***
Jack noticed goose bumps rising on Jill’s arms, and then she shivered. He put his arm around her shoulder.
Jill looked up and smiled.
“This is nice, Jack.”
Jack held the Hummer door open for Jill as she climbed in, and again noticed the low cut back on her dress.
The drive to Dover Air Base took twenty minutes. Jack stopped at the gate and held up his military identification. The guard walked over and looked at the ID. He seemed to be taking longer than usual to review the ID. Jack glanced at the guard’s eyes, and saw that they were traveling up and down the length of Jill’s black dress. Jack smiled and thought that it was a good thing he wasn’t the jealous type.
Jack waited patiently. Finally the guard grinned at Jack, “Everything is fine. You may proceed.”
Jack noticed the guard’s ever so slight emphasis on the word “fine.” He instinctively knew that it was a reference to Jill and her black dress and wondered if Jill caught the innuendo.
Jack parked the Hummer and opened the door for Jill. They began walking to the barracks. Jill intertwined her fingers into Jack’s.
“Jill . . .” Jack looked at Jill through narrowed eyes.
“I know Jack, but we are not in uniform.” Jill continued to hold Jack’s hand.
“Yes, but if anyone sees us, and puts two and two together, we could end up in big trouble.”
“Jack, they are not going to fire us.”
“I know, but you understand there are rules about dating inside the chain of command.”
“Mmm. I wish you hadn’t brought that up.” Jill squeezed Jacks hand tighter.
They arrived at the barracks and Jack and Jill walked to the two adjacent doors that marked the entrance to each other’s rooms.
“Here we are.” Jill looked into Jack’s eyes as she released her grip on his hand and slid both hands up to his shoulders. Jack’s muscles tensed with pleasure.
Jack glanced left and right. It was almost midnight and the air base was quiet. He couldn’t see or hear anyone. He reached out and put his hands around Jill’s waist. Pulling her close, he looked into her blue eyes.
“Jack,” she said. “Would you like to come into my room?” Jill’s intimation and bright smile tempted him, almost beyond resolve.
“I’d love to, but I don’t think that we should take a chance on the three of us being by ourselves in a room at the same time.”
“The three of us?” Jill cocked her head.
“You . . . me . . . and that sexy black dress of yours.” Jack smiled.
“Hmm, I’m glad you like my dress. Well, if I can’t tempt you to come inside, could I talk you into one more kiss?”
“That’s an order I’m happy to obey.” He leaned over and she drew close. Their lips met in a gentle kiss that lingered. Jacks hands slid past her waist and touched her bare back. He could feel her goose bumps from the cool night air. Jill’s hands slid up to Jack’s neck and then passed to the back of his head where her hands tightened their grip on Jack. She pulled her body closer to him and pressed into his kiss. Jack began gliding his fingertips up and down her bare back, softly and slowly. Jill shivered from his light touch and pressed tighter into his kiss.
“Oh Jack, this is awful.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I just hate to say goodnight. It has been such a wonderful day,” she said.
“I am glad to hear that. It makes our parting that much sweeter.”
Jill’s hands released Jack and she took a half step back. Jack could see her feeling of rejection in her eyes. “Jill, there is one more thing that we need to talk about.” Jack hesitated, then tried to speak. The words were not flowing. His throat felt dry, and the words were being choked back by his own fear of rejection. “I don’t know . . . how to start.”
“Start at the beginning.”
“Jill, you are such a unique person. I can’t imagine anyone else like you. We have so much in common and our few differences do complement each other.” Jack reached out and gently grasped her hands with his. “My feelings are much more than friendship and romance. I have never felt this way before. I want to grow old with you.”
“Grow old? That doesn’t sound very romantic. Wait, did you say grow old with me?”
“Jill, I have to tell you more. I have to tell you something that I have never told anyone. I am . . . in love with you.”
Jill froze. Her eyes stared deep into Jack’s eyes. Jack waited. He knew this could be a tipping point in their relationship. He thought about how much he cared for Jill. He wanted to wait to use the L word until he felt more confident in their relationship. But, he couldn’t wait—he had to do it. If he were going to lose Jill, it would be better now than later when he was deeper in love. Please, Jill, don’t reject me because I want more than friendship and romance.
Jill paused. Her face bore the look of shock. Her mouth was half open, and she was trying to get a word out, “Lo . . . lo . . . love? Did you just use the L word?”
“I know I am pushing things, but I have to be honest. I realize now that I have been in love with you ever since I saw you floating in the VWT. I didn’t realize it then. It finally hit me when you spooned with me in the night. It was then that I was able to put it all together. Jill, we were made for each other. I can’t bear the thought of living without you. I have never felt this way about anyone. You may not feel this way yet, but give it some time. I know we like each other a lot, and I think that with time, you will love me, too.”
“Jack. I’m shocked. I didn’t think we would have a conversation like this for a long time, but it’s just as well. We should put our cards on the table before it’s too late. I think our relationship is becoming complicated rather quickly. My life has been spent living up to the expectations of Hope, Shooter, and my brothers. Now, I am adding another person to this mix.”
“I know that and that’s why I hesitate to—”
“Jack, I don’t think you understand. The complications are a good thing. I want to continue our relationship, and fit it into my family relationships. It is just that, well, until this point there has never been anyone that was more important than my family. It was easy to think of you as a boyfriend, but now . . . well, like you, I just think there is more to our relationship than friendship and romance.”
Jill paused, released Jack’s hands, and stepped close and wrapped her hands around his neck. “Jack, I am falling in love with you, too. Like you, I first realized it at the VWT. After you talked the instructor into giving me another day off, I sensed that you were the one.”
“Jill, you just used the L word.”
Jill smiled. “I did, and I liked it.”
Her smile filled Jack’s heart and relief filled his soul as he realized that she cared for him as deeply as he did her.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come into my room for a while?”
Jack let out a long sigh. “Jill, part of me says yes, and part of me says no. I think we need to be careful that we don’t move too quickly. I have too much respect for you and your family, and I don’t want to spoil our chance of making this work. We are both disciplined, and we need to be careful that our emotions don’t get the better of us.”
“You sound so logical, and you sound like you are taking the lead in our relationship. But, I think that since I have rank, you should do this my way.” Jill smiled a coy grin.
“You may be the boss when we are on duty, but I am going to have some say the rest of the time.”
“Jack, you can be stubborn, tough, headstrong, and bullheaded. But I think that is sort of sexy.” Jill drew closer.
“Ha, you are not going to sweet talk me into your bedroom. I have just told you that I want to marry you, isn’t that enough for now?” Jack leaned over and gave Jill another kiss on her lips.
“Oh, I guess it will have to do for now,” Jill pouted.
“You look so cute when you are mad at me,” Jack said.
“He
y, I’m not mad. I’m glad you love me and want to get married.”
Jack watched Jill as she entered a pensive mood. “What are you thinking?”
“This could get a little sticky,” Jill said.
“Sticky?”
“You know how I talk to my mom all the time?”
“Oh, right. You talk freely with her, don’t you.”
“Right, and she knows me pretty good. I don’t know if I can keep this quiet.”
“Do your best,” Jack said. “If your mom figures out what is happening, we can claim that our relationship is top secret, ha.”
“A lot of good that will do. If she senses we are getting serious, then she will drag it out of me. She can be very determined when it comes to relationships. Hey, why don’t you come up for a weekend as soon as things slow down? Since we both have used the L word, you should get to know my family a little better.”
“Hmm, I suppose. I would like to talk to Hope about becoming a Christian.”
“Great idea. She would love to talk to you about spiritual things. And hey, if she starts asking too many questions about our relationship, then you can get her off track by asking questions about the Lord.”
“Jill, it’s late.” Jack saw her pout again.
“Okay . . . I’ll go to my room by myself. You have no idea how tempting you are.”
With that, Jack gave Jill a long, passionate kiss.
“I love you, Savage.”
“I love you, ma’am.”
They parted, smiled, and went into their separate rooms.
The seed of love was planted during Jack and Jill’s first mission.
Future missions will test the strength of that love.
End
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Redhead Meets Redneck: First Date
Destiny
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