Chapter One
Tabitha
“STEVE! IT’S NOT FUNNY! PULL me up right now!” Beth screeches as Steve lifts her back up from hanging her over the railing of the water tower. John stands next to his friend, howling in laughter at my best friend’s expense. Once Beth is able to find her footing, she starts kicking and slapping both guys. They squeal and laugh as they all disappear around the tower.
Our friends are acting like absolute idiots. Big surprise. It’s a surprise that no one has managed to get themselves killed, since we began climbing this same water tower in seventh grade. The height still has me hugging my back to the tower.
Technically, no one is allowed up here, but Beth’s dad is the sheriff, and her older brother, Brandon, is a deputy. They’re the only police force our little town has. Brandon and Beth’s mom died seven years ago, so Beth gets away with everything. That privilege extends to us, because we have all been best friends since before elementary school. I think it’s mostly because Sheriff Kane doesn’t know how to handle a teenage girl, especially one like Beth. My best friend is the most outspoken and badass chick I know. I’m the boring good girl, and she’s the wild child who keeps me from being boring.
“Hey, Prom Queen! Stop hogging our quarterback on his last night!” Steve yells over in my direction as he walks back around the tower and plops down next to Mathew. Steve is completely oblivious that we are making out. That or he doesn’t care. My bet is on the latter.
“Fuck off, dude. Go hang out with John and Beth. Tabby and I are busy,” Mathew says as he pulls me closer to his chest and continues to kiss down my neck. I’m straddling his lap, with my chest smashed up against his, and my head tipped slightly back as his lips burn their way across my throat. If I could manage to be closer to him I would be. I’d crawl up inside his skin, if that meant I could stay in this moment forever. He lights me up, but at the same time, he soothes my soul.
“I would, dude, but they’re currently hooking up on the other side,” Steve whines. “It fucking sucks being the fifth wheel all the fucking time!” He pouts next to us, and it makes me giggle. I can feel Mathew’s lips turn up into a smile against my skin.
“Maybe if you weren’t such a manwhore, all the girls in the county wouldn’t have started avoiding you,” I wryly suggest. I turn back to Mathew and press a kiss to his mouth, silently thanking him for not being a giant douche like our friend.
“Psh…I still have all the bitches flocking toward this massive cock.” He grabs at his crotch to further elaborate his statement
I gag and try not to puke, because…ew. “Don’t call girls bitches, Steve. It’s offensive and rude,” I complain.
Mathew smacks the back of Steve’s head but fails to hide his laugh. I roll my eyes at both of them.
“You’re such a moron, dude.” Mathew chuckles while shaking his head at our idiot friend.
I lean down and kiss my boyfriend on the lips quickly with a sigh, and reluctantly climb off his lap, so he and Steve can have a little bro time for a little bit before we all go our separate ways for the night. I get the rest of the night to have Mathew all to myself, so I guess I should share him with everyone else while we’re still up here.
I told my parents we’re all staying at Beth’s tonight, since it’s Mathew’s last night in town before deploying overseas for the next year. They never say no when I tell them I’m staying over at Beth’s house. There’s no safer place in the world than the good sheriff’s house. Little do they know, he’s hardly ever home. Hank Kane is a workaholic. He is reluctant to hire any more officers, because he believes our little town is perfectly fine being policed by him and Brandon. They aren’t entirely wrong. Nothing bad ever happens in Monroe.
I watch as Steve and Mathew get up and walk over to the edge. They are leaning over the safety rail looking down toward the ground, talking, and just shooting the shit. I smile and decide to check on John and Beth just as they walk around to join us. John kisses Beth sweetly on her forehead, before leaving her side to join the guys. Beth walks over to me with a dopey look on her face and wraps her arm around my shoulders.
“Sigh,” I say dramatically at the moment I just witnessed.
“Oh, shut up.” Beth giggles. Her blushing gives her away. She’s completely hooked. I love it.
We walk around the tank just enough that we can talk privately but still see the guys. She takes my hand and we slink down the wall until we’re both sitting. We sit in silence for a few minutes, watching our favorite guys laugh and chat, until she lays her head on my shoulder and sighs. Complete silence has never really been her thing, but right now it’s exactly what the moment calls for. Talking right now might break the wall holding back the tears I’m desperately trying to hold back.
Sensing my impending breakdown, Beth hugs me tighter. “It’s going to be okay, Tabby,” she whispers. “He’s only going to be gone for a year, and he can totally Facetime and call you.” She’s trying to lift my spirits, and it makes me love her even more than I already do.
“Not to mention, think of all the nauseating letters I’m sure y’all are gonna be writing back and forth. It’ll be over faster than ya know it.” She reaches up to play with the hair resting against my shoulder.
“I love you, Beth.”
“Aw! I love you too, sweetie.” She hugs me tighter against her. “If anything, y’all should feel bad for me, because I’m the one who’s going to have to put up with your sappy obnoxiously romantic asses all year.”
I laugh. She can always turn it around to be about her. She doesn’t care how ridiculous it gets, she can always twist it. I definitely consider it a talent of hers. She would make a pretty amazing lawyer or celebrity.
Beth manages to tame my anxiety before any tears make an appearance. I am not sure how I’m going to survive this next year without Mathew, but I know I can handle it a little better with Beth by my side. Our small group of friends hasn’t been apart longer than three months at a time. It’s going to hit us all hard having Mathew gone for an entire year. He’s our group’s center.
Mathew was my friend first. He became my whole world from the very first moment he entered my life on my first day of preschool. He was my first for everything. I knew I loved him way before he asked me to be his girlfriend in eighth grade. We’ve never split up, and we’ve never dated anybody else. We were always ‘it’ for each other. We got it right the very first time. No other boys ever compared to Mathew, and they never would. Yes, we were exactly like every stereotypical childhood romance you see in movies and romance novels. Childhood friends become boyfriend and girlfriend. The quarterback and the cheerleader, though not the head cheerleader, that’s definitely all Beth. The king and queen of both homecoming and prom. We were our own perfect little fairy tale, but now he was being forced to go away, and I was going to be left behind trying to keep my heart from breaking.
I know Mathew isn’t going to be gone forever, but it still hurts that we have to be separated. I’m afraid he won’t return the same boy I’ve always loved. You always hear stories about how soldiers return damaged and completely different than they were before they left. What if Mathew becomes one of those soldiers, and we can’t get past it?
Mathew enlisting in the Army was never the plan. We were both supposed to go to State together. He and Steve were going to room together in the dorms, the same with Beth and me. Sophomore year, we planned to find an apartment near campus, plan a wedding, and get married after graduation. But things didn’t turn out the way we had hoped. The football scholarship he was hoping for never came, and with his dad getting laid off from the steel mill a year earlier, he couldn’t pay for school. The savings that were always meant to pay for college were used to keep their house. Not being able to pay for school left Mathew no other choice. So, he enlisted into the Army. He’s going to use the Army to pay for college.
I told him I would wait for him. I wanted to wait for him, but he insisted I go to State without him. Beth and Steve are still going to State. Beth and I are going to be roommates, and she’ll definitely need someone to make sure she studies, at least a little bit. We’re both very excited that we get to room together full-time. We grew up taking turns sleeping at each other’s houses. It’ll be pretty awesome that we will have our own space we get to share together. Her boyfriend is going away too, so we can be each other’s person, because our guys won’t be around.
John isn’t enlisting, but he is going to a college four hours away where he’d scored a full-ride football scholarship. He and Beth are going to do the long-distance thing. Four hours isn’t too far that they couldn’t see each other on the weekends. I’m totally faithful they can make it work. Our group is strong. We’ll always be the tight circle we’ve always been. I hope. We’re all being forced to grow up, and none of us are completely ready, but there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ll make this work. This next chapter in our lives will either strengthen our bond, or it will break us all apart. The scary part is that there’s no way to tell which way it’s going to go. We’ve all known each other almost our entire lives. We’re practically family at this point, and family is forever. It’s going to be weird being separated for such a long period of time.
This is the last night we’ll all be together for at least a year. A traitorous tear escapes down my cheek, and I giggle at myself for being so sensitive as I quickly wipe it away. Mathew looks over and flashes me his gorgeous smile, the one he uses just for me, and winks. I blush and lean closer to Beth as she rolls her eyes at how sappy we’re being. We aren’t being obvious, but nothing gets past her. She takes it as her cue to move the party along. Beth jumps up, smooths her hands down her jean skirt, and ties her hair back into a quick lopsided ponytail.
“Well, boys, I think it’s about time we leave the lovebirds alone so they can say their goodbyes in private.” She smirks at me. “How about you guys take me home?” Beth says on a sigh. She really is the best friend a girl could ever ask for.
“What do we get if we do?” Steve’s lips stretch into a naughty smirk.
“The satisfaction that you helped a lady make it home safe and sound.”
Steve hoots loudly. “A lady is the farthest from what you are, darlin’,” he drawls as he heads down the ladder that leads off the tower. John comes up behind Beth, grabs her, twists her around, and slaps a sloppy kiss on her lips. She lets out a surprised squeal, giggles as she pushes out of his arms, and they follow our friend down the ladder.
Once they reach the bottom and disappear across the park, in the direction of Steve’s truck, Mathew and I are finally alone for the first time tonight. He wraps his arms around me and nuzzles his face into my hair. Twisting me around in his arms to face him, he kisses my forehead.
“I love you, Tabitha Thomas.” He leans down and rests his forehead against mine. His warm breath dances across my face. I sigh.
“I love you back, Mathew Summers.”
The moment becomes too much. Tears begin to flow down my face. Embarrassed, I bury my face in his chest, trying to muffle my sobs. He holds me tighter, trying to hold me together and smother my sadness.
Pulling away slightly, he lifts my chin to meet his eyes. “Why all the tears, babe?”
“You’re leaving, and I don’t want you to go.” I sob.
“It’s only for a year. I promise, everything is going to be okay.” He chuckles as he pulls me in for a kiss.
“You don’t know that, Mathew! You are going into an actual war zone! So many terrible things can happen!” I push away, frustrated that he isn’t taking this seriously.
“But they won’t, and do you know how I know this?” he asks, holding me captive in his gaze.
“How?”
“Because our love story hasn’t ended yet.”
“But what if I’m not strong enough, and I break without you?”
“You will be. You are the strongest, most amazing, girl I know, Tabby. It’s only a year, and we will write and talk the entire time. It’ll be over before you know it.” He captures my lips with his. He pushes me up against the tank and puts everything he has into the kiss, and I forget the mini argument we were just having. His kisses can make a girl go stupid.
We stand there holding each other and kissing for some time, until we finally break apart and climb down the ladder. We walk hand in hand across the park toward Mathew’s truck. We climb in and head toward his house, where we are actually planning to spend the night. His dad got hired a couple of weeks ago with a trucking company and is currently on route, leaving the entire house to ourselves. Pulling into his driveway, he parks and opens the garage door. We climb out of the truck and walk into the house still holding hands, desperate to never lose contact.
Once the front door closes, Mathew presses his lips against mine. He gently grips my hip with one hand and cups the side of my face with the other. I’m backed against the door, moaning into his mouth as he deepens the kiss. Tingles race across my skin, and pressure builds at my center. I wrap my arms around his neck and use the wall at my back to wrap my legs around his waist. He tightens his grip, supporting my weight with his hands cupping my ass, and heads down the hallway toward his bedroom. It’s dark inside the room, but we can’t separate long enough to bother searching for light. I immediately reach for the button on his pants when my back hits the bed. I lower the zipper, but Mathew pulls away before I can push his pants down.
We stare at each other through the darkness. The slice of moonlight peeking through the curtains allows me to see his chest rising and falling from his rapid breaths. Our eyes never waver as we undress ourselves. When we’re both completely bared, Mathew climbs over me, pushing me into the mattress. He takes my hands, moves them up above my head, and begins peppering kisses down the side of my neck and across my chest. My back arches as he closes his mouth over one of my nipples. They’re already pebbled to hard peaks, begging for his undivided attention. I mewl as he releases my nipple with a wet pop and moves lower, licking and nipping across my stomach. I squirm when he moves to the end of the bed and works his way back up again. I’m completely enslaved. Every nerve ending in my body is lit up, anxious to feel where his mouth will go next. His nose lightly brushes my inner thigh, and I can feel his smile against my skin as I shudder.
When his lips make contact with my center, my hips buck forward. I grind myself shamelessly against his face, as he nips and licks and sucks my heated flesh until tremors wash through me and I’m sighing his name.
I’ve not yet come down from my release when I feel him hard and thick, pressing against my entrance and pushing in. Mathew buries himself inside of me and moves in and out at a rapid pace. I can feel the crescendo of another orgasm already, but it’s just out of my reach. Mathew instinctively knows what I need as he slows his pace and hitches my thighs around his hips. With the new angle, his length rubs against my inner walls, right where I need him, to detonate the explosion.
As I climax, I feel boneless...weightless. With a few more thrusts, Mathew reaches his own release and collapses over me, twitching slightly as the high wanes. After we catch our breaths, he rolls us over until I’m resting on top of his chest. We stay in that position, grinning like fools, completely sated. Right before sleep pulls me under, he whispers, “I love you, Tabby.”
I hold him closer. “I love you back, Mathew.”