The hot firefighter, p.83
The Hot Firefighter, page 83
“What about you?” I asked. I turned to Trevor. I already knew that he was going to be in the calendar, but I wasn’t sure which part. We’d discussed with the photographer already that some of the kids were going to be in the shoot, but we all agreed that it wouldn’t be appropriate for the kids to be in shots in which the firemen didn’t have shirts on.
At the same time, I felt that the shirtless firefighters would be much of the draw for the sale of the calendar, so we were going to have to make a compromise.
“I want to be in with some of the kids, too,” Trevor said. “So, I guess that means we’re going to have to suit up.”
“Not entirely,” I reminded him. Just a t-shirt would be good enough.”
“Alright, you two,” my dad interrupted. “Let’s get over there and see what they’re doing.”
He put his hand on my arm and turned me around, walking side by side over to the steps. The photographer was lining up the kids and sorting out how they wanted the arrangement, and already the kids were starting to look bored. I had a feeling it was going to turn out that way, which is why I felt it was going to work out for some shirtless pics, as well.
They would want to go to the gym to play, and we could finish up with the shoot outside.
“Alright everyone, listen to this nice man here! When he says to look at the camera, make sure you look!” Miss Spruce was chirping like a mother hen to her chicks, and I stood out of the way. I had to fight the urge to hang around Trevor the entire day, but I knew I couldn’t.
I had to be helping with the kids and with the shoot, and making sure everyone was still accounted for. I turned my attention to the parents, helping them and the photographers sort out the release forms so the kids could be in several of the shots.
It was the first time I’d worked with real photographers, and I had to admit that the experience was better than I thought it would be. The crew was nice, and I had a good time helping arrange the kids and the scenery. Then, it was time for the other men to step in, and I enjoyed watching them get photographed a little too much.
But the one thing that stood out to me most during the entire afternoon was when Trevor would play with the kids. Just watching him interact with them was enough to make my ovaries want to explode. I’d never really thought about having kids myself before, but when I thought about me and Trevor, and when I saw the way he handled the kids, then I really thought about what could be between us.
It was a thrilling and terrifying thought all mixed into one, and I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. All I knew was that I was falling for Trevor – and hard. I already liked him a little too much for how little he and I had known each other, that was for sure.
But there was a part of me that really didn’t care. Even with my father right there, I found myself thinking over and over again what it might be like to have a family with Trevor. Hell, to have an entire life with him.
I was doing my best just to focus on what we were doing with the photographers, but I had to admit, the afternoon did go by too quickly. It was hard to see the men gather up their equipment and get ready to head back to the station, and I made a point of giving my father a hug before he left.
“I’ll see you soon,” I promised.
“I hope that includes me, too,” Trevor said as he walked up. “I’d like to see you again soon, you know.”
“I’d like that,” I said with a smile. To my surprise and to the thrill of the kids, he suddenly leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek, right in front of everyone. My cheeks flushed crimson, and I hardly knew where to look. The kids laughed, and I knew the older ones would be teasing me about it.
My father didn’t seem to notice, but I was sure I’d seen a smirk on the lips of Miss Spruce for a brief moment before it vanished.
For the first time in a long time, I was ready to take a risk to be happy, even if that risk might leave me devastated down the road. This was something that I wanted to do, and I was going to do it.
I was ready to throw all caution to the wind.
19
Trevor
“Text me if you hear anything,” Anna said as I headed out the door.
“I will,” I promised, “but I doubt we’re going to hear anything for a while. It’s just been sightings here and there at this point.” She nodded and closed the door, and I heard the lock slide into place as I headed down the hall.
It was Wednesday, so I took the opportunity to hang out with her and my niece for the morning. Since Riley had come into my life, I hadn’t been spending nearly as much time with my sister and her daughter, and there was a part of me that felt guilty about it.
Anna didn’t care. In fact, I had a feeling she wanted me to be pursuing Riley the way I was. She didn’t want me to be alone. That was something she’d made clear long before I’d started seeing the girl. But, I still felt bad.
I knew Joe wanted to get to know Anna, but from the sounds of things, they were having a difficult time getting their schedules to coincide. I hoped that wasn’t going to ruin their chances.
Though I had thought it would be weird for the two of them to get together before I introduced them, seeing them together made me feel otherwise. It would be nice for Anna to have a man in her life. A responsible man, that is. She had certainly dealt with her fair share of assholes over the years.
With Blaire in the picture, I knew she was a lot more careful now about the men she chose to see. Joe would fit the bill perfectly.
We’d spent the morning dancing around the topic. I’d told her about the calendar, and she told me how Blaire was doing, but eventually, the gang came up. She’d asked about any more sightings or activity, and I told her that I’d gone to talk to Joe’s family about it.
We both felt stuck. There was so much we wanted to do to make sure those men never came around, but there wasn’t anything either of us could do without getting involved, and it sucked for both of us.
I sighed. I didn’t want to make my sister worry. But then, that had to be inevitable because of Blaire.
With the afternoon stretching out ahead of me, I knew I had to find something to do. I’d caught up on my personal chores, and I didn’t really feel like going to the gym. Normally, I would have gone home to hang out and watch TV all day. Maybe drink a beer, maybe just chill out.
But I was feeling on edge knowing there were gang members in the area, and I couldn’t get Riley off my mind. It had been so nice to see her at the photo shoot a couple days before, and I wondered how she was doing.
It wasn’t even weird having Chief there. Knowing that he didn’t care whether I dated his daughter so long as I was good to her made it a lot easier for the two of us to see each other, that was for damn sure. Now, I couldn’t get her off my mind.
At last, I decided to give in. It was no use arguing with myself over it. I may as well go see her, or I was going to go crazy until I did. Besides that, I had to make good on the promise I’d made. Not just to her, but to the kids. I told them I would be back to play basketball with them when I had the chance, and now that I had a day off and nothing to do, I couldn’t see a better chance.
They’d been sure to remind me of it when I was there for the calendar, and I knew they were all banking on the fact that I would be a man of my word. It had to be hard for them, never sure of who to trust or knowing who was going to really be there.
I swore to myself I would be one of the people who kept my word in their lives.
I grabbed a couple of sandwiches and headed over to the center, surprising everyone when I walked into the gym.
“Hey guys, it’s Trevor!” Tom shouted. Several of the boys came running over, and I gave them all high fives.
“What are you doing here?” DeAndre, one of the younger boys, asked.
“I thought I’d come play a couple of games with you after lunch,” I told him. He grinned and several of the other kids cheered.
“Miss Longmire! Trevor is here!” he shouted as Riley came around the corner. Her look of surprise was quickly replaced with a grin as she walked over to me.
“Hey, I thought I heard the shout that you were here,” she said.
“It’s hard to sneak around when there are so many eyes and ears in here,” I winked. “Hungry?”
“Yes!” she said voraciously. “I just put together lunch for the kids in the other room, shall we?”
I handed Riley the bag and followed her as she assembled the kids for their lunch. I was impressed to see them walk single file into the dining hall and take their seat, all perfectly behaved and in order.
“Alright, everyone, does it look like you’ve got what you need?” Riley asked. They all confirmed that they were good to go, so she gave the nod. She then guided me to the corner of the room where we sat on a bench.
“I like to supervise, though I have to say I haven’t ever had any trouble with these kids,” she said.
“I’m shocked at how good they are. Not only to each other, but they have perfect manners and are so well behaved,” I said with a shake of my head. “Even the rambunctious ones in the gym are perfect angels in here.”
She chuckled. “I wish I could say they were this good all the time, but they are most of the time, and that’s good enough for me.”
“You are doing such a good job with them, I admire you,” I said. “Really.”
Riley blushed from the compliment and tried to brush it off, but I could tell that what I’d said meant a lot to her. She did work hard, and I was sure she didn’t hear how appreciated she was nearly often enough. But, I wanted to rescue her from the situation so I looked around.
“Where is Miss Spruce?” I asked.
“In her office,” Riley replied, her mouth full of sandwich. “She likes to get through the files and such during the lunch hour so she can take over with the younger kids during the afternoon.”
“I see,” I said. I wasn’t entirely sure of the system the two women used, but it was clearly working. One look at how the kids all behaved was enough to prove that. I had long believed in the philosophy of not trying to fix something that wasn’t broken, so I decided to let it go.
We chatted while the kids ate, then after lunch, I rose. “Thanks for stopping by,” Riley said. “It was good to see you.”
“He’s not leaving yet!” Tom said as he walked up. He had a basketball under his arm, resting against his hip. “He promised.”
“Really?” Riley looked at Tom, then at me, in surprise.
“Yup. I told you that I’d be here to play with the kids when I had the chance, and today I’ve got more than enough time for a couple of games,” I said with a wink. She smiled warmly, and once again, I could see that she was incredibly impressed. It was quickly becoming clear to me that the best way to impress the girl was to do something nice for her kids.
And, I liked being nice to them, so it was easy. They were all such polite children, clearly with all the potential in the world. I hoped that what I was doing with them would make a difference in their lives in one way or another, if not now, then someday.
Riley assured me that it would, but I’d never done such a thing before, so I hoped she was being sincere.
I ended up spending the entire afternoon at the center again, and I had to admit, it went by faster than I thought. It wasn’t that I meant to be there for hours, but once I started hanging out with the kids, it was hard to leave. They all wanted just a bit more of my attention, and I was happy to give it to them.
It wasn’t at all hard to not leave them. I wanted to hang out. It beat going back to my empty apartment just to watch TV. And, as a bonus, I got to hang out with Riley, too.
As we locked up, she looked at me with wonder in her eyes. “What?” I asked.
“I just can’t believe you. You are incredible the way you play with these kids like you do,” she said with a smile. “You are really something.”
I laughed. “They say that we’re heroes – but if you ask me, there is more to being a hero than just pulling someone out of a burning building.”
“If only everyone thought that way,” she said. “You hungry?”
“Yup,” I said with a laugh. I wasn’t sure if she was going to ask me to dinner that night, but I felt it was worth a shot as the hour drew near. We didn’t stay out. Instead, we grabbed something to go on our way back to her place, then we ate it on her bed.
“I don’t normally eat dinner in here, but tonight seems like an exception,” she said. She had the box of Chinese in her hand, and I nodded as I fished around in my own takeout container.
“Like I said, I like to eat in bed when I’m feeling lazy,” I agreed. She grinned.
“I can’t imagine you being lazy,” she said.
“I said feeling lazy, not being lazy.” I pointed my chopsticks at her, and she laughed.
“My mistake, sue me,” she shrugged.
“Maybe I will!” I challenged. She giggled, and I smiled. It was hard not to when she was around. She was always so cheerful, it was infectious. But, it had another effect on me when we were in bed together, and the more I tried to ignore the urge the harder it was to forget.
Riley, too, was clearly becoming aroused. She was sliding closer and closer to me on the bed, letting her arm brush against mine. At last, we couldn’t take it any longer, and we both quickly finished the rest of our takeout and put the containers on her nightstand.
Though she was small and may come across as timid at first, Riley liked to be in control in the bedroom, and she started kissing me. Slowly at first, but growing with passion as the seconds ticked by. The more she kissed me, the more I wanted it, and my pants continued to get tighter and tighter.
At last, she fought with the belt of my jeans and pulled down the zipper. Without even bothering to pull them down all the way, she climbed on top of me. Overcome with a fierce desire, she had to have me, and she had to have me right now.
She kissed me fiercely, the need continuing to grow between us.
And, I was right there with her, the hunger in my own body growing in intensity.
Like two soul mates we needed each other to survive, and once again, we were giving into that need.
And, giving in with a passion.
20
Riley
“I’m glad you came with me. Not sure this is your cup of tea,” I said as we walked from the parking lot to the door. Miss Mac’s was packed. It was rare for the hipster bar to showcase any particular band, and it happened to be the band Tracy’s drummer friend played in.
“I’m glad you invited me. I didn’t know that you liked reggae. It’s nice to learn new things about you,” Trevor said.
“I don’t,” I replied with a laugh as I walked under his arm and into the bar. “I like Tracy, and since she asked me to be here for this, I feel like it’s my duty to be here. Hell, God knows she’s been there for enough of the strange shit that I’ve liked doing through the years.”
Trevor laughed. “You are one hell of a friend.”
We walked into the crowded bar, showing the bouncer our IDs, then we set out to find Tracy. I had a feeling she would either be at the bar or near the stage. If there were two things she liked doing when we were out, it was getting drunk and hanging out with the latest guy she found attractive.
“Where is she?” Trevor asked. He’d only ever met Tracy the one time, and he vaguely remembered what she looked like. The afternoon that they’d met, she had ducked out early to go find her love interest at the time. Not exactly the way to make a lasting impression.
“There she is!” I pointed to a chair that was near the stage. The band was setting up, and I was glad they hadn’t started playing yet. It was hard to hear Tracy on a good day. She spoke so quickly and often jumped from topic to topic only using pronouns, so it was hard to know what she was talking about.
“Come on,” I grabbed Trevor’s hand as we headed toward the stage.
“Trace!” I called out. She turned slightly, then when she recognized us she whirled around.
“I didn’t think you were going to make it!” she said as she threw her arms around me. “Hey, Trevor.”
She spoke in a flirty tone, but I didn’t mind. I knew she was dying to tell me that she was right, and I should have listened to her all along. Hell, she was the one who told me to give him my number long before I actually did. The first afternoon the three of us met, she told me to go say hi to him without realizing who he was.
“Hey, Tracy, it’s good to see you again,” Trevor replied. He was always so calm and collected, I was glad that he treated her the same, despite her over the top nature.
“Is your drummer here?” I asked as I glanced over the stage.
“Oh Jace? Yeah he’s in the back,” she said as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.
“Jace? I thought you said his name was Gus or something,” I asked with a raised eyebrow. I knew my friend was fast when it came to the guys, but I didn’t think she would switch drummers without at least letting me know. Especially if that drummer was in the same band as the last guy she had decided was her man.
“Gus is his given name, but he has a stage name. So when they are big and famous, he’s not going to have to hide from the public, you know?” Tracy asked.
“But won’t he just be famous under his stage name?” Trevor asked. I elbowed him in the ribs, and he gasped, but there was a smirk on his face as he rubbed his hand across them.
“It’s not the same thing. It’s cool to be known by your famous name. Like Lady Gaga or something, you know?” Tracy said as though everyone felt that way. Trevor gave me a look when she turned back to the stage, and though I tried to give him a warning look in return, it was difficult.
I knew Tracy was amusing, but I’d grown used to her, and I knew it was easier just to let her go along with what she thought rather than try to point out why it didn’t make much sense. If Trevor was going to hang around the two of us much, he was going to have to get used to the same thing.
