Page 64 of Set Me On Fire

“OK, enough of the fucking foreplay.” Charlie got up and moved behind me, nodding to Henry to indicate he needed to swap seats. “I’m not going to plait your hair and have a pillow fight to get the details out of you.”

I shot him a sidelong look, making clear how I felt. He didn’t say a damn thing to Millie, did he? The prick waited me out as people began to shuffle into the room.

“I just made it clear that we were going to keep things professional,” I replied. “That no one was going to let what happened interfere with our working relationship.”

“Just like that, huh?” Why the hell was the prick smiling like that, then shaking his head? “Jeez, you’re fucking cold.”

“What?” I said. Charlie crossed his arms and made a show of focussing on the screen. “What was I supposed to say?”

“Ask her what happened.” That was Noah, not Charlie, and I was forced to hiss at him to keep his voice down. “Why she blocked Charlie. Why she…” He swallowed hard as Brent called for quiet. “Why she never texted me back, because she didn’t block me.”

Charlie’s head whipped around, staring at the two of us, resulting in a frown from Brent.

“Focus, dipshits,” I said, and as quiet settled over the room, everyone faced forward.

Didtheir minds wander as the meteorologist discussed the risks this summer posed to the city? Did they hear descriptions of high pressure systems and dry lightning storms, but not really process it? The speaker’s words washed over me, making clear we had a long, tough season ahead of us and that autumn wouldn’t be bringing us the rain we hoped for, but when we walked out, it was my teammates words I remembered, not the contents of the briefing.

“Want a beer?” Henry asked once our shift was over. “I’ve got time for one before I need to pick the kids up.”

“I gotta get home,” I told him with a shake of my head. “I promised to take Buster for a run.”

“The bloody dog can wait,” someone called out, but I couldn’t. I just waved them away as I headed for the car. It felt like I took my first full breath when I got behind the wheel. For a moment, I held onto the steering wheel, focussing on the way the vinyl pressed into my fingers, before putting the key in the ignition. I was about to take off when I saw I wasn’t the only one beating a hasty exit.

I owed Noah an apology.I’d tap out a text as soon as I got home, I promised, because I watched Millie closely as she walked across the carpark towards her own vehicle. What was the freaking point of giving him a hard time, when I was just as moony over her? I watched her get into her car, telling myself it was because I wanted to make sure she was safe, but I knew it wasn’t that.

It was the same thing that had me looking at the job vacancies on the fire service’s website, looking for other stations who might need an experienced firefighter. While I loved working at this station, things had changed. No amount of professionalism was going to keep me from making a pest of myself around Millie, so if she was going to stick it out at this job, I needed to move on.

“Hey, buddy.”Buster rushed towards me, ball in mouth, tail wagging as soon as I got inside the door. “Wanna go for a run?” He made clear his intentions, spinning around and around in a circle before dropping the ball on the floor and barking. “Alright, mate, just lemme get changed.”

Stripping off my uniform never felt so good. It was heavy armour like a knight wore, laid aside. Free of that, I could be just me, just Knox, so I pulled on shorts and a t-shirt and then grabbed my dog’s lead, the two of us going outside before breaking into a run.

One day, I promised the setting sun. One day I’d have a family to bring with us when we went to the beach. A wife, kids, the whole nine yards, but right now, I needed to make amends.

Sorry for being such a dick, I texted Noah.Shouldn’t have come down so hard on you.

Three little dots appeared as he started to answer, then his message came through.

Be easier to accept if it didn’t keep happening, he replied. I snorted and shook my head at that, tossing the ball for Buster when he dropped it at my feet.I’m gonna talk to Millie.Suddenly the cool breeze took on a bit of a chill, drying the sweat on my skin.You might not need answers, but I do.

Well, fuck.

Noah was a good firefighter and I liked having him on my team. He was smart, sensible, efficient in what he did, but I thought I still had the edge on him. Not now. Turns out Noah was braver than any of us.

Chapter 32

Millie

I was exhausted. That bone deep, every step is one too much, why the hell do I have to keep breathing, tired. I felt like I drove home in a fog, one that didn’t lift as I travelled up the elevator to my place. All I wanted was to sink into a hot bath and rest my head on the rim.

Instead, my brother was waiting by the front door.

Brock got up, moving closer as the lift doors opened. Part of me wanted to shrink back, stab the button and have the lift take me to any other floor but this. Big brother wouldn’t let that happen. I sighed and grabbed the bags of groceries I picked up on the way home and stepped forward.

He plucked the bags from my hands and carried them easily, wrapping his spare arm around my shoulders. I’d braced myself for a telling off, letting me know Mum and Dad were worried, something. I didn’t expect this. For him to just hold me close, minutes, hours feeling like they ticked by until finally I let out a sigh. I looked up when he pulled back to see him smiling slightly.

“I’m sorry the twins were idiots.” How the hell did he do that? Cut me off at the knees before I had a chance to explode. “I want to say I would’ve been cooler about a teenage boy sniffing around my sister, but we both know that would’ve been a lie. The only reason why I wasn’t beating my chest and warning him off was because I was out of school working. We all know what dickheads guys can be.”

“Me too.” I did push away from him then, finding my house keys and going for the door. “Trust me when I say I know just how horrendous men can be to women.”

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