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  He yawns. “Of course.”

  “It doesn’t make a difference now, but did you lie to me about who called the Platoon Sergeant on me and Lana?”

  He shakes his head and breathes out a long, heavy sigh. “No matter how I answer this question, I’m still going to look like the bad guy. I guess I didn’t have all the facts straight and honestly, it’s still a mystery. The last I heard it was all a big joke, but I still have a hard time believing it.”

  I roll back on my pillow as I process his words.

  “What I can say is...I should have kept my mouth shut. It wasn’t my place to get involved.”

  I shrug. “Like I said… it doesn’t matter now. It’s the least of my worries these days. But it’d been weighing on me a little though.”

  He pulls my chin towards him. “I’m sorry Max hurt you.”

  My stomach knots. “He did the right thing by her. Unfortunately, I was the necessary casualty.”

  He hands over another chocolate turtle, “Since we are having a heart to heart. Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure. Anything.”

  He hesitates.

  “Were you with me tonight as some type of revenge thing? In hopes it’ll get back to him?”

  I roll towards him, wrapping an arm over his chest. “Davis, if I’m being completely truthful, until you mentioned his name a few minutes ago, Max had not crossed my mind all day.”

  He gives a relieved smile and I’m taken back by his concern.

  “Would it have bothered you if I had said yes?”

  “The idea of being used by a woman to get back at an ex would typically be pretty hot. But the thought of you doing it would definitely sting a little.”

  “Ya know, as much as I hate to admit it. I think there might actually be a pretty decent guy hidden in that Lurch body of yours.”

  He chuckles. “Shhhhhh! You can’t tell anyone. It might ruin my playboy rep.”

  I yawn loudly, no longer able to hold my eyes open. “Your secret is safe with me,” I whisper as I fall asleep in his arms.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  It's late morning when I finally drag out of bed, following the smell of bacon. I’m glad Davis is already up, avoiding any uncomfortable, “morning-after” weirdness.

  The sun beams through the tall living room windows like a Broadway spotlight. Adding additional pain to my already pounding head. Artie’s kicked back watching Seinfeld on the TV.

  “Damn, girl! You look like shit.”

  “I’m not sure which hurts more, my sore body from the rafting, or my head from the ridiculous amount of alcohol y’all let me consume last night.”

  Lana cuts open a biscuit and laughs. “Breakfast is ready. There’s a fresh pot of coffee on and I have Ibuprofen in my bag.”

  “How come you’re not dragging ass this morning? You drank as much as I did.”

  She crosses her arms. “Nope. No way! I refuse to have any additional conversation until you spill the dirt on you and Davis!”

  I gasp. Flailing my hands in a panicked no. “Oh my God! Hush! He’ll hear,” I whisper.

  “Geez! Freak much?” She pitches her dirty knife in the sink. “Calm down! He’s not here.”

  I freeze. “Huh?”

  Artie flips aimlessly through the TV channels. “They’ve been gone a good hour now.”

  “Ummm… who is they?

  Lana plops on the couch beside him. Jelly from her biscuit oozing down her fingers. “He, Jenn, and Jackson went sightseeing this morning. They were taking a drive into the National Park or something.”

  A tinge of unfamiliar jealousy tugs at my heart. “Oh.”

  “Yep, Jackson’s hoping to see some bears,” Artie adds.

  “Davis said you told him you wanted to sleep in today, so that’s why he didn’t wake you. And Ash and Santos are still asleep, and you know I’m going to tell Artie anyway, so you might as well spill it!”

  I make a cup of coffee and slide into the recliner by them. “Honestly, there isn’t much to tell. One minute we were on the dance floor, the next minute we were locked in the ladies' restroom.”

  “I knew it!” she yells and points. “Y’all had goo-goo eyes for each other all night!”

  Artie laughs. “I’ve seen it coming for months. You could cut the sexual tension between you two with a knife!”

  My lips curls. “Uh. No! I’ve never once thought of him in that way until last night. He’s always been a complete asshole!”

  “Yep! And he would say you were a snobby bitch. You know what they call that?” he asks.

  I roll my eyes and huff. “What, Dr. Ruth?
Please enlighten me.”

  Artie and Lana look at each other, then back at me.

  “Foreplay!” they shout in unison.

  I cave, unable to keep from laughing. “You know what? You two can both kiss my ass.”

  “I’ll take the right cheek and Artie can take the left!” she teases.

  “In all seriousness, let’s not make a deal out of this. It was a one-time, crazy thing between two drunk friends.

  It isn’t the start of anything.”

  Artie’s face twists. “I promised I wouldn’t mention a certain you know whose name. But you know Davis is going to shove this down his throat the second we get back, right?” Artie says.

  I shift in the seat. “I don’t know why it would matter. I don’t have any ties to Max anymore.”

  He shrugs. “Well, you have to admit, Kate. You did hook up with the one person he couldn’t stand being anywhere near you. If you were looking for the ultimate payback. You sure as hell found it.”

  “Good! Let him find out. I don’t give two shits if he knows,” I lie.

  No matter how angry I am, Artie’s right. This was the worst thing I could do to hurt Max.

  “Do not feel guilty! This is his own damn fault!” Lana snips. “If he would have slapped a raincoat on that thing. Or at the very least… pulled out! He’d be the one you had hot bathroom sex with!” Her upper lip snarls. “It pisses me off every time I think about it!”

  I puff out a heavy sigh. “No reason to get all worked up about it. What’s done is done.”

  The three of us sit quietly, sipping coffee and watching the Gatlinburg morning news.

  “He’s miserable ya know?” Lana kicks his foot, signaling him to shut up.

  I lift my eyebrows, hoping he will elaborate without me having to ask.

  “Jody isn’t even there anymore,” he says.

  “What do you mean? Where is she?”

  Lana lets out a long exaggerated breath, clearly not wanting him to share the info.

  He lifts a pleading brow and she nods for him to continue.

  “She left about a week after they got married, went back to Boise. Left before the ink was good and dry on the marriage license. Now, I’m not saying she trapped him, but she certainly figured out a way to get you out of the picture.”