First Spark: A Firefighter Short Story (Heroes in Uniform Book 1) Read online

  FIRST SPARK

  WRITTEN BY ROXY GRAY

  Copyright © 2019 by Roxy Gray. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the Publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  FIRST SPARK

  Is a fireman still a hero if he stands you up on a date?

  Quiet librarian Bree has always wanted a man in uniform, and she thinks she’s finally found her match online. Jake is sweet, charismatic, and easy on the eyes. Bree thinks her new guy is sending all the right signals — until he leaves her waiting for two hours with a bottle of wine on their first date.

  She wants to be angry with the firefighter.

  He wants a second chance to win Bree’s heart.

  Are they playing with fire?

  Can Bree keep herself from getting burned?

  This book is part of a series and can be read either in order or as a standalone.

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  1

  ___

  Bree sat on the patio of her favourite restaurant, alone at a table in the corner. She sighed, draining the last contents of her wine glass. Her watch read 9:30 PM. She’d been waiting an hour and a half, though it felt like five.

  “Anything else to drink, Miss?”

  The look of sympathy on the waitress’s face couldn’t be missed. It was obvious — Bree’s date had stood her up.

  Unbelievable. Did men have no common courtesy at all anymore? Was it so much to ask for a little bit of communication? Her date could have let her know he wasn’t coming. It wouldn’t have required much effort. He must have figured she wasn’t worth the trouble.

  Well, she was.

  Bree had never been stood up in her life. There was a first time for everything, but there shouldn’t be. Not for this. Bree’s evening had been one of the most humiliating experiences ever, even in the history of her long and arduous dating life. Especially since she’d gone through the trouble of dressing up for this guy. She’d let herself get excited. She’d even bought a new pair of heels for the occasion, expecting to meet the hottie she’d matched with last month on Hum, her favourite dating app.

  They were supposed to hit it off and get to know each other. Maybe more. Instead, Bree had consumed an entire bottle of wine on her own and still had to foot the entirety of the bill.

  “Miss?” The waitress spoke again, snapping Bree out of her self-pitying trance. “Another glass?”

  “No, thanks. I think I’ve had enough to drink.”

  She hiccupped loudly. “Just the bill, please.”

  Bree handed the woman her credit card and she disappeared around the corner.

  “By the way, this is on the house,” the waitress said when she returned. She held a clear box containing a thick piece of chocolate cake. The icing looked fluffy and delicious.

  “Oh, that’s nice. Thank you… Skylar.”

  Bree smiled, checking the woman’s name tag. She had dark hair, eyes to match and a tanned complexion. Her face was kind.

  “No problem. We’ve all been there. Have a nice night.”

  Bree wandered off the patio and began her walk home, too drunk to drive from the wine she’d had. They’d done their job of numbing the sting of rejection — the highlight of her evening. How sad.

  Her new heels stung with each step she took, adding to her anger. She wasn’t going to let this guy get away with rejecting her. They’d been messaging each other back and forth for the past three weeks, and Bree thought she had a good feeling about this one. When she looked over their last messages, she still got that annoying, warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest.

  Jake: Hey darling. I just wanted to say that I can’t wait to meet you tonight. I feel like I already know you since we’ve been talking so much.

  That was what he’d sent her three hours ago. Bree thought it meant he’d show up for sure.

  She’d been wrong. And now she had to walk the mile home in these ridiculous shoes. She took them off and went barefoot instead. Dirty feet were the least of her problems.

  The more she walked, the angrier she became. How dare this guy make her feel insecure? Nobody should have the power to do that, she thought. She pulled out her phone and sent him a long message, trying her hardest not to make any typos due to her state of inebriation. When she’d composed one that struck the perfect balance between anger and sarcasm, she sent it off:

  Bree: I just left the restaurant where you were supposed to meet me. I hope you and your hand have a lovely evening and an amazing life together. You’ll never be seeing me again. Learn to treat women well or you’ll spend your life alone.

  Even as she sent it, her eyes couldn’t help but graze over his profile picture, reminding her of all the reasons she’d been attracted to this particular man in the first place. It wasn’t just that he was good-looking. His messages to her over the past few weeks had been friendly, flirty, and Bree thought she’d sensed a spark between them. She was happy they’d finally found a time to meet that fit into both of their schedules. He’d disproved that by squashing her expectations, leaving her high and dry.

  Tomorrow is another day, Bree thought as she closed the dating app. Back to square one.

  She was about to return her phone to her purse when it rang. It was Michelle, her cousin and roommate.

  “Hi.”

  “Hey, we have a problem.”

  Normally, she was cheerful and energetic. Tonight, her panicked voice indicated to Bree that something had to be very wrong.

  “What’s the matter? My date was a total fail. I’m on my way home now.”

  She left out the details. She’d re-hash them with Michelle later once her anger had faded.

  “A unit two doors down from ours caught fire earlier. Apparently, there’s a risk of smoke damage, even to our place.”

  “What!?”

  Bree just about dropped her phone.

  “Are the firefighters there?”

  “Yeah. Everyone on the block is waiting outside right now while they finish putting it out. But we’ll probably have to find somewhere else to stay tonight while they assess the damages.”

  “Ugh. That sucks!”

  “I know… so what happened with your date? I thought this guy seemed like a nice one!”

  “Me too. I’ll tell you when I see you. Be there in five.”

  “Okay. See you soon.”

  “Bye.”

  Bree felt apprehensive as she made the rest of the walk back home. Hopefully, their things wouldn’t be ruined. She and Michelle shared a townhouse in Miami and had for the past two years. They’d spent a lot of energy making their place feel like home. It’d be a shame if the effort was wasted.

  As she approached their street, a threatening cloud of black smoke could be seen rising from the long row of attached houses. And as she got closer, Bree noticed a small crowd of residents gathered at the end of the block, waiting just beside a group of firetrucks.

  Bree’s pulse quickened.

  She’d always wanted to meet a fireman, ever since the time she’d read an article about a group of them who’d rescued a woman and her daughter from a burning building. The photo from the news was st
ill imprinted in her mind, even years later — the firefighters, standing by the scene with the girls, looking happy to be alive. Firefighters were good guys. Sexy guys too, most of the time. They were fit, caring and heroes as part of their job.

  A rare breed of men.

  This was the reason Bree’s pulse hammered in her chest as she approached the scene. It was also one of the reasons she’d agreed to go out with her date in the first place. He was a firefighter, or at least he claimed to be.

  She’d never know now.

  “Any news?” Bree asked Michelle as she finally located her. A duffle bag was slung over one shoulder. She stood beside one of the trucks, away from the crowd. The other vehicle was swarmed with officers as the men blasted the smoke-filled unit with water.

  “They rescued the woman and her son. Nobody was hurt, thankfully, but their place is completely trashed. I heard someone say that the fire was caused by a candle she’d left on by mistake.”

  “Wow,” Bree said, making a mental note to never use candles again. “That’s scary.”

  She didn’t know the neighbours, but she felt bad for them. Their house looked torched, and the scene was chaos. Groups of residents filled the streets. There were cops and firefighters everywhere. An ambulance too.

  “I’m going to go to the park and try to book a hotel room,” Michelle said, nodding to the patch of green a ways down the street. “I need to get away from all of this noise.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there in a few.”

  Bree couldn’t move. She was hypnotized by the scene. It mirrored the feeling in her body — a buzzing beehive, full of activity. Though it wasn’t a positive situation, she couldn’t deny that drama like this always excited her. Probably because her life was regular most of the time.

  Just as she was about to join Michelle at the park, Bree noticed a familiar face.

  Oh no.

  But she couldn’t get her sluggish body to react through her hazy thoughts. He’d already noticed her.

  “Bree?”

  Jake looked even better in real life than he had in his profile picture, but that didn’t stop Bree from feeling immediate anger at the sight of his face.

  “Hi.”

  She greeted him flatly, ignoring how attractive he looked. He held a yellow helmet in one hand. He wore his full uniform, which was dirtied with ash from the scene. His blonde hair was stained grey too. Still, his green eyes looked kind and gentle, just as they did in his photos.

  “What are you doing here?” He looked dazed.

  “I live down the street,” she snapped.

  “Oh. I just saw your message. I’m sorry for not showing up. I left my phone in the truck.”

  His voice was raspy, slightly hoarse. He looked exhausted.

  “And you didn’t think to tell me you wouldn’t be coming?”

  Bree crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn’t going to let him off easy. It was the principal of the matter. She wanted to teach Jake a lesson so that he never had the nerve to do this to another woman again. Especially one as nice as her.

  “I was kind of busy trying to put out a fire. Literally.”

  His tone was matter-of-fact, not apologetic. And while Bree could understand that his job was to protect and serve, that didn’t excuse him from fulfilling the common courtesy of warning her he wouldn’t be able to make it.

  Clearly, she’d expected him to be nicer than he was.

  “Yeah, I see that. I won’t get in your way,” she replied.

  Jake opened his mouth, but Bree didn’t want to hear it. She turned and elbowed her way into the crowd, purposefully losing herself in the sea of people. She’d had enough for the evening. She didn’t want to so much as look at another man.

  Dating was a lost cause.

  She exited the throng of people on the other side of the street, taking a quick look to make sure her would-be date hadn’t followed her. No sign of him, but her phone buzzed with a new message.

  Jake: Can we just start over?

  She ignored it.

  “I booked a room for us,” Michelle told Bree when she finally reached the park. She was seated on a bench beneath the shade of a large tree. When she noticed Bree’s face, she did a double-take.

  “Wait. Why do you look so mad?”

  “I just ran into my date.”

  “Here?”

  “Yeah. He’s a firefighter. Apparently, that justifies standing me up and leaving me to wait an hour and a half.”

  “He stood you up?!” Michelle demanded, coiling her hand into a fist.

  “Yup. He didn’t even apologize. He expected me to just forget the whole thing,” she scoffed.

  “Wow.” Michelle let out a breath. “So he was here the entire time?”

  “I guess so,” Bree shrugged. “He should have told me.”

  Michelle bobbed her head.

  “He definitely should have. But I kind of get it… I mean, my old neighbour was a fireman, and he used to get called to places all the time out of the blue. I think it’s just part of the job.”

  Bree rolled her eyes. Her roommate was always sensible. She was brutally honest too. It was simultaneously her best and worst quality.

  “Well, I’m not giving him another chance,” she huffed.

  “Never said you had to. Want to go to the hotel now?”

  “Yes, please.”

  The evening had dragged on long enough. In a perfect world, she’d be crawling into bed with Jake right about now. But the only bed Bree would be crawling into tonight was going to be at the hotel — not even in her own place. She was ready to pretend all of this never happened. Her head hurt from all the wine too. If she went to sleep early, maybe she could avoid the rest of her hangover.

  When they arrived at their room, Bree collapsed on the closest of the two questionable mattresses.

  “I brought pyjamas and toiletries,” Michelle said, retrieving a lump of clothing from her duffle bag. She tossed Bree a pair of shorts and an oversized t-shirt.

  “Thanks. I’m going to go to bed right now,” Bree said.

  Michelle stuffed a few things into her purse.

  “Suit yourself. I’m going out. I’m not sure if I’ll be back later, so if I’m not, make sure you check out by eleven tomorrow.”

  Bree didn’t prod her about where she was going. Likely, it was to one of her friends with benefits’ places.

  “Okay,” Bree said, mid-yawn. “Fool around extra for me.”

  “Maybe,” she replied with a coy smile.

  Bree watched as Michelle checked her appearance in the mirror. She was drop-dead gorgeous, no doubt about it. She had wild, curly hair, a deep complexion, perfect lips and a great set of legs. Sometimes Bree felt like an awkward stump beside her.

  “Sleep tight.”

  “Night.” Bree pulled the sheets over her eyes, not even flinching when the door clicked shut.

  She fell asleep instantly.

  “Help! Our house is on fire!”

  Bree rounded the corner to find Michelle screaming in the street, her face covered in soot. She had on the same outfit Bree had worn on her date.

  “Someone help!” Bree added, joining her friend. She didn’t know where her cell phone was. When she looked down, she saw she was dressed in just a bra and panties. Her sexiest pair — a pale blue lacey set that matched her eyes.

  She felt the heat from the fire on her bare skin, worried she might burn, even from where they stood at the road. Their home was soon engulfed in flames, growing until the sky above was consumed by dark puffs of smoke.

  Bree blinked, and Michelle disappeared. So did the fire. Their home looked exactly as it always did: neat as a pin with a red front door.

  “I saved you. Now, will you give me another chance?”

  Jake appeared in front of her. He wore his uniform, but it was unbuttoned. His hard chest peaked through the gap in his top.

  “I’m not sure.”

&
nbsp; But as soon as she uttered the words, she felt her temperature rise further. Jake looked good. He took a step toward her.

  Suddenly, they were in her bedroom at home.

  “What about now?” He said with a slight tilt of his chin.

  He was cocky and bold. He knew what he wanted. It was Bree.

  “Maybe I can give you a trial run.”

  The words came from Bree’s lips, but she didn’t have any control over what she was saying. Her body was running off of pure instinct, ignoring her brain entirely.

  “I won’t let you touch me, though. Not tonight.” She said smugly. He’d have to date her first. No shortcuts.

  “I don’t mind watching.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, Bree found herself in bed, between her dark sheets.

  “What makes you think I’m going to let you watch me?”

  Her voice didn’t carry an ounce of annoyance. She was turned on, and he knew it. He didn’t need a sixth sense.

  “I think you will.”

  He went into her underwear drawer, where she kept her vibrator. Somehow, he knew exactly where it was. Jake handed it to Bree with a grin.

  “Will I?” She asked as she took it from him. The bulge in his pants was obvious, growing by the second.

  “Yes.”

  Bree turned on the device, smiling when she heard it hum to life. She met Jake’s eyes as she lowered her shorts, then her panties. His lips parted.

  The vibrator made contact with her centre, and he didn’t look away. Game on.

  Bree played with herself as Jake watched, feeling completely at ease knowing he was enjoying himself. She didn’t need porn. All she had to do was imagine what it would feel like for him to fuck her.

  “Mmm, that feels good,” she said. She held back a moan as the device shook against her clitoris.

  “So you forgive me?” Jake asked, taking a seat on her bed.

  “Yes,” she breathed. She couldn’t say anything else.

  “Good. Cause I like you like this.”

  He removed his clothes, one by one. Though his uniform was dirty, his body was clean and smooth beneath it. As he lowered his pants, revealing his underwear, Bree felt herself about to orgasm.