The Way We Burn

Eleven: Sully

"Not sure how I feel about our first date being you cooking for me."

"Don't feel too badly. I'm a terrible cook."

Another laughed pulled it's way out of me. "With your mother, I kind of find that hard to believe."

"Sully, please," Gigi said softly. I could practically see those big blue eyes blinking at me. "We can do your fancy, impress me date later, okay? Say yes. For me."

I groaned and scrubbed a hand over my tired eyes.. "You make it impossible to say no, ya know?"

"So don't say no. Doesn't a snuggle date sound way better than some hoity-toity restaurant where neither of us probably fit in anyway?"

I sighed, knowing full well there was no way I'd deny this girl anything. "Fine. But I'm picking up dinner."

"Nope! Already asked my best friend for her lasagna recipe and am putting together the delivery list."

"Dammit, woman."

"You just bring a bottle of wine and your sexy, sleepy self."

"Fine," I agreed begrudgingly. "But next time I am taking you out like a man is supposed to, alright? No arguments."

"Okay, Old-Timer. Welcome to the Twenty-First century. We do things a bit different these days."

I could hear the smirk in Gigi's voice and immediately wanted to kiss it off her. "Alright, Sass Master. Sorry that I'm trying to be a gentleman and wanted to give you a bit more than today's Netflix and chill, booty call bullshit."

"Now, now, now,' Gigi taunted. "I don't recall saying anything about any sort of booty being involved, least of all mine."

"Good," I retorted, falling into our teasing mode as easily as pie. "I don't put out on the first date anyway."

Gigi snorted on the other end of the phone, her laughter coming out in a loud shriek. "Oh you're a prude now, huh?"

"I prefer gentleman, thank you very much." I opened my mouth to say more, not wanting this blissful moment of ours to end, but the world had other plans as alarms started sounding all around me. "Shit."

"Go," Gigi commanded, her tone now nothing but understanding. "Go save the day and text me when you're on your way."

"See you soon, sweetheart."

"Bye, handsome."

I hung up and took no more than a beat to smile to myself. Not even a single date under our belts, and this girl was already trying to take care of me.

I tucked my phone into my back pocket and prayed this was going to be an easy call. Because come six pm, the only thing I wanted to be was on my way to see those beautiful blue eyes in person.

Seven-oh-five.

The call had been a quick kitchen fire, not even working up a sweat in my gear and the instant my replacement arrived at the station, I bolted with barely a hello. I made it home in record time, showered changed and instantly ran out the door again, only stopping for a bottle of red and a giant bundle of yellow tulips. I wasn't sure that Gigi even liked tulips, but roses seemed too cliché and the tulips made me think of her smile for some reason and... yeah. I was rambling to myself when I picked them out too. Now here I stood, right in front of her door, palms sweating like a teenager who had never seen a woman in person before.

Before I could overthink things too much, Gigi threw open her front door, a giant smile on her face and a red oven mitt covering one hand. Her hair was up in a messy bundle atop her head and she had the most adorable ruffled, black and white polka dotted apron around her neck. She looked like some sort of edgy housewife wet dream and I was absolutely into it.