I mumbled a quiet “thank you.”
He shrugged it off and then asked, “Why’s your face so red?”
I wasn’t sure if he was playing dumb or just genuinely clueless, but thankfully, he didn’t push the question. Instead, he asked if I wanted to take a tour of the station.
“Is that allowed?” I asked, unsure.
He chuckled, clearly amused, and said, “There are some parts you can see, just stick with me.”
I grinned, “Sure, let’s go meet your firefighter friends!”
As soon as I said that, a few of his colleagues walked by, comparing abs.
I definitely enjoyed the view.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t exactly reach out and touch, and they seemed to notice my stare, so they quickly toned it down.
“Nathan, is this your girlfriend? She looks pretty young.”
“Watch your mouth, or you’ll be running laps,” Nathan shot his friend a warning look.
The guy immediately backed off, “No way, I just showered!”
“She’s a University of Pittsburgh student, here to thank us. What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Nathan scolded his friend, then turned to me. “Don’t mind them. We’re used to being rough around the edges.”
I nodded, saying it was fine.
Nathan then showed me around the station, but I was distracted, replaying his friend’s comment over and over in my head.
As we were about to say goodbye, I blurted out before I could stop myself, “So… do you have a girlfriend?”
He froze, clearly not expecting that question.
Realizing I might’ve overstepped, I quickly backpedaled, “You didn’t have to answer if you didn’t want to. It was just a random question.”
“No, I didn’t,” he replied.
I wasn’t sure if he meant he didn’t care about the question or if he actually didn’t have a girlfriend.
Almost like he read my mind, he repeated, “I didn’t have a girlfriend.”
“Okay, got it,” I said, trying to play it cool.
After that, I honestly didn’t remember how I got out of the fire station. My mind was completely wrapped up in thoughts of Nathan and his ruggedly handsome face.
A week later, I returned to the station to give back his jacket. I’d been in such a rush the last time that I completely forgot it was still tied around my waist until my roommate asked about it.
But when I got there, the friendly firefighter at the entrance told me Nathan was out on a call.
Disappointed, I left the jacket with him and headed home, thinking that might be the end of it, that our brief connection had run its course.