“Gabe? When this is all over, can we go out for coffee or something? I don’t want you to just walk out of my life after this. I’m betting that as soon as your firefighter buddies show up, you’re going to drop me like a hot potato and saunter off with them.”
He tried to muffle his laugh in his sleeve. She didn’t know he was supposed to be keeping an eye on her, but even if he weren’t, he wouldn’t just walk off with his buddies and leave her there.
“Sure. Coffee sounds great.”
He opened his eyes briefly to check the progress of the hole in the ceiling. More light shone through now, and he could see they were working on two sections at the same time. More voices were rumbling. He wondered how many guys were up there. Probably a dozen or more. It wouldn’t be much longer.
Gabe suddenly became aware of the fact that he was stroking Misty’s arm from her elbow up to her shoulder and down. She sighed and sagged against him. The impulse to enclose her in his arms and hold her close was something he had been battling since this all started.
The dust was almost overwhelming. Misty’s voice was muffled when she asked, “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re trying to breathe through a leather jacket. I have the only handkerchief. Maybe we could share it.”
He almost snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“Gabe!” She kicked him.
“Oww.”
“Am I that hideous that you don’t want to look at my face up close?”
“Of course not. It’s just that… Well, it’s the opposite.”
She seemed to take a deeper breath and relax into him a little more “Oh. Well then, here.” She slapped her hand behind his head and pulled him down to her face, then dragged the handkerchief over their eyes, noses, and mouths. They were not only sharing a cloth; their mouths were inches from each other. Not even inches. He suddenly felt her lip touch his, and without even thinking, he leaned in and increased the pressure.
It started as a chaste kiss, but soon grew in intensity. She opened her mouth, and their tongues found each other. She cupped the nape of his neck. This girl could kiss! Before he realized it, his hands were pulling her closer and wandering over the dip in her lower back. Trying to stop at her hip was killing him. He wanted to squeeze her delectable buttocks.
He didn’t know how long they stood there kissing, because his brain had left the building. At one point, he realized what he was doing and knew he should pull away. But another big part of him—growing bigger by the second—thought,that ship has sailed, and it won’t be turning around.
A loud crash startled him out of his altered state.
Pulling away a few inches, he lowered the handkerchief enough to squint and see what was going on. A huge chunk of cement had hit the floor. Light flooded the small chamber.
“Hey, Captain, we’re in!” were the first words Gabe heard clearly. If he wasn’t mistaken, that was his brother Noah’s voice.
Relief swept over him. He turned to Misty and cupped her jaw. “We’re almost out, babe.”
She sighed. It was hard to tell if that was a sigh of relief or resignation. He’d just assume it had to be relief. Now that he could see her, her dark hair was almost white with cement dust. He grinned, realizing he must look similar.
She smiled up at him. “Now I know what you’ll look like when you’re old.”
He laughed out loud. The dust didn’t choke him this time. It was beginning to dissipate. A few more chunks of concrete fell, and Gabe quickly pulled the handkerchief over both their faces again as a new wave of cement dust hit them.
“Let me go in, Cap’n. That’s my brother down there.”
Yup. Noah’s voice.
Gabe heard the captain give his okay, and moments later, a ladder was lowered into the hole. The long legs and wiry frame that descended the ladder did indeed belong to his brother Noah. When he turned around, he found them with his flashlight.
“Nice of you to drop in,” Gabe said casually.
Noah laughed. “Are you sure about that? You two look pretty cozy. Am I interrupting something?”
Gabe sprang a few inches away from Misty but kept a hand on her shoulder. “This is Misty Carlisle, Noah.” As if that would explain everything. He hoped it would at least justify his reason for having his arms around her.
“The little girl from down the street?”
“I’m not a little girl anymore.”
Noah aimed the flashlight on her, sliding the beam down slowly and then back up. “No, you are not. Hey, there’s a light switch behind you.” He shone the flashlight on a spot on the wall next to the door.
