Hot and Bothered

Ch. 8: A Shift

The fire muster is wrapping up by the time we get back, and I'm shocked to see Anna still there, helping Linda fold up a table by the volunteer tent. I told her to leave hours ago, but apparently she didn't.

Most of the team heads into the station for a shower or to get something to eat, but I make my way across the parking lot to where Anna is. She glances up, nose and whiskers still painted on her face. She's surprised to see me at first and then her expression softens.

"Hey! How did the call go?"

"Uh, it was smooth. Pretty boring actually." I rake a hand through my sweaty hair, lifting the table from them and tossing it into the back of one of the trucks. "What are you still doing here? I thought you were going to leave when I did?"

Anna shrugs. "Well, there were still kids in line and I didn't want to disappoint them."

"Oh," I try not to sound as surprised as I am. "Well, thanks. I'm sure they really appreciated that."

"No problem." She says.

"And she's been so nice to help me take down the tables and chairs since all you big strong men ran out of here like bats out of hell." Linda smirks, patting my shoulder. She's been the receptionist here at the station for years, and is somewhat of a mother hen to all of us. She'd bite the head off of anyone who actually asked her age, but she's at least in her eighties and still as smart as a whip.

Tanner might have the title, but she's really the one who keeps everyone in line around here and she's got a particularly soft spot for me. I could quit my job if I had a dollar for every time she asked when I was going to settle down or tried to set me up with one of her retirement community friend's granddaughters. There's not doubt she's talking up Anna because she thinks there might be something there, or she's at least hoping there is.

"Ran out of here? You mean to go save lives?" I chuckle, slinging my arm over her small framed shoulders.

Linda rolls her eyes and bats at me. "Give a man a badge and he thinks he is some kind of hero."

She leaves Anna and I as she makes her way over to some of the other booths. By now, a few other guys have come out to help with the take down and it's moving quick.

"She is hilarious." Anna laughs. "I don't think she stopped talking the entire time I've been here."

"I wouldn't doubt it." I take the stack of chairs Anna is gathering and put it into the truck bed. "Linda knows every single thing that goes on around twenty-two. Most of the time, you can't believe a word she says."

"Really? Because she seemed pretty spot on when she was talking about you..."

"What did she say?" I cringe. Anna already knows more about me than I'd like thanks to Kristin barging into class that first night, and Linda makes no secret about the fact that she thinks I need to settle down and stop with the constant stream of women.

"You look worried." Anna smirks. "It wasn't anything bad. Just that she worries about you. And that you put on a big tough guy act, but you're really just a big softy."

I let out a sharp laugh. "See? I told you you can't believe anything she says. There's nothing soft about me."

"Ah, and there's that big ego she was talking about."

Anna stands on her tiptoes to reach the top of the banner, but fumbles with it because she can't quite get a grip. "Here, let me get that." Moving behind her, I reach above her to release the knot and when I do, our bodies brush against each other. Heat prickles through me as the curve of her ass grazes the front of my pants and my dick throbs underneath. The sensation catches me off guard as I back away.

I haven't thought about Anna in any way besides how irritating she can be, but suddenly it dawns on me how beautiful she is. And then it hits me like a fucking brick wall.

Those dark curls that fall over her shoulder. Her sparkling, glacier blue eyes. Thick, full lips that curl every time she smirks at me. A body so good it looks like it was made for sin.

She's a little younger, maybe. A bit more innocent than I'm used to, sure. But Anna is a smokeshow and the more I get to know her, the more intrigued I am. She's nothing like the type of girl I usually go for, so the attraction feels a bit foreign.

Maybe I've been such an asshole as some sort of defense mechanism. Maybe my mind knew what was coming long before the rest of me did and that's why she and I have been at odds from the very start.

Whatever the case, I know myself well enough to know that I need to draw that line firmly back in the sand and keep a safe distance from her. My job depends on it, and as casual as I like to be, there's no way in hell I'm going to risk it.

Anna's a bit flustered, and she opens her mouth like she's got something to say, but she's cut off by another alarm before she can.

"Shit." I rub my forehead. "I've got to go again."

"Right." She nods. "No worries. I'll help Linda finish up here and I'll see you Thursday."

"See you Thursday." I wave over my shoulder as I jog to the truck. Since I didn't have time to shower or anything between calls, my stuff is right where I left it.

"Where are we headed?" I ask, hopping into the driver's seat of the engine.

"Bird Rock Beach. Fire on the pier." Tanner says.