Off Chance (Off 5)

I wince internally because damn if that isn't a pointed jab at me, although I know Flynn probably didn't mean it that way.

"I'm going out to dinner with mom and Peter tonight."

"That's good. I'm happy for you that things are working. And Peter, nice guy, right?"

"Yeah, it's weird. I like have a stepfather now. And can you believe they have a Berner? I mean, what are the chances of that?"

Laughing, Flynn says, "I know. I about died when I saw their dog. Crazy."

We both chuckle a little and then lapse into an awkward silence. This is killing me... this friendly banter. Which is completely ironic, since this is how we would normally interact when we were just friends.

But now it seems so empty and cold. It doesn't fulfill me in the way I thought it would. It makes me realize that what I could have had with Flynn would have been so much better.

Flynn just stares at me, waiting for me to say something.

"Are you going to come back home at the end of this shift?" I blurt out with an underlying tone of begging, which... okay... I'm swallowing my pride here.

Flynn glances away with guilt in his eyes, and then looks back to me. His eyes are sad. "I think I'm going to stay at Tim's for a little while longer. You know... give you some space. Figure things out."

"Oh," I say, my voice low and dejected. "Okay."

I wait and he doesn't say anything more. My heart is heavy but I put a smile on my face. "Well, I guess I'll let you get back to work. I just wanted to drop by and thank you for what you did with my parents. You're a good man, Flynn."

His smile is warm but it doesn't reach all the way to me. It's polite, with some satisfaction that he completed a job well done. "Sure thing. I'll catch you around."

He turns away from me and the minute he can't see my face, it falls, the smile disappearing into a world of hurt that's going on in my heart right now. I turn around, walking dejectedly from the station.

The man I love is slipping away, sliding through my grasp, and I tried my damnedest not to let it happen.

Except... I didn't lay everything out on the table.

Spinning around, I see Flynn just about to walk through a door in the back.

"Flynn!" I yell out to him.

He turns but doesn't make a move toward me. The door he was about to go through opens, and a few fireman come through, walking over to the truck we had been standing near. I watch for a moment as they open up a few compartments to place items inside.

He looks at me with question. He doesn't come any closer and he's not going to make this easy on me.

I take a deep breath and decide to jump in with both feet. "Do you still love me?"

The two firefighters standing there look up at me in surprise. They then glance over to Flynn and I follow their gaze. He starts walking toward me, and I'm mesmerized by a lazy smile that slides into place.

"You know I do," he says, having to talk loud so I can hear him.

The two firefighters now turn completely away from the truck, and lean back against it, absolutely content to forgo their duties and watch this drama play out.

Swallowing hard, and letting my nervousness go, I start walking to meet him halfway. When I stop just before him, he looks down at me with his beautiful eyes, and I say, "Good. Because it seems I may have been remiss in telling you the same thing."

Flynn's eyes flash hot and I see joy filter in. His dimple pops out before the smile even fully takes over his face.

"You love me?" he asks in wonder.

"I do. You're my hero, Flynn Caldwell. Not because you pulled me out of a fire, but because you pushed me into love. It's for that reason I love you."

His hand reaches out and tucks a stray lock behind my ear. He then cups the back of my head, just staring at me. "And when did you come to this realization?"

"Oh, only about two hours after you walked out of my life. The pain was unbearable. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I let you down."

"You never let me down, Rowan. You just took a while to learn not to fear love."

"I don't fear it now," I tell him boldly.

He gazes at me... a long, deep look of devotion. "I love you, Rowan. Always."

"Kiss her," one of the firefighters yells out to us.

We both look over at him and start laughing. When we turn back to each other, the humor dies out and something hot replaces it. Flynn pulls me to him, framing my face with both hands. I love how he holds me this way and I close my eyes as his lips touch mine.

It's soft at first, a gentle touch to remind me of all the care in the world he has for me. But then he deepens it and my arms wrap around his neck, melding my body to his. I can hear his co-workers yelling catcalls, but then it all dissolves into silence so I only hear the beating of our hearts.

We kiss and kiss and kiss, not wanting to let each other go.

Even when the speakers jolt to life, emitting several loud tones and then a buzzer, we continue to kiss. We ignore the pager that goes off on his hip, and he kisses me deeper.

I'm vaguely aware of the back door opening and more firefighters running through. I can hear them talking, putting on their turnout gear, but I ignore it all. I only think about kissing the man I love with my entire being.

"Goddamn it, Caldwell. Get your ass in gear!"

I jump back from Flynn and look over to see an angry man with snowy white hair glaring at him.

"Sure thing, Chief," he says with a cocky grin but never taking his eyes off me.

Leaning down, Flynn gives me one more quick kiss and then starts trotting backward from me toward his turnout gear.

"Just wait 'til I get off shift. I'm going to rock your world, baby."

I blow a kiss to him. "You bet your sweet ass, you are."

Turning away, I practically skip out of the fire station and start walking toward our apartment. Not thirty seconds later, two fire trucks go whizzing by me, sirens blaring. The engine honks its horn as it goes by me and I give a friendly wave toward my man as he heads off to work.

Four Years Later

"I'm as big as fucking house," I complain.

"No, you're not," Flynn assures me.

"Well... I'm as big as Capone," I say, looking at the furry monster as he walks beside me.

"Not even."

"I look like a whale," I insist.

"You're way more beautiful than a whale," he tells me but I roll my eyes at him. "And you smell way better, too."

"Thanks!" I say, nudging him in his side and he shoots me a grin.

We stroll across the green grass toward the group of people sitting in the distance. We decided to meet in Central Park and have an impromptu picnic get together.

"Hurry up, preggers," Flynn urges. "I'm starving."

"I'm hurrying as fast as a fat woman can waddle."

Flynn turns to me and scoops me up in his arms. "You are not fat. You are decidedly pregnant with my child, and frankly... I like you like this. I think I might keep you pregnant from here on out."

"No fucking way," I assure him. "This is the only time I'm going through this."

I'm seven months pregnant and I can't believe I'm not ready to give birth yet. I feel like I'm ready to pop. My back hurts, my feet are swollen, and about the only good thing that has come out of this pregnancy is that Flynn seems to be hornier than normal so I get lots of sex.

He tells me that the fact I'm carrying his child in my belly makes him want to fuck me all the time. Which... now that thought makes me horny, and I have hormones coursing through me that tend to get out of control.

"Let's go home and make love instead," I say as he carries me across the grass.

Flynn's eyes turn hot and he actually looks back over his shoulder to gauge the amount of time it would take to get back to the car. Then he shakes his head. "Nope. Sorry... we have people waiting for us. We'll just need to make up for it later."

"But, baby," I whine. "I'm horny now."

"You're always horny," he commisera

tes.

"Well... so are you," I grumble but truth be told, I'm excited about this little outing.

It's summertime, the air is warm, and my clan is reuniting.

Yes, my clan.

Because when I married Flynn Caldwell three years ago, I gained a new family, and it's growing by leaps and bounds.

As we reach the group, Flynn sets me on my feet and I hurry--waddle--over to Danny, who struggles to her feet. She's seven months pregnant too and we bump our bellies together in a show of camaraderie. We told our husbands we want to share a room when we go into labor but I don't think they're buying it.

Hugging me, she says, "You look gorgeous."

"I look like a whale," I whine again, so someone will validate me.

"No, you don't," Flynn mutters on autopilot, because he's heard me bitch about my weight about twenty times a day. "Anyone up for throwing around the football? Please... anyone... to get me away from this crazy, hormonal woman."

The guys all laugh and stand up in unison. Most of them have been there and they feel sorry for Flynn.