Another Public Service Announcement

So while I'm still working on my next chapter (a little busy this week with some stuff at my fire company... I'm officially a "carn-ee" for the rest of the week as we are having a Carnival at the station)... and for the simple fact that my other story I've been posting (Hometown Heroes) is coming to an end, I've started posting another one of my stories that I wrote before... it's called Noticed and it's about some of the boys from the Yotes (mainly Biz and Taylor Pyatt). So head on over and check it out!! www.noticed12.blogspot.com

I also wanted to thank all my followers/commenter's... you opinions have been inspiring to say the least!! So please give yourself a pat on the back for your awesome-ness. :o)

Chapter 8

A/N: Thanks for all the love in the comments section... if you trying to make a choice between our 2 boys, it might have just gotten harder. hehe.

Soundtrack: Lovesick Mistake - Erin McCarley

Ch. 8

It took me a while to fall asleep with Jack’s arm around me, but once I did, I was out for the count.  I remembered waking up at one point, finding myself no longer spooning with him, but wrapped around him with my head on his chest.  It was then that I realized he was actually only in a pair of boxers; suddenly I felt very warm, but I didn’t move because I was afraid to wake him.  I quickly dozed back to sleep not even thinking twice about how safe and comfortable I felt in his arms, it was if life was supposed to be like this and everything was perfect as is.

When I woke up the sun was shining brightly into the tent and Jack had his head propped up with my pillow, watching me with a humored look on his face.

“Sleep well?”

“Mmhmm,” I answered, keeping my mouth shut, realizing I probably had a bad case of morning breath that always came after a night of drinking beer.

“You talk in your sleep,” he stated.

“You don’t sleep with any clothing on,” I remarked, rolling over to put some space between us and snatching my pillow out from underneath his head.

“You didn’t seem to be bothered by it.”

“Well, I was a little shocked when I woke up in the middle of the night and found myself sleeping on your bare chest…”

“And again, I say that you must not have been too bothered by it because you didn’t feel the need to go back to using your own pillow.”

“I didn’t want to wake you,” I said simply.

“Ah,” he said with an exaggerated roll of the eyes.

Suddenly feeling slightly awkward about the whole situation, I quickly sat up and asked in a loud voice, “Are you ready for breakfast?!”  I said it loudly as if others were listening and might pop in on us at any moment.  It was like I was announcing, “Hey! We didn’t do anything wrong even though it totally feels like this is sinning!”   

“Whatever you want, Princess…” he mused.  “But you don’t need to talk loudly.  We are here by ourselves and there is no one here to tattle on us for sleeping under the covers together,” he continued, reaching over and pinching my cheek.

The way he said, “under the covers together,” totally made me blush and of course he instantly caught this.

“Why Elizabeth, you are blushing…” he pointed out the obvious.  “Do I make you uncomfortable?” he pushed, moving towards me and making me squeak as his arm wrapped around me, pulling me into him.  All I could see was the expansive mass of his chest.  Both him and Jarret had beautiful bodies and boys with muscles were always my weakness.  Too bad both of them were men, making me a complete goner.

“Yes,” I whispered out.

“Good,” was all he said while pushing a piece of hair out of my face, “Because you have made things uncomfortable for me for a very long time.”

I finally dared to look up at him and found him looking down longingly at me, like he did yesterday when we had been so close to kissing.  My heart sighed from how handsome he looked.  A few pieces of his thick, dark hair were in his face as he peered at me with his sea-green eyes.

“Jack…” I began.  Thankfully his lips pressed against mine because I had no clue what I was going to say next.  His pillow lips pressed hesitantly against mine, but when I met him half-way the hesitance turned into assurance.  My world spun when I felt his hand trace lightly across my face before threading into my hair.  His body moved over-top of me, pressing me deeper into the air-mattress.  I wrapped an arm around his neck as I fisted my hand in his hair.  My whole body was tingling as I opened my mouth to him.  He made me dizzy and I was thankful to be lying down, otherwise I would have fallen over.  After awhile I felt his hand untangle from my hair.  His finger tips traced there way down my face, to my neck, onto my shoulder and down my arm and then cup my breast.  I inadvertently moaned into his mouth as he flicked my hardened nipple.  He broke the long kiss when he pulled back with a cocky grin on his lips.

“Let’s go make some breakfast and then head out for the day,” he said easily, as if the kiss we just shared was no big deal.  Maybe it isn’t a big deal.  But how can’t it be when I totally feel unraveled and left wanting more.  I nodded and laid there watching him crawl off the mattress, stand-up and stretch out his muscular body, and step out of the tent, leaving me with a prime picture of his boxer clad ass. 

So much of me wanted to keep going with her.  The way she moaned and moved under me, the look in her eyes when I ended the kiss, told me she would have been an easy sell.  However, I did not bring her on the camping trip to seduce her.  I planned this so that I could lay on the charm and hopefully get her to see that I do in fact have feelings for her.  I already knew the way to get a woman’s attention was to get her reeling for more.  If she wanted me, then she would come to me and then we could move forward with things.  I’m 33 and I’ve been around the block enough times to know how women operated, even the ones who didn’t fit the mold of the typical woman, like Liz.  In fact, knowing Liz the way I did, I am fairly sure it made things easier for me.

“So what’s the plan for the day?” she asked, stretching her arms up over her head as she climbed out of the tent, inadvertently thrusting her tits out farther, causing me to lose focus on the ultimate plan for a moment.  She in a tight navy blue t-shirt with some sort of pattern across her chest that just begged for eyes to stare at it, along with short cut-off jean shorts that made her legs look a mile long despite her short height.

“I figured we’d go do some climbing if you up to it,” I said, forcing myself to turn back to the eggs and bacon I had cooking over the fire.

“Of course I’m up to it,” she chirped back, grabbing some OJ out of the cooler.

“Alright, then I guess that’s what we’ll do.  Just don’t forget your swimsuit, cause I think it’s going to be hot by the time we get done.  That way we can just jump into the lake afterward…”

“Already on,” she smiled as she walked over and handed me a cup of OJ.

“Of course I would be okay with you skinny dipping again…” I laughed, causing her to throw a punch into my side.

After breakfast we headed out to one of my favorite places to climb.  As usual the normal friendly competition commenced between the two of us.  We were spent by the time noon rolled around and we headed off to the lake.

“Remind me to make my own sandwich next time,” I grumbled as I lifted the piece of bread and peeked under it to see if she even put any lunch meat on it.

“You don’t need 10 pieces of ham on the damn thing,” she shot back while chewing her own sandwich.

“This I understand, but I do like more than one piece.”

“Don’t be so fucking picky.”

“You are going to make a terrible housewife.”

“That is why I plan on marrying someone who can cook for me,” she giggled.

“So this is the real reason you asked Rick to put us back on the schedule together, eh?  You are using me for my cooking skills?” I scoffed.

“You know it.”

“You use me.”

“You love it,” she smiled with a wink before standing up and stripping down to her swimsuit in front of me.  “See you in the water!” she called out as I watched her run to the lake and jump in, splashing water up at me.

“Hey thanks! I love soggy bread!” I yelled, trying to sound pissed when I totally wasn’t because I enjoyed the view of her ass when she ran.

To say there was tension between us would have been the understatement of a lifetime.  That kiss kept replaying in my head and the way he kept looking at me, put me on constant edge.  To say that I wasn’t flirting with him would be a lie. 

My mind was reeling at the fact that he had the feelings for me I had always wanted him to have for me.  However, this was now a wicked situation.  I was kind of seeing Jarret and this blissful weekend was going to quickly come to an end by tomorrow afternoon.  I had big decisions to make and it wasn’t going to be easy.

I probably drank a little more beer than I should have, but it was the only way to keep my nerves down.  The comments that were being tossed around were getting more suggestive by the minute.

“I think I’m done drinking,” I announced as I came back from peeing in the woods.

“Why is that?”

“Because I totally just had the biggest problem squatting without a huge fear of falling over; I’m flagging myself,” I laughed at myself.

“Yeah, I think I’m done too.  It’s time to turn in for the night, it’s already 1am…” Jack said as he threw his empty bottle in the trash bag that hung on a nearby tree trunk.

I stumbled my way into the tent, willing for it to stop spinning for a moment as I began to undress.  I had successfully pulled my t-shirt half over my head by the time Jack entered the tent, accidently bumping into me, sending me into a heap onto the air mattresses, giggling.

“Shit, what are you doing standing right by the door, ya drunk?!” he laughed as I wriggled around on the air mattress, looking for a way out of my shirt.  “Let me help you with that,” he said as I felt him kneel onto the mattress and soon his hands were on my stomach, sliding up my sides, just grazing my breasts.  I held my breath as he hooked his fingers in the shirt and pulled it up over my head.  When I was able to see more than the inside of my t-shirt, I found him straddled overtop of me and looking down at me with needful eyes.

Before I could even think of any pros or cons to the matter his lips were on mine and we were rolling around on the mattress together.

This was probably not one of my smartest moves in life.  We were both intoxicated and I was horny as hell after we sat around the campfire talking about how good we were in bed.  Probably not the best topic to talk about when you are trying to take the gentleman approach on things, but she started it.

I could still taste the alcohol on her lips and tongue as we kissed each other.  I trapped her beneath me, straddling myself on top of her as my hands moved from her hair to her breasts and back up to hair again.  Next thing I knew she was over top of me, pulling me out of my shirt as she laid kisses down my neck and biting not so gently, turning me on even more.

I grabbed onto her hips, grinding her against my hard-on, making her cry out in want.  “Fuck Jack…”

“That’s right, Liz.  I want to fuck you,” I growled as I undid the back of her bra, freeing her breasts for me.  I pulled her down closer to me and began sucking on one of her tits as she continued grinding on me and moaning loudly.  I sighed when she sat up, pulling her nipple free from my mouth.  She smiled wickedly down at me and shimmied her way backwards so that she was now sitting on my thighs.  After making quick work of my shorts, she pulled them down, but before she could do anything else, I took control and flipped her down on the mattress, getting her completely naked with me.

There was enough moonlight shining into the tent that I could see the outline of her beautiful naked body.  This time I didn’t bite back the groan that came from deep inside of me.  “You are so beautiful, Liz,” I murmured as I ran my fingertips down her skin, lightly tracing her silhouette.

She tried to lie still, but as soon as my fingers found their way to her cleft she couldn’t hold still any longer.

“You are teasing me…”

“You seem to be liking it,” I raised an eyebrow, as I dipped my finger in between her wet folds, causing her to leave out a small cry.  I leaned over and began leaving kisses, starting at her lips and moving south.  By the time I made it to the same place my fingers were making work, her fingers were in my hair and she was begging for me to make her feel good.

I maneuvered myself between her legs and went full throttle on the task at hand.

His tongue delved in deep and I half sat up from the amazing feeling that was building between my legs.  Jack seemed to be a little more rough around the edges than Jarret, but I was enjoying it.  Everything he did was with the purpose of making me feel good, not that I expected anything less from him.  The look in his eyes told me everything I had wanted to hear over the last several years.  Jack was wearing his heart on his sleeve as he made love to me.  He continued to be straight to the point and I had no complaints of that as I came to his oral whims.

“Mmm, Elizabeth, you taste as sweet as you smell…” he growled as he crawled back up to me, kissing me deeply as I felt his long thickness slide against my over sensitive folds.  He didn’t slide into me, instead he just left me feel what I was in for in the near future.  We continued kissing, my hands wouldn’t stop running up and down over his skin, as if I was trying to make up for all the time I hadn’t been allowed to touch him.  I left out a whine when he broke off the kiss.  “Why the disappointment, Princess?” he asked, humored, into my ear.

“I enjoy kissing you,” I whispered honestly.

“I do too.  However, I really want to be inside of you…”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” I giggled.

“I want you on top of me.”

“I can do that,” I smiled, pushing my hands against his chest so that I could move.

She looked so small as she crawled on top of me and I couldn’t help but smile.  I guided her with my hands on her hips and she slowly lowered herself down onto my dick.

“Fuuuuuck,” I groaned as my eyes rolled into the back of my head and her pussy slid down over me.

“Mmmm,” she purred when I was inside her fully.  She placed her hands on my chest and shifted herself for more leverage.  Just that small movement made me want to blow my load in her.  “Ready?” she asked sweetly as her hair fell into her face, making her look exactly as my dreams had pictured her.

Instead of speaking I lifted her at the hips and set a slow and easy rhythm that had us both crying out into the night.  I wanted to feel every inch of what I had been missing all these years. 

We made love the rest of the night until the sun came up and we were both too tired to move anymore.  There was something about it that made me realize that I could get used to waking up in his arms every morning, but with every minute, the sunlight became brighter and reality of it all was setting in.  Jack and I had to go home and go back to hiding the feelings we had each other.

“You’re frowning,” Jack whispered, startling me a bit because I didn’t realize he was awake.  He ran his fingers lightly through my unruly curls.

“It’s Sunday…” I said quietly.

“That it is,” he answered.

“We have to go home today.”

“Yeah.”

“What are we going to do?” I finally asked as I lifted my head up to look at him.

He shrugged his shoulders and pushed a piece of hair out of my face.

“We won’t be able to keep this quiet and plus Jarret…”

His brow furrowed as soon as I said his name.  “What about Jarret?”

“Well, I am kind of seeing him, Jack.”

“We just shared a night that should have happened a couple years ago and now all you can ask is, “What about Jarret?” he suddenly spoke icily and I could feel him tensing up underneath me.

“Both are legitimate questions,” I defended.  “Where do we go with this now?”

“I don’t have an answer to that,” he said, backing down slightly.  “What do you want?”

I looked up at him and didn’t say anything, because I didn’t know what to say.  This was a huge change, events happened like a tornado and I wasn’t sure which way I was supposed to go with it.

“I’m guessing that’s an “I don’t know,” he said frankly, with a frown on his chiseled face. 

“You’re my best friend, Jack…” the words came out sounding so wrong after the night we had just spent together.

“And he makes a lot more money than me,” he growled.

“It has nothing to do with the money,” I said defeated.  “He is a really great guy and I feel a connection with him,” I continued, but completely leaving out the part about feeling a strong connection with Jack because in all honesty with the look of jealousy that was flowing in his eyes at the moment, he wouldn’t have heard it anyway.  “We have our careers to worry about, Jack.  I know damn well you would never give it up and I sure as hell won’t give it up.  So where would that leave us?!”

Without saying anymore he moved to get up, leaving no choice but to roll off of him and onto the cold side of the mattress, creating a chill throughout my naked body.  I wanted to say something to make him stop, but I didn’t know what to say. 

“She went camping with Jack?” I asked, slightly surprised because when I left for Regina, Jack and Beth weren’t really even on speaking terms.

“Yeah, it’s something they do a lot together in the summers,” Grandma said with an easy smile.  “They should be home in an hour or two.  You looked a little shocked, dear.”

“Well, I am,” I laughed uneasily.  “When I left they weren’t talking…”

“They finally talked rationally it seems and figured some things out.  It’s about damn time, they are too good of friends to be fighting.  Jack is just being a ninny.”

“How so?” I asked, genuinely interested in what she had to say because I was still confused on their relationship.

She didn’t disappoint with her information because let’s face it, what else did elderly people love more than gossip?  “Jack has had it bad for Lizzie ever since they started working together.”

“Did he ever ask her out?”

“No…one of them would probably have to give up their job if they dated and both are married to that place, so I can’t see that ever happening.”

“Do you think Liz has feelings for him?” I asked, the words tasting a little bitter as I asked.

At this Grandma turned around and smiled sweetly, “I think she’s always had a crush on him, but when you don’t have a ton of choices, the Jolly Green Giant can look like a good suitor.”  I couldn’t help but laugh at this remark.  “I’m not saying that Jack isn’t a wonderful man; heck, he has that roguish handsome thing going for him that makes him one of the most eligible bachelor’s in this part of Saskatchewan, but he won’t ever make that move.”

I just nodded my head as I looked over the clock, hoping time would move faster because I was ready to make that move.

Chapter 7

Soundtrack:

2 songs to go along for a camping trip.

First tune is the one you listen to while driving for a good beat. Citizen Cope - Let The Drummer Kick

Second Tune is the one you listen to while sitting at the campfire listening to the obscure radio station that happens to play everything under the sun. Etta James - A Sunday Kind of Love

“I can’t believe what great weather we have!” Jack yelled over to me.  We were driving with the top down on his Jeep, making it slightly hard to hear with the wind blowing in your ears.  I always insisted on having the top down whenever I rode shot-gun in the Jeep.  After several years of me whining if it wasn’t down when he picked me up, he had gotten into the routine of putting it down before he even came over to pick me up.  Bruno was also enjoying the trip, his large droopy ears flapping in the breeze as he sat in the back seat.

“Elsie said it’s supposed to be really warm, I’m excited because I’m ready to go swimming in the lake,” I said, putting my hands up in the air painting wind pictures with my fingers to the beat of Citizen Cope’s Let the Drummer Kick as it blared from his killer sound system.  Jack was a motor-head who somehow had every latest gadget for his Jeep. 

“Did you pack your swimsuit this time?” Jack asked, with a raised eyebrow.  The other summer I completely forgot to pack it and I ended up going skinny dipping, which wouldn’t have been a big deal except some family with little kids showed up in our spot that was normally a very private area.  It wouldn’t have been a big deal since they stayed close to the beach while Jack and I swam over in the deeper area.  However, things got quickly complicated when a sudden summer storm popped up with lightening and all.  Needless to say I had never ran so fast to grab my towel that was sitting right next to where the family took cover.  Jack of course found it hilarious as he stood laughing his ass off at me as the mother of the children cursed at her husband while she tried covering the eyes of her young son.

I looked over at Jack and smirked as I dropped pulled down the neck of my shirt, revealing my bikini top strap.  “I figure if I wear it camping, I won’t forget it.”

“Smart idea.”

“I try,” I grinned.

“So what did Rick say when you told him to put you back on the schedule with me again?”

“He said he was glad we were done our lover’s quarrel and that next time he was not going to change the schedule and that we would just have to get over and deal with whatever our problem was,” I said, reciting the speech in a deeper voice to mimic Rick.  “I told him that it was not a lover’s quarrel, but he just rolled his eyes and mumbled something incoherent as he walked past me,” I continued.  “That pissed me off a little.  Do you think he really believes there is something going on between us?” I asked, slightly worried because I didn’t want people getting the wrong idea.  I didn’t want to lose my job.

“Come on Liz, you’ve known Rick longer than me.  He just says shit like that to get you riled up.  Obviously it worked,” Jack laughed, looking over at me.  His smile was easy and I was glad that he was back to his normal joking self.  This was the Jack that I had grown to care for over the years.  He was normally a very upbeat, laid-back guy, so it had been strange to see him all wound-up about things that I didn’t really find to be a big deal.  I couldn’t help but laugh at loud while I thought of the absurdity of these last two weeks of not talking or hanging out.

“What are you laughing about?” he yelled, his green eyes looking confused as the wind whipped his thick, dark hair all over the place.  I knew that once we stopped, it would be an unruly, semi-curly mess and he would be cursing it while running his fingers through it trying to get the knots out of it.

“Us.”

“Us?”

“Nevermind.”

“Whatever,” he rolled his eyes, putting them back on the road, allowing the music and wind to just fill our ears for the last couple miles of our trip.

As soon as we arrived at our spot, we both set out doing the chores we had designated over 5 years ago.  I went out and gathered some wood for the campfire while she put up the tent.  After having an argument about how to properly put up a tent the first year we attempted to put it up together, I knew better than to even try and help.  Hey, whatever, I can’t complain since it doesn’t fall down when she puts it up.

Before long I was taking a seat by the campfire and cracking open my first beer.

“These fucking mosquito’s are already eating me alive,” she whined as she slapped at her arm.

“I have some of the lotion stuff that isn’t greasy if you want some,” I said, motioning to the bottle sitting next to me.

“Ooo! Yes please,” she skipped over to me and plopped down in front of me, ripping off her shirt in the process.

“Um, Liz, only need to put it on your neck and the back of your arms, you do realize…” I said, chuckling at her and resisting the sudden urge to untie her bathing suit top so that I could hold her breasts myself and lay kisses down her beautiful neck.

“Well I figured if you were going to put some lotion on me you could just happen to work that all into a full back massage,” she said cheerfully as she twisted her head around to look up at me.  Her blue eyes were sparkling from her smile that grace them.

“Ooh!” I chirped.  “And you think you deserve this massage?”

“Of course,” she said happily as she bounced and turned her head back to face away from me again.

As much as I wanted to play the torturer, my penis was reminding me how much I wanted to touch her skin.  It instantly jumped to a tension when she moaned out like she had the other night at the Squad when my hands began kneading her.  I took my time this time, making sure I covered every inch, enjoying the feel of her soft skin.  I was fairly sure I had never touched anyone with softer skin.  I always loved how tan she would get in the summer, something completely strange for a red-head, but she always ended up with beautiful golden skin by the end of the season that made her look like a model.

“You are amazing,” she purred while stretching her arms up to the sky before dramatically falling back into my lap to look up at me after I finished my magical work.  I looked down at her and just gazed into her beautiful eyes.  The last of the sun rays were shining through the tree tops, making them sparkle.  I instinctively removed a piece of hair off her face and felt a shiver run through her.  The look in her eyes was something I had noticed a time or two and each time I would be so tempted to kiss her.  “I love when the hair falls in your eyes like that,” she whispered, seeming careful not to break the moment between us.

All I could do was just smile, afraid that if I said or did anything I would ruin the moment.  I ran my thumb across the top of her cheek and found myself leaning in closer to her rose petal lips.  Neither of us breathed as I closed in, there was just centimeters of space between our lips when Bruno left out a loud howl, causing us both to jump and completely ruining the moment.

Liz jumped up and began peering out into the woods where Bruno was looking.  “Thanks Bruno, now you just scared away the deer you big dumb dog,” she complained, rubbing the dog’s head as she spoke with a nervous voice.  I just fell back into my chair and took a long swig of my beer, mentally cursing myself for thinking I might actually go through with this and cursing the dog for fucking things up.

I almost let him kiss me.  Thank you Bruno for saving me…I think.

Luckily things didn’t stay awkward for too long between us, mainly because we busied ourselves with making dinner and gathering a little more wood for the evening campfire.  As I was walking through the woods, finding some viable firewood, I couldn’t help but let my mind wander.  What if I would have allowed him to kiss me?  But what about Jarret?  Things are going well and I really am beginning to fall for him.  But I can’t forget how long I’ve had feelings for Jack and I can’t forget how much he has never really seemed to show any interest in going anywhere farther than friends.  Sure, comments were made and innuendos were constant, but that was normal in this business, especially since I’m a woman in a man’s world.  What some people would define as sexual harassment, I considered normal conversation topics that would make me laugh and blush.  It was just something you got used to and everything was fair game.

Jack and I were forever throwing offside comments to each other, constantly joking about needing a sleeping buddy in the bunkroom and even fueling the rumors that we had already slept with each other on numerous occasions by making comments to Taylor and Paul about watching which bed they slept in because we had done some dirty deeds during out shift.  However I can honestly say that the only time we touched was during hugs, his back massages that he gave me or just normal contact during work-hours.  Doesn’t mean I didn’t dream about him touching me more intimately.

It was now dark by the time I arrived back to the campsite from gathering firewood.  It never seemed to fail to get damp and cool in the woods when the sun went down, so I decided to head into the tent to get changed.

“Dinner is ready whenever you are done doing whatever it is you are doing in there,” Jack called over from the campfire.

“I’m just searching for my sweatshirt,” I called back as I rummaged through my gear bag, quickly realizing I forgot to pack one.  “Shit,” I complained as I stepped out of the tent.  “I totally forgot my sweatshirt.”

“I have an extra if you want it,” Jack said, already moving to get up from his chair.

“No, just wait, I’ll get it later. I’ll be fine in the mean time,” I said, putting up my hands to tell him to stay put.

We ate bratwurst and potatoes that were cooked in the fire in aluminum foil with spices and onions, it was one of my favorite camp meals.  “Why does this not taste as good when you make this at work?” I mumbled with my mouthful.

Jack chuckled as he took a swig of his beer, “Because work ruins everything.”

“Mmm, this is true,” I nodded in agreement.

“In more ways then one,” he mumbled to himself at a volume that made me think I was not actually supposed to hear him.  So instead of questioning what he meant, I sat quietly and ate my food, listening to the music that was playing out of the old radio.

After dinner we just made the normal small talk, but most of all occupied our time by drinking several beers, listening to the faint sounds of Etta James singing about Sunday Love while the symphony of crickets relaxed me.  Elsie had said the weather was supposed to be nice all weekend, so I didn’t bother checking the reports before we left; you can imagine my surprise when the skies suddenly opened up, dumping cold rain on top of us.

“Shit!  That is fucking cold!!” I whined, wrapping my arms around my self as I brought my knees up to my chest while sitting on the chair underneath the canopy we quickly moved under.

“Do you want me to go get your sweatshirt now, princess?” Jack laughed at me.

“Princess?”

“Yeah, you are whining like one.”

“Well you have the proper clothing on…”

“It is no one’s fault but your own.  I offered earlier to get you a sweatshirt.”

“You were eating your food, and I know how important that is to you.”

“Whatever, I don’t want to hear you whine.”

“I will whine if I want to,” I pouted, now beginning to shiver.

“This is the problem with girls…”

“You always make the comment when you bring me camping, so why do you ask me?” I chirped back.

“Because I always seem to forget until we are here and you do something annoying.”

“Fine, I’ll just go into the tent and stop being annoying,” I snapped, as I got up from my chair and stomped through the rain to get to the tent.  I could hear Jack still laughing at me once I got inside and then I heard him talking to Bruno.  Typical men.

As much as I loved camping, I still never got used to camping in the rain.  It made everything damp and miserable in my book and considering I didn’t really have anything warm to put on, it just amped the un-happy camper rank.  Despite being wrapped up in my sleeping bag, I found my shivering getting worse.  By the time Jack came in, my teeth were loudly chattering.

“What is your problem?” he asked, obviously humored by the state he found me in.  Only my nose and wet hair were sticking out from the sleeping bag.

“I’m ffffucking ffffrrreeeezing,” I chattered.  Jack smiled but soon began rummaging through his stuff.  “I-i-is B-runooo tied?” I asked.

“Yup, tied to the stake, he’s already out for the count under the canopy.”

“T-thank y-y-you.”

“Stop talking, you sound pathetic.”

“Ass.”

He laughed as he turned towards me, dropping a sweatshirt on top of my sleeping bag.  “Put that on and get out of your sleeping bag.”

“Get out of my sleeping bag?”

“Yes.”

I crawled out, shivering in my lightweight t-shirt and shorts, cursing myself for my stupidity in forgetting my warm clothing.  I quickly slipped the huge sweatshirt over me and then watched as Jack pushed our air-mattresses together, unzipped both of our sleeping bags and made our single beds into one big one.

“What are you doing?”

“You aren’t going to get warm by yourself,” he said in a matter of fact tone.

“We are not sharing that…” I stuttered out.

“Why not?  You afraid of something?” he asked with a playful gleam in his eye.

“What?! No. Should I be?!”

“Well, are you afraid you might not be able to keep your hands to yourself, Liz?”

“That doesn’t even warrant an answer,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes.  “Can you please hurry up?!”

He let out a laugh and flipped my sleeping bag over top his, finishing our new sleeping area.  I didn’t even wait for him to tell me he was done, I just quickly crawled in and wrapped myself up in the sleeping back.

“Um, you are going to have to share that,” Jack informed me from behind.  I was facing the opposite direction, giving him privacy to change.

“I’m a blanket hog,” I giggled and then left out a squeak as he literally bounced into the bed, causing.

“Well then I guess I’ll just have to do this,” he growled as he wrapped a strong, warm arm around me and pulled me back against him.

“Hey!” I protested.

“The whole point of doing this was to get your warm.  It’s bad enough I have to put up with your cold body until you actually get warm, so no complaints from the peanut gallery,” he joked.

I bit my lip, unsure of what to say because truthfully, I was speechless.  I had dreams about laying like this with him.  To actually be spooned with him was definitely something I had never expected, then to actually have his arm intimately wrapped around me…well, I was a goner and there was no way in hell I could mentally yell at my hormones that were now bouncing around at light-speed pace.  How am I supposed to sleep like this?!

I could tell she was tense, but I just kept my arm around her, keeping her close to me.  Sure, it was probably a lame way to get close to her like this, but all I had been able to think about was her body against mine after we had been so close to kissing earlier. 

The only sounds I could focus on was her breathing and the sound of the voice in my head as it yelled to my dick not to get out of control because things might get uncomfortable real quick.

Her body fit against mine just like I had always imagined it would.  The faint smell of her shampoo filled my nose and the feel of her heartbeat the arm I had wrapped around her lulled me into a sedative state.  This felt natural and completely comfortable.

“You better not snore,” she finally spoke, breaking the silence.

“Same goes for you,” I said hoarsely. 

“Mmm,” she mumbled before snuggling back against me.  “How are you so warm?” she cooed as I bit the inside of my cheek instead of allowing the groan out that was lodged in the back of my throat.

“It’s my warm heart,” I muttered through clenched teeth.

“You’re full of shit,” she giggled.

“Never claimed to be an angel,” I growled back, unable to help myself from saying it into her ear.  She shivered, but I wasn’t sure if it was because of me or the fact that she was still cold.  “You warming up?” I asked.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Good.”

The next thing I remembered was waking up on my back with her head on my chest, sleeping with a faint smile on her face as the daylight began peaking in, causing her copper hair to shine as a few pieces laid errant on my skin.

Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the little pause... I literally re-wrote this chapter 4 times before this all came out. Ah, the lovely thought processes in writing... Life would probably be easier if I wrote out an outline or something while writing, but then again, I don't think things would come out half as good if I did start doing that. Hope you enjoy the fruits of this labor!

Soundtrack for the chapter: The Black Keys - I Got Mine : note, my soundtrack choices for this story are basically coming from the stuff I'm listening to while writing, so if you check out the lyrics, they might not always make a lot of sense to what you read... so just read and enjoy the tunes.

Ch. 6

If I had to give a report card on how things between Beth and I were doing, then I’d give it a B+.  The only reason it wasn’t an A was because of the fact that we hadn’t been in bed together yet.  Not that sex was everything, but damn, the way she pranced herself around me only made me want her more and more.

To my Grandma’s delight, Beth and I had become basically inseparable.  We were constantly doing things together.  I had taken her to a movie last night, it was an old black and white film but it didn’t matter because I just enjoyed sitting there, holding her hand and stealing a few kisses here and there.  It had been a very long time since I had started a relationship this way, and I have to say it was refreshing.

I didn’t expect to know every little thing about her within the first week or two, but there were two things that she seemed to be mum about that were starting to get the better of me. 

The first thing was the fall-out between her and Jack.  As much as it wasn’t my business, it was.  Grandma said that the two of them had a huge fight and that they were no longer partners.  Beth had eluded to this fact the other day when we spent the day together, repelling, but she never did really talk about it after that.  She always seemed stressed if she had to stop by the squad and Jack was there.  In all honesty, there were just some things you could talk about right away when you began a relationship with someone, but there were other things that just were none of your business in the beginning.  The Jack and Liz situation seemed to be one of them.

The second one was probably just trivial, but even so I found it odd that she never allowed me to pick her up at her house.  In fact, I only saw her house that one night when I dropped her off after the golf tourney.  I mentioned something to Grandma about it, but she just shrugged her shoulders and mumbled something about Lizzie being stubborn about some things. 

The second concern was quashed when I decided to do some snooping of my own.  Wednesday afternoon I volunteered to go pick up a few things at the store for Grandma and on my way home I went down the street I had dropped Beth off at.  When I drove by the large brick house she had claimed to be hers, an older man was sitting outside on the porch on a rocking chair and an older woman was just coming out the door with 2 glasses of lemonade in her hands.  It was obvious they lived there and I remembered being introduced to them the other day because the man was actually the Mayor of Kamsack.

Beth had mentioned that it was just her and her dog, so I was fairly quick in deducing, the house was not hers.  I drove down a little farther and soon spotted her old pick-up parked in the driveway of an old ranch house that was in obvious need of repair.  The lawn was mowed and nicely landscaped, but the roof had a tarp over it and shutters were falling off.  She’s embarrassed by her house and lack of funds.  I get it, but it really bothers me that it bothers her enough to lie to me.

Probably against my better judgment, I pulled into the drive and parked behind her truck.  I walked up to the front door and attempted to ring the doorbell, but it didn’t work so I just knocked on the door.  Some loud howling came from the other side and I heard Beth cursing the howling culprit.  “Bruno, seriously!” she was still complaining as she swung the door open.  A look of shock covered her face when she found me standing on the other side.  She looked utterly ravishing in a pair of ripped cut-offs and an old t-shirt that clung to her in ways that made me wish I was the t-shirt.  Her copper curls were pulled up into a messy pony-tail that left many errant strands bouncing in the summer breeze that blew past me into the house.  “Hi.”

“I was out running some errands for Grams when I decided to stop in and see you.  I’m glad I remembered you mentioning that you didn’t live with anyone except for your dog, cause I’m fairly sure I would have made an ass out of myself when I knocked on the door of the mayor’s house,” I said in a slightly annoyed, slightly amused tone because she was too damn cute for me to actually be pissed off at something that could be considered trivial.

Beth stood there biting her lip, looking down at her toes as she rocked back and forth with her hands stuffed in the back pockets of her shorts.  “Yeah about that…” she began quietly.

“You really aren’t comfortable with the money situation are you?” I asked, not bothering to beat around the bush about shit.

She looked up at me, her beautiful blue eyes unable to hide the truth.  “Yeah, I guess it does bother me.  I have nothing and you make millions.  Hell, if you put us next in that old caste system, I would probably constitute as your servant,” she lashed out.

“If you’re my servant then you better get to work and start pleasing me,” I laughed, unable to be serious about it because it was totally absurd in my mind that she should worry about something so stupid.

“It’s not funny, Jay…I’m sure that if when you go back to LA and you tell the guys about the girl in Kamsack, they will laugh you right out of the locker room.”

I finally pushed my way inside and wrapped an arm around her in the process, easily picking her up around the waist and moving her so that we were both in the living room.  Sure, the place had an out-dated décor, but it was clean and homey.  I set her down and proceeded to rest my hands on her shoulders, to make sure she didn’t go far from me.  “Obviously you don’t know much about the guys I play hockey with.  Many of them came from small-towns like this all over Canada, including me.  Just because we make the big bucks now does not mean we forget about where we came from.  Is it easy to get wrapped up in all the glitter and lights when you suddenly have the money to be apart of that? Fuck yeah.  However, I found out that it isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.”

“Well you have to understand its a little daunting finding out you were engaged to Rachel Hunter and also find that you were dating Katie Cassidy…”

I left out a quiet chuckle, “Were you doing some internet stalking?”

She looked up at me shyly and nodded her head slowly.  “I couldn’t help it…”

“So if you wouldn’t have found out those things, would you be this bothered by it?”

“Well, I knew you were someone kind of popular, because let’s face it, even the professional bench warmer is someone special here in Canada, but I guess yeah, it might make things a little easier knowing you haven’t dated some of the prettiest women in Hollywood,” she basically pouted.

“What if I told you that you are more beautiful then them?”

“Then I’d have to say you a full of bullshit and you can turn around now and walk out the door,” her attitude coming back into her voice.

I left out a loud laugh at this, especially with the humored frown she had on her face.  “It sure makes things easier knowing that whatever I say you will probably never believe,” I said sarcastically.   “Guess I’ll just have to put more effort into showing you…”

“Showing me?” she asked confused.

At that I dropped my hands down to her waist and pulled her towards me, capturing her lips in the process.  She left out a surprised gasp as I slid a hand down over her ass and cupped it, pulling her firmly against me.  The kiss was in no way like the innocent ones we had shared the last few days, it was deeper and soon our tongues were battling for the upper hand.  I shivered as I felt her go up onto her tip toes and reach her arms up around my neck.  My dick instantly hardened from the friction of her movement and the blood from my head drained downward to it as she threaded her fingers through my hair, daring me to kiss her into oblivion.

It was as if she set every sensory nerve on alert as I could feel every inch of her against me, including her hardening nipples against my chest and her rising body temperature.  She surprised me by suddenly pulling back to break the kiss.  She rested her head against mine, looked deep into my eyes and whispered, “You make me think that things could be more between us.”

“I wouldn’t mind that,” I answered truthfully, rubbing my thumb back and forth on the soft spot at the base of her spine, right above the waist band of her shorts.

“Mmm,” she hummed back and I could have sworn I could actually hear the internal argument going on in her head.

I cocked my head to the side and went in for another kiss but she abruptly turned and grabbed me by the shirt, leading me down the hallway to the back of the house.

By doing this, I was probably opening myself up to problems later on down the line, but then again I couldn’t see things getting much worse at the moment, considering I had woken up numerous times during the week in diaphoretic state after dreaming about our night in Vancouver.  I was horny as hell and after the last few times with him, I found myself having to come home and change my panties.  After feeling him get hard during those few short moments of that passionate kiss, I knew there was no way I could keep holding out.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to…” he said quietly as I pulled him into my bedroom.

“If you don’t want me…” I smiled playfully but ended my sentence with a squeak as growled and picked me up, throwing me on the bed.

I weakly attempted to get myself off the bed, but he crawled up over-top of me, giving me no chance of getting out of the room without having him fuck me senseless before hand.  He splayed his hands down on either side of me and bench pressed himself down over me so that the whole length of his body laid on me without putting his full weight on me.  His grey eyes had a devilish gleam in them before he closed them and pressed his lips to mine.

He soon was straddling me so that his hands could be all over me, leaving heat wherever he touched.  I surprised myself by leaving out a cry as he firmly cupped my breasts and massaged them.  He then mumbled something incoherent that probably had to do with the fact that we had too much clothing on because he suddenly pulled his shirt up over his head and then tugged on mine.  I arched my back, giving him room to remove it, along with my bra.  I’m fairly sure my bra hadn’t hit the floor before his lips were on my left nipple, rolling it between his tongue and teeth.  The day old facial hair on his face chafed against my sensitive skin, causing me to leave out a sigh of pleasure.  “Jaaay,” I breathed when he took my other nipple into his mouth.

“Yes, Beth?” he asked, moving himself aside of me and propping himself up on an arm.  I took in a sharp breath as I watched him flatten his tongue between my cleavage and drag it up my neck, licking me like he was tasting his dessert before taking a bite of it.  He ended his taste-test by running his tongue over my lips, making me open them for him to drink from me.  Feeling his hard chest against mine instantly made my sex ache and I could feel myself already getting wet for him.

“I’m nervous,” I whispered as he ended the kiss by nipping at my lower lip.

“About what?”

“Our last time together was so incredible…”

“Are you afraid what we do here today won’t live up to that night?”

“Yeah,” I mouthed, staring into his eyes.

“You haven’t disappointed me yet,” he smiled.

“I don’t have alcohol in me…so I can’t promise all the craziness of last time.”

“I’m not looking for craziness, Beth.”

“Oh, good,” I said, slightly relieved.

“What I’m looking for is…” he paused, ran his finger down my side, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind, efficiently undid the button of my jean shorts, lowered the zipper and slid it down underneath my panties.  I gasped as his cool finger slid in-between my hot, slick folds.  “What I’m looking for is you to be ready for me and it seems you are already there,” he mused hotly into my ear.  I wrapped my arms around him pulled him down against me as he pushed his finger into me.

“I’m reeeeadddyyyy,” I hissed.

At this he pulled himself out of my arms, grinned cheekily and tugged on my shorts and panties, pulling them off.  I felt exposed while he stood there looking at me longingly as he pulled down his shorts, freeing his thick, hardened length that I realized I hadn’t even begun to give it the respect it deserved in my dreams.  I observed him with a smile while he bent down and pulled a foiled packet out of his wallet, tossing it onto my belly.  I ripped open the package and coaxed him over to me with a finger and a sultry smile.  “Come here, Stoll,” I giggled.

He laughed as he crawled back up on the bed, straddling himself over me.  Being on his knees he was the perfect height for me to take him in my mouth when I propped myself up on my elbows.  A loud grown escaped from his mouth as I ran my tongue around the tip of his head before taking him fully between my lips.  I sucked him hard, making him curse.  “Fuck Beth, you are such the dirty girl.”

When I hummed in agreement, his eyes rolled back in his head before he closed his eyes to concentrate.  I began working him with my hand and mouth for a bit before pulling back, causing a loud pop as lips released him.  I looked up at him as I rolled the condom over his saliva glistened dick and he just smiled contently back down at me.  He shimmied his way back off the bed, tugged on my ankles to pull me to the edge of the bed.  We both watched as he took his cock in his hand and sighed together when he pressed it slowly into me, making it disappear and causing my muscles to stretch fully to accept him.

“Fuuuuuck,” I hissed while he left out a growl when he bottomed out in me.  I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him a little deeper and squeezed my PC muscles to get a reaction out of him.

“You are so fucking tight,” he groaned as he leaned down and grabbed roughly onto my tits for a purchase point.  I locked my ankles and fisted my hands in my comforter, holding on for the ride.  With each thrust, he pushed into me even farther making me cry-out with each hit.  It was on the verge of being painful, yet he was quickly building me up to the earth shattering orgasm he had given me that night in Vancouver.  Things were going full speed ahead but it quickly went into hyper drive when he unhooked my legs from behind him and pushed my knees back against my tits, completely changing the situation, causing him to hit my g-spot with every thrust-in.  My cries turned into screams, making Bruno begin to howl angrily outside the door of my bedroom.  Before I could even laugh at the absurdity the orgasm hit me and I yelled out an incoherent sentence of curse words along with Jarret’s name.  It was still tearing through me when he released inside of me.  He too was loudly cursing my name as I felt the extra heat fill my body.

“You interested in coming to Regina with me this weekend?” I asked quietly as we both lay sedately on the bed next to each other, allowing the warm summer breeze to cool down our body temperatures after the sexual workout we had just partaken in together.

She took in a breath and turned her head towards me.  “What do you have going on there?”

“My friend Scott Hartnell is having a fundraiser for his charity…”

“When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.”

“I work tomorrow night,” she said.

“Well, I guess I could wait til Friday morning,” I informed her sincerely.

“No, go.  Get out of this town before you do any other crazy things like buying a camper so that you can become a hermit or something.”

“Are you insinuating that the reason I just had sex with you is because I’m losing my mind from being here in this town?” I chuckled.

“You never know.  This town makes people do strange things,” she smiled.

“I’m okay with strange things if you consider yourself to be one,” I growled into her ear, making her squeal and roll away from me.

“You are evil!”

“Did that tickle?” I asked, laughing at her sudden outburst.

“It did!”

“I’m not sorry,” I declared while beginning to poke her body, causing her to yell out, making Bruno bark and howl loudly again.  “Thank goodness you closed your door, because I’m sure that dog would have mauled me after you began screaming…”

“He can’t hurt a fly.”

“That howl sounds vicious.”

“Ooo, the big bad hockey player is afraid of a harmless hound dog…” she mocked.

I quickly moved over top of her, pinning her hands above her head as I leaned down and growled into her ear.  “You want to make fun of me some more little girl?”  She was fidgeting underneath me, trying to break free, but there was no use.  She was strong, but not strong enough to move me.  “For that I’m making you pay,” I continued breathily into her ear before biting playfully into her neck.  The more she moved, the more I felt myself getting harder.

Seems like I will have to go back to the store and buy another container of milk, because I’m definitely going to be here a little longer…

It was Thursday night when I strolled into the station, ready to start my shift.  I smiled as I walked by Liz’s truck and into the station to find her sitting at the desk with her back towards me.

“Hey Paul!  I just need to finish up this chart on the computer and we can go grab a bite to eat!”  Liz called out as she heard me walk in, not even bothering to turn around and look.  She knew someone was here because Bruno got up from his spot on the floor and sauntered over to me, most likely checking to see if I had treats for him.  This was a normal thing between Bruno and me when Liz and I worked together.

“I figured we’d just cook out here for a change,” I spoke, while patting Bruno on the head and watching as her whole body tensed when she slowly turned around to look at me.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, I work here,” I chuckled easily, praying that I could keep the atmosphere light.  Bruno licked my hand until I produced a couple milk bones from my pocket.

“Yeah, but you haven’t showed up around here when I’m working in the last…well, for over a week and a half now,” she said evenly, not sounding overly friendly yet not sounding pissed off either.

“It’s been almost two weeks,” I said calmly, setting my gear bag down by the door.  “Paul needed a last minute switch because his little girl is sick, so he and Sue took her over to the hospital.”

“So you are my partner?”

“It would seem that way,” I smiled to myself as I put the ingredients for dinner on the counter in the kitchen.

“Oh.”

“Don’t sound so thrilled,” I laughed.

“I won’t,” she grumbled, turning back towards the computer screen.  “You aren’t ever thrilled to see me anymore…”

I walked behind her and put my hands on her shoulders and began to massage them, something I had done a million times over the last several years; each time she left out this erotic sigh and she didn’t disappoint tonight.

“I guess Paul doesn’t do this for you?” I asked, finding a knot that I firmly pressed my thumb into.  “You feel a mess.”

“Mmm, noooo,” she said incoherently while instantly relaxing and dropping her head forward so that it almost hit the desk.

I left out a laugh as I continued kneading her.  It was going to take things like this to get me back in her good graces.  I’ve been a real ass the last two weeks, so I had to make up for it and use the stuff in my arsenal to present myself in a better light.  After working a few knots out I rubbed her back for a mini-cool down and stepped back from her.

“I don’t think you are done.”

“My hands aren’t used to doing that anymore since you insisted on switching partners,” I said light heartedly.

“Well if you wouldn’t be such an ass for no reason,” she bit back, still on the playful side.

“I have my reasons for everything, you of all people should know this.”

She stood up at this point and stepped around the chair so that we were standing in each other’s personal space now.  The look in her baby blue eyes said it all before she spoke.  “I miss you, Jack.”

I took a step towards her and pulled her into my arms, holding her tightly against me.  She completed the hug by wrapping her arms around me and putting her head on my chest.  I bent my head down so that I could bury my nose in her copper hair and took a deep breath of the familiar scent I had missed the last two weeks.  It was the scent I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about every time I smelled the fresh honeysuckle blowing in my windows at my house.  Before she pulled back I whispered, “What are you doing this weekend?”

“No plans of anything,” she said quietly as she looked up at me, proper her chin on my chest, making it very hard not to just lean down a few inches and taste her lips.

“Let’s go camping.  I think it will do us some good to get out of here and just spend some time together.  We haven’t gone yet this year and it will give us time to talk about whatever we want to talk about.”  There, I asked.  This was a normal thing for us to do, but things were normal between us and I am not sure how she is going to react to this.

I watched in uncertainty as she bit on her bottom lip, thinking over my suggestion.  “I think that would be a good idea,” she said simply as a small smile played on her pouty lips.  Bruno barked right after she said the words and we both laughed.  “I guess we will be taking him along with us,” she giggled.

“No problem there,” I smiled, doing a mental happy dance that the first part of my battle plan seemed to be working.

Jack always had that way of getting me to relax with just the touch of his hand.  I was slightly surprised to find out that he was my partner for the night, but in reality, I was glad to see that he seemed to be getting over whatever issue he had the last few weeks.  It still bothered me that he was being slightly cryptic about things, but I hoped a weekend together would fix things. Camping sounded like a perfect idea.  I was in need of a weekend away from the dreamland I had been in for the last 2 weeks with Jarret.  I was kind of glad he was leaving for the weekend to hang with the guys.  I was still a little uneasy about the relationship that was blossoming between us.  The sex was nothing short of being wonderful the other night, but I still had no clue how things were going to work.  I was a woman of reason and my feelings for Jarret did not at all seem reasonable to me.  Plus, I needed to get things straightened out with Jack once and for all.  Jarret would be gone at the end of the summer, but Jack would still be here and he had been in my life a lot longer. 

This could be one long ass summer…