Page 32 of Wild Fires

I didn't have the heart to tell him that I'd shared plenty of platonic showers with the guys down at the station and none of them had looked at me the way he was looking now. There was absolutely nothing platonic between us now. I didn't even know how we were going to be able to even be around each other without everyone knowing what had happened.

“No you couldn't,” I told him.

He laughed. “You're probably right. I'll fly home and clean up. Pick me up in an hour. Or should I just meet you at the station?”

“What? Don’t you have more important mayor things to do?”

“Not this week. I had my schedule cleared to help with the case.”

“The case?”

He grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “That's my official story.”

“You can do that?”

“Of course I can. I'm not a total slave to my job.”

Somehow, I knew he was lying. I eyed him suspiciously.

“Fine, I am, but I don't have to be.”

“So you're saying you need a bit of balance in your life?”

“Maybe. I've never really thought so before, but now I'm not sure. To be honest, I've never actually done anything like this before.”

“Oh please. You can't convince me you've never had sex before.”

He chuckled. “Not that part.”

“Then what?” I asked, surprised that I really did want to know. I wanted to know everything there was about this man.

“The staying the night thing. I've never done that. And I have to admit, I had no idea what to do this morning. I'm used to a pretty regimented morning routine and there's just nothing within my norm today.”

“What would a normal day look like for you?”

“Well it doesn't start with a beautiful woman naked in my arms.”

I blushed.

I was so used to being just one of the guys that I'd forgotten what it felt like to be a woman and embracing my femininity.

“Let's see. I wake up and shower, get dressed for the day. My coffee and breakfast are usually waiting for me since I program my coffee and prep breakfast the night before. I eat, take a few minutes to go through my calendar for the day, and prepare for any meetings or proposals I have to tend to. Then I clean up and head to the office, or in the case of this week, to meet up with you.”

“It sounds very, well, regimented.”

He chuckled. “I suppose it does. My day always feels off when I deviate from that though.”

“Oh no. How will you possibly cope with today then?”

He smiled. “I think I'll be okay. Who knows? Maybe I'll even get used to it. My siblings are always telling me I need to lighten up a bit.”

“Are they not just like you?”

“Not even close. We couldn't possibly be more different. You don't have any siblings, do you?”

“No, I don't. Though I suppose I have a lot of adoptive brothers at the firehouse.”

“I imagine they're quite protective of you.”