Page 49 of Living with Fire
“Oh, I like you so much already,” Hailey says, leaning back in her chair to give me an admiring look.
“Yeah, I might be a little in love with her,” Quinn says appreciatively from the other side of the table, and I catch her looking me up and down with a demure smile. “I do enjoy a beautiful woman, especially one who’s intelligent.”
“Quinn is a shameless flirt,” Liam says from his seat, where he’s been unusually quiet so far. “She’ll flirt with anyone.”
“Pot meet kettle,” she tells him, rolling her eyes as she pulls Brody’s shirt down. He turns back to the table with a groan, and she’s quick to add, “You might have a couple broken ribs. You should really get checked out.”
Brody shakes his head and lifts the hand opposite his hurt side, trying to get the attention of whoever is serving us. I haven’t noticed who it is, but the place isn’t too busy, so I’m surprised no one has been by. Unless Nate was planning on doing it all, and just hasn’t gotten up yet because of Brody’s arrival. I don’t like the thought of him having to do it, especially since he just came off shift at the firehouse this morning and has been working more than I have.
I push up from my chair. “What would you like, Brody? I’ll get it. And Hailey, I’ll grab you something too.” Liam and Quinn already have drinks from when they got here, neither looking ready for another.
“Sit,” Nate says firmly from beside me as he stands. “You’ve been working all day.”
I smile at him. “It’s fine, I don’t mind. You worked all night.”
“Nate, the boss, says sit,” he tells me. Then he raises a hand and brushes a lock of hair behind my ear as he leans in and whispers, “And Nate, the guy you’re going on a date with tomorrow, says enjoy tonight.”
My eyes fall closed as his fingertips gently move down the column of my neck, skirting across the bare skin above my collarbone to my shoulder. It’s innocent, but sensual at the same time. I’m a puddle of mush that can only give a nod of my head.
I feel a little dazed as I open my eyes to find him watching me intently, heat filling his own blue depths. I’m positive if we weren’t standing in the middle of the bar with everyone watching, he would be kissing me right now. Part of me wishes he’d just say screw it and do it anyway.
There’s a throaty quality to my voice when I murmur, “Okay.”
Nate’s eyes flash hotter with that simple word, his nostrils flaring, and I’m certain he’s in the same boat as me. The heat between us keeps intensifying, and if we don’t do something about it soon, I think we may both spontaneously combust.
Thankfully, he has some sense of self-preservation in front of everyone because he steps away from me and quickly gathers orders. I can do nothing but sink back into my chair, still feeling a little incoherent and dreamy from our shared moment.
It takes me a moment or two to realize that everyone is staring at me and not saying a word after Nate leaves. “What?”
“You got it bad,” Liam says, and I know everyone is trying to hold back snickers as my already rosy cheeks, courtesy of Nate, turn scarlet.
Quinn nudges Liam. “She’s totally going to say yes.”
“She already has.”
Liam’s amused gaze watches me over the table. He’s confident in his assessment, and my eyes twinkle with silent confirmation as I lift my beer to hide my smile. I know from some of the conversations I’ve had with both Nate, and Liam, that Nate has had way too much on his plate to even think about dating. To know I’m the one changing that has the butterflies living in my stomach swirling in the most delicious way.
“Whether she has or not, I’m just glad that she’s here tonight,” Hailey says to my right, and I glance over at her with appreciation. “I feel like I’ve heard so much about you, we’re already friends. I’d hoped Nate wouldn’t keep you hidden away.”
My face must show my surprise—or horror, Vincent flashing before my eyes—because Quinn quickly adds, “She doesn’t mean that he’s going to tie you up in a dungeon with whips and chains and keep you to himself. He’s not into that.” She pauses for a moment and looks to Brody like he might have an idea, thinks better of it, and turns to Liam. “Is he? I can’t see it, but it’s always the ones you least suspect.”
“Why are you asking me?” Liam asks, incensed.
Quinn scoffs, as if the answer should be apparent. “You’re his best friend. If anyone knows, it’s you. Brods would never ask, but you… you would.”
He grimaces, shaking his head. “We do not discuss fetishes. I don’t know what he does with his dick, or what he likes having done to it, other than he hasn’t been using it, and really needs to.”
If my bottle had made it to my lips already, Quinn would be covered in beer. I gape at Liam, eyes wide. There seem to be no secrets among this group, a far cry from what I’m used to. Or maybe it’s that there are no secrets when it comes to Liam. He just puts it all out there for anyone to hear.
I don’t hate knowing the information, though. Nate has priorities. Responsibilities. I’ve witnessed him take those very seriously with my own eyes, and it’s only been two weeks. It makes me wonder how long it’s been since he’s really had any fun. Or done anything besides work. Contemplating it makes me even happier that I said yes to a date.
Brody leans over the table, his hand covering his eyes like he can’t believe what he’s hearing. That or he’s just in so much pain he’s not paying attention. Hailey is sitting beside me, and I can see in my peripherals that she’s shaking her head at both Quinn and Liam. The two of them are amusing to me, feeding off one another. I wonder if there’s something going on between them, or if there ever was.
“I’m sure Nate already told you this, but ignore both of them. They’re bad enough on their own, but when they get together it’s next level absurdity,” Hailey says, obviously trying to come to my rescue, but I’m not offended, or concerned in the slightest.
I might not know what Nate likes, or what to expect with him in the bedroom department, but instinct tells me he would never do anything I, or any other woman for that matter, wouldn’t want to do. He’s been far too much of a gentleman for that. Sure, we’ve exchanged looks, and there’ve been a few intimate touches, but he’s had plenty of opportunity to take advantage of me and hasn’t. He always backs off instead of pushing forward.
“This is one reason I worried he’d keep you to himself. But I suppose you’d already met Liam, so throwing the rest of us into the mix wasn’t too unfeasible,” she adds.