Free Fireman Edition by M.S. Willis

little pride I had left.
    Towards the mass of confusion, I walked, all the while imagining that I looked like a warrior moving through a dusty and dangerous battlefield. You know the scene in the movie that I’m talking about: The smoke always clears like a curtain pulled aside as the hero and his beautiful girl come striding out wounded, but alive.
    I was that hero and I was that beautiful girl.
    People stared as I passed them, some pointing and others narrowing their eyes against the smoke to see if a girl in a blanket was really walking by. I hoped that the fire was more of a distraction so that I could navigate the crowds like a ghost and barely be noticed.
    Unfortunately that wouldn’t happen. An intrepid young reporter moved in front of me and shoved a microphone to my face. “Ma’am? Were you a victim of the fire? Were you inside when it started? Why are you in a blanket?”
    From the tag she wore, I knew she wasn’t from a major news station and that was the most probable reason for her to be trolling the witnesses in search of a new facet to the story. Her eager eyes looked me up and down, the light of the camera behind her blinding me and stripping away the little pride I’d had just moments before.
    “Ma’am? Are you hurt? Do you need medical attention?”
    If she meant psychiatric when she said medical , then yes. Yes, I did need medical attention. I’d had enough. The night was a total wash and I was left naked as a jaybird on a smoky road with no car and no orgasm to make up for it.
    I was sunk.
    “No,” I answered. “I’m not hurt. I’m just a normal girl walking down the road in a blanket and carrying a purse. I just wanted one decent date. One! You know? Is that too much to ask for in a city this size? What does a girl have to do to have a nice and exciting evening with a good looking guy without disaster happening?”
    The words were pouring from my mouth faster than I could consider what I was saying. So many horrible things had built up inside that I was reduced to a geyser spewing negative words just to relieve the pressure.
    “All I wanted was to date a standard romance guy. And here I am, in a blanket, with nothing to show for it, talking to you in front of a fire that is blocking my car. What do you think about that, news lady? Huh? Did you want a copy of the ad in the paper too? Would that be a good story? Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going home!”
    Skirting around her, I ignored the people staring and whispering and marched myself home.
    The entire journey took another fifteen minutes and left me exhausted, heart broken and embarrassed as hell.
    I hated Stephan. I hated Mina. I hated the stupid author that wrote that book.
    I wanted to give up on everything and decided that I’d remove the ad in the morning because this was a stupid idea.
    Letting myself into the house, I was glad to find that Rich had already gone to bed. A shower and a set of warm pajamas later and I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling.
    I’d remove the ad the next day.
    I had to.
     

Chapter Ten
    My eyes fluttered open to find a new day waiting for me. The smell of bacon wafted through the apartment air, causing my stomach to grumble at the thought of food. Sitting up in bed proved to be difficult when the effects of the wine came back to tighten around my skull.
    “Ow. Sonofabitch.” Cradling my head against my palm, I threw my legs off the bed and left my bedroom in search of aspirin.
    Rich stood in the kitchen with a smile on his face and an apron covering his body.
    “How’d the date go?”
    I didn’t know whether to lie or what, but considering he had that ‘I told you so’ look on his face, I decided to lie and see if I could get away with it.
    “It went good. Mark was a nice guy. Sorry, I got home a little late. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
    “Well, that’s great! And nope...” He grinned. “…You didn’t wake me.” Moving back to the stove to continue cooking, he broke an egg over