sexy fireman

A calm Saturday

Cara and Mark found a noisy deli two streets over from her apartment to grab something to eat. She watched him inhale an enormous reuben sandwich, while she picked at a turkey club. Conversation was kept to a minimum, Mark, too busy eating to talk, Cara trying to digest all that had happened since they first met. And the night they had just had.

Cara stopped half way through her sandwich, no longer hungry. Mark looked up from his empty plate and over to hers with raised eyebrows. They both laughed as she slid the plate across to him and he happily polished off her food.

There was so much Cara wanted to talk about but she could see Mark was content just satisfying his hunger.

Mark pushed himself away from his place at the table with the two clean plates. "Desert?" he asked hopefully, looking like a little boy.

Cara shook her head and laughed, "Why not?"

********

Mark and Cara went their separate ways after lunch. He was on duty later that day and needed to get a few things out of the way before his shift started. They walked a few blocks together but when they came to the corner of Lex and 79th it was time to part ways. Mark embraced Cara and she hugged him tightly back.

"Thanks for last night, Cara," he said with his face buried in her hair.

Cara pulled back and looked into his eyes. "My pleasure," she said and pulled him down for a kiss. Her lips brushed the prickly stitches and she stopped. "I keep forgetting!"

"It's worth a little pain," he said, bringing his lips to hers once more.

"I'll call you later, unless we get too busy," he said, not wanting to let go.

"No pressure," she said. "I'm gonna go for a run and then I have to go to the office for a while. This week 's going to be crazy busy ".

"OK," he said. "Bye," Mark bent down and kissed her one more time, stretching out the minute and making it a meaningful one.

"Bye," Cara said, breaking the embrace. Her heart gave a tug and her stomach flip-flopped over as she watched him turn and walk up the block.

Within moments he was out of sight. Cara sighed. She missed him already.

*********

Cara turned into Carl Schurz Park and picked up her pace. It was a perfect day, cloudless and warm. She loved running by the East River, feeling the breeze come off the water. The park was crowded with runners, bikers and couples with strollers so she had to weave around, but she didn't mind, enjoying the bustling atmosphere.

Cara always did her best thinking when she ran. Her sister Marlena kept popping into her head. She needed to make things right with her. She promised herself she would call her when she got home. Worst case, she would jump on a train and confront her. Marlena was too important to her to let this lie. Plus, she really needed to talk with her about Mark. Marlena was her girl as well as her sister.

The other thing was Jay. " Why am I complicating things," she thought. "Jays always been a flirt and I'm probably reading too much into it."

Cara reflected on his behavior towards her lately. Dinner was just a thank you dinner, nothing more. She should just be appreciative that he'd done so much for her. Plus she really liked the way things were going between she and Mark. In her heart, Cara knew she was really more of a one man girl.

Turning back towards home, Cara was beginning to feel more settled. Now she could focus on the rest of the day.

**********

Cara was soaked with sweat when she returned to her apartment. Because she had felt so good on her run, she had added an extra mile, pushing herself past her normal three miles. She felt physically exhausted in a very positive way, and looked forward to a steamy shower.

She grabbed her phone to check for messages, hoping to see Marlena's name. No Marlena, but a quick text from Mark: "I'm going to miss you tonight." Cara felt a thrill rush through her body. She did a small happy dance around her apartment, then texted back: "Me too!"

Cara treated herself to a long steamy shower, wrapped herself in a soft terry robe and poked around in the refrigerator, hungry after the run. It was close to four, and while she had begun losing interest in going to the office, she thought it would ease her nerves to go in for a short time before Monday morning. And tomorrow she planned to see Marlena, come hell or high water.

She grabbed a bright red apple and headed back to the bedroom to throw on something comfortable but cute, just in case Jay was still there.