They retrieved their drinks and made their way downstairs. Drew was acting as if what she’d told him didn’t matter. Maybe it didn’t, but it still didn’t change the facts. She wasn’t ready to be anyone’s mistress again.
As they neared the bottom of the staircase, she took in the number of available Femdoms in the club that would be willing to take on a new male sub. There were at least three that she could think of off the top of her head. If Drew was a masochist, she could add a couple more to the list.
Beth knew she should encourage him to shift his attention to one of these Dommes, but the thought of actually speaking the words made her feel as if she’d eaten something that didn’t agree with her. Ready or not, she wanted him for herself. Even though she had no idea how long it would take her to feel up to a relationship again, she couldn’t bring herself to suggest another mistress.
“Is something wrong?” Drew asked.
It was only then that Beth realized she’d come to a dead stop at the bottom of the stairs. “No. I’m fine. I should find Nicole, though. She’s probably wondering where I am since I told her I’d be here tonight.”
He nodded and glanced down at her glass. “Did you want me to get another drink for you?”
“I think I’m good for now.” She paused and considered her next words carefully. Although she wanted to spend time with him, she didn’t want him to feel obligated to stay by her the entire night. “It’s all right if you want to go hang out with your friends. I don’t mind.”
If she hadn’t been watching him as closely as she was, she would have missed the disappointment that flashed in his eyes. “Is that what you want?”
She swallowed, and looked him square in the eye as she spoke. “No.”
He grinned, and the butterflies were back to fluttering in Beth’s stomach. Why did she have such a strong reaction to him? It would be so much easier if she didn’t.
Before Beth could lose her nerve, she stepped forward, and leaned in close to whisper in his ear. “Thank you.”
The muscles in Drew’s neck moved as he swallowed. “For what?”
She tipped her head enough to meet his gaze. “For having patience with me.”
Drew closed his eyes. “Beth.”
“Yes?” She knew she was teasing him, but she couldn’t help it.
He opened his eyes, and the look in them nearly burned a hole in her soul. “I so want to touch you right now.”
Her only response was to lick her lips.
Beth heard him groan, which caused her to chuckle. She’d missed this. She’d missed this a lot.
Backing away, she shot him a heated look, and then turned on her heel.
She had a huge grin on her face as she strutted across the room toward Nicole. Her friend must have seen at least part of the exchange, because she smirked at her as Beth sat down.
“Having fun?” Nicole asked.
“As a matter of fact, I am.”
Nicole snapped her fingers, and Jeff crawled to her side. She brought his head into her lap and began running her fingers through his hair before turning her attention back to Beth. “About time.”
Beth felt Drew lower himself into the space next to her. He didn’t say anything, but she could feel the energy flowing off him. She knew she was on dangerous ground, but it didn’t matter.
They passed the rest of the evening talking about some new toys Nicole had acquired. Although her friend could sometimes be slightly more sadistic than Beth, she and Nicole had a lot in common when it came to play. When Beth had been with Ben, she and Nicole had often shared ideas. Since the demise of Beth’s relationship, Nicole had toned it down. Yet another thing Ben had taken from Beth that she wanted back.
During most of their conversation, Drew had sat beside her and listened. He didn’t need to be the center of attention. That was good. Beth wasn’t into bratty, attention-seeking submissives.
By the time Drew walked Beth out to her car at the end of the night, she was feeling pretty good. They’d had a nice time. She hadn’t felt pressured to be anything other than herself.
Beth was still riding her high on Tuesday morning when she strolled into the café. Tommy picked up on the change in her mood. “Tell me you have a date with that fireman?”
She laughed and shook her head.
He groaned. “What in the world are you waiting for?”
Beth shrugged and slipped her apron over her head.
Tommy rested his hands on his hips and sighed. “Do I have to have a talk with him? Is he not stepping up?”
She stopped what she was doing and leveled a hard stare at him. “Don’t you dare. This is none of your business. Do you hear me? You stay out of it.”
He rolled his eyes, and stuck out his tongue at her before reaching for a bowl. “I just don’t get it. He’s single, right?”
“As far as I know.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Tommy asked.
“I don’t know if I’m ready.” Her reply was barely above a whisper, but she knew he heard her.
“If I ever see Ben again, I’m going to punch him. I should have done it the day he came in here begging you to hear him out.” Tommy rarely got angry. He was one of the most easygoing people she knew. But she had no doubt if Ben were to walk through the door at that moment, Tommy would follow through on his threat.
Beth dropped the dough she’d just removed from the refrigerator on the counter, and pulled Tommy in for a hug. “Thank you for caring, but I’ll be okay. I promise. I just need some time.”
Tommy snorted. “I still want to punch him.”
She smiled. “I know you do, and that means a lot.”
Sighing, he went back to work on the mix he’d been making when she’d come in. “I just don’t want to see you miss out on something because of him.”
There wasn’t really anything Beth could say in response to that, so instead she nudged him with her hip to lighten the mood. It worked. He grinned back at her, and hip checked her in return.
The two of them worked quickly to prep for the morning rush—neither one bringing up Beth’s relationship issues. Once the doors opened, the steady stream of customers seemed to keep coming nonstop. By ten thirty, they were nearly wiped out of all their pastries. She hated to tell people they were out of something, so it was a good thing it was almost lunchtime. Even though they occasionally sold a muffin or two during the afternoon, most customers made their selections based on what was left in the case.
She disappeared into the kitchen to remove the last two loaves of bread from the oven when Tommy peeked his head in the back. “You have a delivery.”
“What?” She looked toward the back door, but it was secured, as it should be.
He chuckled. “Nope. Out front.”
Before she could respond, he was gone.
Sighing, Beth placed the bread on the cooling rack, and then went to see what he was talking about.
There on the front counter sat another bouquet of flowers. These were purple and white with some greenery mixed in. Unlike with the previous delivery, Beth didn’t hesitate to reach for the card. She knew they were from Drew.
Beth,
Thank you for trusting me.
Drew
The grin that spread across Beth’s face made her cheeks hurt.
“Tommy, can you watch the front for a few minutes?” She took her flowers, and the card, into the back without waiting for a response. Digging through her purse, she found Drew’s number, and dialed before she could have any second thoughts.
“Hello?”
“Drew, it’s Beth. I didn’t catch you at a bad time, did I?”
There was a hesitation, and then the sound of a door closing. “Not at all. I was just hanging out with some of the guys from the station. We were getting ready to start up the grill.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, I won’t keep you, then. I only wanted to let you know that I got your flowers, and I wanted to say thank you. They’re beautiful.”
“Don’t apologize. I love that you called me. And that you like the flowers. Lunch will wait. You can call me anytime you want. As long as I’m not in a burning building, I’ll answer.”
“Still, you’re with your friends. I won’t keep you.”
“Beth?”
“Yes?”
There was a long pause. “Thank you for calling. I’m glad you like the flowers.”
***
Drew was flying high when he stepped out onto the deck in Romeo’s backyard. That was until three sets of eyes turned in his direction and seemed to be waiting for something. “What?”
“Got something to tell us, Parker?” Baily asked.
“Not at all.”
All three of them scoffed.
“You ran out of here with that phone to your ear awfully fast, Captain. You got a hot date you aren’t telling us about?” Romeo teased.
Drew strolled over to the cooler and grabbed a bottle of water. He downed it before answering. “Why would I tell you knuckleheads if I did, hmm?”
Luckily, Sophia, Romeo’s wife, chose that moment to bring a large platter of meat outside. Conversation pretty much became nonexistent as everyone focused on the food.
His reprieve didn’t last long, though. About five minutes into the meal, the eating slowed, and the conversation resumed. Of course, his phone call was still at the top of the subject list.
“At least tell us if it was a woman? It was a woman, right?” This time it was Baily who chimed in.
Drew sighed. Not answering would only work the guys up more, but he didn’t want to say too much either. His relationship with Beth, whatever it was, was private. “Yes, it was a woman. Your sister, actually. She wanted to know if I was free tonight.”
Irwin and Romeo laughed. Baily scowled. “Not funny, man.”
“Yeah, it really was,” Romeo said.
With a few well-placed comments, Drew was able to deflect the conversation away from his phone call. He doubted it would last indefinitely, though.
Sure enough, the next day the guys started in with little comments. First it was Baily asking if he needed to sit down and have a heart-to-heart with Drew about the birds and the bees. Then it was Romeo with an offer of dating advice. The only one who kept his opinions to himself was Irwin.
“Come on, guys. It was just a call.”
“Yeah, ’cause I go running for privacy when my friends call,” Romeo hollered from the top of the truck.
“Maybe I just didn’t want to make them listen to all your whining,” Drew shouted back.
There was a collective laugh.
Before the guys could get started again with the questioning, the alarm went off and they all abandoned cleaning the rig to respond to a small kitchen fire a couple of blocks from the station. The entire call took a little over an hour. It was enough to get the guys’ minds off Drew’s personal life, but he knew not to get his hopes up. That’s why as soon as they were back at the station, he cleaned his gear as quickly as he could, and then barricaded himself in his office.
Throughout the afternoon, there were knocks on his door from not only his crew, but nearly every one of the guys at the station. It was almost as if they’d developed a rotation and brainstormed excuses to bother him. He wasn’t sure if they were waiting for him to extend an invitation for one of them to come in and talk, or if they were hoping to catch him on the phone again. Either way, they were disappointed. He would answer their question and then send them on their way. After a while, he began thinking of assignments to keep them busy. Once they realized bothering him was getting them more work, the interruptions became less frequent.
When dinnertime rolled around, Drew grabbed his food, and headed back to his office. He wasn’t in the mood to socialize even though he knew doing so would only invite more questions. What he really wanted to do was talk to Beth, but he didn’t think calling her so soon would be a good idea. He didn’t want her to think he was a stalker or anything.
Sleep was a long time coming that night. He’d waited until most of the guys had gone to bed before heading for his assigned cot. Even then, he’d heard a couple of coughs and mumbled words as he made his way to his bed.
Although he wished the guys would let it go, Drew knew that wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t the way things were done. He was acting strange, and they all knew it. Drew was going to have to figure out something to tell them. It would be different if he and Beth were already in a relationship. This friendship of theirs was a little more complicated to explain.
If he and Beth did end up in a relationship, he was sure she’d meet the guys eventually. It was sort of inevitable. He wasn’t worried. Beth could hold her own. Drew had no doubt about that. It was the fear that if his buddies found out what Beth was—what he was—Drew had no idea if it would change how they viewed him.
It ended up being a slow night. They’d been called out a little after one to a possible heart attack. The EMTs had taken the man to the hospital, and then they’d all returned to the station. Nights like that were rare, so Drew counted his blessings.
Five days later, he walked into his apartment around nine with an arm full of groceries. Before leaving for his shift the day before, Drew noticed his refrigerator was disturbingly empty. Granted, he didn’t cook much outside the station—it was only him, after all—but that didn’t mean he wanted to eat peanut butter on stale bread for every meal. Plus, he was off for the next four days, and the last thing he wanted to do was eat frozen dinners the entire time.
Setting the bags down on the counter, he went to work putting everything away. Drew placed a couple of tomatoes on the counter beside a bag of onions and some garlic. One of these days he hoped Beth would let him cook for her. Of course, there were a lot of things Drew was hoping she’d let him do for her.
His thoughts began drifting into X-rated territory when he heard his phone beep. Digging it out of his pocket, he checked the message he’d just received. His heart skipped a beat when he saw it was Beth. He hadn’t heard from her since they’d spoken on the phone the week before, and he hadn’t been able to make it to the club on Saturday. When he hadn’t heard from her again, he’d debated calling her, but had hesitated. He was trying to let her set the pace.
I hope I didn’t cause you any problems with your friends. - Beth
Drew quickly typed out a response.
You didn’t. I was happy you called.
Okay. - Beth
Her reply didn’t give him much to work with, but he wasn’t willing to end their conversation yet—even if it was only via text.
The café is closed today, isn’t it?
Yes. - Beth
He took a deep breath, and plowed ahead. She’d made first contact. He was going to take a leap of faith.
Do you have plans?
Not really. - Beth
Did you want to catch a movie?
She didn’t answer back immediately.
Together? - Beth
Yes.
There was another extremely long break in the exchange, and Drew was thinking he’d put his foot in his mouth again.
Friends? - Beth
He released a loud sigh of relief.
Of course.
All right. What time? - Beth
Drew was shaking with excitement. He could barely type his response back to her.
I just got home. Let me check movie times, and I’ll text you back. Anything you want to see?
I hate to admit this, but I don’t really know what’s out right now. Been a while since I’ve gone to the movies. -Beth
Okay. I’ll put together a few options.
As quickly as he could, Drew finished putting away his groceries, and then went to the bedroom to retrieve his laptop. It took him a few minutes to pull up movie times for nearby theaters. He wanted to give Beth as many options as possible, so he chose a location that boasted twenty-four screens. They had five different movies all starting within a half hour of each other. He figured he and Beth could find something suitable to watch from the choices.
He texted her back with the movie names and times.
Did you want me to pick you up?
She answered almost immediately.
No. I’ll meet you there. What time? - Beth
Now? LOL
Didn’t you work last night? Don’t you need to sleep? - Beth
I can sleep anytime.
You need your rest. 2? - Beth
Okay. I’ll see you at 2.
Sleep well, Drew. - Beth
I will. Now.
By the time Drew plugged his phone into the charger on his nightstand and slipped into bed, he felt as if his face would fall off from grinning so much. He had a date with Beth. Okay. Not a date. It was two friends going to see a movie together. Still, he was going to be spending time with Beth outside her work or the club. He couldn’t see a downside.
Unfortunately, his enthusiasm for his afternoon with Beth made for a restless sleep. Thank goodness it had been slow at work the night before or else he might have found himself dozing during the movie. That was unacceptable. Drew would have begged on his hands and knees for this time with Beth. He wasn’t going to waste it.
The entire time he was getting ready, he kept telling himself that he needed to calm down. They were going out as friends. It wasn’t a date.
That was true enough. He also knew that if the outing didn’t go well this afternoon, then the chances of him ever getting her to agree to go out on an actual date with him were slim to none. Talk about pressure.
Drew threw on a nice pair of faded jeans and a T-shirt. He had thought about stepping it up a little, maybe nice khakis instead of jeans, but decided that might not be the best idea. He couldn’t do anything that would suggest they were on a date.
After swiping his keys, he made the short drive to the movie theater. Getting out of his car, he saw her already waiting on a bench not far from the main entrance. She was beautiful, but she always was. Her hair was down, and for the first time he saw how it looked as it framed her face. He wanted to run his fingers through it and see if it felt as soft as it appeared.
He made it halfway to where she was before she saw him. Drew picked up his pace and crossed the parking lot. “Sorry I wasn’t here sooner. Did you have to wait long?”
She smiled, but it seemed off somehow. “No. I got here a few minutes ago.”
They stood in awkward silence for a moment.
“Should we go inside?” he asked.
“Yes. I mean, no. I mean . . .” She shook her head and huffed. “I hate feeling so out of sorts.”
Disappointment began to take hold. “Did you change your mind?”
“No. I agreed to see a movie with you, and that’s what I’m going to do. But we’ve agreed this isn’t a date, correct?”
“Correct. It’s just two friends going to see a movie together.”
Beth nodded. “That means I pay for my ticket, and you pay for yours. I don’t need there to be any blurred lines.”
Although the notion of him not paying for Beth’s ticket rubbed him the wrong way, he agreed, and motioned toward the ticket counter. “Shall we?”
She looked up at him with a much more relaxed expression. “You know, I was thinking maybe that action flick. You like action movies, don’t you?”
“Come on. I’m a guy. Of course I like action movies. What’s not to like? Fighting? Guns? Explosions?”
Beth laughed, and Drew felt a warmth spreading through his chest. So far so good. He had one goal for the day—to make sure Beth had a good time—and he was going to do everything he could to make that happen.