Page 50 of Playing with Fire

“I'll text you later.”

She nodded and tilted back to look up at me. “Okay.”

I pressed my lips to her forehead and then forced myself to turn and walk out the door.

* * *

Almost immediately whenI arrived at the house and settled in, the alarms went off. A car accident and a report of a possible gas leak right after finishing up with the wreck had us busy for three hours.

Once back at the house, Terri, one of our EMTs, and Kyle got pulled back out on a cardiac arrest call while the rest of us gathered in the common area. I filled them in about what Dylan had told me earlier.

“A kid?” Jay asked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Not a fucking kid. He’s old enough to know better.”

“Chill.” He glared back. “I just meant it’s a young guy. Not even fucking old enough to drink yet. He’s around my sister’s age.”

I wasn’t about to point out she wasn’t a kid either. That would open another can of worms I wanted to avoid.

“I definitely remember him,” Adam jumped in, always the peacekeeper. “Like from the fire seven years ago. He kept refusing to listen to me, intent on going to help his parents.”

I nodded, remembering how defiant and stubborn he had been. And while I understood how traumatic the whole thing must have been, it didn’t give him a pass from intentionally setting fires. I hoped they found something that would lead to an arrest soon. Or at the very least scare him into stopping.

We chatted some more about the situation before everyone dispersed for the night. Adam and Jay started a game of rummy, while Seth and Zack went to the bunk room to try to sleep for a bit before another call came in.

I relaxed back in the recliner and pulled up my text thread with Izzy. I couldn't believe how much I missed her. I bit back a chuckle at the difference from a few weeks ago to now. I’d gone from avoiding her like the fucking plague to missing her presence when I wasn't with her.

Me: Girls asleep?

Izzy: Yeah. You guys have been busy. Heard the alarms go off like twice now since you left.

Me: Yeah. It's probably going to be one of those nights.

Me: What are you doing?

Izzy: Watching Yellowjackets.

Me: Wish I was there.

Izzy: Me too...cuddle while we watch TV.

Me: You probably wear tiny-ass sleep shorts, don't you?

Izzy: *Picture of her legs with just a hint of pink satin shorts*

A groan bubbled up, and I swallowed it back down. Didn't need or want to draw attention to myself.

Me: Ugh. I'd probably do a shit job of keeping my hands to myself.

Izzy: If you were here I wouldn't want you to keep your hands to yourself.

Me: I’d pull you onto my lap like in the truck last night. Watching you move against me has been on repeat in my head.

Izzy:

I could feel eyes burning a hole through me, and I set my phone down before glancing over to the kitchen area. Adam and Jay were shooting daggers my way. More so Jay than Adam. My guess for different reasons. Adam, because I didn't take his advice yet. But Jay made it clear he didn't want me dating his sister. I understood why. That didn't mean I was going to listen. Izzy needed to make her own decision.

Regardless, it didn't make any sense to have that conversation with him yet. Not until I was sure where things were going with her. I wanted to be confident that she wanted the same things I did, but it was hard to wrap my head around being a young twenty-one-year-old and wanting to date someone who not only worked weird hours but was also a single parent.

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