10. Artez #2
“Let us know if you need any help cooking, Miss Mali. I have a meeting with the fire chief.” Cap nodded toward Mali before he walked with quick strides to his office.
“Sounds important,” Mali commented as she started to go through the bags of groceries. “Thank y’all so much for shopping for me. I’m going to put the fries in the air fryer first, then get my first batch of fish going.”
“We appreciate you, Mali,” Juliet stated.
“Let’s get some music going and make this a good ol’ fashioned get-together.
” Bradlee jogged over to the surround system and hooked his phone up.
The familiar introduction to a classic cookout song played through the speakers, which garnered the attention of a few other firefighters.
Before we knew it, the vibes were locked in.
Through it all, my eyes naturally followed Mali around the room.
She moved around the kitchen with ease, swaying her hips and bobbing her head to the music blasting from the speakers.
She set up all the plates, forks, and napkins.
There was a tray of toasted bread, condiments lined up beside them, sliced cheese on a tray, and two empty spots for the fries and fish.
She had several things going at once: the fries in the air fryer, the fish frying in two deep pots, and she shocked the hell out of me by making her own tartar sauce from scratch. The shit was mesmerizing. As she placed the freshly made tartar sauce near the other condiments, she spoke to me.
“You gon’ stare all day?” Her fine ass knew what she was doing, looking at me through those wispy, long lashes with that beautiful smirk on her face.
“Hmm?”
“You’re watching me like a hawk. Scared I’m going to poison you or something?” she teased.
“Nah. I just enjoy the view.” My tongue slid across my lips.
She looked away with a smile. When her gaze returned to mine, she continued. “Do you want to taste the first batch?”
“Hell yeah.”
I stood and walked over to her. She lifted one piece of fish off the drying rack and held it up to my mouth. I couldn’t let the opportunity to taste her go unnoticed, so I wrapped my lips around her thumb and pointer fingers before sliding the piece of fish into my mouth with my tongue.
She shifted her weight as she waited for my reaction. “Well?”
“The fish is delicious.”
“I’m glad you like it. The second batch should be ready in about five minutes. There should be enough for everyone.”
As she said that, the timer on the air fryer went off. She moved around me to grab the bowl she’d pour the fries into.
“The first batch is ready, y’all!” She shouted over the music. Firefighters lined up to get a plate as she moved over to the stove to stir the remaining fish in the hot grease.
Various compliments were tossed in her direction as everyone happily ate.
The music was turned down, and light chatter buzzed around the room as people sat around the tables to eat and catch up.
Captain even came out to get a plate and thanked Mali again for another delicious meal.
She beamed with pride. I could tell words of affirmation was one of her love languages.
“You outdid yourself with this tartar sauce. I’m not even a fan of it, usually, but you did that.”
“Thank you.” She giggled.
“What?”
“You’ve got . . . a little tartar sauce on your face.”
I used my free hand to swipe down my face. “I get it?”
She laughed. “No. Hold still.” She grabbed a napkin and closed the distance between us. She leaned onto the tips of her toes and wiped the napkin against my cheek. When she was done, she pressed a kiss to the skin and took a step back. I wasn’t expecting the kiss, but it was a welcomed surprise.
“All good,” she squeaked out.
“Thank you. Are you going to eat?”
“I ate the whole time I cooked. Between tasting each batch of fish, to making sure all of the flavors in the sauce and on the fries worked, I’m stuffed.”
“Makes sense. Why don’t you go kick your feet up on one of the couches? I’ll clean up the kitchen.”
“Really? I don’t mind cleaning up.”
“Nonsense. You just threw down for a station full of hungry ass firefighters with huge appetites. The least we can do is clean up.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” She skipped over to the couch and kicked her feet up. She tossed one of the throw blankets over her arms and closed her eyes.
As I cleaned up the kitchen, my mind settled on thoughts of Mali.
Mali was beautiful as hell and fit perfectly in my arms. I wanted to revisit our terms from the beginning.
I wanted to take things to the next level with her.
I wanted to be her man. I wanted to be her best friend.
I wanted to be everything she needed from me and more.
“One-four-three, we’ve got a call,” Captain Moore announced just as the alarms blared throughout the station.
I immediately jumped into alert to find Mali, who had folded the blanket and made her way over to me.
“Be safe,” she spoke.
“Always. I’ll text you when I make it back.”
Before I could catch myself, I leaned in for a kiss. It was quick yet electric. I wanted to apologize, but I needed to get geared up and to the truck as soon as possible. I turned on my heels and headed in the direction of the team.
Fuck. What did I just do?