Chapter 39: Matt

I stared at Renee’s response, rereading it to make sure I wasn’t getting anything confused. I expected her to turn me down, maybe not even respond. But she hadn’t. She was on her way here.

“Shit.” I slip the phone back into my pocket and look down at my dirty jeans and grease-smeared hands from working on the engine. I was tempted to run up to my bunk and change, but that would be stupid. I’m at work. It’s my job to look like this.

“Hey kid, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Paisley, one of my crew, teases, coming up behind me. “Are you talking to your girlfriend?”

I haven’t told anybody about Renee, let alone any other girl, but Paisley constantly teased me about it.

“Her name is Renee,” I said, neither confirming nor denying that Renee Lyon was my girlfriend. “She’s going to stop by for a bit.”

Paisley grins widely just as my captain, Erik Hansen, pops his head into the bay. “There’s someone here for you, Nelson,” he says and then glances at Paisley. “A girl. A nice one, too.”

If I were capable of blushing, I probably would have done so.

“Back off for a minute. I’ll bring her in for introductions soon.”

“Sure thing, kid,” Erik grinned as I passed him and walked to the front of the station to get the door. Renee is standing there looking around, her hands clasped in front of her, surveying the building. But she doesn’t look out of place. She looks intrigued.

“Hi,” I said, coming up behind her. Renee wheels to the side to look at me, a smile lighting her face when she sees me, which is undoubtedly a better greeting than the usual loathing scowl.

“Are you sure I’m okay to be here?” she asks. “It doesn’t even feel like a station. It feels like a home.”

I step towards her and reach for her hands. She doesn’t fight me. I hold them between my own hands. “You look beautiful.”

“Oh, god,” she giggled. “I look like shit, and I’m hungover as well.”

“It is not possible for you to look bad.” I raise the back of her hands to my lips and let them linger on her skin for a moment. The flush in Renee’s cheeks grew, and I winked at her. “Do you want the grand tour?”

“Yes, please.”

I drop one of her hands but keep hold of the other, then lead her first to the firetruck and ambulance bay. The place is deserted, as two trucks are already out on a call and everyone else is probably in the kitchen.

“The truck is huge,” Renee says, peering up at our red fire engine. “Do you get to drive it?”

“Sometimes.” I opened the engine door and climbed into the jump seat area, turning around to grasp Renee’s hand and help her up after me. We shut the door behind us, basking in the dim light of the powerful truck.

“This is … sexy,” Renee says quietly, and she grins again. God, I fucking love that grin.

“You like a man in uniform, yeah?”

“Guilty as charged.” Renee’s eyes take me in as we sit together, those emerald eyes reading me like an open book.

“Well, you might have some competition because Aaron is going to be a big-time artist, and Jake wants to be a detective, of all things.”

“I—-I didn’t know that about Jake,” Renee said awkwardly, but she didn’t look shocked. I can tell she doesn’t know what else to say, and truth be told, neither do I. So we say nothing. Instead, I reached out and rested my fingers on Renee’s cheek, drinking in the warmth and softness of her skin against my own rugged hands. Renee closes her eyes and sighs, a small breath of air escaping between her lips. I lean into her, bringing her face to mine, and kiss her. I hold myself back, waiting for any indication from Renee that I’m overstepping my bounds. That she doesn’t want to do this. But there isn’t a single one. Instead, she kisses me back, scooting closer as one of my hands goes behind her head and the other strokes her inner thigh. Renee moans softly and bites my lip, urging me further, but then she leans back, looking flustered.

“Condom?”

I reached into my back pocket for my wallet and pulled one out. She rolled her eyes but smiled. “Of course you do.” Her hands drop down near my lap, her fingers playing with the button on my jeans as she leans in and kisses me again. I was already hard for her, my dick throbbing against the seam of my slacks, pleading for release. She undoes the button and frees me, her fingers circling the tip of my cock, a sexy glint in her eye. Then, with help from me, she shimmies out of her pants, kicking them aside as she sits back down.

“Jesus, you’re going to kill me,” I groan. Renee places one of my hands on her thigh, rocking her hips a bit in desire. She takes the condom from me, rips it open, and rolls it onto my dick, taking her time as each soft touch sends an explosion of need through me. Then, still smiling, she straddles me on the bench, slipping her wet pussy over me, filling herself up with me.

A groan escapes my throat as Renee begins to move her hips. She throws her head back, and I kiss her neck, thrusting up to meet her, pulling her body against mine as closely as I can, molding the two of us into one. She feels so good, so fucking good, and I close my eyes as Renee leans in and slips her tongue between my lips, exploring my mouth with hers. Then she kisses me again, so hard and passionate that I feel I might explode from within. I moan again, louder this time, and Renee giggles and puts a finger to her lips to shush me.

“Oh, fuck,” she cried, and I felt her tighten around me as she came, and a second later, I released, too, holding her against me like a lifeline, both of us trembling, sweaty, and unable to let go.

We sit like that for a minute, silently leaning against each other. Renee rested her forehead against mine, smiled, then closed her eyes to catch her breath.

“You’re fucking amazing,” I whisper, kissing her neck. “Truly amazing.”

Trying to keep as quiet as possible, Renee and I get out together, acting nonchalantly as I take her hand and exit the engine. I’m relieved we’re still alone and haven’t been caught in the act.

“Come meet my friends,” I tell Renee with a grin. “They’re excited to say hello.”

Renee and I went to the kitchen hand-in-hand, where most of my crew was kicked back and relaxing.

“Everyone, this is Renee,” I announce to the room. “Renee, this is everyone.”

“Hi, everyone,” Renee says, smiling kindly. “It’s really nice to meet all of you.”

“In the kitchen is our captain Erik Hansen,” I tell her, and Erik waves at her. I point to the others as I say their names. “Paisley, Korbin, and Tanner. The others are around here somewhere.”

Renee shakes each firefighter’s hand individually, smiling the entire time.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” says Paisley, gripping Renee’s hand for a moment longer. She frowns, her eyes on Renee’s face as if searching for something she had lost. “You look familiar, Renee,” Paisley said softly. “Have we met?”

Renee furrows her brow, checking Paisley out, and then as I watched her, she swallows, familiarity dawning on her face.

“You were there,” Renee said. “You were on my call, weren’t you?”

Paisley’s jaw drops, but she snaps it shut. “Yes, I was. The OD. You were close to gone by the time we got there, did you know?”

“I heard you saved me,” Renee says. “And seeing you that day inspired me to get into medicine. I thought you were so cool, a woman to the rescue. I wanted to be just like you. I wanted to help people like you helped me that day.”

Paisley swallows a lump in her throat and glances from Renee to me. I can tell tears are threatening to spill over, and I know I need to get Renee out of here before we have a tear fest on our hands.

“It’s about time Matty found himself a good woman he can take care of,” Paisley says finally, reaching in to give Renee a tight hug. “And you have no idea how good it feels to see your face, honey. That call stuck with me.”

“Yeah,” Renee said. “Me too. Thank you, Paisley.”

“Okay, I think we’re done here,” I teased. “Before you guys scare her away for good.”

“Truly, it was nice to meet you all,” Renee says, taking the hand I offer her. “I hope to see you around.”

I walk Renee back to the front as everyone bids their goodbyes. When we’re alone again, I turn her into me and lean in for a kiss, one she returns without a moment’s hesitation.

“The call you were talking about with Paisley,” I murmur, tangling my fingers with hers. “Was that … was that your suicide attempt?”

For a moment, I think Renee might completely shut down and not tell me anything, but after a long, tense moment, she sighs and nods her head, just once, and I pull her into me, holding her tightly against my chest.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I know we were at fault. And I am so, so sorry that you ever felt that way. I wish we could take everything back and compensate for what we did to you.”

“I know,” Renee says, and I think I believe her. Finally.

“Thank you for coming,” I whisper.

“Thank you for having me.” Her lips linger on mine for a moment before she steps away, teasing me. “I better go. You should be working. Talk soon?”

“Of course.”

I watch Renee leave the station and walk out to her car. She was smiling, that big, beautiful smile that puts my mind at ease and awakens the passion and devotion I have for her. I watch her as she drives away, and it’s only when I catch sight of my reflection in the glass window that I realize I, too, am smiling.