“Thank you,” she responds shyly. “You look really handsome, Blake.” She brushes her hand down the front of my jacket and smooths it out. Under it, I have on a red vest and matching tie. It seemed a little bright at first, but with my black jacket, it’s not so bad.
“Thanks.” Leaning in close, I kiss her chastely on the cheek. “Mom’s waiting outside to get some pictures, so we should probably go out there and then we can go.” She nods and I hold my arm out for her to take. She loops hers through mine and we walk toward the door.
As soon as we open it and she sees the massive fire truck with all its lights on sitting outside her house, her eyes and mouth fall wide open. “Oh. My. God. Is that what we’re taking to prom?”
We both jump when the loud horn sounds from it, the guys in the truck laughing at our expense.
“Is that okay?” Now I’m worried. I thought it was pretty cool. It never crossed my mind that she would hate it.
“Are you kidding? It’s awesome! No one else will be arriving in anything like it!”
I instantly relax seeing the excitement on her face and hearing it in her voice. “Let’s go then, gorgeous.”
Mom’s in tears when she sees us. I’m not sure why she’s crying, other than that she looks pretty happy. I put on Mia’s corsage and she pins my boutonniere. Then we pose for a few more minutes before I’m starting to sweat in this suit and just want to get there.
“Alright, Mom, can we go now?” I say in a tired tone.
“Okay, okay. Sorry, it’s just you both look so beautiful together. You guys go before you’re late, and have fun. Text me later tonight, okay?”
“Will do.” I give her a hug while Mia does the same to her dad before I help her up into the fire truck.
When we’re on our way, she says, “How did you pull this off anyway?”
“I worked it off this summer. Hell, I washed this thing enough, I should own it.”
Gary laughs from the front seat. “Told you it would pay off eventually,” he says. I’ve gotten pretty close to Gary and he’s the one who helped me convince the chief to use the truck for an hour or so tonight. He’s also helping me get on the right track to working for the department.
“I won’t give you a hard time in the future then,” Mia says. She’s beaming and that makes me so happy. That’s all I want for her tonight. I want this night to be absolutely perfect, so when she looks back at her prom years from now, she’ll smile, remembering how incredible it was.
A few minutes later we’re pulling up to the front of the venue, right behind a limo. Gary honks the horn, announcing our arrival.
“Ahh!” Mia blurts out, startled again. Her face turns red and we both laugh.
“Ready to party?”
“You bet,” she replies.
I climb down the steps of the fire truck first, then hold out my hand to help her, making sure she doesn’t trip over her dress.
“Dude! That’s badass!” Josh says. He and a group of our friends are getting out of the limo in front of us.
“Thanks, man. You ready to do this?”
“Hell, yeah!”
Prom is pretty damn awesome, but even if it was lame I’d still love it because I’m with Mia. She hasn’t stopped glowing since we left the house. We’ve laughed and joked with our friends, had dinner, and danced a little. I kinda don’t want this night to end.
“Did you tell your dad you’re staying the night with Michele?”
“Yep.” We continue to rock to the slow song, her arms around my neck and fingers playing with the back of my hair.
“Did he buy it?”
“I think so. I mean, I don’t think he would’ve said yes if he didn’t believe me. He wanted to talk to Michele’s parents first, but you know how they are.” Yeah, they don’t care what Michele does and they’ll always cover for her friends.
“Good.”
“What about your mom?”
“She thinks I’ll be at a party at Josh’s.”
“Cool.” She starts biting on her nail and avoids eye contact.
“Hey.” I move my head into her line of sight. “There’s no pressure tonight, okay? It’ll be like the tent party for my birthday. We can just talk and sleep.” I pause. “And maybe make out a little,” I say with a wink. She rolls her eyes at me.
“I don’t want you to be disappointed. Everyone talks about prom night being the night, you know?”
“But we’re not everyone else. We’re us. And if you’re not ready, we’ll wait. I love you and never want you to do something you’re uncomfortable with. You set the pace and we’ll go from there.”
The tension in her shoulders releases and she smiles before she nods. “There’s that gorgeous smile I love.”
“Stop,” she mumbles, trying to hide her smile.
“Seriously, no more worrying. This is our prom. Let’s enjoy it.” I dip her back and plant a long kiss on her soft lips.
At midnight, we’re both exhausted, stumbling to the hotel room I reserved for us. Since it’s at the same hotel prom was at, all we have to do is take the elevator up. Mia took off her heels a while ago, and has them dangling from her fingertips as I slide the keycard into the door. Opening it, I motion for her to enter first and then flip on the light.
“Wow, this is nice,” she says. It’s no penthouse suite, but it works. With a huge king-sized bed and a Jacuzzi tub, what more could we need?
“Here, I’ll set your stuff over here.” I had the guys at the station pick me up here so I’d have my car in the morning. Mia gave me a small bag of things the day before to keep in my trunk for her.
Standing at the foot of the bed, we both fall backward, caught by the lush bedding. I let out a sigh, feeling both exhausted and completely content.
“Thank you for an amazing night, Blake. I had a blast.”
I lace my fingers through hers at our sides. “No problem. Thanks for saying yes and letting me take you. Plus, if you remember, we made a pact and I couldn’t go to prom for the first time with someone else.”
I turn my head to look at her and see a smile on her face. “That’s right, our pact. I almost forgot about that. How old were we?”
“I don’t know. Ten or eleven maybe.”
“Gosh, that was forever ago.” She’s looking up at the ceiling, shaking her head in remembrance. “I was so jealous of Candice,” she says, referring to the girl that was a little too eager, even then. She overheard Candice talking about kissing me at school one day, which is why we kissed when we made our pact; to make sure we were each other’s first. “I thought there’s no way you would ever look at me with a girl like that in your face,” she continues.
“Are you kidding? Look at me.” When she does, I continue, “She never compared to you. I’ve loved you my whole life.”
Closing the distance between us, Mia presses her lips to mine. When she parts her lips for my tongue, I take advantage, tasting every inch of her mouth. I roll over onto my side and cup her cheek. It doesn’t take long for my lower half to wake up and strain against the zipper on my pants. When she nibbles on my bottom lip, I about lose it.
“Shit, Mia,” I strain.
“Take this off,” she demands as her hands go under my jacket. Sitting up, I help her and shrug out of my coat. She sits up with me and we continue to make out. My lips detach from hers and my mouth trails kisses along the side of her neck.
“You have the softest skin,” I whisper against her collarbone. She lets out a small gasp that turns into a moan when my tongue darts out to sample a taste.
Soon, she’s undoing the buttons on my vest and shirt. I loosen my tie and pull it over my head. When her hands touch my bare chest, my breath catches with need and I’m desperate to have her hands in other places. My fingers fumble around for the zipper on the back of the dress, but in my haste, it gets stuck and won’t come down. After several attempts, I get it undone and the dress falls from her body, stopping at her waist.
Pulling back, I take her in
and am speechless. Her skin is tan and flawless, her breasts are full and round, and her stomach is toned and flat. She starts to cross her arms over her midsection, feeling exposed in her black, strapless bra, but I stop her.
“No, please. Don’t hide from me. You’re too perfect to hide.” I stare into her eyes so she’ll believe me, and after a second, her arms fall back to her sides. I encourage her more with another kiss.
We lie back on our sides and our mouths continue to dance. My hands travel all over the parts of her body she’s comfortable with me touching. I want more, but resist the urge.
She pulls back so we can catch our breaths, our chests rising and falling at a rapid rate. My heart beats out of control. She glances down and sees the tent I’m pitching in my pants and bites her lip in curiosity.
“What happens if you don’t, you know? Does it hurt?” she asks.
“No, I’ll be fine.” I don’t tell her I’ve had blue balls more times than I care to count with her.
“Do you want me to—”
“I told you before, you don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”
“But I want to, I’m just not sure I’ll do it right.”
Looking into her eyes, I search for any trace that she’s not sure. I don’t want her to think I expect this. “If you’re sure, I can show you.” She nods her head, pauses, then unbuttons my pants. I unzip them and pull the waistband of my boxers down, which allows my boner to spring free. Her eyes widen the smallest bit before they come back up to mine. Her expression makes me want to laugh.
“Come here,” I tell her. Grabbing the back of her neck, I kiss her. Slowly, her hand reaches out to touch me. My dick twitches with the contact, desperate for more. I try to calm myself, not wanting to blow my load before she even starts. That would be embarrassing.
She wraps her small hand around it and moves up and down. Wrapping my hand around hers, I squeeze a little harder to show her the kind of pressure I like. “Is that okay?” she asks, uncertainty clear in her voice.
“It feels so good,” I pant out.
I let go of my hold around her hand and let her do it on her own. My toes curl and my head goes back as I try to hold back. I don’t want to be the only one enjoying this, so my hand moves over her exposed stomach until I hit her panty line. I pause and wait for her to tell me to stop. When she doesn’t, I proceed.
Her dress is still around her waist, restricting my movement. “Let’s get this off of you.” She lifts her hips and allows me to remove it the rest of the way. At first, I touch her over the fabric of her panties, searching for approval. Her eyes close slowly and she breathes out a sigh. With her legs barely parted, I find my way under the fabric separating me from nirvana. When I touch her sensitive skin, she jumps the tiniest bit.
“Is this okay?” I whisper against her mouth. She nods as she continues to stroke my entire shaft.
She’s soaked, which causes my dick to become painfully hard. I find her clit and rub it until I find a rhythm that has her back arching. She moans and gasps with each touch as she’s introduced to a whole new world of stimulation and sensation.
Her strokes become jerky and less fluid the closer she is to getting off. I can’t tear my eyes from her as I watch her climb up the ladder before crashing over the top.
“Oh my God!” she yells, writhing back and forth. Her legs draw up and close, but I don’t stop until she’s completely done.
She opens her eyes wide and blinks a few times, clearly dazed by what just happened. I can’t help the cocky grin that possesses my face.
“Holy shit,” she says breathlessly.
“You like?”
She only nods before turning back toward me and my hard on that was abandoned. “Oh, sorry,” she says when she realizes I never finished.
“It’s no big deal.”
“No, I want to finish.” With a more confident and relaxed approach, she grips me in her fist and continues what she was doing. Between seeing my dick in her hand and watching her fall apart a few seconds ago, it doesn’t take much to finish me off.
With Mia lying naked on my chest, I draw small circles on her shoulder, neither of us in a hurry to get dressed. We might not have gone all the way and had sex, but that’s okay. This is perfect. This is better.
“I love you, Blake. Forever.” She yawns and snuggles into me deeper.
“I love you too. Always.”
Present
You’ve got to move.
I jolt awake and look around, swearing I heard someone talking in my ear. When I see I’m alone, I try to shake it off.
Every muscle and bone from my waist up protests, making their complaints known every moment I’m conscious. I’m not sure how much time has gone by. The area is too dense with trees, and even if that wasn’t the case, the smoke blocks out the sky so I can’t use the sun as a reference.
“This is Blake Collins,” I say into the radio. Every word comes out slow and soft. It hurts to speak and I have to choke back the cough that threatens. “I’m injured. And need. Immediate. Assistance. Does anyone. Copy?”
I rest the radio against my forehead and close my eyes, hoping to hear anyone on the other line. But like all the times before, no one responds and my hope diminishes. My time is running out. If the fire doesn’t eat me up, my injuries will. It’s harder to stay awake and present, and my energy is completely zapped. I’m slipping and I’m not sure how to stop it. I thought I felt helpless as I watched Mia go away to college, but nothing compares to this moment right now.
I’m completely fucked.
August 2002
“Stop thinking about it,” Mia tells me.
I look over at her from the corner of my eye and bite the inside of my cheek. “I’m not.”
“Liar.”
“I’m not ly—”
“You’re biting the inside of your cheek.”
I let out a sigh. “Okay, you got me, but I can’t stop. You leave tomorrow and it’s all I can think about. It’s like my mind can hear the clock ticking constantly until we’re not together anymore.”
“We’ll still be together, there’ll just be more space between us. Plus, you said you’d come visit me and I’ll come home on breaks. We can make this work.” She stares into my eyes with the confidence I wish I had, and it eases my mind a little. If I’m honest with myself, I’m worried we’ll grow apart. That she won’t want a long distance boyfriend and will move on.
“I’ve got an idea,” she says, hopping up from her spot on my bed.
“Uh oh,” I joke.
“Shut it. I’m serious. We should go get tattoos.” Her eyes are bright, but all I can do is blink a couple times at her. This is so out of character. She never does spontaneous things. “You don’t want to?” she asks when I don’t respond.
“I mean, I do, but have you even thought about what you’d get? This will be on your body forever.”
“Well, no,” she admits. “I just thought it would be fun and get us out of here. Take our minds off things.” She averts her eyes with a shrug and that’s when I see it. She’s sad too. Even with the brave front she’s been putting on, she’s as aware of our limited time as I am.
“Okay, we’ll do it.” Her hands clap in excitement. “One condition: I get to pick what we get.”
Her head shakes back and forth. “I don’t think so, mister.”
“Why?”
“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going in blind.” Her arms cross over her chest, the excitement from moments ago morphing into annoyance.
“That’s what you’re doing now. You don’t even know what you want!” I argue. With an arched eyebrow, she holds her ground and stares at me. “Do you trust me?”
“This isn’t about trust.”
“Yes, it is. So I’ll ask again; do you trust me?” Her dark blues stare into my greens for what feels like minutes until she finally agrees. “Awesome! Let’s go!”
Josh got a tattoo on his eighteenth birthday
, so I called him up to see where he went. He told us to call this guy, Dom. It was supposed to be his day off, but he said he’d come in since we were friends of Josh’s. When we walk in, I’m pumped. I guess I’m a little nervous, but mostly excited. This will be something permanent that will tie us to each other for the rest of our lives. And with my recent doubts, this couldn’t have come at a better time.
I go into a private room with Dom to tell him what I want on each of us. I left Mia in the lobby so she couldn’t hear, which she wasn’t happy about. I want it to be a surprise. I pray she loves it. Truth is, I started thinking about getting one of these when I turned eighteen back in March. But I knew whenever I got one, Mia had to be with me.
A few hours go by and he’s finally done with mine. I want to be manly and say it was a piece of cake, but it hurt like hell. Now that I’m looking at the finished product though, I know it was worth every second. Dom does an amazing job on this 3D effect that looks as if pieces of my flesh are being ripped away from my chest to expose my heart underneath. A small lock hangs from a chain that looks to be partially hidden behind my torn skin as it wraps around my heart. It’s dark and edgy and completely badass.
“Holy shit, Dom. You knocked this one out of the park!” I exclaim.
“Glad you like it, bro.” He goes over the aftercare instructions before I go get Mia from the lobby. I wanted her to see them both finished at the same time. With how great this turned out, I’m more anxious than ever for hers.
Mia’s dad would freak if he knew she was doing this, then he’d murder me for taking her. So she wanted to put it somewhere he wouldn’t see: on her hip. I’m not crazy about this Dom guy touching my girl right below her bikini line, but I guess I don’t have a choice.
“You nervous?” I ask her.
“A little,” she admits.
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