Loving A Firefighter (Loving Series) (5 page)

“
Sorry? For what?  You didn’t do anything.  We’re friends, aren’t we?”

He replied,
“I hope so.  Come on and I’ll take you home.”

He drove her back to her apartment, opened the door and helped her step down from the tru
ck.  He walked her to the door of the apartment.  She unlocked it and pushed the door open.  Looking up, she said, “Would you like to come in for some coffee or a soda?”

“
I don’t think so.  Not tonight.”

“
Okay.  Thank you for one of the nicer evenings I’ve had in a long time.  The dinner was great and I can hardly wait to see the car when you’ve finished restoring it.  It must be nice to have a project like that and to see where you’re going with it.  Did you take pictures of it when you got it?”

“I did.  I took a lot of them, and I’m taking
more after each time I do something to it.”

“That’ll make a nice collage.  It would make a great human interest
article for a newspaper.  You know ‘Local firefighting hero and his beloved T’bird.”

“You’re making fun of me now.”

“I am not.  I would never make fun of someone’s dream and I would never make fun of you.”  She reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

“He looks so cute when he blushes,”
she thought. 
“Good night Chip, and thanks again for a lovely evening.”

“May I call you again, Carrie?”

“I’ll be really upset if you don’t,” she said.

“Great, well good night
.”

She closed the door.  Peeking through the door lens, she could see he was just standing there,
and then he spun around and strode down the hall to the elevator.

As the elevator door closed,
She thought, “Either he’s extremely shy, or he doesn’t have much experience in dating or both,”
she thought. “I really enjoyed tonight.  I hope he calls me.”
  It was a pleased and happy Carrie Evans that crawled into bed that night.

* * *

On her way from work, Carrie stopped at Walmart and bought a wireless phone set that had three handsets and a built in answering machine.  It also had caller id.  When she returned home, she plugged it in.  She put the base station by her bed.  Then, using her iPhone, she dialed the home number.  It rang and up popped her iPhone number.  Caller ID was active.  Now she could screen her calls and also record messages.  It was going to be great.  Now if only someone would call. 

In about an hour, her wish was granted.  The phone
rang, the screen indicated a pay phone.  She had set the base station to answer after the fourth ring if she hadn’t picked up.  She let it ring, the machine picked up the call.  There was no one there.  She had the number though.  Going back through the user’s guide, she found she could block up to ten numbers.  She entered the pay phone number and the screen said ‘Number Blocked’.  Now all she needed was a real call.

At five past nine it rang.  The screen indicated CR Reynolds.  The machine’s pronunciation of the last name was funny.  She picked up the phone, and said, “Hello, CR Reynolds.”

“You got Caller ID.  Great.  Any calls?”

She said,
“One and it was a pay phone.  I blocked the number.”

“That may not have been a good idea.  It might have been better to just let the machine pick it up.  Being blocked might make him furious.”

“You’re right.  I didn’t think of that.  I’ll unblock it, and just not answer if the number calls again. 

How are you today
?” he asked.

“I’m great.  I enjoyed last night and I have been hoping you’d call.”

“Well, the reason I called, I’m not on the schedule this weekend.  Would you like to go to the Ranger’s game Saturday night?  The Sunday game is a day game.”

“I would love that.  If you have nothing else to do, could we go early and watch batting practice?  They really put on a show
.  The Rangers have some real power hitters.”

“Okay, let’s plan on it.  What time would batting practice start?”

“I’ll have to check at the station and let you know.  Did you work on the car today?”

He said,
“Not really. I went to the refinishing shop and looked at the work on the panels.  It’s really coming along.  I should have them back next week some time.  When I get it all assembled, I’ll put the seats back in and take it to the upholsterers and get the interior finished out and then have it all painted.  The excitement in his voice was contagious.  If you like, you can be the first passenger.”

“Oh, how exciting.  I
can’t wait.  Can you come over and I’ll fix dinner?  I should even have a sofa for you to sit on by then.”

There was a long silence. 

“Tomorrow’s my night for dinner with the family.  Could I have a rain check?” 

“
Certainly, we’ll do it another time.”

* * *

The next evening, Chip said to his mother, “Mom, I met the nicest girl the other day.  An old boyfriend set her apartment on fire because she broke up with him.  I was the first responder.”

His mother looked at him.  With a mother’s intuition, she could tell he was excited about this girl.  He hasn’t sounded this interested in the opposite sex since
Sara had broken up with him.

His mother patted him on the shoulder and said, “She sounds really nice.  Just don’t set yourself up for a fall, son.”

“I won’t, Mom.  I took her to dinner and that’s all.”

“What does she do?”

“She’s a researcher for WFAA.  She gets the background for the news stories for the announcers.  She wants to move into an area where she can get on the air.  She studied radio and TV at SMU.”

“Sounds like you found out a lot about her in just one date.”

“She’s really easy to talk to.  She likes sports.  Her brother is a baseball player.”

“Well, just don’t get hurt.”

“I won’t Mom.  When’s dinner?”

“It’ll be ready as soon as the biscuits are ready.  Why don’t you go get your dad?”

Chip had taken Carrie to a movie and stopped for ice cream afterwards at Baskin-Robbins.  They had developed an ease with each other and enjoyed the company.  They had made small talk.  Carrie was twisting
a ring on her finger.  Chip took her hand and examined the ring.  “Is this an engagement ring?”

“No, you’ll probably think it’s silly.  It’s called a promise ring.  Dad gave it to me when I was fifteen.  We signed a contract. 
It’s a symbol that I've taken a virginity pledge and vowed to abstain from sex until after marriage.”  Fortunately, the lower lights in the room hid the extent of her embarrassment.

“You’re cute when you blush.”  The redness in her cheeks deepened.  “I don’t think it’s silly at all.  If I ever have a daughter, she won’t date until she’s thirty five.”

When they arrived at her door, she unlocked it, pushed it open, and took Chip’s free hand and they stood there facing each other, neither one saying anything.  Then, both had the same idea, moving toward each other, Chip took her into his strong arms and held her there.  They stood there, she with her face tilted upward, looking into his big green eyes.  She was secure in the embrace, but she wanted more.  She rose on her toes, he bent slightly and their lips met.  Her lips were soft and inviting, while his were firm.  She could feel the scratch of the stubble on his face.  His lips began moving, his tongue was probing and searching the corners of her mouth.  She opened her lips slightly and the tongue entered the warm inner depths of her mouth.  She tightened the embrace by moving her arms around his neck.  She was feeling a tingle from the small hairs on his neck rubbing against the soft skin just beyond her wrist. She moaned slightly.

Breathless, they pulled apart.  “That was nice,” she said.”  Still looking into the brown pools that were his eyes, she exerted a small pressure on his neck and he moved to kiss her once again. 
This time she was the aggressor, her tongue exploring the ridges of his cheeks and the roughness of his tongue.  He tightened the embrace and pulled her to him.  Her breasts created the sensation of warmth where they crushed against his chest.  She could feel his manhood pressing against her.  She broke the embrace, looked up at him with a radiant smile, and said in a low breathless voice, “I think I had better go in now.”

“That is probably a good idea, even though I don’t want you to.”

“Thank you for a wonderful evening, Chip.”

“It was my great pleasure, ma’am.”

“That’s the second time you’ve called me ma’am.  Do it again and I’ll hit you with a shot of my pepper spray.”

“Yes ma’am,
” he said mockingly.  He ducked her swing, kissed her on the cheek and walked away. 

Neither of them had seen Nathan peeking around the corner at the end of the corridor.

Carrie went inside and locked both doors behind her and practically danced into the bedroom, removing her shoes in mid step. 
“What a wonderful evening,”
she thought. 
“I could fall in love with that man without even trying.”

She changed into her
pajamas and was in the kitchen when she heard the knock at the door. 
“Did Chip come back?”
she wondered.  She looked through the fisheye lens.  What she saw stunned her and she fell back.  Nathan was standing at the door.  He knocked again, harder than before. 

“Carrie, I know you’re i
n there.  I want to talk to you.” Thankful she had put the new wireless phone by the door; she picked it up, and moved to where her baseball bat leaned against the wall.  Another knock, only this time it was more of a pounding.  The angry voice came through the door, “Carrie, if you don’t let me in, I’ll break it down,” he said ominously.  “Why’d you change the locks?”  He was shouting now and pounding on the door.  She dialed 9-1-1.

“9-1-1, what is your
emergency.”

“A man is trying to break my door down.”

“Do you know who it is, ma’am?”

“It’s my ex-boyfriend.  He set
my apartment on fire two weeks ago.  He’s out of jail and wants in.”

“Help is on the way, ma’am.  Stay on the phone with me. 
What is your name ma’am?”

“My name is Carrie.  Please hurry.  I’m scared the door won’t hold.” 

“What is the man’s name? 
“Nathan.  His name is Nathan.”

“They’re pulling up in front now.  What floor are you on Carri
e?”

“I’m
in 3B.  Tell them to hurry.  Wait, I hear them in the hall.” 

“Don’t open the door until the police knock and tell you it is safe.”

“Okay.”

She heard
a normal sounding knock instead of the pounding from Nathan.  She looked through the port and saw a policeman.  “Is it okay to open the door?” she called out.

“Yes ma’am.  We have him in custody.”

She opened the door.  The policeman said, “He’s in custody now.  You’re safe.  Do you feel up to some questions?”

“Yes.  I’m okay.”

The policeman took her statement, thanked her and told her she would probably need to appear at the arraignment in a couple of days.  He then left and things returned to normal.

She sat down, shaken.  She picked up the phone and keyed in Chip’s number.  He answered on the second ring.  He saw her name on his Caller ID.  Carrie, are you all right?”

Sobbing tears of anger and relief, she told him the story.  He expressed his disbelief.  “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“No, I’m okay now.  The police have arrested him and he’s gone.  He kicked and pounded but didn’t get in.  I had my bat and pepper spray if he had gotten the door open.”

“Honey, are you sure you don’t want me to come over.  I can be there in ten minutes.”

“That…That’s the first time you’ve called me honey.  I like it.  No, I’m okay.  I just wanted to hear your voice.  Thanks for caring.  I haven’t had anyone care for me in a long time.  Good night Chi
p.  Thanks again.”

“If you’re sure.
  I’ll call you tomorrow.  Good night.  Call me if you change your mind.”

“I will.”

* * *

Chip and Carrie dated steadily for three months. 
They went to movies, they went to the Ranger’s games and sometimes just had a quiet dinner in Carrie’s apartment.  On one occasion, she had something to give her mother and asked if he would like to go with her.  She introduced him to her mother.  It was apparent Mrs. Evans took an instant liking to Chip.  Mrs. Evans worked in the ER and had met several firefighters that had been in after an injury.  They talked about the dangers and admiration for his work.  As they left, Carrie said, “You have made a conquest.  She really likes you.”

“I like her too.  The ER is a tough place to work.  I’ve ridden with our EMTs and Parkland is the place of choice for the really serious injuries.”

The comfort they shared in each other’s company continued to deepen.  A slender thread began to form, tying each to the other. The relationship changed to one of love but neither had expressed it yet.