Trey chuckled on the other end of the line. A sound so thrilling, Charlotte nearly whimpered.
“No problem, what can I do for you?”
Oh god, so many, many things. Charlotte shook her head. This wasn’t her. She didn’t go weak at the knees over a man. Especially not just the voice of a man. The charms of men were largely lost on her. She saw through their games and bravado right away and couldn’t bother to try and look past all that. So why couldn’t she calm the racing of her heart over this simple conversation with an unknown man?
“Um. This is Charlotte Orlov, calling from WQUZ News, I’m checking to see if you were doing anything, I mean, if there was anything of interest going on. Tonight. In your zone. For the news.” Holy fucking shit. It wasn’t unusual for Charlotte to get tongue tied around people in general. The constant fear of saying something wrong, revealing too much, meant that she over analyzed every word that came out of her mouth. But nothing to this extent before. Never this verbal diarrhea.
“Charlotte, huh? That is a fantastic name. Old fashioned. Makes me think of gutsy novelists and regal nobility. Is that you? Gutsy and regal?” His voice held a teasing note, but she didn’t think Trey meant to make fun of her. She almost thought that was the way his voice must always sound. Like he held his own inside joke.
“Not even close. More like shy and neurotic. What about Trey? Makes me think of professional athletes and the creators of gross cartoons about foul-mouthed little boys.” Charlotte froze. What the hell had she just said? To a stranger? The phone began slipping from her grasp before she stopped it at the sound of his uproarious laugh.
“Definitely not an athlete. Though I can run up a twenty-story building in full gear carrying a fire hose and not keel over dead. So, I guess that is something. But I can’t draw for shit.”
“You’re a firefighter? What are you doing answering phones in a dispatch center?” A firefighter. Holy hell, that was hot. An image of a tall, buff man, dripping in sweat, carrying her out of a burning building invaded her mind. Stop that! Firefighter fantasies, really? That wasn’t her. Charlotte embodied everything safe and boring, craved all things safe and boring. Not men running into fires.
“That I am. Been with the PFD for going on six years now. But my aunt runs the zone seven dispatch center, and half her staff is out on sick or maternity leave, so she asked me to pitch in on nights until she can get more people trained. I worked here to put myself through college, so it made sense I’d help out while my knee recovers.” A tense note of frustration seemed to slip into Trey’s voice, and Charlotte became even more fascinated by this unknown man on the phone.
“What happened to your knee?”
“Eh, blew it out carrying a severely overweight old man out of his house a few weeks ago. No big deal. Should have waited for help but didn’t think there was time. Another week or two, and I’ll be good as new, ready to get back to what I love.”
God, it didn’t even matter what he looked like at this point. Just that explanation alone made her want to track this man down and thank him for his service by having her way with him. Which was hilarious considering Charlotte had never had her way with anyone, let alone a heroic, injured firefighter. She had never gotten around to losing her virginity.
Thought about getting drunk at some point and just getting it over with since it seemed like something she should have done by twenty-four. But she would need to actually enjoy drinking to do that. She hated the way alcohol made her feel, like she had no control of her own mind and body. She had done it once as a teenager when her cousin talked her into sharing a bottle of peppermint schnapps over Christmas vacation one year, but hated the fuzzy gaps in her memory so much, she never repeated the experience.
“Anyway, you called for a reason, not just to entertain the incredibly bored guy sitting in a near deserted dispatch center.”
“Oh my God, yes, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to take your time. I’m sure you have more important things to do.” Heat crept up Charlotte’s neck to wash over her cheeks. She’d been so distracted by the syrupy voice and sexy firefighting man, she’d totally forgotten the whole purpose of the call.
“I wouldn’t say I have more important things to do. I could honestly listen to your sweet little voice all night, sugar. But I should get back to work. I can’t be flirting with pretty young things all night, unfortunately.” There was that teasing tone again.
Why did Charlotte love hearing him talk to her like that? And when he called her sugar? Oh god. “Right, of course. So, anything we should know about happening there?”
“Nope, all is quiet on the southern front. Talking to you has been the most excitement I’ve seen all night.”
“Wow, I feel sorry for you then.” It went without saying that talking with Trey had been the most exciting thing to happen to her in weeks. Maybe in her whole life.
“You shouldn’t. I’m hoping you plan on calling back again real soon. I didn’t find out near enough about you.”
“Not much to know, trust me.” Tears stung Charlotte’s eyes. Despite their borderline inappropriate conversation, she spoke the truth. Not one single thing about Charlotte could ever interest this man. Or any man. For some reason, that knowledge made her incredibly sad. An emotion she stuffed firmly down.
“I guess I’ll get to find out. When are you calling back?” His voice left no room for discussion. That domineering tone did something to Charlotte’s stomach she didn’t recognize. It tumbled over itself, trying to find a way to please the bossy man.
“Around three a.m.” Her voice slid out reed thin.
“My shift is supposed to be done at two, but I’ll make sure I’m still here to answer. Until then, sugar.” Then he hung up.
Charlotte stared at the phone. What had just happened? Did she flirt with a man over the phone? Did he actually want her? Or was he simply entertaining himself?
A throat clearing behind her at an unnecessarily loud volume reminded Charlotte that she was not alone in the newsroom as she usually would be at that time. She looked over her shoulder to find Bekah staring at her in disbelief.
“What was that?”
Charlotte looked back down at the phone. “I have no idea.”
