Page 15 of She's Got that Fire

Damn, I hope not.

Falling back on the grass, I pick up my camera to capture video of the dying embers and their wispy curls of smoke.

What kind of a relationship are we going to have if Liam is ashamed to introduce me as his girlfriend? Are people in town going to see me playing with fire, and think I'm an arsonist? I can’t change the focus of my art at this point. No way. But?—

I stare into space, thinking. I would never have thought I would change the subject matter I'm infatuated with, and I still won’t. But for Liam, I might be willing to change the location and method.

Once we've been together for a few months, assuming everything goes well, and we are really stable, I bet I could ask him to help me find an unused parking lot or something.

Yeah… Considering his position, I might have to make a few changes. Flames follow the fuel. What zigs and zags am I willing to make to follow my relationship with an incredible man?

My shoulder blades hit the grass and I fall back, laughing to myself. In school, it always got my back up if a woman tried to change herself for a man. I told them no guy was worth it. And here I am ready to consider anything.

Yep, decision made. Well, the decision to consider all options at least. Which is in itself a decision. I'm ready to be open to all safety issues in the interest of keeping Liam calm and happy. That's a start, and hopefully enough for the moment.

Straightening up, I grab my camera again?—

Wait.

Why do I smell smoke?

Leaping up, I look around. The mound of ashes in the enormous old frying pan I found at the secondhand store are barely smoldering. And there was hardly any scent to that fire, even when the flames were nearly a foot in the air.

This is a different scent. Acrid.

Maybe my nostrils are just freaking out because I've been burning so many different things today.

I blow my nose, then start to tidy everything up, beginning with the garage, just in case I did drop a small spark.

Suddenly, I'm genuinely nervous. I've never screwed up before. My hands shake as I search frantically all over the place.

Not only does the safety of the neighborhood depend on me not messing up, so does my budding relationship with the man that…yeah, might as well admit it…

That I truly hope is the one.

11

LIAM

Staring at the coffee maker as it does its thing, I wonder if I should take Opal out for dinner tonight. She doesn't seem the fancy type, but I'm sure she'd enjoy a proper date. Maybe we could drive to Old Hemlock Valley to hit Jim's Pizza. Or Betty's Bistro in Cedarville. Somewhere she probably hasn't been yet.

I pour the finished coffee into the black mug covered in orange and yellow flames. Opal used it for her morning coffee just yesterday and laughed adorably when she saw it.

I miss her.

That's such an alien feeling to me. I've always had pretty much everything I need. Here I was with a gigantic hole in my life, and I didn't even realize it.

But yes, I need Opal. She's already become part of me.

It hits me like a blow to the chest – I'm going to have to learn how to be a boyfriend. A partner. Someone who knows how to compromise and have another person in their life. I've always been a bit of a loner, so it could be hard. But I'm willing to change.

Especially since I'm already asking Opal to change. I think she understands that the safety demands I'm making are for her own good, but it's still kind of disturbing to boss her around. Thankfully, this seems to be the only tension between us.

I blow on my coffee, my gaze drifting out the window to the massive grill. Maybe I could build something like that for Opal. I could show her some of our fire training videos, too. Maybe if she sees that I really want to work with her, and continue being her assistant, she won't be offended that I'm…tweaking, yeah, let’s call it that…some of the details.

I think it's going to take some time for us to get comfortable enough to say all the things on our minds. Like, I'm already in love with Opal, but it's far too soon to spring that on her. Weird. My love for her isn't a decision or a revelation. It's just…there.

My phone beeps with the ringtone reserved for a text from the VFFT.

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