Chapter 24
MILES
She kissed me.
I kissed her.
Like, a real kiss. Against my truck. And she didn’t seem to hate it. She almost seemed like she wanted it to continue until she pushed away.
Why did she have to push me away?
Taking her to Fresh Start had gone better than I could have imagined.
I’m not surprised—she’s one of the kindest people I’ve ever met.
It’s only natural that she fit right in there.
I think I fell in love with her watching her with Nolan and the others.
How, while I was playing football with some of the kids, I saw her talking with him while he drew in his sketchbook.
I don’t think I’ve seen someone light up as much as she did when she got to tell him she had a connection to a local artist he could take lessons with.
Sam and Patti have the artist’s number and are going to set everything up as his guardians, but as promised she and I will give him a ride once his lesson has been scheduled.
I replay the day we shared in my mind as I turn another corner.
It’s cooled off considerably which makes sense for it being early December.
My morning runs are more bearable now than they are in the dead of summer when stepping outside feels like you jumped into a swimming pool because of the humidity.
Unlike most mornings, I’m not up this early because I’m running away from a nightmare I’d had.
I’m up and at it with an extra pep in my step because for the first time since July, I feel like I have something to run towards.
Someone to run towards.
Looking at my watch, I note that I still have half a mile left until I hit my standard mileage.
For once, I managed to sleep in a little later which means the sun is starting to rise over the horizon, making the river ripple with pinks and oranges.
The sunrises in this city are something to write home about and getting to witness them as much as I do is something I never take for granted.
My feet stop short at the sidewalk when an idea pops into my head and I take a hard left towards a different part of the city.
It’s well within the time when normal people begin their day and most often people like to start their morning with a cup of coffee.
Maybe if I’m lucky, a certain someone would like to go grab a cup of coffee with me before my shift starts at the firehouse.
A little over a mile later, I’m panting heavily outside her building, trying to catch my breath before heading inside.
I walk in small circles, trying to collect enough air in my lungs to calm my heart rate after clocking in the last mile in less than ten minutes.
Using the bottom of my shirt to wipe my brow, I cringe at the dark splotch of sweat that now stains my shirt.
Should have thought through this one a little better.
Finally able to breathe without sounding like my airways are about to collapse, I head into her building and make my way to her apartment.
It doesn’t dawn on me that I probably should have texted her before just coming by and that she might not even be home until I’ve already knocked on her door.
My hand hesitates midair as I try to figure out what to do if she’s not home when the door swings open.
When she sees me, her mouth falls into the cutest little O shape.
Eyes wide, she gives me a once over before speaking.
“Miles? Is everything okay?”
“Would you like to go get coffee with me?” I ask quickly, my brain barely staying connected after it catches a glimpse at the tiny boxer shorts she’s wearing.
They have little peaches on them and must be her pajamas.
What is it with this girl and her fruit-themed clothing?
She’s got an oversized T-shirt on top with her hair haphazardly tied on the top of her head.
A pale pink bandana that matches her shorts holds her blonde locks in place.
An almost awkward chuckle escapes her throat. “You just don’t know when to quit, do you, fireman?”
“I have a few hours before I have to report for my two day stretch at the firehouse. I thought a coffee might be a nice way to kick it off.” I give her my best smirk and try not to let my eyes fall below her neck.
The amount of bare flesh she’s exposing right now is enough to make a sane man fall to his knees and beg.
And the way she makes me feel is anything but sane.
“And you thought you’d, what, run to my apartment and see if I’d get a coffee with you?” She raises a brow and looks at me skeptically. She leans into the hand she’s hanging onto the door with and pops her hip out to one side.
“Well I didn’t start off my run to come here. I was on my run and you came to mind and then I just kinda…ended up here,” I explain as nonchalantly as I can.
She sighs. “I can’t date my patient, Miles. Yesterday was…” She squeezes her eyes closed and shakes her head, unsure. “I don’t know what yesterday was but I know I can’t date you.”
“Well then it’s a good thing I’m not asking you out on a date. I’m asking you to get coffee. And I’m not even asking you to get coffee as a patient, I’m asking you as a friend. That’s what you said we were yesterday, friends. Remember?”
Pursing her lips at me, I can see her trying to calculate what to say next. When she brushes a piece of hair out of her face and presses her glasses up her nose, I know I’ve got her.
“You’re lucky my dad canceled on me this morning. Normally I’d be out walking with him by now.” She takes a step back to let me inside. When I do, I smile to myself when I see her coffee pot is on and warm and there’s a freshly poured mug half empty sitting next to it.
“You and your dad walk on Saturday mornings?” I confirm, remembering what she told me the last time I was here when she was sick. I’m careful not to sit or touch anything since I’m still sweaty from my run.
“Mhhm,” she responds, walking towards her bedroom. “Every Saturday morning. Stay there, let me change real quick.”
Lingering awkwardly in her living room and kitchen space, I walk around and remember all the details from the last time I was here.
The pictures of her and her parents and the small little tchotchkes she has littered around.
Walking over to a shelf she has sitting under a window, I squat down and look at all the crocheted things that are sitting on it.
A few plants, a couple of random items like a book or coffee cup, but mostly animals.
I chuckle when I spot the bunny she finally finished only to see that she never did fully figure out its ears.
“What are you laughing at?”
I turn to look at her and nearly fall face first into the shelf.
In less than ten minutes she’s gone from ‘just rolled out of bed’ to ‘ready for her close up.’ She’s slipped into a soft purple dress with a long sleeved turtle neck underneath.
To keep her warm in the December chill, she has on a pair of tights matched with knee high socks that carry your eye straight up her legs and to the hemline of her dress.
She’s wearing the same loafers she had on yesterday and has tied her hair back with another bandana.
I blink hard a few times and push myself to my feet.
“It’s, uhh, nothing, just your bunny,” I stammer through my explanation. “It turned out really great.”
“Pssh, yeah right.” She rolls her eyes and grabs her purse from where it lives on a chair. “The ears are still wrong and I redid them at least four times. Sometimes life isn’t perfect though and we just have to learn to live with it.”
I smile because she’s right. “That’s a lesson I think more people need to learn.”
“It’s one of the reasons I’ll always be gainfully employed,” she jokes, holding her hands out in front of her with a curtsey. “You ready to go?”
“After you.” I wave a hand in front of me and bow for her to go ahead of me.
“Always such a gentleman,” she mumbles at me with a smirk.
Only for people I really like.
“So what do you do at the station while you wait for a call to come in?” she looks up at me and asks, pulling the coffee cup to her lips to take a sip. I watch in envy as it gets to know the feeling of her lips wrapped around it. Swallowing hard, I take a drink of my own coffee before answering.
“Well, when shift starts we all get our assignments for the day so we know what our role is for when we get a call. Then, depending on what our assignment is for our shift, we do equipment checks to make sure everything is prepared and ready to go in case a call comes in. This also includes checking the engines, trucks, and emergency supplies in the trucks.” She nods along, looking genuinely interested in what I’m telling her.
“Once that’s all good to go, if we still don’t have a call, we might train in the gym or go grocery shopping for the firehouse. ”
“I’m sure that’s always fun, shopping for an entire firehouse full of people.” When she smiles at me I can’t stop myself from reciprocating the smile.
“It’s a big job and one of the most important ones behind, you know, actually saving people’s lives.
Nothing’s worse than a firehouse full of hungry firefighters.
Carter alone is enough to drive you crazy when he’s hungry.
It’s like he reverts back to being nine years old again.
” I roll my eyes and chuckle. “Then it’s meals and any sort of public education event we might host. Other than that, it’s a lot of waiting around.
You hope there aren’t any calls because calls mean danger and chaos.
But a shift with no calls is usually pretty boring.
” I shrug my shoulders and take another drink.
“But you love it,” she comments with a half smirk. “I can see it in your eyes. You love what you do.”