April 2012
I knew this rookie smokejumper course was going to be intense, but I underestimated just how intense it truly is. The days are long and physically tasking. Each morning starts with physical training, which includes running and some form of strength training. We change then go right into the day’s lessons in either the classroom or in-field training. The day usually ends with more running.
Mia has been outstanding through this whole process. I haven’t been home much, and when I do walk in late at night, I’m basically a zombie. I’m awake enough to get some food in my stomach, shower, and pass out. But we’re in the home stretch and I’m that much closer to accomplishing this goal.
It’s eight o’clock when I walk in the front door. “Hey, babe,” I say with a yawn.
“Hey, how was your day?” She greets me with a smile. With that one look, she manages to make me feel a hundred times better. No matter how tired I am, one smile from her makes it all worth it.
“Exhausting. We had another jump today, so that was fun.” I collapse on the couch beside her. I only need five more jumps before I’m qualified, and two more weeks until the end of this course. It’s so close I can taste it.
She shakes her head in amusement. “I still can’t believe you skydive. Who would’ve thought?” Leaning over, she gives me a kiss. Little does she know I about pissed myself the first time. There’s something unnatural about jumping out of a perfectly functioning plane. Like Mia said: I’m not a damn bird. But she was already busting my balls about rollercoasters and shit, so I never told her.
“I couldn’t show you how badass I am all at once. You wouldn’t be able to handle that level of awesomeness. I have to let it out little by little.”
Her head goes back and she lets out a loud laugh. “Yeah, let me dig out that picture from Six Flags and we can all see how badass you are.” See? She just can’t let it go!
“Are you making fun of me?” I ask with an arched brow, a devious grin spreading across my face as I stalk toward her.
Backing up, she holds out her hand. Like that’s going to stop me. “Blake, don’t you dare,” she warns.
“What?” I play stupid as I continue to her slowly.
“I know that look, and I don’t like it.” She takes another step back that I match forward. She opens her mouth but I charge her before she gets another word out. Throwing her over my shoulder, she lets out a small yelp when she’s upside down. My right arm hooks over the back of her knees, keeping her in place, while my left hand reaches over to tickle the spot right under her ass.
She squeals and tries to wiggle free. “Blake! Blake, stop. You’re going to wake up the baby,” she says through her laughter. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”
Halting my movements over her ticklish spots, I slide her down the length of my body, staring into her eyes when she’s on her feet. I tuck a strand of hair that has fallen from her messy ponytail behind her ear. Leaning in, I stop when my lips are an inch from hers. “I love you, Mia.”
I don’t wait for her to respond before closing the distance. The kiss is tender and unhurried, spending time to show her how I feel. After several minutes, I break away before kissing her on the cheek. When I focus in on her blue orbs, the look she gives me is enough to bring me to my knees. It doesn’t matter how many times I see it, it always has the same affect. To think this woman loves me a fraction of how I love her makes me the luckiest man alive.
“We’re almost done. Two more weeks and things will settle down a little.”
She nods, a small, comforting smile on her face. “Do you know what you’ll be doing in the off season yet?”
We’re living off our savings right now and if I make it through this course, I won’t get a paycheck until June when I actually start working, so it’s important that we have a solid game plan going forward with this.
“I was talking to the instructors, and apparently there’s so much overtime during the season, that it’s enough to make it through the year.”
“How much overtime are you talking?”
“He said it’s not uncommon to put in eight hundred to a thousand hours of overtime in a six-month season.”
“Holy shit,” she responds. “We’ll never see you.” Her eyes widen and I feel her disappointment.
“You’ll see me. Plus, that means I’ll be home for a solid six months doing nothing but driving you crazy. Don’t worry, babe. We’ll figure it all out. We always do.” Grabbing her wrist, I pull her hand up and kiss her palm.
“I know we will. Come on, let’s go to bed,” she says.
Two weeks later, and I’m a qualified smokejumper. I’m part of the most elite firefighters this country has to offer, and I’m relieved it’s over. My hands and arms ache from digging trenches, my legs are sore from the three-mile hikes with one hundred and ten pounds of weight on my back, and my back hurts from a combination of everything. They weren’t kidding when they said they would push us to our breaking points. Over these six weeks, it feels like I’ve been run over by a semi-truck. I wish I could take the full credit for it, but honestly, I couldn’t have done it without Mia. She keeps me grounded and focused. I push harder because of her.
When I walk through the front door, Mia’s smiling face is the first thing I see. I hold up the silver wings they pinned on me at the ceremony, a sense of pride washing over me. I wanted nothing more than for her to be there, but it was closed off to instructors and graduates only.
“Congratulations, babe. I’m so proud of you.” She stands on her toes and wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me. “I knew you could do it,” she says against my lips.
She’s been pushing and encouraging me the whole time. I know it hasn’t been easy on her with me gone a lot lately. Whenever I wanted to give up, it was Mia’s voice I’d hear. Of course, it always is. Even when we were kids. As she looks at me with adoration in her eyes and pride on her face, I know none of this would mean a damn thing without her. She’s my heart, my soul. My life is meaningless without her.
“So, how do you want to celebrate?” she asks, excitement all over her face.
I raise my eyebrows and look her up and down, taking in her hot body. “I can think of a few ways.”
Her eyes smolder and I know she catches the hint. She bites her lip before saying, “Let me see if the neighbor is free to babysit.” Leaning up on her toes, she whispers in my ear, “I want you to make me scream.” She turns around and walks away.
A growl sounds in the back of my throat while my dick pulses to life. Damn tease. She’ll pay dearly for that later.