Part 4 (1/2)
The pager squawked again, the same urgent message, and I knew it was bad. ”All right, I've gotta go. Thanks for inviting me sis. See you around, Baylee.”
Throwing down a fifty-dollar bill, I headed to the door quickly.
”Be careful!”
My sister's concerned words from behind me made me throw a smile over my shoulder.
”Always, little sister.”
Chapter 4.
Firefighters find them hot, and leave them wet.
- Why you should date a firefighter Baylee ”Holy c.r.a.p. That man is so s.e.xy.” I heard a woman say as I pa.s.sed her on the way to the donut counter.
”What can I get you, ma'am?” A pimply faced teen asked.
”Uhh,” I said, surveying the selection. ”I'll have a cinnamon roll, a kolache, and a bag of donut holes.”
The teen worked quickly and handed me the bag with my receipt, before gesturing to the cas.h.i.+er at the side of the store. ”You can pay over there.”
Walking up to the cas.h.i.+er, I could still hear the woman chatting animatedly about the s.e.xy fire fighter on the front of the paper.
”Will that be all?” The cas.h.i.+er asked as she rang up the price of the donuts.
On a whim, I went over to the paper, grabbed a copy, and had the cas.h.i.+er ring it up, too. ”That'll be nine fifty.”
Handing over the money and receiving the change, I made my way out to The Beast and sank down into the sweltering car. I'd planned to take my donuts home, but my curiosity got the better of me, and I s.n.a.t.c.hed the paper up and quickly scanned the article that dominated the front page.
”BENTON FIREFIGTHER TOWN HERO”
The name of the town, Benton, caught my attention, and I unfolded the paper. My breath caught in my throat as I saw the object of my fantasies for the past week in vivid color, dominating the majority of the front page.
The picture was of a burning building in the background, with a very dirty, sweaty, and mad Sebastian standing beside a fire engine. The coat that protected his upper body from the high heat and flames was tossed down haphazardly at his feet. The bottom portion of his body was encased in the bunker gear, with the suspenders bisecting his t-s.h.i.+rt clad chest. His body was just covered in soot, with the sweat he was producing running freely down his chest, arms, and face. The look on his face was murderous, most likely from getting his picture snapped when he didn't want it to be taken.
The caption underneath the photo read: Benton, Louisiana firefighter, Sebastian Mackenzie, rests after rescuing a man and his wife who lost their home to a fire late Sat.u.r.day evening.
”Holy s.h.i.+t.” I whispered.
I didn't know if it was the fact that Sebastian was a firefighter or the fact that I thought he was just a criminal. I'd automatically a.s.sumed he was bad when I'd seen the biker cut he'd worn each time I'd seen him. That hadn't stopped my body from reacting to the man.
It surprised the ever-loving s.h.i.+t out of me that he actually had a legitimate job, instead of selling E and pot to teenagers. Of all the possibilities I'd pictured him doing, firefighting just wasn't one of them. Who would've thought?
Especially how Luke carried on and on about him being a bad guy. Luke was full of s.h.i.+t.
”I'm going to beat him.” I declared as I started my Cutla.s.s and headed back towards my house and my day off.
Three days later, I was still thinking about the man. I'd wake up drenched with sweat, and doing things under my sheets that I'd only done in the deepest, darkest nights.
The first day I'd woken with my fingers buried in my slick heat, I'd immediately withdrawn them and acted as if things didn't even happen. However, by the end of that day I was positively vibrating with need, and when I'd woken on the second day doing the same exact thing, I'd m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.ed to memories of him.
On the third day, I woke up spent and knew I needed to do something to get this s.h.i.+t out of my system. I couldn't function like this. It was affecting my work, and the d.a.m.n man hadn't even made a move towards me. It was especially awkward doing it in the shared room I stayed in at work. At least there were bunks and not twin beds side by side. It was thoroughly embarra.s.sing.
”What are you thinking about, Roberts? Your face is flushed.” Bowe teased me as he walked past to the kitchen beyond where I was sitting.
”It's this freakin' show you all have me watching. Jesus, do you see his mother lovin' abs?” I said, fanning my face and hoping that he didn't look into my eyes.
A commotion from the main entrance had us all turning and watching as the other firefighters, the ones not in charge of dinner or bathroom detail, came in from playing kickball along the side of the building. They were sweaty and nasty and, of course, every single f.u.c.king one of them had to pa.s.s by me and run their sweaty arms or faces along my back.
Nasty little f.u.c.kers. ”Quit!” I wailed trying to dodge the sweatiness.
”What the h.e.l.l are we watching this for?” Taima sneered as he saw what we were watching.
Tai was a hoot. He was a very easygoing person, and I knew for a fact that he didn't really have a problem with what we were watching. He'd sat there and had a conversation about all the books with me, even though it was targeted for the female persuasion. He was, however, an instigator to the extreme. He was the type of person who'd throw in a comment here and there, inciting the growing argument that he'd instigated in the first place.
He was f.u.c.king gorgeous.
He had deeply tanned skin, regardless of the season or sun exposure. His hair was silky and black with a spattering of gray at the edges near his ears, even though he was only twenty nine years old; most of the time it was styled short and spiky. His eyes were a nearly translucent green that were positively hypnotic. His muscles were not overly large, but defined and honed to precision. He was around six feet and so freaking smart it was hard to keep up with him sometimes.
Boos filled the air and I smothered the smile that was trying to overtake my face. ”It's my four hours to have the remote. There's a list, remember?” I indicated said list with a point of my fingers.
The boys groaned, and that smile I was trying to smother slipped free. ”What? You boys don't like Twilight?”
”They're going to get you back for this, Huckleberry.” Tai laughed as he took a seat beside me.
”Why do you keep calling me that?” I asked, giving him my full attention.
I'd asked before, but he'd told me he'd never tell. I'd looked the nickname form of the name up and found out it meant 'friend' or 'sweetheart.' Therefore I didn't complain about being called the weirdest nickname on the planet.
”What are you doing there?” He asked curiously.
I looked down to the page I was studying and my eyes bulged when I saw that I'd written Sebastian's name all over it like a d.a.m.n teenager. I turned the page and hoped that he hadn't seen it, and then explained. ”I have an ACLS cla.s.s to take next week. Figure I'd read the book again in case they ask me something trivial instead of the important stuff we know by heart.
ACLS stood for 'advanced cardiac life support,' and we had to take it every two years. I'd worked so many calls over my career that I could look at a rhythm in my sleep and still know what to do. I didn't need to take the cla.s.s, but I had to. State laws and all that fun stuff. At least it counted towards my continuing education hours.
”Took that last month. Cla.s.s was boring as s.h.i.+t.” Tai acknowledged.
Winter, giggling and looking supremely disheveled, came walking through the back door and took a seat next to Tai. She looked dreamy, and if I had to guess, she'd just f.u.c.ked while on duty. Her and that man of hers were still just as in love today as they were when they married. Tai was her brother in law.
”That's disgusting.” Tai teased as he scooted away from Winter.
”Your brother needs to control himself,” she sneered before turning to me. ”Speaking of brother. s.h.i.+loh's brother invited her to a barbeque this weekend. Who then invited me, and Jack can't go. Want to go with me so I'll know someone?” Winter asked her nonchalantly.
A little thrill shot through my body at the thought of seeing Sebastian again. This might be the opportunity to get to know the man. Maybe, just maybe, I could figure out a solution for my overbearing l.u.s.t that I had for the man.