Arson & Ache (Surrender to Them 8)

“We don’t have to do that. Where would you guys take me if we were on a real date?” Marissa looked up at me and bit down on her bottom lip.

“My place.” The filter didn’t give me a chance to catch the words before I said them.

“You better be careful. I might not say no.” Marissa sucked the edge of her lip between her teeth and I saw something new flash in her eyes—desire.

“I think we should probably just take you home and call it a night.” Donovan blinked with surprise registering on his face as he realized exactly where the conversation was heading.

It isn’t like Donovan to send a drunk girl home early. He must be losing his touch.

“I don’t want to go home.” Marissa looked over at Donovan. “I’m having fun and I never get to have fun.”

“Okay, then let’s head to the fire station.” Donovan nodded and leaned forward to tell the driver where to take us.

We went to the fire station and endured another round of photographs, but there wasn’t as much posing as the other locations. Marissa was definitely having fun, and I was glad the chief wasn’t there to see us bring a drunk girl into the station. She wasn’t falling down and throwing up at least, but she was certainly floating on a cloud dripping with wine. What she didn’t see was how beautiful she looked when she just threw her inhibitions out the window and allowed herself to have fun. The first part of the date was so serious while she was following the itinerary and trying to make sure everything was perfect for her boss. I made sure she got a few shots with a helmet on so she could check that off her itinerary at least. I took a look at the board where I had assembled all of the Fireball evidence and it had never been clearer—I needed a distraction in the worst kind of way.

There will be time to deal with that shit tomorrow, and the night is still young.

“Alright, let’s go before one of these guys asks you out.” I chuckled and put my hand on Marissa’s shoulder.

“I’m already going out with two hot firefighters—what’s wrong with a third?” She looked up at me and grinned.

“Well for starters, their wives might have a problem with it.” I nudged her towards the limousine.

“What? Are you the only two single firefighters at the station?” She looked over her shoulder at us as we walked.

“No.” Donovan chuckled and shook his head. “But most of the single guys got auctioned off earlier today and they’re out on dates—just like we’re supposed to be.”

We climbed back into the limousine and headed downtown. I didn’t really care what was left on the itinerary at that point. I just wanted to spend more time with Marissa before her buzz wore off and she came to her senses. Donovan seemed to be right there with me—mentally at least. I could tell he was struggling with some of the same thoughts I was having. Marissa was gorgeous, funny, and so incredibly smart. She was a little timid before she got carried away with the wine, but I was pretty sure that side of her was just buried beneath the surface. She admitted that she didn’t date much, and that couldn’t have been more obvious once she got a little intoxicated, because she couldn’t seem to make up her mind between the two of us. She truly had no idea what she really wanted—she was just enjoying the moment.

We spent a couple of hours downtown, just walking around with the cold December air sobering us all up a little bit as we enjoyed each other’s company. Once the buzz was firmly worn off, Marissa mentioned that she had never been to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum. I took that as a hint and we all headed there to check it out. It had been years since I had been there myself, and Donovan hadn’t been since he was a kid. We spent a couple of hours there before we saw everything that they had offer. It was starting to get late by that point, and I knew we were going to have to call it a night. We told the driver to take us to Marissa’s apartment building, so we could see that she made it inside safely before he took us home. As much as I craved more than just a platonic end to the evening, she was a lot less flirty once she sobered up.

“I had a really good time.” She turned towards us once she stepped into the lobby of her apartment building.

“Me too.” I nodded and smiled.

“We should do it again some time.” Donovan looked at me, and then turned to Marissa. “Would you be up for that?”

“Sure!” A smile formed on the corner of her lips.

“Okay.” I extended my arms for a hug. “It’s a date.”

And apparently, it’s another date with the both of us…

I had questions for Donovan, but I didn’t want to ask them in front of Marissa. We both hugged her goodnight, exchanged numbers, and waited until she was on the elevator before we headed back to the limousine. I was torn. I really did like Marissa, but another date with the two of us was going to push things towards the friend zone. It wasn’t realistic for her to date the both of us—not if it was ever going to be a serious relationship. I could see myself going down that road with Marissa if a few more dates went as well as the one we had—though I would have preferred to have been alone with her. I had been hurt before, but Marissa seemed like she was worth the risk. I wasn’t even sure she saw how amazing she really was. She was certainly gorgeous—I would be dreaming about those curves as soon as my head hit the pillo

w.

“Alright man let’s just put it on the table. You like her, right?” I looked over at Donovan as soon as the limousine pulled away from the curb.

“Well fuck yeah I like her. Don’t you?” He looked at me and nodded.

“Yes, but we can’t both like her. That isn’t going to work.” I narrowed my eyes and growled under my breath.

“Why not?” He shrugged. “You don’t like to share?”

“No, why would I share?” I scoffed and shook my head.

“Because I’m not backing down. I think she’s amazing and I’m going to pursue her.” Donovan leaned back against his seat.