My face felt hot. How stupid could I be? Of course, he had a girlfriend. Of course, he wasn’t actually interested in me. “Grab the tray of cupcakes and follow,” I said. “Best of both worlds.”
“Agreed. I’m Liam, by the way.” He stuck out his hand.
“Katie.” I shook his hand, reveling in the warm, strong fingers wrapped around mine. For a moment, I thought he was pulling me closer into himself, but I must have been imagining things because he dropped it almost immediately. “Okay, Katie. Let’s got see what our clearly socially inept friends are up to.”
There was little to worry about because Oliver and Emma were talking and laughing as if they’d known each other for years. “What’s your story?” I asked Liam. “Is the whole sexy fireman thing a costume, or are you the real deal?”
“So, you admit, you think I’m sexy?”
I looked up, blushing, and met his laughing eyes. “Um, no?” I tried, making my declaration sound more like a question.
“It’s okay,” he said, taking the tray of cupcakes out of my shaking hands. “I’m just teasing you a bit.”
Liam
She thinks your sexy! My brain was screaming. Okay, so yes, she said she had a boyfriend. I could accept that. Maybe. But she was looking at me like she wanted to put me on a plate and eat me for breakfast, and I was sure I was looking at her the same way.
I didn’t even know this girl. She could have been a crazy serial killer in real life, yet here I was imagining us going home together, despite the fact we were both spoken for. And maybe that was it. Maybe it was just the fact she looked so much like Nicole, and I hadn’t been with Nicole in real life for ages. Or, maybe I just had a very specific type. Whatever it was, I could feel a lump in my throat… and in my pants, and neither seemed ready to go away any time soon.
“I’m just teasing you a bit,” was all I could think to say. “I’m training to be a firefighter. I’ve been in the program a few months. It’s rigorous, but so was the EMT program I finished before it.”
“That’s impressive.” Katie nodded, and damned if it didn’t make me feel proud that I’d impressed her. “Did you go to school for fire safety as well?”
Why are we talking about school when we should be ripping each other’s clothes off? A wicked little voice inside me shouted. Instead of asking her this ridiculous question, I shook my head. “Computer science. That’s how I met Oliver. And Nicole… And Becca, actually.”
Why are you so stupid? The voice shouted again.
“Nicole?” Katie crinkled up her adorable, upturned nose.
“My, ah, girlfriend,” I said. Then, I started rambling. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t know how to be normal around this girl. “She’s a med student, but she and Oliver and I all went to school together. Nicole was pre-med, and Becca was her roommate. Oliver and I were computer science geeks. I wasn’t planning on being a firefighter at first, but my dad was a firefighter, and I always wanted to be like him.”
She nodded, never taking those gorgeous green eyes away from mine. “So, I admired him,” I kept rambling, “but I was always pretty out of shape. Always last to be picked for the kickball team. You know?”
Now, Katie’s eyes had moved from my eyes to my lips. She bit her own lip, looking for all the world like she wanted to kiss me right then and there, boyfriend or not. I gave a nervous laugh. “A few years ago, my dad had a heart attack.”
Her eyes grew wide and shot back up to mine. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Did he pass away?”
“No,” I answered. “Thankfully, my mom got him to the hospital in time, but it did kind of kick my butt into gear. I realized I didn’t want to live my who life behind a desk. I wanted to be…” I trailed off, not knowing quite how to put it.
“A hero?” Katie smiled. I thought she was teasing me this time, but her smile was without irony or sarcasm.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I’m not. I mean, not yet. But I wanted to be a hero, like my dad. So, I got my ass to the gym, hired my friend Jim to be my personal trainer, got whipped into shape, and applied to the EMT program. A lot of guys at the firehouse are EMTs. Most of them do that first while volunteering, which is what I do now.”
“So, you’re not actually working?” Katie asked.
I thought maybe she was one of those girls who just cares about how much money a guy makes, and I couldn’t help but wonder what job her boyfriend had. But, when I looked into her eyes, I could see her face was open. She was genuinely curious—not looking to move up the ladder. “I work for SeeTech. I’m in the IT department. Oliver used to be there, too. Most of the time, it’s just helping people get rid of viruses they’ve accidentally downloaded, but it pays the bills.”
Katie nodded and for once, her eyes left mine. I worried maybe she was bored, but I saw her gaze drop down to the cupcake tray. “These are good,” I said. “I broke my diet for them. You should have another one.”
Katie laughed, and the delicate, tinkling sound made something in my gut flutter. My cock had deflated a bit as we made small talk, but as soon as she laughed, it was at full-staff again.
“You sound like a girl,” she laughed, and I could see tiny tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
“Hey,” I protested.
“I’m sorry,” she put her hand on my bicep. “It’s just that I’ve never heard a guy say he broke his diet for a cupcake.”
She broke into another fit of giggles, but I couldn’t move. All I could think about was the touch of her skin against mine. My muscles involuntarily tensed.
“Oh!” Katie seemed to remember herself. “Liam, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have…” she pulled her hand away.
“It’s okay,” I said, and cleared my throat. Why did my voice sound so husky?
“No. Really. I should be better about remembering not to invade people’s personal space.” Katie’s hands flew up to her head to adjust her cat ears. She turned and fussed with her tail as well.
Clearly, she felt awkward. I wanted to make her feel comfortable, so I asked. “What about you? Did you try to follow in your father’s footsteps as well?”
She laughed and seemed to relax again. “No. I teach kindergarten.”
“No way!” I said. “My mom teaches kindergarten. It’s such an exhausting job. I could never do it. Do people tell you all the time that they’d love to have your job.”
“Yes!” she stared at me, but in a totally different way this time. “They always say, ‘You must love playing with kids all day.’”
“Have you also heard, ‘Anyone could do your job. You’re just a glorified babysitter’? Because my mom gets that one all the time.”
“Only once or twice from angry parents,” she said.
“Okay, what’s your craziest story?” I asked. “I am genuinely curious. Because my mother told me a doozy last week that you would not believe.”
She smiled. For a moment, all I wanted to do was stand right there in that spot making Katie smile all night long… and then take her home and rip her clothes off, of course. Thank goodness we were talking about my mother and teaching. Safe topics. Not what I really wanted to ask her, which was something like “Does your pussy taste like honey?” At this thought, my cock twitched again. I ignored it.
“Last week this kid in my class—” she started.
“Game time!” Becca burst into the room, carrying two trays of green test tube shots.
Becca pushed me out of the way to set the trays on the table. Then, she ran back to the kitchen to grab more. I grabbed two shots and moved back as the crowd pushed in. I handed one to Katie.
“You didn’t drive, did you?” I asked.
“Why? Planning on getting me drunk?” she shot back.
“Wow,” I laughed. “No. Not at all. Promise. I just didn’t want to compromise you or your friend just in case you’re being the responsible one tonight.”
She rolled her eyes, and I swear even that was adorable. “We took an Uber,” she said and reached up to straighten her ears
again. Shit. I made her nervous again.
“We’re playing ‘I Never’ first,” Becca said. “Then, Spin the Bottle round one—kissing round the circle. Then round two—Seven Minutes in Heaven. The closet’s all ready for some hot make-out sessions!”
“Don’t forget Truth or Dare,” a red-headed Wonder Woman called out.
“Absolutely, Vicki” Becca grinned. “Truth or Dare, then more drinking, dancing, and carousing. And, for those who can handle it, a walk through the cemetery before we retire back to our coffins for the evening.” She cackled a witch’s laugh that sounded like it was straight out of The Wizard of Oz.
I turned away from Becca to ask Katie if she was going to play, but she was gone. I looked over to where Oliver and Katie’s friend had been talking, but Emma was gone, too. Oliver’s eyes drifted to mine. He looked starry-eyed and drunk, even though he promised to drive us home.
“Have you been drinking?” I asked. “Because you already had a candy corn milkshake, and you know you can’t handle your liquor.”
He shook his curly head. “Didn’t even finish it. Just drunk on love, my friend. Drunk on love.”
“You let her get away, though.” I motioned around us.
“That’s your fault,” he replied. “Her friend said they needed to freshen up before the games. If you were a better wingman, you would have kept her busy, and I could have sealed the deal.”
“Taken her home?” I was shocked. Oliver wasn’t usually like this.
He shook his head again. “Liam, do you even know me at all? Gotten her number. I don’t want to take her home tonight. I want to take her home to meet my mother.”
“Okay, Romeo,” I laughed. “Slow down. Number first. Then coffee. Then dinner. Don’t go asking this chick to marry you on the first date.”
“You’ll help?” he asked.
“Sure. It doesn’t seem like you need any, but I’ll do what I can. Talk you up, or whatever.”
“You won’t be too busy, say rescuing a kitten from a tree?”
“What?” I started, then realized what he was getting at. “No. I won’t be rescuing any cats tonight. Besides, she has a boyfriend. And I have a girlfriend.”
Oliver ignored me. “I have to kiss her tonight,” he said, drifting toward the center of the room, where the games were starting.
Funny, I thought. I was thinking the same thing.
Katie
I felt a little guilty dragging Emma away from the fun, but I couldn’t stand there with Liam any longer. He made me feel comfortable and awkward all at the same time. And every time I stared deep into his warm, brown eyes, all thoughts of Ben flew out of my head. When Becca brought the shots over, I downed one, grabbed a second, and pulled Emma away.
“We have to freshen up?” she sounded confused and out of breath as I dragged her up the stairs. “Do I look bad? Is my makeup smeared or something?”
“You look fine,” I said. “I just wanted to get a breath of fresh air for a minute.”
“Then shouldn’t we be outside?” Emma’s eyebrows furrowed.
“No.” I opened the bathroom door, only to see Amber with her arms wrapped around the cowboy she had spotted earlier. She was wearing his hat.
“Hey ladies,” she peaked over the cowboy’s shoulder. “Games started yet?”
“Almost,” I said.
“We’ll be right down. There’s another bathroom down the hall. You may want to knock first, though.”
Amber went back to kissing the guy’s neck, and for a second, I wished it was me in there, wrapping my arms around a strong fireman instead of a drunken cowboy. Embarrassed at both the thought and the display before me, I shut the door, and Emma and I walked down the hall, this time, stopping to knock on door number two.
“So, you seemed to be having a nice time,” Emma said, as we both faced the mirror, freshening up our makeup.
“A better time than last year,” I smiled warmly at her, “though last year, I didn’t have a friend to hang out with.”
“I was talking about the fireman,” she giggled. “While I was talking to Oliver, I noticed you staring at him for the last hour. He’s good looking. Not necessarily my type, but—”
“But I have Ben. Remember Ben? My boyfriend? Of four years? With whom I am currently living?”
Emma sighed, “I remember. I remember that he doesn’t seem to want to get married any time soon, though it’s clear that’s what you want. And I remember that you said you barely talk anymore because he’s working too much, and that your love life is, well, let’s just say, there’s a lot to be desired in that department.”
Amber came in behind us. “What are we talking about?”
“Ben,” I said.
She rolled her eyes. “Katie, have you ever thought that maybe he’s not working all those hours?”
I whipped around. “What do you mean?”
“Amber, don’t,” Emma said. “Not right now, anyway. Let’s just have fun tonight.”
“I mean that maybe he’s got someone on the side,” Amber plowed on. “Or maybe several someones.”
“Impossible,” I said. “Ben isn’t like that.” I couldn’t help but wonder, though. Maybe she was right. Maybe he’d lost interest in me because he gained interest in someone else. Maybe it wasn’t just work. Why had none of this ever crossed my mind before?
I shook off the thought. “Emma’s right. Let’s go downstairs. She met a boy, you know.”
“Oh, really?” Amber’s eyes lit up. “Do tell.”
“His name is Oliver,” Emma said, “and he works in IT.”
“Liam said he didn’t work in IT anymore,” I cut in.
“Who’s Liam,” Amber asked, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
“Katie’s hot fireman,” Emma said. “She’s been staring at his firehose for the past hour.”
“I have not,” I blushed, and the thought of riding Liam’s “fire hose” made my palms sweat all over again.
“So, maybe Ben’s not the only one who’s going to have some extra-curricular fun tonight.” Amber smiled wickedly and pulled us both out of the bathroom and down the stairs.
I could see Oliver and Liam from the top of the stairs. Oliver had ditched the Nintendo controller costume, and was wearing Liam’s helmet—probably because of Becca’s “no costume, no party” rule. Without his helmet, I could see Liam’s thick, wavy hair. I licked my lips, but my mouth still felt dry, so I downed the test tube shot in my hand, wincing at the sour liquor, and continued down to the living room where Becca was passing out more shots and telling everyone to get ready for some fun.
“Monster Mash” started up again, blasting from the speakers. I tried not to groan out loud. Between the music, the hot guy who was again staring at me and the two friends who were trying to push me into his arms and away from my probably-faithful boyfriend, this was going to be a long night.
Liam
“First thing I’m going to do is help you take off that ridiculous costume,” I said to Oliver, as soon as I realized the girls would be gone for a few minutes.
“But she liked my costume,” he whined. “And I lied before. I didn’t buy it. I made it myself.”
“Oliver, you can’t sit in the circle to play Spin the Bottle without looking like a jackass. And, you can’t make out with a girl if you’ve got two feet of foam rubber separating you from her,” I insisted. “If she asks, tell her it got too hot.”
“Okay,” he grumbled in agreement. “I’ll need your hat though.”
“Fine. Take it. Hurry up. The game’s about to start.”
We walked over to where Becca was giving directions. For a minute, I thought maybe Katie and her friends had left the party early, but then, I saw her boots as she descended the stairs. Her boots were followed by her long, lean legs, her slim waist, the curve of her ass, straining underneath her tight costume. From her toes to her tits, every inch of Katie screamed sex. Only her face, which I could now see was quite different from Nicole’s, looked mu
ch more wholesome than her costume.
Just like earlier that day, the combination of sweet and sexy got to me. I was rock hard again. This girl was going to give me serious blue balls if I kept looking at her. Unfortunately for me, I promised Oliver to stick by his side and help him win over Emma. If it hadn’t been for that, I probably would have left the party altogether.
“Never have I ever kissed someone of the same sex,” Becca started the game.
Only a few people took sips of their drinks. I was only slightly disappointed to see that Katie wasn’t one of them. The thought of her with another chick… well, it was almost as hot as the thought of her climbing up on top of me. Her blond friend was a different story, though, and slammed her drink down before scooping up a second.
Wonder Woman was next. “Never have I ever cheated on a person I was dating.”
Again, Katie didn’t drink. Neither did I. She caught my eye, and I couldn’t help winking at her.
Now it was Batman’s turn. “Never have I ever had sex outside.”
I looked at Katie again. She stared back and lifted her test tube, as if in a toast. I lifted mine back, and we both took a drink. I raised an eyebrow at her. “Camp” she mouthed.
“Me, too,” I mouthed back. I couldn’t add, “Plus a beach, a pool cabana, a hiking trail, a bike path, and Yellowstone National Park.” Nicole had a fetish for doing it in public places. It wasn’t one I really shared, but I didn’t mind indulging in her fantasies every now and then. Though, now that I thought of it, the last time we did it outside had been over a year ago.
The game went on like this for a while, and when I realized it was winding down, I leaned over to Oliver. “Don’t sit right next to Emma,” I said. “If we play spin the bottle, you’ll probably be too close for the bottle to land on you. Try sitting across from her instead.”
“What if I just sit next to her and ask for her number?” he wondered.
Hot & Heavy Halloween (Hot Holidays Book 1) Page 4