FAITH

Delaney was already in bed, having fallen asleep on the way home from the derby. All tuckered out. I was wired from the night and leaped into mine. Pillows bounced all over, I knocked an empty water bottle off my nightstand, and I kind of jacked my neck, but I was so full of freaking delight that I thought my limbs would fly from my body and right back to him.

After my immature, bed-flop version of The Worm, I scrambled to the side and plugged my phone in. I’d only had about ten percent left, and luckily it hadn’t died while Aaron and I were rolling around on his fancy chaise lounge. So many things about the evening blew my mind, and alone in my room, they flooded my head, needing to be processed.

He was strong and gentle and kissed like a professional. My skin still hummed from his touch. I’d died and gone to man-crush heaven—and Holy Hot Hinges of Hell—he was all man. All man.

Even the way he’d pulled himself together when my mom called was sexy. So I could answer, he’d given me space without hesitation. I’d almost moaned to my mom when he lightly placed a single kiss on the back of my neck as I spoke to her.

Thankfully, she hadn’t wanted to talk long because Delaney was passed out. She’d just wanted to let me know that if I was home when they got there, then Big D would carry his little buddy inside for me.

You’d think getting that call would have been such a bummer, but it wasn’t because Aaron was a gentleman.

A gentleman—for anyone who’s never met one in real-life—walks a woman home so she doesn’t have to go alone. Even if it’s only a block away. Dutifully, he didn’t protest or try to get me to change my plans or make other arrangements so we could have more time.

No guilt trip. No games. He just understood.

Although, when he’d said, “I’d love to do this all night,” on the chaise beside me as I’d put my sandals back on, I’d wanted that too.

Instead, Aaron held my hand right up to my door, and then he’d tapped his lips for a goodbye kiss.

Dammit, my heart had been right about him when I was sixteen. Vindication of that was sweet, reassured by how he made me feel. He was still a kind, smart guy, and still very much everything I wanted. It was that same reckless, nearly obsessive, desire for him that I’d had all those years ago back in full-force.

And it felt so freaking good.

Swiping my finger across the screen, I opened up the chat thread I’d muted hours earlier. The back-and-forth text conversation between them in my absence was hilarious. Each of my three friends had taken turns guessing what Aaron and I were doing.

If I hadn’t wanted to talk about it so bad, I could have made them suffer and wait for details, but as my continuing luck would have it, all three were still active in the group at ten on a Friday night, which was laughably uncommon. I was ready to burst and spill my guts about the best night I’d had since ... well, the best night I’d ever had.

Me: I’m home! ☺

My cell blew up. Gifs appeared. Lips and eggplant emojis flooded the screen. They were just the horny, juvenile audience I needed to enjoy the evening’s happenings with.

Abbey: Tell us what happened! OMG! We’re dying over here.

I laughed because Abbey was the most reserved and quiet of us, and even she was losing her mind. Adrenaline and excitement had my legs sliding back and forth across the cool comforter to expel the extra energy, and my cheeks hurt from smiling as I read.

Noel: You better have a video.

Emma: If you’re pregnant I’m killing you.

Me: You’re the only one who gets pregnant the first time you have sex with a guy.

Emma: That’s fair, but why then can’t he knock me up now? Lol Just kidding. So are you pregnant? Did you have sex?!

I chuckled and rolled onto my back to type better with both hands.

Me: I’m not pregnant. We didn’t have sex.

Noel: You dirty cocksucker. Faith is a Hoover.

Emma: LMAO That’s the only time I wish Jason had a smaller dick. Blow jobs.

Abbey: Tell us what happened already. I need to go to bed, hooker. We’re going to the zoo with Scott’s family tomorrow. So I’m basically walking through hell.

Me: Ok. I told you he was cooking for us earlier. The food was really good. We talked about things. Then we just hung out.

To be a shit, I added a winky face at the end and hit send.

Noel: WHORE. Tell us the good stuff.

Emma: Don’t make us start a new thread without you to talk about you.

Me: Hey! Don’t even think about it. I’ll know if you do. You’d miss me.

Abbey: ... waiting for Penthouse-worthy story...

I tried to think of a way to say it delicately. It had been awesome, but I couldn’t go into all the romantic particulars because that felt wrong. Those belonged to me. I just had to give them the specifics they wanted. The fun parts.

Me: We made out and I gave him a handy.

A whole new host or O-faced characters and hand gifs appeared, one after another.

Emma: We need more info. Details!

Noel: Did he finish? OMG I gave a hand job to a guy at a Halloween party one time. I was dressed as Little Bo Peep and the guy came dressed as a Serta Sheep. That’s how we met. Peep and the Sheep.

Abbey: What else, Faith?

Emma: Noel, so you basically went baaaaaa-ck and forth? Hahaha

Noel: Enough about my barnyard days. FAITH!

Me: I don’t know. He’s a great kisser. His body is stupid hot, and although I only have one penis to compare his to, I’d say he’s well above average.

Noel: Was he uncut? Hairy? About that video...

Was there anything they weren’t brazen enough to ask? It didn’t matter, really. I was having too much fun.

Me: Cut. Not too hairy. Nice and trimmed. And he finished. Big time.

Noel: What about you? And what’s big time?

Me: Big time as in he said, “Jesus fucking Christ” at one point. He was pulling my shorts off when my mom called. :/

After he’d thanked me with his mouth down my body.

Emma: Cockblocked by your own mother. That’s savage.

It was fine, maybe somewhat frustrating at the moment, but I couldn’t find it in me to complain or be upset. I’d had a great time, and my mom and Darrell had shown my little girl a fun night. I couldn’t ask for more.

Me: It wasn’t that bad, but now I’m REALLY excited to see him again.

Emma: I’m so happy for you. You’ve needed this.

Noel: I agree, but getting spoiled by a sexy firefighter, you also deserve to give all the hand jobs. I kind of hate you. lol

Abbey: When are you going to see him again?

That, I wasn’t sure of. I had a shift at both jobs the next day and Sunday, Monday off, and then my schedule was all jacked up for the duration of the week. 

I rubbed my lips together, noticing for the first time how puffy and raw they felt. Surely, they were swollen and red, but I liked it. Feeling where he’d been, where he’d kissed me so damn hard before he’d called out, “Fay,” and finally lost control of himself in my grip.

So hot.

Me: I don’t know when. He invited me to a pool party at his house next Sunday. You can be damn sure I’ll be off for that. Until then, who knows? His shifts are as crazy as mine.

Emma: What’s his last name? Does he have Facebook? I need to stalk.

Me: Aaron’s last name is Goodman (go figure), but he doesn’t have Facebook. I’ve checked.

How did anyone in 2018 not have social media?

Emma: Damn.

Abbey: You’ll figure it out.

Noel: You need that bank job. Have you turned your application in yet? Need any help?

The application was filled out on my dresser.

Me: I’m off Monday. So I’m taking it up there then. That way I have time to talk to the boss if he wants to see me.

Noel: That’s my girl. YAS! Good plan.

Emma: Think Aaron will call you tomorrow?

Abbey: He better.

Noel: Yeah, that’s just common courtesy. If you get off first, you call first.

Me: Hahaha. I think he’ll call.

That was almost the best part. Things genuinely, for maybe the first time ever, felt mutual. I’d never had that, and who was to say how long it would last, but I was simply going to enjoy it.

Abbey: Okay. I’m going to bed. Good night.

Noel: I think I’m going to Netflix and chill myself until I pass out.

Emma: Use protection. Good night.

We might have been miles and miles apart, but our group was close in all the ways it counted.

Me: GREAT night.

#

SATURDAY FLEW BY AT the restaurant. It was Town Wide Yard Sale Day and people were out-and-about early. We ran out of ham steaks, and I must have cracked over a hundred and fifty eggs, but the morning passed in a blink.

There wasn’t much time to turn from the grill from breakfast to lunch, between meals, and before I knew it, I was frying the last breakfast order of bacon as a half dozen burger orders came back.

Sweaty and gross between jobs, I ran home for a quick shower.

Delaney stomped into the bathroom, with little regard for my privacy, donning bright yellow tights, a pair of patent leather dress shoes, a green tank top dress, and a winter scarf tied around her neck like a cape.

“Hey Mom, do you think this matches?” One foot popped out to the side and with her scrawny arms in the air, she wiggled her hips. She was proud and way too cute.

I couldn’t shoot her down. “It’s creative.”

“But does it match?” she pried. “I don’t wanna look dumb.”

“Where are you going?” It would come down to the audience.

“Gramma and D’s,” she replied. It was interesting how she just accepted Mom gradually moving over there with him. Maybe kids took things like that easier than adults did because I was still getting used to it.

“They won’t think you look dumb.”

A silly grin sprung from her face and landed right in my chest. “I thought the cape was too much.”

My daughter had personality for days. I hoped she never changed.

“You’re too much, kid. I’ll walk you over when I’m dressed. Do you have your toys cleaned up?”

With a swoosh of her faux cashmere scarf, she was off and down the hall. “I’m almost done cleaning. Don’t come in yet,” she instructed before she shut her door. 

She probably hadn’t even started.

I dressed and tamed my hair, all the while thinking of a certain guy. Did he have to work tonight? Would he come in? Was that why he hadn’t called yet? Had there been a fire or something?

The group chat was quiet, as it typically was on weekends. So I didn’t bother with sharing my nervousness. I wasn’t worried, per se. More anxious. Eager. I wanted to talk to him, to see him again. Which was probably foolish and just me taking things too fast, but those old feelings were back and stronger than ever.

He was Aaron, not a stranger or some new guy who might have hundreds of skeletons in his closet ... although he had some mysterious qualities that kept me curious. 

After the necessary amount of makeup was on, I went to the fridge for a Diet Dew. Taped to my kitchen window was another note with an arrow.

My heart shot into my throat and I nearly choked on it. It was him.

Before dashing out to get it, I knocked on Delaney’s door. Just because I was enjoying myself and having fun, I couldn’t let my responsibilities fall by the wayside. Even if it was just to make sure she was doing what she’d been told.

I didn’t even have to say a word through the door—she’d heard me get close. 

“I’m not done yet, Mom.”

I checked the time on my phone. Still no messages, no calls. “You’ve got fifteen minutes.”

“How long is that?” she hollered through the wall.

She was still trying to get a grasp on time, so I broke it down for her. “It’s the same amount of time as half an episode of Paw Patrol.”

After a few seconds, she answered, “I can make that work.”

“You better or it’s bye-bye iPad for the night.” That would be incentive enough to get a result.

Then, I ran outside like my ass was on fire.

Below the note on the window was another envelope like before. Inside, a folded piece of paper around another plastic card and a photo. The picture was of us the spring before he left. We were sitting on the tailgate of his truck, the same one he still drove, and we were facing each other laughing.

I tapped it against the envelope, taking a minute to think about what was happening in the photograph. I remembered that day; his mom had taken the picture from their porch.

Still, scrambling for the memory, I unfolded the paper.

Again, he’d bought me minutes for my phone. Which was good, because up until last week, sixty minutes lasted me forever. Data, on the other hand, was something I blew through weekly. Thank goodness most of the places I went usually had Wi-Fi.

On the paper, in his clean, masculine font, he’d written:

Faith,

Thank you for last night. I’d tell you I had a good time, but I think that goes without saying. Here are more minutes, since I‘m sure we’ve come close to using up the last card.

Do you remember this picture? You were giving me hell about making it out of basic training alive. Ironically, this photo was one of the things that got me through it.

Full disclosure—this is a copy. I almost gave you the original, but I couldn’t part with it.

I have a shift tonight and one again tomorrow, but if you get a free minute or ninety, I’d like to hear from you.

Aaron

His note was infinitely better than a phone call.

Delaney had picked up most of her messes and happily ran over to Darrell’s to show them her fashionable ensemble. They didn’t think it was dumb at all.

As I drove by the station on my way to the bar, I noticed one of their big trucks was gone.

It would have been easy enough to send him a text message, but I treasured my window notes and didn’t want them to stop or for him to replace them with ordinary texts. So as fast as I could go, I whipped my car into his drive and scoured every compartment for a piece of paper to write on. The envelope he’d left me would have to do, since I’d shoved the whole thing in my purse to photograph later for the girls.

Quickly, I scribbled my message, ran through his back gate, licked the adhesive along the top, and slapped my reply to the kitchen window, praying it would still be there when he eventually made it home.