Summer Burns (14 page)

"
I guess not.
"
They walked along the sidewalk, a bike path or something through the trees. Periodically, there were little statues along the path, donated by this company or that to make the park nicer.

"
It was so long ago,
"
she said as she tore off another bit of her donut.

"
Another lifetime,
"
he agreed.

They walked a bit longer, in silence, until she glanced at him, her head tilted to the side, like she was appraising him.

"
So what happened with you? Why aren
'
t you married with fourteen kids now?
"

He smirked.
"
No time, really.
"

"
It gets away from us, doesn
'
t it?
"

He nodded.
"
Before I knew it, I was thirty.
"
Boy did he ever.

"
With a string of broken hearts along the way, I
'
m sure.
"

"
Are you trying to ask if I have a girlfriend, Summer?
"

She shrugged.
"
Have. Had. Whatever. I can
'
t imagine you
'
ve been celibate for the last fifteen years.
"

"
No, I have not,
"
he smirked.
"
But there haven
'
t been a lot of women. As you know, it
'
s not easy being a military family.
"
The few women he dated for more than a minute came to mind. Committed relationships that proved finding a woman who was strong enough to be an Army wife was harder than he thought.

He never met anyone who could handle the distance and time apart required. And he
'
d seen way too many brothers at arms dealing with home problems because of the pressures.

"
Only too well,
"
she said.
"
When Jake would come home, he
'
d just hug me for hours, because he was so relieved I didn
'
t want a divorce.
"

"
I couldn
'
t seem to find one like that,
"
he muttered.

"
Oh, I see.
"
She put her hand on his arm.
"
I
'
m sorry.
"

"
It
'
s not your fault.
"

"
No, but I should say something, because there are decent women in this world. Ones that are mature enough to handle the commitment.
"

"
Were you?
"

"
Mature enough? Hardly. But I did what I had to. I may have spent a few nights crying myself to sleep, but I tried to remember that he was fighting wars, and I had no right to be a big baby because I missed him.
"
Her shoulders went back, like she was about ready to go to war herself.

"
Hence my single status.
"

"
I get that,
"
she swallowed the last bite of her donut.
"
So are you done going overseas?
"

"
Yeah. Ready to stay stateside.
"

"
You said you were here for training, right?
"

He nodded.
"
Only got a few more weeks to go. I will go back to Ft. Hood in August.
"

"
So you
'
ve been here, what, a week?
"

"
Three.
"

She gave him that look again.
"
And you
'
re just now coming by to pay your respects?
"

This made him look away from her, staring at the trees ahead of them on the path.
"
Had to find you first.
"

"
That only sounds moderately creepy.
"

He grinned.

She put her hand on the crook of his elbow.
"
Look, I
'
m glad that you did. And I
'
m glad that you wanted to spend some time with me tonight.
"

"
It
'
s called a date, I believe.
"

"
I know. I just think about what a date means, and it gets me all jumbled up inside.
"

"
What does it mean, Summer?
"

"
That I
'
m not just a widow anymore, but a girl.
"
Her eyes glistened again, and it kicked him in the gut.

Such emotion all balled up in her
...

He pulled her to him, and she fell into his embrace. He didn
'
t know what to say to her to make her feel better. Or if he needed to.

Instead, they just stood there, holding each other as the sun went down.

~*~

After the moment in the park, he wasn
'
t sure what to do. It felt so real, so right to hold her like that, but it also felt so strange.

After all, she was Jake
'
s wife. Even if Jake was gone, he
'
d always be in the shadows. Hennessey would turn a corner, and there he
'
d be, looming over everything. A constant reminder of why and how fucked war really was.

And how screwed up Fate was that he was here, and Jake wasn
'
t.

How could Hennessey start feeling things for her?

Because that
'
s exactly what he felt--feelings.

And that tore him up.

Summer must have been aware of his discomfort, because she asked if he could take her home, claiming being tired, though he wondered if there was more to it.

On the way back, Summer took his hand as he drove, and when her fingers laced through his, the sensation caused another war inside him.

She told him a couple of little anecdotes about Emma on the way back to her place, and some new dress the girl couldn
'
t wait to show him.

"
Amazing she likes me so much.
"

"
Maybe you
'
re just a likeable guy.
"
She squeezed his fingers.

"
Maybe I have you fooled,
"
he replied. Because he felt like he was. Not that he wasn
'
t a good person, in general, but it seemed strange that a little girl would be so fond of him.

She released his hand.
"
Children are very perceptive. I would trust a child
'
s judgment over an adult
'
s any day. They see things we don
'
t.
"

"
Kids don
'
t know any better.
"

"
I think they do.
"
She touched his leg, a casual touch that he doubted she realized sent urges through him.
"
She normally doesn
'
t care for adults, but she seems taken with you. That makes me take notice. You
'
re the first grown up male she
'
s ever been interested in.
"

"
It
'
s because I smell.
"

Summer laughed, and so did he.

They pulled into the lit up house
'
s driveway and Summer sighed.

"
What
'
s the matter?
"

"
My family is still up.
"

He raised an eyebrow.
"
You think they
'
re waiting up for you?
"

"
Winter wouldn
'
t care what I did. That
'
s not her area. However, Autumn and my mom? They
'
re likely waiting for me to give them all the details of my date.
"

"
You should tell them we went to Make Out Lake or something.
"

She smirked.
"
My clothes aren
'
t messed up enough.
"

"
That can be fixed.
"

She popped him in the arm, and he realized what he
'
d said.

"
I mean, mess them up. Not because of
...
you know.
"
Man, he was such an idiot sometimes, the things that come out of his mouth.

"
Sure you did,
"
She crossed her arms.
"
I got you figured out now, Matthew Hennessey. You
'
re just looking to get lucky.
"
Her eyes sparkled as she said the words.

Any other time, he would have been irritated at the comment, but he could tell by her tone she was just messing with him.

"
I already am,
"
he said.

"
You think?
"

Flashes of the desert hell he
'
d survived came to mind.
"
Yeah. I
'
m very lucky.
"

His tone must have tipped her off, because her posture shifted, and she was no longer looking quite so playful.
"
Yeah. I guess you are.
"

She twisted in her seat and undid her seat belt.
"
Look, I
'
m going to go.
"

He nodded.
"
I
'
m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.
"

"
It
'
s okay.
"
She glanced out the window, then back at him.
"
Are you all right?
"

"
Fine.
"

She put her hand on his leg again.
"
I mean, are you all right? After everything over there?
"

He clenched his teeth before answering.
"
Getting past it. Everything takes time.
"

She nodded, and looked far away for a moment.
"
Does being around people help?
"

"
Sometimes.
"

"
Then come over tomorrow. We always grill on Saturday nights. Sometimes we play board games after. Bring a friend if you want.
"

He smirked.
"
I
'
ll think about it.
"

"
Good.
"

And she leaned across the car and gave him a hug. He held her for a moment. When she pulled away, she was just a breath away from him. He hesitated, because she was close enough to kiss, if he moved just a little bit--

She moved instead, and pressed her lips against his. No open mouth. No tongue.

Very chaste.

Didn
'
t stop him from opening his mouth.

There was no tongue, no gratuitous slobber, just a little bit of an opening. A bit of movement, allowing him to taste her more.

Something that, if he would admit it, he
'
d wanted to do ever since high school.

To his surprise, she opened her mouth as well. The kiss deepened.

Then she jerked away.

"
Oh! Oh. Um. I
'
m sorry,
"
she said as she pulled away from him.