Chapter 9 - Temptation

Leslie decided to read her Bible and when she was done with that she took a look around and for the first time noticed how sparsely furnished the apartment was. It wasn't bad for a guy's place, she guessed, at least it was clean ... in all honesty it was cleaner then the Hollands house, and not near as cluttered. The front door opened into the living room and there was a small table by the door on that was a small plate where Jamie put his keys and change from his pockets. She scanned the room from left to right, there was a window on the left wall, in the corner a big screen TV was sitting on a small, three shelf entertainment center, facing that was a comfortable futon/couch, as she turned to her left she was facing the dinning room, and again there was just the bare necessities, a simple, small table and four chairs. She knew what the kitchen looked like from the night before. Then she looked across the dinning room and noticed a closet with accordion doors, so she opened them, it was a little laundry room and seeing a basket full of clothes she decided to start a load of laundry. She went back to the kitchen and grabbed a dry dishcloth, the living room looked a little dusty. When she finished there she remembered that the bathroom looked like it needed to be cleaned so she went and cleaned that. She stood back and surveyed the room when she was done very pleased with herself ... everything sparkled “I hope Jamie will be pleased...” she thought wondering what to do next, then it dawned on her, she hadn't called her parents yet, so she reached for her cellphone and dialed their number.

Twenty minutes later she was still on the phone when Jamie stepped groggily from the bedroom, his hair was sticking up every which way and he was dressed only in a pair of boxer shorts. Leslie stop short of audibly gasping, averted her eyes and continued talking on the phone to her parents. She knew the Hollands would ask how everyone at home was so she made sure she got enough information to have something to tell them. Jamie had seen the effect his apparel, or rather lack thereof, had on Leslie and grinned to himself, as he got a glass of  juice before walking back down the hall to the bathroom. When he walked in and turned on the light he noticed something was different then, it hit him, everything was sparkling and it smelt of cleaner. He grinned as he stepped into the shower and turned on the cold water he shuddered as the water hit him invigorating his senses.

Leslie was no longer on the phone, when he returned to the living room, she was sitting on the couch watching TV and folding the laundry, Jamie walked over and sat down beside her, wrapped his arms around her, pulled her to him and buried his face in her hair. She leaned back against him and snuggled as close as she could to his chest.

“Ah... so that's what that smell was that was distracting me whenever I laid my head on my pillow” Jamie said as he inhaled the scent of shampoo on her hair. Leslie squirmed around in his arms till she was facing him. She put her hands on his chest and pushed him back until he was laying with his head on the arm of the couch, then with one hand holding him down she used her other hand to reach up and pulled the scrunchi out of her hair, it fell down over her shoulders like a golden cloud, the smell was intoxicating. Jamie sighed, reached up a pulled her down on top of him pressing his lips to hers passionately. When he released his grip a little Leslie gasped, a fire was burning through her body that she had never felt before, there was strange urgency to become one with this man. She began to realize the power she had over him, and it felt good. Suddenly Jamie sat up nearly spilling her to the floor.

 “I'm sorry ...” Leslie stammered her heart was beating so fast she could barely breathe. She was scared, of both the passion she felt and what Jamie would think of her. Jamie took a deep breath, his hands were shaking, he wanted to calm her fears, fears he could see were etched all over her face, but he was afraid he might give in to temptation if he touched her. Leslie was shaking now, shame and embarrassment evident on her face, he couldn’t look at her any more lest he give in. 

Swiftly he turned on his heel and hurried to the door “I’ll be back in a bit” he said as he marched out the door.  Once out the door Jamie’s feet took over and he followed his normal running path, he ran until he ran out of air. He stood there huffing and puffing as sweat poured down his face. He hadn’t wanted to leave, but he didn’t know of any other way to protect Leslie from himself. He wished that the Holland’s were coming back tonight … he hadn’t thought of how hard it would be to spend the night with Leslie in the same house. But since he would be picking her up in the morning for work anyway it really didn’t make sense to take her home either. He turned and headed back to the apartment wondering what he would find when he got there.

When Jamie left, Leslie stared at the door for a few minutes, and then laid her head on her arms and cried. When her eyes were dry, she went down the hall to Jamie’s room and got out her Bible. She opened it to Psalms and read “Create in me a clean heart …” Again; she knelt beside the couch this, time to pray. After spending a few minutes in prayer talking to her Heavenly Father she felt better about the situation, she knew why Jamie had left and knew he would be back soon.  She knew that they would have to be on their guard so that they wouldn’t walk into temptation again. She was humming softly and puttering around the kitchen trying to see what she could make for supper, when Jamie came through the door drenched with sweat. She turned to him and smiled “I’m sorry…” she started to say but Jamie crossed the room and stopped her by placing a finger on her lips “No, Baby I’m sorry” he said almost hanging his head “I’m the man in this relationship and I’m older, so I knew better. It’s my fault. I’m sorry I left so abruptly it was the only thing I could think of at the moment.” 

“It’s ok.”Leslie said, brushing his hair back off his face “I understand, and no it wasn’t all your fault. I knew what I was doing” 

Jamie pushed away from her “I need to shower.” he said bluntly.

“Ok, but after you do that could we go to the PX, I’m starving and there is nothing to eat here.” Leslie shrugged apologetically.

“Ok, give me 15 minutes.” Jamie said as he headed to the bathroom “By the way,” he said over his shoulder “You did a great job cleaning this place up. I appreciate it.” He closed the door and jumped into the shower and for the second time today turned the water as cold as he could stand it. 

After his shower, Jamie and Leslie went to the PX and bought some groceries. When they got home Leslie made some hamburgers for supper and they spent the rest of the evening cuddled up on the sofa watching a movie , and nothing more was said about the close call they had that afternoon.  When Leslie almost fell asleep during the second movie, Jamie told her to go sleep in his bedroom and lock the door behind her.

Chapter 8 - An Unexpected Weekend

When Leslie woke up, she stretched and looked around she looked around, suddenly she sat bolt up right in bed, realizing something was wrong, sunlight was streaming through her small window. She reached for her watch laying on the dresser and looked at the time 12:30. “Whoa, it's really late,” she exclaimed “and really quiet...” Leslie jumped up out of bed and grabbed her robe she stepped out into the hallway it was eerily quiet, very unusual for a Saturday morning “Saturday ... I'm supposed to be on my way home by now” Leslie said out loud “Great, I'll never make it home now!” she headed downstairs, the place was a little less messy then usual, she stepped into the kitchen the dishes were done and drying on the counter, as she glanced around the room trying to find anything that would tell her where the family was. Nothing. Frustrated Leslie headed to the phone and dialed Sandy's cell phone number. 

“Hello?” Sandy answered

“Hey, Sandy this is Leslie. Where are you guys?” 

“We're in Stuttgart, what's wrong?” 

“Well, for one thing I don't have a ride to the train station... and ...” 

“You're still at our house!” Sandy interrupted with a shriek.

“Ah... yeah, I was helping Jamie with Chad's party last night... where did you think I was?” Leslie rolled her eyes and tried not to freak out “My Dad is so going to make me come home for good if he finds out about this.” she thought to herself. 

“I totally forgot you were there and we got this great opportunity to go to Stuttgart for the weekend, so we just went” Sandy said, starting to sound a little apologetic “I'm so sorry.”

“That's ok” Leslie responded “I'll call Jamie or Michelle and see if one of them can drive me to the train station. Don't worry about it, I'll call my mom and let my folks know that I'm going to be late.” 

“Ok sweetheart, there's some food in the fridge make yourself a sandwich before you leave” Sandy replied sweetly “I'll talk to you when we get back on Monday night” 

As Leslie hung up the phone she got a brilliant idea “It's really too late to take the train home I won't get home until 10 or later depending on when Jamie can get me to the station” She ran upstairs and got dressed and grabbed her cell phone, dialing Jamie's number as she headed back down to the kitchen. 

“Sergeant Jamison speaking, how can I help you?” 

“Hey, it's Leslie. Can you come get me? The Hollands left yesterday afternoon for a long weekend in Stuttgart, and won't be back 'til Monday night.”

“What? How did they expect you to get home?” Jamie said frustration lacing his voice.

“Believe it or not she forgot that I was here!” Leslie replied laughing “I told her I'd see if you or Michelle could take me to the station, but even if I left right now, I wouldn't get there until almost 10” 

“Ok, I'll come get you, call your folks and tell them you over slept and won't be able to make it home this weekend. You can stay with me and Chad this weekend. I'll get you home before they get back on Monday.”Jamie said “I wish I would have known this yesterday I wouldn't have had to take you home so late. You could have just stayed here.” 

“I'm sorry I didn't know they were gone until about 20 minutes ago when I woke up to silence” Leslie apologized, sounding a little unsure of herself. 

“Oh, sorry, Baby, I'm not mad at you. I'm mad that they would just up and leave you like that. Don't worry, I'll be right there!” 

“Ok, just don't be mad at me.” Leslie said.

“I'm not. Baby. Have you had lunch yet?” 

“Nope, I'm rummaging through the fridge to find something now. I haven't eaten anything yet today.” 

“Well, don't eat anything and I'll take you out to eat when I pick you up. How 'bout I let you go and you can pack what you need and call your folks so they won't be worried.” 

“Ok, I'll talk to you later. Love you” Leslie got off the phone and called her mom told her that she had over slept and it was too late to try to make it home that weekend and she promised to call some time on Sunday. As she hung up and started packing she felt a little guilty for not telling her mom the whole truth, but that didn't last for long, the door bell rang and she rushed down the stairs to answer it. 

“Sorry, I'm not quite ready yet” she said as she opened the door and let Jamie in “Almost done though.” 

“That's ok I'm not in a big hurry” Jamie said as he followed Leslie inside. She rushed around grabbing the things she would need for a two night stay. When she was all packed they headed out to Jamie's truck and Leslie locked the door. 

On their way to the base they stopped at their favorite restaurant “Zum Erbprinz” or in English “To the Crown Prince” the waiter seated them at a cozy corner table and handed them the menus.

 “I love the rustic feel of this place” Jamie said “it feels like I stepped back in time to 'Hansel and Gretel’. ” 

Jamie, who was still grousing a bit about having to come and pick her up, shrugged  “I guess, But I don’t understand why Sandy couldn’t have told you that she was leaving town for the weekend yesterday before you left!”  

“Probably because she didn’t know she was going,” Leslie shrugged “They do this a lot they see an opportunity and they just take it.” 

“Without giving any thought to how their actions will affect others.”  Jamie interrupted abruptly, “Come on, Leslie, she could have at least called your cell phone and let you know they were leaving. It’s just plain inconsiderate!” 

  “I don’t know,” Leslie replied slowly  “she probably just didn’t think about it, is it really all that bad?”

“Why do you keep defending her?” Jamie asked his anger barely in check “ they try to control your life by telling you, you can’t have a boyfriend, you can’t do this, you can’t do that but when it really matters when your safety is really at stake they don’t care they just up and leave for the weekend. GRRRR … I’d like to get my hands on them and teach them some manners.” Jamie  froze as he noticed the look on Leslie's face “Baby, what's wrong?”

Leslie was biting her lower lip trying to keep from crying. She blinked furiously, “I'm sorry,” she stammered “I’m not trying to defend them really I’m not. I’m mad at them too. But there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m sorry you had to drive all this way again really I am. If it’s going to be too much of a bother you can take me home now.” Leslie turned away so Jamie wouldn’t see the tears that were threatening to spill over.

Jamie reached across the table took her hand in his, she dropped her eyes and a big tear splashed on the table, James quickly jumped up and walked around to her side of the table put his arm around her “Honey, I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you and I don’t think it’s a bother to pick you up, I just think they should treat you with much more consideration and respect. ”

“Oh, like you do?”  Leslie looked up her eyes somewhat defiant now, “You are oh so considerate, you pick me up and then complain the whole time that you had to come and get me again!” Leslie was furious now, she brushed his hand away, the tears were gone and a fire he had never seen before blazed from her eyes. “It’s not my fault, if I had known that they were going to be gone I would have told you and saved you the trip. And if I’d have known that it would be such a problem I wouldn’t have asked you to come this morning…” exhausted she stopped.

Jamie reached for her again and pulled her up against his chest “I'm sorry, honey, I was just frustrated with them and I took it out on you.  I’m sorry I didn't mean to upset you . I love you, Leslie Ann, and I would never do anything to hurt you. I’m just really tired. Let’s try and get something to eat so we can get home and I can get some sleep” 

The defiance melted away and Leslie slumped against him swallowing hard “You just reminded me of my dad and scared me half to death” she shivered involuntarily “I had always promised myself that I would never...” she paused trying to think of the right word “...get involved with someone like him.” 

James bent his head and tenderly kissed her on the forehead then placed his hand under her chin and tilted her face up so that he could look into her eyes “Leslie, I don't know your dad but I do know this I’m not mad at you, and I’m sorry I took my  frustration out on you. It won’t happen again, ok?”

Leslie nodded, tears glistening in her eyes again “I'm sorry” she whispered as Jamie leaned in and kissed her firmly.

 With that Jamie scrunched up his face picked up his menu held it upside down and declared in his most silly voice “I think I'll have the Fish” 

Leslie relaxed a bit and giggled, “Jamie, you are so silly!”

“Now, no more tears ok?” he grinned and waved to the waiter who came immediately

“Jawohl, mien Herr, kann ich ihnen helfen?”

“Ja, sprechen Sie Englisch?” Jamie's accent was very pronounced, Leslie sniffled a giggle, but almost busted up laughing when the waiter answered in very broken English that he did indeed speak that language. Jamie ordered two specials for them as well as two Pepsis. 

“You know that we won't get anything close to the special.” Leslie said “He's probably back there trying to figure out what a special is.” 

“So what is it?” James asked 

“You don't know what you ordered?” Leslie did laugh then.

“Nope, not a clue.” Jamie said as he reached for her hand 

Leslie grinned “I hope it's not Squid or something gross like that.” 

Jamie chucked and then attempted to change the topic of conversation “Do you know you have a beautiful smile?” This made Leslie smile even bigger. “You do, you know. It lights up your face from the inside and gives you this glow!” 

The waiter returned and set their plates down and refilled their cups and with a “Gutten Apettite!” he left them to enjoy their meals. 

“Well what do you know?”Leslie said “Two specials just like we ordered.” They both laughed and ate their beef rolladen in mushroom gravy with a big side of mashed potatoes and corn. Jamie ordered them Apple Dumplings and coffee for desert. Leslie was relaxed when they got done eating the tears of earlier completely forgotten. They paid the bill and walked out to the truck hand in hand, Jamie opened the door and helped her in, then went around and climbed in on the driver's side. When he got in Leslie leaned against him and he put one arm around her shoulders and started playing with her hair and Leslie snuggled closer to him as they continued the drive to his apartment. 

When they arrived and walked inside they heard some yelling and stuff being thrown around. “What's going on in here?” Jamie asked as he headed toward Chad's room where noise was coming from. 

“Oh, hey Jamie, you will never believe this...” Chad said as he continued sorting through things and stuffing them into his duffel bag and foot locker “I was supposed to ship out on Wednesday... well you know the Army, they can never do anything when they say they're going to, my platoon got bumped... up and I leave tomorrow.” 

“Dang, that stinks...” Jamie said “is there anything we can do to help?” 

“Yeah, could you help me sort through this stuff, I've got most of it done but I was going to finish it tomorrow night and now...” 

“That's fine, we'll pitch in, won't we Les?” 

“Oh, hey Les, how are you?”Chad said looking up just long enough to say hi and then going back to his packing. 

The three of them worked hard for several hours then Jamie stretched and said “No offense man, but are we about done? ‘Cause I'm starving, I think we need a break” 

“Yeah, I know, I'm bushed but I have to get this done tonight...”

“Well, why don't you guys finish up here and I'll go see what I can whip up for supper.” Leslie suggested standing and stretching. As she headed out of the room Jamie's eyes followed her, he exhaled deeply. This was going to be a long, hard weekend. Leslie was unaware of the longing in Jamie's eyes or how her being there was effecting him. She hurried down the hall making a quick stop at the bathroom before heading to the kitchen, once there she rummaged around the cabinets, fridge, and freezer to see what was available. There wasn't  a whole lot, the boys were better at eating out then they were at cooking. The only appliances she saw were, a toaster and coffee pot, there was a microwave built in above the stove but those were the only things visible. Opening the cupboards revealed, a bag of paper plates and a stack of plastic cups, a few canned goods, several bags of Rahmen noodles, a frying pan, small pot, and a pizza pan. The fridge wasn't much better, but she did find some sliced ham, and cheese. Suddenly she had an idea, she headed back to the cupboard and sure enough she found a can of sliced pineapples, she also found a pizza pan and placed it on the counter. Then she buttered several slices of bread and laid them on the pan, placed a slice of ham, a slice of pineapple and a slice of cheese on each one, then she opened the oven door and placed the pan inside, she closed the oven door turned the oven on and went in search of the dishes. While the sandwiches were cooking she set the table and found some juice to go with dinner. She checked on the sandwiches the cheese was melted so she pulled the pan out took the sandwiches off of it and placed them on a large plate then she made some more sandwiches and placed the pan back in the oven, she placed a single sandwich on each of their plates and hollered down the hall “Dinner's ready!”

“All right! I'm half- starved” Jamie said as he and Chad emerged from the bedroom, Chad headed to the bathroom giving Jamie the perfect chance to steal a kiss from Leslie, he held her close to his chest, “you know ... this is great, having a woman in the house. The food looks great. I'm going to have to figure out a way to keep you here permanently” Jamie kissed her forehead and released her as Chad came into the room. Then he quickly turned and headed back down the hall to the bathroom “be right back” he said. Leslie turned to the oven and pulled the second pan of sandwiches out. 

Chad sat down at the table, he didn’t want to admit it but he was very glad his orders were sending him to Iraq. As much as he wanted to support his friend, he didn't know how much more of this he could take. He was falling for Leslie and it was killing him to see her with his best friend. He smiled at her as Jamie came back into the room and they sat down to eat. The conversation during dinner centered around Chad's leaving in the morning. 

Suddenly Jamie looked at the time “Oh, Crap! I got to get to work!” he jumped up and ran to his room. After a few minutes he returned dressed in his camo uniform, he grabbed his work bag, kissed Leslie good bye and took off. After he left Chad excused himself to his room and Leslie worked on cleaning up the kitchen. When she was done she asked Chad if he needed any help, he told her no, so she asked if he would mind showing her how the TV worked, he agreed and after showing her how it worked he went back to his room. Leslie watched several hours of Nick-at-Nite until she started to dose off. Then she got up and went to Jamie's room and got herself ready for bed, she had planned on sleeping on the couch, but since she had no idea where the extra blankets were and she didn't want to bother Chad again, she decided to just sleep in Jamie's room, it felt a little wrong sleeping in a guy's bed, but it didn't bother her for long as she was tired from her long day and was soon asleep.

That is how Jamie found her when he came home from work, he sighed, “Beautiful!” he thought to himself “she's absolutely beautiful, I wish I didn't have to wake her up!” How he longed to crawl in bed with her and fall asleep, but he knew he shouldn't and he couldn't because they needed to see Chad off in about an hour. He knelt beside the bed, brushed a few stray hairs from her face, kissed her cheek, and whispered “Leslie, baby, it's time to wake up.” She stirred, snuggling deeper under the covers, he sat on the edge of the bed and kissed her again, this time on her lips. As he pulled away she sighed and her eyes fluttered open. She smiled dreamily. “Mornin', Baby” Jamie said, returning her smile. Suddenly, as if she just realized she wasn't dreaming, her eyes popped wide open, she sat bolt upright in the bed, clutching the covers to her chest as she did. Before she could say anything Jamie stood up “I was just letting you know we need to leave in an hour, if we're going to see Chad off, that is.”

Leslie glanced at the clock “Ok, I'll get ready... if you'll be so kind as to leave so I can get up!” 

Jamie grinned “and what will you do if I don't?”

“I'm not getting out of this bed until you leave” Leslie shot back “so you better get!”

“Hmm...” Jamie appeared to ponder his options “maybe I should join you?” he said. As he took a step toward the bed, part of Leslie was scared he might actually join her and the other half of her knew if he did she wouldn't resist him, in fact there was a strong part of her that wished he would. Then suddenly Jamie winked at her and quickly turned and headed out the door “hurry up and get dressed” he said over his shoulder, as he shut the door. 

Leslie was a little confused by the abruptness of his tone and departure, but also relieved that he hadn't tried to climb into the bed. She scrambled out of the bed, pulled the sheets up and made the bed, went to her suitcase grabbed her robe, toiletry bag and a clean set of clothes, opened the door, and headed straight to the bathroom. Luckily no one was in there, she hurried to shower and dress, she was done in about 20 minutes and put her stuff back in the bedroom then headed to the kitchen. Jamie was there frying some eggs, he turned and whistled when he saw her, Leslie grinned and spun around showing off her outfit. It was a simple outfit really, the straight ankle length skirt was a light blue, and her blouse was a peach gingham, button down, with puffy cap sleeves and an elastic gathered neckline. Her short blonde hair was pulled up in a banana clip, her blue eyes were sparkling, she had put a little bit of Makeup on not much, but enough that Jamie noticed. 

He grinned and as she opened the fridge to get some juice he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her close to him “Have I told you how much I love you, Leslie Ann? You look so good,” he nuzzled her neck “mmm... you smell good too! Do you know what you're doing to me?” Leslie snuggled against him and shook her head “yeah you do, you little stinker...” Jamie started tickling her, and she giggled as she squirmed out of his reach. 

“Well, look who finally woke up...” Jamie said as Chad entered the room “Hey, man, the pan's still hot if you want to make some eggs.” He scooped some eggs on a plate and handed it to Leslie “There you go sweetheart! Breakfast is served!” Leslie laughed “You call this breakfast” she shook her head, grabbed the fork out of Jamie's hand, spun into the dinning area, plopped on a chair next to the table and dug in “hmmm, not half bad” she said “where did you learn to cook?”

“My mama taught me” Jamie said with a thick southern drawl.

“Oh, come on Jamie” Chad cut in “you can't blame your momma for that... I've eaten her cooking and it is way better than yours.”

“I didn't say I was as good as she is, just that she taught me.” 

Leslie giggled and the boys laughed, it was nice to be able to joke around and not have someone take it the wrong way and get all upset. She thought back to last week when she was home and had tried to make a joke with her dad, it hadn't gone over well and he had threatened to spank her for being sassy, it had gotten worse from there. Her weekend home had been ruined, actually she was really glad that she did have to go home this week she had been dreading it all week. 

After they saw Chad off Leslie and James went back to the house. “I hate to do this to you, babe,” James said “but I have to get some sleep.”

Leslie smiled “that's ok ... I can manage to entertain myself for a while” 

James went and laid down on his bed, he was tired enough that he should have fallen asleep right away, but as he laid down he could smell the scent of her shampoo on his pillow and he couldn't get the picture of her lying there out of his mind, making it hard for him to fall asleep.

Chapter 7 - A Party and a Kiss

The next morning Leslie told Victoria about the movie and dinner. 

“It wasn't near as good as the old movie” she said speaking of ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ “but then Jamie and Chad have never seen the old version so they had no idea what I was talking about.” 

“So Jamie's roommate's name is Chad ,” Sandy said entering the room as Leslie was finishing her story “You need to be careful about what kind of friendships you make,” she warned “they might lead you astray from the truth”

“Oh, it's not like that, Sandy” Leslie said with a grin “they're just good friends, they grew up together, they're just like family and just happened to be assigned the same living quarters. And before you get any ideas about me liking Chad. I don't! And Chad's going to be shipping out to Iraq at the end of the month so I won't be seeing much of him anyway.”

Over the next several weeks Leslie and Jamie spent a lot of time together, they went and a saw the sights in Heidleberg and the surrounding area, went to the movies and sometimes just hung out at the boys’ apartment and talked. Occasionally one of the guys would go along too, but for the most part they let Jamie and Leslie hang out on their own. These guys were the first boys who didn't make Leslie feel stupid because she was a girl and the first people to really treat her as an equal, they actually valued her opinion and didn't put her down. That made Leslie feel really special, in away that she couldn't put into words. Within two weeks she had quit resisting Jamie's advances and considered him her boyfriend. She enjoyed how he would come into her work and grab a sandwich before heading to work, just so they could have a few minutes of conversation each day. On Mondays, he would pick her up and take her in to work and then before he went to work he would pick her up and they would go some place to talk about the things that they had learned that week in their personal devotion time. Chad's departure was getting closer and closer, and one day Leslie approached Jamie with her idea.

“Chad ships out next week, doesn't he?” she said tentatively, hoping Jamie wouldn't take this the wrong way, “I was thinking, maybe we should have a going away party for him.”

Jamie looked at Leslie and grinned as he gave her a big hug, “Yeah, that's a great idea! I’ll invite the guys! Do you think 6 pizzas would be enough? And 4 dozen wings?” 

“Sure” Leslie grinned “that should be enough, I guess how much do you guys eat? Do you want to get a cake too? Or just the pizza and wings?” 

Jamie thought for a minute before answering “Probably get a cake, too. We could get it from the bakery in the PX and have them write something on it.... something like 'We will miss you, Chad', what do you think?”

“Sounds great, so when are we having this little shin-dig?” 

“Well, Chad ships out Wednesday of next week, so I guess we should probably have the party on Friday, can we get the stuff we need by then?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Leslie said “Today is Tuesday, I could have Sandy drop me by the PX tonight on my way home and order the cake, and we would just have to call Dominos the day of to order the pizza and chicken wings. So yeah I think so.” 

“Ok, sounds like you got it all figured out,” Jamie said as he leaned over and kissed Leslie on the cheek “Here's $40 for the cake and if need more you just let me know, Ok ? Anything else?”

“Uhmm... nothing that I can think of... Oh wait, we should probably get some drinks, and plates, napkins, cups, utensils, and any decorations you want to use.”

“Are you working Friday?” Jamie asked abruptly

“No,” Leslie responded wondering where why he was changing the subject “Why do you want to know?”

“Well, if we can figure out a way to get you on base then you and I could do the shopping together and you could help me get the apartment ready for the party.” Jamie grinned and leaned closer to Leslie twirling one of her blond curls in his fingers “And the best thing; we get to spend the whole day together. Leslie giggled playfully as she pulled away from Jamie.

“And how are we going to do that?” 

“I don't know, let's think about it and see what we come up with.” 

On Friday morning Leslie woke early and showered and dressed for the day before the rest of the family was awake. She hummed softly to herself as she started a load of laundry and also started a batch of cinnamon rolls. With the rolls in the oven she grabbed a red pen and a stack of papers. Sandy wanted her to finish grading the kids school papers before she did anything else, like go to Chad's good-bye party tonight. Leslie felt much like Cinderella and hoping she could get everything done in time and Sandy wouldn't think of any excuse for her not to go. She had just headed to the bathroom  when her cell phone rang. Before she could finish what she was doing, it stopped.

 “Oh, there you are!” Victoria said, as Leslie came out of the bathroom “There's a guy on your cell phone who wants to talk to you!” Victoria gave Leslie a knowing glance.

Leslie tried not to explode as she answered “Well, of course he wants to talk to me he called my cell phone didn’t he” Leslie grabbed the phone from her and headed to her room. 

Victoria smirked, “You’re going to get in so much trouble when I tell mom that you’ve got a boyfriend!” 

“I don’t either have a boyfriend” Leslie shouted over her shoulder “it’s probably someone from Burger King seeing if I can trade shifts or something” to her phone she said “Hello, this is Leslie?”

“Good morning, beautiful” At the sound of Jamie's voice Leslie nearly melted and almost forgot her lines.

“What seems to be the problem?” she asked trying not to sound too excited, in case Victoria was listening at the door.

“I'm missing my girl” Jamie said “I need a lot of loving today. Do you think you could come and help me with that?” Jamie said without missing a beat.

“I don't know” Leslie responded, trying not to snicker, “it's kinda short notice ... I'd have to ask”

“You do that” Jamie continued 

“I'll ask” Leslie said “Hold on” She opened the door again and waked down stairs “Sandy,” she called “it Burger King, they want me to come in and do some work, they're real busy and one of the guys is sick and couldn’t make it in, I could really use the extra hours...” she let her voice trail off.

“Fine with me if some one comes to get you, I'm not driving you back and forth all day.” Sandy yelled back.

“Hey, I'm back,” Leslie said to the phone “I can come in if someone comes and get's me” 

“Thanks, Les, you're an angel!” Jamie said “I’m already waiting at the station.” 

Leslie headed up stairs, grabbed her bag, that she usually carried her work clothes in, and her purse, slipped her phone in it and ran back downstairs and grabbed a roll as she headed out the door. Once outside she walked across the street and speed walked to the station, she smiled when she saw Jamie’s white Dodge pickup, parked by the curb “Need a ride?” he queried with a grin. Leslie climbed in and they were off. 

“Well, we pulled that off pretty well, don’t you think?” Jamie asked “By the way, who answered your phone?”  

Leslie rolled her eyes “Victoria, she is such a little snitch! You didn’t say anything did you?” 

“No, I knew it wasn’t your voice the minute she answered so I just asked for you I figured that was the safest thing to do.”

Leslie nodded Victoria was becoming such a pain, she was going to have to figure out a way to deal with her. Any guilt she felt for letting Sandy think she had to go in to work, was quickly replaced with anger at Victoria’s latest shenanigan, but she quickly pushed it all aside, there was no way she was going to let it ruin her day. 

 “I think we'll head to the PX first, get the cake, decorations, ice and anything else we can think of and then we'll go to the apartment and get everything set up. Blake and Justin said they would pick up the Pizza” Jamie said bringing her thoughts back to the present.

“Ok,” Leslie answered “you didn't give Chad any hints, did you?” she asked.

“Nope not a word” 

“Cool, you really think he'll like it?” Leslie asked a little unsure of whether Chad would really like a surprise party.

Jamie reassured her and soon they were very busy finding the items they needed for the party. After they were done at the PX, they headed to Jamie's apartment they were laughing and joking as they unloaded the truck and put up the decorations. Leslie was standing on a chair trying to hang up the banner they had just printed, she stretched and asked Jamie to hand her the tape. He walked up behind her putting one hand on her waist and with the other hand started tickling her under the arm, she squealed and twisted around, dropping the banner to floor.

“I like this,” Jamie said trying to pull Leslie to him. Leslie struggled to get away and lost her balance. As she started to fall, Jamie tried to catch her, but his weight only knocked both of them and the chair to the ground. He landed on top of her, his face inches from hers. Leslie giggled, Jamie leaned closer and kissed her, tentatively at first and then a little more eagerly as she responded, kissing him in return. Slowly he moved back “Sorry, I didn't mean to knock you down.” he said with a twinkle in his eyes. He stood and offered her his hand “Are you ok?” he asked as he pulled her to her feet. 

Leslie grinned “If you wanted to kiss me you could have just asked you didn't have to throw me to the floor” she teased.

“Well...” Jamie drawled “if I'd 've known that...” he winked at her “How about we trade jobs, you hand me the tape and I will hang this silly banner. If you didn't rip it with all your horsing around.”

“My horsing around...” Leslie sputtered, not sure what to think, she was reeling from her first kiss and he was acting as if it was nothing and giving her a hard time about messing up the banner, part of her wanted to cry, but she bit her lip and blinked back the tears as they hurried to finish decorating. They finished with plenty of time to spare so they went and sat on the couch and watch some TV. Jamie finally decided to broach the subject, “Hey, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have kissed you like that, it was your first kiss and it should have been special and I kinda blew it for you, I want to apologize.” 

“Oh, that's ok” Leslie said “it wasn't that bad. Of course I have nothing to compare it with, but I liked it.” She shrugged, feeling very awkward, because of her inexperience.

Jamie moved closer and put his arm around her “Well... would you like to try again?” he asked as he lowered his lips to hers. It wasn't a long kiss, but it took her breath away, she clung to him as he pulled away.

“Wow!” Leslie's eyes were huge “that was really nice, better then the one when I was pinned to the floor.” She said with a grin, as Jamie leaned in to kiss her again. They spent the next few minutes in each others arms, kissing and talking, dreaming of the future. 

Suddenly the back door banged open and Blake and Justin came in yelling “Surprise!!!” at the top of their lungs. Both Jamie and Leslie jumped, then they looked at the clock “Oh, my gosh, we got to get the rest of this stuff set up!” he exclaimed. Leslie jumped up and started setting out the cups and plates while the guys blew up the balloons. A task they were well suited for Leslie quipped since they were so full of hot air. 

When Chad finally made it home they all yelled “Surprise!” and Justin threw confetti right into Chad's very shocked face. 

The party was a blast, they played video games and Blake had brought over his ‘Tremors’ movies for every one to watch, Leslie curled up next to Jamie on the couch while they watched the movie, and all the guys teased her when she screamed! Since they watched all three movies, it was well after midnight when Jamie dropped her off at the Hollands. They said good bye with a quick kiss and Leslie quietly let herself in the house and tiptoed quietly to her room, it didn't matter though because as she passed Victoria's room she realized the bed was empty and that no one was home. Breathing a sigh of relief Leslie quickly got ready for bed and lay down. She replayed every moment of that wonderful day in her mind. And fell asleep thinking about, the feel of Jamie's lips against hers.

Chapter 6 - Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave...

For Leslie time seemed to drag a bit that evening, she could hardly wait to close the store and head home. She was even a bit put out when Sandy arrived on time, she was kinda hoping she would be late again so she would have an excuse to walk to the guard shack and talk to Jamie. As it was she had to put up with Victoria’s whining all the way home…once there, however, things brightened considerably Mrs. Holland had ordered pizza for the girls and was letting them stay up to watch the rest of “Pride and Prejudice” The kiss at the end was fabulous, Leslie positively got goose-bumps. As she headed to bed her phone rang, it was Jamie calling to say goodnight. She talked with him for a few minutes and they decided to go see another movie when she got back into town on Sunday. As she hung up, Leslie sighed with happiness, was this what it was like to be in love, to feel cared for and appreciated? “God,” Leslie whispered to the ceiling, “Please, let...” she paused should she really ask God to help her lie, “everything go good when I go home this weekend and give Jamie a good weekend too.” Wearily, Leslie crawled into bed and fell asleep dreaming of Jamie's arms around her. The next morning, Leslie helped Sandy grade the younger kids papers and did some touch up cleaning, she didn't want anything to make her suspicious when she told her about Sunday. She was still deliberating how to tell her when Victoria unknowingly gave her the perfect opportunity. “Hey, Leslie,” she said excitedly, “we can watch ‘Sense and Sensibility’ Sunday night when you get back from your folks” “Sorry, kiddo, my friend Jamie and I are going to the movies Sunday night when I get back ,” Leslie answered slowly “Oh, that reminds me, Sandy, you won't need to pick me up at the train station, Jamie is going to meet me there and then bring me home after the movie.” “Oh, who's Jamie? Do we know her?” Leslie breathed a sigh of relief, she was glad that Sandy had picked the feminine pronoun for Jamie so she wouldn't be lying when she responded “Oh, just one of the soldiers that comes into Burger King for lunch, we got to talking and realized we had a lot in common, so we decided to meet up and see a movie and hang out when I get back in town.” “That’s fine” Sandy said, “just don’t stay out to late. Oh, and, I hope I don't need to remind you of the no boyfriends rule!” Leslie smiled lazily “No, you don't have to remind me.” Luckily they were at the train station, so there was no more time for questions, Leslie jumped out of the van waved good-bye and hurried to catch her train. By the time she got to her next stop the sun was high in the sky and it was getting warm, Leslie daydreamed about what it would be like to take Jamie home to meet her family, what would her mom say? Leslie giggled to herself at the thought of taking Jamie home with her and introducing him as her husband, she figured they would be married before she could take him to meet the family, especially since no one thought she was old enough to do anything. Leslie really wanted to get married, she wanted someone to take care of her, and treat her special. She thought she had a realistic view of marriage, but in reality she had no idea how much work a relationship was. She figured they would get married and all of her problems would disappear. Sunday morning James got off work at 6 am and headed home, since there wasn’t a Baptist church on base, his routine pretty much stayed the same, the only difference is that he, Chad, and the guys would have their weekly Bible study and accountability check-in that afternoon. This was something they did in addition to meeting with the guys every morning for prayer. Jamie and Chad had done this together every week, since their senior year of high school. They had been to a youth conference (just for the guys) and the speaker had talked about the importance of having regular Christian fellowship, studying the Word with other believers so we don't become reliant on our own wisdom or interpretation of the Scripture. He had also talked about the importance of having some one that you were accountable to; for your walk with the Lord and your thought life. He had said this was especially important for men because as the head of their home they are the first point of attack and in a vulnerable position; a position that makes it easy for them to think that they have all the answers and get cocky, acting like little gods in their “kingdoms” and forgetting that they ultimately will answer to God for how they lead and treat their families. With great power comes great responsibility! Before they had even got home Jamie and Chad had sworn to be each other's accountability partners for life, when they had gotten to Germany they met Justin and Blake and had decided to form a bible study group based on those principles. Jamie woke up and went for his usual run and got ready for the day. He really wasn't looking forward to this meeting, he knew Chad would pick up on his feelings for Leslie and he was pretty sure he wouldn't agree with the course of action they had chosen. “Oh, well it can’t be helped, at least not right now. Maybe talking about it with Chad, and the guys, will help me see things clearer and come up with a solution for our predicament.” He thought as he showered and changed. When he returned to the living room the guys had already gathered, Jamie walked through to the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge trying to find something to eat. He found a pizza box that had half a pizza in it, after checking it carefully for mold, he threw a couple of slices on a plate and put it in the microwave. His quest for food successful, Jamie reached for his Bible to look up the verses they had been studying. “Let’s start with prayer requests today I have a rather important one,” Chad began “I got my orders...” he paused “I'm headed to Iraq. I leave the end of the month” Everyone present was torn, they knew the seriousness of his orders, they knew he was excited to get to be where there was some action, but they also knew his family would be worried sick about his safety. “Man I don’t know what to say,” Blake said “We’ll definitely be praying for you and for your family as well!” “Yeah, definitely” Justin echoed They talked and prayed together for some time, and since most everyone was focusing on Chad’s new orders the subject of Jamie and Leslie never came up and though he didn’t say anything Jamie was relieved. They were out shooting some hoops at the park when Jamie's cell phone rang. “Hello? Sergent Jamison speaking” “Hi, Jamie, it's Leslie.” “Leslie, how are you? I missed you so much.” “I'm great! I missed you too! I'll be at the Hauptbahnhoff in about 30 minutes.” “So, how was your trip home?” Jamie asked It was ok,” she said “I tried to convince Dad that I need to get my own place, but he got all upset and almost made me quit my job and move back home. Saying Mom needs my help there anyway. So, I don't think I'll bring it up again anytime soon. Other than that it was the same old, same old stuff, my brothers fought, my sister wined and I scrubbed the house for Sunday. And Mom and Dad fought again.” Leslie sighed as she ended her description of her weekend home. “I missed you and thought of you a lot” she added quickly. Jamie laughed “I missed you, too, and can't wait to see you again. How 'bout I get off of here and so I can come pick you up, Ok?” “Sound good. I'll see you in a bit” Leslie said as she hung up the phone. Suddenly, 30 minutes seemed like an awfully long time. To Jamie however it seemed just the opposite, he was wearing his dirty shorts and was covered in sweat. As he hung up the phone Chad turned to him and asked “Who was that?” “That, was Leslie.” Jamie answered, “I’m going to have to split. She’s on her way back into town and I got to go pick her up, we’re going to the movies this evening.” “Oh, really?” Chad teased “I think these two might need a little watching what you say guys, you want to go see a movie?” “Whoa, slow down I haven’t seen her in three days I sure don’t want to share her with you buffons! And secondly I got to get home and take a shower.” Jamie said as he headed to his truck. The guys followed. “So what does her family think of her dating any 'wild' soldier boy?” Justin asked. “Well, actually they don't know,” Jamie paused contemplating how to continue, “Leslie just casually mentioned that she had made a new friend, Jamie, and they assumed Jamie was a girl, and she didn't correct them.” “Wow, seriously, bro, do you think it's a good idea to be lying to her family?” Chad said. He held up his hand as Jamie tried to interrupt “even if it's only lying by omission.” Jamie sighed “I've gone over this and over this a thousand times, and I don't see any other way. We're not 'officially' dating, we're just friends, and it's not her family that has a problem with it, it's just the people she's living with and they don't really have any authority over her. So I think we're doing the best that we can considering the situation. I'm hoping maybe by Christmas we'll have figured out a better way. Maybe I can take leave and go meet her family.” “Wow” Blake exclaimed “I'm speechless. You're serious about this girl, aren't you? How long have you known her?” Jamie laughed “Two weeks. I know this sounds crazy, but I think she's the one” “I hope you're right and be careful. I don't want to have to come bail you out of trouble.” Justin said as the truck squealed to a stop in the driveway. Jamie threw the truck in park and bolted for the house peeling off his shirt as he went. “That boy’s got it bad!” Chad said as they followed him into the house. Thirty minutes later clean and fresh they walked into the train station. Jamie scanned the Arrival board “Ah, there it is. The 1:30 from Koblenz, Track 4b.” Leslie scanned the crowd waiting on the platform nervously, she hoped Jamie would be there especially since she had told Sandy not to pick her up, she also hoped that she wouldn't end up regretting going out with Jamie, she knew what could happen, of course, but she would just have to be very careful. Then she spotted him “Oh, my Gosh, he is sooo cute!” she thought to herself, “and he looks good in civilian clothes, too. Come to think of it this is the first time I've seen him out of uniform, he really makes jeans and a T-Shirt look good” she took a deep breath and tucked a stray curl behind her ear “I'm glad I changed into something more casual before I left.” she had almost tried to wear her church dress to the station, but had decided that would attract too much attention. The train pulled to a stop the doors opened and Leslie stepped from the train. “Wow,” Chad thought, standing next to his best friend, “I can see why you’ve fallen for her. She's beautiful, even in that simple jean skirt and pink blouse she looks stunning. With that blonde, curly hair softly framing her face she looks like an angel.” Jamie stepped forward “Hey, babe, you look great. Can I take your bag?” He asked, reaching for her suitcase as she walked toward him. “How was your trip?” “Yes, thank you.” Leslie answered, as he took the suitcase from her “The trip was ok. That last half-hour seemed to take forever, but I made it. So what movie are we going to see?” “Hello there, just where do you think you’re going?” Suddenly Chad stepped in front of Leslie, she looked around and noticed Justin and Blake circling around the other side. “Oh yeah,” James laughed, rolling his eyes “the guys thought we needed a posse of chaperones. Now our movie choices are: Legally Blonde 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, The Hulk, and Cheaper by the Dozen. So what's it going to be?” “Ooh, Cheaper by the Dozen sounds nice,” Leslie gushed, then checked herself, “ but why don't you guys pick something you would like to see” Leslie stammered to a halt, nervousness straining her features. “You two lovebirds decide,” Chad said leaning casually against the pillar “I'm just here to chaperon.” “Cheaper by the Dozen, it is then.”Jamie said briskly “It doesn't start for another two hours so Leslie and I are going to grab a bite to eat. I'm sure Leslie's hungry and I could do with some chow myself. The rest of you guys can come if you want but you’re paying for yourselves ” “You're always hungry,” Justin said rolling his eyes. “Oh, and you're not.” Jamie teased back “So where are we going to go try and fill your bottomless pit,” Blake asked “Actually, I was thinking maybe we could go to that little authentic German place on the Square. That is, if you wouldn't mind translating, Leslie.” “Of course not” Leslie replied “However, I do charge 50 bucks an hour for my translating services. Just to let you know.” Leslie busted out laughing at the looks on the boys faces.