Chapter 10
CHAPTER
TEN
IT WAS ALMOST seven at night, and Georgia was just finishing her makeup for her date with Adam. They were meeting at Landmere Fountain, an upscale restaurant in town. She spritzed some perfume and checked herself out in the mirror.
Her hair was down, and she spent extra time straightening it. The burgundy cocktail dress showed off her cleavage and then hung loosely, hitting just above her knees. All she needed was some shoes, and she was ready to go.
Her phone went off, and it was a FaceTime call from Sophie.
“Hi there!” Georgia answered, greeted by Sophie and Anna clapping for her.
“Yes, girlfriend,” Sophie shouted. “You look hot.”
Anna nodded. “If things go sour with Elijah, you’ll have Adam salivating over you. You still didn’t tell us what happened when you told him about this date.”
Georgia stepped into her sage-colored heels and smirked when she told Elijah she was wearing them.
“He seemed annoyed, made some offhand comment about how Adam still talks about being homecoming king. I told him how I couldn’t go on the date and how who I date was none of his business, and he stomped off.”
Sophie laughed. “Us running into Adam two minutes after we left you was fate. He was all too excited to take you out.”
“And when Elijah stormed back into work, he went into his office and slammed the door. Roman texted me and was like someone pissed in Lou’s Wheaties because he is moodier than usual,” Anna filled them in.
“I social stalked Adam, and he is cute,” Georgia shared with her friends as she walked down the stairs instead of taking the elevator in her apartment complex. “But is he really still talking about high school when he is an adult in his late thirties?”
“Who cares?” Sophie ignored her. “You don’t plan to marry the guy. He was available for a date, which is step one into making Elijah crack.”
Anna was on her phone while Sophie was giving her a crappy pep talk.
“You just need to get through dinner, and if all goes well, it will annoy the hell out of Elijah.”
Georgia bit her lip. “But I feel bad leading Adam on.”
“Don’t. It’s one date. After dessert, just tell him it was a nice time, but you aren’t feeling it. I do it all the time.”
“Holy shit.” Anna looked back at Sophie’s phone. “Roman let me know Elijah asked him what us girls were doing and was fishing for details. He never does that. I told him to let Elijah know where your date is. I will absolutely lose my mind if Lou goes to the restaurant!”
Sophie gave a devilish smile. “You better text us if Elijah shows up.”
Georgia got off the phone with her friends, buzzing with excitement.
And it had nothing to do with her blind date.
“I PLAYED SOCCER with your brother,” Adam reminded her as she ate her pasta. “We graduated the same year.”
Georgia did her best not to roll her eyes.
“Yes, as you’ve mentioned before.” She held back how it was perhaps the twentieth time he had brought up high school.
He had such a beautiful smile, which was a shame since he was such a dud.
“Do you remember when we won states?” Once again, Adam was sharing another story from when he was eighteen. “That was the year I also won homecoming king.”
She hummed for a second. “As you’ve said. Do you like your fish?”
A subtle change of topic that she hoped would stick.
He glanced down at his plate and quickly took a few bites.
“I left Landmere when I was seventeen, and only visited for short periods here and there through college and residency. I love how much the town has progressed. So many new restaurants, and there’s a new art museum I can’t wait to visit. Have you been?”
Yes, the plan was to throw all her dates in Elijah’s face, but it would also be nice if she had a good time.
The internal optimist in her hoped she’d made a new friend.
Who knew, maybe the dates would turn into something.
Perhaps her attraction to a certain firefighter was only because of the chase.
Doubtful, but maybe.
Adam put his fork down after inhaling the last of his entrée. “I haven’t yet. Art isn’t really my thing.”
“Since summer just started, I wonder if they’ll have any concerts? I noticed the old farmhouse off Sunny Way is a venue now.” Georgia wasn’t giving up yet. Art wasn’t for everyone, but music was universal. Right?
“That farmhouse held so many memories for me,” Adam said over his beer. “The summer after high school…”
Georgia sipped her water, bracing herself for yet another story from his adolescence.
“We threw so many parties there. I remember sitting around the campfire out back, drinking Bud Light, and having Marcie Ramison on my lap. Those were the best times. It’s a shame kids won’t get the same experience.”
“Perhaps they would enjoy music in a controlled environment?” Without all the underage consumption, she thought. As a member of the community who promotes health and wellness, she wasn’t frowning over teenagers not getting drunk.
Adam made a face like he bit into a lemon. “I doubt it.”
Alright. She was officially giving up and was ready to read him the riot act, also known as Sophie’s verbiage of giving the brush-off.
Their server came over, picking up their dinner plates. “We have a chocolate mousse special tonight everyone is raving about. Would you like to order this or see the dessert menu?”
“Yes, we’ll have the mousse!” Adam basically shimmied in his seat, way too eager for an after-dinner treat, but maybe ending this farce would be well received after some chocolate.
He reached over the table for her hand. A little hand holding wasn’t the end of the world, but she was drawing the line at a good night kiss. In fact, she was delivering her this isn’t going to work speech once they got dessert.
“I hogged most of the conversation tonight.” He brought up the elephant in the room because, yes, the whole night has been all about him. In high school. “Do you like being a nurse?”
She gave him a soft smile. As a woman in medicine, it wasn’t uncommon to be mistaken for a nurse and not a doctor. Nurses were a backbone, an integral part of patient care, so it made her feel like a pompous ass when she corrected someone.
But in this case, she didn’t care what Adam thought of her.
“Doctor,” she reminded him of her actual job title. “I’ve been at Landmere Medical for a few months now, and I like it.”
“Oh man, I had to get emergency stitches there.”
Okay, so they were going back to the conversation being about him. Thank all things sparkly, her phone rang.
“Would you give me a second?” Georgia asked him while she pulled her phone out of her purse. Perfect timing, it was Anna.
Adam frowned. “I guess. I was going to tell you about the high school football game. It was why I needed stitches.”
She gave him a thumbs-up and walked to the posh area with her phone, where other people were waiting for a table. Georgia stepped to the least crowded side and answered her cell.
“Will there be another date?” Anna immediately spoke.
Georgia groaned. “Not even if my medical license required it. We are having dessert now, and then I’m leaving. Glad I drove myself.”
“Why don’t you meet me at the station? I am hanging with Roman for a little bit before I meet Sophie at Lighthouse.”
Georgia grinned. “And then Elijah will see me.”
“Exactly.”
THE LAUGHTER COMING from the break room was way too loud for Roman and Levi. And he was pretty sure there was a female there too. He was about to leave his office when he heard Roman call out to Anna. That made sense. She would sometimes stop by when he was working.
Elijah was almost done with his shift, but he didn’t join his friends. Not after he badgered the fuck out of Roman to get more details on Georgia and her date. A date with Adam Loughlin.
Fuck that guy.
Another woman’s voice joined the group, and it was alluring, inviting, and the sound he heard when he closed his eyes at night.
What was Georgia doing here?
It was only nine thirty, and she was already back from her date.
He smirked. Her plans with Adam were over.
Like the absolute creeper he was, he stood from his desk and hovered by the door to get a better listen to what they were talking about.
“I mean, after the fifth story about his excellence in high school, I knew I wasn’t getting lucky tonight,” Georgia regaled the group with her story.
“Hear that, Levi? You won’t get any ass if you talk about high school,” Roman teased the other firefighter.
“Fuck off,” Levi responded, but he didn’t sound all that pissed off.
Anna laughed. “Exactly. He’s sitting cozy next to Georgia. What ass are you getting, Roman?”
That was enough. Elijah moved out of his office and marched into the break room. And fuck, it was true, Georgia was sitting on the couch next to Levi. It was innocent but still made his blood boil. “Why aren’t either of you working?”
And what the hell was she wearing?
Her chest was on display, making his mouth water. Fuck, he never got to touch her breasts, which was a damn mistake.
Levi got up and walked to the bay of trucks. “I’ll do a wipe down of the fire trucks.”
That made Elijah feel marginally better. He raised an eyebrow at Roman.
Roman groaned, standing up. “I’ll go make sure all of our reports were submitted to the NFIRS.”
“Appreciate it,” Elijah deadpanned. That should have been done before any of them were taking a break with friends.
Roman pointed at Anna. “You’re coming with me.”
With an eye roll, she stood and glanced at Georgia. “I’ll help him out for ten minutes, and then we can go to Lighthouse.”
When it was only Elijah and Georgia, he stared her down.
“What?” she asked, brushing her hair over her shoulder. “Do you expect me to sit in my car?”
Elijah didn’t respond because honestly, her not being in the same room as him might be a better option. Having her close put him on edge. Now that he knew what her pussy tasted like, he was impatient for more even though it would never happen.
She grabbed her purse and moved off the couch. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Good, she was leaving.
Without saying a word, he turned around and went back to his office. Sure, he was being a dick to his team by breaking up their downtime. But it got Georgia away from the station. His station.
Where she wasn’t welcome.
NO, HE DIDN’T get to order her around.
Screw this.
Georgia was about to leave the station but decided against it.
Instead, she headed to Elijah’s office. The door was ajar, so she took that as an invitation to walk in. Once she was in, she shut the door and turned around to face the man who drove her crazy.
“Is there a reason you’re here?” he asked as he stretched back in his chair, crossing his arms.
Georgia was on a mission.
“This is your fault,” she told him as she rounded his desk to stand in front of him.
He lifted a brow. “What is my fault?”
“You ruined my date,” she huffed.
He rose from his chair, leaving only a few inches of space between them. “How are you blaming this on me?”
She licked her lower lip, and his jaw clenched, as if he were annoyed, which was fine with her. He created their problem in the first place.
He cockily tipped his head to the side. “I’m waiting.”
“First of all, you got into my head about how he was living in the past. Every story he told made me think of you.” Georgia pushed him, but he didn’t budge.
Instead, he leaned in closer to her and whispered in her ear, “Because all he could talk about was how great he was in high school. I was right. What other reason do you have to blame me for your shitty date?”
Wow, she needed some space, or she was going to combust.
She moved back, and her butt hit the desk, leaving her nowhere else to scramble off to. Elijah was everywhere, and damn it if she didn’t love it. His hand slowly dragged up her arm, goose bumps trailing after his touch.
“Tell me, Georgia.” His rough, low voice was enough to make her whimper.
Why did she have to want Elijah Barnett to take her virginity?
His hands moved to her hips, and he lifted her quickly to sit on his desk. Elijah stepped between her legs, which she all too quickly opened to give him space to get closer. He gently brushed her hair back, so her throat was on display.
“Have you been thinking about last week?” His lips barely touched her ear, her jaw, and her neck. “How I tasted your pussy and made you orgasm?”
She shivered against him as his hands gripped her thighs.
With his mouth a breath away from hers, he stared into her eyes. “Was I the first person to eat you out, to make you come so hard you screamed?”
Georgia nodded. She wanted to touch him, to feel his skin, and to make him as needy as she was for him. But instead of reaching for him, she put her hands behind her on the desk and leaned back, putting a few inches between them.
That didn’t deter him.
Not in the slightest.
Elijah grabbed her hips and slid her right back to where she was, but now there was no space between them. His hard cock was pressed right against her stomach, and her breasts touched his chest.
“Why the hell are you going on dates with other people?” Elijah’s one hand moved up her arm and around her throat. “You’re driving me crazy.”
“You should be the one to take me out.” Finally, she found her voice.
He shook his head, his mouth coming close to hers again.
She pushed away from him, wishing he would step back so she could get the hell out of his office. “Then have fun watching someone else do what I asked you to do.”
Before he could answer, someone knocked on his office door. Anna shouted, “Georgia, you ready to go to Lighthouse?”
“Fuck,” Elijah groaned, his head arching back to look at the ceiling.
She scrambled off the desk. “No, that is something you will not be doing. Not with me, anyway.”
Georgia swung open the door and looped her arm through Anna’s. A night out with her girlfriends was much needed.
Screw Elijah.