Page 50 of His Wife

Burning Within

Chapter one

It was my last day of work in the taxation office after having given my two week’s notice. I was a little apprehensive about taking this step in my life, but this was something that I had dreamed of since I was a child. That feeling of doing something important and having a purpose had driven me from the moment that I realized I wanted to be a firefighter. My parents were against it. At first I allowed them to run roughshod over my life, but then I realized that I was never going to be happy.

My parents were retired in Phoenix now, and I was living in Boston. I’d been training diligently in the gym for the last few years. I had jogged five miles every day, and my stamina was good. I felt like I was ready to jump out of this mundane existence into something a lot more exciting. At 5 ‘8” and 150 pounds of solid muscle I’d worked myself into pretty good shape.

Being in this office and looking out at the world made me feel like life was passing me by.

My friend, Bethany, came and sat down by me. “We’re really going to miss you around here. Marlene, things just won’t be the same.” Bethany had become a good friend. We talked incessantly every day and I had no desire to see that stop any time soon. “I admire you for going after something that you want this badly. You’re risking a lot, but I don’t see you having any other choice.

“My parents are no longer around to stop me. They don’t even know what I’m doing. I plan to spring it on them when I go back for winter vacation. Won’t that be an interesting conversation around the Christmas dinner table?” We both laughed at how my father would probably spit up his turkey and my mother would probably shoot wine out of her nose. I had a feeling that my sister, Erica, and my brother Michael would show me the kind of support that family is supposed to.

“I’m not saying that I don’t have my doubts. These guys put their lives on the line every day and the regime that they put themselves through is amazing. But I’ve tried to duplicate a lot of their techniques and I think that I’m finally ready.”

I would have been ready long before this, but my mother and father had been constantly yapping in my ear how disastrous this could be. They would call me foolhardy, but this was not the first time that I had gone off the reservation.

There was one girl that I dated for a month to get under my parent’s skin. Her name was Trixie, and she was a stripper. I met her after a drunken binge, and we started making out like a couple of lovesick teenagers. We never did experiment in the bedroom. Mostly we touched and made out, until she found something better. I think that her pressuring me into having sex was only getting in the way. I told her that I would tell her when I was ready, but she apparently wasn’t going to wait around forever.

I’ve never been what you may call a typical girl. Chick flicks have never done anything for me. If a guy took me to one of those, I would yawn with boredom, until the credits rolled. I went to all sorts of movies, but mostly they were dedicated towards action and adventure. I was more of a tomboy. I liked to get dirty with the best of them.

I had always been fearless; climbing one tree or another. I liked doing what the boys did for the sake of showing them that a girl could do it, as well or better than they could. I liked to dabble in many things including the mechanics of my own car. My father was all thumbs, but I’d learned through the internet and friends how to do the basic maintenance. I could put on my own brakes, change my own tires and oil, not to mention repairing a radiator or hose that had broken. I did have one ‘feminine’ hobby that I kind of enjoyed, and it was cooking.

I was self-sufficient and proud of it. I made sure the guys knew from the moment that they came into my life that I didn’t need them to hold me by the hand. More often than not I ended up alone in my bed at night. I had no interest in bar-hopping. The days of going to one club or another had seen its day in the sun by the time that I was twenty-two years old. I was rapidly approaching my thirtieth birthday. If I wasn’t going to go after my dream now, then I probably would never do it.

Bethany followed me out to the parking lot and gave me a heartfelt hug that felt like she was never going to let me go. I tried not to feel anything, but that time with Trixie had left a permanent mark on my life. I liked guys, but I think that I liked girls even better. I hadn’t done anything more than kiss them, but that didn’t mean that it couldn’t happen. It was a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

Bethany was determined to reassure me. She went on, “It’s perfectly natural to be nervous about any new situation. It’s a big step, but it’s one that I think that you are ready for. You’ve carefully weighed out the pros and cons and you’ve even gone so far as to make your body into a temple. I haven’t seen you eat sweets or anything that requires you to burn off the calories. Becoming a vegetarian couldn’t have been easy. I know how you like your red meat. Your dedication to this new life is something that I hope gets back to your parents. I have to say that I’m very proud of you. You know that I’ll be cheering you on.” Her encouragement had allowed me to see past my doubts.

I was tempted to call my brother, Michael, and tell him what I was doing, but I was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut. My sister was unable to keep a secret to save her life. It was best that I did this on my own. I was thankful that Bethany was there by my side. Life was about changes, and nothing stays the same. If you get the chance to dance, you shouldn’t just sit on the sidelines and twiddle your thumbs.

“You don’t know how much having you in my life has meant to me, Bethany.” I didn’t want to get emotional, but it was built into my DNA. Tears streaked down my cheeks.

“I’m really going to miss you, Marlene. I don’t want you to come crawling back. This is your destiny. I don’t want anybody to hold you down, unless it’s in a good way.” I pointed at her and then we began to laugh maniacally. People stared at us like we were crazy.

Chapter two

Thirty-three of us recruits stood in a row in the fire hall. Sort of like soldiers listening to the drill sergeant. “You’ve all been training very hard. You have a long way to go, but I believe that you might be the best batch of recruits that I’ve had in quite some time.” Mitch, the Fire Chief, strode up and down in front of us, making sure to look us in the eyes. “There is one person in particular that has gone above and beyond. I don’t usually like to single anyone out, but they deserve the praise that I’m going to heap on them. Marlene has the kind of dedication it takes to be a top-notch firefighter. I’ve never seen a person work so hard to get into this dangerous profession.”

I was ill prepared for his praise, and I had to work to keep my expression neutral; thrilled as I was. I had been going full tilt from the moment that I had entered into training a couple of weeks earlier.

Later, Mark, a seasoned fire-fighter who worked with us, and I sat in the staff-room drinking coffee. “I told you that there was nothing to worry about. Besides, I think the guys like having you around. Your body is spectacular and you may distract us, but it’s in a very healthy way.” Mark had taken an instant liking to me, and had even offered to bring me home to dinner with his wife Carol. I was reluctant, as he wasn’t exactly shy about his affections. He would constantly touch me. I must admit, I liked it.

I had to be honest with him. Going to meet his wife was not a good idea. “You know that you’ve been stealing glances every time that I bend over a certain way. I’ve seen you salivating thinking about getting my nipples into your mouth. You get stiff every time that I run up a flight of stairs in front of you. You think that you’re hiding it, but that piece of hardware is very hard to keep under wraps.” I punched him playfully near his groin. He laughed.

We continued our training for the rest of the day, and then he once again asked me if I wanted to meet his wife Carol. “I’m not saying that she’s a gourmet chef, but she does know her way around the kitchen. She’s mostly into pastries and she has even made a living out of going to the market every Sunday to sell her wares. You would be amazed at how much she sells on any given Sunday. She probably makes as much money in one day as I do in a whole week. I told her that she should open a shop, but she likes having no overhead. I don’t know about you, but I could definitely go for some head!”

Two could play that game. “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll jump you at the table? I think that I’ve avoided this long enough. If you really want me to meet her, then let’s go to dinner together and see if we can be friends.”

“What makes you think that this has anything to do with friendship?” He walked away with a knowing smile on his face. It made me think that he was up to something.

At the end of the day we were both exhausted. I was going to go home and get ready, but he said that I could shower at his house. I had a change of clothes in my black Tahoe. It didn’t seem prudent to go twenty miles out of my way and then return another twenty miles to get to his place.

“If you’re sure that it’s not an imposition, I think that I might take you up and that offer, Mark.” I knew that Mark loved Carol with all of his heart, but that didn’t preclude him from looking at the merchandise. I’d done everything in my power to seduce him, but he was reluctant to go down that road. I wondered if maybe it was possible that we could have something going some day. But he seemed loyal to his wife. He just liked to flirt.

“Just don’t be surprised if I walk in while you are picking up the soap.”

“If that’s what gets you in behind me, then by all means let’s make this happen.” I was not shy about my affections. I’d even kissed him out of the blue a couple of days ago. He didn’t even talk about it. I think that he was embarrassed, and maybe feeling a little guilty for letting it happen. He really hadn’t had a choice. I was the one that had taken the bull by the horns and grabbed him. He could have fought me a little harder, but what guy doesn’t like a nice French kiss to free them of their inhibitions?

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