Page 5 of Hot Response
Tomorrow. It will have to wait. Tomorrow is a new day,I reminded myself.
“I’m sorry,” she said, quiet enough for my ears only. I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, but I could have sworn I felt her disappointment. Our time for this morning had come to an end. I had to get to work anyhow, but fuck if I didn’t want to leave. Saying bye to her was getting harder and harder to do. “I have to––“
“Oh yeah, I get it. Uh, here.” I took my wallet out and handed her a couple of twenties to cover my order.
“Oh! Umm, this is too much!” she exclaimed. I could feel her customers watching us now.
“Tip.” I winked as she handed me the two boxes of goodies. “Thanks for this,” I called out and looked at the ladies. “Best treats in town! You guys are going to love it.” I grinned and walked out.
I put the boxes on my passenger side, and when I shut the door, I looked back at the shop. Everything inside of me was shouting at me to go back in there and ask her out. It didn’t feel right leaving without at least her number, some kind of way to chat with her throughout the day.
You have time,a little voice in my head whispered.
Time.
Time was something that always felt like a luxury we didn’t have enough of yet wasted like we had countless amounts. I shook my head and forced myself to get into my truck and head to work. I’d get her number tomorrow.
It would only be a couple of hours later that I would be reminded of a very important lesson.
Never leave what you can do today for later.
THREE
EVELYN
A ringingin my ears is what I heard as I started to open my eyes and look around me. I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. The hood of a very dusty car. I groaned, lifting my head. I could see the cookies I’d been packing up all over the hood, too.
“What the—“ I started to cough, the air thick with dust.
My bakery.
But it didn’t look like my beautiful bakery. No, it now looked like it was in a war zone thanks to a car that had driven right through the window. The same car I was pressed against, caged between that and the wall.
I saw the man get out. Older, his face weathered. His eyes were wide and obviously freaked as he stumbled out. I could see his mouth moving, almost like he was saying something to me, but I couldn’t make out the words over the loud ringing in my ears. One of my employees rushed through what was left of the front door, her ear pressed to a cell phone as she climbed over the car and straight to me.
“Evie,” she mouthed as my eyes grew heavier, my body completely numb. Or maybe that was because of the adrenalinerushing through me. “Evie!” she shouted but was quickly pulled away, replaced by an all-too-familiar face.
The big, surly, grouchy paramedic I had been thinking about nonstop since he’d walked into my bakery stood there, his face fierce and intense.
“It’s you,” I whispered just as my hearing slowly started to come back to me. His beautiful brown gaze softened, almost like he was relieved I recognized him. His eyes skated over me. He was assessing the situation, and when they locked with mine, there was an ease in them that made me feel like everything was going to be okay.
“What did you do? Refuse this guy service?” he playfully teased, and I felt my lips lift.
“You know I’m never one to deny someone of something sweet.” I winked, feeling particularly flirty. I guess it took a near-death experience for me to get some game. “So… do you think you can get me out?” I asked, trying to mask my fear. I didn’t want to think about just how stuck I might be. I tried to take stock of my body, wiggling my toes and trying to stretch my back some. I had feeling all over my body. I wasn’t exactly stuck or pinned, and thankfully, nothing seemed to be going through me. But I was pinned too tightly to get out.
His eyes locked with mine in a way that made me feel like I was the only one in the world. Everything and everyone melted away. “I promise,” he said ,and I believed him.
“Ron!” a guy called, and I looked over his shoulder to see a tall, light-haired fireman get closer.
“Nate.” His eyes were on mine. “Gonna need your help, bud,” he said without looking away. The warmth in his eyes made me feel better. If he wasn’t freaking out, things were probably not as bad as I thought. Right? Or was this part of his job? He was trained not to freak out.
“Got you, brother,” the fireman muttered. Another fireman showed up, and together, they assessed the situation. Ron hopped up on the counter and tried to get as close to me as he could.
He asked me a couple of questions before they hurried to move me out. Someone whispered something about gasoline dripping, and they started to move quicker. Through it all, I never looked away from Ron, and he didn’t look away from me too long. I didn’t know if it was the feelings I had been trying to avoid when he came into the bakery or the moment, but there was something oddly calming about being around him.
I trusted him like I had never trusted anyone before. Literally with my life as he worked with the fire department to get me out.
Before I knew it, I was in Ron’s arms, my head resting on his shoulder. He lifted us up and over the counter, grunting that he had it when the first fireman who had showed up to the scene offered to help him. His long strides didn’t falter as he led us outside.
