Chapter 24 #2
“More than most things. I was in the Marines for a better portion of my twenties and did a lot of growing up while I was gone. When I came home, I kind of floundered for a bit. I didn’t know where I wanted to end up but I knew it wasn’t in a regular nine to five.
At the same time, Carter was transitioning from EMS to Fire and so I decided to go through training with him. The rest is history.”
“What’s that like, working with your brother?”
“It’s never boring, that’s for sure.” We both laugh. “He keeps me on my toes, keeps me young. He likes to sing along to the radio and watch old black and white cartoons.”
“You can’t beat the classics sometimes,” she argues with a shrug and a smile.
Pausing, I look at her and take in her image.
She has a softness to her that is undeniable.
One that I want to pull close into my chest and protect with everything I am.
I want to never let anything bad or hard reach her, and at the same time I want to get down on my knees for her and bark on her command.
“What about you? Have any siblings?”
She shakes her head. “Nope, it’s just me and my parents. Rae is like a sister I never had but always wanted. She’s what I imagine having a sister is like.”
“That’s the best kind of friend a person could ask for.”
She nods and an easy silence falls over our table.
Normally, silence makes me uncomfortable but not with her.
The presence of her is enough to sustain me, even if she isn’t speaking.
When she tips her head to one side, it almost seems like she’s studying me.
I can see the thoughts running around behind her eyes.
“Whatcha thinking about?” I pose.
“Just how it wasn’t that long ago that you came into my office for the first time all closed off and rough around the edges. You’re a surprise to me, that’s all.”
“A good kind of surprise, I hope?” I ask with a sense of tease. She licks her lips and looks towards her cup, suddenly shy.
“A great kind of surprise.”
While I don’t want to, I know that I need to get her home if I’m going to make it to my shift in time.
“Can I walk you home?” This earns me another smile.
“I’d love that.”
I carry my mug back to the counter to return it and ask for a to-go cup for her before heading out of the coffee shop to walk back to her place.
Once on the sidewalk, I place my hand on the small of her back and move around her so I’m on the street side.
With her safely tucked on the inside of the sidewalk, she glances at me with a small head shake before smiling at her shoes.
We walk in silence, simply enjoying the brisk December morning and being next to one another.
There’s a few times our hands bump into one another and I can’t tell if it’s several back to back accidents or she’s sending me some sort of signal.
On the third bump, I rope my fingers around hers and catch her looking up at me out of the corner of my eye.
When she looks away, I sneak a peek at her and smile when I see she’s blushing.
It doesn’t take us more than twenty minutes to reach her building but she doesn’t drop my hand once we reach it.
“This was a nice surprise. Thank you for my coffee,” she says, tipping her cup at me.
“Any time, doc. I’m always happy to take a pretty woman like you to get coffee.” I have to look down to catch her glance and when I do, she looks away nervously. “Whatcha thinkin’ about now?”
“Something that I definitely shouldn’t say out loud,” she responds, eyelashes flickering as she looks up at me.
I take a step forward and loop my free hand around her back, pulling her into me.
Then, I drop her hand and bring mine to frame her neck.
With my thumb resting on the soft spot on her throat, I can feel the pace of her heartbeat pick up at my touch.
“Then how about I guess?” I murmur, bringing my face closer to hers.
“I don’t think you’ll guess wrong,” she whispers as I bring my lips to hers. The static in the air seems to crackle the closer we get.
I feel her hands wrap around my back and pull me in as I lean into the kiss.
I try my luck and press my tongue towards her mouth and she happily lets me in.
Blood rushes to my groin when she steps between my feet and gently presses her hips forward a little further.
A small moan slips from her delicate lips when I drop my hand to rest on the top of her ass.
While I want nothing more than to go full caveman and hike her over my shoulder like a fresh meal to be had, the clock is ticking and I still needed to run home before going to the firehouse.
“I have to go,” I murmur between heated kisses. There’s an ever growing buzz to each one, like someone is slowly turning the knob up that controls the desire between us.
“I don’t want you to go,” she objects and I feel her clench my shirt behind my back.
“I don’t want to go either but I have to,” I say before holding her by the neck and kissing her one more time. I make it hard and deep, hoping to leave her breathless. When I release her, she’s taking in short, staccato breaths.
“You have to go,” she repeats, looking up at me. Our words reminiscent of the day before.
I nod my head. “There’s lives to be saved and all that.”
“If only you weren’t such a good person,” she jokes.
“Thanks for getting coffee with me,” I say, grabbing her hand and kissing the inside of her wrist. This causes her to blush and reach up to fix her glasses.
“Thanks for showing up on my doorstep. It seems to be a thing you do.”
“Only with you, doc. Only with you.”
We hold one another’s glances for a beat before she squeezes my hand one last time before dropping it. “Be safe out there, fireman.”
“I promise I will. I have something important to get back to now.” I bring my hand to her neck once more and swipe my thumb across her cheek before finally stepping away.
When she waves, I turn on my heels and head for the firehouse.
I didn’t realize how late it had gotten and if I don’t run to get there, I’ll be late and the last thing I want right now is to field a million questions as to why I’m late.
I’m not more than half a mile away when I get a text from her.
We really need to talk about what’s going on between us before I see you again in a professional manner. Come by after you get some rest once your shift is done?
She might not know it, but she just gave me something to look forward to while I’m on duty the next two days.
May god let this be the fastest forty-eight hours of my life.