"Hey."
A voice from the living room.
"Hey, yourself," I said, looking out of my bedroom.
Caryn, my neighbor from three doors down stood just inside the doorway of my apartment. She closed the door and leaned against the entryway as I walked out of the bedroom.
We met when she moved in just over a year ago, and within a month, we were fast friends. It was like we'd known each other for years. We hadn't exchanged keys, but we looked out for one another, and we hardly ever knocked if the front door was unlocked, something that had resulted in both of us getting an eyeful more than once.
As a result of one such instance, I knew Caryn shaved all but a tiny patch of hair from her pussy. I also knew that not only did she have a nipple pierced, but her favorite adornment was a small gold hoop earring that perfectly framed her bud of rose-hued flesh.
"I heard," she said as her hands made contact with my chest.
A moment later, her arms were around my neck, and instead of what was normally a warm, affectionate hug, I found myself consumed by Caryn's embrace as she clung to me, molding her body desperately to mine. My arms wrapped around her, and as I held her, I breathed in her scent, inhaling the freshness of her skin and the pleasant odor of the shampoo that had cleansed her hair.
Caryn was wearing tight shorts and a scant, spaghetti strap tank top. The shorts were nothing new; she wore tight, often brief clothing regularly. But the tank top she was wearing was new, at least I'd never seen it before, and as we held each other, I became aware of two things; she wasn't wearing a bra, and my cock was getting hard.
Right before she'd arrived, I'd just finished taking a shower, tossing on a mere pair of gym shorts and t-shirt to go downstairs. As Caryn continued to hold herself against me and bury her face in my neck, I knew she had to be aware of my cock beginning to press into her.
We'd never slept together. We'd made out on occasion... she's a really good kisser... and we'd groped each other a bit, but we'd always put the brakes on, never allowing ourselves to progress to the point of being true 'friends with benefits' or something more. It was an awkward balance we maintained; I knew I had a better relationship with her than I did with any woman other than my sister.
Caryn kissed me softly on the neck, and as she loosed her hold on me, her hand caressed my face, she kissed my cheek and then kissed me softly on the lips.
"You heard..." I looked at her quizzically. "Oh. Yeah. That."
I'd been gone for more than six weeks. Training. All the result of a very much short notice notification that I would be filling a vacancy in a unit deploying to Iraq. This would be my second deployment overseas as a reservist.
"How long are you home for?" she asked.
I was home for a week, then I'd be gone for two more. After that, one more week to wrap up personal affairs, and then I'd leave and be gone for the better part of a year.
"Isn't all of this kind of sudden?" she asked as her hands slid down my chest and she backed away to lean against the sofa. One of the straps of her tank top slid off her shoulder. The top clung to her, and yet, it appeared loose enough that it would fall away but for the straps.
"Yeah, it is," I said. I'd known getting tapped for the mission was possible, but notification had been short. I'd had three days notice prior to reporting for initial training. Caryn hadn't been home when I left for training. "But I have a specialty they need, so..."
"How are your folks taking it?" she asked.
"Mom cried," I said. "Dad's being pretty stoic. On the phone, anyway. I'll see them right before I leave."
"How's Kim taking it?"
Kim. My sister. She's two years younger than I am, and even though we live a couple of hours apart, it's like we're symbiotically connected to one another.
"She's pretty upset," I said. "She'll be here tomorrow and stay with me the rest of the week."
I walked past Caryn into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
"I don't have a lot in here..." I said.
Caryn grabbed my arm for balance as she leaned past me and reached into the fridge, grabbing at a bottle of water.
"Never thought I'd see bottled water in your refrigerator," she said.
She remained leaned over, looking into my fridge. I stole a glance at the shadowed depth of her cleavage.
"I never thought I'd sweat as much as I have the last six weeks, either," I said. "Three weeks of temperatures over a hundred, humidity at or above fifty percent, and full body armor to boot."
"It's gonna suck overseas."
"It will," I said, "but the humidity is a lot lower, so it won't be so bad." I opened my own bottle of water. "That's what I keep telling myself, anyway."
"But you're putting your whole life on hold for a year," she said, shaking her head.
"Done it before," I said. "Now, I get to do it again."
"So everything goes on pause?" Caryn asked. "And you're okay with that?"
I nodded.
"I had a chance to get out."
She shook her head again.
"I go over," I said, "do my tour and come home. I'm not the first; I won't be the last. Life goes on."
"What about your stories?" she asked. "Don't you have several stories you're working on? Some sequels?"
I've been writing stories and posting on Literotica for more than three years. Caryn discovered this a couple of years ago and enjoys reading my stories. She was as anxious to read them as I was to finish writing them.
I shrugged.
"I'll keep writing," I said. "Whether or not I can post them is another matter. I won't know about any of that until I get there and see what kind of internet access I have available. But there's a good chance I won't be able to post anything until I get back."
We walked into the living room.
"It seems like your shoulders have gotten broader," she said as her fingers danced along my upper arm.
"Probably," I said, flopping down on the sofa. "I've lost eight pounds since I left six weeks ago."
"I can't say a lot for your tan, though," she said. Her fingers continued to dance on my arm.
My skin transitioned from a dark, even tan that stopped at my wrist, to skin that had obviously been concealed from the sun's rays. The back of my neck was even darker.
"You're looking good," I said. "Tan, relaxed..."
"Thanks," she said, flashing me a smile as she hopped off the couch. "My tan lines are almost non-existent."
She hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her shorts and pushed down gently, exposing most of her hips. Along with the light blue band that was the edge of her panties, I could see only the faintest of tan lines skirting her skin. She pulled her shorts back into place and grabbed at the hem of her tank top, lifting it almost all the way up, the fingers of one hand shielding most of her breast from view, revealing what looked to me to be an evenly bronzed globe of flesh.
Caryn pulled her shirt back down; I still had enough to look at to tempt my eyes, as the one strap still dangled off her shoulder.
I could feel my cock throb with renewed interest.
Caryn flopped down on the couch next to me, pulling my arm around her, draping it so my hand very nearly rested on her breast.
We sat there chatting for the next several minutes, and whether she was doing it intentionally or not, Caryn was teasing and enticing me, and my cock began to throb, begging to be noticed.
"So," Caryn said, as she slowly wound her fingers into mine. "Can I ask you a... personal question? I mean, not that it's any of my business."
"I guess," I replied.
Caryn licked her lips and smiled.
"When's the last time you had sex?" she asked.
I inhaled sharply. Didn't see that coming.
My cock was a bulge in my shorts. Look at me, it was saying.
"Uh... "
"I mean, did you hook up while you were gone? Are you seeing anyone?" she asked.
"No," I replied. "They frown on us hooking up with other female soldiers. And, no, I'm not seeing anyone. The only women in my life are you and Kim."
Caryn let go of my hand; my fingers landed on her bare, warm skin. I could feel a warm glow enveloping her body.
"The reason I was asking," she said, leaning forward, "is that I couldn't help but notice..."
I followed her eyes down to my crotch. Her hand seemed to want to reach out; it hovered between us.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't put on much in the way of clothes before you came over."
Caryn shook her head.
