Burning Desire

When It's Just Not Enough

"She's a lovely girl too." Heidi said pointedly, her tone suggestive, and the mischievous glint in her eyes hinting at the meaning behind them.

I fixed her with a suspicious look, and she rolled her shoulder, taking another drink but not backing down.

"You can't pretend that you haven't noticed Bane. I know you well, and I can read you like a book." She tilted her head to the side, shaking it a touch in thought, "Besides, your poker face sucks."

I couldn't help but laugh at her cocky tone. I thought that I'd managed to keep my internal battle well hidden so far, and now a part of me was worried that she wasn't the only one to see it.

"I don't know Heidi." I sighed.

"Don't know what?"

I drummed my fingers on the top of the table, as I tried to put my thoughts into words, the soft thud echoing slightly in the otherwise silent room.

"I've never had a woman in my life that I've felt so drawn to, or had so much in common with. Most of the girls I've dated, I've been able to keep it casual because we were so different, we wanted different things, had different values and commitments. But Lacey... she's a whole other girl."

Heidi nodded. She knew about my dating past, or lack thereof. I'd only really had a few casual flings here and there. Most people would presume I'd be a player, but that was never my game. When she'd heard or seen the girls that I'd been involved with, she was usually one of the first to point out that they were futureless relations. Of course that was the point in those. But now, I was feeling the total opposite, this was something much stronger. In this line of work, the bond we share, entrusting our lives to one another, these kinds of feelings can be heightened incredibly, and it was something that was proving hard for me to ignore.

"If you are feeling this way, maybe it's not one sided. I know why you stay away from relationships, but don't you think that you owe it to yourself to give things a try?"

"Who's to say there's even something to give a try?" I smirked at her, trying to cover my budding sensation of vulnerability.

Heidi's responding look told me that she wasn't buying it, but she didn't push it. Instead, she got to her feet, picked up our mugs in one hand, and rested the other on my shoulder, giving it a little squeeze.

"Trust me, and don't let the past rule your future. Life is short... live it."

With that, she disappeared back into the kitchen, just as the sound of footsteps echoed in the hall, and Alex and Sam walked in, signalling that everyone was now awake.

Later that morning, and we'd just finished running drills, Alex had insisted that a lack of sleep meant that we should be even sharper than usual today. Deciding to jump into a workout, I was on my way to the gym with Sam and Rosie, when the alarm began ringing through the building again.

"If this is another fucking hoax, I'm gonna kill the little fuckers." Sam groaned as we threw our towels inside the gym and ran to the pole.

"Fire at Berrytree B and B." Cain shouted, whilst everyone dove at the appliances, hopping on board.

The sirens kicked in, and the lights flashed off the walls as we began to speed off for the location of the fire.

The scene was chaotic as usual when we arrived. The smoke covered guests were lined up along the path, some of them still making their way down the steps of the burning two-storey building. We all jumped into action, Alex shouting orders as we took steps to gain control of the scene.

"Rebel, Rosie, BA now! Jax and Sam, you too!" Alex yelled.

Will helped us kit up, running the checks on our equipment before we rushed inside.