“Um, Caleb?” I muttered, confused.
My eyes traveled across his body, appreciating the way his jeans and shirt emphasized his strong frame. His whole build was thick, but his broad shoulders were particularly sexy. It wasn’t difficult to imagine his arms wrapping around my small body, bringing me up against the brick wall of the building as he took me roughly... What was happening with me?
“Hello.” His smile was as radiant as Trent’s, and I had hard time looking away from it. I had to remind myself that it was awkward to gawk at him like this, but my eyes didn’t want to listen. “Thanks for coming. Come inside.”
I took a few hesitant steps, inhaling the beautiful scent of his cologne. Just like Trent, he smelled amazing.
“Hey, don’t look so confused. Trent and I are roommates. Is that a problem?”
I turned around to look at him. “No, not at all. I actually wanted to see you too.”
He broke into a smile, sending my heart into overdrive. “You did? Same here, beautiful.”
I bit my lip, flattered by his attention. Trent appeared in the hallway and greeted me, pulling me into his embrace. The sudden clash of our bodies increased my arousal, and I returned his hug with hunger and lust that brewed in me since our conversation today. Having Caleb so close to me did something crazy to my body, and I felt my panties already soaked.
“Hey, Bree. I’m so glad you came. Come on in. I want you to try a special dish I prepared just for you.”
Time passed quickly with Caleb and Trent, and the food Trent had made was simply delicious. They could make me laugh easily, but their heartbreaking stories from the field also made me sad. They had been through a lot, risking their lives each time they responded to the emergency calls, and I admired their strength and bravery. I’d never thought much about firefighters, but now that I’d met the two of them, I had to admit they were real life heroes.
Both of them were so humble about it, not giving themselves any credit, but the truth was that if they hadn’t been there the last night, people would have been killed. My heart throbbed painfully, and a new wave of guilt rushed through me. What had I done? And was there anything I could do to fix this life changing mistake?
“Why did you decide to become firefighters?” I asked them, taking a sip from my third glass of wine. I was slightly buzzed, feeling like the time with them was passing too quickly.
“I became a firefighter after I saved a woman one night. I was in my car, on my way home, when I spotted a burning vehicle on the road. There was no one around, and there was no time to wait for the firefighters since she was trapped and seconds away from getting burned alive.”
“Oh God.”
I shuddered, trying to imagine how horrible that experience must have been for that lady. After experiencing it myself, I knew how scary it was to be surrounded with the hot walls of fire that kept closing in on you and you literally had seconds to get away from it before you turned into ashes. My fault, that was my fault. Ugh.
“I managed to open the driver’s door and get her out before the flames inflicted more serious injuries to her. She had some minor burns, but luckily they were nothing serious.”
“You were so brave, Caleb. Not many people would know what to do in that situation.”
“Yeah, well, I told myself not to panic and to focus on the task at hand. After that I figured out that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to help people, so I joined the brigade several weeks later.”
“That’s an amazing story. How about you, Trent?”
“I’d always wanted to be a firefighter. My uncle is a firefighter, so I grew to love this since I was a kid. There is nothing better than helping people in need, and I’m an adrenaline junkie so it was a plus.”
I cocked my head to the side, smiling at him. “An adrenaline junkie? I never thought that some people actually enjoyed risking their lives like this.”
He laughed sheepishly. “Well, when you put it that way it does sound a bit weird, but it’s what helps me get the work done.”
“Hey, I’m not judging or anything. I think that’s nice and different. Different is good.”
“How about you? What is your passion?” Caleb asked me and I sighed.
“I want to be a teacher.”
“Why do you make such a sad face when you say that?”
“It’s because I haven’t gone to college yet, you know? I want to, but I still don’t have enough money...” I stopped, deciding this dinner wasn’t a good time to spill out all my life problems. “Anyway, I’ll start college soon and then I can finally pursue my dreams.”
It seemed that they understood I didn’t want to talk about the hurdles in my life. “Why do you want to be a teacher?” Trent asked me.
“Just like you two, I like helping people, I like teaching people. I think education is the most important thing in the world. It’s the basis for everything, and I love transferring my knowledge to young minds.”
Trent took my hand into his, leaning toward me over the table. His eyes burned into me, awaking my desire instantly. “That’s amazing, Bree. I’m sure you’ll be a great teacher.”