© Kim Strattford, 2018
The Times In Between
By Kim Strattford
ÒI canÕt believe youÕre
back.Ó Leanna nuzzled RickÕs neck, laughing as he pulled her half over him.
ÒI canÕt believe I kept it a
secret.Ó He looked very pleased with himself. ÒHQ offered me a chance to come
back for training. I got my pick of sites. This was one of them. A chance to
see my wife—naked, thank you very much—seemed the perfect reason to
come home.Ó
ÒYou have only yourself to
blame for me being naked.Ó
ÒOfficer thinking on my
part.Ó He chuckled as she hit a particularly sensitive spot on his neck. ÒSo,
can we stay in bed all day?Ó
ÒWeÕve been in it now for
hours. I donÕt see why not.Ó She took a deep breath as she kissed her way down
his neck. SheÕd missed this most of all, the scent of him, the feel of his
skin. She moved a little more, and her leg brushed against—parts of him
were rapidly rising to the occasion. She reached down and played lightly, the
way she did when she wanted him inside her—very soon. ÒMmmm, being deployed for so long has made someone very
happy to see me.Ó
ÒActually, coming home made
me happy to see you. Being deployed just made me miss you.Ó He pushed her hair
off her cheek and stared at her as if memorizing her face.
She leaned down and kissed
him. ÒWe Skype all the time. You should know my face by now.Ó
He laughed and seemed to
relax finally. ÒItÕs different when we talk on that. The
wavering image. The pixels that show up at weird
times. ItÕs like just when I think you and I are really close enough to
touch, the tech reminds me weÕre not.Ó
ÒMaybe you need to upgrade
your tech. ItÕs your ship after all, Captain.Ó
He pushed her to her back
and moved over her, his expression turning to the mock stern one that always
made her laugh. ÒYouÕre not badmouthing my other lady, are you?Ó
ÒI wouldnÕt dare.Ó She
wrapped her legs around him. ÒDoes she do this?Ó
ÒShe doesnÕt.Ó His eyes
were sparkling—sheÕd missed that, too. His effervescent good humor, the
feeling that he didnÕt just love her—he liked her. He wanted to be around
her for more than just sex. Although given how good they were together in bed,
it might be okay if it was just for sex.
ÒDoes she touch you like
this?Ó She ran her fingers down his back, light glancing touches, the way that
always made him shiver.
ÒOh, God, no.Ó
She let up on him enough
for him to move a little, to...there. He slid into her and she enjoyed the
feeling of having him inside her after six months away before whispering, ÒDoes
she let you inside her this way?Ó
ÒShe doesnÕt.Ó
ÒYou have a sucky
mistress.Ó
He laughed. ÒWell, what do
you expect from a gal made of steel?Ó He put his hand over her mouth, gently
but the message was clear—ÒShut up for a minute.Ó
She smiled and wrapped her
legs around him tighter, pulling him in a little deeper and he groaned. ÒMissed
you,Ó she murmured from under his hand.
He moved his hand and said,
ÒI missed you, too.Ó He began to thrust with more urgency, hitting just right
as he moved her legs up over his shoulders. ÒIÕm going to let go.Ó
She nodded and held on for
the ride. He needed to do this, and she loved it, watching his face as he moved
harder and harder, as he watched her to make sure she was all right.
She never worried that heÕd
cheated on her while he was deployed. No man who cheated would need to let go
this badly. She was a lucky girl. And no matter how much he let go, he always
knew exactly how far to take it—he never hurt her.
He reached between them,
fingering her, and she forgot all about how lucky she was and concentrated on
how good he was making her feel. She felt the lovely build-up, the feeling of
stillness just before the explosion of pleasure. She cried
out—loudly—as she came and hoped to hell the neighbors werenÕt
home.
Rick didnÕt let up on her,
and he was moaning, the sound changing as he found his own sweet spot and let
go. He collapsed against her for a long moment, then he slid her legs down his
back, and she wrapped them tightly around his waist.
ÒIÕm heavy.Ó
ÒNot when youÕre finally
back youÕre not.Ó She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, pushing
hard, the way he liked.
ÒOh, God, yes. I missed
this the most.Ó
ÒBig liar.Ó She arched up,
making him laugh while he closed his eyes as if it almost hurt—he was
always so sensitive after coming. ÒYou canÕt tell me you didnÕt miss being
inside me more.Ó
He rolled to the side and
pulled her with him; they ended up snuggling, no space between them. ÒGot me
there,Ó he said as ran his fingers down her back, scratching lightly, the way
she loved. ÒBut your head massages are a very close second.Ó
She smiled and went back to
rubbing his scalp. He was watching her closely, an expression she couldnÕt read
on his face. ÒWhat?Ó
ÒAre you okay? You sounded
funny the last time we talked.Ó
ÒIt was just some stuff
with the condo.Ó She didnÕt want to talk about this now, not with him just
back, not with it being a short trip—a surprise trip, the best kind of
surprise. She didnÕt want to lay that on him.
ÒLee, weÕre married. WeÕre
not just lovers. I donÕt want you to have to shoulder everything yourself. ItÕs
not fair to you.Ó
ÒBut we donÕt have much
time.Ó
ÒI donÕt care. We always
have time enough if you need me.Ó He kissed her gently. ÒIs it something we
need to do right away?Ó
She looked away. Why was he
doing this?
ÒBaby, come on. What is
it?Ó
ÒItÕs stupid. We just need
a new washing machine. IÕve already ordered one, and Maria is letting me use
theirs until it gets here. I was just tired that night.Ó She saw some doubt on
his face. ÒIÕm serious. It was nothing—I just overreacted when I had a
load of wet clothes and a washer that wasnÕt draining. You called right when I
was trying to get the clothes wrung out so they wouldnÕt be in the dryer all
night.Ó
He took a slow breath, the
kind that he did when he felt guilty. ÒHonÕ, IÕm sorry. I wish I—Ó
ÒYouÕre on the ship. I know
that—I knew that when I married you. ItÕs your life—my life, too.Ó
Fortunately she was an accountant, and could follow him wherever he was
stationed with little problem—she did most of her work by email or fax
these days—so her life was not just him. Not
just waiting around for him. That would probably drive her nuts.
ÒThatÕs not the point. We
need to handle this together. If I think youÕre having to do everything
yourself—and yes, I do know you have to when IÕm not here—but if I
donÕt feel like you even want to involve me, it makes me a little crazy.Ó
ÒItÕs not that I donÕt want
to involve you. ItÕs that I donÕt want to waste the time we get on stuff like a
stupid washing machine.Ó
He kissed her nose. ÒDo it
anyway. Okay?Ó
She let out breath she
hadnÕt realized sheÕd been holding and nodded. Then she leaned down and kissed
him, finally pulling away and giving him the sweetest smile she could. ÒI donÕt
want to talk about washing machines now.Ó
ÒTough. Did you get a nice
one?Ó
ÒNo I got the shittiest one
in the store, Rick. Jeez.Ó
He laughed and threw his
leg over her hers. ÒYeah, thatÕs what IÕm afraid of. How nice is it?Ó
ÒWell, itÕll park the car
for you, I think, and make dinner.Ó She laughed at his expression. ÒSeriously?
I just got a pretty basic model. IÕm sort of afraid that weÕll unleash HAL if
we get one that thinks too much.Ó
ÒMutiny on the Homefront.Ó
ÒExactly. Also, IÕm not
sure you can work them without a physics degree. IÕve never seen so many
settings. Although wait, you do have a physics degree, donÕt you?Ó
ÒI do. But I think it was
wise not to risk it.Ó He laughed again and closed his eyes. ÒI love you.Ó
ÒI love you, too, Mister.Ó
He opened his eyes, met her
gaze and the look was his captain of the ship look, no bullshit, no lover, just
serious. ÒYou promise youÕll share the bad stuff, too?Ó
ÒFine.Ó She let her hands
roam, down his front, then his side until the captain of the ship gave way to
her lover. SheÕd missed this so much. Skin to skin, hearing him breathe, feeling his hands slide over her, the scent of his
cologne and shampoo and sweat mingling to make a cologne that was indescribably
his alone.
ÒNew perfume?Ó he asked and
she laughed—every so often they were on exactly the same wavelength.
ÒYep. Do you like it?Ó
ÒI do. ItÕs...fresh but
sexy. Not trying too hard.Ó
ÒThatÕs me. Low-effort
girl.Ó She gave him a mock offended look.
ÒYou know what I mean.
ThatÕs how you described the one you picked out for me.Ó
ÒOh yeah. It is. Do you
need more?Ó
ÒI donÕt wear it on the
ship much.Ó He laughed. ÒThe crew doesnÕt need me smelling good just for them.Ó
His smile died. ÒLee, I wish that our time together didnÕt feel so much like
time in between our real lives.Ó
ÒYou are my real life,
Rick. Here or not, youÕre part of me. I wouldnÕt put up with being apart this
much if you werenÕt so important to me.Ó She didnÕt think most wives would. But
it was part of the life, part of loving a sailor. ÒAnd maybe someday youÕll
make admiral and youÕll get a desk job on shore—and we can go somewhere
really cushy like Miami or Honolulu.Ó
He laughed. ÒItÕs going to
be a while before I make admiral. I only made captain two years ago.Ó
ÒI know. But
someday. A girl can dream of sandy beaches and palm trees.Ó
ÒDo you ever go outside? We
live in San Diego, woman.Ó He pointed to the window. ÒWhatÕs that I see
pressing against the glass? Oh, duh, itÕs a palm tree.Ó
ÒOkay, fine. But still,
Hawaii would be awesome. Speaking of awesome...Ó She reached down for him,
feeling him come to life in her hand. With a grin, she slid down, letting her
mouth settle on him, moving her hand the way he liked as she sucked.
He moaned like a teenaged
boy—a sound that always made her giggle. He reached for her, not holding
her down, just touching her neck, a sweet contact as she brought him all the
way home, then slid back up to lie next to him. ÒIÕm pretty sure you missed
that, too, I think. Are you certain the hair massage thing is still number two
in the list of lost pleasures?Ó
ÒI may have to revise that
list when my toes uncurl.Ó He pulled her closer, wrapped his arms around her,
and was probably about to fall asleep.
She took a deep breath.
ÒThereÕs something I didnÕt want to tell you over Naval comms.Ó
ÒWhat?Ó His voice was the
half-asleep one that she knew could easily turn to a fast-asleep silence if she
didnÕt rouse him.
She pulled free of his arms
and shook him. ÒLook at me.Ó
He opened one eye.
ÒWeÕre pregnant.Ó
His other eye opened.
ÒWhat? Oh my God. Are you serious?Ó
ÒWould I joke about this?Ó
They hadnÕt been trying but they hadnÕt been not trying,
either. TheyÕd said if it happened, it happened.
Well, it happened.
He sat up suddenly, easing
her down, patting her belly as if it was a puppy.
She started to laugh. ÒNine
months of that? Oh, I donÕt think so.Ó
ÒShould we be doing this?Ó
He suddenly looked like he was about to get a chastity belt and put it on her.
ÒDo we have permission from your doctor?Ó He reached for his phone, and she
knew he was going to Google ÒsexÓ and Òpregnancy.Ó
ÒBelay that,Ó she said, as
she took the phone from him and put it back on the nightstand. ÒDo you think
that I—Ms. Leave Nothing to Chance—would not know if it was safe to
ravish my husband or not?Ó
His worried look began to
change to a grin. ÒGood point.Ó The grin turned into a heart-stopping smile.
ÒReally? A baby?Ó
ÒReally a baby. We made a
baby. Probably doing something like what weÕve been doing all morning.Ó
ÒThatÕs the normal
procedure, yep.Ó He leaned down and kissed her—there was a feeling of joy
in his kiss she hadnÕt been expecting. SheÕd felt the same little leap of
joy—until it had given way to sheer terror—when sheÕd seen the
pregnancy test change from ÒMight be something you ateÓ to ÒKnocked up.Ó ÒWow.Ó
He giggled; he actually giggled. The sound made her laugh and pull him down for
another kiss.
He kissed her for quite
some time, then lay down next to her, and they rested
quietly, both on their backs, until he found her hand and squeezed it. ÒI love
you. This is amazing.Ó Then he turned on his side. ÒShould I be home for this?
I can get a shore posting.Ó
SheÕd thought this through,
and sheÕd talked to Maria who had three kids, none of which her husband Jaime,
also on a ship, had been around for the birth of. ÒYou stay on that ship where
you belong. This is part of the life. I may curse you out over Skype a few
million times—or just let you hear your son or daughter crying like a
demon—but weÕll do it like weÕve done everything else. WeÕll be okay.Ó
And it wasnÕt like she didnÕt have tons of support here. The spouses and
partners looked to each other for everything.
He began to rub her belly
and she took his hand and guided it lower. ÒSeriously with the belly? I believe
you were going to make me come again, werenÕt you? Not get all Daddy-esque on me. Or do you think IÕm some kind of Buddha now?Ó
He grinned, but she thought
he was more careful—although still damned effective—as he began to
play with her, his fingers moving over her, then
dipping inside her. He brought her up and up and then let her crash all the
beautiful way down, and he watched her face the whole time, his smile a
beautiful thing. ÒI love you so much, Lee.Ó
ÒI love you, too. IÕm glad
youÕre home. Thank you for the surprise.Ó
His laugh was the silly
giggle again. ÒRight back at you.Ó
END
© Kim Strattford, 2018