Page 7 of Recovered By Firefighter Daddy

CHAPTER SEVEN

Jamie

I wasn't exactly sure how to respond to his declaration, especially with the way everybody was staring at us. I felt like it was my fault because I had brought too much attention to our table by announcing that this wasn't a date, and it felt like everything was starting to fall apart as a result. I didn't know what else to do, so I did the one thing I could think of. I hurried off to the bathroom.

Once I was free from the watchful gaze of everybody in the room, I was finally able to take a deep breath and calm down in order to figure out what I wanted to do. As much as I hated to say it, even though I knew that I shouldn't be dating somebody like him, I truly wanted to, especially since I owed him my life as well as my livelihood since he's the one who tried to help my parents as well as save my life rather than letting me meet the same fate. When I finally got my thoughts together, I looked at myself in the mirror and gave a gentle smile, knowing that I was about to make a big decision that I was going to have to live with.

As soon as my nerves were calm, I made my way back out to the table and sat down across from him, wanting to be a good distance away from him just in case things didn't work out. Even though I was still terrified, I knew that I had to at least sit through it, especially since I was trying to think of him for everything he had done for me over the last few years.

"Are you feeling okay?" Shane said as I sat down at the table. "You didn't look so good for a minute there." Forcing a smile, I waved my hand dismissively at him.

"I'm fine," I told him, my voice shaking slightly as I spoke. "I just needed a moment to use the bathroom, that's all." He didn't look convinced as he stared me down for a minute, but, thankfully, by that time, our food had arrived, and we immediately dug in, enjoying the hearty aroma of the food that we had ordered.

The entire time we ate in silence, I couldn't help but wonder what I was going to do to bring back up the issue. I knew I couldn't leave things the way that they were, especially since this could be my one chance to see if he was truly interested in me or if he was just saying it because we were here. By the time dessert came, I had taken a deep breath and smiled, tilting my head to the side as I rested my chin in my hands.

"So, what did you have planned for after this?" I asked as I stared him down. He froze with a spoon of ice cream halfway to his mouth before placing it down in the dish and staring back at me.

"I don't really know," he replied, looking intrigued as he crossed his arms. "Normally, I would go home and spend a nice quiet evening by myself, but I also don't go out very often either." The words were rushing from my mouth before I could even stop them, and I wanted to kick myself for it.

"We could always head back to my place," I suggested before clamping my hands over my mouth. Seeing the awkward look on his face when I did so, I decided to roll with it and shrugged. "I mean, if you're not too busy after dinner, that is." He chuckled as he shook his head at me, and I felt even more embarrassed than before.

"Why not?" he agreed as he pulled out his wallet. "Strictly as friends, though, right?" I shook my head and lowered my gaze, ready to give up already.

"I suppose so," I agreed, "but if anything else happens, we could always continue seeing each other and become more than friends." He considered this for a moment, and for the longest time, I was afraid he was going to say no. However, after receiving the change from the bill he had just paid, he shrugged his shoulders and nodded towards the door.

"Let's just see what happens," he told me as he offered me his hand. "For now, let me take you home. I want to watch a movie with you." Amazed at the fact that things were working out as well as they were, even if it was only us hanging out, I decided not to look into it too much. After all, a little progress was better than none.

"Do you think you can drive me?" I asked as we started towards the door to the dining room. "I ended up walking here from my house because of how close I live." He considered this for a moment before accepting my arm and taking my hand and his

"I don't see why not," he agreed as we started towards this vehicle, which happened to be parked in the restaurant parking lot. "When we get there, we'll do whatever you want." With that, we got in the vehicle, and I felt my heart racing as I wondered what exactly I was going to tell Jane when I told her about this tomorrow morning.