Smoke and Fire (Surrender to Them 1)

grabbed a beer.

“Anyone else want one?” Chase looked over his shoulder.

“It might be a little early for me.” I raised my eyebrows and chuckled. “We haven’t even had lunch.”

“I don’t want a beer, but I could make us some lunch.” Kayla started to walk towards the kitchen.

“No, I don’t think I want you near anything flammable.” Chase waved her off. “I’ll fix something.”

“Come on, stop teasing me.” She looked at Chase and pouted.

“He wasn’t trying to be cruel.” I forced myself not to laugh. “He does have a point, though.”

“Fine. I guess I’ll go get changed into my own clothes at least.” Kayla picked up her bag and walked towards the bedroom.

“What are we going to do with her?” Chase chuckled as he started rummaging in the cupboard for something to eat.

“I don’t know.” I sighed and shook my head. “Clearly she has no interest in dating me, so we’ll just do what we can to help her out.”

“I’m not ready to give up that easily.” Chase looked down the hallway. “I’ve got an idea.”

“Am I going to like this plan?” I raised my eyebrows inquisitively.

“I think you will.” A devious smile crossed his face.

I don’t think she’s the kind of girl to fall for Chase’s tricks, but he’s surprised me before.

Seven

Kayla

I felt like my world was crashing down around me and I was in a downward spiral worse than the one Anna had been on since her last relationship fell apart. My secret was exposed and I was probably going to lose my lease. I made enough money to get by but starting over was going to be hard. I had a couple of credit cards that I had been careful with, and I could get cash advances, but it was going to be very difficult to come up with the money for a security deposit and the first month of rent. It definitely didn’t help that I had just paid all my monthly bills right before the fire. I had to keep pushing myself forward, no matter how difficult it got. I put the past in my rearview mirror when I left Glendale. Even my family didn’t know what happened to me, outside of the letter I left them letting them know I was leaving.

At least I’m wearing my own clothes again.

I never thought I would be so happy to put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, but after wearing Trent’s oversized clothes for two days, I was ecstatic. I walked back down the hallway and stared at the two of them in the kitchen. They had been so kind to me, even after finding out that I lied about the fire. Trent was a wet dream and I started to question if I made a mistake shutting him down so fast when I was confronted about the date. What Chase said to me after Trent was out of the room still echoed in my head as well—the three of us. I wondered if that was something they had done before. My mind wandered for a moment and I pictured myself between them, but I quickly blinked away the thought as I entered the kitchen.

“Lunch is served.” Chase motioned for me to join them as they sat down.

“You could have made this in a microwave.” I sat down and looked at the steaming plate of canned ravioli.

“Yeah, but you might have put some tinfoil over the can or something.” Chase snickered as he picked up his plate.

It’s too soon to joke about that, and he’s already wearing the joke out.

“Any thoughts on where you’re going to live?” Chase looked up at me after he swallowed his first bite and washed it down with a swig of beer.

“Not yet.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’ll probably take a couple of days off work and try to find a place. I don’t suppose there are any vacancies in your building?”

“No, this place has a waiting list.” Trent twisted his lip into a half-smile and shrugged.

“That figures.” I sighed and stared at my food.

We relocated to the living room after we finished eating. Chase turned on the television and flipped through the channels. We watched a comedy show that kept us entertained for a little bit, and then he started surfing through the channels again. He paused when he found a news program that was talking about the fire. It listed the cause as unknown, but I knew it wasn’t going to be a secret for long after the investigator filed his report. It was weird to see a picture of myself on television and hear them talk about me. I just wanted the story to fall out of the rotation before anyone from Glendale stumbled across it. I might not be as recognizable as I once was with the changes I made in my appearance, but if someone stared long enough, they could potentially recognize me.

“I guess they’ll have updates tomorrow when the investigator finishes his report.” I sighed and shook my head. “Everyone at work is going to know I’m an idiot.”

“Yeah, but having people know you’re reckless is better than what would have happened if you hurt somebody—especially for what you did.” Chase muted the television and put the remote on the arm of the chair.