Breaking: A Firefighter Romance (WQUZ News Book 2)

by Brandy Ayers

  “True. But can you think of any logical reason you shouldn’t call him?” Bekah tilted her head and leaned over, forcing Charlotte to acknowledge her.

  “Yeah. There are a million reasons I shouldn’t call him. He could avoid my calls. He could think I’m being pushy. I won’t know what to say. I’m not the one that pushed this whole thing in the first place, he was.” The unease in her stomach grew with each new reason, and a million more whirled in her head that she refused to give voice to.

  Bekah shook her head, her ponytail whipping back and forth. “None of those are logical reasons. They are fears based on zero evidence. Call. Him.”

  It sucked that Bekah was right. But also undeniable. Charlotte’s fingers shook as she took the cell phone from Bekah’s hand and called up Trey’s number. “It’s after midnight. What if I wake him up?”

  “Then you wake him up. Apologize, and ask what he’s doing next weekend.” Reaching over the phone, Bekah pressed send on the call.

  Nodding, Charlotte placed the phone next to her ear, the delicate skin there immediately heating uncomfortably with her anxiety. Apologize. Ask him out. I can do that. If he says no, then I’ll know.

  The pep talk did nothing for her.

  The phone rang once. Twice. The third ring was cut short by Trey answering. “Sugar. Damn, I’ve never been so happy to get a phone call in all my life.” His voice had a rough edge to it, so different than his usual smooth bass.

  “I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?” Charlotte avoided glancing at Bekah’s face at all costs, afraid the woman’s witnessing of Charlotte’s ineptitude would send her over the emotional edge.

  “Nah, I just laid down for what feels like the first time since I left you at the door the other night.” Trey groaned, the sound vibrating through her phone and straight down to her clit. “I’ve been rocking the worst case of blue balls since that kiss. I had planned to go home and call you up to help relieve that pressure. But I got called in for help with the arson investigation. Then I had to deal with a former friend that is going through some rough times right now. Every time I went to call you, something else happened. It’s been the most frustrating couple days.”

  “I’m sorry all that happened.” Charlotte didn’t know what else to say. Relief eased through her limbs, allowing her to unclench her grip on the phone. He’d been thinking about her.

  “Thanks, Charlotte. Your voice in my ear makes it all fade away. When can I see you again?” His tone of urgency took her by surprise. “I need to touch you again. But this time, I’m not going to stop at a kiss. And I’m not going to meet you someplace. I want to come to your apartment. Knock on your door. Take you to get some amazing food. Maybe do something fun after dinner. Then I’m going to bring you home and do even more things to your body.”

  “Oh.” The small sound came out breathy and filled with so much desire, Charlotte was sure her panties would go up in flames. Which might not be so bad because then her big strong fireman would have to come put them out for her. “Um, this weekend maybe?”

  “Shit, that long? Maybe I need to get put on night watch so we can have the same schedule.” A long yawn clued her into exactly how tired the man on the other end of the line must have been. “But if I have to wait until this weekend to have some unfettered access to you, then so be it.”

  After a promise that he would call the next day, they reluctantly hung up. Charlotte stared down at the phone for a minute, disbelief that this was her life coursing through her like poison threatening to kill the newly acquired optimism. Whose life was this? It couldn’t be hers. Charlotte had never in her life sat across from a girlfriend, calling a boy she liked, and setting up a date with him.

  But a high-pitched squeal from Bekah let her know it was indeed real. And Bekah really was a friend, wasn’t she? There was no other way to explain why she would hang around to force Charlotte into gathering her courage and calling Trey. And she’d stayed through the whole call as well.

  “What did I tell you? Nothing to worry about. That man has it bad for you.” Bekah leaned in and whispered conspiratorially even though no one else was in the newsroom at that time of night. “And holy shit, I could hear that booming voice all the way over here. Only a man with a big dick could have a voice that full of testosterone.”

  Bekah raised her hand above her head, stretching it out in the universal sign for give me a high-five, and Charlotte obliged with a giggle tripping over the tip of tongue.

  “Okay, now that we have that sorted, I’m going to go put my booty call out of his misery and grace him with my presence.” The curvy woman stood for her chair and skipped down the stairs to the main newsroom floor. “I want details on this date. Don’t make me come badger it out of you again. Got it girl?”

  Charlotte nodded, her cheeks flaming red and her heart still stampeding inside her chest. Once again, the newsroom plunged into silence as the door swung shut behind Bekah. And once again, what was once a comfortingly empty newsroom just felt sad to her.

  The unease stayed with her throughout the night. It didn’t help things that absolutely zero was happening news wise, and the next day’s coverage had been predetermined with scheduled press conferences. For the first time that she could remember, Charlotte felt bored at work. The energy that had possessed her body and soul the day of the fire made an impression.

  At seven the next morning, Michelle breezed through the door, her tight dress showing off the very slight bump forming. “How is everything going this morning?”

  Charlotte looked up from her desk. “Slow.”

  Michelle’s perfected sculpted eyebrow arched up in curiosity. Charlotte had never said anything close to that negative before.

  “Actually, do you mind if we talk in your office for a moment?” After her boss nodded, Charlotte called the morning production assistant over to cover phones for her, and they made their way into the News Director’s office.

  “So, what’s up?” Michelle sat in the chair across from Charlotte, the exact position they’d been in when the promotion had first come up.

  Sucking in a deep breath, Charlotte let it out quickly along with a torrent of words she hadn’t been totally sure were inside her until that moment. “I think I want to take the promotion. I mean I do, I want it. I can’t promise it will be easy, but the other day while that fire was breaking, I didn’t think about my anxiety or what people could be judging me about. I just thought about getting the story and getting it on the air. And beating all the other stations. Since then, my position on nights just doesn’t feel as…” Charlotte wracked her brain for the right word. “Fulfilling.”

  “I think you’re making the right choice.” Michelle crossed her legs and leaned back, her hand resting on that tiny little bump. “I realize some of your anxiety issues are deeper than I probably realize, but I want you to know there is at least one point in every single day that I am convinced I’m still faking my way through this job and somebody is going to figure me out. It is no secret the only reason I was even hired in this position was because no one else wanted to come within a hundred yards of this place after the debacle with the old news director. But when I do doubt myself, I give myself five minutes to really wonder and wallow. Then I get down to the next thing. Figure out the next move. Any more than five minutes, and I know it will be hours before I come out the other side of that tunnel.”

  It shocked Charlotte that the boss she so admired for her iron will and solid news judgement doubted herself on a regular basis. She had become one of the most respected journalists on the east coast over the few years since she started leading the WQUZ team. There had even been rumors that a national network tried to woo her away, but Michelle stayed because she didn’t feel her work was done at the little station that could.

  “Okay. I’ll start the paperwork with HR. Everything should be official in the next week. We’ll start your new schedule in three weeks. That will give me time to get the guy I have in mind for the overnight assignment desk train
ed.” Michelle stood, going around her desk to grab a folder from her drawer. “This is your contract. Read over it, have a lawyer look at it if you like.”

  “Wait, you already had the contract ready? You already have my replacement?”

  “Yup.” Her boss winked at her. “I had a feeling you’d make the right choice. And as for your replacement, Stan from the production department has been wanting to make the change to the news side of things for a while. This will be a good way to cut his teeth before he inevitably decides he wants to be a reporter.”

  Not knowing what to say should be something Charlotte would grow used to. But in that moment, the panic at not having a single word at the ready surged in her system until all brain power shut down and her mouth gaped open like a dead fish. Her eyes burned, but she held back the tears. Michelle stood before her holding out the folder containing Charlotte’s brand-new contract.

  Hands shaking, Charlotte took the innocuous pieces of paper. In a rush of emotions completely unlike her, she stood from the chair and pulled her boss into a bone crushing hug. “I promise, you won’t regret this. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make this newsroom thrive.”

  “I know you will.” Michelle pulled back from the hug, looking Charlotte square in the eye, not letting her doubt what she said next. “And if you ever start to second guess yourself, just know, I am behind you one hundred percent. I am very aware that you will be primarily in charge while I’m on maternity leave. Nothing could make me feel better about leaving this place for twelve weeks than that.”

  Charlotte sniffed, nodding and repeatedly thanking her boss on her way out the door. The very first instinct to hit her as she shuffled to her car, still half in shock, was to call Trey and tell him the news. She’d told him about the possible promotion, and he had been so supportive. Encouraging her to go after what she wanted. No longer fighting the things she longed for, Charlotte pulled out her phone and pressed his name. For once, she didn’t dwell on the fear that her calling twice in twenty-four hours would seem clingy or pushy.

  “Hey, I was just about to call you.”

  “I couldn’t wait to tell you.” They laughed as they both talked over each other.

  As soon as the news left her mouth Trey insisted on taking her out for pancakes and coffee to celebrate. And Charlotte agreed. She didn’t even hesitate.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Wow. Just think, I’m dating the assignment manager at WQUZ. You can bet I’m going to brag about this to the guys at the station.” Trey held up his cup of coffee, and nodded his head towards Charlotte’s cup of tea. She held it up, the crests of her cheeks aching from all the smiling she’d been doing the past few hours. “To Charlotte, for stepping out of her comfort zone, and taking life by the balls.”

  Her head automatically began to shake out of habit, ready to deny that awesomeness of everything Trey had just said. Charlotte stopped herself. “You know what, yeah, to me and my new job. And to bragging that I am dating a super hot firefighter.”

  “Yeah, you are.” Trey laughed in that deep booming way that simultaneously embarrassed and thrilled her. That laugh said he didn’t give a shit that people all over the dinner were turning to look at them. He was happy, and everyone else could go fuck themselves.

  This man had a lot to teach Charlotte.

  Once they tucked into their huge stacks of pancakes, the conversation came to a stop and instead turned to moans at the delicious food. “You don’t stop with those little noises of pleasure, and I’m going to be forced to throw you over my shoulder and take you out of here. See if there is anything else I can do with you to recreate them in private.”

  Charlotte squirmed in her seat, the building pressure between her thighs nagging at her since the night of their kiss. “Well you did say the next time you saw me, you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself. But you seem pretty in control over there.”

  Who was this woman flirting, flirting, with a big, confident, hot man like Trey? It couldn’t be her. Maybe she was still riding high from the promotion. Maybe her shell really was starting to melt. But for the first time, not even a trace of panic could be found anywhere in her body. Instead, there was arousal. Desire. Need. All things Trey could take care of.

  “You have no idea how hard it is to control myself over here. You look so beautiful in your work clothes and your hair all up in that proper bun. I just want to take you to my apartment and get you messy.” Fire burned in Trey’s eyes, his pupils growing bigger, and the muscles at his jaws tightening as he leaned forward over his half empty plate.

  “Is your apartment close?”

  “Closer than yours.”

  “Then let’s go.” Charlotte took one last bite of her strawberry stuffed pancakes and threw her napkin down, standing from the table.

  Trey followed closely behind, leaving enough money on the table to cover their bill and a very generous tip. One hand on her lower back directed her toward the small parking lot at the back of the lot. “You mind leaving your car here? I don’t want to let you out of my sight. I’ll bring you back before work tonight.”

  “That’s fine.” Once she slipped into the passenger side of his dark gray SUV, the nerves started to find their way back in, creeping up in her fingers in waves of pins and needles. Charlotte gripped the sides of her seat, willing herself to calm down. To go through with this. Trey was a good man. A patient man. A fucking sexy man. She bit the bullet earlier that morning and took a leap she never thought would be possible for her. She could do it again. Take the leap and let this man relieve her of the virginity she’d been unable to give away so far.

  As they eased onto the main road, Trey reached over and placed his hand on her thigh. It was so big compared to her lean legs that his thumb to touch her outer thigh while his pinkie rested between her legs, just an inch south of her throbbing sex. “If at any point you change your mind, we’ll watch TV and chill out on the couch. I just want to be with you, in whatever form that ends up being.”

  His reassurance wasn’t needed. She knew he’d never expect something from her she couldn’t give. But she wanted this, even as her nerves and neurosis played havoc with her brain, she still understood under all that how much she desperately wanted to be with Trey. To feel him inside her.

  They pulled into a driveway a short time later, Trey insisting she stay right where she was so he could open the door for her. He held her hand as they made their way up some rickety old steps to a wooden deck, and then inside his apartment. It was neater than she expected, especially considering he hadn’t been expecting company. Small things stood out as they made their way through his space. The sink didn’t have a single dish waiting to be cleaned. Fresh vacuum lines were visible in the old carpet. There were family pictures hanging on walls and placed haphazardly on a small piano in the corner. Two rooms jutted off the main living space, and a loft topped off the apartment.

  “Wow, this is a pretty big place.” A sectional couch took up one whole wall, with a big screen TV hanging opposite it. There wasn’t a table of any sort to eat meals at, but a set of TV trays stood beside the arm of the couch.

  “Yeah, I used to share it with two other guys, but the last time a roommate moved out, I realized I didn’t really need their help to pay rent anymore, and just kept it for myself.” They had come to a stop in the middle of the living room, Trey still holding tight to her hand. Charlotte swung her gaze around to take him in. For the first time she they’d met, he looked nervous. His back ramrod straight, and the muscles bulging at the sleeves of his shirt. “Do you want to watch some TV?”

  His unease put her at ease for some reason. Knowing that this affected him too, that he wasn’t as calm and smooth as she had assumed he would be in this moment. It put them on a little more even of a playing field.

  “No. I don’t want to watch TV.” Charlotte stepped closer. It was the most forward she’d ever been with him. Words raced in her mind and she tried to push them out, but failed. Her lips opened, but that w
as as far as she could get. Just say it. Touch me. Kiss me. Anything me. Say it. But they stayed resolutely hidden inside her whirling brain.

  Trey reached up with his thumb, brushing it across her bottom lip. “Those eyes of yours are begging me to do some very dirty things. Is that what you want right now/”

  Relief rushed out of her mouth along with a sighed, “Yes.”

  “God, I should be ashamed of how many times I’ve jacked off to thoughts of you in that bedroom. It almost feels unreal that I’ll get to have you there with me.” He picked up both her hands now, walking backward through his bedroom door, keeping the intense eye contact. “I’ve thought about how all that dark hair would look across my pillow. How tiny you’d look in the middle of my bed.”

  They stood at the edge of the bed, staring at each other, pulses pounding, and the air around them thickening with heat and unspoken words. Charlotte reached up, released her hair from the conservative bun she always wore to work. The hair that he seemed to be fascinated with tumbled down around her shoulders, and her scalp relaxed.

  “Jesus, you are beautiful. I can’t stop looking at you.” Trey traced the delicate skin of her wrists, then swept his hands up to cup her face. “I can’t wait to see how much more beautiful you get when I’ve made you come so many times, you can barely breathe.”

  Their mouths crashed together, no subtly to the kiss, just devouring and warring lips and tongues. It was wet and frantic, tinged with a pulsing need that grew bigger by the second. As they kissed, Trey gripped her shirt, and ripped it down the center, buttons popping off in every direction. Charlotte moaned, her panties soaking through at the over the top aggression in the move.

  “Fuck, I’m sorry, I just need to feel your skin.” His wide palms gripped her slight waist, gliding up to just below her nearly pointless bra, then back down to the band of her dress pants. “God, I want to see all of you.”