Vetted: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by A. M. Williams

  “You like that?” I murmured as I ran a finger over her entrance before moving even lower to find her clit peeking out.

  She moaned around me, making me suck in a breath.

  I pressed against her clit, grazing it before turning my hand so I could keep my thumb on her clit and sink two fingers into her tight heat.

  She pulled away from me and gasped, her hand jacking me as I fingered her in sync with her hand motions.

  When she leaned back down and drew me back into her mouth and sped her motions up, I did the same, speeding the motion of my fingers up.

  It wasn’t easy concentrating on bringing her close to orgasm, but I was able to hold it together long enough that I felt her walls clamp down on my fingers right before I warned her, “I’m about to come.”

  I expected her to pull back, but instead, she pulled me even deeper into her mouth and I shouted as my dick twitched and I shot my load down her throat.

  I pulled my fingers away from her and she released me with a pop before sitting up on her haunches and looking at me.

  “Good?” She grinned.

  “I’d say, yeah.” I let out a little laugh. “Come here.”

  I pulled her to me, not caring that I had the evidence of her orgasm on my fingers or that she’d just swallowed my cum and kissed her before holding her tightly against my side.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  BRITAIN

  I WOULD BE the first to admit that I was worried about giving August another chance. Considering how our first relationship worked out, I had fears about us trying to date again.

  Even though I knew he was holding something back, I could say those fears were unfounded.

  We worked well together. We made time to see each other during the week for dinner at least once, and on the weekend, we’d make plans to go to one or the other’s house before retreating to his room for alone time.

  It was really nice. Even though I knew he wasn’t sharing something with me, I was willing to overlook it. It was just that good with him.

  The only shadow on the restart of our relationship was my upcoming weekend stint at the Reserves base.

  We hadn’t talked about it much besides me telling him I’d be gone all weekend and likely wouldn’t be able to talk until the evening each night I was there. But each time I brought it up, I could see this look come over his face.

  It was very similar to the look he’d get when we dated the first time, and I told him about my dream to join the military.

  Unlike that time, though, he said nothing. I could tell he had thoughts that weren’t in line with my own, but he kept them to himself.

  As nice as it was to not fight about it, I wished he’d tell me what he was thinking so we could talk it out and hopefully move on. Especially since I was getting ready to head out for my first weekend of duty.

  My duffel was packed with everything I’d need and I was heading out in fifteen minutes once I said goodbye to my parents and got a travel mug of coffee ready to go.

  I glanced out my bedroom window and noted that August’s bedroom light was on.

  That wasn’t all that surprising. It was Friday morning, just after dawn, and school was still in session. He was likely getting ready for work.

  I wondered if he’d come see me off before I left.

  I turned from the window and sighed, zipping my duffel up and hoisting it over my shoulder before walking from my room and down the stairs. I dropped it by the door and walked to the back of the house, finding my mom in the kitchen, a steaming mug of coffee in her hands.

  “You’re up early,” I joked as I went to pull a large travel mug from the cabinet. “You don’t even get up this early to see me off to the clinic.”

  I filled my mug with coffee and quickly doctored it, looking over my shoulder at her to find her staring at me. “What?” I asked, snapping the lid to my cup on.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I think I assumed you’d wear your uniform out of the house.”

  I shook my head. “Nah. That’s one reason I’m leaving so early. I want to get checked into my room early and change there.”

  “Will they let you?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. I called and asked. They said my room would be ready this morning around nine or ten.”

  She nodded and dropped her gaze to her mug. Looking at her, it seemed like she had something else on her mind, so I waited patiently for her to say what it was.

  After a few moments, she sighed and looked up at me. “I don’t know why I’m feeling like I am. It’s not like you’re going away for months or that I won’t see you at the end of the weekend.”

  I smiled at her, understanding what she was saying. “I get what you mean. I’m home and have been for a while. This differs from what we’re all used to.”

  She nodded, and I watched as she reached up to dash a tear that was slowly falling down her cheek.

  I set my mug down and walked over to my mom, pulling her into a hug. Her shoulders shook, and I felt my shirt grow damp, but I just stood there and let her cry it out before leaning close to her ear to say, “It’s okay to feel that way. I felt weird last night getting my things together. It just takes some getting used to, you’ll see.”

  I felt her nod, and she pushed against me. I released her and stepped back.

  “You good?” I asked.

  She looked at me, and I noted the red around her eyes. “I’m good. Sorry I’m weepy.”

  “It’s fine. It’s to be expected. Everything will be fine. I’m just a few hours away. You can call me if you need me.”

  She nodded. “I know, I know. It just hit me this morning that you’ll be gone all weekend.”

  I smiled. “I’ll be back Sunday. We can do our dinner then. I’m sure August will come over. Maybe he’ll even bring his brother. You know you like them both.”

  She smiled at me, a more genuine smile this time, and said, “I do. I’ll see about having them over Sunday.”

  I nodded. “Good.” I glanced at my watch and grimaced. “I need to head out.”

  “Right.” I grabbed my mug and walked toward the door, my mom trailing behind me. I grabbed my bag and looped it over my shoulder before turning and giving my mom a quick hug and kiss. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  I slipped out the door and made myself not look over my shoulder to see if my mom was still standing in the door. I learned the hard way that looking back when you’re leaving is only going to make the leaving that much harder.

  I opened my driver’s side door and put my travel mug into the cupholder before popping the trunk on my car and setting my bag inside. I double-checked that my wallet was in the side pocket and grabbed it before slamming it closed.

  I turned to go back to my door but jerked to a stop when I saw August standing behind me with his hands tucked into the pockets of his slacks.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “Hey.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say, but I was glad that he was standing there to see me off.

  “You heading out?” He asked after a few beats.

  I nodded but said nothing. I wasn’t sure I trusted my voice at that moment.

  He nodded. “Right, right. You’ll be back Sunday?”

  “Yeah.”

  He nodded again. “Uh…” He reached up and scratched the back of his neck before saying, “I’ll talk to you this weekend. But… be safe?”

  He sounded so unsure about what he was saying, but I appreciated the effort he was putting into this.

  “Thanks.”

  I stepped toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He immediately put his arms around my shoulders and held me to him.

  I closed my eyes and took a few seconds to appreciate what it felt like to be wrapped in his arms. I wanted to memorize this feeling, so I didn’t forget it while I was gone.

  Yeah, it was only a weekend, but I didn’t know exactly what to expect with it. I didn’t know if it would be drills, paperwork, actual work, or a combination
of the three. I just needed to prepare myself. And remembering this hug from August would go a long way to helping me stay sane.

  I pulled back and sighed as I looked up at him. “I’ll see you Sunday?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, Sunday.”

  Before I could react, he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to my lips before turning and going back to his house. I stared after him and shook myself out of it once his door closed.

  Right. That was awkward and a little weird. But knowing the hang-ups he had about the military, I could forgive him for that awkward encounter.

  I glanced toward the house and saw that the front door was closed as well, and it looked like the lights were out. I hoped my mom went back to bed.

  With one last look at August’s house, I climbed into my car and started my first weekend of Reservist duty.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  BRITAIN

  AFTER AN INTERESTING WEEKEND of reservist duty, I was glad to be home. Once I turned my car off, I sat in my car listening to the ticking the cooling engine as I tried to pull myself together.

  I knew that my parents were inside, but so were August and Rich. They’d agreed to come over for dinner tonight.

  I was thankful they said that initially, but with what I needed to say to everyone, I wasn’t sure that was the best option.

  On top of that, I was still in my uniform and I just… had a bad feeling about tonight.

  With one last deep breath, I got out of the car, grabbed my shit from the front seat and trunk, and walked up the front walk.

  Before I reached the door, it opened and my mom was there, her hands clasped to her chest as she watched me walk toward her.

  “You’re home!”

  I smiled and nodded. “Yep. Here I am.”

  When I reached her, she pulled me into a hug, which I gladly accepted, before stepping back. “Just drop your things here and come on out back. Dinner just finished. I couldn’t have timed it better.”

  I shifted from foot to foot, glancing at the stairs and thinking of the shower I wanted to take.

  “I really wanted to grab a quick shower and change.” I glanced back to my mom and saw her shaking her head.

  “Nonsense; come on. Everyone is here and you can shower later.”

  I opened my mouth to say something about not wanting to be in this uniform longer than necessary, but she was already walking away. I sighed and ran a hand over my hair, grimacing at the feel of hair spray on it.

  It was weird how getting back into uniform after being out of it for so long felt so weird.

  And it was weird how before I loved wearing the uniform. But now I couldn’t wait to get out of it.

  “Britain!” My mom called, and I sighed, dropping my things by the door.

  I hoped I’d be able to escape quickly and shower without having to endure dinner in my uniform. But I had a feeling things wouldn’t go my way.

  And I was proved right a few moments later.

  I trudged thought the house and out the back door, walking over to my dad, leaning down to kiss his cheek. When I straightened, I turned toward where August and his brother were sitting, catching the look on both their faces. Rich looked thoughtful, and he smiled at me when our eyes met.

  August looked like he’d been punched and it wasn’t in a good way. I watched as his eyes and mouth tightened before he tried smiling at me.

  He failed. It was closer to a grimace, and I was even more uncomfortable in my uniform than before.

  “Sit, sit,” my mom said, herding me toward the empty chair next to August.

  As I sat, a full plate of spaghetti was placed in front of me.

  I looked at it and didn’t want to eat a single bite. I knew my mom was making it and had been looking forward to it all day, but now that I was sitting at the table next to August, who was radiating tension, I wished I could just disappear.

  We ate in silence for several moments before my dad asked, “How was your weekend?”

  I filled them in on what I had to do, starting with paperwork and then the work I did after. Everyone, except for August, asked me questions until they exhausted those topics.

  When everyone was almost done eating, I knew I needed to say something now. Everyone was together, and it was the perfect chance for me to tell them what I was told this past weekend.

  I sipped my lemonade and cleared my throat, drawing everyone’s attention to me.

  “I was told something this weekend,” I started, trying to figure out what to say and how to say it.

  My parents were looking at me expectantly, and August wasn’t looking at me at all. I couldn’t see Rich.

  I cleared my throat and leaned forward against the table. “I won’t know for a few more weeks, but there’s a good chance I’ll be deploying soon.”

  Silence greeted my words. My mother’s face showed the shock she felt, as did my dad’s. I glanced at Rich and August. Rich’s eyes were wide, while August’s face was blank. He was giving nothing away.

  I swallowed thickly and looked back at my parents, waiting for someone to say something.

  “For how long?” My mom asked, her hand fluttering around the collar of her shirt.

  “Six months most likely.”

  My dad cleared his throat, and I saw his hand shaking out of the corner of my eye as he reached for my hand and squeezed. “You’ll know in a few weeks?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. I will say that it seems very likely that it’s going to happen, though. I don’t want you to get your hopes up that I’m not going only to find out I am. Assume I’m going.”

  My mom reached up, her hand shaking, and wiped an eye, but she said nothing.

  I glanced at Rich and he looked uncomfortable and his eyes were on his brother whose face was still blank.

  “August?” I asked, hoping he’d say something, anything, to what I’d just told everyone.

  Instead, he quickly stood and left the porch without a word.

  I felt a pain in my chest and worried that something terrible was coming.

  I expected Rich to get up and follow his brother, but he asked, “Can I speak with you in private?”

  He was looking at me, I realized, when I glanced at my parents and saw they were staring at me, too.

  “We’ll just head inside,” my mom said before standing and helping my dad up.

  I watched as they walked inside. My mom shut the inside door and Rich and I were effectively alone outside.

  I looked at him. “What’s up?”

  He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He looked thoughtful, much like he had when I showed up earlier.

  “I need to tell you something. I…” He paused and seemed to gather himself together before continuing. “I think August should be the one you’re having this conversation with and I’d hoped he would have already had it with you, but based on his reaction to your news, I’m assuming he hasn’t.”

  “Okay…” I said slowly, not sure what Rich was going to say.

  “Did you know I served in the Army?”

  I sucked in a breath and sat back, surprised at what he said. “What?”

  He nodded. “For eight years. I enlisted out of high school. As you know, our dad was an Army man, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps, carry on the legacy. I loved serving.”

  A pit opened in my stomach and I had a feeling I wouldn’t like what Rich had to say.

  He sighed and said, “I deployed several times. The first time wasn’t so bad. The second time wasn’t as bad either, but it wasn’t great. It was the third and fourth time that I started having issues. PTSD mainly, but some other things. I was eventually medically discharged right before my enlistment was up.”

  He paused and looked past me. I said nothing, curious to see what else he would tell me. And I wasn’t sure what I could say to him at this point.

  “When I got home, I struggled to reintegrate. I suffered episodes frequently, nightmares, and I had suicidal ideation. The VA wasn’t much help, and it was
n’t until the third time I tried to kill myself that I got the help I needed.”

  Rich slid his eyes back to me and I sucked in a breath at what he said.

  “I was in a terrible place for a while. When August got his job here and moved, I came with him. By that point, I was on medication and in therapy, doing much better.”

  I licked my lips and asked, “And now?”

  “Now I don’t have issues. Every so often, if I get to feel it’s too much, I’ll take off for a few days. Go camping.”

  That explained that then. “Why are you telling me this?” I asked him after a few beats of silence.

  He sighed. “Because August didn’t take it well when I came home and struggled. He fought tooth and nail for me to get the help I needed, and he struggled to come to terms with what the military did to me. Combine that with his own… issues from childhood and moving around because of the military…”

  He trailed off, and I finished, “That’s why he doesn’t like the military?”

  Rich nodded. “Yeah.”

  We were silent for several moments and I tried to make sense of what Rich was telling me. “Why hasn’t August said anything to me?”

  He shrugged. “I can’t say for sure. I’ve been telling him for a while he needed to tell you, but he’s stubborn. He doesn’t want to admit it.”

  It hurt to realize the truth of what Rich was saying. I knew that August was hiding something, and I hadn’t pushed for him to tell me. I wasn’t sure if I had pushed that he would've told me, but I’d never know now.

  All I knew was I had been told I was deploying and instead of trying to show some support, August had left.

  And that hurt.

  That hurt deep.

  “I need to go talk to him.” I muttered, pushing my chair back. “I should change first.”

  “I’d say leave the uniform on.”

  Rich’s words made me freeze, and I looked at him again. “Why?”

  “Because he needs to understand that the military is still a part of your life and pretending it doesn’t exist won’t make it go away.”

  His words echoed in my head as he stood. “I’ll stay here and help your mom. When you come back, I’ll head home.”