Page 72 of Set Me On Fire

“I went to work with a payload of truth bombs I was ready to drop,” I told her. “But then they were out on jobs, y’know saving the city from fires.”

“Oh.”

“And then I got sexually harassed by some dickhead at work.”

“Oh no.”

“Finished the day and the guys were still on the job. Got a flat tyre.”

“And you didn’t ring us? Brock?” I heard her pull away from the phone. “Did any calls come in to the shop from Millie today?”

But I knew the answer. I was too busy trying to prove I was a good student and failing miserably.

“No, because right as I was trying to break the nuts that you guys do up too damn tight, I slipped, fell?—”

“Nooo…”

“On my arse. Actually, before that I landed on my knee.” The details were coming out faster and faster, until they were a big jumble. I hissed as I looked down at the bloody scrape there. “And then Charlie pulled up to fix everything.”

“I’ve got it.”

I knew I’d play him saying those three words over and over again in my head tonight, but right now I focussed on dropping my shit on the couch and collapsing down beside it.

“He changed my tyre while I had a little sook in his car that smelled exactly like his aftershave, and then he got in beside me and saw I was crying and he didn’t even run away.”

I heard a small sound and knew my so-called best friend was trying hard not to laugh.

“The good ones don’t, Mills.”

“Well, I had my moment, didn’t I?” My breath came in noisy gulps. “We were away from work and on neutral territory with no one to overhear. I could’ve told him.”

“Mills…”

“I could’ve said something. I was just about to and then some girl rang.”

“Some girl?”

“I know, I know.” My hand scrubbed at my forehead. “I never would’ve gone near him with a ten foot pole if I knew he was in a relationship.” My eyes fell closed, but there was no relief to be found there. “Let’s hope he’s not the dad.”

“You’re still going to have to tell him.”

I knew that, but.... In the car, before the phone call, it felt like we were having a moment. Turned out drunk Millie and straight Millie had the exact same taste. That little twinkle in Charlie’s eyes, the way those full lips curved when he smiled, and that damn dimple. I wanted to know if it’d feel as good kissing him in full control of my faculties as it did when I was drunk.

But not if he belonged to someone else.

“God, what if he is the dad and he’s in a long term relationship? What if I was the other woman? What if?—?”

“We can’t worry about Charlie’s theoretical relationship status right now.” Jamie’s words were the eye at the centre of a storm. “Let’s focus on the most immediate issue. Obviously waiting around a busy fire station isn’t going to work, so maybe it's time to grab the bull by the horns?”

At that moment, I heard a tone from my phone so I switched it to speaker phone.

“Um… I kinda already did. I sent Noah a message that we needed to talk.”

“Tell me you did not use that exact phrasing,” Jamie groaned, but I didn’t really hear her. I was tapping on my message notification to open it instead.

Be glad to, Noah had written.When suits you?

I read the words over and over as I dimly heard Jamie say my name, looking at them closely, trying to imagine his voice saying them with different inflections. Was he really glad or was he ‘glad to’ the way I told my bosses I was happy to do something I didn’t really want to do. I jerked the phone away from me with a frown. I wasn’t this girl. I might go out with deadshits, but when they revealed themselves as not worth my time, I cut them off without thought. I didn’t sit up at night crying over them and I didn’t need to create a psychological profile of Noah’s texting style.

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