“Cami? Cami! There’s someone at the door for you.” I toss another shirt into my duffel bag before walking down the hall. When I turn the corner to face the front door, I can’t believe my eyes.

“Jett? Oh my God, what are you doing here?”

He’s here! He’s here and he’s whole and he’s alive and I can’t believe any of it is happening. I wrap my arms around him and he squeezes my waist. It feels like no time has passed, like he hasn’t been gone for months.

“I had some leave time so I came home to see my folks. And to see you.” His eyes bore into my soul. He’s been gone so long. “I thought I could take you out, maybe buy you some dinner?”

I know that I need to pack, because Ty and I are leaving, but I grab my jacket off the hook and wave goodbye to my mother instead. Packing can wait—Jett is more important right now.

* * *

“So tell me about base?” I ask, resting my head on my fist. The waitress stops by, dropping off two waters and smiling at us adoringly.

“There’s not really much to tell you. I get up, I make my bed, I eat breakfast, and then I run. Sometimes I get screamed at by my drill sergeant, but mostly I run. It’s really not that exciting.”

“And Jackson? Did you get the answers you were looking for?” I know that’s why he really went. He needed answers. I can understand that; I still think about Tommy all the time. That if there was a cure, it would have saved him. I know that Jett wonders if he was with Jackson in Afghanistan, would he have been able to save him too. Would he have lived. Now he can finally know.

“I got the answers I needed to,” he says curtly, and I know that I’m not going to press any further. It’s been too long and we’re not as close as we once were, but that doesn’t mean that his smile doesn’t make my heart melt. And seeing him in his camouflage, it’s hard to take my eyes off of him.

“So what will you have?” The waitress comes back and questions us.

“Cherry pie,” I offer.

“With ice cream,” he adds. Just like old times. So much has changed about him, and then not so much at all.

She winks at us, and then within just a couple minutes, brings back plates with cherry pie and vanilla ice cream and two forks. Jett dips his finger in the whipped cream and offers it to me. I chew on my lower lip for a moment—I’m leaving for Memphis tomorrow with Ty. But we’re just friends. I know where this leads with Jett. Where a night of dessert at the diner used to lead. Where I hope it still does. I push my face towards him and I wrap my lips around his finger, sucking the whipped cream off.

“You haven’t changed a bit, Cami.”

“And you’ve only changed for the better.”

“I’ve been waiting to get those clothes off of you since the minute I laid eyes on you,” he whispers. “Let’s eat this pie and get out of here. I’m only on leave for a couple days, and I want to make the most of them.”

I’m not going to tell him I’m leaving. We’re both on limited time, and he’s right—we should just make the most of it. No strings attached, just one last night of fun together before we both go our separate ways. It’s the perfect closure, the thing I’ve been waiting for most.

To fall back into Jett’s arms.

* * *

We decide to go to a motel that's just a couple minutes away from the diner. I’ve never seen a man eat so quickly as Jett scarfs down his dessert.

I watch his lips in anticipation. I want them on my body again. I remember what sex with Jett was like, perfect in every sense of the word. His strong, muscular body cradling mine, our flesh burning up the sheets.

He gets the key and leads me into the room. There's a dark navy bedspread, and he pulls the blinds closed, even though it's dark outside and no one could see us if they wanted to. As soon as he turns around, he reaches for me, tugging my shirt off above my head and throwing it to the side. I can barely breathe, it’s all so immediate and fast. He leans down, his lips brushing the top of my breasts, which are spilling out over my bra.

Pushing me back, he forces me onto the bed. He's tearing at my bra, pulling it down and exposing my nipples—they’re already hard. He flicks one with his tongue while he uses his hands to remove his camo. It feels so good, like the release I’ve needed ever since he left. As he throws his jacket to the side, all that he has underneath is a tight green tank top. I can see his rippling muscles in his arms as he reaches out and unbuttons my jeans, yanking them down onto the floor.

"I missed those tits," he says in a gravelly voice. "I've been dreaming about them ever since I left." He kisses the insides of my thighs and moves up to my underwear. He latches his teeth around the top and uses his hands underneath my ass to pull them down. I’m naked already. Exposed to him again. I can fell the bedspread on my skin—it’s scratchy as I move beneath him. He removes his tank top and my eyes roll back as his kisses turn into him licking my clit. It's pure ecstasy.

I toss my head back just as he slips in a finger. I'm moaning so loud I wonder if the people in the next room can hear me. I put my hand on his head, rubbing back and forth on the crewcut softness. Just as I'm about to come, the release I’ve been waiting for, he removes his fingers and stops pumping. He lifts his hand up and shoves them in my mouth, and I know that I'm sucking on my own juices. I don’t even try to resist. I don’t want to.

He removes his fingers and sticks them in his own mouth, sucking off my saliva before removing his boots and his pants. He has on tight boxer briefs and I can see that his cock is already hard and ready for me. I move back to the edge of the bed and spread my legs as I remove its fabric cage. I slide his cock in my mouth and wrap my tongue around it while I pull his boxers all the way down. But as he steps out of them, he gives me instructions. I don't dare not follow them. "Turn around, I want to see that ass."

I move my body on the bed so that my knees are at the edge and spread my legs. He sticks his cock in and pulls my arm back behind me, pushing himself inch by inch until I'm totally filled. He’s so much stronger than he was before, more confident and determined. He wraps his thick hands around my waist and pulls me back into him, slamming his cock into me again and again. Occasionally, he reaches down and flicks one of my nipples, but he's focused on his own pleasure, and I'm focused on serving him. I’m breathing so heavily I wonder if I'm getting any oxygen. I'm so close to the edge. So. Close.

Suddenly, he pulls out and flops down next to me. "Get on." I swing my leg over his strong body. I keep my right leg at an angle as I lower myself down onto him. With each bounce, he hits my G-spot again and again. I look down into his beautiful hazel eyes and promise myself I'll never forget them. If he never comes back from the war, this will be my last memory of us. And I'll make it perfect. I moan louder and louder as my breasts bounce, and I reach down to touch myself. His hands are wrapped around my waist and he lifts me up and down. His grunts grow louder and I know we’re both close. I rub my clit harder and harder until I feel the waves of the orgasm start to crash over me. He fills me with his seed, the warm come filling me completely.

I collapse down on top of him and he rubs my back softly.

"This was everything I needed. Everything I could've asked for," he says, looking into my eyes. "I hope next time I'm in town we can do this again, Cami, otherwise I don't know what I have to look forward to."

I lay a kiss on his lips, but I don't respond. I'm not telling him I'm leaving, not like this. Maybe not ever. One final night with Jett—I'm not going to ruin it for either of us.