4. Kavin
Kavin
I gave my phone number to Mia Martin.
What was I thinking?
My first day at the fire station went well.
Better than expected, actually. The crew accepted me without the wariness or complications I’d anticipated.
Chief Jackson paired me with Lieutenant Kowalski, a twenty-year veteran who showed me the ropes without making me feel like an outsider.
We ran three calls today, a kitchen fire, a fender bender, and a medical assist and I proved my worth on each one.
Tomorrow is a day off, then I start my regular two-day shift rotations. Everything is falling into place exactly as planned.
Except for the female next door who’s managed to scramble every rational thought in my head.
I lean back in my chair and close my eyes. All I can see is Mia as she looked today by the mailboxes. Her long brown hair catching the afternoon sunlight, that glossy lip treatment she always wears making her mouth look impossibly inviting.
I wanted to invite her inside. What would it be like to have her here in my apartment, sitting on my couch, making this sterile space feel like something more than just a place to sleep between shifts?
I even entertain crazy thoughts of stripping her bare and putting my face between her thighs so I can lick her to orgasm and hear her cries of pleasure for me alone.
A growl rumbles in my chest and my jaw clenches. I cannot entertain these subversive thoughts. We can only be friends.
Friends.
I repeat the word to myself like a mantra, but it rings hollow even in my own mind.
The smart thing would be to delete her number and avoid her completely. Find a different apartment, maybe that house I keep promising myself I’ll look for. Create distance before this attraction becomes something more dangerous.
Instead, I find myself reaching for my phone to call Talon Overtree.
“Took you long enough,” my best friend sourly comments by way of greeting. “I was wondering when you’d call to talk about your loud neighbor who came by today.”
I grunt. “She told me.”
“Attractive human female, long brown hair, blue eyes. She said she was getting a sandwich next door and decided to check out Heat & Ink. The good news is that I didn’t scent any arousal for me emanating from her though.” There’s amusement in his voice. “She mentioned she was your neighbor.”
My grip tightens on the phone. I am pleased to hear that she did not feel attraction towards my friend, but I still find it highly irritating that Talon has noticed her beauty. “What did she want?”
“To meet me, apparently. And my cats.” Talon chuckles. “That’s the interesting part.”
“What do you mean?”
“Shadow, Ink, and Cole all accepted her. Let her pet them, even started purring for her. Shadow hissed at first, but when she hissed back at him, he backed down and allowed her to touch him. I enjoyed that female’s bold demeanor. She wasn’t frightened of me, or the cats.”
“Mia told me what happened with the cats, but I assumed she was exaggerating.”
“No, it’s all true. Those cats have never accepted a human before, Kavin. Not even the other orcs who work here can get near them. They barely tolerate you.”
A snort leaves my lips. If Talon’s guard cats accepted her then that means she’s possibly…
“I’m telling you she’s different,” Talon continues. “I could see it the moment she walked in. And the cats confirmed it.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I say, though my voice sounds strained even to my own ears. “I’m not looking for complications.”
“You’re attracted to her.”
It’s not a question, and I find myself admitting what I haven’t even fully acknowledged to myself. “Yes. I’m attracted to her,” I admit.
“And you’ve scented her reciprocal arousal for you?”
“Yes.”
“Then pursue her. It’s still fall so there should be no problems. Now is a good time.”
“No.” The word comes out sharper than intended. “She is a female who is becoming a friend and that’s all she can be.”
“Kavin, not all females are the same as your mother.”
A growl rumbles in my chest. “Human females can’t be trusted.”
“You’re saying I can’t trust my own mother, who has been married to my father and living in our commune for the last thirty-five years?”
“Stop. You know I think your mother and the other females who live in our commune are different, but all other human females out here in the human world are suspect. I’ve vowed to never take a bride and instead I am focused on my career. I didn’t come to Spokane to find a mate.”
“You think females can’t be trusted and yet you immediately found one anyway.”
“Mia is my becoming a friend,” I repeat firmly. “Nothing more.”
Talon is quiet for a moment. “If the cats accepted her, Kavin, then that says a lot about her viability as a human of worth.”
“It doesn’t matter what the cats think. I’m not changing my mind about this.”
“We’ll see,” Talon offers, and I can hear the smirk in his voice before he hangs up.
Later that night I find myself staring at my phone.
I pull up Mia’s contact information. Just being polite, I tell myself. A simple text to thank her for keeping the noise down last night. I send a quick text.
Thanks for turning down the music last night. Hope your friends got home safely.
Her response comes back almost immediately.
No problem! Sorry about that. First time I’ve ever had a neighbor complaint. You must think I’m a terrible person.
Despite everything, I find myself smiling.
Not terrible. Just loud.
Ouch. But fair. How was your first day at the station?
And just like that, we’re having a conversation. She asks about my training, my impressions of the crew, whether I like the work. I find myself typing longer responses than I intended, sharing details about the calls we ran, the equipment I’m learning to use.
She tells me about her own EMT shifts, the variety of calls she handles, the satisfaction of helping people in crisis. Her wit comes through in her messages, along with an intelligence that matches my own observations and experiences with her so far.
You probably think I’m crazy for wanting a job that runs toward danger instead of away from it.
No crazier than an orc who does the same. I left a safe commune to live among humans for basically the same type of job.
Touché. Though I have to say, this human is glad you did. And I like how we have the same mindset when it comes to our work.
The comment sends heat through my veins that I quickly tamp down.
She’s just being friendly. And, I remind myself, this is what human females do…
they flirt casually without meaning anything by it.
They can pleasure mate and have relationships that appear close but are actually temporary.
But orcs aren’t built that way so I must remain ever vigilant.
We text for nearly an hour before I force myself to end the conversation and put the phone away. This is exactly what I need to avoid, but I can’t bring myself to regret it.
Over the next week, our schedules create a natural rhythm of brief encounters at our apartment complex.
I often come home from my shift as she returns from work, or from the gym where she teaches self-defense classes.
We exchange pleasantries in the parking lot about work, the weather, apartment living.
I try to keep the conversations short and professional, but I find myself looking forward to these moments more than I should.
She always looks incredible after her workouts, her long hair in a high ponytail that shows the elegant line of her neck, skin flushed from exertion, wearing athletic clothes that showcase the lean muscle of her trained body. I have to remind myself repeatedly that she’s my friend. Just my friend.
The mailbox encounters are worse. We’ve developed an unspoken routine where she checks her mail when I return from work. The timing is too convenient to be accidental, but I don’t call her on it because, if I’m being honest, I enjoy seeing her.
One day, we both reach for the mail at the same time.
She wears her EMT uniform, and seeing her in professional gear makes my chest tight with an emotion I don’t want to examine too closely.
Our hands brush as we both grab for our respective mailboxes.
The contact is brief, skin against skin for maybe two seconds, but it sends a shock of heat up my arm. My tusks throb and elongate.
Mia catches her breath and stares at our joined hands for a heartbeat too long before pulling away. “Sorry,” she murmurs, but there’s something in her voice that suggests she’s not sorry at all.
“No problem,” I manage, though my hand still tingles from the contact.
We stand for a moment in the mailbox alcove. She’s close enough that I can scent her shampoo and see the flecks of green in her blue eyes. Close enough that I could reach out and touch her face, run my thumb across that glossy lower lip.
She’s my friend, I remind myself desperately. Just my friend.
“I should go,” I say abruptly. “Early shift tomorrow.”
“Of course,” she agrees, but I catch the flash of disappointment in her expression before she covers it with a smile.
Our nightly texts continue and become the highlight of my day, though I’d never admit it out loud.
The conversations have evolved and now range beyond work stories and observations about our neighbors, to debates about everything from the best pizza toppings to whether our favorite hockey team has a chance at making the playoffs.
She’s surprised to learn that I enjoy following human sports, wherein I admit I only follow hockey.
Mia, meanwhile, is sharp, funny, and surprisingly well-informed about a wide range of topics.
I’m surprised at how well I get along with this human female that lives next door. We really are becoming fast friends.
She sends me a text on Saturday night.
Had a rough call today, Three-car accident, two kids involved. They were okay, but for a few minutes there…
I respond immediately.