Lark (First & Forever 5)

“It’s not that.” Dylan hesitated before telling me, “I’m always really frazzled at the end of a twenty-four-hour shift, so I make myself go straight home and unwind. A nap is usually involved too, since I never sleep well at the station.”

“I understand.”

“I’m not blowing you off, I promise. The thing is, I struggle with anxiety. It’s an ongoing effort to keep it in check, and the routine I follow at the end of each shift helps me cope.” I was surprised by how open he was about that. He met my gaze and asked, “Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow? I’d love a chance to talk and get to know you.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to throw off your routine, because it sounds important.”

“It’ll be fine. I’ll have all day to unwind, and I don’t need more than that.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’d love to have dinner with you.”

“Great! I’ll text you the address. Can you come over at six?”

“Sure. I can go ahead and bring us takeout if you want, so you don’t have to go to any trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all. I actually love to cook.”

I flashed him a big smile. “And I love to eat, so that works out perfectly.” That was a flimsy excuse for a joke, but it made him grin. “See you tomorrow, Dylan.”

We both went in for a hug at the same time and ended up sort of botching it. We bumped arms, and once we got a hold of each other, my hat fell off. When we both tried to retrieve it, we almost bumped heads, and I jerked back quickly.

He picked up the plastic helmet and handed it to me as he said, “Thanks for the visit. This was all really unexpected.”

Was that a good thing?

After we said good night, I ran across the street. That was a mistake, because I ended up kicking off one of my Crocs, which flew underneath the Honda. I had to fling myself onto the ground and partially stuff myself under the car to retrieve it. While I did that, I whispered, “Please don’t let him still be standing there watching this.”

When I stood up and turned back to the fire station, Dylan was right where I’d left him, watching everything I was doing. His expression hovered somewhere between amusement and disbelief.

I waved to him with the Croc, then opened the car door, threw the shoe inside, and climbed in after it. After I started the engine and put it in gear, I lunged forward before slamming on the brakes at the stop sign on the corner. I looked in the rearview mirror once I made it through the intersection, and yup, he was still watching. Did I know how to impress a man, or what?

The drive home became slightly smoother as I finally got used to the touchy pedals. Somehow, I even managed to park in the short driveway without sending the Honda hurtling through Yolanda’s garage door. That was quite the accomplishment.

When I went inside, I discovered Yolanda and JoJo were right where I’d left them. JoJo said, “That was quick.”

At the same time, Yolanda said, “Nice hat.”

I adjusted the tilt of my red plastic helmet and said, “Thank you. It’s my most prized possession.” I leaned against the doorframe as my gaze flickered around the living room. It looked so empty now that the tree and the decorations on the fireplace mantel were gone.

JoJo said, “It appears operation hug a firefighter was a success.”

“I think so, even though I sort of blew it right at the end. I went and visited that guy I kissed last night. He was at work, so I didn’t want to take up a lot of his time.”

“Nice, so you tracked down your Cinderfella,” JoJo said. “Are you going to see him again?”

I nodded. “We’re having dinner tomorrow night. I’m super excited, but I really shouldn’t be. He already gave me the whole ‘I’m not looking for a relationship’ spiel. Do you know how many times I’ve heard that in my life?”

“Come and sit down,” Yolanda said. “I’d offer you a glass of wine, but I know you’re not a fan.”

As much as I would have loved the company, I didn’t want to interrupt their time together. Yolanda was a nurse who worked swing shifts and long hours, so it was rare that she and her fiancée had an evening to themselves.

“Thanks,” I said, “but I’m kind of tired, so I think I’ll go to bed. Have a good night, you two.”

When I went upstairs, I briefly considered logging on to the cam site to try to drum up some new subscribers, but I just wasn’t feeling it. Instead, I curled up on my bed with my toy goat and replayed my visit with Dylan.

Okay, so that had been a pretty impulsive idea, bothering him at work like that, but I’d been dying to see him again. I needed to know if I’d been imagining the spark between us, and it was definitely real—to me, anyway. I had no idea what he was feeling.

I’d really hoped he’d kiss me again, but nope. And yeah, I could have just kissed him myself, but I was already the weirdo barging in on him at work. Trying to kiss him too would have made me feel like I was throwing myself at him.