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

by A. M. Williams

  “You’ve got a few weeks?” August asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t have an exact date yet. I might get one tomorrow, but I’m not sure how close they are to rolling out. There’s a lot I don’t know yet that I won’t know until I process back to active status.”

  August said nothing initially, and I didn’t bother trying to fill the silence. He’d say something or he wouldn’t.

  “Is there…” He paused and cleared his throat. “Is there any way we can continue to see each other?” He asked.

  I sighed and blew out a breath before looking at August. “I’d like that.” He smiled, but I wasn’t done. “But you need to understand that I’m about to go back to active status. If I fully activate before we leave, I might have to head to the base to stay until we do. That could be several days or weeks before we actually leave. I don’t know. I just… want you to be prepared for that eventuality.”

  August nodded. “I am. I still want to see you.”

  I looked at him, really looked at him, and saw that he believed those words. I sighed. “August… I’m happy to continue seeing you now. But I don’t know if we can continue to see each other once I leave.”

  Once I said those words, silence greeted me. I didn’t look at August for several moments, worried about what I’d see there.

  When I finally looked at him again, he was looking at me intently.

  “What?” I asked him, already knowing what was bothering him.

  He sighed and shook his head. He chuckled and said, “I never thought we’d get to this point.”

  “And what point is that?” I asked him.

  He was quiet for a few moments before saying, “The point that I realized I cared more about you than I thought. The point where I realized that if I cared about you as much as I thought, then I needed to get my shit together and learn to deal with your relationship with the military because it wasn’t going anywhere.”

  I bit my lip at his words. “What are you saying?”

  He dropped his head and looked at his feet before glancing at me. “I’m ready to… figure out how to be with you, even with the military.”

  My breath hitched at his words. The only pall over the conversation was the fact that two weeks before, he hadn’t felt that way and we’d had an intense argument about it.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t think he couldn’t change; I just wasn’t sure he could do it in the timeframe we had.

  “I’m glad to hear that,” I said after a few moments.

  “But?”

  I sighed. “But… I think we should concentrate on getting through the next few months and decide something when I return home.”

  I wanted to say more.

  I wanted to tell him I didn’t want to get deployed and then only a few weeks later get the female version of the Dear John letter that would tell me he was breaking up with me.

  I wanted to tell him that if we were together, I’d worry incessantly about how he was holding up. I would do that anyway, but he didn’t need to know that.

  I wanted to tell him that the military might not be as big a part of my life as I was thinking after all, after telling everyone about my deployment and realizing, for the first time, that I didn’t want to go. I wasn’t excited.

  I wanted to tell him all that. But I felt that it wouldn’t change anything.

  “So… we see each other when we can while you’re still here?” He asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah. I just…” I blew out a breath, realizing this might be even more difficult a conversation than the one we had two weeks before or the one we had a decade before when we broke up. “I just think we’d be rushing into something because of my deployment, and that’s not fair to either of us.”

  He nodded. “I don’t want to agree with what you’re saying, but I can understand where you’re coming from.”

  I gave him a closed-lipped smile. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

  We lapsed into silence, and I wondered how my parents were coping. I needed to get back to them and talk to them about the deployment and also what I’d been thinking about the last few weeks.

  “I’ll head home so you can get to your parents,” August said after a few minutes.

  He stood and held a hand out for me to help me up. Once I was up, he immediately pulled me into his arms and held me there. He pulled back, and I tipped my head back so I could look at him.

  He leaned his forehead down to mine, pressing against it, and my eyes fluttered closed.

  “I get what you’re saying,” he said lowly, “but that doesn’t change how I feel and I’m going to prove it, I swear.”

  He pressed a light kiss against my lips before releasing me and stepping back. “Come over later once you finished with your parents. I’ll run to the store and get some wine and you can talk to Rich.”

  Before I could say anything, August was hurrying across the road to his house, leaving me standing at the bottom of the steps to my house watching him.

  I felt like I’d done a lot of watching him walk away from me, and none of them felt good.

  But for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t dejected at him walking away from me. I felt energized, like things might be falling into place, even with the shadow of my upcoming deployment hanging over my head.

  I sighed and looked at the house, knowing that I needed to go inside and get it over with. I just wasn’t sure I was ready for the coming conversation. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be ready.

  But I didn’t have a choice.

  With one last glance toward August’s house, I trudged up the steps and inside to find my parents.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  BRITAIN

  “AUGUST?” I called out later that night after talking to my parents and assuring them I’d be as safe as I could be.

  “Out back!” He called.

  I walked through the house that was quickly becoming familiar and joined him and Rich on the back porch.

  There was a little bucket on the coffee table filled with ice, beer, and a few bottles of wine.

  “Did you buy the store out?” I asked as I settled onto one chair and grabbed a wine glass.

  “Nah, just wasn’t sure what you’d like.”

  I looked at the labels and picked a pink Moscato he had in there, twisting the top off.

  “Whoever decided we should have twist top wine instead of a cork is a genius,” I said as I filled my glass. “So much easier to open.”

  The two men chuckled at my words. I put the top back on the bottle and placed it back in the ice and looked at the two of them.

  They both had beers in their hand and chips. My brow furrowed, and I looked at the table again, noticing what I’d missed the first time because I was focused on the wine. They had some finger foods out.

  I quickly snagged some of those and settled back into the chair.

  “How was it?” August asked after a few minutes.

  I sighed and brushed my hair off my forehead. “Better than I was expecting, but that’s not saying much. I’ve never told them in person that I was deploying, so it was just rough all around.”

  Rich nodded. “I feel your pain on that. My first deployment, I made a special trip home to tell everyone. But every one after that, I called. It never got any easier.”

  I smiled sadly. I could attest to what he was saying, and I hoped I didn’t have to do something like that again.

  “But they seem okay?” August asked.

  I raised a shoulder in a shrug. “It’s hard to say. Dad is already frail, so how much of tonight’s frailty was because of what I said and how much was because he’s just plain sick?”

  “We’ll check on them,” August said, glancing at Rich, who nodded. “We’ll make sure they’re okay.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate that,” I mumbled into my glass before taking a big sip.

  We lapsed into silence, and it was nice to just sit there without the expectation of talking. I came over so I could talk to Rich, according to Augu
st, but even though I wanted to talk to him, I thought what we were doing was even better.

  I’d deployed before. I knew what it was like to prepare to leave and not come home for six months or more.

  The only difference this time was my heart felt like it was rent in two. I was leaving my parents behind and I was leaving August behind.

  I needed to come to terms with that.

  “I’m going to head out for a little while,” Rich said as he pushed himself from his chair and drew my attention to him. “I told some other rangers I’d join them at Hooligans tonight.”

  The look August shot his brother was comical, and I realized that Rich must not get out that much.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” Rich muttered as he drained his beer. “I can go out.”

  “You can,” August agreed. “You just don’t.”

  “I can still put you in a headlock,” Rich said, shooting a glare August’s way.

  “I’d like to see you try.”

  Rich’s eyes slid to me before going back to his brother. “I’ll wait till you don’t have company and won’t be embarrassed.”

  August looked at me and winked before looking back at Rich. “You’re on.”

  Rich shook his head and walked to the backdoor. “I’ll see you later,” he called before stepping inside.

  August and I lapsed into silence. After a few minutes, August asked, “Why are you all the way over there?”

  I looked at him and saw he was patting the spot next to him. “I wasn’t really sure…”

  “If you’re here, you’re sitting with me,” he said.

  I stood and moved over to the couch he was on, sinking into it. August tugged me into his side and I relaxed.

  We sat there without speaking for several long minutes, and it was really nice. It was reminiscent of the first night I came over here to hang with him.

  In fact, things were almost the same. The only difference was the food on the coffee table and the fact that Rich wasn’t in the house like he was that time.

  August lightly ran his fingers through my hair and I felt myself relaxing into his side even further.

  I finished my wine and leaned forward to put my empty glass on the coffee table before turning myself so I was facing August more fully.

  He glanced at me and I realized I would be the person to make the first move this time.

  I leaned toward him and pressed my lips lightly against his, waiting for some kind of reaction.

  When I didn’t get one, I kissed him harder, making him groan.

  I heard a thud and then August was pulling me into his lap to straddle his lap like last time.

  We sat there making out for I don’t know how long before he pulled back and smiled, “Little bit of deja vu, huh?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. But this time is going to be different, too.”

  “Oh?” He asked.

  I just grinned and leaned in to kiss him quickly before pulling back and pulling my shirt off.

  August’s eyes immediately dropped to my chest. My nipples tightened at his look and I wished he’d touch me.

  I reached behind my back, unclasping my bra, hoping that would urge him into action.

  He exhaled loudly as my bra sagged in front before I pulled it off and tossed it to the side.

  I got my wish.

  August leaned forward and drew a nipple into his mouth, laving it with his tongue and scraping his teeth against it.

  I moaned and pushed my breast further into his mouth.

  God, that felt good.

  August switched to my other breast and paid it the same attention.

  My core clenched, and I could feel desire pooling in my belly. I was ready to move this to the next level.

  I gathered a fistful of his shirt into each hand and started to pull it up. August was forced to release me and lean back so I could pull his shirt off fully. I tossed it the same way I had my shirt and bra, not caring where it landed.

  Instead of pulling my nipple back into his mouth, August brought his hands up and cupped my breasts, kneading them before pinching my nipples, which were hard points by now, between his fingers and tweaking them slightly.

  My breath hitched, and my hips jerked against him.

  “You like that?” He asked as he leaned forward to lave a nipple with his tongue.

  I could only nod.

  His hands slid around to my backside and underneath the hem of my pants, grasping the flesh of my ass and squeezing hard enough to hurt just a little.

  He pulled me closer and released my breast with a pop before coming up to kiss me on the lips.

  Unlike the first kiss I gave him, this one was not soft or testing. It was all-consuming.

  He immediately pressed his tongue into my mouth, thrusting it. It was like he was mimicking what I was certain was going to happen in just a few brief minutes.

  I reached between us and went for the fly of his pants, struggling to get the button undone.

  August pulled away from me and chuckled. “Stand up.”

  He helped me move to standing and steadied me when my legs wobbled. He reached for the button on my pants and flicked it open before slowly lowering my zipper. Sliding his hands back around to my ass, he pushed my pants and underwear down in one go.

  I heard them hit the floor of the porch, and I kicked them to the side.

  August reached for his own pants and quickly got them and his underwear off, leaving him completely bare.

  His dick was already hard and I could see pre-cum beading on the head of his cock.

  Seeing that made me want to immediately drop to my knees and draw him into my mouth. But August had other ideas.

  He reached for me and pulled me so I was straddling him again.

  “You on the pill?” He asked.

  I nodded.

  “You good without using protection?”

  I had a moment where I really considered what he was asking before I nodded again.

  He grinned at me. “Right on.”

  After that, he was like a man possessed.

  He slid his fingers between my legs, immediately finding my clit and applying pressure there before sinking two fingers into me. My gasps turned into moans as he continued to work me over.

  I reached for him and wrapped a hand around his shaft, squeezing slightly before I stroked him.

  I tried to match the pace he was setting as he fingered me, but the closer I drew to orgasm, the harder it was for me to maintain my grip and speed.

  “That’s it,” he said, his voice barely audible over the wet sounds he was making with my body. “Just let go.”

  I gasped as my orgasm rolled through me at his urging. As I clenched around his fingers, I felt him pull them away and something much larger taking their place.

  He dragged me down on him, groaning low as my walls continued to clench around him.

  “Fuck,” he muttered.

  I agreed with that sentiment one-hundred percent.

  Once he was all the way in, I stayed seated on him, trying to catch my breath from the orgasm he’d already given me.

  He didn’t seem to be in any rush either, his hands still on my hips. He wasn’t encouraging me to move or anything.

  Once I felt ready, I raised myself until only the crown of his cock was inside me before slowly lowering back down.

  We both moaned at the sensation. I repeated it several times before my thighs started burning, at which point I started grinding into him, which he seemed to like if his grip on my hips was any sign.

  I continued to move slowly, even as I tired, because it felt so good.

  But August finally reached his snapping point. He pulled me off him, making me whimper at the loss, before he moved me so I was on my hands and knees on the couch.

  I briefly wondered if the piece of furniture could handle what August and I were about to do on it, but all thoughts fled my head as he pressed back in.

  My head dropped to the cushion I was leaning on as he
slowly started thrusting, his hips snapping against mine audibly.

  He was gripping my hips and guiding me back on him as he thrust in.

  He felt so good.

  Even though I’d come hard only a little while before, I could feel another orgasm building. I knew this one would be just as spectacular, if not more, than that first one. And I couldn’t wait, that was for sure.

  August started moving more forcefully, slamming into my hips from behind.

  My arms gave out and I could feel the wave coming.

  I panted as my orgasm washed over me, my center clenching tightly around August’s length.

  He groaned behind me and continued moving.

  He snaked a hand underneath me and found my clit, rubbing it.

  “I can’t,” I said.

  “You can.”

  I really didn’t think I could but kept that to myself considering what he was doing to my body. Based on whatever it was, he definitely could because I could feel a third—and hopefully final—orgasm building.

  “That’s it. Give it to me,” he grunted from behind me.

  A few thrusts later, I was spasming around him, and he was groaning through his own release.

  He continued to lazily thrust into me before stopping.

  The sudden silence was shocking after the sounds of our skin slapping together and our moans of pleasure.

  I had the thought that someone could have seen or heard us but remembered that August had a fence. That didn’t help with the noise factor. I’d just have to hope that no one was outside with their family getting their jollies while August fucked the shit out of me.

  He slowly pulled out and said, “I’ll be right back.”

  He disappeared inside and I didn’t even move. I wasn’t sure I could have at that point.

  A few moments later, August returned and pressed a warm cloth to my center, and I flinched.

  “Not gonna lie, it’s sexy as fuck walking out to find you still in this position with my cum dripping out of you.”

  I never thought someone saying that to me would be attractive but, based on how my core clenched and the little tingle that ran through my body, I was going to say that I enjoyed it on some level.