Nicky and I walked out into oppressive heat. “It’s only the beginning of May. How is it so hot?” Nicky grumbled.
“Summer comes early in Texas.”
“This makes me miss New York.” Nicky paused for a moment, waiting for my full attention before continuing. “Always remember how awesome you are. You are smart, funny, kind, beautiful, and the most incredible friend. I don’t know what I’d do without you. If Dylan looks at you and sees what I see, he won’t be able to resist you. And if he doesn’t, he doesn’t deserve you.”
We hugged until Nicky pulled away, claiming I was making her clothes stick to her sweaty body. She adjusted her t-shirt and leggings and fixed the colorful headband that held back her blond pixie cut. She was the epitome of low-maintenance and needed no adjusting, except to shake off the emotional moment.
“Thanks Nicky.”
“Anything for you, my friend,” she said lightly as she headed toward her car. “Keep me posted.”
“I will. Be safe. Call me when you get home from the dick of a dad.”
Hours later,when I should’ve been asleep already, I was baking brownies to bring to work in the morning, mixing the batter with more force than necessary. Was he going to call or not? Better question was, why did I care? It would be easier if he didn’t.
Even if he did call, and somehow things went well… How long could it last before I embarrassed myself again? While I was home, thinking about him and triple checking the recipe on the brownie mix box, he was out risking his life to save people from burning buildings.
I needed to get my head out of the clouds.
He wouldn’t call. He was probably shocked by the multiple personalities I’d shown or confused about how quickly I’d morphed from normal to malfunctioning. He probably wasn’t thinking clearly when he asked for my number, or he’d asked out of morbid curiosity. Maybe I’d just imagined the whole thing.
I finished the brownies, and despite my rioting thoughts, I must’ve eventually fallen asleep, because I was woken up by my phone ringing.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Juliette, it’s Dylan. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
He called! My traitorous heart pounded. “No, you didn’t. I’m glad you called.”
“I did wake you. But I’m glad you answered anyway. I’m sorry it’s so late. I wanted to call earlier, but I was out on back-to-back calls.” His voice was even deeper and sexier over the phone.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, a few car accidents but, thank God, no serious injuries.”
I hadn’t even thought about car accidents. “You’re the first firefighter I know. Is it like in the books I’ve read? A bunch of hot guys joking around with each other and complaining about who can’t cook, who leaves a mess, who snores, and who farts?”
He laughed, the sound smooth and rich. My cheeks burned with both pride and embarrassment. I was glad he couldn’t see me.
“That’s not too far off.” I could hear a smile in his voice. This sweet, sexy guy was really talking to me. Amazing. And, apparently, I was ridiculously happy about it. So much for playing it safe.
“Juliette, I wanted to apologize for—” I heard a loud alarm blaring. “Sorry, I gotta run.”
“Be safe!”
“Thank you. I’ll call you again when I can.”
“Okay,” I whispered, but he’d already hung up. What did he want to apologize for?
The next day, Dylan sent a couple of texts. The first was a simple good morning while I was in the shower. I typed back the same in response, in shock that this was really happening. In the afternoon, he wrote, “hope you are having a good day.” I saw the text, but I was working in a classroom and couldn’t write back. By the time I got back to my phone, he’d sent another.
Dylan:I’m going to call you later, and when we talk I’m going to ask to see you again. Giving you a heads up now so you are ready for it. Please say yes.
What?? What do I say to that?
Me: Okay
Thankgoodness my last few kids of the day were easy, because it was all I could do just to make it through the day.