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Opening the door, I step inside. “You wanted to see me, Captain?”
“Yes, please shut the door and take a seat.” He’s seated at his desk, pen in hand as he fills out the paper in front of him.
I follow his command, quickly sitting in the chair across from him. As I take a seat, I smile nervously, praying he’s not about to tell me I’m being fired.
“The Fire Chief wanted me to talk to let you know he’s approved your leave for your wedding and honeymoon. I also want to formally congratulate you. Marriage is a wonderful thing. Hard work and a lot of give and take, but nothing like it in the world. Me and the misses are about to celebrate our twenty-fifth in five months. I have plans to take her on a European cruise.” His face lights up as he speaks about her, the love shining from his eyes.
This is what I want from marriage. To be loved like Captain Olsson does his wife. So far Lionel hasn’t disappointed me, treating me like a true queen. He hasn’t told me much about his family. I’ve met his parents, and they were okay, kinda cold and standoffish. I could tell he comes from money.
Lionel even discussed signing a prenuptial agreement. I’ve never cared about money, always being self-sufficient, so I readily agreed to sign one if he needed me to. His eyes grew wide when I told him, like it shocked him.
“Now there are two things I called you in here for, Alex. First, as you know, we’ve had a string of fires recently in our area and surrounding districts. It hasn’t been announced publicly yet, but the fire investigator has finalized his reports, and I wanted you to know your hunch was right.” I want to jump up and down in excitement as he speaks. “We have a serial arsonist. You have excellent observation skills and I want you to keep it up. You have a bright future ahead of you.”
His words settle something inside of me, calming my racing heart. Fire has always fascinated me since I put out my first one. As if we’re connected in some way. The flames call to me. I’ve always had a keen sense of knowing when a fire was going to turn and go in another direction.
“Thank you, Sir. Coming from you, that means a lot and I appreciate it. I hope to make you proud in everything I do.” I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes, but I refuse to let them drop.
“You do, Alex. Now the second thing is Hector needs to be off tomorrow. I was hoping you could go home and then come back tomorrow to work his shift?”
One side of my mouth quirks up and I chuckle. “He’s already on his way in, isn’t he?”
“He is. I knew you’d agree to the schedule swap.”
“Good thing you were right then, isn’t it? Yeah, that’s no problem. Gives me a chance to see Lionel today since he’s working from home.”
“Perfect. Go ahead and leave. The others can finish whatever cleanup still needs to be done.”
“Yes, Sir.” I stand and leave quickly, not giving him a chance to change his mind.
I head to my locker and take out my bag, but instead of changing, I decide to stay in my uniform. Lionel’s at home and I’m ready to see him. We’ve barely had time to see each other this week. He’s been busy working for his father’s company now that he’s ill and will be taking over when he passes away. And me, well, I’ve been overwhelmed with wedding plans and working as many shifts as I can before my leave.
Instead of calling him, I’m going to surprise him. I’ll get us some food so we can spend the rest of the day just relaxing and hanging out. I’ve been adamant with him about waiting for marriage before we have sex, something he’s fought me on every step of the way. We don’t have much longer to wait. It’s the one promise I made to myself and I plan on keeping it. I want to be a virgin for the man that I marry.
A bride wearing virginal white in the truest sense on my wedding day. But maybe it’s worth breaking my oath to myself today, finally giving in and feeling the pleasure of making love with someone. No, not just someone, the man I love, who I plan to spend the rest of my life with.
The more I think about it, the more I wonder what I am waiting for. He’s my future. I know it without a shadow of a doubt. What will a couple of days matter in the grand scheme?
An hour later, I’m pulling up in front of his condo. I turn my car off and head inside, food in hand.
It’s a lavish fifteen stories, black and sleek, with large tinted picture windows. Lionel teases me with his desire to fuck me up against the glass as we gaze down on the city below us. None of them are the wiser of the show they’re missing.
Opening the door, I beeline across the lobby, waving to the security guard as I go. He smiles before throwing his hand up. Reaching the elevator, I push the button and wait for it. It doesn’t take long. Just a minute or two before there’s an audible ding as the doors slide open and an older couple steps out hand in hand, smiling at me. I smile back as I step around them. The elevator is just as nice as everything else. Pushing number six for his floor, I stand to the side to wait.
No one else enters before the doors close. The ride is fast, thanks to technology and wealth. The stop is smooth, unlike older buildings. There is no jump at the end that makes your stomach flip-flop. No, this stop is smooth and soft, like a feather gliding through the wind.
It dings before the doors slide open, letting me step off. I pause to pull my key out of my pocket. Lionel gave me one a month after we started dating and this will be my first time using it. He’s always been with me when I’ve come here.
Lionel prefers hanging out here when we are together, not caring for the neighborhood I live in or the run-down building I call home. All I mainly do is sleep there when I am not on shift, so it doesn’t bother me. I don’t see a reason to spend all of my paycheck on a place when I’m barely there.
I’ve seen so many financially ruined when trying to live above their means, just to keep up with the Joneses. Traveling is a dream of mine and something I’d much rather spend my money on.
I slide the key into the lock and turn it, quietly pushing the door open, and letting it click closed behind me.
Voices pull my attention. Lionel’s, but there’s another. Female. Familiar.
The sounds of skin slapping and moaning fill the air.
What the fuck?
