CHAPTER NINE | JOSH
“I really don’t think I need this,” she insisted, holding up the EMS-grade instant cold pack that I had given her. “I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be putting ice on,” she added. “Unless you have one of these that’s big enough for a pulverized ego…”
“It’s for your hands,” I told her. “Your palms ate a lot of brick when you broke your fall on that wall.”
Her cheeks flushed pink and she grimaced.
“Please don’t remind me,” she groaned. I just smiled and reached for her hands.
“Here,” I said, “Let me see…”
She let me take her hands in mine, and I studied the imprint that the brick had left on the heels of her palms.
“Are you a doctor now, too?” she asked, grinning up at me.
“A fireman wears many hats,” I shrugged. I pressed the cold pack down on her swollen palm, pinching it between her hand and mine. The flash of cold startled her, and she bucked up in her chair as she sucked in a sharp inhale.
“Easy, Pinky,” I told her.
“Pinky?” she repeated with a confused frown.
“Yeah,” I said. “Like pinky promise.”
She blinked up at me a few times, then I saw a flash of understanding light up her eyes.
“Did you really think I forgot about you?” I asked. I slid out the chair next to the one she was sitting in and I took a seat beside her at the table.
We were in the firehouse kitchen. That’s where I had taken her, after handing off the daycare group tour to one of my colleagues. As much as I loved giving safety demonstrations to a bunch of precocious preschoolers, this was a matter that demanded my immediate attention.
I recognized her the instant I locked eyes on her from across the training room: she was the woman from the wedding.
Somehow, she was even more stunning than I remembered. And that was saying something, because I remembered everything about that night that we spent together: the way her ass glistened in the moonlight, the way she tasted like melting sugar on my tongue…and the way she had vanished without a trace.
“I waited around for you,” I told her, still pinching the ice pack onto her palm with mine. “At the wedding. I tried to find you on the dance floor, but you were gone…”
“It was just sex,” she blurted out. Her voice was soft and faint, like a whisper. I could hear the drumming of her heart, and I could feel her pulse rattling through her veins as I cupped her hand in mine.
“Are you sure that’s all it was?” I asked, staring into the vortex of her hazel eyes. She swayed towards me, and I could feel the soft puff of her hot breath as she exhaled.
If it was just sex…I thought to myself, then why haven’t I been able to get you out of my head for the last three months?
I wasn’t the kind of guy who got hung up on women. Hell, my idea of a ‘long term relationship’ was when I sent a drunk booty call to the same number two weekends in a row.
I didn’t have anything against dating or relationships…I just never really considered myself cut out for those types of things. Brady was the one who was destined to get married and have the white picket fence and happily-ever-after ending.
Me, on the other hand? I was destined to be a lone wolf. And I was fine with that; I had accepted my fate. At least…I thought I had.
Then that night happened. And afterwards, all I could think about was her. Every time some pretty little thing in a tight dress tried to buy me a drink or slip me their number at Rusty’s, my mind raced back to that night behind the Pond House.
Memories flooded my veins; the way she felt, the way she tasted, the way she moaned…
“We pinky-promised,” she said, snapping me back to reality. “Remember?”
“I remember a lot about that night,” I told her. I wanted to use my hands to show her the parts that I remembered the best, but instead I released the grip I had on her hand and I sat back in my chair.
“I remember you being stubborn,” I grinned. “And adorably clumsy...”
“Stubborn and clumsy?” she wrinkled her nose. “I remember you being cocky and totally full of yourself.”
“You couldn’t keep your hands off of my cock,” I reminded her. “And you were practically begging to be full of me…”
Her breathing grew heavier, and I saw the strain in her throat as she forced each breath in, then out…
“Admit it,” I said. “That was the best sex you’ve ever had.”
She tried to scoff, but it came out like more of a giggle. Her cheeks flooded with pink again, and I smiled.
You’re cute, I wanted to say, but I bit my tongue.
“There you go again,” she shook her head. “You really do think you’re hot shit.”
“You think I’m hot shit too, Pinky.”
“No way,” she insisted unconvincingly.
I raised an eyebrow. “Then why’d you come here looking for me?”
“I…” her voice trailed off and her eyes went blank, like she was free-falling. “I um…”
“You couldn’t stay away?” I teased. “You know, if you’re trying to seduce me, that little tumble you took back there in the training room really did the trick…”
“I’m not trying to seduce you!” she squirmed in her seat.
“Pinky promise?” I asked, narrowing my eyes playfully.
“Pinky promise,” she said flatly, but she didn’t offer me her pinky this time.
“Ok,” I sat back in my chair. “So…what are you doing here?”
She hesitated, glaring down at the floor as she squeezed the ice pack between her fingers. Then her eyes flicked back up to me.
“I never introduced myself,” she said. “I’m Vanessa.”
Then she dropped the ice pack on the kitchen table and flung her hand towards me awkwardly. I took her hand in mine and gave it a firm shake, warming through the patch of cold flesh on her palm.
“Vanessa,” I repeated. “Nice to finally meet you. I’m Josh.”
“I know who you are,” she blurted out. Then, blushing, she clarified: “I mean…I knew who you were, from the wedding party…”
“The plot thickens,” I cocked my head.
She gulped and I noticed that her hands were shaking. A conflicted expression spread across her face, and worry started swirling beneath the flecks of gold that freckled her hazel eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I said sincerely. “I’m just messing around. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable--”
“You didn’t make me uncomfortable,” she said quickly. “It’s not that. There’s something else.”
“What is it?” I frowned.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” she said.
I felt the steady vibrations of a pulse, and I wasn’t sure if it was hers or mine.
“What’s up?” I asked.
Her lips spread open and her face froze, and then the words fell out:
“I’m pregnant.”
I felt the entire room dissolve around me as I sank deeper into my chair. My eyes floated up and my gaze got lost somewhere in the constellation of dots that speckled the white ceiling tiles.
Pregnant? I repeated the word over and over, trying to make sense of it.
My mind raced back to that night, and I remembered how amazing her bare skin had felt as I thrust inside of her...and how amazing it had felt, to come together…
How could I have been so fucking stupid?! I asked myself now.
I opened my mouth, but there were no words. I had no idea what to say or how to respond. She was staring at me, studying my face, waiting to see how I would respond…
Is this some kind of test? I wondered as I watched her eyes search my face for clues. Why do I feel like this is a test?
My mouth suddenly flooded with questions, but before I could get a word out, I was interrupted by the loud, shrill screech of a siren.
The alarm flooded the kitchen, vibrating off of the walls and wailing mercilessly.
Her face tightened and the emotion disappeared from her eyes. Then she shrugged:
“Saved by the bell.”
She stood up to leave, and for the second time I watched her walk away from me. This time, I stopped her.
“Wait!” I said, sprinting after her. I caught her by the door, and she turned to face me.
“We need to talk about this,” I said. “Not now, because I have to go. But…tonight. Can I see you tonight?”
“Ok,” she said.
“Pinky promise?” I stuck my pinky out and she glared up at me. Then her face softened and she hooked her pinky through mine.