Ignite (Explosive) (23 page)

I pull myself together and glance at his watch. “If I’m doing my math correctly, you’ve got eighteen hours until I need to be at the airport. Better make them worth it.” I wink at him.

“Oh, I plan to make good use of every single minute. But first things first. Let’s get this part over with,” he says, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the door.

Entering the gym, we head straight for the bar to grab a drink. Unsurprisingly, we find Sierra and Jeremy there.

“Look, y’all! It’s Jace and Lexi. Cheers to Jexi!” Sierra exclaims, holding her shot up in the air before downing it.

Jace orders us both drinks before shooting her a strange look. “Jexi?”

Jeremy rolls his eyes as Sierra explains, waving her arm in between Jace and me. “You know, your and Lexi’s names combined. Like Brangelina or Bennifer. You’re Jexi!”

Thankfully, she’s interrupted as a few of their classmates walk up and everyone starts to catch up. I’m on the sidelines, sipping my drink, just taking in all the conversation. It’s actually much easier to stay on the outskirts, nodding when appropriate and smiling as needed.

Cocktail hour is passing by quickly, and I’m already feeling a slight buzz from the two glasses of red wine I’ve had. I know I need to slow it down, so the next time I go to the bar I order a water to sip along with my wine. I’m about to head back over to where Jace is swapping war stories when Andre strolls up to the bar.

After ordering a beer, he turns towards me, taking a drink before speaking. He slowly lets out a deep breath, and I have no idea what he’s about to say, so I take a sip of my wine as I wait for him to talk.

“First, I’m really sorry about what happened with your husband. I know I didn’t know the guy, but no one deserves to lose their significant other at such a young age,” he says quietly, and I’m reminded that he also lost his girlfriend, Ashlyn, in a car accident his senior year of high school.

I smile softly and touch his arm. “Thanks, Dre. That means a lot. I think if anyone could understand, it’d be you. I appreciate it.”

“I still think about her from time to time. I don’t think you ever really forget someone you love when they’re taken from you so unexpectedly.”

I nod in agreement, completely understanding of the fact that it still crosses his mind.

“That being said, I’m going to say this and then I’ll leave it alone. I don’t know what happened between you two back then, but that guy was completely head over heels for you. He was a mess when he came back on leave and you were gone. Keeping in touch with him, I know he’s never moved on, as he’s jumped from superficial relationship to superficial relationship,” I start to protest when he holds his finger up to silence me. “Lexi, I also know what it’s like to lose a loved one out of nowhere. I’m just saying… Be careful. Don’t lead him on. Take it from my experience. You need to be honest to God one hundred percent ready to move on before you let someone else into your heart.”

I want to be offended at his implications, but I can understand and appreciate the concern he has for his friend.

“Look, I can’t possibly tell you what’s going to happen with us. What I can tell you is that I’ve been happier in the last two days than I have been in a long time. After the accident, I was numb. For months I was a shell of myself, and I can admit, there were many nights that I drank myself to sleep. Eventually, I was able to pick myself up, but to be honest, I never, not in a million years, ever thought about giving my heart away again. Being here with Jace is different. It probably sounds stupid, but it just feels right…natural, like nothing’s ever changed.”

Before Andre can respond, Jace joins us, asking him about his family. Apparently, Andre wasn’t joking when he said they’d kept in touch, because they’re both talking as if they’ve not just spent the last decade in totally different parts of the world. Before he moves away from us, Andre gives me a nod and a small smile as his eyes flick between Jace and me.

We spend the new two hours mingling with his old classmates while enjoying the buffet dinner provided by the reunion committee. I’m lucky enough to avoid most conversations, as Sierra’s thankfully stolen the show. I spot Jace catching up with a few of his old baseball buddies, so I grab another glass of wine and go outside to get some fresh air.

I’m in
the middle of listening to Luke Davis tell Andre and me about a short stint playing minor league baseball. Sierra interrupts us to give both of the guys big hugs, effectively killing the conversation. I realize that Alexa’s not with her, so I take a quick scan of the room to find her.

“Sierra, have you seen your sister?” I ask, wondering where she could be.

“I haven’t seen her in about half an hour. Jeremy and I were out reminiscing on the football field,” she confesses, shooting me a wink.

Shaking my head, I excuse myself from the group so I can find my date. I don’t see her anywhere in the gym, so I head outside, thinking that maybe she needed a break. Walking out the doors, I spot her sitting on the edge of the curb, leaning against a light post. Her head’s tilted back and her eyes are closed. She looks peaceful, and with the light illuminating her, she looks like the seventeen-year-old version of herself I used to meet every day in this very spot.

I move towards her, and she must hear me because she opens her eyes and peeks up at me. Holding out my hand, I pull her to her feet. Immediately wrapping my arms around her, I lean down to plant a kiss on her lips. She tastes like strawberries and red wine, a sensual combination that’s doing nothing to help the growing anticipation of finally having her in my bed tonight.

“Hiding out?” I question.

She shrugs before answering me. “Not really. It actually hasn’t been that bad. I’ve pretty much just let everyone else fill me in on their lives, and then Sierra’s there to entertain them with stories about Jeremy and Ava. No one’s even brought him up.”

“I’m glad to hear it. You about ready to go?” Nodding, she starts heading towards the car, but I catch her wrist. “There’s one last thing I want to do before we leave if you’re okay with it.”

I lead her down the parking lot, and she looks pleased as I stop in front of the baseball field. Pushing through the gate, we both fumble slightly since we can only see by the moonlight. We enter the home team dugout to look at all the graffiti left from the last ten seasons. She spots my initials on the far end of the bench, and we’re soon laughing at some of the outrageous saying that have been written since I graduated.

“So do you ever regret it?” Alexa asks after wiping away the tears that were brought on after spotting an old Jeremy Banks joke from ten years earlier. “Joining the Army instead of going to play at Bama, I mean.”

I lean back against the bench, running my hand across my jaw as I think about her question.

“Honestly, in the beginning I did, especially after I came back and you were gone.”

“Jace…”

I hold up my hand, stopping her. “Just hear me out, okay? Like I said, I did have a few moments of regret, but once I went on my first deployment, I was really happy with my decision. Baseball was a huge part of my life, but I don’t think I really would’ve gone anywhere with it after college like Luke did. The Army not only gave me a career, but it’s also given me a sense of satisfaction I don’t think I would’ve gotten from most jobs. Every single time I’m able to defuse a bomb, that’s one less that has the potential to explode. It’s a rush, knowing that I potentially just prevented someone’s death while facing my own. So, no, I don’t regret it at all.”

“I don’t know how you do it. I don’t think I’d be able to get my fingers to stop shaking if I was in that position. Your mom must be terrified every time you deploy,” she says with a shudder at the thought of doing my job.

I laugh, remembering the freak out my mom had when she learned what my job was going to be. “She was definitely not happy at first, but Dad spent twenty-five years in the service, so she’s used to it.”

Alexa shakes her head, getting up from the bench. I stand and follow her out onto the field. She turns around to face me, and I stop my approach a few feet away.

“How much longer do you have to be there when you go back?” she asks.

I’m mentally counting the months in my head. “I’m set to come home the first week of October, and then I’ll be moving to my new post at the end of the month.”

A questioning look comes to her face. “You’re moving as soon as you get back?”

“Yep, and I couldn’t be happier to be leaving New Mexico,” I tell her, drawing this reveal out as long as possible.

“I can imagine. I’d hate all that heat. So spill it. Where’s your new post?”

I grin as I tell her. “I’ll be moving to Ft. Campbell in a few short months.”

She just looks at me, and it dawns on me that she probably has no idea where that is.

“Kentucky,” I tell her. “Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.

Her eyes widen, and I’m taken aback when she rushes towards me, jumping up into my arms. I slightly stumble back, and I hold her tight as she wraps her legs around my waist for leverage, her arms doing the same around my neck.

“You’re moving to Kentucky? In October?” she asks for confirmation.

I laugh. “Yes, Alexa. My next assignment is in Kentucky, and I have to report no later than October 25.”

She squeals as she tightens her arms around my neck. She leans back so I can see her face, and she’s absolutely beaming.

“Do you know how far from Cincinnati you’ll be?”

I give her a grin before answering her. “Babe that was one of the first things I checked out when I found where I was being sent next. It’s only a couple of hours or so. Not a bad drive at all.”

If possible, her smile gets even wider. “I can’t believe you’re going to be so close! I’ve tried hard not to think about this weekend ending, but knowing that I’ll get to see you in a couple of months again is incredible. That’s not a bad drive, and we can spend weekends together sometimes.” She pauses, biting her lip as she looks away from me. “If you want to, I mean. I don’t expect you to always want to hang out with me. I know you’ll have your own life.”

This freaking girl. She drives me insane sometimes. “Sure, I’ll have my own life, and you’ll always be a part of it. I’ll probably be in Cincinnati so often you’ll get sick of me.”

“That could never happen, Jace. I’ll always be happy to have you around.” She grabs my face with her hands and plants a loud kiss on my lips. “You’re moving to Kentucky! I never thought I’d be so happy to say that to someone, because, well, it’s Kentucky.”

I go to deepen the kiss, but she’s pulling back before I get my chance, so I smile as I respond.

“I know what you mean. I can honestly say that I wasn’t looking forward to it until I came here and we reconnected. Now I couldn’t be happier. There is one drawback, though.”

She furrows her brow as she waits for me to give her the bad news.

“Ft. Campbell is home to the 52
nd
EOD Group. They’re one of the most deployed units in the Army. I’ve already gotten word that my platoon will be going to Afghanistan next April.”

She inhales sharply as she drops her legs from my waist, sliding down my body to stand on her own. “Why would you have to go again so soon after you get back this time?”

I sigh. “It’s not the individual, babe, but the platoon that’s going. It’s just piss poor timing for me.”

She closes her eyes and we’re both silent for a few moments as I wait for her to say something.

“That blows. Really freaking blows,” she says finally. “But we said we’d keep it light tonight, so let’s just forget about it for now, okay?”

“You’re right. Definitely okay with me.”

She turns and walks across the diamond, stopping on home plate. Curving her finger, she signals for me to follow. I make my way towards her, and the moment I reach her, she’s grabbing my shirt with both fists to pull me down to her. Rising up in her boots, she places a searing kiss on my lips as her tongue works its way into my mouth. My hands immediately find themselves on the small of her back, holding her tight against my chest. This is better than I could ever have imagined, and I know, because I spent plenty of time on this field thinking about taking her right here. A moment passes by before she pulls away, breathless and flushed.

“I always wanted to do that,” she confesses, bringing her fingers to her swollen, pink lips.

“Do what?”

“Kiss you at home plate,” she says with a wink. “All those times you were greeted by your teammates when you’d score, I always wished it could’ve been me.”

“Trust me, you would’ve been a much better reward than any of those guys. Now do me a favor and stay right here,” I tell her, turning her so that she’s directly on home plate and facing third base.

I know I probably look like an idiot, but I take off in a quick jog towards first base, rounding it and going to second. Jogging as I make it to third, I slow down a bit just before tagging home plate.

Stopping right in front of Alexa, I bend down so we’re eye to eye.

“My homerun, babe,” I say simply, knowing that she knows exactly what I mean, before I stand back up straight.

Her eyes widen, and I yank her towards me, probably a little too roughly, but I can’t help how turned on I am. I grasp the back of her head, and my mouth crashes into hers as my tongue forces her lips apart so that I can finally kiss her on the field where it all began.

“God, you taste so fucking sweet. I can’t be around you without thinking of tasting every single inch of you,” I growl in her ear, and I feel her shudder beneath me.

My dick instantly hardens when I hear her reply. “Then what are you waiting for?”

I grab her hand and start dragging her across the field, making our way to the gate. When we’re in the dugout, she stops abruptly, dropping my hand. I turn around, ready to pick her up and carry her to the car, when she pushes me against the bench, forcing me to sit down. She straddles my lap so that her core is touching the erection that’s pressing against my jeans. Rolling her hips slightly, she moans at the friction she’s creating. The sound is so fucking sexy that I’m barely keeping my control. As if a switch has been turned on, she attacks my mouth with a frenzied passion I try to match.

My hands grip her thighs, and for the second time tonight, I’m thankful that she’s wearing a dress. As she deepens our kiss, my hand slowly inches up her inner thigh. I caress her soft skin as my fingers trace their way up her body. She shivers beneath me. My fingers dip into what I now know is her thong, and I rub my thumb ever so slightly over her clit. She instantly rocks against me, moving her hands to my jeans, trying to unbutton them.

“I want you right now, Jace. I can’t wait another minute,” she says breathlessly.

Pulling my hand away from her, I grip her hips, trying to stop her movements.

“Not here, babe. We need to go back to the condo first,” I tell her, and I see the disappointment in her eyes.

Ignoring me, she begins to move against me again. It’s all I can do not to match her movements, because I swear my dick has never been this hard before. Suddenly, she leans down to my ear.

“The first time you fucked me was outside under the stars, so don’t tell me you’ve gone and become a prude since those days,” she teases, nibbling on my earlobe.

“First of all, I didn’t fuck you that night, but I sure as hell will before I let you get on that plane tomorrow. Second, I’m not about to sink myself into you for the first time in ten years in a fucking baseball dugout,” I answer.

She pulls back as she clenches her thighs around me. “How about a preview? Just a little one?” Grabbing my hands, she places them on her chest before continuing. “I spent countless innings watching you down on the field, wishing your hands were all over me, working my breasts over with your skillful hands instead of the baseball you were always palming.”

She rubs over my erection again, and it’s all I can do to maintain control. If she keeps this up much longer, I know I’ll be taking her right here in the dugout.

“The fucking death of me, babe,” I tell her, lifting her off of me.

She whimpers in protest, apparently not happy that I’ve moved her off of me. I think she’s pacified as I lay her down, and she looks at me with hooded eyes, lighting up in anticipation. Straddling the bench, I scoot closer to her, placing her legs on either side of me. I reach up underneath her dress and hook her thong with both of my thumbs. As if she can read my mind, she lifts her ass so I can pull them down, taking it off of her completely. I tuck it into my back pocket for safekeeping.