Marine Firefighter

by M K Dwyer

  He pulled back. She knew she’d said too much. He was going to run now.

  He put his hands on her cheeks again, looked into her eyes and lowered his head to hers until his lips touched hers. They stayed connected for a minute before he pulled away, took one of her hands in his and brought it to his lips as well.

  “How was that?” He looked into her eyes and smiled. “Give me time. I’ll get better at conveying all that in one little kiss too.” Then he took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his elbow like the night before. “What do you say we go return our clubs and balls? We can come back another time. Right now, I’m starving, and I’d love nothing more than to hold you in my arms while we eat and talk. Sound good?”

  “Yeah,” was all she could say after the way he’d handled her confession. What else do you say to a man that exceeded every expectation at every turn? Almost every part of her wanted to jump in with both feet and see where their relationship was going. But there was, and probably always would be, a small part of her that was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. She hated Aiden for doing that to her and wondered if that feeling would ever go away.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Will

  He pulled into his favorite Mexican restaurant, and Nikki started laughing.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Somehow you keep picking all my go-to places. The Italian restaurant, then putt-putt, and now, this place. They have the best California burritos!”

  “And carne asada fries.”

  “Yeeeesssssssss. But I can never decide which one to get. I can’t get both because it’s just too much food.”

  “So, let’s get both and split them. Then neither one of us has to choose.”

  “That would be perfect.”

  “Awesome. Wait right there.” He jumped out of his truck, walked over to her side, opened her door, and led her into the restaurant on his arm.

  It was nothing fancy. A place where you order at the counter and seat yourself. Not fast food, but not fine dining either. It was perfect for a leisurely, casual lunch.

  “Pick out a booth and I’ll grab our food,” Will said as they walked in the door. He’d meant what he said earlier about holding her while they ate and talked. He planned to get to know her more past the light topics they’d discussed on the phone, and it had to be done in public where he’d be less tempted to get her naked again. He couldn’t make any promises though.

  With the food in hand, he turned to see Nikki had chosen the most secluded booth available. When he set the food on the table, she looked up at him with a challenging look that said she dared him to say something about her choice. Sassy wench. She did not plan to make his temporary vow of chastity easy on him.

  He sat down next to her in the booth making her scoot over a bit, put his arm around her, and kissed the side of her head. He’d never get his fill of touching her, hugging her and kissing her. Keeping half the burrito for himself like they’d agreed, he handed her the other half, and set the fries on the table between them. With no preamble whatsoever, she took the largest bite out of the burrito that he’d ever seen a woman take. He could only sit there and stare in awe of the amazing creature before him. There was just something so sexy about a woman who could eat and didn’t try to be dainty about it.

  She looked up at him. “What?”

  “Oh nothing. I just got rock hard watching you take a bite of your burrito.”

  She raised an eyebrow at him. She didn’t believe him. “Come again?”

  “Well I haven’t come yet, but that can be arranged.” He winked at her. That was not appropriate lunch table conversation especially considering his vow to stay out of her pants not five minutes earlier and get to know her better, but he didn’t care. He was playing with fire, but it was impossible to keep a clear head around her. She was completely under his skin. He wanted to know more about her, inside and out, and right now, getting to know her body was winning over his desire to know her mind.

  He took his own monster bite out of his burrito and breathed deeply through his nose while he chewed. Baseball. Golf. Putt-putt. Nikki’s ass as she bent over to retrieve her ball. Damn it! Try something else. His mom. His mom when he was a teenager. His mom busting in his room while he was alone with a girl that wasn’t Nikki. Yep. That did it.

  He swallowed his bite and looked over at Nikki who was looking at him like he’d lost his mind. “Sorry. I’m better now. Forget I said that. I can’t seem to keep my hormones in check around you.”

  She dropped her head and blushed. Blushed! Damn, this girl is awesome. “So, Nikki, you moved down here from Berkeley. Is that where you’re originally from?”

  Nikki, being the good sport that she was, rolled with the punches and answered his question. “Yep. Born and raised. I pretty much always knew I’d go to UC-Berkeley but landing a golf scholarship was sort of an unexpected twist. I was grateful for it, but it kept me so busy that I don’t feel like I got much of a college experience, if you know what I mean. Then Aiden came along and we were practically an old, boring married couple from the very beginning. Sorry, I don’t know why I brought him up. What about you?”

  “Don’t apologize.” He squeezed her hand. “He’s part of your story, and I might not like hearing about him and the crap he put you through, but I want to hear it all, regardless of the parts that are hard to hear. To answer your question, I was born and raised south of San Francisco in Port Moody, but I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Some days, even China didn’t feel far enough. That’s partially why I joined the Marine Corps. My grades in school were decent, but I had no desire to sit in a classroom for another four years. I still applied to a number of colleges, but the only ones that accepted me were just too close to home.”

  “What was so bad at home?” She had a worried look on her face as she imagined awful things.

  “Nothing too terrible. Just an overbearing stepfather. We butted heads from the moment he and my mom said ‘I do’ when I was twelve. I was coming into my rebellious teenage years. But instead of backing off and giving me the space, I needed, he pushed harder and harder until I couldn’t take it anymore. It finally came to blows, literally, when I was seventeen. For the most part, we steered clear of each other from that moment until I finally left for boot camp, and I haven’t spoken directly to him since. We speak through my mom. He never came to my boot camp graduation or any of my deployment homecomings. I’m just glad he didn’t keep my mom from coming though I’m not sure that he could. She’s a force to be reckoned with when she wants to be.”

  “Funny. Sounds like we had similar, yet very dissimilar childhoods.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Well my dad remarried when I was seven, but besides meeting my basic needs, my stepmom practically ignored me. I don’t think she’s a bad person. She just wasn’t interested in me or didn’t know how to deal with me, so she just didn’t.”

  “What happened to your mom?”

  “She died of a brain tumor when I was five. I barely remember her. I know she was the best and loved me dearly, but that’s about all I remember.”

  “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry you went through that.”

  She smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders. “I never know what to say when people say they’re sorry.”

  “No need to say anything, sweetheart. Nothing at all.” He pulled her into his arms again and held her for a minute.

  “My dad tried to raise me by himself for a little while, but felt I needed a mother-figure. Really, I think he needed a wife more. I don’t hold anything against him. Gloria has been good for him even if she wasn’t good to me. Not that she was bad to me. I’m saying it all wrong. We just never clicked. Ya know?”

  “I know. I never clicked with my stepfather either. The difference is he tried to force the issue. I used to wish he’d just ignore me, but maybe that would’ve been just as bad.”

  “The age old ‘you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t’. Tha
t’s why I never want to be a stepmom.”

  His blood ran cold in an instant and all the color drained from his face. She never wanted to be a stepmom. A small part of him understood her trepidations after the childhood she had, but a larger part was reeling with disappointment. What did that mean for them? Joe was like an extension of himself. There was no him without Joe or Joe without him. Maybe it was a little fast, but he had begun to picture a future with Nikki. A future where the three of them were a little happy family even if it was only every other weekend. He chuckled to himself. Maybe he was more like his stepfather than he realized.

  “What’s funny?”

  “Huh?” He must’ve chuckled out loud while his world imploded around him.

  “You laughed. Sort of. After I said I never wanted to be a stepmom.”

  “Yeah. I heard you. Loud and clear.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” He picked up his burrito again. It was cold, but he took another monster bite, so he wouldn’t have to talk anymore. He was done talking. He had a lot of thinking to do instead. He couldn’t fathom breaking up with her, but he didn’t know how to move forward with her either.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Nikki

  Monday morning came all too soon for Nikki. It had been a long time since she’d had such an enjoyable weekend, and she hadn’t wanted it to end. Her first date on Saturday night with Will had gone well beyond her expectations in all the best ways. Then, besides the hiccup in the morning known as Aiden, Will had taken her on the sweetest Sunday date. She wasn’t used to having fun with a man. Aiden was incapable of letting his hair down, but Will was the master. There was something so sexy about a man who was confident enough to make a fool out of himself and wasn’t afraid to admit when a woman was better at something than he was. When he dropped her off, she’d wanted him to come in, so she could show her appreciation, but he bowed out saying they both had early mornings ahead of them. It was true enough, but she still felt like he was treating her with kid-gloves.

  Or was it more? Something had shifted after their heart to heart talk about their childhoods. He’d played it off and changed the subject, and they’d had a pleasant lunch afterwards. But there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that something fundamental had happened, and she’d missed it. She decided to focus on the positive though. Everything else about the date had been perfect including the soul-searing kiss when he said good-bye at her gate.

  “Who tickled your special spot?” she heard from behind her.

  Turning she saw Joyce grinning at her. She must’ve passed her in the hall and not noticed. Oops.

  “Who do you think?” After being so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed her best friend—and the grin plastered on her face—she knew better than to deny what Joyce already knew.

  “No!”

  “Yes.”

  “No.”

  “Yes!”

  Joyce grabbed Nikki’s arm and pulled her closer, whispering, “Girl. You put out on the first date? Naughty! I approve.”

  Laughing, Nikki replied, “Well define ‘put out’. We didn’t… you know, but we did… stuff.” Even if she was comfortable discussing sex with Joyce, she certainly wasn’t comfortable discussing it in an elementary school hallway.

  “Good girl. So, when are you seeing him again?”

  “He’s busy this weekend, so we made plans for next weekend.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Huh?”

  “You’re welcome for introducing you two.” She gave Nikki a smug smile.

  Nikki just rolled her eyes at her friend. She was grateful to Joyce though for not only giving her the dare that sent her over to Will at the pub that day, but for bringing her out of her shell in general. She was so broken when she moved to San Diego. Joyce had picked her up and helped her put the pieces of herself back together. The best part about Joyce is she didn’t take “no” for an answer no matter how many times Nikki turned down her early attempts at friendship. Nikki wouldn’t be in the place she was without Joyce’s persistence.

  “My students will be arriving soon. I need to get to my classroom.”

  Joyce just shook her head at Nikki. “To be continued then. Want to grab a drink tonight?”

  “Sure. The pub?”

  “Do you even have to ask?”

  “Nope. See you later.”

  “Later.”

  In true Monday fashion, the day dragged on and on for Nikki. Her students didn’t want to cooperate to get anything done. The projector in her classroom wouldn’t work. She sent no less than five students to the nurse’s office for various reasons; headaches, toothaches and stomach aches, oh my!

  Once the kids left for the day, she really should have stuck around and gotten some grading and planning done, but she just couldn’t bring herself to stay there one more minute. She rang the library.

  “Library. Joyce speaking.”

  “Hey, Joyce. Ready to go? Or were you planning on getting some work done this afternoon?”

  “When I got here this morning, I was, but now, I just need to get out of here.”

  “Great. We’re on the same page then. I’m packing up now. Meet you over there?”

  “Yeah. I have one thing that just can’t wait for tomorrow, but it will only take me a few more minutes.”

  “Okay. I’ll be the one at the bar.”

  “Sounds good.” Joyce laughed.

  Kelly’s Irish Pub was the usual hangout for Nikki and Joyce, but Nikki would forever remember it as the place she first saw Will. Walking in the door, her eyes were drawn to the stool he’d been perched on that fateful afternoon. She didn’t expect him to be there. She knew he’d started a twenty-four-hour shift that morning. She was not, however, prepared for the beefcake sitting there instead or the beefcake next to him. Even from behind and sitting down, she knew they were both attractive. Their broad shoulders, tapered waists and perfect asses looked sculpted. Both were big men, but one was larger than the other. She’d never seen a man so large in person and wondered if he’d had to turn sideways just to fit through the door. The other man had beautiful dark hair past his shoulders that even Brock O’Hurn would be jealous of. She looked around the room and every woman, taken or not, was throwing glances their way. Some lingering longer than others. Had she been as obvious when she was ogling Will just last week? She blushed at the thought of how sexy he’d looked sitting at the bar that day, and then blushed deeper thinking he’d also looked sexy with his head buried between her legs.

  Taking the stool, a couple seats down from the guy with the great hair, she tried to overtly catch a glimpse of their faces only to see them both openly staring back at her.

  “What can I get ya?” The bartender interrupted the moment, allowing her to turn her attention to him and saving her a tiny bit of embarrassment. Still, she was sure she was beet red as she ordered two Long Island Iced Teas, both her and Joyce’s drink of choice.

  “Thirsty?” She heard one of them teasing her. It had to be the one smiling at her because the other was scowling. They made an interesting pair. Both had visible tattoos, but that was where the similarities ended. One was a frowning, clean shaven, white guy with brown hair in a high fade, and the other was a smiling, bearded, darker guy, Latino maybe, with long dark brown hair. Both could’ve been military with their physiques, but there was no way the hair on the smiling one was regulation.

  Really getting a good look, she noted they were indeed both handsome, but neither affected her like Will did. Feeling bold, she answered with a wink and a smile. “Yes. As a matter of fact, I am.” Then, she turned her attention back to the bartender as he made the drinks she ordered.

  “What’s your name, sweetness?”

  Sweetness? She chuckled at his confidence. He was cute. She’d give him that, but now she wished she’d shut him down after his first question. Though, maybe knowing his name wouldn’t be so bad instead of calling him “the smiling one”.


  “Erica.” Not a lie. Technically, “Nicole” was her middle name and her friends knew her as “Nikki”. These weren’t friends though. They were random guys in a bar.

  “Nice to meet you, Erica. I’m Jesus and this is Warren. May I ask what makes a pretty girl like you order two drinks at a bar on a Monday night? Just break up with your boyfriend?” That last question was delivered with a wiggle of his eyebrows. The guy was too charming for his own good, and he knew it. A little over-the-top, yet somehow endearing. Like a best friend’s goofy little brother.

  “Nothing like that. Just meeting my girlfriend for a drink after an exceptionally long day at work.”

  “Oh? Girlfriend-girlfriend, or girlfriend-friend?” He was too much.

  “I bet you’d love to know.” She winked at him.

  The bartender set the drinks in front of her. She picked one and took a long pull through the straw.

  “Getting started without me?” Joyce spoke up behind her.

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” she said as Joyce pulled out the stool on her right, the opposite side than the two beefcakes were on. “Just passing time with Jesus and Warren here, though Warren doesn’t say much. Guys, this is my friend, Joyce.”

  She heard a grunt come from Warren’s direction. Was that his way of agreeing with her, acknowledging Joyce, or both?

  “Just passing time, eh? I thought we were doing much more than that, sweetness.”

  “Nope. Not really.” She delivered with a smile.

  “You wound me, sweetness,” he said with mock sincerity as he stood up and threw a twenty on the bar. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Joyce, but I’ll leave you two ladies to your evening. Until next time, Erica. Come on, War. Let’s go see what kind of trouble we can get into.”

  “Hell yeah.”

  Nikki watched the two men swagger out of the pub, and every female eye followed suit. LMFAO’s “I’m Sexy and I Know It” started playing in her head and she pictured the beefcakes in speedo’s like they were in the music video dancing out the door. When she turned back to Joyce with a grin on her face, her friend was looking at her like she’d grown two heads.