Firefighter

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

I hadn't seen Nick in almost five weeks and he wasn't answering my calls or texts. I had sent him angry ones I was sure he would respond to and I tried sending comforting ones, attempting to guilt him into answering me. Nothing worked. I had visited his parents and they told me he had gone to New York of all places to stay with his aunt for a while. I knew that he was screening my calls and ignoring me but I had a peace of mind knowing that he was safe. After a while, I gave up and stopped trying to reach out to him. I was busier than ever anyway.

I was in the process of getting out of my apartment lease. Ray had convinced me to move in with him and Ben had jumped up and down, cheering when Ray asked how he felt about that new change. For the past few weeks, I was still seeing Dr. Reed or Ian and the sessions were really starting to help. I found that I had no more anger that I was bottling up inside of me. I made the appointments at times I knew Ray wouldn't be able to attend much to his disliking. He knew that it was because of Lisa but he seemed to understand.

As for the wedding, we had planned for it to be in a few months and Paige had insisted on planning the entire thing, not that she had spare time but somehow that woman managed to fit anything she wanted to in her busy schedule. I think Ben was more excited about the wedding than mostly everybody except me and Ray. He already had his suit and was practicing his "ring bearer walk."Every once in a while, Ben would call me 'mom' instead of Leigh and at first I wasn't sure how to take that but Ray was happy about all the new changes and that made me happy too. Ray and I had gotten so close to going all the way but Ray would always stop things and tell me that he wanted us to be married before "taking away my innocence." I didn't mind for now but I didn't know how long I would be okay with that. It was kind of sweet but annoying in a way.

Things with Alma were the same. She wasn't improving but her Alzheimer's wasn't getting worse, which was a good thing. I'd been trying to get her to talk to Ray and Paige but so far, no luck.

"I can't wait until you're completely moved in here with me." Ray said, looking up from the bills he was paying.

"Me too." I said taking a bite of my peanut butter toast.

"So I talked to my grandparents and they told my parents about the wedding."

Ray looked up slowly.

"What?...they're not coming are they?"

"I doubt it."

"Good. I don't won't them messing up your day."

"Our day." I corrected, earning a smirk from Ray.

He pushed aside the papers and grabbed me around the waist. He lifted me up so that I was sitting on the counter directly in front of where he was standing. I wrapped my legs around his midsection, knowing this would drive him crazy. His torso was pressed against mine and my lips were only barely touching his. I knew I was teasing him, seeing how long he could last like this.

"Freaking tease."

I smiled and he crashed his lips to mine, his tongue eagerly pushing past my lips. My whole body went weak as he took my face in his large hands. I smiled as his lips traveled down my cheek, neck, and to my collar bone. I moaned as he nibbled at the skin just below my ear, sending a wave of satisfaction all throughout my body. Shivers shot up and down my spine.

"I love you." He whispered against my skin.

I hummed in response, not able to form coherent words with his hands running down my torso.

"You love me don't you?" He teased, squeezing my backside. I was suddenly thankful that Ben stayed the night with Tim, Paige, and the triplets and wasn't around to see this.