Prologue
The Goodbye Kiss
Jorja
I slam my locker door, spin the lock, and freeze.
“Sup, Juicy?” Jocko Malone leans down to laugh in my ear.
Trying to ignore him but knowing he won’t let me; I roll my eyes as I close them and grit my teeth. “Stop calling me that!”
“Why? You and I both know it's true.” He croons, making my knees weak.
I bite my tongue because he's right. The minute I catch a whiff of his musky scent, my panties are wet, and it pisses me off that I can’t control the way my body reacts to him. Jocko is too arrogant and too cocky because he's too gorgeous, but I refuse to fawn over his perfect ass like all the other girls. It's disgusting the way they prostrate themselves, wanting his attention. I have more self-respect than that and self-discipline.
Defiant, I stand, slinging my backpack over my shoulder in a pitiful attempt to knock him away.
He laughs harder, then whispers in my ear. “You are going to have to do better than that to make me back off.”
“Gawd, you are so infuriating! Why do you torture me?”
“Because I can … and because you are so damn delicious when you get all pissed off.”
I start to push him away but think better about it. If my pussy soaks itself with his scent, how will it betray me if I touch him? No …. I don't need to make that mistake. “Move, Jerk-off. I'm going to be late for class.”
He laughs out loud at my feistiness, enjoying my resistance way too much, but he steps back.
Without another word, I stomp off.
Margie giggles when I walk up. “Jocko teasing you again?”
I grit my teeth and nod my head.
She giggles harder. “Honestly, Jorja, I don’t know what your problem is. If Jocko Malone were flirting with me like that, I would be in heaven!”
I roll my eyes at her. “You don’t know him like I do.”
She snorts. “What's there to know? He is 6’4” and glorious!”
“He's an ass!”
“So?” She shrugs. “He's a 6’4” glorious ass!”
I shake my head. “Come on. We don’t want to be late for class.”
Jocko
Watching Jorja stomp away is nearly as good as staring down her shirt at her tits when she kneels at her locker. Her body's built like a brick house, and her anger adds a twitch to her stride that jerks her booty from side to side.
“Hey, Jocko,” Britney says as she slinks in to take Jorja’s place. Her eyes glued to me like I'm her next meal.
I open my locker but keep an eye on her. She's pinched my ass and grabbed my junk before.
She steps closer. “So, is it true you throw a 100-mile-an-hour fastball?”
I shut my locker and give her a look that means ‘I don't have time for your stupid games,’ but she doesn’t take the hint. She knows it's true and had her response already planned.
“Oh,” she says, so breathy it's more like a moan.
Mrs. Strickland’s voice comes over the intercom. “Jocko Malone, please come to the office.”
Britney giggles wickedly. “What did you do this time?”
I ignore her and walk off, but she's hot on my heels. Following like a puppy, it pisses me off. I do an about-face and crush her hopes face to face. “Barbara, don't follow me.”
“My name isn't Barbara.”
“Whatever. You are fucking ugly. Do not follow me.”
My mother would roll over in her grave if she knew how I talk to these girls but being crude is the only thing that makes them back the fuck off.
She glances around to see if anyone overheard, then she slinks away.
The sad part is she'll be back. She'll gang up with her friends, and they'll talk about what a shit I am. They'll give her a makeover, and she'll try again.
I push open the office door. Mrs. Strickland greets me with a smile, “Jocko, take a seat. Principal Davis wants to have a word with you.”
Parking my jeep at Sunnyville High, I head inside. It's been a week since graduation, and already I feel out of place. Walking through the hall, the atmosphere is relaxed. Everyone's milling around, waiting for the bell to ring.
When I round the corner to the lockers, I see Jorja. Her back's to me, and her long hair hangs straight down. She's leaning on my old locker laughing with Margie.
I'm going to miss teasing Juicy.
Joseph Pruitt walks up to her. His smile and his posture piss me off.
He's hitting on her.
When she smiles at him, a vise clamps down on my heart.
When he hands her his phone, an unknown force punches the wind out of my gut.
When she begins to tap the device, giving him her digits, realization hits me right between the eyes, and I advance on them.
Margie’s face lights up when she sees me, then her mouth drops open, and her eyes bug out of her face.
Both Jorja and Joseph turn to see what's frightened her.
My eyes lock on Joseph’s, and he starts stuttering. “Jocko, I … I thought y … you were gone.”
I grip his shoulder, and he visibly cringes, then I hand shuck his stupid ass away. “Backoff, Motherfucker.” I growl.
He stumbles, slips, lands on his ass, then crawls away.
When I turn to face Jorja, Margie takes a few steps back, clearing the space between us.
Jorja’s eyes narrow, and she opens her mouth to say something sassy, but her words are lost.
I'm on her. Pushing her body against the locker, I pin her there with my own.
She stiffens in resistance, and her eyes flash with anger, then defiance.
But this time, I don’t taunt or tease her. This time, I cup her face and tilt her lips to take my kiss.
As I lower my mouth to hers, the defiance in her eyes fades to fear as her willing body melts into mine.
Damn. I’ve been a fool. I should’ve done this a long time ago. She's been resisting me, not because she doesn’t want me, but because she does.
My lips crush hers, and a blast of sensations overwhelm me.
The sweetness of her scent, the softness of her breath, the exquisiteness of her essence fills my emptiness completely. I press her willing body, needing to feel her curves meld into mine. Then her lips part and her mouth opens, wanting my tongue.
All the years of hunger and longing for her bursts forth, and I devour her like a starving man. Every sensation shoots through me like lightning, and I can’t get enough of her.
When I finally release her mouth, silence surrounds us as I stare into her eyes, burning this moment into my brain, knowing this may be the only time I hold her in my arms.
My throat tightens with the raw emotion of saying goodbye, making my words impossible to express. But I want her to know. Holding her face captive, I stare into her eyes, trying to bare my soul to her.
Jorja Jones, you have always been the only one I have wanted, and when I come home … if I make it home, I want to come home to you.
The bell rings.
I set her free, hoping her heart will wait for my return.
Then I turn and walk away to become the man I am meant to be.
A SEAL in the US Navy.
Chapter One