The Fire Station

Chapter 4

I was slightly awoken in the morning by a movement on the bed. I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes and face the day, so I rolled over and went back to sleep, pulling the sheets up under my chin.

I was awoken again when I felt someone sit down on the bed next to me and gently caress my cheek. "Charlotte," he whispered. I took a deep breath in and slightly rolled on the bed to look up at him. He smiled when he saw me. Thoughts of what happened the night before filled my mind and for a moment I felt very self-conscious about what I must look like in the morning. The scent of soap and cologne filled my senses, indicating he had taken a shower. "Do you have to work today? If I need to give you a ride home I can."

My stomach tightened for a moment as I thought about what he was saying. I felt as if he was trying to get rid of me. I winced at his words and began to sit up, keeping myself covered as best I could. His eyebrows furrowed at what I was doing. "If you need me to leave, I can always call a cab."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I don't want you to leave. But if you need to work, I don't want you to be late either."

"Oh," I breathed, feeling a slight relief that he wasn't trying to get rid of me. I thought about what the day was and tried to remember what my schedule looked like. "I don't have to work at the bookstore. I did have a photo session set up for this afternoon, but I could cancel it." I glanced towards the window and noticed the rain coming down pretty hard. Since it was supposed to be an outdoor photoshoot with kids, it didn't make a lot of sense to do it in the rain. I grabbed my phone and saw that the client had already texted to reschedule due to the rain. I texted back and told her we would set something up for another day.

"Do you want to stay then?" he asked nervously.

I bit my bottom lip, trying hard not to show my enthusiasm too much. "Yes."

He grinned excitedly. "I was going to go get us coffee and breakfast, but I don't know what you like."

"A mocha would be great."

"Any special request on breakfast?" he asked.

"Whatever you decide is fine."

He laughed and nodded his head. "If you want to take a shower, you're welcome to it. I left a towel on the counter for you."

"Thank you."

He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the lips before leaving. I listened for the front door to click shut before I hopped up off the bed, wrapping the sheet around me and went searching for the bag I brought with me. When I found it, I went into the bathroom and showered, taking my time to really enjoy the hot water and get clean. I was super thankful Clara made me take the bag of supplies with me. I was able to brush my teeth, brush out my hair, and put on clean clothes that wasn't a dress. I made myself look semi-decent from what I had available to me. When I finished, I slowly walked back into the bedroom and picked up the dress off the floor and stuffed it into my bag. I could hear sounds in the other room and decided to go see what Sidney had in mind for breakfast.

He was sitting on the couch and had two boxes with two coffee drinks sitting on the coffee table. When he saw me, he grinned and put out his hand to motion for me to come closer. I walked across the room and took his hand. He pulled me into his lap, so I straddled his legs. His hands rested at the small of my back and he licked his bottom lip as his eyes darted from my eyes to my mouth. I sensed what he wanted, so I cupped his face in my hands, kissing him tenderly. His hands roamed up my back, pulling me closer to him.

"Did you have last night planned?" he asked, glancing down at the tank top and leggings I now had on.

I laughed and shook my head. "Clara insisted I bring a small bag with a few things just in case I ended up staying the night with you."