I locked my jaw tight. Because—fuck me—I wanted that damn title. But this wasn’t the moment to make that declaration.
“I know, but I want to. Besides, I need you better by this weekend.”
She tilted her head, and her brows pulled together. “Why? What’s this weekend?”
“The Labor Day parade and block party thing?”
“Oh. Right.” Her brows were still furrowed. “Why do you need me though?”
“Because I told Zack you would help me with the firehose demonstration and activity. He didn’t believe I’d be good with the kids by myself.”
She chuckled. “And he was okay with me helping?”
I shrugged. “He said I’m less cranky when you’re around.” Probably because she didn’t mind talking to people and letting me be me.
“And when were you going to tell me you voluntold me for this?”
“Um, today?” I offered. “But then you said you were sick.”
She laid back against the cushion with a slight chuckle. I stood and lifted the blanket. “Here, why don’t you lie down and try to rest.”
She turned and pulled her feet up, lying horizontally on the couch. I covered her with the blanket, and my chest felt funny as she stared up at me with a smile.
“Thank you,” she mumbled as her eyes drifted closed.
I picked up her bowl and carried it into the kitchen. There were dishes in the sink, a half-cut lemon and an empty tissue box on the counter. I cleaned up and put the dishes in the dishwasher, gave the African violet a little water, and moved into the living room, gathering trash from the coffee table.
I gently placed the back of my hand against Violet’s forehead and breathed a sigh of relief that she was no longer running a fever. Hopefully it stayed like that. After I finished cleaning up, I relaxed in one of the chairs across from her, closing my eyes.
A noise roused me, and I opened my eyes to see Violet walking back in from the kitchen. Had I fallen asleep? I sat up, taking in her bewildered expression.
“Did you clean the kitchen?”
“Just put the dishes in the dishwasher and cleared off the counters a bit.”
“If I weren’t currently sick right now, I’d kiss you.” Her brows rose and pink tinged her cheeks. “Like, not literally. I just meant… You know, thank you.”
I smirked at the fact that she was tongue-tied. But I definitely wouldn’t mind a thank you kiss. Glancing at my watch, I bit back a groan. I didn’t want to leave her, but I had to be at the station in the next hour and still had to run home to get my stuff.
I stood and walked over to her, feeling her forehead again. Good, still no fever.
“I have to go.”
Her lips turned down into a pout and I smiled, loving that she didn’t want me to leave either.
I let my hands rest on her shoulders before slowly moving them down her arms. “I’m on shift tonight. Call me if you need anything, though. We can swing by.”
She shook her head. “I won’t need anything.”
“If you do, promise you’ll call?”
She stared at me, so much uncertainty in her eyes that it was killing me. I wanted to tell her that in a few short weeks she’d become so much more than a fake anything. That I wanted whatever this was between us to be real. I just hoped she felt the same way.
But I wasn’t going to say any of that right now. When I told her those things, unless she told me she didn’t feel the same, I wouldn’t be walking away.
Finally, she nodded and I forced myself to step back. “I’ll text you later.”
“Okay.”
