Page 25 of A Very Grumpy Firefighter

I hear Lilou start to move around in the bedroom, and I sit up on the couch, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I think about all that I want to say to her when I see her. I want to tell her how I feel about her, that this isn’t some fake, arranged marriage to me. That she’s it for me. I should tell her why I bought her, and I’ll need to explain why I went to such extremes.

Jeez, even my thoughts are jumbled.

The shower turns on, and a few minutes later, it turns off. I wait for Lilou to come out of her room, but it takes her a while.

Finally, the door opens, and I stand, smiling as our eyes lock.

“Morning,” I say, and she winces. “Need some tea?”

“Yes, please.”

She blushes and ducks her head, and I frown.

“How are you feeling?” I ask as I head into the kitchen to start the tea kettle for her.

“Thirsty. Embarrassed,” she admits, and I turn to face her.

“Embarrassed? About what?”

“The…” she trails off, and I shake my head.

“The kiss?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t be. You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“Really?” She asks, and I nod.

“Really. I liked it.”

She gapes at me, and I chuckle.

“It was a good kiss,” I tell her, and she blushes even more. “Not that I’ve had many in my life.”

“You haven’t?” She asks in shock.

“No. That was my first kiss, actually.”

“Mine too,” she says softly. “I just… I can’t believe that was your first kiss. You must have had other opportunities?”

“Sure, but I didn’t want any of those girls.”

I don’t say that I want her because it should be obvious, but I can see her trying to justify it in her head.

“I’m sorry that I took your first kiss,” she says, and I shake my head.

“I’m not. I’m glad that it was you.”

I want all of my kisses to be hers. Only hers.

“What about you?” I ask her as we take seats next to each other at the kitchen counter.

“I’m glad it was you too.”

“No, I mean, no one else that you wanted to kiss before?”

“Oh, no. I…no.”

---