Sliding out of me, he presses a kiss on my lips then disappears into the bathroom. I turn over, wrapping myself up in the sheets. My mind’s running a thousand miles a minute, not wanting to think that this is our last time together, but I know I have to get used to it. When Kale comes out of the bathroom, he lies down in the bed and draws me into his body.

“You’ve become a damn good friend this summer, Lucy. One of my best,” he whispers, kissing the top of my head.

My breath stops at his admission. If I admit it to myself, I want to be so much more than his friend, but instead of letting him know, I stamp down my feelings, too scared to even think about them.

“Kale,” I breathe, but he brings a finger to my lips.

“I’ll miss you, babe,” he informs me, and my heart melts and breaks at the same time. I’ve never really had anyone to miss and I don’t know what to expect. When he says nothing else, I take that as a dismissal for any other feelings, so I bottle up my own and bury them deep, not expecting them to surface any time soon. Or well, at least hoping that they won’t.

Surprisingly, he folds his arms around me, and I settle into his embrace. Normally, we sleep on opposite sides of the bed, but tonight, apparently, we both want to be close. There’s an intimacy there that’s foreign, and as much as I liked the idea of using toys and restraints, it feels wrong. Instead, it’s just me, Kale, and nothing else. All night, we’re wrapped up in each other, talking and making love—not that I’d usually call it that, but fucking just doesn’t seem like the right term for what this is anymore.

The next morning, we linger in bed, neither one of us wanting to admit that our summer fling is over. When I drop him off on post, it’s no easier. We get out of the car, meeting at the hood of the car, and things feel awkward, not like us at all. He hesitates for a moment before taking me into his arms.

Drawing in his scent, I commit it to memory, not knowing when I’ll ever smell it again. I can feel hot tears forming in my eyes even though I promised myself I wouldn’t cry. That’s easy to say until you get to that moment. The final goodbye. I can’t imagine how girlfriends and wives feel. It feel likes the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, and we’re just friends.

I pull away from him, not wanting to stain his uniform if my mascara is running from the stupid tears that are now falling. A small smile spreads over his face, and he cups my chin as he uses his thumbs to wipe them away. A laugh escapes me at knowing that he probably thinks I’m being ridiculous. Hell, I think I’m being ridiculous. I don’t cry. I just don’t, but it’s been one hell of a summer, and I tell myself that I’m crying over all the lost orgasms, not the fact that there’s a small pang in my heart at the thought of saying goodbye.

“Hey, Lucy, don’t cry. I know you’re going to miss seeing this sexy body every damn day, but we can still Skype. Remember our deal. If you show me yours, I’ll show you mine,” he teases, putting me at ease.

Shaking my head, I wonder how long it’s going to be before he gets me to take clothes off via webcam. I’m guessing it won’t take too long.

“And when have I ever had a problem showing you mine?” I ask, and he grins at all the memories.

“Well, if you’d have let me take naked pictures of you, then we wouldn’t have to Skype and I could just look at them every day.”

A slow, wicked smile crosses my face. There is one more present I haven’t given him yet, and I was going to let him discover it on his own, but I’d rather tease him about it now.

“Oh, Montgomery, how little faith you have in me. Do you really think I’d send you off to war with nothing to work with? You must really think I’m mean,” I say, giggling when I see him raise an eyebrow in confusion.

“Ms. Dawson, you wicked woman. What have you done?” he asks, his voice sounding a little more husky than usual.

I’m not going to spell it out for him. I want him to enjoy the find. “Now, now. It’s the last part of your gift, and I’d hate to ruin the surprise. Let’s just say I may have hidden a new folder on your laptop, and it’s your job to find it and report back.”

Leaning down, he presses his lips against mine, slipping his tongue in my mouth. We stand there, savoring each and every moment, knowing they’re our last. All too soon, he’s pulling away from me. He plants one last kiss on my nose before he picks up his gear.

“I meant what I said last night, Lucy. I’m going to miss you,” he confesses, and I can hear the sincerity in his voice. My heart tightens from knowing that this is it. Everything about our relationship is about to change, and I couldn’t have prepared for the pain that flows straight to my heart.

I stand up on my tiptoes and give him one last kiss on the lips. “I’ll miss you, too, Kale. More than you know.”

He nods, and our eyes lock as we both mentally prepare for this shift in our friendship. He looks like he’s about to say something else, but before he can, someone calls out his name, effectively ruining the moment.

“It’s that time, I guess,” he says, breathing out.

My nose starts burning, and I can feel the tears starting to form again. Not wanting to let him see me cry, I throw my arms around him, giving him a tight squeeze.

“You stay safe over there, Kale Montgomery. You promise me?” I haven’t let myself think about the dangers he’ll be facing, but now that we’re down to the wire, I need to hear him say it. To promise me that he’ll take care of himself.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head off. I know what I’m doing, and I won’t let anything happen to me. See you on the other side, babe,” he murmurs before he leans down, gives me one last kiss, and walks away.

I lean back against the hood of my car and watch until he’s almost out of sight. He’s about to enter a building when he turns back to look at me. His hand moves to his mouth and he blows me a huge kiss. Shaking my head, I grin as I make a show of catching it. Instead of placing it on my lips, I touch my hand to my ass, and I can see him laugh. He gives me one last wave, and in a split second, he’s gone.

Knowing I shouldn’t loiter on post, I suck it up and get in my car even though I want to follow Kale into the building, throw my arms around him, and get one more kiss. I sigh, but then I stand up straight and set my shoulders. As I start my car and make the drive home, I chastise myself for feeling down. I just spent an amazing summer with a sexy-as-sin soldier and had more orgasms in those four months than I have in my entire life.

With new focus, I decide that maybe this was my last hurrah. Maybe I am ready to settle down, to move on with my life. Perhaps this was life’s way of saying, “Hey, Lucy, here’s one last good time. Now it’s time to get serious.” Truth be told, no random hookup will ever match up to Kale, and I know that.

Pulling into my apartment complex, I finally know what I’m going to do. It’s time to hang up Loosie Lou. The next guy who graces my bed, fingers crossed, will be the last one.

Kale

9/4/12

Lucy,

So I know I said we’d be pen pals, but snail mail takes way too long and I can’t wait to tell you about this place. How about keyboard pals? Yeah, doesn’t have as much of a nice ring to it, but I figure daily interactions are better than reading letters every other week, right?

I hope everything’s going well back in Clarksville and that you’re not breaking any more hearts. You’ve done enough damage to mine, Freckles. ;) <-- Just imagine me doing that. It’s much sexier than some damn emoticon. But seriously, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. I know what you’re thinking. That it gives you free rein to do anything, but guess again. I don’t do men—so you shouldn’t either. Wait for me, Lucy Dawson. My poor little heart can’t take the thought of you finding another man while I’m gone. Okay, I know you’re rolling your eyes by now, so I’ll stop fucking around.