Blazing for Her

by Remi Grey

  "Well, the way I figure is, you helped save my life, so now, by letting you go, I've helped to save yours. Thank you, Daniel, and I really do pray you get to represent a dancer who can carry you through."

  Even though he's clearly mad, I think he understands where I was coming from, even he can't help but smirk at my last words to him. I'd like to believe that he was proud that I had found my balls and kicked him in his.

  Just like that, my agent for over a decade of my life, Daniel Haywood, was gone. I celebrated that night with a bottle of wine, an old movie, and a huge bag of Oreos. Occasionally staring at the notebook lying at the foot of the bed that held all of the information, I needed to figure out my life.

  Captain Washington Drake whether you’re ready for me or not, here I come.

  Chapter 5

  Washington

  I swear this is about the longest hour of my life, I think to myself, waiting for Miss Alverez to show up. I keep checking my watch, praying that we wouldn't get called out on a job, and I would miss her. I hope that she wouldn't change her mind and decide to just have food catered for us to thank me and send someone else with a written note of thanks.

  I don't know, I'm losing my mind here. I don't think I've ever gotten this worked up over a woman, not even the ones I so-called "Liked" before. This is heavy, even for me. I haven't checked myself, so I must look like crap. I probably even smell a little, damn. Twenty minutes, I have twenty minutes, I think, before rushing past the boys and into the bathroom with my shave kit and wash essentials. Thank the Lord we had this new bathroom put in last year with all the donations from the town and our fundraiser we put on.

  Freshly shaven, cleaned up, and shirt changed, I come out of the bathroom greeted by over a dozen faces staring back at me.

  "What's going on, Cap, you got a date or something?" Landon, one of our volunteers, asks me, smirking.

  “It’s not what you think,” I’m sure now more than anything that I’m blushing, a thirty-seven-year-old man blushing, what the hell? “Someone’s coming to visit us, and I didn’t want her to see me looking like a slob who spends his life here in a fire station, that’s all.”

  “Her? Did I hear you say ‘Her'?" McBride teases, just coming in from a smoke outside.

  God, I wish he would quit.

  "Yes, it's a her that's coming, guys, okay?" I brush it off, pretending not to be a ball of nerves over someone I've never even really met.

  If they could see what I saw that day, the little glimpse I got of her, of her skin, her lips, then they would be a mess too.

  All of a sudden, everyone who was cat calling and chattering went silent. You could hear cars driving the street in front of us, which I can never do over all the noise that comes out of my house and from my brothers. It's never quiet in here. Then everyone slowly starts to turn, and I knew, she was here, Elena Alverez was here, and it was now or never.

  As she walks in, my boys’ part like the Red Sea until finally, I get a glimpse of her beautiful frame. Her long dark curly waves, her innocent eyes, and those lips. The lips that made me go a little weak being so near to them.

  I don’t think I’m going to make it.

  I can feel the ice around my heart begin to shatter and melt slowly and quickly, replaced by an internal blaze that only she could start.

  "Hi everyone," she says, smiling, looking totally out of place amongst all these dirty, rough, and rather large men. Especially compared to her petite stature, we all swallowed her up whole.

  "Hi, you must be Miss Alverez. I'm Captain Drake or Washington, whichever one you prefer."

  Damn, she could call me Hector for all I care, just looking at her was painful. My pants were barely containing me, and that was only from one look at her, good Lord.

  "Washington, if that's okay?" she asks in that sweet, subtle accent I heard over the phone. "It's a pleasure to finally put a face with the name."

  She moved like the wind, that's the only way that I can explain it. Her hips swayed back and forth with ease. Her movement just like a dance, and everyone in this room had all eyes on her, but she only had eyes on me.

  It was like a showdown between both of us, who would blink first. The tension was palpable so much so that I began to sweat without even noticing. She was the first one to break our stare, blinking as if she was affected in the same way by our attraction to one another.

  “I hope you all love Spanish food; I found this great restaurant that makes one of my favorite dishes that I wanted to share.”

  Everyone was so stunned by the presence of a beautiful female in the building that I don’t think they even heard what she said or cared what she brought for them to eat.

  “That sounds good, right guys?” I ask everyone, obviously trying to break them out of their trances. “Tell Miss Alverez—Thank—you." My God, they were even worse off than me.

  “Oh, of course, thank you,” McBride comments first, then slowly everyone else follows suit.

  “We certainly appreciate it since tonight was the Captain’s night to cook,” Landon jokes, knowing full well that I'm the best cook, out of the bunch of us.

  "Very funny, hose boy," I threaten, straightening him right up.

  "Well, where can they put it?" she motions towards the small group of men and women dressed in fancy outfits and chef hats waiting outside. We clear our dining table off and welcome them in watching as each of them comes in with tray after tray of food. The smell is mouthwatering. Whatever is in those stainless-steel trays must have cost her a pretty penny, I should have looked her up before she came to see just how famous of a dancer she really is. We must seem like small-town hicks compared to what she's used to. I immediately feel self-conscious, which is something I never do, and that made me very uneasy, maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

  "So, Captain Drake, are you happy that I came to see you at all?" she probes, moving in closer. "I'm so happy that I finally get to meet you and show my appreciation towards you and the fine fireman that risk their lives every day to save people like me."

  "Of course, I'm happy you came and that I get to see you again. I'm glad that you're not unconscious this time." I admit nervously, sitting down behind my desk, trying desperately not to show her the evidence of how happy I really am to see her conscious.

  "How are you feeling, did the hospital treat you, right? It's probably subpar here compared to what you're used to."

  "Not at all, the hospital and the staff there were incredible. If it wasn't for them and you, of course, I may not have made it out of this alive."

  I could tell this conversation was about to get emotional, so I ask her to come into my office and shut the door so that she can have her privacy. I didn't think that she wanted all these strangers to see her crying, but that's just my opinion. Maybe she doesn't mind that kind of public display of emotion, it's one of my biggest fears.

  "Do you need some tissue Miss Alverez," I ask, trying to remain impartial. I'm trained to be that way, to get in and get out of some of the toughest situations without letting my emotions get to me no matter the outcome. But somehow, the sight of her tears flowing from those doe-like eyes makes me want to hold and comfort her through her pain. "I know this must be hard for you and I'm sorry that I brought it up, please forget what I said and let's start over.”

  “No, it’s alright, these are happy tears believe it or not. You have absolutely no reason to feel bad about caring for me," she sniffed, taking the tissue from the box that I offered her. "Thank you so much for thinking of me. That's very sweet of you, and yes, I'm doing very well and enjoying my time here."

  "How long will you be staying; didn't you say that you're a dancer?" I sit there waiting for her to answer, and my eyes can't help but wander to her supple lips once again. She's so young and fresh, she can't be more than twenty-five. Washington get a hold of yourself. She would probably be more interested in one of my younger volunteers than me. I think there has to be a good decade between us or so?

  "Honestl
y, I don't know." Miss Alverez shrugs, finally settling into the seat in front of my desk, discarding the tissue I gave her into the waste bin with one short toss.

  "Good arm, "I compliment, hoping it will take her mind off things. She laughs, folding her arms and crossing her legs in front of me.

  “You’re not comfortable with affection and emotional stuff, are you?” she asks. Where the hell did that come from, and how did she know? She just read me like an open book Captain non-emotion.

  "It kind of has to be that way with this kind of job. I've learned to stifle my emotions to survive because as soon as you let them get to you, you're dead." I wasn't lying, this job will get you killed for sure if you let your feelings get in the way.

  "I understand, Captain, and please call me Elena if you don't mind.”

  “Elena, thank you for the food and for the company,” I nod my head in her direction.

  “Anytime,” she flirts, giving me that stare again that almost melted the station earlier. I couldn’t help myself, sitting there looking at her obviously flirt with me. I had to dig deeper to make sure my mind and my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me. Game on.

  "Really, well, how about tomorrow night?" I flirt right back, giving her exactly what she was giving me. I love a good challenge, and she's got my heart racing again, which is something I haven't felt before with anyone.

  “I would love to, Captain.” She accepted. That was far too easy, she can’t honestly be interested in me, a mature fireman’s Captain living in a small town. I must be out of my mind.

  "You seriously want to go out with me. I mean you coming over here in person and feeding my brothers such a wonderful meal is a big thank you enough for saving your life. You don't have to go out with me to show your gratitude." That sounded like total insecurity, even to me.

  "Is it so hard to believe that a woman like me would just want to spend time with a handsome, generous, and selfless man such as yourself?"

  I had no rational answer to that, so I just opted not to overthink it and give this a shot.

  "Since my schedule is always so crazy, would you mind meeting me here at the station, and we can leave from here? I know that's not very romantic."

  "I understand Captain Drake, I know more than most how important you are to the community, and romance is overrated. I’d rather have reality any day over meaningless gestures.” A woman after my own heart.

  "So, I'll see you tomorrow night then?" I ask, standing from behind my desk to walk her to the door, hesitating a little, not wanting her to go.

  “I'll call first to make sure that you still want to see me," she pauses right in front of me standing so close that I can feel the soft wave of her hair tickle my neck. It was intoxicating. It takes all of me not to wrap my arms around her and pull her close to me. She smells like fresh jasmine, lavender, and raw heat. I don't know how else to explain it, but I could literally smell and feel the heat from her body. I don't know if it was me being near her that was the culprit, or if she was just warm-blooded and fiery on her own. The combination was more than I could handle.

  It was getting really inappropriate in my little office fast, I had to get her out of there before I lose it.

  "Elena, I think that maybe we should continue our conversation tomorrow over dinner," I pause once more, taking in her scent.

  “Maybe,” she says before reaching up to put one of her arms up against the door to stop me from opening it. “But, wouldn’t that be a shame?”

  Fuck, she's asking for it, and it's been so long since I've been so close to a woman, I've really wanted.

  "I was never one for doing things the old-fashioned way Elena. With you, I would like to at least buy you dinner first before I show you how much I want you. Believe me, I do want you," I said, breathing heavily into her hair stroking slowly down her arms with the tips of my fingers.

  Her breath hitches, and I loved it, her reaction to me makes me want to have her even more but not here, not now. I want to savor her when the time is right.

  "Have it your way, Captain. I'll see you tomorrow," she said, finally turning the knob opening the door and making her way out of the station. She turned to give me one last look letting me know that she means business.

  After she left, all I could think about was her and what I wanted to do to her in my office. I couldn't even be in there anymore, so I got out into the station with the boys, which they rarely see nowadays.

  ~~~

  I went home that night for the first time in a while and slept in my own bed thinking of nothing but her in it, naked, writhing in pleasure and covered with sweat. I even woke up with a hard-on the size of Texas that took one very long ice-cold shower to get rid of. What am I, twelve? How am I going to have a decent dinner with her tonight without wanting to hump her like a dog?

  Surprisingly the dinner went well that night and the dinner after that and the next one until we found ourselves spending almost every night together for the next couple of weeks. We wouldn't always go out, sometimes she would come and just hang out at the station with me. She fit right in, of course, she would. Who wouldn't love hanging around a beautiful and intelligent woman, well-traveled, cultured, and dancer with a body to die for? What more can a guy want?

  But something was still looming over both of our heads, Elena's career. It was kind of like a dark cloud or the elephant in the room, and every time I wanted to discuss her plans, she would shut me down and change the subject. I know it bothered her to speak of it, but when I looked for one of her performances online and saw her dance for the first time, I was blown away. She moved me to tears, how can she just let that part of her go? She has so much talent. The more we saw each, the deeper I began to fall almost to the point of dare I say, love. If I know anything about love, which I really don't, I know that if you love someone, you can't just sit there and watch as they waste their talents and refuse to face what's real and what's fantasy.

  I don't know why I was chosen to be the one to save Elena that day. I sure as hell didn't save her so that I could sit and watch her piss her life away with some old fireman's Captain who's never had a relationship that lasted more than a month.

  I’ve got to save her from herself even if that means that I may lose in the end.

  Chapter 6

  Elena

  I've never felt like this before. I've never been happier in my life than being here in this small town with Washington by my side. He's such an amazing man, and so are all the men that work with him. He's looked up to for who he is and what he represents in this world, and I admire that about him more than he knows.

  I can feel his tenderness even when he's trying to be the great Captain Drake in front of his brothers. He has to be to lead and teach them how to face what's coming ahead. He reminds me of my papa in that way, he's a leader, and he's done everything for our family to guide and love us with a stern but loving hand. I think if papa ever gets to meet Washington, he would be proud of me for finding such a man to grow with. I don’t know how I lucked up on him being in my life the way he has these past weeks, but I feel like a new person. I like that feeling, and that's why I've ignored it most of my life before him.

  He makes me forget my obligations like I'm stuck in one of those Hallmark TV series romance stories. It feels nice to just enjoy him, to enjoy us, but I know it can't last forever. Reality is going to rear its ugly head soon, I know it, even Washington knows it. Poor thing he's tried to bring it up so many times, but I'm just not ready yet, I'm not ready to face the fact that what comes next in my life may not be able to include him in it.

  Long-distance relationships are hard, I know I've had many, and none of them ended up well. I don't want to lose him, but it's not fair that I keep dodging his questions and leaving him out of that part of my life.

  He's a man, and I'm a woman. We're both adults, and I should be strong enough to give him that choice of whether or not he would want to still be with me if I have to go away for a long time again, but I'm afraid. Th
at's the simple truth. I admit that I'm actually scared this time that the person on the other end of this will actually turn me down and wish me luck with the rest of my life alone.

  When I first laid eyes on Washington Drake in that firehouse, I knew he was going to be the one to tear down all my walls. The way he looked at me with those hazel eyes, he saw me deep, and he took me in, I was attracted instantly. Not just because he had saved me but because I felt our souls connect when he looked at me then and when he looks at me now.

  His smile wakes me up every morning, and we've yet to sleep together. His kiss tastes like love, like fear, like passion. I'm in awe of someone for the very first time, and it freaks the hell out of me that I might lose that very soon.

  I’m such a selfish woman.

  ~~~

  Washington

  "Damn, that was a hot one," McBride says as he removes his gear and wipes the sweat and the leftover dark smudges from his face.