Page 24 of Rescue My Heart

Within minutes, her phone pinged. It was McKenna. “How are you feeling today? Tired? We worked hard yesterday!”

Mazey couldn’t help but smile at the memory, the thought of McKenna’s fingers moving inside her making her heart race. You worked hard, Mazey thought, remembering how she’d laid there, savoring every second of being ravished. She had never been able to just lay there before. Sex always seemed like a chore. Something she wanted to avoid. After her encounter with McKenna, she could finally understand why people were so obsessed with it. She bit her lip and tried to focus, needing something flirty to keep the conversation going.

Before Mazey could even think of a witty response, her phone buzzed again. Another message from McKenna.

“What’s on the cards for the big-shot movie star today?”

Mazey smiled, relieved that McKenna was keeping the conversation going. She hadn't realized how nervous she'd been about texting her. After last night, everything felt so...uncertain. The connection had been intense, almost too intense, and Mazey had been afraid that maybe it was a fleeting thing. But here was McKenna, making it easy, light, and fun.

Mazey tapped her fingers against the screen, trying to come up with something that matched McKenna’s playfulness but also hinted at how much she wanted to keep things going between them.

"Same old stuff," Mazey typed back. "You know, dazzling the masses, pretending I know my lines, maybe getting my hair blown out by a wind machine. The usual."

She hit send and immediately bit her lip, second-guessing her words. Was that too much? Not enough? Why was she overthinking everything so much?

McKenna’s response came quickly.

"Sounds like tough work. Maybe you need a personal masseuse on set?"

Mazey laughed softly, shaking her head at the image of McKenna showing up to her trailer in her firefighter uniform, offering a massage. Now that would definitely make headlines.

She could still feel the warmth of McKenna’s strong hands from the night before, the way they’d confidently moved over her body, bringing her to places she hadn’t known she could go. Her cheeks flushed as the memory of their night together played in her mind, and she had to steady herself before typing back.

"Only if you're offering," she replied with a winking emoji.

Her heart raced as she hit send, her mind instantly flooding with the possible interpretations of that response. Was it too bold? Was she playing it too cool? She wasn't used to this dynamic, this uncertainty. With men, it had always been straightforward. But with McKenna, there was more at stake. It felt raw and real. And that terrified her.

She didn’t have long to overthink it, though. Her phone buzzed again.

"Maybe I am," McKenna texted. "You’d have to let me know if the job’s available."

Mazey grinned, feeling her nerves melt into excitement. She loved the banter and flirtation. It was new, refreshing.

She was about to respond when McKenna sent another message.

"But seriously," McKenna wrote. "Any big plans tonight? Or do you need a break from being fabulous?"

Mazey hesitated, her thumbs hovering over the keyboard. Was this it? Was McKenna about to ask her out again? Her heart thrummed as the thought crossed her mind. She didn’t know what to say. Should she make herself available or should she play it cool?

What if last night had been just a one-time thing for McKenna? What if it meant more to Mazey than it did to her?And then there was the fact that Mazey wasn’t out publicly. Could McKenna even handle that kind of secrecy?

She quickly shook those doubts away. She didn’t want to think about the what-ifs right now. She wanted to enjoy this chance to keep exploring something new.

Mazey typed back, "No plans yet. Did you have something in mind?”

Her heart raced as she waited for McKenna’s response, her nerves on edge. She was trying to stay cool, but inside she was giddy like a schoolgirl.

After a few seconds, her phone buzzed again.

"Dinner tonight? But not just you and me. My friends too. It’ll be low-key, I promise. My friends are nice- they will welcome you to town.”

Mazey's heart skipped a beat. Dinner with McKenna’s friends? That wasn’t what she had expected, and the idea of meeting people from McKenna’s world so soon made her stomach flip. But at the same time, it thrilled her. The thought of being included in McKenna’s life, even in a casual setting, was exciting. It made things feel more real, more significant.

Mazey hesitated for a moment before typing back. Was she ready for this? What would McKenna’s friends think of her? Would they treat her differently because of who she was? She didn’t want to be the “celebrity” at the table. She just wanted to be Mazey, the woman who had spent an incredible night with McKenna and was eager to see where it could go.

Her fingers hovered over the screen, a mixture of excitement and nerves filling her. Then, with a deep breath, she typed, "That sounds fun. Count me in."

She hit send before she could overthink it, smiling softly to herself. It wasn’t what she had expected, but maybe that was the point. Maybe this was a chance to see McKenna in her element and see how she fit into that world.

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