Page 8 of Deadly Tiger's Single Dad Crush

He gets up and we get drinks before settling in front of the TV to relax a bit. This time it’s a murder mystery, not some nature special. It feels so domestic, so homey. That little twinge of doubt and worry plays in my head. Am I wasting my time with a guy that will only ever see this as something fun? What is really going on between us?

Eventually, it’s time to call it a night. I head for my bedroom. When the boys are at their aunt’s house, I stay in Daniel’s room, but I’m in mine when they’re here. It’s another thing that kind of sits in my head lately.

Tonight, I can’t just let it sit. “Daniel, what are we?”

“What?” He looks at me with no clue as to what I’m asking.

I sigh. “Are we boyfriend and girlfriend or am I just a…” I can’t think of any word other than whore so I improvise. “…vailable when you’re horny?”

He at me and doesn’t answer fast enough for me. I frown. “Daniel.” I know I sound sophomoric right now, but I don’t know how else to talk about it.

“Well, I know that I’d break another guy’s neck for kissing you or maybe for even just smiling at you, so whatever that makes us ...”

I laugh and run to him, jumping on him and wrapping my legs around him as I kiss him. I cover him with kisses.

I only stop when I think I hear the boys stirring. I jump down and give Daniel a big grin as I walk to my room.

“Goodnight, boyfriend,” I whisper and blow him kisses like a schoolgirl.

I hear Jacob calling for me and I hurry to the kids’ room. Before I duck in, I turn and give my boyfriend one last wave.

Chapter Seven

Daniel

“You stuck up pussycat prick!” Clyde calls from across the field. “You couldn’t score a hit if the ball was catnip.”

“You’re just jealous because you think the bat is a bone, Kibble Breath,” I reply. He’s a wolf, so of course I tease him about being a dog and he teases me about being a housecat.

Brent throws the pitch. He’s a horse shifter. He’s also probably the best firefighting technology mechanic in the world. You can think of him as an automotive engineer, a hydraulic engineer, and a structural engineer all in one. He’s also a good pitcher. I swing and miss. Garrett, my boss and a gorilla shifter calls, “Strike two!”He’s catching for both teams.

Naturally, Clyde teases some more. The others in the outfield join in but since they’re a lion and a panther, they don’t do the kitty cat stuff. I have to admit all of my focus now is on the perfect wolf-destroying insult I’ll be able to use after I get a hit. Something about a mangy cur comes to mind. Brent pitches and I swing. The contact tells me I have a homer.

And the fucking alarm rings.

I hit a homer that is going to humiliate the hell out of Clyde and put the whole cats and dogs thing to rest for a while and nobody can stick around and see it. It’s an all-hands alarm so we all have to rush back to the firehouse.

I have my fire gear on faster than any of the other guys because home plate is closest to the house and Garret, the only one closer than me, makes sure everyone else is moving. I start the engine check while the rest get dressed.

Garrett gets details on the call and soon our engine, our truck, and our Type 5, which is designed for wilderness firefighting, are heading out. Our truck is an aerial ladder truck so we’re clearly going to fight a fire at a large building that must abut grasslands or wilderness in some way. I don’t know but it really doesn’t matter. At this point, I’m a cog in a machine.

As we leave the firehouse, my mind flashes over to Samantha. Of course it does. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing with that girl. Okay, that’s a load of crap. I know exactly what I’m doing with that girl. I’m playing with fire. I don’t know about the ethics of sleeping with her. I’m not some prudish guy who thinks a girl in her twenties can’t make her own decisions about sexual partners but I do think I ought to at least think harder about things when I’m her landlord and her boss.

She’s a brilliant girl. I think she knows what’s going on in her mind, and our relationship from a work perspective is informal. We don’t even have a lease or any sort of an employment contract. So, it wouldn’t be accurate to suggest that we’re in some sort of typical workplace setting. Also, she’s the one who initiated all of the behavior I’m struggling with. I didn’t seduce her. It was the other way around. Granted, her seducing me was a whole hell of a lot like candy seducing the tongue. She didn’t have to work at it. Not at all.

The real problem with this situation is that the morality isn’t absolutely clear. If I end things because I think it’s unfair to her,am I treating her like a child? Can I even trust my thoughts on this? Giving her up will really suck, so am I going to convince myself I’m not being an asshole so I can keep her without any worries.

“Fuck this shit!” I say that almost as a shout. A few of the guys look my way.

Curtis, a lion, says, “Someone must be getting laid.” It’s a cliché, we shifters getting screwed up over romance.

“Always more than you, Garfield.” The guys all chuckle and then, we’re swinging around a corner and coming into view of the fire.

It’s a big one and it’s moving fast. The building is an abandoned office complex that is surrounded by overgrowth. If any squatters are there, it’ll be a real problem. As it is now, it’s a horrible scenario. Then, we get Garrett on the radio and it becomes even worse. “Guys, we’re getting reports that there are individuals trapped in the main building.”

“Shit.” Curtis shakes his head.

We all jump out and get ready to fight a fire that looks to be well on its way to devouring a significant piece of acreage. Now, we have to think about looking for any survivors. It always complicates things because now, we have to rearrange priorities and can’t take things down without clearing them first.

---