It was the marathon that Amy had been practicing for her whole life. When Amy and Luke were teenagers, they tried their hand at sex. It had been alright then, kind of flimsy with neither of them knowing exactly what to expect. Now, Amy couldn’t recognize Luke’s sexual craving because his insatiable desire was a riveting ride that made her heart stomp and her thighs quiver.

It was four a.m., and Amy had woken up from a deep slumber. Groggily she glanced around with the understanding that she was home but discombobulated in the same notion. It felt like her whole body had been massaged from her head to her toes, and her body still buzzed with a stinging satisfaction. A strong arm was tossed over her side, bulging in the thickness of corded muscle and hairy forearms. His vanilla skin spanned the length of her form keeping Amy wrapped in a blanket of warmth.

She tried to swallow, but her mouth felt parched and she prayed silently that she didn’t sleep with her mouth open and a snore cackling from her lips. How embarrassing. Amy shut her eyes and let go of a soft breath then wondered if she should try and break free from his hold to run to the kitchen.

Her hand slipped down to ease Luke’s arm away while her body slithered from his grasp. Surprisingly, it worked, and Amy tossed her legs over the bed, her feet sinking into the plush carpet. Turning to look back, Luke hadn’t moved. He lay still breathing softly with only half of him covered with the duvet from the waist down.

The magnificence of his body revealed a constant regimen that Amy was sure he kept on a daily basis. Being so thoroughly cut and buff must’ve taken extreme dedication in whatever gym Luke was afforded while away. A smile crept across her lips, and for the moment, Amy stood there staring. She couldn’t believe Luke was actually home and a part of her regretted that their reunion had been spent talking about what’s her name in the first place.

She vowed from that moment forward to put the ordeal in the back of her mind. Amy did trust Luke, so she would give him the benefit of the doubt. Turning on her heels, Amy padded softly into the kitchen in search of a bottle of water. The cool refrigerator temperatures tickled her naked skin as she stood with the door open drinking. Instead of going out for dinner with Erin and Caleb, Luke and Amy made love into the midnight hour. Their sexcapade had awakened her mind and body making her come more times than she had in her entire life. Amy shuddered just thinking of it. Erin would understand. Besides, she is the one that shooed Amy off to come home and do exactly what transpired, and she was sure Erin would want details the next day.

After quenching her thirst, Amy left the kitchen and returned to the bedroom where Luke now laid on his back with his hands behind his head. Amy crept back under the covers and slid next to him laying her head on his shoulder and slipping her arm across his toned waist.

“I missed you,” his baritone voice beat.

A shiver slinked down Amy’s skin. “I’m back now, like I never left.” She moved in to kiss his cheek, but Luke turned his head and her lips met his mouth. The kiss was hot enough that a curl of tingles fled down Amy’s flesh.

“Mmmm,” she moaned.

Luke turned to her fully wrapping the full length of his arms around her. He pulled her in and her leg flipped over his side causing her pussy to grind across the top of his hardened shaft.

“Round three?” she purred.

“And four, and five, and six…” he growled.

The early morning sun did not wake Amy from her slumber. Frankly, she was comatose with nothing in her mind but dreams of she and Luke. As he stood next to the bed watching her, Luke had to wonder how the hell he almost messed up the most important thing in his life. Amy didn’t deserve to feel slighted, and he could understand why she would. For longer than Luke could stand, he put himself in Amy’s shoes. He imaged her stepping off the plane and being greeted by an unknown man. And not just a hey, hello but a full-on embrace and a lingering stare. His heart thundered thinking about how he would’ve blown a head gasket, and for a second, he had to wonder what Jessica was up to. Jessica was not uninformed. She knew that Luke and Amy were an item. True, he’d told her he was coming home and when, but he didn’t think anything of it, especially that she would be waiting for him when he arrived.

Truly, he and Jessica had had many relatable conversations. Jessica’s brother was also a soldier in the United States Army. Their friendship to Luke was merely a conversation thread that took his mind off things happening behind the scene that Luke most certainly could barely deal with like when Caleb’s convoy was attacked. Luke and Caleb had been friends from childhood, so enrolling with a friend and not just one, but two of them since Micah was also headed across the line with them, pulled them even closer. It nearly killed Luke to find out Caleb’s partner had been killed. He’d gone berserk, demanding to know if Caleb survived the attack.

It had taken too long for his lieutenant to confirm that Caleb was okay and the entire recourse of time, Luke sat conflicted and unable to do anything. His inability to keep his head on had him tossed in solitary because in the Army, you couldn’t give up, regardless of the circumstances. Luke was fine with that until that first incident, but afterward, he couldn’t figure out how he’d ever been able to move forward should something happen to Micah and Caleb.

Thoughts of his own demise crossed his mind more times than Luke cared to admit. More so because he worried about how detrimental it would be to Amy. It was then that he wondered what exactly he thought when he enrolled. There was no such thing as a man’s game or a woman’s game. This war was not a game at all. The reality of lives being lost was a natural way of existence there and that tone of thought sent him into a stark depression.

That was when Luke made the first call. It wasn’t one that he and Amy planned. It was just him randomly reaching out, needing to hear her voice to cling to some sort of reality that didn’t include war or death. However, Amy was on the road and although it saddened Luke not to be able to reach her, it didn’t help his situation. His mind tumbled and quickly he remembered Jessica. Before he left for his tour, she’d seen him the day before at the going away party that was held by the town. Amy was there, but when she went off to the bathroom, Jessica found her way to Luke, making sure to write her number down on a torn piece of paper that she stuffed inside his jean pocket.

“Call me if you ever need to talk. I’m here for you to vent,” she said.

“I appreciate that, thanks,” he said.

Jessica simply nodded and moved on without a second thought.

That day he found that piece of paper and dialed Jessica with the hope that maybe she could take his mind off of his woes. And she did, answering the phone with a question in her voice.

“Hello?”

“Jessica, it’s me, Luke, are you busy or do you have a moment?”

Luke could tell Jessica was surprised to hear from him.

“Luke Sutter?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my God, how are you? Of course, of course, I can talk, are you okay?”

Luke couldn’t deny that he felt relieved. He’d let out a deep breath and moved forward with their conversation.

“I’ve been better, but I didn’t call to talk about me.” He hesitated. “What’s going on in town?”

He needed anything that would take his mind elsewhere. It was as if Jessica caught on to his dilemma and quickly obliged, going into detail about the goings on around town. Their conversations had been much the same whenever he called, but if Luke was honest with himself, he did begin to lean on Jessica and enjoy their phone conversations, maybe even a little too much.

His thoughts shifted to the exchange that crossed into unknown territory.

“So, Luke, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but are you and Amy still together?” Jessica queried.

Luke didn’t respond right away, and that hesitation made him wonder why it was there in the first place.

“Yes, we are.”

The phone became quiet and Luke spoke again.

“If that means you’re ready to throw me to the curb then I understand, but I hope you won’t. I’ve enjoyed talking to you.”

That was it. The moment the dynamic of their “friendship” changed.

“Oh, no, Luke, I enjoy receiving your calls; possibly too much.”

The phone became quiet again.

“Too much,” he asked.

Jessica cleared her throat and swept a layer of her red strands behind her ear. “Well, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I was hoping you weren’t seeing her, still.” Jessica swallowed and moved forward with her courage. “I just know if I was your girl, I’d never be away when you called. This stage in your life is important. You need the support more than anything I’m dealing with in my little civilian life.”

Her words made him feel two different ways. On the one hand, it was refreshing to hear that she would always be there for him. On the other, he felt it as a jab toward Amy. And frankly, he loved Amy to death, so the tone of her voice wrestled with his spirit. Luke shifted the conversation, but it didn’t go unnoticed.

“Is it late there? Since I’ve been here, I’ve gotten the days and nights mixed.”

“It is early morning here and I’m sure it’s late night there. We’re on opposite sides of the world so that’s understandable.” Jessica cleared her throat. “Luke, if I’ve overstepped, I apologize. You make talking to you easy, comfortable even. I’ve always thought you were a stand-up guy but getting to know you on a more personal level like we've been doing the past few years is special to me. I can’t deny that I…” She didn’t finish her thought and Luke shut his eyes thinking this conversation was probably not the best one to have. “I like you Luke.”

“Jessica,” he said interrupting her. He shuffled around a bit before finishing his thought. “I like you too, but I need you to understand that there can’t be anything more than friendship between us. I’m sorry if I’ve led you on in anyway. If I need to, I’ll stop calling, but I don’t want to.”

Jessica clutched the phone tight and nodded although Luke couldn’t see her. “I don’t want you to either,” she said. “I overstand,” she said in a lighthearted tease.

“Are you sure?”

The groove in his deep voice saturated Jessica’s eardrum and in return she lied. “Yes, I’m sure.”

From then on, their conversations had gone over just about every topic. With Amy only being around during their scheduled calls, Luke’s mind also wondered on her whereabouts. It wasn’t long before he found himself becoming jealous of whatever was occupying her time. If he had to admit it, that was the reason he sought Jessica out more. Now standing over Amy, watching her sleep soundly, Luke felt like a complete fool. Amy had done her part. How could he take it out on her because she wasn’t around during his random calls?

Luke didn’t mean to do that, but that was exactly what transpired. The sun continued to rise and with it the rays spilled through the blinds across the floor of Amy’s bedroom. He traipsed up to them and closed them tightly, trying to fight off as much of the light as possible. He wanted Amy to get the rest she needed, and he also needed to make a few phone calls. His mind shifted back to Jessica. There was a conversation between the two that needed to be had. It was time he broke it off with her, now that she’d shown her cards by showing up at the airport. Luke couldn’t move forward being “just friends.” Amy would never have it, and Luke didn’t want to disrespect her.

He left the room and entered the bathroom. Inside, he grabbed his duffle bag and rummaged through it to find his toothbrush. Pulling it out along with a few clothing items he laid across the clothes hamper, Luke’s mind continued to overthrow him as he searched for the words that would get his point across to Jessica without being harsh or upsetting her.

That in itself was a problem. He was worried about hurting her. Why? Luke strolled to the sink and turned on the faucet. As the water ran, he stared at his reflection in the mirror. If he hadn’t kept a steady regimen and close friendship with his buddies while on active duty, surely the years would’ve taken a toll on his health and his appearance. But instead, he’d completely transformed into a handsome athletic man, with sharp angles in his masculine face, and rich buttermilk skin. Glancing down at the water, Luke held his hand under its downpour and splashed the remnants on his face. From there he brushed his teeth while in a constant state of thought. It was now or never.