Page 14 of Rescue My Heart

The thoughts swirled in her head as she pulled into her driveway. She sat in the car for a moment, staring blankly at the dashboard. This was supposed to be simple, her working with McKenna, getting tips for her role, maybe even making a friend in the process. But now, everything felt complicated and uncertain.

One thing was clear, though: Mazey couldn’t ignore her feelings any longer. The kiss had opened a door inside her that she wasn’t sure could be closed again. Whether it was a new chapter of self-discovery or just an unexpected twist in her life, she had to face it head-on.

She just wasn’t sure if she was ready yet.

With a heavy sigh, Mazey finally stepped out of the car, feeling the cool night air hit her skin. She knew things were going to get more complicated from here. But for the first time, she felt like maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

6

MCKENNA

McKenna could still feel the ghost of Mazey’s lips on hers as she drove through the quiet streets, her grip on the steering wheel tight. The kiss played on a loop in her mind. It was slow, deep, and unexpected. It was the kind of kiss that wasn’t supposed to happen, especially not in the middle of a fire station, especially not with someone like Mazey Snow.

Her heart raced again just thinking about it. She’d been helping Mazey with the gear, showing her how to put on the uniform, guiding her hands. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it until Mazey pulled her closer. Then their lips were pressed together, and everything else had faded away.

But what really confused McKenna was what happened after. The way Mazey had gone back to pretending like it hadn’t happened, like they hadn’t just shared one of the most electric moments of McKenna’s life. Mazey had returned to the training, her expression calm, as if the kiss had been nothing more than a fleeting impulse. Meanwhile, McKenna’s entire world felt like it had been upended.

Was it just part of the act? McKenna couldn’t help but wonder. Mazey was an actress, after all. Maybe she was justused to blending reality and fiction. Maybe the kiss hadn’t meant anything to her beyond the moment.

But no, McKenna knew that wasn’t true. She had felt something. It wasn’t just physical. There was a pull between them, something that went deeper than either of them was acknowledging. She couldn’t stop thinking about how Mazey’s lips had felt, how her hands had lingered on McKenna’s arms like she didn’t want to let go.

McKenna turned onto her street and parked the car in her driveway, staring blankly ahead for a moment. What now? she thought. She couldn’t pretend like nothing had happened, but she also didn’t want to push Mazey or make her uncomfortable. She didn’t even know if Mazey liked women, or if she was just confused. And that thought gnawed at McKenna, filling her with doubt.

Was it just a mistake? Maybe Mazey had acted on impulse, and now she regretted it. Maybe that’s why she hadn’t said anything afterward. Maybe McKenna had been reading into it too much.

But then there was the way Mazey had looked at her, the way her breath had hitched just before the kiss, the way their bodies had gravitated toward each other like magnets. McKenna wasn’t making it up. She couldn’t have been. There was chemistry between them—undeniable, raw, and real.

“Get it together,” McKenna muttered to herself, running a hand through her hair as she climbed out of the car. She couldn’t let herself spiral over this, but the kiss had shaken her more than she wanted to admit. It wasn’t just that Mazey was stunning or that they’d connected on some level during their conversation. It was that McKenna had felt something she hadn’t in a long time. And it terrified her.

She let herself into her house, the quiet solitude doing nothing to still her racing thoughts. She dropped her keys onthe kitchen counter, but instead of feeling the usual calm that came with being home after a long shift, there was only a hollow, restless energy inside her.

She couldn’t get Mazey out of her mind.

What was she supposed to do now? She wasn’t the type to chase after someone, especially not someone like Mazey Snow, who probably had people fawning over her all the time. But then again, McKenna had never felt this kind of connection with anyone, and she wasn’t sure if she should let it slip away without finding out what it really meant.

She felt her phone buzz in her pocket, snapping her out of her thoughts. It was a text from one of her colleagues.

"Good job with the safety training today! Snow looked like she had fun."

Fun. McKenna let out a breathy laugh, shaking her head. Yeah, she had fun, alright. But her chest tightened. It wasn’t just about fun for McKenna. It was about what that kiss had stirred up inside her, something she hadn’t let herself feel in a long time. And it scared her.

She sank into the couch, staring at the TV screen in front of her. She knew she had to figure this out, but where did she even start? Should she talk to Mazey about it? Could she even bring it up without making things awkward or uncomfortable? What if Mazey really did just want to forget it happened?

But McKenna couldn’t forget it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the feeling of Mazey’s lips on hers, the way her pulse had quickened, the way it had felt so…right.

She let her head fall back against the couch cushion, closing her eyes. What was the right thing to do? Part of her wanted to call Mazey, to talk to her, to ask her what that kiss had meant. But another part of her was terrified to even acknowledge it out loud, scared that Mazey would brush it off as nothing more than a fluke, a mistake.

Maybe I’m overthinking this, McKenna thought, her heart heavy with uncertainty. But deep down, she knew she wasn’t. That kiss had meant something. She just didn’t know if Mazey was ready to admit it too.

And the worst part was, McKenna wasn’t sure if she could keep pretending that it didn’t matter. Because it did. It mattered a lot.

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Don't overthink it, she told herself. There was no point in losing sleep over something she couldn't control. Mazey would reach out if she wanted to, there was nothing McKenna could do to force things along. She just had to let it go for now, as hard as that seemed. Ember’s words echoed in her mind, “Be patient.”

Right, she thought, sighing softly. Patience.

But patience wasn’t something McKenna was good at, not when it came to something that had rocked her so deeply. Still, she had to try. She convinced herself that the best thing to do was to sleep on it and figure out her feelings in the morning. If Mazey wanted to explore whatever it was they had started, she’d reach out. It was simple, right? McKenna couldn’t be the one to push this further, especially with Mazey’s career and the added complication of her fame.

With that resolve, McKenna dragged herself into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. As much as she tried to focus on anything else, work, her upcoming shifts, the pile of laundry she needed to do, her thoughts kept drifting back to the kiss. The feel of Mazey’s lips against hers, the way it made her entire body feel alive. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before.