My Ranger Weekend (2 page)

“
Sketching,
”
I admitted sheepishly as I tucked some hair behind my ear.

“
Well, hello there,
”
came from next to me  along with some throat clearing as I
realized we had a captive audience. I turned to find that both guys were
standing, which was pretty comical at first glance. It was like looking at
Austin
Powers
’
Dr. Evil and his mini-me with their identical brown haircuts
and blue eyes. Definitely military with their high and tight buzz cuts.
 

“
Dakota, Romeo,
”
said Reggie,
“
this is my best friend Ryan Wethers.
”

“
Hi
guys,
”
I replied, giving a short wave as I bit my bottom lip to keep
from giggling. The one named Dakota was really tall where Romeo was pretty
short. I knew I was taller than Romeo barefoot.
Poor thing.
I bet Reggie
loved it since she was barely five foot one.

“
Please join us,
”
Dakota said as he pulled out the chair next to him waiting
for me to sit down.
Lordy lordy.
My early assessment of hot-ass mofo was
on the mark. He was straight-up gorgeous. The red t-shirt he wore hugged his
body just right, showing off his broad shoulders and muscular build. Without
the military hair cut I would have pegged him for a surfer boy with all that
tanned skin and tight body. Butterflies erupted in my stomach as I took the
seat he offered. A deep breath did nothing but cause them to take flight as I
inhaled the distant scent of man; a unique blend of soap and cologne. It
enveloped me making me feel warm and fuzzy all over. He smelled amazing and all
male.
 

“
Thanks,
”
I said as I took the offered seat and found a beer already
waiting for me.
“
And for this,
”
I said as Reggie and I
clanked our bottle necks together. The cold, amber liquid helped dampen the
butterflies as I drank it down. I could feel Dakota
’
s eyes on me as I heard
Reggie
’
s laughter at something
Romeo was murmuring to her. I glanced over and found them huddled together.
Another pull on the bottle and then my eyes followed it to the table as I
peeked over at Dakota who was tearing at the corner of his beer label.

“
So,
”
he said pulling my gaze to his . .
.
WOW . . .
the
brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. Correction - they were the most beautiful
eyes I had ever seen. I got that compliment a lot with my weird eyes but his
were stunning. They had the thickest, darkest lashes I had ever seen
surrounding them. My eyes had a mind of their own as they started to peruse his
face.
High cheekbones, check
. Straight nose, check. And totally kissable, full lips,
double check.
Just wow.
A small smirk appeared on his lips as I was sure
my gaze had wandered on for longer than what was socially acceptable. My cheeks
flamed red.

“
So,
”
I responded, my eyes back to his.

“
You are definitely not
the type of Ryan I was expecting,
”
he said as he leaned
forward with both elbows on the table. The movement brought another whiff of
his scent so I took a deep breath and held it. Like a moth to a flame I felt
drawn to him; leaning towards him trying to get closer.
 

“
Yeah, well, I am an
only child and my father refused to even consider that I might be a girl, so he
only picked out boys
’
names. So Ryan was my
mother
’
s best choice,
”
I replied.
“
Are you from one of the Dakotas or do your parents have a
weird obsession with gigantic carved heads in the side of a mountain?
”

He chuckled, causing those butterflies to become active once
again.
“
I will go with A,
”
he laughed.
“
I am from there. But they did have a weird obsession now that
you mentioned it. We went every summer when I was a kid.
”

“
North or South?
”
I asked, resting my
chin on my hand while the other hand turned my bottle in circles.

“
South,
”
he answered.
“
What about you? Where are you from?
”
The lighter sparks in his eyes glowed, showing his genuine interest.

“
This great state of
California. Born and raised the next town over.
”
His smile grew and I
felt myself responding with one of my own.
“
What?
”
I asked, feeling a
blush creep into my cheeks.

“
You are absolutely
lovely,
”
he said as he reached over and grazed his index finger over
the back of my hand. His touch sent sparks up my arm straight to my heart,
causing it to beat erratically.

“
Thank you,
”
I whispered, lifting the hand he was touching to run it
through my hair as I tried to hide my reaction to him. Our eyes never left one
another as I took another drink of my beer.
“
So,
”
I mimicked him from
earlier trying to calm my racing heart.
“
The hair is either a major fashion statement or are you  in
the military?
”

“
Definitely military.
”
His smile was
gorgeous.
“
Army
Ranger to be exact.
”

“
And Dakota is your
nickname obviously,
”
I said, drawing out the
last word. My body shuddered at his deep chuckle as heat raced down my spine
and into my core.

“
You would be correct,
”
he said, giving me a panty-melting smile.
“
My name is Flint, Flint
Emerson,
”
he paused as he brought my hand to his lips.
“
And it
’
s
very nice
to
meet you Ryan Wethers.
”
Oh boy!

CHAPTER TWO

Flint

A solar eclipse in an endless blue sky.
Her eyes were the most remarkable things I had ever seen.
They were pale blue on the outside with a golden halo around the iris making it
look like one of those photos you see of a solar eclipse. The ones where the
moon blocked the sun but the honey colored rays still shone around it. They
were mesmerizing. I could not seem to look away.

“
You have beautiful
eyes,
”
I said, gaining me a small smile. It was a
compliment she got
a lot.

“
Thank you,
”
she responded.
“
Yours are pretty amazing as well.
”
I smiled at the praise that I got from women all the time.
The band interrupted our little bubble of conversation by playing their first
song and from the way Ryan
’
s eyes lit up, it was something she knew and liked. The song
pulled Reggie out of her Romeo haze as she looked right up at Ryan with a big
smile on her face. They both treated their bottles like microphones and belted
out the opening lyrics. They both sang along, acting as though they were
putting on glasses as they continued to sing.
“
You
got designer shades, just to hide your face and
 
you
wear them around like
 
you're cooler
than me. And you never say hey, or remember my name. It
’
s
probably cuz,
 
you think you're cooler
than me.
”

By the time they came up for air, Ryan
’
s free arm was above
her head and she was dancing in her chair to the beat of the song. The last
line they shouted at each other, clanked their beers, shouted cheers, and
gulped the rest down.
That was pretty cool.
These chicks were different
than the girls Romeo and I were normally picking up. They were special.
She
’
s special.

A few hoots and hollers followed their little performance.
Reggie waved her fingers to the table behind me as both Romeo and I turned
around to the jarheads vying for their attention.
Hell no.
“
Hell no,
”
Romeo muttered under
his breath as we turned back around.

“
Friends of yours?
”
asked Reggie, looking from Romeo to me.

“
Not exactly,
”
Romeo answered as more shouts sounded from behind me.

Completely ignoring the ass wipes I looked at Ryan and said,
“
You like this song?
”

“
Yep,
”
she answered.
“
One of my favorites.
”

Reggie
’
s laugh drew my attention away from Ryan as she said,
“
One of her favorites.
This song by Mike Posner was all we listened to for a straight year.
”

“
Oh stop being dramatic!
”

“
I have never heard it.
”
I looked to Romeo who seemed as lost as I was.

“
Cooler than Me
”
is a pop song from a few years ago,
”
Reggie explained,
“
and it describes a friend of ours to a tee.
”

“
Who?
”
Romeo and I both asked
at the same time.

“
Garrett,
”
Reggie answered at the same time as Ryan said,
“
It doesn
’
t matter.
”
I could see her cheeks flame as her eyes had a silent
conversation with Reggie
’
s.

 
Right as I was about to
ask who he was to Ryan Jerry stumbled back to our table, draping his arms on
the two ladies.

“
I seeee you gots
muchhhh better company fellaaas,
”
he slurred as the
bartender came over with a tray of shots.
“
Lash one beeefore I head out.
”

“
Rangers lead the way,
”
Romeo said in his serious voice, reciting the Ranger motto as
he clanked his shot glass with mine before downing it.

“
Oorah,
”
Jerry said before we all gulped down the piss yellow whiskey.
Fuck. Tequila with no chaser? Nice Jerry.
We all shuddered from that
one.

“
Ladies, I would looove
to staaay but it
’
ssss my bed timeeee.
”
He gave both Romeo and
I a nod, placed a wet kiss on both of the girls
’
cheeks and left.

“
Bye Gary.
”
Both girls called out.

“
Damn Dakota,
”
Romeo said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as
he winced again,
“
you said his name was Jerry.
”
Both ladies burst out
laughing.

“
Poor Gary,
”
laughed Reggie.

“
We talked with him for
a while when we first got here. He was pretty cool,
”
Romeo stated.

“
That was really sweet
of you guys,
”
Ryan said to both of us but her eyes were only on mine.
Something deep in my chest stirred as our eye contact lingered. She leaned into
me and said,
“
His
wife died about five months ago and he comes in a lot.
”

“
And how do you know
that?
”
I quietly asked.

“
This is our favorite
bar in town,
”
she said, smiling and wiggling her eyebrows at me.

If she kept looking at me like that I would not be
responsible for my actions. I wanted to touch her, to have her body against
mine; the sooner, the better.
“
Wanna dance?
”

“
Sounds fun,
”
she answered, pushing her chair back to stand. I stood as
well, holding my hand out for her to take. She stared at it for one . . . two
beats before taking it and giving me a breath-stealing smile. The moment she
touched me a jolt of lust ran straight through me making my jeans tighter. As
we zigzagged around the tables hand-in-hand it took everything in me not to lead
her straight out the back door. For now, I had to settle for just getting her
into my arms.
Where she belongs.
Where the hell did that thought come
from?
Whatever.
I just needed to slow down and enjoy this moment with
her.

As if on cue, the band started a new song with one of my
favorites,
“
Sweet Caroline
”
by Neil Diamond.

“
I love this song,
”
Ryan shouted over the band. We danced around each other never
really touching but invading each other
’
s space until I could not take it anymore. On her next turn,
I reached out and pulled her back to my front. She leaned back into me, rubbing
against me in all the right places. I returned the favor by pushing my
thickening cock into her backside. Ryan felt so good in my arms grinding
against me, that I eliminated all the space between us. I chased a hint of
perfume as I buried my nose right behind her ear. Her sweet scent enveloped me
as I cooed the lyrics into her ear.
“
Hands, touchin
’
hands, reachin
’
out. Touchin
’
me, touchin
’
you.
”

A shiver ran through her body as goose bumps erupted across
her neck. I sang
“
Sweet Caroline,
”
as she followed with
“
Oh, oh, oh.
”
My hands came to rest on her hips keeping her firmly against
me.

“
Good times never seemed
so good,
”
I chanted as she finished,
“
so good, so good.
”
Her hands covered mine
as she put equal pressure against me telling me that she wanted to be here in
my arms as much as I wanted her there.

“
I
’
ve been inclined.
”

“
Oh oh oh,
”
she sang as she turned to face to me, bringing her arms
around my neck as we continued to sway.

“
To believe they never
would,
”
I serenaded. Her pink tongue peeked out as she licked her
lips never breaking eye contact with me.

“
Oh no, no.
”
She sang back. I
leaned forwarded resting my forehead against hers as I wrapped my arms around
her waist.

“
Sweet Caroline,
”
I whispered across her lips.
“
Oh oh. . .
”
She never got the last
“
oh
”
out as I pressed my lips to hers. Her lips were soft and
yielding as I parted them with my tongue. Ryan tasted of the beer we drank and
red licorice.
Mmmm, I love red
licorice.
I dove deeper, exploring her mouth,
her taste. Her body molded to mine as my right hand lowered over her butt
giving a small squeeze. I swallowed her squeal as she pushed into me trying to
escape my wandering hand. My smile broke our kiss and she leaned back in my
hands. She tried to appear upset but I could see happiness and a mischievous
glint in her eyes.
 

“
Hands to yourself
Ranger,
”
Ryan said as she playfully slapped my chest.

“
Sorry,
”
I murmured, pulling her chest back to mine,
“
I couldn
’
t help it.
”
She threw her head back and laughed. I dipped down placing a
chaste kiss on her neck.

“
Woohoo,
”
I yelped as she pinched my backside.
“
That
’
s what I
’
m talking about,
”
I said as I tickled her. Her laughter was contagious and
before I knew it we were both out of breath and smiling at one another. The
next song started and I was in heaven when the opening notes of
“
Best Day of My Life
”
by American Authors started. I grabbed her hips and followed
the rhythm as I joined in with the band.
“
I had a dream so big and loud. I jumped so high I touched the
clouds. Wo-oah-oah-oah-oah-o.
”

Ryan

When Flint grabbed hold of me and starting singing the lyrics
to my new favorite song I could not stop staring at him. The look of pure joy
on his face would forever be cemented in my mind
’
s eye. As if he knew what I wanted, Flint kept the rhythm as
he pulled me into his swaying hips. Not able to resist, I wrapped my arms
around his neck allowing him to move my body against his as he sung every last
word to me.
 

“
Oo-o-o-o-oo. This is
gonna be the best day of my life. My li-i-i-i-i-ife. Oo-o-o-o-oo. This is gonna
be the best day of my life. My li-i-i-i-i-ife.
”
I was so lost in him that I did not notice that Romeo and
Reggie had joined us until I heard her laughter to my right. I peeked over at
them and saw them getting as cozy as I imagine Flint and I looked at this very
moment. I pulled him closer, breathing in his scent and marveled at how good his
hard body felt against mine. The move caused his thigh to press intimately to
my core rubbing me just right. A sigh I did not know I was holding rushed out
of me as I let go of everything and enjoyed this moment in his arms. The song
changed to a slow tune and we did not move from our positions, just slowed our
pace to match the music. His mouth found my ear as he hummed along to the song
drawing me even tighter in his arms. He had a beautiful voice and I felt the
rumble of it in my chest. I wanted the song to last forever as I never felt
this good in someone else
’
s arms. It was an eye-opener to everything I had been missing
with other men, especially Garrett.