3
Trent
I was completely covered with sweat, still breathing unevenly after we managed to put out the fire. The adrenaline rush left me pretty exhausted, but it was worth it. It was always worth it, because we managed to save people, and there was nothing else that mattered more than helping others in need.
These people depended on us, and the satisfaction of being able to help them was the greatest reward for me, which was the reason why I became a firefighter after high school. I’d always dreamed about reaching out to the people in need, and I had no doubt this job was what I’d been made for. I was strong, I worked well under pressure, and so firefighting made sense. This was my purpose in life.
Then again, the bad side of my job was the aftermath—when we had to acknowledge the fact that we couldn’t help everyone or that their homes had been destroyed. There were no victims tonight, luckily, but I felt bad seeing all these people displaced. I wished there was something I could do about it.
All the residents of the building had gathered on the street. Many of them were still in shock, their sorrowful eyes set hard on the completely destroyed building, and it was a heartbreaking sight. The windows were all gone, and an eerie blackness in their place sent chills down my spine. The originally brown bricks were now charred, and there was this awful smell that was spreading everywhere—a cruel reminder that everything turned into ashes in a matter of minutes. Nature could be the deadliest at times.
The Red Cross had already begun to find the residents housing for the night, and they were busy trying to achieve some order among the terrified people. They had just lost their homes, and it was shitty to see them so lost and grief-stricken.
“This sucks,” Caleb muttered next to me, and I had to agree with him. This always sucked.
“I just wish there is something more we can do about it. Hopefully, they have the insurance and will be able to find new homes soon.”
We were standing on the side as we waited for other guys to get the equipment back to the trucks so we could get going. I scanned the crowd, feeling thankful no one had been killed, and my eyes settled on a gorgeous young woman speaking with a Red Cross volunteer.
For a good ten seconds I was stunned, my stare glued to her curvy form, and I actually had to remind myself to breathe. My heart was pounding, and I felt my cock waking up. She was beautiful, and I wanted her. I didn’t remember when the last time was that some girl had such a strong physical effect on me.
Her body was to die for, covered only with pajamas, and they did nothing to hide her alluring features. Damn, she was hot. Her long brown hair fell around her heart-shaped face, almost concealing how pale it was. Her bright hazel eyes reflected distress, and the urge to save her kicked in—like I was her knight in shining armor or some shit like that.
“Hey, bro,” I said to Caleb. “Do you see that girl?” I pointed subtly at her. Caleb glanced over and found her a moment later. His sharp intake of breath told me she had the same influence on him as she had on me.
“She is beautiful,” he told me, his eyes set hard on her.
I smiled, nodding. “Totally. She’s gorgeous, and I want her.”
Caleb groaned. “Same, man. She is too sexy. We have to get our hands on this girl.”
This was exactly what I wanted to say. “You took the words out of my mouth. We should go and introduce ourselves to her.”
“Right.”
We headed in her direction, and I was fucking hard already. It wasn’t all the excitement from the fire, it was her. I hoped my uniform hid the rigidly hard erection I sported. Caleb and I threw our most charming smiles on our faces, focused on her only. She was still engaged in the conversation with the volunteer, not noticing us approaching her.
I heard the volunteer mentioning something about a rehab center when we reached them, and the woman raised her head to meet our stares, finally aware of us. Her lips parted when she took us in, her eyes flicking over our bodies in quick inspection, and my breath hitched. She was checking us out, and if the brief look of lust was anything to go by, she liked what she saw.
“Hi,” I greeted her first, taking a step closer to her.
Even with all that smoke and foul smells around us, I could still sense the sweet fragrance of her perfume. My insides stirred, and I shifted on my feet. My cock was twisted uncomfortably in my pants.
“I’m Trent Dane, and this is my brother, Caleb Lewis.”
Caleb nodded and offered her a smile. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said.
She didn’t say anything, still eyeing us with surprise, and her eyebrows furrowed as if there was something that was bothering her.
Finally, she asked, “Brothers?”
I laughed, “Firehouse brothers, not blood related.”
“Oh.”
Caleb added, “We just wanted to introduce ourselves to you and check if you need any help or something.”
Without even saying a word, she waved us off and moved to the side with the volunteer, continuing her conversation with her. I looked at Caleb, completely confused with her reaction.
“She ignored us,” I muttered, trying to comprehend what had just happened.
“She’s probably still in shock. After all, she’s left without a home now and has a lot of things to deal with. This is a lot to take in, you know. We’ve become kind of immune to it all. Which is also sad.”
He was right. Maybe we rushed with this. She needed time to cope with tonight’s situation. I just hoped we would get to see her soon, because she was definitely worth seeing again.