Page 120 of Deck the Fire Halls
He took his cute little clipboard. “It’s a great thing you’re doing here,” he said. “I’m glad you got all the applications and permits approved. Can’t wait to see it up and running.”
“Same,” Gunter said.
The three of us stood there in the little empty store, looking around at what was going to be a café and training center for teens. The plan was to open up and utilize both spaces. In the summer, there’d be tables outside, in the winter maybe a projector screen with movies.
Possibilities were endless.
Gunter nodded slowly. “Sooo, you two had sex in the fire station yet?”
Soren burst out laughing, stunned.
“No. God.” I shoved Gunter. Then I mumbled, “Not allowed, and there’s security cameras.”
He laughed, and my god, it felt so good. Life was good. So freaking good.
“Well, we better get going,” Gunter said. “We now have a million things to do.”
“Yes, we do.”
“Yeah, I should get back and write up this report,” Soren said.
We locked the doors, and despite the three of us knowing we had somewhere else to be, we all stood there in the warm sunshine, looking back at the empty store. We had so much work ahead of us that it could have been so easy to be overwhelmed.
But it wasn’t.
It was exciting.
I’d gone from feeling helpless, stretched too thin, and being strung so tight I’d almost snapped, to now being the most relaxed I’d ever been. The most content, and definitely the happiest.
“We’re gonna do some real good here,” I said.
“Yep.” Gunter nodded. “Can feel it.”
I could feel Soren’s eyes on me, and when I turned to look at him, his smile was warm and proud. “I wish I could stay,” he said. “But I kinda get the feeling I’ll be spending enough time here in the next six months.”
I laughed, because we were going to need all the help we could get. “Yes, you will.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Soren replied. Then he stepped in close to me, in the way he used his body to press against me instead of leaning in for a kiss. The way he knew I liked. “And you, I will see at home.”
It gave me a thrill, as I knew it always would. “Yes, you will.”
~ the end
