AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Drew continued to replay the conversation he had with Beth in his head the next day as he did some laundry and tidied up his apartment. Was he being too aggressive in his pursuit of her? Did that make him less of a submissive? He didn’t know the answer to that.
But what was the alternative? Beth had made it clear she wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship. He, of course, was, and Beth knew that. Still, he’d been honest. If friendship was all she was comfortable giving him, then he’d take it and hope she grew to trust him enough to make herself vulnerable again.
As the day wore on, he grew more and more restless and all he could think about was going to the club again that night. Would she be there? And if so, would she be happy to see him? He didn’t know the answer to either of those questions and it was slowly driving him insane. Maybe he was more of a masochist than he thought.
All his worrying had been for nothing. When he arrived at the club a little after eight, he realized Beth wasn’t there. By nine thirty, he knew she wasn’t coming. Whether or not that had anything to do with him, he didn’t know. He hoped not.
By the time Monday rolled around and he returned to the station for his next shift, he was running scenarios in his head of what he’d do the next time he saw her—what he’d say. His mind was so full of Beth it had taken him twice as long to finish the paperwork on his desk. Most of the guys hated this part of the job, but Drew didn’t mind it. Not usually. The thing with Beth was playing havoc with his brain, though. He couldn’t concentrate.
As he was settling into his cot for the night, he remembered how she’d smiled when he told her about camping with his dad. Beth was beautiful—and even more so when she let her guard down.
Although there’d been some tension on Friday night, it was less than the week before. He wondered if that would have held true had Nicole not interrupted them. It seemed as if Beth was more comfortable keeping the conversation casual. Anytime it began getting too personal she would tense up, which was the last thing he wanted. Then again, he also wanted to know everything about her.
Taking a deep breath, Drew tried to push his inquiries out of his mind. He needed to rest. It was already after midnight.
Unfortunately, his sleep was interrupted two hours later by the alarm. Jumping out of bed, he joined the rest of his crew down on the main floor as they donned their gear. Although they’d all been awakened from sleep, it didn’t take long for the adrenaline to take over as word came over the radio from dispatch about the blaze. They were sending eight trucks, which meant it had to be of significant size. It would probably keep them busy for the rest of the night.
Sure enough, Drew and the other firefighters on the scene spent the next four hours putting out the flames and making sure all the hot spots were extinguished. He hadn’t been able to spend much time analyzing the burn patterns, but given the location and what little he’d seen, Drew wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be another target of the arsonist.
By six, the scene was secure, a fire inspector was on scene, and they were ready to head back. Drew grabbed hold of the rigging to pull himself up onto the truck when his gaze landed on two people watching from about three blocks away. Even though she was wearing a pink apron with what looked to be flowers, he recognized her instantly.
Hopping down from the truck, he hollered to the guys that he’d be right back, and then jogged over to where Beth stood. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Her eyes were wide, although her voice was steady.
He looked down at himself and took in all the soot. Only then did it occur to him how he must look after spending the last four hours inside a burning building. He shouldn’t have crossed the street to her. “I’m quite a sight, aren’t I?”
It was the young man beside her who answered. “We couldn’t believe it when we came into work this morning. I wasn’t sure I would even be able to get to the café with the roads blocked off.”
Drew didn’t want to take his eyes off Beth, but he didn’t want to be rude either. “Yeah, it was a hot one, that’s for sure. It was safer to keep everyone back until we got it under control.”
“Was it the arsonist?” Beth asked.
“Too early to tell.” Of course she would know about the arsonist. She was friends with Nicole. Besides, it wasn’t as if they could keep something like this out of the news. Several camera crews were on scene during the fire, but luckily, the officers who responded had kept them away from the action.
She nodded.
“I should probably get back. Need to get the truck ready to go before the next shift comes on at eight.”
“Cool.” There was a little more enthusiasm in the young man’s voice than was warranted. Drew could see a bit of hero worship in the man’s eyes as well.
Drew turned to go. He’d taken two steps when Beth stopped him. “Drew?”
He met her gaze, and realized there was still something about the way she was looking at him. “Yeah?”
“I have some muffins about to go in the oven. They should be ready in a half hour or so. If you’re free.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “Good to know. Thanks.”
“Yo, Parker. Come on man. You can flirt on your own time,” Baily yelled from inside the fire engine. His voice echoed off the surrounding buildings even from so far away.
Drew took another long look at Beth, and then hustled to rejoin his crew. The whole way back to the station he couldn’t wipe the cheesy grin off his face. Beth had invited him to return to her café for muffins after his shift. He tried to remind himself not to get his hopes up—it was only breakfast. It didn’t mean anything. Maybe if one of the other guys had trotted down the street she would have extended the same invitation.
Even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew it wasn’t true. He could maybe see her handing out something already made as a thank you, or even offering to have all the guys stop in later, but that’s not what she’d done. She’d given him a personal invitation.
With that in mind, he worked quickly to clean and stow his gear so he could head back over to Beth’s café as soon as possible. His crew noticed his rush and had to give him a hard time about it. He laughed it off and concentrated on what he was doing.
It was after eight thirty before Drew made it back to the café. He’d had to take a shower, which slowed him down, but he didn’t want to show up smelling, and looking, like a burnt piece of charcoal.
