Lainey: I promise I won’t stay long.
Remington: Nothing would make me happier than seeing you today. All you need to bring me is your smile, and you definitely don’t need to rush off.
Lainey: Okay.
Remington: Shoot me a text when you leave so I know when you’re on your way.
Lainey:
Thumbs-up?! I was too frazzled and nervous to think of what else to say.
The meeting seems extra boring and extra long, but I know that it is simply because I am clock-watching. I can’t wait for the workday to be done. Good thing I am not so distracted that I ruin my perfect pie by swapping salt and sugar like I did for pie number eleven. It was so awful I took one bite and spit it out, ran to the sink, and had to rinse my mouth out. Unfortunately, I also had to do that for pies three, seventeen, and twenty-six, but for reasons other than salt. That was one problem with buying bulk and not being as organized as I should have been. I shudder thinking of the dark days of my pie mishaps. I’ve come a long way.
My boss finally wraps up the meeting just as I slide the pie into the oven and set the timer. This gives me enough time to complete my notes and work for the day, organize what I need to have set up for tomorrow, and shut down my laptop for the night. I pull the pie out to cool, make my way into my bedroom, and freeze. Oh my lord.Lainey, you are a one-woman tornado sometimes.My room is still experiencing my pre-date outfit disaster. I was so blissed out from a wonderful date, but also spiraling about the non-kiss, that I went to bed with tunnel vision and didn’t even register this mess. I start to clean up as quickly as I can, not wanting to come back later to yesterday’s problems.
My hair still looks amazing from Kendra, so I go to my bathroom and carefully fluff it a bit and add some hair spray. I brush my teeth, touch up my make-up, and smile at my reflection. It falters for a minute, thinking about previous men inmy life and how much they would hate my new look. I briefly worry about Remington and what he will think. I know he liked my long hair. My stomach does an uneasy twist. Taking three full, deep breaths I think back to this morning and what I told my best friend—that I did this formyself. If Remington doesn’t like it, well that will be red flag number one. This is the first time I have felt this confident in a long time, maybe ever. I don’t want this feeling to go away by letting that negative voice crawl back in and ruin my day. Clicking off all the lights, I carefully grab the pie, my bag, keys, phone and head out the door. Once I am in my car, I send a quick text to let Remington know I am on my way to the fire station.
When I pull up to the visitor lot, Remington is standing outside waiting for me. I nearly swallow my tongue at the sight of him. He has on navy-blue tactical pants, black boots, and a tight navy T-shirt with the Fox Grove fire department emblem in red on his chest. As hot as his uniform is, it’s the full sleeve of dark tattoos on his left arm, disappearing under the cuff of his T-shirt, that makes me feel like I am going to pass out. I had no clue Remington had any ink, and honestly this whole picture right now is too much for me to handle. I am not sure if I should take a picture so I can remember this moment forever or jump out of my car and embarrass myself by trying to Velcro myself to him like a human koala. My lady parts are definitely screaming their vote for the latter.
I get out of the car, smoothing my blue, paisley-covered maxi dress so I have something to do with my nervous hands. Was I a bit overdressed for a pie delivery? Sure, but I wanted to look as good on the outside as my new hair was making me feel on the inside.
Remington starts to walk toward me, but then his eyes slightly widen, and he falters for just a moment. My heart starts to sink.
“Holy fuck,” I hear him murmur.
“Hi,” I say, giving a small wave as he stops right in front of me, his eyes devouring my face and his tongue licking his full bottom lip.
“You are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen,” Remington says, nearly breathless.
“W-what?” I stammer in disbelief.
“You look incredible. Did you do this today? With your friend?” he wonders, looking at my hair.
“Yeah, it’s something I always wanted to try and never had the guts to do it,” I admit, casting my eyes to the ground.
A warm, rough hand tips my chin back up, and his golden eyes are locked in on me. Remington’s attention does not make me feel uneasy like every other man I have been with. It makes me feel a comfortable warmth that starts wherever he’s touching me, whether it’s his stare or his hands, and pools out, running along some kind of invisible plane of existence that he’s charging. That warmth burns deep in a place that hasn’t existed before him. It’s safe and sacred, and I’m trying to not be afraid of its power.
“I really want to touch it, run my hands through it. But I know from my mom and sister women have hair rules, especially when they just got it done all fancy.” Remington smirks at me.
Laughing, not able to hold back my own smile, I tell him, “I don’t have any hair rules, you can do whatever you want to it, Remington.”
His eyes go to a molten smolder as he laces one hand around my hip. Nearly growling, he pulls me close, and says, “Good, because I wanna fucking ruin it.” He slips his other hand into my hair, and he bends his massive frame over me. His mouth finally doing what I wanted it to last night, he devours me in a kiss. His lips are soft but commanding, and I melt into his embrace. I moan as his hot tongue sweeps acrossthe seam of my lips, and I let him in, allowing him to deepen the kiss.
Never in my life has a man kissed me like this.
I never want another man to kiss me like this.
I go up on my toes so I can hold on tighter, and he tugs the hair at the nape of my neck. I let out a tiny yelp of surprise, and Remington immediately pulls back. A cold rush of air running where his heated body was just pressed against mine makes me shiver.
Worry creases his brow. “Sorry, too much?” he asks, sounding a little embarrassed.
“More” is all I can manage to say and pull him back to me, his smiling mouth consuming me all over again.
Slowly we pull out of our smoldering kiss and stand with our foreheads connected, breaths heavy, lust thrumming thick in the air. If we were not standing in the FGFD parking lot, who knows if we would have been able to stop.
“Hi,” I whisper again.
Remington looks down at me seriously, and says, “Hi. Can you forgive me for not kissing you last night?”
