Later that night, long after the tour and the quick write-up for the Public Relations office; after the flight status check and the quick dinner at the club, the drive home, Jim gave himself permission to think back on the day. He debated on whether to give Tony a call and opted not to, choosing to take a hot shower and go to bed early instead.

The water felt good, and even as he scrubbed, Jim Rhodes knew exactly what he was going to do. Usually he wasn’t particularly self-conscious about masturbating; years of military life had given him a pragmatic understanding of the needs of male physiology, but as he lathered himself up, he felt a hint of wistful embarrassment at how eagerly his erection rose at the memory of Jodie. He pressed one shoulder against the wet wall of his shower, closing his eyes as he slickly gripped himself, the soap lubricating his hot shaft.

So tempting. Big round breasts, and his breathing sped up as he imagined cupping them in his hands, pushing her shirt and brassiere up to uncover those luscious mounds. Jim imagined her excited whimpers, her sighs—yes, please, Jim, oh touch them, kiss them—

He groaned, caught up in the glorious fantasy, deliberately slowing down his strokes to make the pleasure last as he mentally contemplated the rest of his fantasy Jodie as well: slim waist, trim legs now parting for him, soft voice urging him on—Oh I want you so much, Jim. Please, please, I need you in me—

And GOD, what he’d do with her, Jim Rhodes admitted hungrily to himself. Foreplay lasting for hours. Kissing her everywhere on that pretty body of hers. Slow, slow, deeeep fucking into the small hours of the night, curling around Jodie just to wake up into a nice round of muff diving . . .

He grunted, fighting, but his climax surged hard and hot, splashing thickly against the shower tiles. Jim let his head drop back, savoring the sensation, legs a little shaky from the urgency, the sheer force of his orgasm. Slumping sideways against the wall, he caught his breath for a few minutes, letting the water rinse away the soap and semen, feeling the pang of melancholy loneliness that jacking off always left him with.

Fantasies were great, but they didn’t hold a lot of comfort in the aftermath; something else Jim Rhodes knew as he turned the water to cool and sighed. He stepped out, reached for a towel and dried himself off before catching a glance of his reflection in the steamed mirror.

He shook a finger at himself mockingly. “She is too young and she works for Tony,” he chided his image. “NO.” With a sigh, Jim stepped out and to his bed, feeling both relaxed and resigned.

Two weeks went by; Christmas was only one away before coincidence brought Jodie back into his orbit once more, and this time Tony couldn’t be blamed.

Jim hadn’t even planned to be there in the first place, but Jordan was a friend, and it was probably the last chance to catch a drink together before the man shipped out and they could meet up in Washington or SAC command in the next year. Jordan had always been a good guy and Jim owed him, so they met up at the Maverick and sat in the bar, reminiscing and sharing a round of beers.

After two hours of stories and camaraderie, Jordan reluctantly took off, promising Jim that they’d meet up again soon. “Dinner, with me, Molly and the kids, man. We’ll barbeque, okay?”

“You bet. I’m good for a steak, you know that.”

“Absolutely, you got it, Jim—you take care, man,” Jordan had promised, and slipped out, leaving Rhodes to finish the last of his beer and brood a little.

So many of his peers were married now, making plans that had more than one person to consider in them. Jim wasn’t envious, per se, but it did ache sometimes, to see people settling down around him. Hell, even Tony . . . .

As he finished up his beer and paid, he moved to the door, passing by the entryway to the main dining room. Familiar corkscrew blonde hair caught his eye; looking again, Jim realized it was Jodie, and that she was, or had been crying as she sat at a table on one side of the room.

He didn’t hesitate; with a few slow strides, Jim made his way to her and cleared his throat. Jodie looked up, going pink when their gazes met. “Mind if I join you?”

“Jim,” she sighed, running the heel of one hand along her cheekbone and smiling wanly. “I’m a mess, but it’s good to see you.”

He sat down and waited for her to compose herself, checking her over carefully; Jodie was in a denim skirt and cute little grey sweater, looking damned good in the low light of the restaurant despite her hastily wiped tears. She gave a sigh, and blinked at him, then laughed gently. “Did you ever have one of those days when you really should have stayed in bed instead of getting up?”

“Just about every time Tony calls me,” he replied wryly. “What’s wrong? How can I help?”

“You sure you’re up for this?” Jodie sighed. When Jim nodded, she took a breath and began. “Okay. I lost a contract with one of our distributors, I misplaced the keys to Dad’s van, my best goldfish died and to top it all, Dennis called and invited me here, then flaked out on me and now my car won’t start. I’m pretty sure it’s the solenoid because the battery won’t even turn over, so I’m debating on whether to call a tow truck, which will cost me, or call Dad, who’s still pissed at me.”

During this recitation, her voice trembled, and Jim leaned closer, dropping one big hand over hers. Jodie squeezed it gratefully as he spoke. “Yeah, that sounds like a ‘stay in bed’ day to me. Still, some of it is fixable. Have you eaten yet?”

Jodie shook her head. “No,” came her soft, embarrassed tone. “I didn’t bring any cash, and I need my card for the tow truck.”

“We both need to eat, then,” Jim told her firmly, amused at how her face looked up, stricken but grateful too. She started to shake her head, but he gripped her hand under his again. “On me. No arguments, Jodie. You need some sustenance, and I could use something in me too. After that, we’ll take a look at your car and see what’s going on with it, all right?”

It felt good to take charge, he thought. Comfortable and right, and it didn’t hurt at all to have beautiful Jodie looking at him with those big wet blue eyes of hers as if he were some sort of a hero.

“Jim--!” She tried one last protest, but he shook his head very gently.

“Just let me take care of you for a bit, okay? Sounds like you’ve already had enough to deal with for the time being. Let’s see if we can get a waiter over here and figure out what we want.”

She gave one last little sniffle and smiled at him over the candlelight, and Jim felt an amazing warmth smooth through his chest as he smiled back.

They had dinner, relaxing and talking all through it. Jodie explained that Dennis had finally agreed to meet her here to take back the ring, but before she could hand it over, he’d run into friends and stepped out with them nearly an hour and a half earlier. “He’s like that,” Jodie sighed. “Completely attention deficient, not that I want to badmouth anybody.”

“He just left you here?” Jim demanded, feeling a strong urge to kick ass. How anybody could ditch a deliberately scheduled date, much less Jodie was beyond his comprehension, and Jim hoped he had a chance to meet the idiot responsible. There would be a lesson involved, yes indeed.

“Yeah,” Jodie mumbled, her face pink. “I tried to go home, but the car . . . so I was trying to figure out what to do when you walked by.”

“You have my number,” he reminded her gently. “You could have called me. Anytime.”

“Really?” Jodie murmured. “I . . . I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Not an imposition, I promise you,” came Jim’s assurance. “I just count myself lucky to have been here tonight. I’ve always wanted to rescue a damsel in distress.”

Her giggle bubbled out. “Well you definitely qualify as my knight in shining armor, I promise you. I feel so much better.”

“Good,” Jim nodded, pleased. “And for the record? I think you really should sell that ring. Keep the money, do the charity thing if you want, but the man’s had his chance twice and blown it. You’re much better off without him.”

“You’re right,” Jodie agreed. “Heck, I should leave it as a tip for the waiter.”

“No way,” he grinned, “you’re not getting engaged to anybody else when I’m around.”

Her gaze flickered to his, startled, but he refused to qualify the statement, and pointed his fork to her plate instead. “Your dinner’s okay?”

The half-eaten pesto sat there, and Jodie looked up. “I’m just slow, but it’s really good. Want some?” Shyly, she held out her fork, a long curl of pasta wrapped neatly around the tines. Jim looked at it, aware of the intimate trust of such a gesture. A little warning echoed in his thoughts, but he ignored that and took the offered mouthful, enjoying the basil, rosemary and parmesan.

“Nice,” he told her. “Steak?”

“Sure,” she murmured, and accepted the tidbit he cut and speared, nipping it daintily off his proffered fork. After a few chews, Jodie swallowed and gave a nod. “Yeah, I like mine medium rare too.”

“I’m a civilized carnivore,” he told her. “At least in public.”

It was fun to make her laugh, Jim decided. Jodie liked both sophisticated and silly jokes. She didn’t make fun of him for being serious about certain things, and it wasn’t hard to make conversation with her. By the time they’d both finished dinner, the mood at the table with pleasantly mellow.

Jodie sighed happily. “Okay, I’m fortified enough now to deal with the car, Dad and Dennis.”

“Yeah, well I think we can drop that last jerk out of the equation,” Jim grumbled good-naturedly. “Honestly woman, just mail him the ring and be done with it.”

“That,” Jodie smiled, “is a great idea, Jim. Thank you.”

They strolled out of the Maverick; Jodie had slipped her arm though his, and together they made their way to the green Toyota pickup truck on the far side of the parking lot.

“Yeah, solenoid’s shot,” Jim agreed as he listened to the feeble clicks when Jodie twisted the key in the ignition. “I know a place where you can get the work done for under three hundred though.”

Although Jodie protested again, he called his insurance and arranged for roadside service to tow it in.

“You can’t just keep, you know, saving me!” Jodie grumbled sweetly. “I can pay for the towing.”

“I’m not saving you, I’m making things easier,” Jim replied. “You’ve got better things to use that card for than this. Come on, I’ll take you home once the tow truck’s here.”

He settled her into the passenger side of his Lexus and after a few directions, drove. Next to him Jodie sat silently for a while; he risked a few sidelong glances at her, hoping she wasn’t angry.

Jodie finally spoke up, her voice soft, but firm. “Turn left up at the next stoplight. It’s the big yellow house on the corner.”

Jim did, pulling into the driveway of a two story home with a lot of blinking Christmas lights strung along the eaves and front bushes. It was a cheery sight, and for a moment Jim felt an unnamed longing as he looked at it. Next to him, Jodie gave a soft sigh.

“I’m sorry I’ve been giving you a hard time, Jim,” she confessed in a low voice. “I’m not used to people just . . . helping me out of a jam. Especially without being asked.”

“Like I told you: it’s my pleasure,” he replied, a sense of satisfaction in his voice. “And who knows? Someday you may end up coming to my rescue.”

She laughed. “I’d do it, sure. They don’t make guys like you anymore, James Rhodes!”

“That’s probably a good thing, too,” he sighed. “Anyway, let’s get you inside.”

He insisted on walking her to the front door; impulsively Jodie turned and slipped her arms around his ribcage, hugging him tightly. “Thank you, for everything!”

Startled, Jim froze for a split-second, but the warm squeezable temptation of the woman in his arms overrode any doubts, and he hugged her back, thrilled by the press of her topography against his.

Jim knew he was being a sexist pig, but he couldn’t quite control his body’s lean into hers, and the way his arms tightened around her slender spine. Jodie rested her cheek against his shoulder and gave a happy little chirp, cuddling with him. “Oh yes, I knew, I knew you’d be a great hugger!”

“Look what I have to hold,” he replied, his voice a little strangled. That made her giggle, and when she giggled, she jiggled.

Jim bit back a moan.

Jodie kept hugging him, her giggle fading into a soft, contented sigh, and Jim let one hand stroke her back, savoring the nearness of her, the sweet scent of some light perfume and her clean skin. She was folded up against him now, fitting into the comfort of his embrace, and Jim realized he really, really didn’t want to let go.

So he didn’t.

And neither did Jodie.

“This is good,” she murmured after a long, quiet while. Jim made a low sound that clearly agreed with her assessment, but after a few more seconds, he reluctantly began to shift away from her. Parts of him disliked this course of action, particularly the ones that had been closest to Jodie only moments before.

“Jodie,” he began slowly, seriously. She looked up at him, her expression sleepy and sweet.

“I know, I know—you’ve got to get going. But I’m going to pay you back for that dinner and tow job as soon as I can, you hear?”

“That’s . . .” Not what I was going to say, Jim thought, and didn’t verbalize it. Instead he finished up with, “okay. No need to pay anything back.”

“But I want to,” she countered with a firmness he was beginning to recognize. “You’ve gone out of your way tonight, and besides, it will give me a chance to see you again.”

In the face of her arguments, Jim found himself smiling once more, amused and slightly perplexed by Jodie Zody’s determination. “Oh we’ll be seeing each other again, I’m pretty sure of that.”

“You bet!” Jodie enthused. She gave him one last, quick hug, then unlocked her door and slipped inside, her little whispered, “Goodnight, Jim,” floating behind her.

Jim stood for a moment, wondering whether to kick himself now or later. He made his way back to his car, shaking his head, and smiling despite himself as the fresh memory of hugging Jodie lingered pleasantly in his thoughts.