Page 15 of Set Me On Fire

“I wouldn’t mind one.” Charlie winked at me. “I mean me, Noah, and Harry were the ones who actually put out the fire.” He spread his hands wide. “Charlie handles his hose with great expertise…”

“Pretty sure we know why,” one of the guys snickered.

“I’m going to need the details of whoever did that training session,” Brent said. “Making the dangers clear to the public is important, but so is ensuring people respond appropriately to a fire.”

“Um… sure—” I said.

“So what did you do at the pub?”

“The usual stuff,” I replied with a shrug. “Setting staff rosters, banking, dealing with unruly customers, all the paperwork.”

“This is not an interview,” Charlie said.

“Ordering stock?” Brent continued, and suddenly this was a test. “Doing that MCOBY thing?”

“MYOB?” I giggled. “Yep. Obviously, the pub had a bookkeeper, but I ensured all the business expenses were properly documented as well as submitted the pay sheets.” I wiggled my fingers. “Pretty good at typing too. Why, do you need a secretary or something?”

“As much as I know you’d like to ask her if she’s going to wear a pencil skirt and sit on the edge of your desk taking dictation, Boss, I invited Millie here for a reason.” Charlie turned to me. “Want to go on a tour of the station?”

“Here we go.” Judy shook her head slowly. “Brent’s taken forever to find my replacement.” She patted her stomach. “I’m getting out of the rat race and going to be a stay-at-home mum, so he needs to find someone to take my position.”

A government job? I had enough savings to get me through the silly season and figured I’d find another job as the crazy of New Year’s Eve hit, but the security of working for thegovernment? Mum and Dad would just about wet themselves in excitement.

“Yes, yes,” Charlie said, moving in to sling an arm around my shoulder. “But that’s all boring stuff. If you come this way?—”

“Judy has been with us for some time,” Brent explained. “But then her bloody husband had to get her pregnant.”

“This is a Christmas party.” Charlie stepped in front of Brent and then offered me his arm. “Wearing a Santa Claus suit in the boiling hot sun. Drinking too much beer. Having cold chicken and prawns, not turkey. Ho, ho, ho and season’s greetings and that shit, not Excel macros and quarterly reports.” When he looked down at me, I saw his eyes were the most perfect turquoise blue, the colour of a summer sky and the skin crinkled at the corners as he smiled. “You look far too sexy to stand around talking about admin tonight.”

I’d wondered why he’d invited me to this party, but with that look, it became clear. I said I wanted to come and find a sexy fireman to take home, and right now I was thinking he might be a contender. I wasn’t sure if I’d actually go home with him, but Noah didn’t need to know that. Those full lips twitched, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

“Let me show you the station,” he said again.

“Is there one of those slidey poles?” I asked. Charlie was cute, more than cute, but when those fair eyebrows started waggling, he was something even better: fun. “And can I ride in the back of a truck? Can we put the sirens on? Ooh, can I have a go at squirting the hose.”

“Pretty sure you could handle any hose you like.” I let out a yelp as he scooped me up in his arms, just like Knox had. “So, wanna play firemen with me, Millie?”

I said the only thing I could.

“Yes, please.”

Chapter 10

Charlie

I had a cunning plan. I’d show Millie the station, come on strong, and hope that prompted Noah to get his head out of his arse, but I didn’t factor this in. The real reason why I invited her to our party wasn’t an altruistic one.

See a pretty girl, chase her, that was my M.O., and right now my body was reminding me why. I liked holding her in my arms because this way I could look down and see her expression up close, part shock, part pleasure. There was also something a little guilty in it, as if she was embarrassed about the last part. I forgot about Noah, about everyone else, wondering just how far that embarrassment went, imagining other scenarios. Ones where I watched every shift in her expression as I pushed her to greater and greater heights of ecstasy. Would her cheeks burn bright red? Would her lips part? Would?—

“Pretty sure you can put the girl down now.”

Knox’s dry tone was like a bucket of water splashed on my face, breaking the heated spell I was under. I wanted it recorded that I was a very good boy and did not drag Millie down tomy bunk and show her the hose I really wanted her to handle. Instead, I set her down on those cute little heels right here.

“If you were six-years-old and brought here on an excursion, we’d show you what happens when a fire is called in,” I said, wandering towards the appliance bays. Our trucks were lined up there and they were always the things the public were most interested in.

“Only kids get to see the fire trucks?” Millie’s voice was one part amusement, one part longing, and I knew that last part well.

Badge bunnies were one of the politer terms used for girls that pursued firemen, and I was pretty sure I knew why. Everyone had seen a fire truck rushing past, sirens blaring, and the fact that we dealt with emergencies, could force the traffic to part like the Red Sea to let us through, was enough to catch some girls’ eyes. Right now, I was thinking I saw a similar gleam in Millie’s.

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