CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Waiting for a guy to text was a foreign feeling, and Lizzie refused to admit that’s what she was doing. It had been a week since their date, and Ben had only texted once to say he’d had fun and they should do it again. Very generic, no date mentioned. Was that because of Maya? Or could he not stomach a repeat?
While she waited for her order at The Drip 2.0, she walked over to greet the Three Musketeers. “Hey, guys,” she said. “Whatcha bettin’ on this week?”
“Whether Kenny asks Bella out,” Gene said. “And whether she says yes. Them two been dancing around each other for weeks. Pot’s about to boil over.”
“Oh, a parlay?”
“Huh?” Archie said. “What’s a parlay?”
“I thought you were big gamblers,” Lizzie said. “Never mind. So, you think they like each other?”
“Hard to tell ’cause Kenny’s so polite to everyone,” Gene said. “But something’s different with how he looks at Bella.”
“Odds are pretty even,” Walter said. “But I’m saying yes to both.”
This was news to Lizzie, and she wondered if Lucy knew. Kenny had been hired at the original Drip about a year ago and moved over to The Drip 2.0 once it opened. He was close to Lucy and her husband, Jack, almost like family. When they first met Kenny, he’d been awkward and scrawny—kind of a geek. But under Jack’s tutelage—both in the gym and out—he’d filled out physically and grown into a sweet, affable young man. Bella hadn’t said a word about having a crush on Kenny. Lizzie hoped she wouldn’t break his heart.
“You guys ever get tired of hanging out here and BSing all morning?”
“Nah,” Archie said. “It’s kinda like a marriage. A lot of repeated conversations, some bickering, and, every once in a while, a full-on argument, but we’re comfortable here, and it beats bein’ alone.”
Lizzie nodded as they called her order. “All right. Well, I’ll leave you to it,” she said. “Have a good one.”
Charlie had waited in the car while she got her coffee. Lizzie let him out and walked to the bar, which was at the other end of the five-store complex. She was on the phone with a supplier when Charlie suddenly popped up from his bed, stressed eyes darting from Lizzie to the door and back. Damn, he needed to go out. Now.
“Hey, I’m gonna have to call you back,” Lizzie said, hanging up before getting an answer. “Let’s go, bud.”
They didn’t make it far before Charlie started heaving. He puked and puked until she wondered how there was anything left in his stomach. She stroked him from head to tail. “You poor baby,” she said. “What’d you eat?”
She told him to lie down while she cleaned up the mess. Tuckered out, he laid quietly while she finished mopping. It wasn’t worth a trip to the vet yet. But she couldn’t have him at work.
“You okay without me tonight?” she asked Brett. “Charlie’s not feeling well. I’m gonna take him home and stay with him.”
“We’ll be fine,” Brett said. “Get better soon, boy.” He patted Charlie’s head.
When they got back to her condo, she searched the internet for things that could be wrong—a huge mistake. Every other thing she clicked on made it sound like death was imminent. She called Kate. She and Adam both had dogs and would know what to do.
“Wait and see,” Kate said. “Sometimes they just get into something and are fine once they barf. If he won’t eat dinner or isn’t better by morning, then worry.”
“Okay,” Lizzie said. “He’s sleeping now. I’m staying home from work to keep an eye on him. Thanks.”
She filled Charlie’s food dish, but he didn’t touch it. That was totally unlike him and stressed her out even more. If he hadn’t eaten by breakfast, she’d call the vet.
Out the window, fat fluffy snowflakes fell. She opened the slider and walked onto the balcony. The condos with balconies were almost twice the price of the others, but on nights like this, it was worth it. Her view overlooked the marina and the river. She could see the boardwalk and short fishing pier. A man was walking his dog and taking pictures. After watching him for a minute, she realized it was Ben and Jasper. They were the only two out, and the dog was unleashed, running circles around Ben’s legs as he snapped a photo here and there.
What the hell, she thought. She picked up her phone and texted him.
Startin’ a new hobby in the dead of winter?
His head swiveled, searching for her. She put a thumb and a finger in her mouth and whistled, causing him to look up and wave.
Wanna come in and get warm?
Where had that come from? Normally, she never made the first move. But when it came to Ben, she’d taken to breaking all her rules. Initiating the dance and the kiss last weekend still had her perplexed and wondering what had gotten into her.
From four stories below, Ben gave her a thumbs up and started toward her building. She sprinted to the bathroom, ran a comb through her hair, and brushed her teeth. Just as she came out, he knocked.
His face was red from the cold, but he wore a huge smile.
“Hey,” he said. “I figured you’d be at work tonight but was gonna text you anyway. See when you’d be available to hang out again.”
“I’m free right now.”
“Perfect. Maya is officially ungrounded and spending the night at a friend’s house.”
Lizzie kept her reaction cool but was inwardly relieved. His delayed communication had been about Maya. Not that he didn’t like her.
Jasper waddled over to sniff Charlie, who was lying in front of the fireplace. They did the dog greeting thing, and then Jasper walked a circle before plopping down next to Charlie. Too cute.
“Taking up photography?” she asked, nodding to the camera hanging from his neck.
“Better than skydiving.” He shrugged. “My folks gave me a halfway decent camera a few years back, and I’ve only used it twice.”
“Nice. Well on your way to ‘getting a life,’” she said with a teasing smile.
“Hey, I’m also going to play in the Fire and Ice game this year. And Noah invited me to play poker with him, your dad, and your in-laws.”
“Oh, yeah. I should have thought of that. They’re always looking for a sixth.”
“My calendar’s really filling up fast. So, if you want in…”
She smiled. “Well, come on in. I don’t have much in the fridge. We could order a pizza.”
“So, how come you aren’t at work?” he asked, laying the camera on an end table and hanging his coat on the rack by the door.
“Charlie’s sick. It didn’t seem right to have him at the bar.”
In the two minutes they’d been talking, Charlie had gone to his bowl and was scarfing down dinner.
“Looks fine to me,” he quipped.
She laughed. “He was sick. Threw up all over my office. Maybe he’s feeling better. I hope so anyway.”
As she entered the kitchen to look for something to offer him, an ear-piercing alarm sounded. “What the…” she said, closing the refrigerator.
“Fire alarm.” He opened the front door, walked out a few steps, and returned. “In a complex like this, they’re all linked. Doesn’t appear to be near you, but it’s probably in your building. I’m gonna check it out.”
He was back in less than a minute. “Let’s go. Get a coat and leash up Charlie.”
“Seriously? Is something on fire?”
“There’s smoke coming from a unit on the first floor two buildings over. Better safe than sorry.”
Once in the parking lot, he looked around. “Why isn’t anyone else out here?” Without waiting for an answer, he handed her Jasper’s leash. “I’m sure they know, but just in case, call nine-one-one, will ya? Be right back.”
Before she could protest, he’d run the short distance to the building on fire. Smoke seeped out from under the door of a ground-floor condo, obviously the source. She walked in the same direction, both dogs in tow.
The complex contained four buildings—four condos per floor and four floors in each building. Lizzie’s condo was two buildings over, so the fire probably wouldn’t threaten her place. But there definitely should have been more people outside.
Ben pounded on all four doors of the ground floor. Lizzie thought it was futile. Why would anyone still be in the building? But she watched as occupant after occupant came out, their surprised looks turning horrified upon realizing the next-door condo was on fire.
“Get out!” Ben screamed over and over. He ran up to the next floor and did the same thing. Lizzie couldn’t believe so many had ignored the fire alarm, apparently sitting blissfully inside with no idea the building was burning.
A couple, a family of four, and a single guy all wandered out slowly before realizing what was happening and suddenly moving much quicker. Some just slipped on their shoes and escaped to the parking lot. Others ran back in, coming out seconds later hauling a box or a bag.
Ben covered all four floors, pounding on doors and yelling as he went. In all but a few, people came out. In the thick smoke at the top of the open stairway, Lizzie momentarily lost sight of him. Just when she got worried enough to go after him, he burst through the smoke carrying a toddler-sized little girl. Flanked by a couple, each of whom also held a child, he carefully ran down the stairs.
Lizzie and the dogs rushed to meet them at ground level.
“What did nine-one-one say?” Ben asked.
“They were already on their way when I called. Shouldn’t be long.”
“Help these folks. And get back,” he said, thrusting the baby into her arms.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“The door of the source is still shut. I don’t think they’ve come out.”
“Maybe they’re not home,” Lizzie said.
“Gotta find out.” With that, he turned and raced back to the first condo.
Holding the leashes and a toddler was a struggle, but she coaxed the little family to a spot away from the building. Once settled, the man thanked her and took the baby. Lizzie dragged the dogs back toward the building, not wanting to let Ben out of her sight.
The smoke thickened quickly. Most of it flowed up and around the outdoor stairwell, but it was also congregating in the area below the stairs. Lizzie watched as Ben hammered the door again and again. Finally, he reared back and kicked it hard.
The door burst open, and a gush of thick, black smoke poured out. Ben startled when a huge black dog barreled past him, coughing and weak. Ben shooed it away, made eye contact with Lizzie, and pointed to the dog.
“Here, boy,” Lizzie yelled, trying to be heard over the commotion. “Come on. Come here.”
The dog made its way to Lizzie, who grabbed him by the collar and pulled him away. When she turned back, she watched in horror as Ben hunched over and entered the condo.
“Ben,” she screamed. What was he thinking? The fire trucks had arrived, but it would take some time to set up and get water flowing.
She looped Charlie’s leash through the black dog’s collar and dragged all three to where the fire truck had parked. The firemen were busy pulling out hoses and hooking up water, and she struggled to get anyone’s attention. All the while, she kept a close eye on the front door of the condo, waiting for Ben to reemerge.
Just when she started to really panic, he came around the back side of the building. From the flames and smoke emerged a tall, soot-covered Adonis, holding another large dog in his arms. Holy hot mamacita. Ben was good-looking on a normal day, but slap a hero’s badge on him, and he turned hotter than the flames eating the building behind him. She closed her mouth and shook her head. Ogling wouldn’t do anyone any good.
Done being polite, Lizzie found the nearest firefighter, punched his heavily padded shoulder to get his attention, and pointed to Ben.
“There might be people in that first-floor condo. That man just pulled something out. Help him.”
The fireman looked up, saw Ben, and ran to him, shouting for a paramedic. Ben laid the unconscious dog on the ground away from the danger, and an EMT tended to it. Ben talked with the firefighters, pointing to the condo.
A loud noise indicated the water was flowing, and everyone was pushed back to a corner of the parking lot to give the firefighters room to work. Firemen dragged hoses into the condo as Ben waved off an EMT trying to treat him.
They had moved the unconscious dog farther out of the way and hooked him to an oxygen mask. After a minute, they started CPR. Lizzie couldn’t help the tears when the paramedic finally stopped and they draped a blanket over his limp body.
Ben approached the crowd, found her, and pulled her into a hug. She returned it fiercely.
“He didn’t make it?” Lizzie asked, already knowing the answer.
“No,” Ben said, letting her go and stepping back. “Looks like the dogs were alone in the condo. Firemen will make sure, but I didn’t see anyone.”
“That was risky as hell to go in there,” she said. She couldn’t admit it to him, but the tears weren’t just for the deceased dog. Some were a release of the pent-up terror she’d felt when he entered the burning building.
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
They waited with the other tenants—many of them thanking Ben for knocking on their doors—until the fire was out and the firemen started packing up. They had taped off all sixteen condos in the building, and folks were told to find somewhere else to stay for the night. The local Red Cross offered to pay hotel costs for those with nowhere to go.
Someone had called the owners of the burned condo. They had rushed back from an evening out to discover their home destroyed and one of their dogs dead. Ben took the surviving dog from Lizzie and walked it over to the couple. The woman hugged the dog and cried as the man held her. Lizzie overheard the woman tell a fireman they might have left a candle burning. She speculated that maybe the dogs had knocked it over.
“Let’s go,” Ben said. “Nothing left to do here.”
They slogged back to her condo, where they shed their coats on the tile in the entryway. He’d done a hasty wipe-down with a blanket a fireman had given him, but the odor of smoke still emanated from his clothes and hair, reminding her of how scared she’d been.
Unable to verbally express the fear, she pushed him against the door and pressed her lips to his, pouring all the repressed emotions into a long, fervent kiss.
“I’m not complaining,” he said. “But what was that for?”
“Just glad you’re okay.” Lizzie felt her cheeks flush and turned away so he wouldn’t see her face. Mushy feelings weren’t her thing.
He followed her into the living room.
“Look, it’s probably too early to bring this up,” he said. “But what’s happening here?” He waved a hand between the two of them.
She narrowed her brows in confusion. Surely, he wasn’t trying to have “the relationship” talk already. Especially right now.
At her silence, he continued. “I like you, Lizzie. But I’m too old to mess around, and I’m not very good at guessing games.”
“We’ve only been on one date,” she said cautiously. In Lizzie’s mind, this kind of conversation was usually a precursor to a breakup, but she wasn’t ready for that yet.
“I know. And I’m sorry about the timing. I’m out of practice, and I don’t know the rules anymore.” He threw up his hands and sighed. “I just…I feel something for you and wondered if you felt it too. I need to know if I’m wasting my time.”
“I don’t do serious,” she said.
“Well, I don’t do casual flings. I do grown-up relationships with grown-up feelings.”
Was that a dig at her? Did he think she was immature? In any other situation, with any other man, she would be handing him his walking papers. But she didn’t want Ben to leave.
She couldn’t say it out loud like he had, but she felt something too. And, curious about his bewitching lure, she wanted to see where a few more dates might lead. Instead of an adult conversation about the state of her attraction, she fell back on what she knew.
“Is lust a grown-up feeling?”
He blinked hard, and she watched multiple emotions flit across his face. She could almost see the wheels turning in his mind, trying to decide what to do with that invitation.
“Yes.”
He stepped toward her, opened his arms, and caught her effortlessly as she jumped into them without hesitation, wrapping her legs around his waist. Mouths met in a fiery frenzy.
The force of the feelings shocked her. The passion. The desperation. She was unaccustomed to feeling so intently. Normally, sleeping with a man on a second date was out of the question—technically, this wasn’t even a date—but this felt different. This felt right. Her brain turned off, and, for good or ill, her body took over the decision-making.
If she regretted it in the morning, so be it. She wasn’t sure who was more surprised when she led him to her bedroom and shut the door.