Page 4 of Unpredictable Flames

“Find anything good enough?” I asked, turning to look at her holding up a red dress.

“This is perfect,” she said, with a wide grin. “Now hurry up and get changed. We don’t have much time and there’s still a lot to do.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” I scoffed as she dropped the dress on my bed and rushed out of my room, leaving me to change.

I slowly dragged myself off my bed and grabbed the dress. I slipped into the dress and went to sit before my mirror to touch up my hair and makeup before the party. Just because I didn’t want to have a party didn’t mean I shouldn’t look presentable.

I decided to wear my hair down as I combed my long blonde hair. My emerald green eyes stared back at me, and I smiled at how the golden specks sparkled inside the sea of green.

Growing up, people had always talked about how beautiful my eyes were and how lucky I was to have such unique eyes, but I never saw anything special about them. They were just a color to me. Most of the time, I would think that my past relationships were only because of my eyes.

I wasn’t as pretty as most girls and definitely didn’t feel like it. For some reason, my brother Cole was the beautiful one in the family, and he always made that painfully clear to me. But I never let it wear me down. At least until I got into a relationship and was constantly cheated on.

And Alissa asks me why I haven’t been in a relationship in three years. I shrugged off the thought and carried on with my makeup.

A few hours later, the party was in full swing. There were drinks everywhere, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I dropped the tray of appetizers on the coffee table, right next to the cocktails, and made my way back to the kitchen, forcing a smile as I weaved through the small crowd of people that were in my apartment.

I was already tired of feigning interest and forcing myself to keep up conversations with people I would still see in the office on Monday. I sighed in relief as I pushed open the door of the kitchen, only to be met with a group of people making out in my kitchen.

“What the fuck!” I yelled, glaring at them as they reorganized their clothes and straightened themselves out.

“This isn’t some college party where nowhere is off limits. Get the hell out of my kitchen!” I gestured to the door as they file out. “And where the hell is Alissa?”

I spotted my phone on the counter and figured I would call her to find out where she was. I grabbed my phone and dialed her number, and as I held the phone up to my ear, I saw a bright flash followed by a loud bang; then I was lifted off the ground, pushed back, and slammed into the wall.

As I fell to the ground, I caught sight of hues of orange. My consciousness began to fade, slipping away into darkness before I could fully comprehend what I was seeing, but I knew what it was.

Fire.

****

My eyes fluttered open, and I squinted as they adjusted to the bright lights. “Am I in heaven?”

“I don’t think you’re enough of a saint to end up in heaven,” I heard a familiar voice say.

I turned toward the direction of the voice, and a sharp wave of pain washed over my body, causing me to wince.

“Easy, Lily, you shouldn’t move too much.” I heard the sound of a chair squeak, and a figure suddenly appeared above me. “The doctor said that you’re lucky to be alive after the amount of smoke you inhaled, and you suffered some internal bleeding from the explosion.”

“Jake?” I said in disbelief.

“Hi there,” he said, with his signature smile. It all made sense now. Jake was a firefighter.

“I’m guessing I owe you my life then?” I asked, wanting to know if he truly did save me.

“Are you kidding me. Cole would literally kill me if I let you die,” he chuckled, confirming my suspicions.

I smiled back at him, grateful that he was a firefighter. My eyes did a quick take as I observed the fine specimen of man before me. Truth be told, I had always had a slight crush on Jake when we were younger, but of course, it never went anywhere.

He was still as handsome as ever. His chiseled jawline and the dimples that revealed themselves whenever he smiled were still the best part about staring at him. The years had been more than good to him. I noticed the slight stubble of a beard across his face as his distinct gray eyes stared back at me.

I glanced down at his body, which filled out his shirt in a very desirable way. The material strained against his bulging muscles that threatened to rip through it, and the collar of the shirt was left unbuttoned, leaving me with a teasing glance of his broad chest.

“I haven’t seen you since I helped you move in. Who would have thought the next time would be me when I had to carry your unconscious body out of your burning apartment?” He smirked.

I scrunched my face as the thought of Jake lifting me up and carrying me out bridal style caused me to flush a bit.

“I know I should let you rest, but how the fuck did a fork get into your microwave?” he asked, his usual playful demeanor nowhere near visible.

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