The Last Hour Read Online Free PDF

leave them,” I said.
    Carrie bit her lip. “They’ll have each other’s clothes off in five more minutes if we don’t interrupt.”
    I shrugged, trying to sound casual. “Nothing wrong with that.”
    She snickered. “I don’t think campus security would agree.”
    I couldn’t stop myself. I looked at her and gave a slight leer. “Let’s find out.”
    She laughed then slapped me on the shoulder. “Not so fast, soldier. We just met.”
    “There’s always hope,” I replied. Then, in my best Harrison Ford imitation, I said, “I don’t know, what do you think? You think a princess and a guy like me….”
    “Oh, no. You did not just do that.”
    I tried to look innocent. “Do what?”
    “Quote Han Solo at me! I’m not that big of a geek.”
    “I am. Let’s go get the lovebirds. And I did not quote Star Wars at you. If I was, I’d be much smoother about it than that.” I winked at her, started to walk back toward Dylan and Alex, and said, “Come on, Princess.”
    She muttered, perfectly mimicking Princess Leia, “It’s a wonder you’re still alive.”
    That made me laugh out loud.  
    With a little bit of effort, we managed to pry Dylan and Alex apart long enough to get them to the curb so we could wave down a cab, and headed toward the party. The cab had one of those glass dividers you’d expect to find in a cop car, so the four of us had to cram into the back seat. Carrie and I were jammed pretty close to each other, a fact I was intensely aware of.  
    Here’s the thing. I enlisted summer 2009, which is when Dylan and I met in basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. God only knows why I picked Infantry, other than the fact there was a hell of a signing bonus, which combined with the GI Bill would easily pay for my last year of college when I got out. In any event, we spent our summer in the boonies in Georgia, then a year at Fort Drum, New York, which isn’t all that far from home for me, then it was off to Afghanistan, during which time my enlistment was involuntarily extended. That was all fine. Except for one thing. Here it was, the fall of 2012, and I hadn’t touched a girl since sometime in 2010. And here was this ... this goddess ... hip to hip with me ... and I was getting a raging hard on.  
    I really didn’t want to embarrass myself, or freak her out, or anything else, but I had zero control over this. It’s not like I sat there and said, “Oh, I’m going to get a giant erection and maybe I can get her to —” Never mind. Best not to complete that thought. I tried thinking of baseball scores, but the truth is, that never worked for me. It just made me picture her, with me, all alone on a baseball field checking out third base. Okay, time to muster the big guns. I called up in my memory the day we went through the gas chamber at Fort Benning, when we ended up breathing in tear gas, and puked and cried all the way back to the barracks.
    Still no dice. My boner was bigger than ever. Visibly so. I shifted in the seat, hoping to make it at least less um ... prominent, and that of course just produced a little friction between Carrie and me. Bad idea. Her skirt shifted when she got in the cab, riding up her hips, and this girl had fantastic legs. I was having a really hard time not touching them. I was having a hard time not making a complete ass of myself. I felt crazy self-conscious.
    She gave me a curious look, one eyebrow arched slightly higher than the other. “You’re awfully quiet.”
    I met her eyes. Nice eyes. “I’m trying to seduce you. If Star Wars references won’t work, I’m going to use my next strategy, which is to be tall, dark and mysterious.”
    She bit her lower lip and grinned. “Maybe you should try telling me about yourself?”
    “Not much to tell. Just a regular middle class guy who ran out of cash.”
    “What was it like in Afghanistan?”
    I had to fight off a grimace. One thing I was not talking about, with anyone, was the war. “Ask me something