Extensive (A Single Dad Box Set)

by Claire Adams

  Howard mewed loudly as he stood up and walked closer to me. He stood on my thigh with his paws pressing into my flesh as he mewed louder. I held out the treat. “Do you want this treat?” Howard strained his neck toward the salmon treat and mewed again. I held it close enough for him to have to work a little harder to get it, knowing from experience that doing this would cause him to gobble down the treat before he knew there was a pill hidden in it. It worked as I’d planned, and soon Howard was sitting next to me licking his paw and cleaning his ears.

  “You’re such a pig sometimes,” I laughed. He stopped cleaning for a moment to give me a dirty look before hopping off the couch and continuing his exploration.

  Once I’d eaten, and Howard understood that we were safe, we snuggled up together in the spare bedroom and slept soundly.

  I woke up unsure of where I was to the sound of the phone ringing. When it stopped and then insistently started again, I got out of bed and went to answer it.

  “Jesus H. Christ, Em!” KO shouted on the other end of the line. “I’ve been calling for a half hour! Why didn’t you pick up?”

  “Maybe because I was dead asleep?” I yawned into the phone.

  “I was worried as hell about you!” she scolded. “What did you do yesterday? Are you okay? How’s my boy?”

  “We’re fine. Fat man has meds to take for the next few days, but he doesn’t seem to have suffered any major damage,” I said, as I took the phone into the kitchen and began making coffee.

  “So, how was Christmas at the hot fireman’s house?” she asked excitedly.

  “You mean besides the uncomfortable fact that one of my students was there and earlier in the day I’d slept with her dad?” I replied, as cheekily as I could.

  “You had sex with the firefighter?” KO yelled. “Oh my God! Are you sure you don’t have a head injury?”

  “I’m positive,” I laughed. “If I hadn’t slept with him, I’d have asked that same question.”

  “Good point,” she replied. “So? How was it?”

  “Hot as hell, my friend,” I said, recalling the feel of Blake’s body pressed against mine. “It was almost worth having my house burn down for it.”

  “You’re really hardcore sometimes, Em,” KO said quietly. “You know that, don’t you?”

  “I’m teasing, KO!” I laughed. “It was not worth having my house burn down, but it was an incredibly good consolation prize.”

  “You going to see him again?” she asked.

  “He’s taking me on a date on Wednesday,” I affirmed.

  “You can totally have sex in my bed if you want to,” she offered. “Just change the sheets when you’re done.”

  “KO, you’re so weird! I’m staying in the guest room; why would I want to have sex in your room?”

  “I’ve got mood lighting in there!” she boasted. I laughed out loud as she went on to describe the various levels of lighting and how I could control them all with the remote she had stashed in the bedside drawer. We spent the next hour laughing and catching up on what Kendra had been doing while at home.

  “When do you think you’ll come back?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure, Em,” she said, hesitating. “Pop needs an extra set of hands to keep things going here, and my brother isn’t up to the task right now. I’m going to stay a while and see what happens.”

  “What about your job?” I asked, as I tried to hide how lonely I was without my best friend, but I also knew that KO loved her family.

  “Eh, they don’t need me to keep things going,” she scoffed. “The guys can pick up a shift or two and cover it for a while, and Arnie said that he’d keep the job open as long as he could.”

  “I see,” I said softly.

  “Hey, buck up buttercup,” KO urged. “This won’t be forever, and I’ll be back before you know it! Besides, it’s better for you to have the house to yourself right now so you can sneak off and have a roll in the hay with the fireman!”

  “Oh God, KO!” I groaned, as I thought about my date with Blake. “I can’t do this!”

  “Of course you can,” she said. “You go get yourself a blowout and a manicure, and maybe even a new outfit, then you seduce him and have your way with him. It’s easy!”

  “You’re killing me, KO,” I laughed, as I considered her advice.

  “Go do it,” she urged. “Don’t argue with me. I might not be there, but I’m still right!”

  “Fine, I’ll do it,” I said, giving in. She told me to call her later in the week so she could live vicariously through me. I told her I would and then hung up.

  I stared at the phone for a few minutes before I picked it up and dialed the salon and booked an appointment for Wednesday morning. Then I grabbed my purse and headed out to do some serious shopping.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Blake

  After what felt like more than two days, date night finally arrived. I’d just finished picking out a tie to go with my shirt when Nina walked into the room and shook her head.

  “Dad, no. Just…no,” she said, digging through my closet and pulling out a tie I hadn’t even known was there. “This one is way better. You won’t look so old in it.”

  “Thank you, my incredibly young daughter,” I said dryly. I took the tie from her and began knotting it the way my father had taught me. It had been years since I’d worn a tie with anything, and it definitely wasn’t like riding a bike.

  “Oh my God, let me help you,” Nina sighed, as she quickly undid my handiwork and slid the fabric under my collar before deftly weaving it into a stylish knot at my throat.

  “Where in the hell did you learn to do that?” I asked, as I examined the effect in the bathroom mirror.

  “Gramps taught me,” she grinned. “He was pretty sure you’d never remember how to do it yourself.”

  “Why, you sassy little—” I exclaimed, as Nina danced out of reach. I turned back to the mirror and ran a hand over my closely cropped hair and then over my freshly shaved face, wondering if I should have left the scruff.

  “No, you were right to shave, Dad,” Nina nodded.

  “Are you eavesdropping on my conversation with myself?” I asked.

  “No, it’s just obvious that you’re nervous and I wanted to reassure you that you were right in shaving,” she grinned. I chuckled as I shook my head in disbelief. Nina continued, “Okay, now there are a few rules about this dating thing. You need to make sure that you stay away from the inflammatory topics, like politics or religion. You should ask her questions and then listen carefully. Don’t spend your time lost in your head thinking about how you’re going to respond.”

  “What in the hell is this?” I asked. “You think you can tell me about how to go on a date? I was doing this long before you were a gleam in my eye, little girl!”

  “Oh my God, Dad!” Nina protested. “I’m trying to help you here! You haven’t dated in almost 20 years; that’s a lifetime! Things have changed!”

  “And you would know this because…” I asked.

  “You are so difficult sometimes,” Nina said, rolling her eyes in disgust.

  “Lights out by 10, young lady,” I warned, as I grabbed my keys off the counter and stuffed my wallet in my back pocket before pulling on my parka.

  “Right, like you’re going to be here to monitor that,” Nina said, rolling her eyes again. She reached into the fridge and pulled something out before walking over and handing a bouquet of fresh flowers to me. “Women like flowers. Just saying.”

  I laughed as kissed her head and took the bouquet from her then headed out to the truck. It wasn’t a long drive to Emily’s, and before I knew it, I was pulling up in front of where she was staying. The lights were on, and I got a warm feeling as I rang the doorbell.

  “Hi, Emily—oh wow,” I exhaled, as she pulled the door open and I saw that she was wearing a form-fitting knit dress that clung to her like a second skin. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail and her blue eyes shined as she smiled at me.


  “C’mon in, Blake,” she said. “I’m glad you made it.”

  “You look amazing,” I said, as I stepped into the entryway and wiped my feet. I stood there staring at her, unable to speak.

  “Are those for me?” she asked, looking down at the bouquet in my hands.

  “Oh, yeah, they are,” I said, holding the flowers out as a grin spread across my lips. Emily laughed warmly as she took the flowers and walked into the kitchen. I stared as she walked away and then shook my head as I cleared my throat. I looked over and noticed the fat tabby cat sitting on the edge of the only armchair in the living room. “I see your boy is doing well.”

  “Thanks to you!” Emily called from the kitchen. “He’s healing up nicely, and the vet says there shouldn’t be any lasting damage to his lungs.”

  “That’s great,” I said, as the cat stared at me without blinking. I got the feeling that he was sizing me up, and for some reason, I felt compelled to say, “Hey, buddy, don’t you remember me?”

  The cat blinked once, nonplussed, and then jumped down off the chair and strolled into the kitchen. He had quite a personality.

  I’d decided to take Emily to Flank, an American steakhouse that was known far and wide for its incredibly delicious steaks as well as its intimate dining room. I handed off the truck keys to the valet and led Emily inside, where we were led through the mahogany-walled dining room that was decorated in the style of a 1920’s speakeasy. The crystal chandeliers gave off a warm light, and once we were seated in the circular, leather-covered booth, it felt like we were the only two people in the dining room.

  “This is lovely,” Emily whispered, after the waiter had handed us large, leather-bound menus and taken our drink orders. “I’ve always wanted to come here, but I’ve never actually done it.”

  “I’m glad I could be the one to bring you here,” I smiled, as I looked into her eyes and felt the blood rushing away from my brain. I quickly looked down at my menu and asked, “So, what looks good to you?”

  “I’m going to have the Caesar salad and the Filet Mignon,” she said, setting her menu down on the table.

  “Thank goodness,” I said. “Because I’m having the carpaccio and the New York strip, and I can’t stand it when I have to watch my dinner companion pick at a salad while I chow down!”

  “Are you kidding? If there’s steak on the menu, I’m ready to chow down,” she laughed, as the server returned with our drinks. We placed our orders and then raised our glasses to toast.

  “While I’m sorry your house burned down, I’m not sorry I got the chance to get to know you better as a result,” I offered.

  “I guess there is a silver lining to every black cloud,” Emily smiled, as she clinked her glass against mine then took a sip.

  Over dinner, we got to know one another better, and I discovered that Emily had a deep, abiding love for the Boston Celtics. She talked about how she’d begun following the team when she was in college, and how it had given her a way to calm her brain after long days of classes and studying. I told her about how I felt the same way about the fire department’s various sports teams, and how they’d given me a way to release the stress that built up while fighting fires.

  “How long have you been divorced from Nina’s mother?” she asked, after our dinner dishes had been cleared and our dessert orders taken.

  “Uh, a little more than two years,” I said, shifting uncomfortably on my side of the booth. Brining Remy into the conversation made me uneasy for many reasons, not the least of which was the possibility that Emily would decide I wasn’t a good risk.

  “How long were you married?” she asked. I studied her carefully, but she seemed relaxed rather than on the offensive, so I relaxed, too.

  “Sixteen years,” I replied. “But we were together for a few years before that. She was my high school sweetheart.”

  “Ah, I see,” Emily nodded. “Was it an amicable breakup?”

  “Hmm, I guess you’d have to ask Remy about that one,” I said dryly. “By the time we split up, we both wanted out. I think we just grew in different directions and couldn’t find a way back to the middle.”

  “Yeah, that happens,” she nodded.

  “What about you?” I asked. “Have you been married?”

  “Oh gosh, no!” she laughed, but stopped when she saw I was serious. “I’m sorry, the thought of me being married is just…funny. I’m not sure I’m cut out for that kind of arrangement.”

  “Why do you say that?” I asked, wondering what had happened to her that had put her off the idea of marriage.

  “I don’t know,” she shrugged. “It’s just never been something I thought could work for me. Or at least not the versions I’ve seen.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Emily clammed up as the server returned with our coffee and dessert, and by the time we were alone again, I could feel the mood had shifted. I thought about trying to pick up the conversation where we’d left off, but Emily had moved in a different direction, so I let it go.

  “How did you get interested in firefighting?” she asked. “I mean, your parents are academics, so it would seem logical that you’d follow them into teaching or something, right?”

  “Yeah, that makes sense, but the bottom line was that they always saw themselves as public servants,” I said, trying to explain my parents’ life philosophy. “They told Brian and me that no matter what we decided to do, we had the responsibility to leave the world we live in better shape than we’d found it. That message always resonated with me, so when I realized I wasn’t as interested in book learning as I was in getting out there and doing more physical things, I chose the fire department.”

  “Why not the police force?” she asked.

  “My mother forbid it,” I laughed. “She said she could handle knowing that I was running into burning buildings to rescue people, but she couldn’t live with me carrying a gun every day at work.”

  “That seems…” Emily began.

  “Yeah, it seems crazy, doesn’t it?” I laughed.

  “No, actually, I kind of understand her reasoning,” she said. “I’m not sure I agree with it, but I can see how a mother might think that way about her child.”

  “I don’t think I was cut out for police work, anyway,” I admitted. “I don’t have the patience to do what they do on a daily basis.”

  “But you do have the patience to sit around a firehouse all day and night waiting for something to burn down?” she teased. I could see a smile forming at the edge of her full lips, and at that moment I wanted nothing more than to lean over and kiss her.

  “Hey, we do important things like community outreach and…” I hesitated as I searched for something else we did that felt substantial. “And we cook!”

  Emily burst out laughing, and I quickly followed suit. As she laughed, she reached out and touched my hand, and I felt a jolt of electricity pass between us. Emily must have felt it too, because she stopped laughing and gave me a surprised look. The relaxed atmosphere surrounding us suddenly felt charged, and I knew she felt it, too.

  “You ready to go?” I asked, hoping that I wasn’t reading her expression wrong.

  “Uh-huh,” she nodded, as she held my gaze. I quickly signaled the server for the bill as Emily excused herself and went to the ladies’ room. By the time she returned, I’d gathered our coats and helped her into hers. As we walked out to the valet, Emily slipped her hand into mine and squeezed it tightly. I said nothing as I returned the squeeze.

  We held hands on the drive home, but neither of us said a word. I wasn’t sure what was going on in her mind, but I knew that I’d kick myself later if I spoke and ruined the mood. I could feel the tension between us, but I wasn’t sure if it was the right time to bring it up.

  I walked Emily to her door, and as I opened my mouth to tell her what a great time I’d had, she reached up, wrapped her arms around my neck, and pulled me down so that she could kiss me. The warmth of her lips pressed against mine set ev
ery one of my nerves tingling, and when she pulled back and said, “Want to come inside?” all I could do was nod.

  Chapter Twenty

  Emily

  As Blake nodded his response, I grabbed his hand and pulled him inside the house. All evening I’d been wavering between wanting to make the first move and waiting for him to make it. On the drive home, I had made the decision to give him a small window of opportunity and if he didn’t use it, I would.

  In the hallway, we frantically tugged each other’s coats off and then made quick work of our clothes. I could feel my heart beating faster as Blake pulled my dress over my head to reveal the lacy blue bra and panties that matched the color of my dress.

  “Whoa,” he said, as he inhaled sharply. “You’re…amazing!”

  I smiled as I undid his tie and made quick work of his shirt buttons. I pushed his shirt off his shoulders and murmured, “You’re pretty amazing yourself, you know.”

  I ran my fingers down the smooth curve of his chest and heard him swallow a moan as I circled his nipples with the tip of my nail and watched as they hardened under my teasing. I tipped my head up and smiled as he bent to kiss me and felt his fingers slip into my hair. When he pulled my head back and ran his tongue down my neck, it was my turn to stifle a sigh.

  His hands slid lower, and he pressed me against his body as I wound my arms around his neck and kissed him harder. With a flick of his fingers, he undid the hooks on my bra and slid the straps off my shoulders. I let the blue lace drop to the floor as Blake pulled back and cupped my breasts, taking his turn at teasing my nipples with his thumbs.

  “Oh God,” I moaned, as he squeezed them into rigid nubs. I grabbed his arm, turned toward my bedroom, and said, “This way. Now.”

  Blake followed me down the hallway to my room, where I pushed him down on the bed and quickly straddled his hips. His eyes were wide with surprise as I leaned down and kissed him hard. He didn’t protest when I grabbed his hands and pushed them up over his head, holding them down on the mattress.