Page 51 of Slow Burn

Elijah groaned, sitting up and grabbing his phone. It was Roman.

“Everything okay?” he answered, worried the station might need backup.

In typical Roman fashion, he laughed. “I’m not working tonight, so calm down. I’m heading to Lighthouse, want to meet me there?”

Getting out of his house would be better than jerking off all night to the woman he wasn’t going to touch again.

“Yeah, I can meet you there in an hour. Who else is going?” Elijah was fishing to see if Georgia got an invite. Just because he wasn’t fucking her again didn’t mean he couldn’t look at her.

“I’m with Anna now, and she invited the girls. Benny’s mom came to visit, so he isn’t coming out, and everyone else is at the station.”

The Landmere firefighter team was close-knit. Oftentimes, if someone was off work and they had nothing to do, it wasn’t uncommon for them to hang at the station. The camaraderie was what made them all work so well together.

Though Elijah was selfish.

He didn’t want to see Nash because he felt guilty as fuck. He fucked his friend’s little sister.

And couldn’t stop thinking about her.

“I have to go,” Roman told him as he heard Anna laughing at something. “See you soon.”

Elijah got out of bed and headed to the shower, hoping like hell Georgia was there tonight even though it was a bad idea.

But he couldn’t get enough of her.

AS SOON AS her girlfriends learned about how she lost her virginity, they were on a mission to get her out more. But she wasn’t yet sold on finding someone new. Georgia took one last glance at herself in the mirror. Anna confirmed over a fit of giggles how Elijah was meeting them at Lighthouse, so she had to look her best. Even if nothing happened, she wanted to drive him crazy.

The white T-shirt dress she wore was relaxed, but she dressed it up with some jewelry and sandals. She blew out her hair, curled the ends, and put on more makeup than her normal mascara and ChapStick.

Her Uber pulled up, and she hopped into the car, ready for a night out. The drive was quick, and she was dropped off at the bar in no time.

Walking in, she saw Roman first. He waved her over to the booth by the dance floor where he was sitting with Anna. Joining them at the table, she smiled when she saw a drink at the table for her.

“Wasn’t sure if you wanted to have alcohol or not, so I got you the strawberry vanilla spritz from their mocktail menu,” Anna explained as she sat down.

She took a sip and smiled. “This is delicious, thank you. I doubt I’ll actually drink tonight, but I Ubered just in case.”

“We Ubered too,” Roman told her. “Though we are drinking tonight. Your friend here thinks she can get more free drinks than me, so we have a competition going.”

Georgia blushed, remembering the last time she had a wager with someone. It led to her popping her cherry.

Anna’s smile shined. “He doesn’t think men are as stupid as they are when it comes to buying women booze.”

“You are so losing,” Georgia said to Roman. “What do you get if you win?”

“You’re making bets again?” a dark, scruffy voice she recognized immediately said. She knew it was Elijah before he even sat down next to her.

Her skin prickled with excitement, having him this close to her.

“I think one bet was enough for me.” She checked him out while she said it. Elijah was so handsome, it was unreal. His hair was styled like he'd just run his fingers through it, and she wished it was her who had done it. His midnight-blue eyes were always so serious, except she now had intimate knowledge of how they looked when he was consuming her. His full lips didn’t smile easily, and she daydreamed about having his mouth on her again.

Elijah frowned. “You just aren’t making the same bet with the same person.”

Roman got out of the booth, lending a hand to bring Anna with him. “While you two argue about bets, Anna and I have one to do.”

Georgia watched her bestie and Roman walk to the bar, both laughing with each other.

“You know we aren’t fucking again.” Elijah’s harshness brought her out of her daze. “I told you I can’t commit to you.”