Page 37 of Memories with Fire

“You’re gonna lift it now. I’ve got you, but you won’t need me,” he says with utter confidence.

That’s how he’s always been. Luke has always had complete and unwavering confidence in me, just like he did at Tree Toppers. I don’t know how he knows I can do some of the things I’ve done, but he gets me to do things no one else can. Whether it’s this sheer confidence, or pushing me until I’m crazy with anger, or talking me through my fears. He knows what I need, and when I need it. He always has.

Nodding with a smile that I hope is as confident as he seems to be, I position myself properly on the bench before reaching up and grabbing the bar, ensuring my fingers are aligned exactly where I want them. Lastly, I put my feet down on the ground and solidify where they are. Then I’m set.

A deep breath in, muscles tensed and tight, and I’m pushing the bar off the rack, lifting it above myself.

Luke nods and murmurs a few words of encouragement as I go down for my first rep. It feels relatively easy, but the first one always does. The second rep isn’t much worse, but by the third rep I’m starting to feel the burn as I push the bar back up to my starting position.

“That’s it, you got this, you’re doing awesome,” Luke tells me, his voice full of praise. “You can do it. One more. Let’s go.”

One tiny gulp of air, my body set, and I lower the bar to my chest and then push up. It’s halfway there when I feel like I can’t get it any further. Luke’s hands are right there under the bar, ready to catch it if I waver.

“C’mon Hailey. One more push. I know you can do this.”

His words are the encouragement I need to keep going. Ten seconds later he’s helping me rerack the weight, and once it’s secured, I’m popping up, jumping to my feet. He’s around the bench, scooping me into his arms, and I’m leaping into them at the same time.

He twirls me around, exclaiming, “You frickin’ nailed it.”

Laughing with giddiness, and riding a new high, I shout, “I did it!”

When he slows down and our eyes lock, we’re both grinning at each other, the excitement radiating through the room. But as we search each other’s eyes, something shifts, and a swarm of butterflies hits me square in the gut. The racing of my heart has nothing to do with the exertion of lifting and everything to do with the man holding me in his arms.

All I can think about is Luke kissing me. Are his lips as soft as they look? Would it be long and languid, or frenzied and fierce? Would he take control, or be as nervous as I feel?

His grip on me slowly loosens and I slide down the length of his body until my feet touch the floor. I go from my head being higher than his, to his being higher than mine, our eyes locked the entire time. I know he feels it too. The moment is ours and we’re savoring it.

My hands are around his neck. One of his is anchored to the small of my back. His free hand comes up and touches my cheek, pushing a loose strand of copper hair back behind my ear. My eyes close halfway at the touch because it feels so nice, but I can’t stop staring at him, so I don’t give in to the urge to fully close them.

“Hailey,” he murmurs, his voice low, soft, full of tenderness that I’ve not heard since he last uttered my name like this.

It breaks the spell on me. Blinking rapidly, I take a step back from him, our arms falling away from each other as I turn back towards the bench. What was I thinking? There’s a long distance between a tentative bond and kissing the man. Not that I was thinking about that. I can’t think about that.

Friendship. Friendship is all that can be between Luke and me. We’re friends. Only friends. And coworkers.

“Thank you for spotting me,” I say hurriedly, grabbing my water from the floor.

“Hailey—”

“Help! Someone help!”

Spinning towards the door, we glance at each other for one second before we take off towards a panicked voice. It’s not unheard of that someone will come straight to the fire station looking for help, and I’ve heard that tone before. The gym is situated near the engine bays, and as we charge through the door, Luke ahead of me, we find a woman standing in the entrance from the bays to the main house.

I’m not sure how she got in here, but right now it doesn’t matter. She’s holding a dog. No, not a dog. A puppy. One that’s obviously in distress.

“What happened?” Luke asks the woman, taking charge of the scene.

The puppy looked big in her arms, but in his it looks tiny as he takes it from her. It isn’t breathing normally and based on the wheezing I’d say it’s got something lodged in its airway.

“I don’t know. I was walking my dog,” she tells him, “When I came across this puppy just lying on the boulevard. It’s choking on something.”

“Hold her still,” I say, hardly hearing what she’s saying.

Luke obeys, knowing what I want. With an arm around the dog, he helps me pry its mouth open with the other hand. “See anything?”

“What’s going on?” Liam says from behind me.

I don’t spare him a glance as Luke and I work together to keep the dog’s mouth open. “No,” I respond to Luke, then to Liam, “Dog is choking.”

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