Chapter 10
MIKE
It’s nearly the end of February, almost a week has gone by, and I think Lucy has completely blown me off, when my phone lights up with a text from an unknown number.
I set down my ladle, put the lid on the pot, and wipe my hands on my apron as I lean back against the counter. When I’m satisfied no one is looking—I don’t trust these fuckers not to tease me—I swipe up on my phone and pull up my texts.
Unknown
Do you still want to help?
Depends who’s asking.
If this is Lucy, then hell yes I do.
If this isn’t Lucy, sorry, I’m waiting on this beautiful woman to call me.
The dots dance on the screen, and I second-guess my boldness as I add her contact to my phone. Did I read her wrong? Did I come on too strong?
Mo chroí
What do you get out of this?
This is going to be tougher than I thought. It would be fun to poke her a little, but something tells me I’m going to win more flies with honey with her.
Would it be lame to say the pleasure of your company?
Yes
Damn
Then I’m going to be honest.
I’m incredibly attracted to you.
And I found your list so I know you want me too.
I want to help you check everything off.
And if you’re texting me, I take it that means you’re on board with my amendments.
But why do you want to help me?
Woman, do I need to draw a map of your body and circle all the places I want to explore?
Because it would be a giant circle around your entire body.
Ummm
Okay
Damn. She’s a hard one to crack. My dick is celebrating the news, but my head and heart are cautious. Clearly, she’s not going to make this easy on me, but I’m up for the challenge.
I want to be clear about what this is.
And what is it?
You’re just helping me with the list.
We’re not together.
And once the list is completed, we go our separate ways.
What if I don’t agree to all your terms?
Are you open to negotiations?
I could easily complete her entire list in one epic fuckfest, if I hydrated and took breaks.
At thirty-seven, I’m not a young lad and my refractory period isn’t what it used to be, but that’s what eating pussy is for.
And I love eating pussy. I can bang a few things off her list, and if I get too close to finishing, I’ll just feast on her cunt until I get myself under control.
Wait, what the fuck am I thinking? I want to draw this out, not end it all in one night. If I take my time, tease her, make her excited for more, maybe she’ll keep adding to her list, or forget it completely.
What are you suggesting?
For every item we check off, I get one date.
There are seven items on my list.
So seven dates.
Three dates.
Five dates.
And the boys can join us too.
No funny business. I just want to spend time with all of you.
That sounds an awful lot like dating.
It’s not.
Unless you want it to be?
I don’t date.
No? You just admire calendar men from afar?
Ugh you’re annoying.
But you still think I’m hot.
Fine. Four dates, but they will all be at my house.
Embarrassed to be seen with me?
I don’t need anyone spreading any gossip.
But also, the boys are easier to contain in their natural habitat.
What if I babyproofed my apartment? Would you come here?
It’s cute that you think mere babyproofing could contain Levi.
That’s fair. I accept your terms.
I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this.
I promise you won’t regret it.
Are you free tomorrow? The boys have a sleepover.
Shit, I’m on call all night.
Come to the firehouse.
What? No.
Do you trust me?
I don’t even trust myself.
Afraid you’ll fall?
Why did I say that? I was going for flirty, implying she would fall for me, but given that I have literally caught her falling thrice, I worry I’ve shoved my foot in my mouth. Shite.
Wow. Too soon, Mr. March.
You can just call me Mike.
Or Mr. O’Connor.
Or yours.
If I were to show up at the firehouse… is everyone going to know why I’m there? I don’t want the whole town talking about this.
Come after 11 and text me when you get here. No one will know.
——————
I do a quick sweep of the firehouse, relieved that it has quieted down for the night with most everyone in their bunks or the TV room. When I walk by Hardy’s office, I notice the light on and pop my head in.
“Hey, Hardy, can I talk to you about something?”
“Why do I know that I’m not going to like the sound of this?”
“I would never normally ask this, but there’s this girl I’m into, and she has childcare for only tonight. Do you think I could be off duty for a couple hours?” My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out, noticing Lucy’s “here” text.
He nods toward my phone. “That her?”
“Yup.”
“She in the parking lot?”
“Emm…”
He spins his computer monitor around, showing me the image of a car idling in our parking lot.
“Feckin’ hell. I can explain.”
“Do I need to remind you that you’re on call? That at any moment a call could come in that would require us to drop everything to go help someone?”
I nod, feeling like a royal arsehole.
Hardy stands, leaning over his desk as he lowers his voice. “Well then, I’m also going to remind you that the gym is the only room in the building with a locking door for some odd reason. And… oops, the camera just went out in that room. It does that sometimes. Someone really should fix it.”
I blink at him in confusion, trying to decipher if he’s being serious or fucking with me. Normally, I’m the one messing with him.
“If we get a call, you better haul ass to your rig. I don’t care if you’re balls-deep in your friend or not.
Got it?” There’s a harshness to his tone that lets me know that he means business.
“And this is your one free pass. If I ever catch you pulling anything like this at this firehouse again, I’ll go straight to the chief. ”
“Got it. One time. It won’t happen again.” I feel like I’m being punished, when he’s actually given me the greatest gift. “Can I ask why you’re doing this?”
“Bella told me about Lucy’s date from hell. Said she could really use some good luck. Don’t fuck this up. And for Christ’s sake, clean up after yourselves.”
I hurry out of his office, texting Lucy to meet me at the back door. When I see her walk up, I hustle her inside and down the hall toward the gym.
“Are we going to get in trouble?” she whispers.
Opening the door for her, I gesture for her to go first and I lock the door behind us. The fluorescent lights flick on, and she blinks as she adjusts to the brightness. “How many rules are you breaking right now?” she asks.
“Don’t worry about it. Besides, you’re worth getting in trouble for.” I grip her by the hips and pull her against me.
Her hands land on my chest and she rests them there, pushing against me slightly. She looks around the room, taking in all the equipment. “That’s a lot of mirrors.” Her voice is quiet, a hint of nervousness in her tone.
“And I can’t wait to see every inch of you in them,” I say as I lean down to kiss her, but her words stop me.
“This was a mistake,” she says, shoving my chest, attempting to break my hold, but I wrap my arms around her tighter.
What spooked her? “Talk to me,” I plead, trying to get her to make eye contact with me.
There’s a riot of emotions on her face, and I’m having trouble deciphering them as I’m still learning to read her.
“This just doesn’t feel very…”
“Romantic?” I suggest.
She nods. “Sure, we’ll go with that.”
“It’s not supposed to be romantic, we’re not dating. Your rules, right?”
“Right.” She looks around the room again. “Could we turn off a few of the lights?”
“It’s all or nothing, and since this room has no windows, it’d be impossible to see anything with them off.”
“That’s good. Let’s do that.”
I lean back, trying to figure out why she’s making such a request. “What’s really going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
“Look, I know this is just sex, but I don’t want a quickie with you on a dirty gym floor in your fire station.”
“Oh, Lucy. You underestimate my creativity,” I say, clucking my tongue.
She cocks an eyebrow.
“I was going to let you tie me up to that bench press over there so you could ride me. The mirrors are just an added bonus.”
Her eyes go wide before they flick over to the bench press. She shakes her head in an emphatic no when it hits me that she’s self-conscious about her body in the mirrors and under the lights.
Knowing I’m not going to cure her body image hang-ups in the limited time we have, I opt for another approach.
“See that over there?” I nod to the old fire pole near the corner of the room.
Her head turns in that direction. “Yeah?”
“That used to be the fire pole for the station before we remodeled. Now all the bunks are downstairs, along with most of our living quarters. Instead of getting rid of the pole, they sealed it up and built the gym around it. Not sure if they thought we’d be in here pole dancing on it, but the chief said it felt like bad luck to tear it out. ”
“Why are you telling me this?” She’s still looking over her shoulder at the pole.
I lean in, inhaling her fruity, floral scent as I get closer to her ear and lower my voice. “Because I want you to tie me to that pole and do whatever you want to me.”
Asking her to please me feels like a selfish move for our first time together, but if I’m reading her correctly about the lights and the mirrors, she’s a little self-conscious about revealing her body to me in these conditions.
If I take the pressure off her and get her to focus on me, we can still complete item four on her list: tie someone up.
She looks at me skeptically, and I release her hips, putting my arms up in defense. I want her to know that she can trust me. Giving her all the power seems like the best option here.