Friend Zoned

Still steaming with anger Wedge headed out and got in Juvat 4 and waited for his crews to climb aboard. Meanwhile, Josh stepped out of the office and stood by the door to prevent anyone from interrupting Sammy's little talk with Lieutenant Kenosha. Sammy closed the shades and turned to the oblivious lieutenant. "Son, we're going to have a talk..."

"Son?" said Second Lieutenant Keith Kenosha. "You are not my father."

"I was abbreviating," and for Lieutenant Kenosha the talk went downhill from there.

Out on the flight line Wedge set out his fireguards and pulled up at his usual parking spot next to Roxie's truck. She looked over and hopped out of her truck to talk to Wedge. "Don, take the helm," said Wedge and he climbed out of the truck while Airman First Class Don Davis climbed in the driver's seat. Wedge and Roxie held each other gently through their heavy field jackets, Roxie fitted hers with a fur lined hood which looked cute on her.

As he explained what happened with Lieutenant Kenosha he said, "I ordered all the weapons guys to call the MARS station this weekend."

"We're going to be so busy," she sighed. At the MARS station Wedge gets on the radio and patches calls home over the air, Roxie hangs out with Henry's wife Chu and makes snacks for the guys manning the radios and telephones. The new guy in her shop asked about the MARS station and started showing up with his wife Lanh. It's a fun group and it guarantees her a place in line to call home to mom every Saturday and Sunday.

<><><><><>

They spent Christmas Eve at the MARS shack patching phone calls stateside over high frequency (shortwave) radio and as Roxie predicted, they were busy. However, before they opened for business the Chaplain walked in. He's there quite often and they have him on speed dial because when they have a phone call go bad he's quite often needed. With the chaplain was Colonel Getz the Wing Commander, Lt. Colonel Snyder, commander of the 35th Fighter Squadron and Lt. Colonel Walker of the 80th Fighter Squadron. They brought a fifth of scotch to help celebrate the holidays and they thanked and congratulated the volunteers. "Wedge and Roxie, I should have known," grinned LTC Walker. "Why is it every time I turn around, you two are right there in the thick of things?"

Roxie gave LTC Walker a kiss on the cheek and said, "It's because we love you."

After a long, busy night of patching phone calls home, Wedge and Roxie walked back to the dormitories hand in hand in the gentle snow fall. "This is really pretty," said Roxie, "This is the first real snow that I've ever seen. We don't get snow at Luke." Luke was a base in Arizona, and she spent most of her career there.

"This is what I grew up with, it feels weird when I don't see snow at some point during the winter," said Wedge.

"This is my first white Christmas," she said as they walked between the airman's dorms. "What?" she asked, seeing the look on Wedge's face.

"I'm waiting for the White Christmas with a White Guy remarks."

"No! I'm not that crass... besides... it kinda goes without saying, doesn't it?" and she took off running before Wedge could grab her.

They ended up in her room which was more wide-open than Wedge's room. She had a small Christmas tree in one corner and lights strung around the room. They kicked off their snowy mukluks at the door and as she unbuttoned Wedge's flannel shirt she said, "I don't know if I'm ready, but we can compromise, can't we?"

"Of course," said Wedge softly, "I've never really had much experience so I guess we'll see what we can see." His fingers were busy on her buttons trying to open her blouse and feeling so incompetent at the simple task.

"You're a virgin?"

"No, but I spent most of my life in the friend zone, so my experience is minimal."

"There's no Missus Wedge from your past sucking your paycheck dry?"

"No, I have always been seen as a friend, very rarely a lover."

"Gawd damn you know some stupid women! But I have you all to myself and I get to slow walk you right where I want you," she said as their lips met and their shirts dropped to the floor. Wedge reached behind her and with four snaps unfastened her bra. Her breasts were large and heavy, and his hands cupped them and gently massaged them. Her nipples were hard and getting harder and he began to twirl them between thumb and forefinger as they kissed.

"Honey, you're shaking!"

"I'm terrified," said Wedge. "I'm afraid I'm going to do something stupid, and this is going to end, or that this is all a dream and I'm going to wake up alone..." his voice choked up as he admitted his fears to her.

"No, not this time. We're here together to the end," she said with a gentle smile.

"This is the Best Christmas ever," he sighed which caused her to start laughing.

"Silly! There's more to come," she said as he sat in her easy chair and pulled her into his lap putting her breasts in line with his mouth. He began nibbling and suckling on a breast and she gasped, it's been a long time since such exquisite thrills rolled through her body, she clasped her hands to his head and held his mouth to her breast. So good... so perfect... He nipped at her nipple sending a shock of delicious pain through her and she squeaked.

"Sorry," gasped Wedge.

"Don't apologize for awesome," she whispered and ran her hand through his hair and pulled his mouth up to hers for a kiss.

"I did ok?"

"Let me put it this way," she grinned and leaned forward. Her mouth closed on wedge's nipple and her teeth dug in gently and her tongue flickered over the sensitive nub. A jolt of sensation rocketed from his nipple to his cock. Instantly his cock was harder than he ever had been. The sensations were nothing like he ever experienced, they were overwhelming. He pulled her away from his nipple and they kissed sweet and deep.

Finally, she pushed away from Wedge and laid a mink blanket on the floor, tossed down a couple of pillows onto the mink blanket then came back to Wedge. "I've always wanted to do this; I had a dream last night where we did this, will you indulge me?"

"Is it kinky and weird?"

"Yes," she said softly. "Kind of."

"Then I'm your man." He stood at her urging, and she pulled his jeans down, and then his boxers. His cock sprung free, and she was transfixed for a moment. Her warm soft hand wrapped around his cock, her fingertips didn't reach the tip of her thumb and she smiled at what she had unwrapped for Christmas.

She studied his circumcised cock for a long minute then rose, still holding his cock and whispered, "This makes me so hot." Then she took his right hand and wrapped it around his cock and as they kissed again she urged his hand up and down on his cock. "Cum for me," she whispered. "I want to watch..." She leaned back and watched his hand tentatively stroke up and down his cock. "That is so hot," she gasped in utter shock at how excited it made her to watch him stroke his cock and knowing that it was her that made him so hard was even better. Then she quickly pulled down her slacks and tiny red panties and wearing only her warm wool socks she lay down on the mink blanket and began to masturbate along with him.

Fascinated, Wedge had never seen anything so sexually stimulating either. She laid back and timidly spread her legs while Wedge looked in amazement at her beautiful hourglass figure, her flawless mocha skin, her neatly trimmed pussy, her breasts that wobbled about on her chest. She squeezed her tits and sometimes savagely pinched and pulled her nipples as Wedge watched hungrily and stroked his cock. "Don't touch, just watch and show me what you like," she said breathily. "I always dreamed of doing this with the man I loved." Her right hand reached down to her pussy and her fingers began to dance in circles around her clit.

As she stroked her pussy Wedge knelt next to her, the gentle scent of her excitement filled his nostrils and he ached to jump on her and begin fucking but he promised to play the game, and it was exciting to watch this beautiful woman pleasure herself. He reached down with his free hand and eased a finger into her pussy, her eyes flew open, and she froze and gasped at the sensation. "I said no touching," she whimpered.

Wedge brought his finger damp with her juices to his nose and inhaled her natural perfume. It reminded him of warm summer afternoons in the pastures after the hay was cut and all was right with the world. Then he licked her juices from his finger and moaned in pleasure with her flavor. Watching him do that caused her to groan and whimper and she returned to driving herself to orgasm. Then spotting a large drop of precum dangle from his cock she reached up with her free hand and as he had done to her, she collected some of her lovers essences and brought them to her nose. The scent was heady and masculine, a scent she wanted to cover herself in. Then she placed the drop on her tongue, it was salty and strong, it was Wedge all rolled up into one sample and she couldn't wait for their first blowjob.

The sexy play was driving both of them closer and closer to climax, but Roxie had been dreaming of this moment for weeks, and she was overcome with the excitement of reality, it was so much better than her dreams. Her fingers danced over her clit as his hand stroked up and down his cock, her butt rose up off the blanket as she tightened up, this was going to be a big one, and she screamed as the orgasm struck. Wave after wave of mind-bending relief crashed over her. She found herself sitting up, then she was tossed back onto the pillows as the strongest orgasm of her life had its way with her.

When she was able to focus she saw that Wedge was still stroking his cock. "I'm going to cum on you," he whispered harshly. The idea was so thrilling to Roxie she couldn't speak, just a sudden intake of breath. "Should I come on your tits?"

She gasped and whispered, "yes!"

"Your face, should I cum on your face?"

The idea was so dirty, so sexy, all she could do was gasp and nod her head when suddenly he cried out. Wedge growled as his orgasm struck. Spurt after spurt of semen flew from his cock landing on Roxie's breasts and face, the warm thick fluid clung to her. He shuddered over and over as his orgasm claimed his mind and body.

Slowly Wedge slowed down and knelt over her panting. Roxie wiped some semen from her face and tasted it and nearly came again. "You got me everywhere," she said with a huge grin as Wedge lay down with her.

"I marked my territory," he said as he gave her a kiss.

"You damn near marked my whole room! I never seen a man cum so much!"

"I was saving that one for you," said Wedge as they hugged and kissed. God it was great to have a sexy woman he could laugh with.

"How long were you saving that one?" said Roxie as she saw that it was on the both of them now.

"Since Desert Storm," Wedge said as he pulled off her socks.

"I'm naked now!" she complained.

"Yes, we're going to go touch your product together," said Wedge as he helped her to her feet and led her to their bathroom.

"Did you get it in my hair? I hate it when there's cum in my hair."

"You're the one that wanted a white Christmas."

After their shower they snuggled in Wedge's bed, kissing and whispering. "Would it be ok if we keep our lovemaking to this level for a while?" she asked.

"Anything you desire," he said, then nibbling on her earlobe he asked, "may I ask why?"

Roxie sighed. "If you promise not to hit me."

Wedge was shocked, he could never dream of hitting her. "I promise. I will never hit you."

She thought for a long time then said, "before I enlisted I was going to school, I really couldn't afford it, I was stupid for trying, but I went to the University of Florida in Gainesville, and it cost a lot. I didn't realize how much until I got there... I was broke almost immediately, so when I needed money to eat... I sold myself." She fought back the tears and threw her arms around Wedge. "I'm sorry... what you must think of me..." and burst into tears. She felt sorry for him, suddenly finding out that his girlfriend is a whore, and on Christmas eve!

"It's ok, it's ok... I understand more than you know." He held her until the shuddering ceased.

"I just want to do this in steps, so when it happens, I know inside that it's real."

"It's ok, we had fun, we enjoyed ourselves and each other. Next time will be more fun, or maybe romantic, or maybe kinky. As long as I can be with you I'm happy."

"Are you sure you understand?" asked Roxie in a tiny voice.

"When you're as ugly as me..."

"You're not ugly," she said with a sniff.

"Ok, when you're lonely... really lonely you do things normal people won't do... like Roopy. Me, I..." he fought for the courage to say it. "Let's say that if I were in Florida I would have been one of your customers."

"Bullshit, you're just saying that to make me feel better about myself."

"No," said Wedge. "As an airman I couldn't find friendship, so I rented it. Most of the girls were German and barely spoke English, but they were there, that's all I really wanted was somebody there."

Roxie finally realized that she found her soul mate, someone who would understand her and forgive her foibles. "God we're pathetic," said Roxie.

"Yup. It's what I'm best at."

<><><><><>

They woke up in each other's arms and were as joyful as children even though they were 7,500 miles from home and family. Roxie stood at the window and looked out at the flightline, not even a new coat of snow could make it pretty, but this will always be the place where she found a man that understood her.

"Here, open this before breakfast," said Wedge handing her a beautifully wrapped shirt box.

She opened her gift and found that it was a beautiful silk robe with soft cherry blossom patterns. "It's beautiful! Where did you get it?"

"There's a silk shop near Momma Park's leather shop, I got a few things there."

"It's beautiful!" she gushed and eased it on, it felt sinful against her skin and put her in the mood for the next step, but first, it was Christmas. After a breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and a fruit salad that Wedge made from the fresh fruit he was able to get at the commissary, they retired to Roxie's room where she found a stack of gifts around her tiny tree.

"Santa must have been here while we were asleep," said Wedge. Actually, he had a stack of gifts in his lockers that he carried over to her room while she was in the bathroom. Wedge's favorite gift was an embroidered jacket that had the "flaming pisspot" of the ordnance careers on the left breast, on the back was the snarling 8th Fighter Wing wolf, and under the wolf was embroidered in gold, "JUVAT WEAPONS, If I suddenly start to run, try to keep up." They also gave each other their 'tour jackets.' They were similar to the jacket she gave him but with their rotation dates. Wedge was October 93-94, Roxie was August 93-94.

For Roxie he got several beautiful silk dresses that fit perfectly and a color TV. He has a small portable TV in his room, but the NFL playoffs are starting, and they were both rabid fans, he was for Pittsburgh, she was for Tampa Bay. Pittsburgh was a wild card contender, so Wedge was psyched. They needed a larger TV. "We're going to have dinner at the club at four PM with Don and Lanh Campbell," said Roxie as she tried on the hoop ear rings he gave her. She was wearing the Florida Gators jacket he also gave her.

"Who?" Wedge was wearing the gold Durumagi (robe that Korean men wear over their clothes) that Roxie gave him and was admiring his new Steelers jacket.

"The couple that live down the hall. They helped me get you home from the party." Wedge shrugged. "Don, the guy you trained on the phones last night?"

"Oh yeah... the farm boy and the soup girl."

Dinner was delightful, Don and Lanh were an amazing pair, Lanh flew to Korea on her own, found her way to Kunsan and waited for Don or his suitemate to let her in. She's been living in the dorm illegally and has no plans to return home until February. As they ate they shared their stories and Lanh and Don told them of the heartbreak they had when they found out on Christmas Eve not long ago that she will never have children. "It all we wanted," said Lanh. "When you raised in a big family, children are what you crave..."

"Or when you're raised on a farm," said Don. "But when we get back we're going to adopt." He was firm and excited when he said, "We're going to save every dime and hire a lawyer. They're not going to say no."

After dinner all four walked to the MARS station and patched phone calls home until midnight when the frequencies started to fall apart, but Roxie was able to place the call that she's always wanted to make.

Don and Lanh stood by while Wedge gave the now familiar phone number to net control. Liddy was an old hand at MARS calls, her husband Rasheed Dawson was an NCO in the marine corps and called her from all over the world via MARS, even when out at sea.

They heard Net Control contact Liddy, Roxanne's mom. "Mrs. Dawson, I have a call for you from Roxanne, are you ready to take it?"

The familiar voice of Liddy Dawson came over the air, "I sure am."

"Alpha Golf Alpha Eight Kilo Uniform, this is Alpha Foxtrot Charlie Six Romeo India," said net control, "We are ready to go with your number one."

Roxie keyed the microphone and cheerily said, "Merry Christmas mom! We got a white Christmas! It's snowing here, over."

"Glory be! It's sixty-five here and raining to beat the band. Did you get the cookies I sent you? Over.

"Yes mom, they were delicious, and thank you for the socks. Over."

"Honey, who is Michael Donovan? He has beautiful taste in silk. Over."

Roxie turned and looked at Wedge. "I sent a robe to your mom for Christmas, sounds like she got a kick out if it."

Roxie shook her head and lifted the microphone to her mouth. "That's something I wanted to tell you mom. I have a boyfriend, his name is Michael Donovan, and he's white. Over." Then she squeezed her eyes closed, waiting for the worst.

"I don't care if he's white, I wouldn't care if he was striped, does he have a steady job? Over."

The entire MARS shack burst out laughing and Roxie had to wait until she could say, "Yes mom, he's the same rank as me. Over."

"The card he sent said that he can't wait to meet me, is there something that you're not telling me? Over."

"Yes, but we're out of time, Merry Christmas, over," she lied.

"Child! You put him on this radio right now, I want to meet this man. OVER."

Grinning, Roxie handed the microphone to Wedge and said, "She's all yours!"

"Thank you darling," he cleared his throat and keyed the mike. "Missus Dawson, I'm Michael Donovan, folks 'round here call me Wedge. I want you to know that I really care for your daughter and love her company. Thank you for sharing her with me. Over."

"You sound like a polite, well-mannered man. We will talk when you get home. Over."

"We really are out of time here so I will say that I'm looking forward to meeting you Mom. Merry Christmas. Over."

"You called her mom? She's going to kill us both," groaned Roxie.

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January was tough on Wedge and Roxie, Wedge got moved to second shift for the month, but Roxie stayed on day shift. They were sure that it was because Lieutenant Kenosha had a black eye and Wedge was calling him "Lt. Shiner." Every day was a reunion and a goodbye. Even though they slept together, that was it, they were dead asleep. The only time they were able to spend waking time together was on weekends and at shift change. He would show up an hour early and catch a ride in her truck, and she would hang around for an hour after her shift and ride in his truck. Weekends they spent in each other's arms, aching to say the obvious but daring not to.