Page 37 of Set Me On Fire

“What? Oh, yes, of course.”

He seemed a little flustered, but maybe that would work in my favour. A government job would’ve been perfect last night, but now…? I looked up at the fire station facade and nodded, knowing I’d never forget tonight, all while knowing it would never be repeated. Jamie might be in a quadruple or whatever she called it, but my brothers had been mooning after her for her entire life. I just slept with two strangers and a guy who wouldn’t even kiss me in high school.

The Uber tooted the horn again, making clear he wasn’t going to wait.

“Sorry, I need to go, but thanks for… everything. I’ll get the uniform back to you.”

I didn’t wait for a response, diving into the back seat of the car and then giving the driver my address.

When I got home,my dress went into the washing machine along with the uniform, because I didn’t feel like myself until I was out of it. As the machine started to agitate, the suds visible through the glass window, it felt like more than just the clothing was washed away. I had a fun night, I rationalised. I got to kick up my heels, have a bit of fun in the silly season…

No, more than fun, my brain insisted. It sang me a siren song of gasps and moans, of bodies working against each other, of an ecstasy that seemed to well deep inside me, ready to overwhelm. It blew my freaking mind and that was a problem.

It left me wanting more.

Sappy fantasies where all four of us walked along the beach at sunset played inside my mind, a dog in tow. Charlie tossed it a ball to chase as Noah’s arms snaked around my waist. Knox shooed us back as the tide came in, making sure my trailing white dress didn’t get wet, and I…

I would never have that.

Other women didn’t seem to have this stupid tendency to project shit onto the guys they boned, I was sure, seeing a future where there was none. If anyone was interested in dating me, we wouldn’t have ended up in bed. I’d scratched a foursome itch I didn’t know I had, and they’d… They’d engaged in some team building activities Brent wouldn’t have supported. With a snort, I walked out of the laundry and into my kitchen, pulling out orange juice and some painkillers along with the antibiotics I was currently taking. Shaking my head, I realised I’d probably need to fulfil the repeat script. The multiple trips to pound town were going to make my cystitis flare up bad.

That wasn’t what I was thinking as I settled against the counter, staring into the reflective surface of my kettle without really seeing it. My lips stung, my body ached, but in the good, well-used way, my thighs sending shivers through me as I rubbed them slowly together, as if trying to summon the ghostsof good fucks past. I was half tempted to spend the day in bed with my battery operated boyfriend, seeing if I could get myself off half as hard, but duty called.

“Hey,” I said as I answered my phone. Jamie’s contact had flashed up on the screen. “What’s up?”

“Your brother is threatening to take me to get fitted for a suit, and I don’t know how I feel about it,” my bestie said. I smiled at the obvious discomfort in her voice. Jamie was all woman but somehow missed the memo about how to dress or wear makeup.

“And you called me to talk you down off a ledge during your sartorial emergency?” I replied. “Good choice. I’ll be at yours in an hour.”

I swallowedthe pills and washed them down with the juice before straightening up to go and get ready. Last night was a hot, hot fever dream, but that wasn’t me. I was daughter, sister, friend, and unemployed, so I needed to attend to all those things right now. I pulled on some light clothes, grabbed my car keys, and walked towards the front door when a text came through.

Where did you get to?it read, and that’s when a curl of excitement twisted in my gut. This was from Charlie’s number, and to say I wasn’t expecting to hear from him again was an understatement. He was there in the ‘here for a fun time, not for a long time’ box, but texting me threatened to release him from it.We could grab some breakfast this morning. Gareth isn’t a bad cook.

I could’ve told him the truth, that I’d gone home, but there was a cute cafe nearby that had bacon and eggs to die for. I could be there in half an hour if he wanted to grab a bite. I could’ve said I had something on today, but if he was keen tomorrow… Except that would just get us texting, and textingled to talking, and talking led to every other guy I’d met on a dating app breadcrumbing me with little bits of attention, stringing me along while they pursued the woman they were really into. I could’ve told him just that, but in my experience the royal never complaining, never explaining was the best way to deal with dudes. My thumb hovered over the text, ready to reply, but instead, I blocked his number.

I had relationships that I could rely on with my friends and family, so that’s what I focussed on, locking up my place and getting in my car.

Chapter 21

Knox

One of the many reasons why I didn’t drink all that much at parties was because the next day I woke up feeling freaking amazing, unlike the other drunken sods. This morning was supposed to be one of the best. Millie was a freaking firecracker, stirring the minute one of us touched her, ready for another round.

Just like I was now.

I smiled to myself, rolling over and slinging my arm around the body next to me, but what I found wasn’t what I expected. My hand patted a muscular shoulder, big biceps, and unless Millie had gone through an incredible transformation overnight, I was hugging…

Charlie.

When my eyes opened I saw a sleepy-eyed Charlie looking at me.

“Please tell me that smile was for me.”

I gave him a shove in answer.

“Where’s Millie?”

“Not up my arse.” He rolled backwards and stretched slowly, which forced my eyes up to the ceiling. Charlie might like taking sneaky peeks at my dick, but I had no interest in checking out his. After his jaw cracked, he sat up and looked around, and that’s when I started to put two and two together. “And not in here either.”

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