Claiming His Firecracker

by Lulu Pratt

  I could see Jolie’s eyes turning red, but she didn’t let my speech break her, not yet. “Why now, Jagger? What made you change your mind after all these years?”

  “A special person made me see that I was being, well, pigheaded. That there are more important things in life than pride.”

  “Thank God,” Jolie murmured, and then without warning, she pulled me into a hug. I was limp for a moment, letting the bad feeling drain from my body. I then hugged her back so fiercely she laughed and said, “Hey, are you trying to break my bones?”

  I loosened my grip and leaned back to study her face — it had been too long. She looked like an adult now, not the little girl I’d known. It would take time and effort, learning about this new woman before me.

  She wiped tears from her lash line then suddenly changed tunes, punching me on the shoulder and grinning.

  “Would this mystery person by any chance happen to be Fiona?” she asked with a wicked smile.

  “Um, uh, what makes you say that?”

  “Oh, don’t you try it with me, I saw the sparks out there on the field. When you were looking into the stands, I know you were trying to find her, not me.”

  “Sorry about that.”

  She punched me again. “Okay, enough apologies from you. For one, I owe you an apology — I’m sorry I didn’t make any effort to move on either. We were kids. It was immature and stupid and let’s just agree to never allow that shit to happen again.”

  “Done.”

  “And for two, you’re not allowed to apologize for love.”

  I scoffed, my heart accelerating as I asked, “Who said I’m in love?”

  “Don’t be a dumbass.”

  “So we’re still doing name-calling, that remains on the table?”

  “You’re in love with Fiona,” she declared so loudly I shushed her before the whole town to hear. “Which is great, because she’s had a crush on you since high school.”

  “Wait, really?” I was trying to take in all this information at once. I had missed having a sister — seeing yourself reflected in the eyes of someone who cares for you is a crucial part of understanding who you are.

  “Yup.”

  “I… I felt the same,” I admitted, not sure where all of my emotional bravery was suddenly coming from.

  For the first time, I felt like a Marine in more than just name. I was a Marine in the way that counted — my heart was strong.

  I was pulled out of my excitement with a recollection of reality. “It doesn’t matter,” I sighed. “She’s leaving town soon, in a few weeks. She told me today.”

  “So?” Jolie wasn’t having any of my excuses. “Jagger, if we’ve learned anything from this divorce bullshit, it’s that if you find real, lasting love, you gotta go chase it. Relationships take work and compromise and sacrifice. If you love her, she has to know, and you need to figure out a way to pursue it. Then, should it fall through, whatever. At least you’ll know you tried.”

  I was nodding along with everything she said, letting her words lift me up and smack some sense into me. Fighting was something I knew how to do — it’d be a new battlefield, sure, but isn’t that the fun part?

  “Okay. Yeah,” I agreed. “Yes. I’ll… I can do this. I have to go check in with the firefighting unit and everything, but later tonight, maybe, I’ll find her, and I’ll make good. I swear it, Jolie.”

  She smiled. “You’ve become exactly the kind of man I’d hoped you’d be.”

  I embraced her once more, knowing that I’d have plenty of time to make up for these five years without hugs. There would be a million more in our future.

  “All right, enough schmaltz,” she said, pulling away and quickly wiping some stray tears. “Go save the world, then go get the girl.”

  Chapter 13

  FIONA

  THE SKY HAD just turned a deep midnight blue.

  Small campfires were going up in the parking lot, as the celebration roared into the evening. Beers had become hard liquor, traditional country songs had become louder, funkier pop hits. Kids were beginning to go home to the few teenage sitters in the city who were making double tonight, and adults were getting ready to really celebrate the holiday.

  Little Lane was out in force, and it was as fun as ever.

  Well, for other people, anyway.

  I sat in a small, cotton fold-out chair I’d packed in the back of my car, finding a decent, slightly removed seat in a sea of packable sitting equipment in preparation for the fireworks. Other people were spread out on blankets, eating popcorn and canoodling with partners. Some of the high schoolers who weren’t already babysitting or at house parties were splayed out around me, looking very much in love.

  Fuck them. Fuck all these people in love. I swigged more of my Sam Adams. How dare they get to have everything so easy?

  A surge of bitter bile rose in my throat — maybe the hops, or maybe just my emotions. Was I the only one who didn’t get a happy ending?

  I’d come so close, too, that was the real bitch of the thing. My high-school crush, who we’d all assumed had split town forever, had come back from the Marines. And then — then! — we slept together. Who would’ve ever thought that would happen?! It had all been going just like a fairy tale.

  Until there was that small detail about his sister, my best friend, absolutely hating him, and me moving away. It was like just as I got this close to a perfect life, the universe pulled it out from right under my nose, leaving nothing but a trace of the scent of what could’ve been lingering in my nostrils.

  Whatever. I’d move to Ridgerton soon enough. In the meantime, I’d avoid Jagger, eat my favorite food in town, pack all my shit up. I’d fill my days. And then the big move would be here before I even knew it, and a whole new life would be upon me. Surely, there were Prince Charmings in Ridgerton.

  I was startled out of my self-pity by a burst of fireworks overhead. It was a spray of red sparks, coloring the night sky with brazen indifference to the quiet blues of nature.

  There, silhouetted about ten feet from me, beneath that first cluster of light, was Jagger.

  “Fiona?” he called, his voice almost inaudible under the next explosion above us.

  Not thinking, I stumbled out of my chair and onto my feet. “Jagger?”

  What the fuck was he doing here?

  Before I could tell him to stop, he made his way over to me, pushing past one onlooker then another, everybody’s eyes following him, the Local Hero, as he stepped gingerly over cans and plates and blankets.

  At last, he was standing right in front of me, his bright blue eyes reflecting the colors of the fireworks, little pinpoint bursts in his pupils. His chest was rising and falling as though he’d just played a whole other football game.

  “Jagger, what are you doing—”

  He didn’t let me get out the sentence, saying, “Fiona, I couldn’t let you leave without saying that I like you, that I’ve probably liked you since high school. Hell, that I love you.” He laughed at his words, then shouted them again, so loud you could hear them even over the frenzy in the sky. “I love you, Fiona Geffen!”

  “I—” What did I want to say? “I’ve had a crush on you forever, Jagger. It’s true.”

  He grinned broadly. “Really?”

  My adult, sensible brain cut back in, and I grimaced. “But, I’ve already taken the job in Ridgerton. I’m moving. It’s too late.”

  He shook his head. “I just talked with Jolie.”

  “Oh.” I hadn’t been totally sure he’d do it. “Well, I’m thrilled to hear that. Really, I am.”

  “We’ve made up. All these years of no communication, and we made up, just because of you.”

  My heart burned, and I mouthed, “Wow.”

  “Yeah. And you know what else Jolie said when we talked? She said that I’d be a fool not to tell you, to not try to make this work. I’ve lost the love of a sister, and it damn near broke my heart. I can’t let you go, knowing that the minute you leave, my heart w
ill break all over again because I failed to at least attempt a relationship with you.”

  Was the air thinner because of the fireworks? Or was I just feeling lightheaded from the single beer I’d had or all the people I realized were watching us? I inhaled, forcing myself to ground my feet into the earth.

  “Jagger, what can we do?”

  Apparently, he’d been waiting for that question. “Let’s date for the next few weeks. If you decide you hate me—”

  “I won’t.”

  “If you do, then we’ll call it quits, we’ll say that it was a good try but no dice. If, however, we decide that this is the real deal, that it’s not just a spark in the night but serious fireworks, then hell, I’ll follow you to Ridgerton.”

  My mouth dropped open. “You wouldn’t do that.”

  “I would, Fiona. I’d do just about anything for you.” He said it so simply, not a trace of hesitation in his voice.

  “What about your job?” I asked, scrabbling to cling to the shifting emotional ground beneath me.

  He shrugged. “I wasn’t gonna do another tour for at least a year. Maybe I’ll wait ‘til then, maybe I’ll wait longer. Maybe I’ll never go back. But it doesn’t matter. You matter. There are a million jobs in a million towns, but only one Fiona Geffen.”

  I put my hand to my chest, trying to slow my thumping heart, to tell it that everything was going to be okay — Jagger was here now. Shhh. It’s all gonna be all right.

  He took my hand from my breast and placed it to his lips, planting a long, tender kiss on my palm.

  “Please,” he said, kissing a fingertip. “Please.” Another fingertip. “Say yes.” Another.

  Someone from the crowd cried, “For God’s sake, girl, tell the boy yes, he’s practically down on one knee!”

  I smiled, dizzy with excitement — and love. Laughing giddily I replied, “Okay, fuck it. Yes, Jagger. Yes!”

  As the final constellation of fireworks, a startling array of red, white and blue catapulted into the air, Jagger took me into his arms, sealing our promise with a kiss.

  Chapter 14

  JAGGER

  THE PEOPLE around us cheered and clapped. It was a happy Fourth of July for this soldier — because for the first time in a very long time, it felt like I’d finally come home.

  With a naughty wink, Fiona took me by the hand and led me around the sprawling blankets, taking me to her car. I didn’t ask questions — I knew we both wanted the same thing.

  We’d barely shut the doors before we began to kiss fervently, our hands roaming over each other’s bodies, her soft skin against my rough, hairy arms.

  “Drive,” I murmured. As much as I wanted to take Fiona this very moment, I wasn’t about to let the entire town I’d grown up in see me fuck in a car.

  She didn’t need to be told twice. Fiona revved the engine with a practiced efficiency that would probably make her a good soldier. Though, in fairness, what teachers do every day is twice as hard as the life of a Marine. I mean, handling something like thirty kids, all by yourself? That deserves a Purple Heart.

  Before I knew it, we were pulling up to a quaint house only a block away from the stadium, tumbling out of the car and racing to the door.

  Her keys slipped into the lock and we cross the threshold.

  By the time she’d slammed the door shut, I had her dress around her ankles and was at work on her bra.

  She leaned back against the door and moaned, “Jagger.”

  Without my urging, she tugged her panties down, letting them fall into a little pile of lace on the floor, kicking them aside with her toes.

  I wrapped my hands around her thighs, my fingers digging into the dip between her ass and legs, pulling her closer to me. She stumbled forward, steadying herself on my shoulders, pussy presented before me like a feast.

  “I’ve been wanting to do this all day,” I admitted.

  “Do what?” she asked coyly, hands moving over the back of my head, subtly pushing me closer and closer to her mound.

  “Oh, you know what. Don’t play innocent with me.”

  I looked up and saw that her wide, beautiful eyes were twinkling back down at me. “You want a taste?”

  “Yes. Please.” I grinned and added, “I’m literally on my knees.”

  “Okay,” she sighed with cat-like pleasure, leaning back and thrusting herself to me so that I was mere inches from her clit. “Eat me.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  With that, I plunged in.

  I immediately felt the sensation of my face getting bathed in her warm, sticky juices. People say that women taste like fish. They are, of course, wrong and oversimplifying — it tastes like the earth, like how salt from the ocean tastes after you’ve let it dry for a few hours. It tastes like life.

  Fiona was more delicious than anyone I’d ever tried, her scent sticking in my nose. I knew that I’d remember this taste for the rest of my life, that she’d imprinted on me.

  Her hands were still on the back of my head, and now she was forcefully gyrating on my face, her legs spreading further apart on the floor as her balance began to recede.

  “I want to sit on your face,” she breathed. “I can’t stand for much longer.”

  I didn’t need to be told twice. I held her tight in my hands then lowered us both back down onto the floor, until I was lying flat and she was spread across my face, straddling my cheeks, her lower lips above my upper ones.

  She arched back, placing her hands behind her and on my chest, fingers wide and planted just above my crotch. My cock twitched, jumping up at the suggestion of her presence. It wanted her so bad. But we had forever to do that — or at least another few weeks. Tonight was about Fiona, and Fiona only.

  “Lick me,” she said, taking control. I loved how easily we switched roles, how both of us could be submissive and dominant.

  I did as she commanded, sticking out my tongue and beginning to lap at her pussy — long, slow strokes.

  “Jagger,” she said, her voice hard to hear because my ears were covered by her milky thighs. “What you’re doing, that’s lovely, but I like it hard and fast. Insistent. Force me to come.”

  If she could’ve seen my face, she would have known that my mouth had spread into a wide, wet smile. Unable to respond to her with words, I simply used my tongue.

  As ordered — and I can take orders — I angled to her clit, that round, special pearl and pressed down with my tongue. And then I began to flick my instrument back and forth, working it like a bow over a violin.

  “Oh fuck! Fuck!” she cried.

  Yeah, I was doing it right.

  My mouth still focused on her pussy, I reached a hand up to grasp one of her breasts, fondling it until I urged more noises out of her, dragging them from Fiona’s throat like hard-won prizes of victory. Her nipple was already rock hard, and I ran a thumb over it, enjoying how aroused I made her.

  She pried my other hand off her thigh, forcing it to take the other breast, cupping that warm flesh. Fiona was running this show, and I was loving every moment of it. If she would let me serve her forever, well, that would make me a pretty happy man.

  As her moans grew louder, I increased the velocity of my tongue strokes, not letting up, giving her no moment to catch her breath or think of anything but pleasure.

  “Jagger, I’m gonna come.”

  “Mmm,” I said into her pussy, sending vibrations through her clit that only caused louder screams to emerge.

  “Oh, oh, oh God!”

  And suddenly, my face was bathed in a warm, watery liquid. I closed my eyes just in time and didn’t open them for another ten seconds while Fiona squirted all over me, leaking into my mouth and dribbling down my chin.

  She gasped, regaining control of herself. “Oh — I’ve never — I haven’t done that before.”

  She scooted down my chest so that my mouth was free to take in a full breath. Already, the clean, crisp air made me miss her scent.

  I rose on my elbows so that I could
see her face, flushed red with happiness and exertion. I licked my lips. “Delicious.”

  Fiona smiled doubtfully and asked, “Really? Do you promise?”

  “Actually,” I said, pinching her nipple once more, “I’d like seconds.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m not full yet.”

  “Jagger—”

  But I didn’t wait to hear any other objections. If Fiona didn’t come at least twice tonight, I was doing a very poor job indeed.

  I rolled us over so that I was atop her, her legs still wrapped around my waist, her red hair spread out beneath her like a thin pillow.

  “Jagger, what are you doing?”

  “Making you come until you’re delirious. Is that okay?”

  She laughed and tilted her head back, hands falling onto the floor. “By all means.”

  I hovered atop her, close enough to plant a kiss on her mouth, making sure she tasted herself and knew just how delicious she was, and then moved my face back down between her legs. This time, I brought my fingers along to play.

  Without waiting for her to return all the way down from the high of her last orgasm, I thrust my pointer and middle finger into her wetness, and in the same movement, put my tongue to her clit once more.

  “Christ, that feels good!” she shouted, her voice reverberating all over her house, which I’m sure would be very nice, if we ever got past the entryway.

  My cock was throbbing against the hardwood floor, but I didn’t have any interest in taking care of that. Fiona was my singular goal.

  My chin was beginning to ache from the sheer speed of my tongue movements, back and forth, back and forth, unrelenting, in perfect timing with my finger strokes.

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this so soon,” she said with what little air she had left, “but I’m gonna come again.”

  I lifted my head just long enough to say ‘I know’ before diving back into her pussy.

  Damn right she’d come again. She’d come as many times as I could make her.