Love on Location

by September Roberts

  All she had to do was wait. From her seat on the couch, she noticed Blaze’s disgusting clothes draped on the wall outside, getting even wetter. She grabbed a plastic grocery bag from the kitchen, ducked out into the storm, and stuffed them inside, leaving it against her house with his boots. Once she was in her house again, she washed her hands vigorously.

  The shower still ran.

  Koko wagged and followed Alex as she paced back and forth. “I have to sit in a car with him,” she explained. Koko wiggled. “Maybe you should come with us. That’s a great idea. You can sit on his lap. His scantily clad lap.” She cradled her head in her hands and sighed. All her clothes were in her bedroom, which was definitely off limits, and besides, what did she own that would fit him? Nothing, which is exactly what he would be wearing unless she came up with something better. An apron hung on the side of the fridge, the one Maggie had given her for Christmas as a joke stating: WORLD’S GREATEST COOK.

  That wouldn’t work. That’s when an idea struck her. Jim probably had clothes that would fit Blaze, which would make the fifty-mile ride much better.

  “Koko, stay here. I’ll be right back.” Alex ran out the front door, through the pouring rain, to Maggie’s. Koko whined from the window. Alex knocked and smiled when Jim answered the door. “Just the person I wanted to see.”

  “What can I do for you?”

  “Blaze is at my house. Showering. He fell in manure, so he doesn’t have anything to wear back into town.” Pelli nudged Alex’s fingers and looked expectantly at the door.

  Jim nodded along.

  “Can I borrow a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt? And maybe a pair of flip-flops?”

  “What size does he wear?” Jim asked

  “I don’t know.” She narrowed her eyes as she sized up Jim’s shoulders and waist. “He’s a little bigger in the chest than you, but you probably have the same waist size.”

  “Shoe size?”

  She shrugged. “Big?”

  Jim laughed and walked into their bedroom.

  “Alex, is that you?” Maggie called. “I’m in bed with the baby, come see me.”

  Alex walked down the hall and smiled at her friend. “Hey, Maggie. I can’t stay.”

  “Why? What’s going on? Why is Jim sorting through his closet?”

  “I need to borrow clothes. Blaze is at my house. Showering.”

  Maggie’s eyes widened. “Really? And why is that?”

  “He slipped on the set. Messed up his clothes.”

  “And you’re just helping out?” Maggie lifted her eyebrows. “Because you’re so nice.”

  “I am nice,” she protested.

  “There’s no other reason?” Maggie tilted her head. “Nothing dreamy happening over there?”

  Alex flushed and shook her head. “Shh. No. He’s showering. I’m driving him to town. End of story.”

  “Ah,” Jim said, finally pulling his head out of the recesses of his closet. “We had these T-shirts printed last year for a promotion, but I never got around to wearing this one. You can tell him to keep it. It’s too big for me anyway. But, I’ll need the other stuff back.” He arranged a pair of sweats on top and then crowned the stack with a pair of neon yellow flip-flops. “I hope those fit.”

  “If not, he can suck it,” Alex said.

  Maggie pursed her lips. “I think I’d be more careful about your choice of words if I were you.” A laugh erupted out of her, waking the sleeping baby in her arms.

  “You’re a jerk,” Alex said to her friend. “You, on the other hand,” she said pointing to Jim, “are the best. Thanks. See you later.”

  “I expect a full report,” Maggie called out between giggles.

  Alex clutched the clothes to her chest and ran to her house where Koko waited, her nose smashed against the window.

  “Hi, baby. Did I miss anything? Is he done?” Even from the living room she could hear the water running, just like it had been before, only now Blaze was humming. She was worried she’d been gone too long, but apparently, she hadn’t been gone long enough. “I guess we’ll just wait for him, huh?”

  Waiting turned out to be harder than she anticipated. Pacing helped for a while, then she tried to read her book, but gave up and turned on the TV. The longer he showered, the more irritated she became. When the water finally turned off, she stalked down the hall and waited with Jim’s clothes pressed against her chest, glaring at the closed door.

  ****

  Blaze dried off and then wiped the corner of the mirror and tousled his hair to style it. Alex’s bathroom smelled amazing. He’d never used rosemary mint shampoo before and suspected he’d never use anything else once he bought some for himself. The tiny bathroom didn’t have a medicine cabinet, so the counter was lined with toothpaste, moisturizer, sunblock, and deodorant. It was a first for him since he’d never been in a woman’s bathroom that didn’t have makeup in it. He finished his beer in one long swallow and smiled.

  With the towel held in place around his waist, he carried the empty bottle into her bedroom. Without prying too much, he glanced at her unmade bed, the cluttered nightstand, a pile of laundry stacked against the wall, and the massive bookshelf that took up more than half the wall. He put the bottle on one of the shelves as he read the titles displayed there. As his eyes traveled from spine to spine, he walked toward the door and stopped when he noticed the full-sized poster taped to the back. His smile grew and he couldn’t stifle a laugh.

  “I thought you weren’t a fan,” he said.

  “A fan of what?” she answered, her words muffled through the door.

  “Me,” he replied when he turned the knob.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked. The anger that had been firmly planted on her face started to slip away.

  The truth was out, she was a fan. The proof hung on her door. “That.”

  She followed him into the room and looked around, still not looking at the poster. “What?”

  Once he pushed the door closed and pointed to the poster he repeated, “That.”

  “Maggie.” A blush crept up her neck. “She thinks she’s so funny. I never close my door. I didn’t see that until just now.”

  It was too funny not to laugh. “Don’t be embarrassed, I’ll autograph it for you.”

  “Maggie brought it over here a few days ago. I told her to get rid of it.”

  He walked over to her nightstand, picked up a pen and scrawled across the middle of his chest: TO MY FAVORITE RANGER, BLAZE JOHNSON. “There.” It was true. Every word of it.

  “I don’t want your autograph. I didn’t…I’m not…” she stammered.

  That old saying about protesting too much fit her to a ‘T’. Maybe she really did want him as much as he wanted her. Only one way to find out. In a bold move, he put his finger to her lips. “It’s okay.” They were so soft, and all he wanted to do was to kiss her, but he hesitated, too afraid to screw up again.

  Her chest heaved as she took each breath. “We need to leave.”

  “Do we? I’m all relaxed after that nice long shower, maybe you could relax, too.” He took a step closer to her and smiled when her breath warmed his chest.

  Just like that, her anger came back. “Yeah, about that. Did you know our water is brought in by truck? Fifty miles. Fifty,” she shouted, stepping away from him. “Your nice long shower just consumed more water than I use in a week.”

  “It felt so good. Come on, don’t be angry,” he cooed, but it was too late.

  She thrust a pile of clothes into his hands. Instinctively, he reached for them, releasing his grip on the towel, sending it falling to the floor in a puddle around his feet.

  “Holy shit,” she whispered, before clamping her eyes shut, turning around, and slamming the door behind her. “I’ll be waiting in the car,” she shouted to her closed door. “Koko, come on, let’s go.”

  He glanced down. The promise of a kiss had worked its magic on his dick. “False alarm. She hates me.”

  Thinking about s
itting next to her in the car was more than he could handle, and it took five minutes to force his erection to go away. No need to rush out to her in the mood she was in. On the other hand, the longer he made her wait, the madder she would be.

  ****

  Alex took a deep breath of the cool evening air, savoring the aroma of wet earth. Some of her frustration slipped away. The rain fell lightly for the moment, a mere drizzle compared to the downpour earlier. When she got in her car, Koko followed, sitting in her spot on the passenger seat. The idea of Blaze sitting behind her, doing who knows what the whole ride, unnerved her. “We should probably make room for him,” Alex said. “Get in the back.” Koko hopped over the cup holder between the front seats and landed effortlessly in the back seat. Alex twisted and spread her towel out. “Lie down,” she told Koko, but Koko pressed her nose to the window and beat her tail rhythmically against the seat the moment Blaze came out the front door. His flip-flops glowed against the ground, but the rest of his outfit seemed perfectly suited for him. The T-shirt stretched across his broad chest and the sweats hugged him. “Honestly, I thought you were a better judge of character,” she mumbled to her dog before he opened the door.

  Without a word, Alex started the car and backed out of the driveway. She began the long drive out of the park, and after a few miles she asked, “Did you lock my front door?”

  “No. Why would I?”

  “Because the park is full of strangers? People have stolen from us before.” She slowed down and pulled over to call Maggie.

  “Hi. What’s up? Did you tell him to suck it and you’re calling to tell me I’m right and know everything?” Maggie said in an extra cheery voice.

  “Shh. I’m mad at you.” Alex’s cheeks burned.

  “Why?” Maggie giggled.

  “Because of your gift on the back of my door.”

  Maggie’s giggles turned into a full-on fit.

  “Will you lock my door, please? I’ll be home in a couple of hours.”

  Maggie didn’t respond with words, only more laughter.

  “Thanks.” As soon as she hung up, she put the pedal to the metal, making everyone in the car slam back into their seats.

  “I’m sorry, I—” Blaze started.

  “I don’t want to hear it.” The rain picked up again, adding to the sound of windshield wipers squeaking and Koko panting. They traveled that way for another fifteen minutes. She groaned as they came down the hill. The dip overflowed with a river of water. She slammed on the breaks, threw the car into park, and growled. “Damn it.”

  “What?” He squinted through the smudged windshield.

  “We’re stuck.”

  “What do you mean? Why are we stuck?”

  “See that dip? It’s full of water. I’m not driving a submarine,” she pointed out, just in case he hadn’t noticed. “We have to wait it out.” Great. Sitting next to Blaze and his number one Johnson for who knows how long.

  A slow smiled tugged up the corners of his mouth. “I know something we could do to pass the time.”

  “Ugh.” She twisted in her seat to face him. “Don’t you ever give up?”

  “What? I meant we could play a game on your phone,” he said innocently.

  “I’m so frustrated. I don’t get you. Sometimes you’re the worst person I’ve ever met and other times you’re totally nice.”

  “The worst person you’ve ever met? That seems a bit harsh.”

  “You tried to get me fired. That makes you pretty bad in my book.” Her heart pounded wildly and her breath was erratic. “I’ve been trying so hard to be nice to you so it won’t happen again.”

  “Fired? I didn’t—”

  “I. Don’t. Want. To. Hear. It,” she ground out before getting out of the car. The rain pelted her head, mixing with the tears that spilled out of her eyes. The other door slammed and Blaze made his way to her side, his shoes slapping the pavement. “Just leave me alone,” she said, trying to turn away from him.

  He held her shoulders and ducked his face in front of hers, forcing her to look at him. “I didn’t try to get you fired.”

  “Yes, you did,” she shouted. “This isn’t even supposed to be my job. I’m only doing it because Maggie is on maternity leave. You reported me to the director. He said—”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “He called me and said you reported me because I threatened you. Remember? The day you put me in my place and told me I wasn’t valuable enough to be your coworker. When you reminded me I need a letter and all that stupid shit so I can prove I didn’t fuck this job up. Remember?” She took a deep ragged breath, pulling salty tears and cool rain onto her tongue.

  “I didn’t report you. Nate must’ve.” His shoulders fell. “I told him to take care of it. I didn’t think he’d… I didn’t think about what he would do. I was frustrated.” He sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen. Why didn’t you say something?”

  “How could I? How could I admit I screwed up my one chance to prove myself? If I blow it, no one gets raises. The other rangers are counting on me, and I fucked up.” She rested her chin on her chest and sobbed.

  “You didn’t fuck anything up,” he said soothingly, running his hands down her arms. “Let’s talk about this inside the car.”

  Sitting inside the car with him didn’t sound appealing at all, so she stood there and cried and, to her surprise, he hugged her. As she leaned against his chest, he patted her back and told her it was going to be okay. And she believed him. She ran out of tears at about the same time the sky ran out of rain.

  “Are you done?” he said.

  Instead of answering, she pulled away from him and returned to her seat. Leaving his arms turned out to be harder than she imagined and relief filled her when he joined her a few seconds later. Koko stood in the spot between them, licking and nuzzling while Alex dabbed at her eyes and nose with a tissue.

  “Thanks, baby.” Koko was always there when she needed her. Eventually, Alex’s breathing evened out and Koko receded. Water dripped from Blaze’s short hair, and after a quick glance in the mirror, she laughed. “I’m a mess.” Strands of soggy hair hung limp around her face.

  “No, you’re not,” he answered.

  She wiped her eyes and laughed. “Have you seen me?”

  “I’m looking right at you,” he said, stroking her cheek. And then he kissed her. Soft, warm, and gentle.

  Chapter Ten

  Alex moaned and leaned into Blaze’s hand, parting her lips and pushing her tongue into his mouth. He wound his fingers into her hair and pulled her closer. The cup holder dug into her side as she bent toward him. Why hadn’t she kissed him before? Oh, right. It would be unethical for her to get involved with a coworker. Despite the ugly truth, tingles spread through her entire body, a thousand times more powerful than her dreams. Just because it felt good didn’t mean she should keep doing it, so she pulled away from him. “I shouldn’t have…”

  “Stopped? I agree,” Blaze said, leaning toward her again for another kiss.

  “No. Kissed you. I’m sorry, but I can’t…” If kissing felt that good, she could only imagine what the rest would be like. No. That couldn’t happen. What would people think? That she was using him to get the letter the park needed. And what about him? Why was he even interested in her? The answer to that question was one she didn’t want to know. She took a deep breath, faced forward, and buckled her seat belt.

  “What just happened?” he asked, touching her arm lightly.

  Pulling away from him, she said, “I turned you down.” The more she thought about it, the more she questioned his motivation. It might be an elaborate prank, proving that he could get her, too. That she had succumbed to him like everyone else.

  The river had subsided to a small creek, which wouldn’t be a problem for her car. Water arced on either side of the windows as she pushed ahead into the dark night, leaving her moment of weakness behind. When she sucked her lip into her mouth, a jolt of pleasure shot thro
ugh her; it still tasted like him. Screaming was definitely not an option, but she wanted to anyway. More than anything, she wanted to kiss him again. Her grip tightened on the steering wheel as she merged onto the highway that would take them to town.

  ****

  Blaze shifted in his seat. What had happened? The moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived. After all the time they had spent together, they kissed. Not just any kiss, the kind that took his breath away. But she stopped. Why? Didn’t she want him? Of course she didn’t. Not after he got her in trouble. As if she would forget all of that with one kiss. Sure, she seemed to accept his apology, and when he kissed her, she kissed him back, but then everything changed. The moment had passed, and he needed to accept it.

  As she wound through the quiet streets of Dembi toward the hotel, he stared at her stony face, her cheeks still flushed from crying and her lips swollen from their kiss. She wouldn’t look at him.

  “It’s not real,” he said.

  “What?” she asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

  “Me, my persona. Blaze Johnson.” He sighed. “People expect things. So why not play the part?”

  Outside the entrance to his hotel, she turned off her car and looked at him. “You’re telling me all that swagger and confidence isn’t really you?”

  He shook his head. Why couldn’t she see it?

  “I don’t know what to think of you,” she replied.

  It didn’t matter what he said, he was getting nowhere fast. “Thank you for driving me all the way out here. I hope you have a safe drive back. Thanks for the clothes, too,” he added.

  “Thank Jim. He needs the pants and shoes back but said you could keep the T-shirt if you want. It’s too big for him.”

  “Okay. Goodnight, Koko.” He twisted in his seat to pet her. “Tell your mom I like her, okay?” With one last glance at Alex, he got out.

  ****