Her Private Party (The Fireworks Series) Read online

  Pushing the morbid thought from my head, I keep walking. Mayor Wilton Rosedale, Milltown’s mayor, is talking to a half-dozen people on the sidewalk in front of City Hall. He’s in his usual suit and tie, despite the heat. There are only a few months left in his third term, then he’ll step aside and a new mayor will be elected. It’ll seem strange, because Mayor Rosedale is the only mayor I’ve ever known. Curious, I stop to listen.

  “… and we can’t forget the brave men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line for our sake, to make Milltown a safer place and to keep the United States of America a free country.”

  Great. Now I’m back to thinking about soldiers putting their lives at risk. Wonderful.

  As I walk away from City Hall, I get the saddest thought: What if something happens to Titus during his time in the Marines? What if he’s badly injured, or even worse? What if he never knows what’s it’s like to be with a woman? And once again I wonder how the hell he managed to remain a virgin at age nineteen.

  I pass by the Stars & Stripes, one of our local bars and the one that rightly gets all the attention over the Independence Day holiday. Out front, I see Roxy Harding, the bartender, putting letters into a marquee sign near the sidewalk. Roxy is a gorgeous redhead with a personality to match. She’s divorced with a couple of kids, and every day she walks them to her parents’ house so they can watch them while she’s working the bar.

  “Hey, Rox,” I say. “Did you have a big night last night?”

  “Oh hey, Holly. Last night was kinda crazy, but tonight will be utterly insane. It’s our biggest night of the year, what with all the out-of-towners coming in for the fireworks.”

  Milltown’s fireworks show is a really big deal, with people coming from up to two hours away to watch. All the hotels book up a month in advance and the bars and restaurants that stay open on the Fourth get really crowded.

  “I saw you leaving the bakery yesterday morning with a gorgeous man on each side of you,” Roxy says.

  “Yeah, Clint and Titus are leaving for basic training tomorrow. Tonight’s their last night.”

  Roxy grins. “I hope you’re giving them both a big send-off.”

  “Clint and I might have made some plans,” I reply with a devious smile. “I couldn’t let him leave without something to remember Milltown by.”

  “And Titus? He’s a hunk.” She laughs and leans close to whisper. “Why choose between the two? If I were your age, I’d do them both.”

  I’m about to reply when I see a naked old man walking up the sidewalk towards us.

  “Uh oh,” I warn. “Here comes Naked Dick.”

  Dick Freeman is a hippie in his sixties who’s been a nudist as far back as I remember. Milltown’s only nudist, probably. He’s thin and bald with a silver ponytail.

  And did I mention he’s naked? Tanned ALL over, with white body hair. Milltown cops got tired of arresting him for public indecency, only to lose in court because Dick has a really good lawyer. So instead, they told him he can be naked on his own front porch, but if he steps off his property, he needs to at least wear a little penis pouch to prevent the kids from seeing his dangling man-part.

  The people in town pretty much just treat him like a normal person at this point, since he's proven to be harmless.

  “Good day, ladies,” he says as we step off the sidewalk to let him pass. Neither of us wants him to bump into us.

  “Hello, Dick,” Roxy says. We stare in awe at his leathery butt.

  Roxy whispers, “I heard Mayor Rosedale asked him to please at least wear shorts to the town square for the fireworks.”

  I laugh. “We’ll see if Dick can stand to be covered up like that.”

  Finished with her sign, she says bye and heads across the parking lot to the Stars & Stripes. After a few feet, she calls my name.

  I turn around and see that fiery hair and larger-than-life look that sets Roxy apart from everyone else in town.

  “Just between us, I did it once years ago.” When I shrug in confusion, she explains. “A Marine sandwich. One of the most fun nights of my life.”

  Her smile is wide and exuberant as she thinks about what was obviously a spectacular memory. Then she heads back toward the bar door.

  Without turning around, she says loudly, “You only live once, Holly.”

  A honk outside signals the arrival of my two dates for the fireworks show. I shout to my folks that I’m leaving, then step out to see a particularly stimulating sight.

  Clint and Titus, leaning against Clint’s pickup wearing jeans and T-shirts. Just two seriously hot guys casually looking sexy as fuck.

  Clint’s black jeans and gray shirt actually don’t hold a candle to Titus’s blue jeans and white shirt.

  They both hear the door shut behind me at the same time and look up, grinning. There’s something suspicious about that grin, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

  “I know that look, boys. What kind of trouble are you thinking about getting into?”

  They look at each other, then Clint says, “We’re both about to be Marines; this is our last night to get into trouble.”

  “Good point,” I say as Titus opens the passenger door. “I’ll be your chaperone tonight to make sure you don’t do something stupid.”

  We drive into town and Clint parks just off the alley behind Brock’s auto repair shop just a block away from the town square.

  As the three of us step out onto Magnus Street, we see a throng of people have gathered. Probably half are tourists, maybe more, but that’s how Milltown pays its bills. Between the Fourth of July fireworks show and the recreational stuff at Lake Jefferson, the city’s budget gets refilled nicely every summer.

  The sun has already dipped below the horizon, so as quickly as possible we find a place to lay out our blanket and drop the little cooler and picnic basket. I look around to see who’s here and I only spot a handful of locals.

  “Come on, sit down and have a patriotic drink with us, Holly,” Clint says, patting the blanket between them. Titus fishes out three bottles of soda, opening each and pouring about a quarter of the Coke into the same red Solo cup. As he finishes one, he reaches across me to hand it to Clint, who lowers it into the picnic basket and carefully fills it again from a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, keeping it out of sight as much as possible.

  When Titus reaches over with the last bottle, I see his bicep right in front of me and can’t help but squeeze it with both hands. It’s rock hard, and I turn to him and say, “You been working out, Titus? That is one seriously hard muscle.”

  He grins, then Clint leans over and says, “Everything about Titus is hard tonight.” Then he laughs as Titus’s cheeks turn pink.

  I have to laugh, too. We toast to them becoming Marines, then settle in to enjoy the evening. In the middle of a conversation about Serena taking over Milltown Bakery, and Dave and Clara hitting the road in their RV, I see a familiar sight walking towards me.

  “This must be my lucky day,” I say. “I’m seeing Dick all over the place.”

  The guys bust out laughing, and this time I’m the one to blush. “No, you buttheads. That Dick.”

  I point to the naked man walking in our general direction. Dick evidently refused Mayor Rosedales’s request that he wear shorts for tonight’s festivities. Instead he’s got a sparkly red, white and blue pouch covering his junk. For good measure, he’s also got a sparkly hat, red and blue with white stars.

  Behind him, people stare and laugh or cluck their tongues in disapproval.

  “Second time today,” I say. “Saw him in front of the Stars & Stripes earlier.”

  “He’s quite the patriot tonight,” Clint says.

  “He even brought his patriot missile,” Titus replies, and we all three burst into laughter.

  By the time it begins to darken, we’ve all got a nice little buzz going. Titus excuses himself to go talk to his nearby aunt and uncle.

  I look around at the growing crowd. “It seems more crowded tonight t
han last year. That’s great for the restaurants and hotels.” Then a thought hits me and I panic. I turn to Clint and say, “Shit! We totally forgot to make reservations!”

  Damn it. This is really disappointing. We both still live at home, and I don’t want to just drive out onto some dirt road out of town and throw a blanket in this truck bed like we used to do.

  Clint is smiling, though. He reaches into his back pocket and produces a thick, shiny card, handing it to me. On one side is a picture of Lake Jefferson, and on the other it says, “Goldmine Hotel.”

  My breath hitches. The Goldmine is the closest thing Milltown has to a real luxury hotel. It sits on the shore of the lake, and the more expensive rooms overlook the water.

  “Top floor, lake side,” Clint smiles.

  “Oh my god, you are really on top of things.”

  “I soon will be,” he winks.

  I kiss him sweetly on the lips. “You definitely will,” I say, looking into his eyes. The bourbon has warmed me up, inside and out.

  “Thinking about tonight?” he asks.

  “I have been all day. I have a question for you, baby.”

  “You must want something. You haven’t called me baby in a while.”

  I feel a little sheepish, but when I lean towards him and press my breast against his arm, it goes away and it replaced by a little fire that’s been smoldering in my brain all day. Fully aware that if this goes wrong, it could make the rest of the night a little uncomfortable, I proceed anyway.

  “Clint, was that just drunk talk last night? About inviting Titus to come to the hotel with us?”

  I prepared for weirdness, but instead I just get a little smirk. “Why are you asking?”

  Steeling myself, I use the sexiest voice I can muster and say, “I thought it might be fun for me to give both of you the proper send-off you deserve. If both of you want to, that is.”

  I can tell right away Clint is on board. I shouldn’t be surprised; when it comes to sex, Clint will try pretty much anything, and enthusiastically. I’m pretty sure there are things he’s thought of doing to my body that would require a third party.

  “If my ex-girlfriend, Holly Jones the prom queen, wants to get freaky, count me in.”

  I relax a little and breathe. “How do we know if Titus wants to?”

  “I guess you’ll just have to ask him,” Clint says with a grin. Damn, I was hoping he’d take care of that.

  I don’t have time to think about it, though, because Titus chooses that moment to return and sit. He and Clint mix up three more Jack and Cokes, and I drool at that hard bicep every time it moves in front of me.

  Roxy was right, life is short. I want this. I want it for me, and I want it for these two guys I care for so much. Nobody else will ever know.

  “Hey, Holly has an offer for you,” Clint says as he passes the last bottle back down.

  Shit. I guess I’m going to do this right now, aren’t I?

  I smile and look into Titus’s amazing slate eyes. I love the tenderness I see there, and I know immediately how much I’d love to be his first.

  “Titus, would you like to come with us to the Goldmine after the fireworks?”

  “To get a drink?” he asks, thinking of the bar there. Obviously, he’s not quite getting the scope of my question.

  “No,” I say. “To come up to the room with us.”

  When Titus realizes what my invitation actually entails, he looks stunned. He leans forward and looks past me at Clint, who just smiles and shrugs his shoulders. “It’s our last night before boot camp. Holly wants to give us a little going-away present.”

  Titus’s gaze turns to me again and I feel my shoulders and chest rising with every breath. This is such a vulnerable moment for him, but also for me.

  Please don’t say no, I think. It would be awkward every time I see you from now until forever.

  “Definitely,” he says without ever taking his eyes off mine.

  Our little moment is interrupted by a loud squeal in the public address systems. Titus and I both look at the stage just in time to hear the usual thump-thump-thump of Mayor Rosedale testing the microphone. It’s gotten dark enough for them to turn on the lights.

  “Hello?” He stands at the podium. Surrounding him are several small platforms reserved for military, police and firefighters. Despite the heat, they’re all in uniform.

  Thump.

  “Is this thing on?

  Thump-thump.

  “Can you hear me?”

  Finally he begins, and I settle in, hyper-aware of the heat in my body. I’m also pretty sure there’s a little more coming from both sides of me.

  “Welcome my fellow Americans and residents and guests of Milltown. We are honored to have you here with us tonight to celebrate our nation’s birthday. Some of you have attended our annual July Fourth in Milltown celebration since you were too young to remember, and others, this may be your first time. Whatever the case may be, I hope you enjoy the show and remember that our freedom is the cornerstone of our country and we’ve fought to continue our independence for well over 200 years. And in the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.’ Enjoy the show!”

  Everyone cheers, the lights go off again, and anticipation begins to build.

  And on our blanket, the anticipation for the show-after-the-show is already palpable.

  I reach to my left and take Clint’s hand in mine.

  Then I reach to my right and take Titus’s as well.

  My nerves are jittery as fuck as we walk the few blocks from the square to the Goldmine.

  The three of us are still holding hands. People who pass us smile like it’s cute. They wouldn’t be smiling if they knew how dirty I plan to get with these guys.

  While waiting for the hotel’s elevator, I stand between them.

  “So we’re really gonna do this,” Clint says, not really asking, but seeming to want to confirm it in his own mind.

  I smile but don’t say anything. Then I feel Titus’s hand pulling on mine and he brings us all to a stop.

  “Holly, are you sure about this?” he says. It’s so sweet. Like the people who thought we were cute, poor Titus has no idea what a dirty girl I can be when I want to.

  And I want to tonight, with both of these young men.

  “Am I sure I want to get naked with two hot guys?” I ask mischievously. “Hmmm… let me think this over.” I cast my eyes upward for all of one second, then the elevator door opens. I step in, pulling them both in with me as I say, “Hell yeah I do! But keep in mind that this is a one-time thing. It’s a special occasion because you’re both leaving.”

  The doors shut and Clint turns me so that he’s behind my back. His hands go quickly from my waist to my tits, squeezing them. Titus is momentarily stunned. I smile up at him just as Clint lifts my shirt up, exposing the new wine-colored sheer lace bra I’d bought just for the equation. My nipples pucker immediately. I already know Titus likes my big tits, because I’ve caught him staring at them a few times over the years when we were hanging out at Lake Jefferson.

  Titus looks at my tits until Clint’s hands find them again. Prying his eyes away, he looks into my eyes, then leans down and puts those full lips against mine.

  I suddenly feel like I’ve gone to heaven. Titus’s tongue slips between my lips and seeks out my own. I used to dream about this moment, back when I thought Titus might like me. How strange that it took this arrangement before I finally got a chance to kiss him.

  As the kiss grows hotter and hotter, something firm presses against my ass and I smile inside, knowing that Clint’s always dependable hard-on has already arrived. Out of curiosity, I reach down and search for the front of Titus’s pants. What I find there is a very hard lump.

  A very hard, very large, lump.

  Who knew? This will be even more fun than I had expected.

  The elevator dings and in a heartbeat w
e’ve all got our hands to ourselves again as I yank my shirt back down just before the door opens. I’m standing there with excited men on either side. Two boners in anticipation of getting into bed with me. My heart skips a beat just thinking about what’s to come.

  We step out into an empty hallway. Seconds later we’re in our room, and I’m looking out the large window at Lake Jefferson with a nearly full moon in the distance. The fireworks were amazing, as usual, but nothing can beat this view.

  I turn around quickly and catch my two dates for tonight staring at my ass. I walk to the desk where Clint has put the paper bag with our remaining Jack Daniel’s. We don’t need Coke anymore, but ice is a must. Picking up the ice bucket, I say, “I’m going to go get us some ice. I want both of you boys in your underwear when I get back.”

  Time to turn up the teasing.

  I stop at the door, turn to face them, and set the ice bucket down. Both guys are still staring, so I take off my shirt and drop it on the floor. That’ll give them something to think about while I’m gone. I turn to leave, but the bourbon I’ve been drinking dares me to go one step further. Facing the door, I remove my bra and hold it behind my head for a second before letting it go. Then I walk out into the hallway, feeling every bit the daring badass.

  I find the ice machine just down the hall. I’d be embarrassed if anyone sees me like this, but it’ll be worth it because right now, I know the two guys are imagining me out here like this. I quickly fill up the bucket and head back toward the room. Suddenly a door opens and an old man steps out with his own ice bucket, not twenty feet in front of me. He stares as I walk past with my big tits proudly on display.

  I hope the old guy doesn’t have a heart attack.

  I open the door and step back in to the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. Two tall young men with absolutely chiseled bodies, standing there with lust in their eyes and bulges in their boxer briefs.

  “Nice,” I say, looking them over. “You soldiers are already obeying orders.”

  I set the bucket on the desk and approach them, running my hands over their hard pecs and flat stomachs. There’s not an ounce of fat on either of these bodies. My heart beats faster and I feel the warm wetness between my legs.