Ignite (Explosive) (8 page)

Not able
to stand pacing around my condo any longer, I head down the block to Helen Back, a local dive bar that serves the best pizza in the Florida panhandle along with pretty cheap beer. It’s the perfect place to kick off the reunion. I walk around back and head to the patio. The official kickoff isn’t for another hour, but there are already quite a few of my old classmates here. My eyes take a quick scan of the room. You know, just seeing who’s all here. And who’s not. Looks like I made it here first. I grab a beer and take a seat in the far corner of the bar where my seat faces the door. Yeah, I’m being the creeper sitting in the corner, hopelessly staring at the door, waiting for this girl to walk back into my life.

Over the next forty-five minutes, I’m distracted by old friends joining the table and catching me up on all I’ve missed since I’ve been gone.

Ryan Harper heads over to the table with a pitcher of beer and a tray full of shots. He passes them around and places two in front of me.

I look at him, confused, and before I can comment, he laughs and say, “Dude, you obviously need to liquor up. Your leg hasn’t stopped shaking and you’ve been serenading us with the drumming of your fingers on the table since you got here. What the hell has you so anxious, man?”

Looking down at my hands, I realize that he’s right. Shit. Why the hell am I so nervous? I’m twenty-eight freaking years old, I’ve gone to war more times than I can count, and I’ve been within seconds of a bomb blast tearing my body apart. I should be able to handle one damn reunion. I mean, how bad can it be? We were always close. There’s no reason we can’t be anymore.
Yeah, except you took her virginity on the same night you told her that you cared about her and then left her.
I quickly take the shot of tequila that was set down in front of me.

“Shit, man, what is that?” I growl at Ryan as I take a swig of my beer to wash the taste of cheap tequila out of my mouth.

Ryan grins, “Whatever the house stuff is. I can’t be getting Patron when I’m buying a round. You’ve got another one there. Bottoms up.”

I shake my head, because not only is there no way that I’m letting that liquid go down my throat again, I also don’t want to be trashed when Alexa finally shows up. Which, by looking at my watch, should be any moment now. I shoot a quick glance at the door as it opens. I hold my breath and exhale with disappointment when an older couple walks in. I check my watch again. Any minute now.

I’m furiously
going through my luggage and pulling out every outfit I brought. I had no idea I’d be going out to a bar on my first night here, so I’m a little out of sorts. Not to mention I didn’t think I’d see Jace so soon. I mean, sure, deep down I knew we couldn’t be in the same town without running into each other, but on the first night? I guess I have Sierra to thank for that. Sneaky, meddling Sierra. I’ve changed my clothes three times already, completely unsatisfied with each outfit.

“Alexa, you have ten minutes or we’re leaving without you!” she yells from the living room.

Oh good. I can just hide out for ten minutes, they’ll leave, and then I can put on my comfy clothes and spend the night with a bottle of wine and my Kindle. Yeah, that sounds much better than meeting face to face with my past.

Ten minutes later, Sierra and Jeremy walk into my room, presumably looking for me and wondering why the hell I’m not dressed.

“What the hell?” I hear Jeremy mutter as one of them stumbles to find the light switch. The room is suddenly illuminated as they find me sitting in the corner in the dark.

Sierra laughs, “Umm, what exactly are you doing?” as she walks over to me and pulls me up.

“I’m hiding. You said I had ten minutes. I was waiting for you to leave before I came out,” I say, giving her a sheepish smile.

She pulls me towards the bed where all my clothes are strewn about. Going through my outfits, she comments, “No way are you getting out of this tonight. You’re coming with us and you’re going to have fun. No sulking. Seriously, I don’t get it. You guys were thick as thieves back in the day, and now you’re scared to even see him? I don’t get you.”

She throws a pair of tight, low-riding jeans at me, tells Jeremy to leave, and orders me to put them on. Browsing through my tops, she decides on a bright red scooped neck t-shirt.

“Flip flops and your silver hoops. Simple, yet sexy. You don’t want to look like you’re trying too hard, ya know?” She gives me a wink.

I roll my eyes as I check myself out in the mirror. These jeans fit my newly toned ass perfectly, and the shirt accentuates my newfound flat stomach while hugging my chest. The neckline dips down, showing off just enough cleavage to make the boys want more. For the first time in a really long time, I actually do feel sexy. I take one last look in the mirror. I can do this.

I’m wrapped
up in war-story sharing with a few guys from my class who also went into the service after graduation. Joey Thompson’s in the middle of recalling the time his Humvee was attacked by a rocket-propelled grenade that left him with a prosthetic from his left knee down. He’s up and strutting like he’s on the catwalk, showcasing how incredibly far technology has come. Moving with as much grace as anyone with two good legs would, he holds his head high. The fact that he can laugh and joke about it is pretty damn admirable.

All of the sudden, the table gets silent except for Ryan’s, “Holy shit.” I turn to see what they’re all looking at when I spot her head ducking behind Jeremy’s tall form. Before I can move, Ryan’s on his feet, heading towards the door where he high-fives Jeremy, gives Sierra a hug, and then picks Alexa up and embraces her.

“Little Lexi Sullivan! More like Sexy Lexi Sullivan. So nice to see you, girl,” he announces flamboyantly.

Her eyes dart nervously around the room before they lock in on mine. She freezes, and my body reacts exactly the same way. She’s more breathtaking than she was ten years ago, if that’s even possible. Even though twenty feet separate us, I can see the grey in her eyes as they roam over me. She still has that cute freckle on the tip of her nose that she always hated. Her hair is slightly darker and longer than she used to wear it, and instantly I go hard at the thought of wrapping it up in my hands again. I always loved her golden blond locks, but she looks mature, more sophisticated with the darker color, and I can almost picture it fanned out around her as I drive into her.

Whoa, McAllister. Slow the fuck down and get a grip,
I tell myself as I try to get that image out of my mind. I catch her eyes again as I take a sip of my beer, my lips lingering longer on the bottle than necessary as I take her in. Her cheeks redden slightly when she catches me checking her out. She quickly licks her pink lips, and I wonder if she even knows what she’s doing to me as I feel a tightening not only in my jeans but in my chest as well.

Ryan puts her down and she shyly lowers her eyes away from mine. She turns her back to me to say something to Sierra, and I inhale sharply as I take in every single one of her curves. My eyes shamelessly fall down her back to the tiny waist before her hips flare out slightly. When I get to her ass, my mouth doesn’t know whether to go dry or to start watering. Alexa was always a curvy girl, and I loved that, but her body now? It could send a grown man to his knees. I need to chill the fuck out before I embarrass myself. If I’m acting this way with her backside, what the hell will seeing those breasts again do to me? I loved them when she was seventeen, so I can only imagine how much my dick’s going to react when I see her from the front. Her back is still to me, and I’m fighting a war inside my head of whether or not I should approach her. She didn’t give any hint of emotion when she saw me other than the blush of embarrassment as my eyes raked over her. I mean, I’m pretty sure she was checking me out, too, but that could just be wishful thinking. God, when did I turn into such a chick?

I rub
my sweaty palms on my jeans as we walk up to the bar. I’m hiding behind Jeremy’s back like a freaking coward as we go through the door. Before I know what’s happening, someone has me swept up in his arms, calling me a very unoriginal Sexy Lexi. I look down and of course, only Ryan Harper would call me that. My arms are tucked firmly into my sides where I can’t return the hug.

I look around the bar and immediately spot him.
Holy shit, he’s even more gorgeous than before,
I think as my eyes roam over him. My heart races like I’ve just run miles to get here, and my eyes cannot move from his. He looks just like Jace, but not the one I remember. He’s older, and rugged, not quite like the high school senior I remember. My eyes widen as I take in the bicep I’m pretty sure I couldn’t wrap my hand around.
Hello muscles,
I think as I try to force away the image of him hauling me up into his big arms and having his way with me.

I shake the thoughts away as I sweep my eyes over the rest of him. He’s wearing a plain black t-shirt that showcases the definition in his arms, and I can’t look away. I swear he flexes a little when he sees me looking as I witness a thick vein stretching across his forearm. I can see the beginnings of a tattoo peeking out from under his right sleeve, and I’m dying for further inspection. His dark hair is buzzed short in a standard military-style cut and his jaw is more squared than I remember. His full lips attract my attention as he wraps them around the beer bottle he’s taking a drink from, and I involuntarily shudder at the memory of where those lips have touched me.

His blue eyes penetrate mine as he’s watching me, but his face is blank, so I have no idea if he even recognizes me.
Bullshit, he knows exactly who you are.
His eyebrows are drawn together, and I watch him take a deep breath as he plays with his beer bottle. Ryan sets me on the ground, and I take this chance to look down and turn away from him. I barely register what Ryan and Jeremy are talking about when Sierra grabs my hand and drags me to the bar.

“Hey, it’s Christmas in July, so she needs the Three Wise Men. Now,” Sierra says to the bartender before turning back to me. “That was intense. You guys were eye fucking each other. I wonder if anyone else felt that heat wave that rolled across the room just now.”

I roll my eyes, trying to act like my heart isn’t beating out of my chest. “We were doing no such thing. We barely made eye contact.”

“Oh, whatever, Lexi. He was undressing you with his eyes, and I was waiting for you to start licking your lips as you took in those big arms.”

She’s right. God, those muscles. I mean, he was always built, but back then he was a lean baseball player. Now he looks like he could break me in half.

“Wishful thinking, but I doubt it even registered in his brain who I am. It has been ten years, you know?”

“Keep telling yourself that. Just make sure to be a good girl and use protection when he wraps you up in those muscles,” she cackles as she pats my shoulder.

“Dammit, Sierra. I have no interest in doing anything that needs protection. You of all people should know that!” I protest as I take the shot as soon as the bartender sets it in front of me. “Another one,” I say, knowing I’m going to need liquid courage to get through this night.

“Lexi, it’s been sixteen months. You’re allowed to live again. To love again.”

“Just leave it alone, please. I have enough nerves fluttering that I don’t need you adding to it,” I let slip out. Shit.

“See! Fine, I’ll quit teasing you, but apparently your subconscious isn’t going to be so easy on you,” she winks as she walks away to rejoin Jeremy.

I sit on the barstool for a few more minutes as I chat with the bartender. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jace get up from his table and start to heads toward the bar. I jump up off the stool, proclaiming to need to use the restroom, and retreat just in time for him to see my backside.