“Do you dream of me often?”
“That’s for me to know.” Pushing up on my toes, I grazed my lips over his. “Stay safe.”
Opening the driver's door for me, he waited until I had my seatbelt on. “I will. You do the same.”
As I backed out of my driveway, I watched Remy go to the house next door and ring their doorbell.
Who knew all it would take was a state of emergency to bring us together again?
16
Remy
Fresh out of the shower, I went in search of Donnie. Even though he wasn’t the Captain, he’d been put in charge of all the volunteers since Captain Rodrigo was overseeing Station Nineteen’s firefighters.
I knocked on his door and waited until I heard him call out. Donnie looked up from behind the desk he sat at as I walked in. “What do you need...sorry, I can’t remember your name?”
“Remy St. James, sir.”
“No need to call me sir. We’re pretty laid back around here. Is there something you need?”
“Yeah, I was wondering if it would be okay if I went to dinner with a friend.”
He stopped typing and leaned back in his chair. “Are you expecting me to drive you to meet this friend?”
“No, I just wasn’t sure what the protocol was and didn’t want to do something that would piss anyone off.”
“I appreciate you asking. You can do whatever you want in your free time, which there won’t be much of, I can assure you. Just be back before we roll out in the morning. Did you only come out here to spend time with this friend?”
“No, sir. It was a coincidence I even ran into her. She was one of the houses I was sent to evacuate. Before that, it had been almost a year since I’d seen her.”
“No need to explain all of that.” Donnie gave a tight smile. “I only ask because we’ve had a couple of guys who only came for a free plane ticket. Like I said, you can do what you want in your free time. No one is going to come looking for you if you’re not here in the morning.”
“I’ll be here,” I promised.
“Today, we went easy on you. Tomorrow night there will be a skills test so we can see what you’re capable of.”
“I’m ready to prove myself.”
“Good, now go see your lady friend.” He chuckled.
“Have a good evening,” I said before I closed his office door. Pulling out my phone, I pulled up Stella’s name and hit the phone icon to call her. It rang twice before she answered.
“Hello?”
“Are we still on for that dinner you promised me earlier?” I answered in reply.
“Um...yeah, of course.” She giggled, and I felt it in my bones. “It got late, and I thought maybe you changed your mind.”
“That would never happen. I’m a man of my word. If I say I’m going to do something, I will do my damnedest to do it. Do you by any chance know where Station Nineteen is?”
“I don’t, but I don’t know where most stuff is here. I have to use my GPS wherever I go. Let me see.” Her voice was muffled as she continued to speak. “It says it should only be about thirty minutes from where I am, but I’m not sure if it’s taking traffic into account.”
“If it would be easier, I can get an Uber and meet you someplace to eat?”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Okay, do you like Mexican?”
“Love it. Send me the address, and I’ll meet you there.”
A moment later, a text came in with the address. Looking forward to seeing Stella, I went into the bathroom and slicked my hair back, and sprayed myself with a touch of cologne as I waited for my Uber to arrive.
Stella walked into the restaurant wearing the same clothes I’d seen her in earlier today. She made a simple pair of cutoff shorts and a t-shirt look downright exotic with the way she filled them out.
The moment she saw me, a bright smile lit up her face, and her steps quickened until she stopped right beside me. Leaning down, she kissed my cheek before moving to sit across from me. “I hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”
“Not long,” I held up my drink that I’d only taken a few sips of.
Clasping her hands together under her chin, her assessing gaze took me in. I was in a pair of cargo shorts and a gray t-shirt. Nothing much, but I hadn’t planned on going out while I was here. “I still can’t believe you’re here. The whole day has seemed surreal. I think I’ve checked my security cameras at least a hundred times, trying to see if I can see any fire.”
“And?” The one thing that killed me was I wasn’t given any updates on the fire. I should have asked Donnie before I left, but my only thought had been meeting up with the woman who sat across from me.
“Nothing so far.” She sighed and looked sad. “I don’t want my house to burn down. Not that anyone does, but it felt so monumental getting there and to have it taken away from me after a few months would be a difficult pill to swallow.”
“At least you had somewhere to go.” Although I couldn’t imagine knowing there might be a chance my house would be gone when I went back to it. “You’re at Penelope’s house, right?”
“I am. She has a condo that she’s never at since she’s always on the road. I’m lucky I have someplace to go because I know there are lots of people who are displaced right now.” Her eyes became glassy as she spoke. “On top of all the stress, and then not having any place to go. I feel for them.” A tear escaped and slid down her cheek before she brushed it away. “I could use a drink.”
I spotted our waiter and signaled to him. After dropping off an order, he came over, devouring Stella with his eyes. “What can I get you, hermosa dama?”
“I’ll have a margarita and…” she looked to me, “are you ready to order?”
“Go ahead, and I’ll figure it out while you order.”
Stella murmured something about a burrito, and our waiter went on to tell her all about his favorite dishes at the restaurant. With each word he spoke, I became angrier. What gave him the assumption she wasn’t with me?
Most likely feeling my eyes burning into him, he turned his attention to me. “And what would you like?”
“Well, first, I’d like you to stop eye-fucking my girl here, and second I’ll have three of the tacos de fuego.”
“I...I meant no…” he stuttered.
“I think you did, so how about you place our orders, and you keep your eyes to yourself for the rest of the night,” I gritted out.
“Of course, señor.” He walked backward a few steps before turning on his heel and scurrying away.
I wasn’t sure how Stella would take the way I reacted to our server. When I looked over at her, I was shocked to see she was biting her lower lip.
“So I’m your girl, huh?” she asked with a raised brow.
“I hope so because I plan to sink into that sweet pussy of yours tonight, and I’d hate for you to be anyone else’s when I do that.”
“I’m not.” Her cheeks pinked up, and I wondered why until she quietly added. “I haven’t been with anyone else since Spain.”