One Step Ahead

Ice-Skating Lessons In Hell

February 12th, 2:35 PM

      "C'mon, Ash, give me my bra," Briar said, reaching across his chest as he held the item out of her reach.

      "I dunno about that, I kind of like you this way," he teased, dangling the bit of fabric from his fingers.

      After their first night together, they had woken up and realized how incredibly careless they had been by leaving themselves naked and vulnerable to anyone, or anything, who might make an appearance. So they had decided to confine their amorous activities to the daylight hours, when it would be more difficult for anyone to arrive unnoticed, and to continue to sleep fully clothed, with coats and shoes within easy reach.

      Still holding out her hand, she stated, "I'm sure you do, but just in case you don't remember, Liz and Carmine are supposed to be here in a little while to bring supplies. And giving someone a peep show isn't on my to-do list today."

      He relented, dropping the garment into her hand and reaching for his jeans, which lay in a heap next to the bed. "Yeah, I remember," he mumbled as he swung his legs over the side of the mattress. "And I have to say, their timing sucks."

      Briar chuckled and reached out to smooth down his hair, replying, "Well, at least they didn't show up while I was 'buns up and kneeling', as Steven Tyler would say."

      Offering a wry smile in acknowledgement of her statement, Ashley stepped into his jeans and fastened them, then retrieved his shirt from the headboard of the bed, pulling it on and padding barefoot to the small bathroom. He picked up his hairbrush and worked the tangles out of his shoulder-length hair before moving into the living room, followed just a few seconds later by Briar, who reached out and smacked his rear as she passed.

      "Hey, what was that for?" he questioned.

      "I just couldn't resist," she retorted. "That's what happens when you have an ass that someone could bounce quarters off of." Then she burst into a fit of giggles as a deep flush colored his cheeks. "Dude, you're blushing!"

      He didn't reply, and she walked back to him and slid her arms around his waist. "Hey, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, but that can't be anything you haven't heard before."

      "No, I'm not embarrassed, exactly," he murmured, nuzzling his face into her hair. "I've just never been good at knowing how to respond to compliments, at least not in person. I mean, it's pretty easy to banter back and forth with people on Twitter and stuff like that, but face to face I sort of freeze up sometimes."

      As Briar started to respond to his statement, she was interrupted by a knock on the door, and called out, "Who is it?"

      "It's Liz, guys!" they heard from the porch. "We brought your stuff."

      Ashley moved to the kitchen window and peered outside before going to unlock the door, opening it to admit Liz and a young man he had never seen before. He turned to Briar with an inquiring look and she shrugged, indicating that she wasn't familiar with him, either. They entered the house, and Liz said, "Hi there, you two. This is my oldest son Kevin, he's home on leave from the Army. Kev, this is Briar and Ashley."

      "Nice to meet you," Kevin stated as he walked to the kitchen table and set down the bags he was carrying, then reached out to take the others from Liz. "I kind of feel like I already know you, Briar, since I've heard so much about you from Cody. And I'm familiar with some of your music, Ashley. My platoon actually had a couple of y'all's songs on the playlist we used to get ourselves pumped up before we went out on a patrol."

      "Where were you stationed?" Ashley inquired, as he started to remove items from the bags.

      "I just finished a tour in Afghanistan, and I've got a month here at home before I go to a base in Germany," the young soldier replied, as he carried one of the bags to the freezer, and began placing the contents inside. "I'll probably be there for at least a year, maybe longer if I decide to re-enlist."