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TUCKER
She takes my breath away every time I look at her. I almost swallowed my tongue when she opened her front door, and now I’m having trouble taking my eyes off her legs in order to drive.
Her pale skin is luminous in the dark cab of my truck. I want to see her laid out on my bed, her red hair spread across the sheets, and her body glowing in the moonlight.
I discreetly adjust myself because a hard-on in these slacks is really uncomfortable.
“I was thinking we’d go to La Mensafor dinner.”
“That’s perfect. I’m always up for Italian. Their breadsticks are seriously amazing,” she groans.
“Right? Sometimes, on shift, we’ll order a bunch of them to go with whatever pasta dish we made for dinner.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever fully understood how a twenty-four-hour shift works exactly.”
I glance over at Natalie and see her full attention is on me. I love that she’s genuinely interested in my job and not just the sex appeal of being a firefighter.
“So, we usually get there around seven-thirty in the morning, and then we’re at the station and on-call until seven-thirty the following morning when the next shift gets in.”
“Do you get to sleep at night, or do you have to stay awake the whole time?”
“We do sleep unless a call comes in. Then we have to get out of bed and get to work.”
I pull into the parking lot of La Mensa and park the truck. “Stay there, I’ll open your door.”
I jump out and quickly run around the back to open Natalie’s door. She smiles her thanks and grabs my outstretched hand to get down. The power her touch has on my body is electric. I don’t fully understand what’s happening to me when we touch, but it’s addicting and insane.
I put my hand on her lower back and lead her to the entrance of the restaurant. La Mensa has been around for years, but they just recently renovated to be a little more upscale, and it turned out great.
They separated the dining room into two seating areas divided by this wall of red brick with a wide arched opening. At the back of the room is a bar with comfortable chairs. Dark light fixtures dangle between wooden beams in the vaulted ceilings making the room feel huge when it’s actually not very big.
The hostess seats us at a small table towards the back. It’s got the perfect amount of privacy, so we don’t have to worry about nosy neighbors. We sit down, and for a minute, we just look at each other. Her emerald eyes gleam in the candlelight, a small smile pulling at her lips. Her green dress is heart-stopping; she shines in it.
It's hard to believe I’m on a date with the girl I’ve always dreamed about. She’s starred in so many of my fantasies that seeing her across the table is just surreal.
“It’s a little weird we’re on a date right now,” she says quietly.
“I was just thinking the same thing.” I smile at her. “It also feels like the most natural thing in the world to me.”
“Exactly! I’m glad you think so too.” She smiles, and it’s radiant.
The waitress comes over and gets our drink orders, a beer for me and red wine for Nat.
“Okay, tell me what you’ve been up to over the last few years,” Natalie starts.
“Uh… well, I was promoted to captain a few years ago, which created some extra work, mostly meetings and stuff. I play baseball with a group of guys in the summers…” I pause, realizing how boring my life is. “That sounds pathetic, doesn’t it?”
“I mean, it sounds simple, but if you’re happy…” She shrugs and smiles at me.
“I guess.” I don’t know if I’d consider myself happy, but maybe content would be a better description. “What about you? What have you been up to?”
Before Nat can answer, our drinks arrive as well as the coveted breadsticks we both love. Our orders are placed once the waitress sets everything down, and she leaves us to our conversation.
With a breadstick in hand, Natalie answers my question. “Well, you know I’m the director of the library, and I love it. I also still hang out with the same gang from high school. You’ll have to go out with us the next time we all get together. You’d fit right in with the guys.”
“I’d like that.” It’d be nice to hang out with guys who don’t work at the station with me. Sam and I will get a beer every now and then, but I wouldn’t say we’re close friends.
“I also volunteer at the senior center. The people there are the most colorful and hilarious group I’ve ever interacted with. Mom’s actually the director now.”
