Page 25 of Burned By Fire

11

EMBER

Sunday, May 15th

I’m disappointed to find Sol with his clothes on when I wake up, and it looks like he slept in his pajamas. “Morning,” I say, rolling out of bed.

“Good morning. I was going to grab us a coffee before the drive home,” Sol says, walking towards the door.

“That would be great.” I smile, but it’s wasted because he’s already out of the door.

I quickly shower, rubbing off the sweat from our lovemaking, and put on some clothes. By the time Sol returns, I’m packed and ready to leave.

“Sorry that took so long. I saw Clint in the lounge and got talking about his charity.”

“Oh, yeah. What did he have to say?”

“His ideas are starting to sound like something I’d be on board with.” He places the coffees on the nightstand.

“That’s great. I’m pleased for you.” I step towards him.

“I finally feel like I’m turning a corner, and it’s thanks to you.” He smiles, and it’s so genuine the disappointment from this morning is washed away.

“I didn’t do much. Other than dragging your ass out of the house.” I laugh, loving the happy butterflies in my stomach.

“You did so much more. You’ve given me a glimpse of what my future can look like, and I want to take it.” He hugs me and then runs his hands up and down my arms in a comforting motion.

“I want that for you too.” I mean it more than anything. I want Sol to be okay again and living a good life. He steps back, but we hold eye contact.

“I’m going to meet with him next week to discuss a few ideas, and he’s offered me an event organizer position. The office isn’t too far from Armstrong, and I can plan local fundraisers. The company is only small, but he’s raised enough to take on a second member of staff. He wants that person to be me.”

“That’s fantastic. Are you going to accept?” I squeeze my fists together, unable to contain my excitement.

“Once we’ve gone through a few of the finer details and we’re both on the same page, I think I will.”

“That’s amazing.” I hug him again.

“It is. I already have a mind full of potential fundraising ideas.”

“Like what?”

“Wet t-shirt car washes and waterbomb parties.” He smirks, and it’s obvious he’s joking.

“Fine, don’t tell me.” I pout.

“I’d rather you wait until I know whether it’s going to work out, and then I’ll share everything with you.”

“Okay. It will be completely different for you, but I can already see you doing the job.”

“Me too. Isn’t that weird?”

“I can see you’re happier than before. This is great news. Even if this doesn’t work out, I think you’re going to do great things, Solomon Fox.”

“Thank you. You’ve always been my cheerleader.”

“And I always will be.”

We’re quiet for a few seconds. “Shall we head home?” he asks, turning to the bed to collect our things.

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