Burning for You: A Steamy NYC Firefighter Romance Read online

  I shrugged. "Okay."

  Little did I know she wouldn't just be my friend for the day, but she'd be my best friend for the next fourteen years.

  Allie

  1st Grade

  My legs barely reached the ground as I sat on the cool metal bench in the dugout beside my best friend, Kyle. We'd been in the same Kindergarten class, but for first grade we’d ended up in different classes and I missed him. We still had lunch together and played at recess, though that time always went by too quickly. When he'd said he was going to play little league baseball that spring, I’d decided to join the team, too. I was the only girl.

  On the first day of practice, the boys hadn't been very nice to me. They'd told me I couldn't play baseball because it was for boys only and girls had to play softball, but I'd quickly shut them up during batting practice when I'd hit a home run over all of their heads. Kyle and I had been playing baseball together since we were five. Well, as much as two people could play by themselves. I also had two older brothers who'd let me play with them sometimes, so I was pretty decent at it.

  It was our first real game of the season and I was excited to actually play for real. Our team, the Mamaroneck Monarchs (try saying that one five times fast), was first at bat, so Joey Fisher started us off. He was one of the older boys on the team and he was tall so he usually hit the ball above everyone else's heads. After two strikes, his bat finally connected with the ball and it went far enough to get him onto first base.

  Kyle was up next and I was after him. I left the dugout so I could see him better and also because I had to take a few practice swings like our coach had told us to. I tugged on the waistband of my shorts. They came down to the middle of my shins and I had a hard time keeping them up on my waist. Coach came over and tied my drawstring tighter so that I hopefully wouldn't run out of them while I rounded the bases. The boys on the other team, the Larchmont Lions, laughed and I heard them making comments about the little girl. As one of the youngest players on the Monarchs, I was the smallest, which didn't help much with my street cred, so to speak.

  I sighed.

  Coach tapped the brim of my hat and whispered, "Hey, don't listen to them. You're our secret weapon."

  I nodded and watched as Kyle got a hit that brought him to first base. I cheered as loudly as I could.

  "You're up, Allie. Go show them how girls play baseball." My coach grinned broadly and I returned his smile.

  "Good hit, Kyle," I yelled as I passed first base on my way to the batter's box.

  "Good hit, Kyle," one of the boys on the other team mocked me. "Cheerleaders don't belong at the plate."

  "Yeah, girls can't play baseball," another kid echoed.

  My oldest brother, Brandon, called out from the stands, "You've got this, Allie."

  I turned and gave him a thumbs up. My parents had been fighting—again—so my brother had walked me to the park for my game because I wasn’t allowed to walk there by myself yet. Brandon was in fifth grade and he was one of the most popular guys at our school. No one ever dared to mess with me when Brandon was around, but the other team must not have realized that because they kept taunting me. "Yeah, Allie, you've got this. Set the strike out record."

  I gripped the bat tighter, in an effort to fight my desire to take a swing at the fence in the Lions' dugout. After a couple of breaths, I took my position at the plate. The first pitch came in high and outside.

  "Ball," the umpire called.

  The next one appeared to be inside, but at the last second it looked like it might be in the strike zone so I took a swing and missed.

  "Strike," the other team hollered over the umpire.

  "Strike her out again," one of them shouted at the pitcher. "Show her how the boys play."

  I lowered my bat and pivoted around to yell at them, but Kyle called out and stopped me. "Show them how girls hit, Allie."

  That made me smile. Kyle always knew what to say to get me down from the ledge. Admittedly, I had a bit of a temper. I blame growing up with two older brothers for that endearing quality.

  "Watch and learn boys," I said as I brought my bat up again and took my stance. I stared their pitcher down, daring him to throw the ball into my sweet spot.

  And that's exactly what he did. I felt what was going to happen before it even happened. My bat came over the plate at the exact perfect timing to hit the ball about four-inches from the end of the barrel, sending it high into the sky. I dropped the bat and ran for first base. Kyle rounded second, so I kept going. The other team shouted, but the boy in left field was still scrambling for the ball that had landed far behind him. Of course, they'd brought the outfielders closer for the girl. Surprise, surprise. I gripped the waist of my slipping shorts as I headed for third, while Kyle ran home. The crowd cheered. On third, I couldn't see the ball, but Kyle waited at home plate waving me on. "Come on, come on," he shouted.

  I stepped on the plate just as the left fielder got the ball to their short stop. I looked straight into Kyle’s crystal blue eyes as he gave me a high five, then Joey, who'd also scored on my home run, gave me one, too.

  Coach ran out and gave me a double high-five. "See, that's why you're our secret weapon."

  I looked over at the Lions' dugout and grinned obnoxiously.

  Kyle put his arm around my shoulder. "You hit like a girl, Allie," he said loudly enough for them to hear.

  "Yes, I do."

  The Lions were silent the rest of the game.

  Kyle

  2nd Grade

  I'd found out at hockey practice that I was getting the MVP award at our fundraiser dinner the following Friday. At eight years old, it was totally a big deal. Of course I wanted my best friend there for the ceremony. Too excited to wait until I saw her in class the next day, I called to invite her, but no one answered, so I had to leave a message on her machine.

  "Hi Allie, it's Kyle. Guess what? I won the MVP award on my hockey team this year and there's going to be a celebration at the fundraiser on Friday. It'd be really awesome if you came with me. Mom said you can sit at our table. The bad part is that we have to get dressed up so you'll need to wear a dress. Do you have a dress? Anyways, I think it’ll still be fun. I'll see you in class tomorrow. Bye."

  Two hours later, the phone rang and I raced to answer it. "Hello, Kyle speaking."

  "Kyle, it's Mrs. Dupree. Is Allie at your house?"

  That's weird. "No, she's not."

  "May I talk to your mom?" she asked frantically.

  "Sure." I pulled the phone away from my ear. "Mom! Phone."

  My mother came into the kitchen and I handed her the receiver. "It's Mrs. Dupree."

  "Leslie, hi," Mom said.

  I opened the fridge pretending to look for something so I could eavesdrop, but then I realized I was hungry, so I grabbed an orange and started to peel it.

  "I see. Let me talk to Kyle and I'll call you back. Do keep me posted if you find her, though."

  I bit into the orange slice and juice ran down my hand.

  "Kyle, have you seen Allie this afternoon?" Mom asked.

  "Nope. I called to invite her to the hockey dinner, but I had to leave a message."

  Mom took a seat at the table beside me. "Have you talked to her at all today?"

  I shook my head.

  "Are you sure?"

  This conversation was strange. "Yup. Why?"

  "Allie and her mommy got into an argument and Allie ran away. Mrs. Dupree thought maybe she came here."

  I'd been about to take another bite of my orange, but I paused with it inches from my mouth. "Oh. No, she hasn't been here."

  Mom sighed. "Can you think of a place she may have gone?"

  I knew exactly where she'd be, but it was our secret. "Don't know."

  "Well, if you can think of a place, you tell me, all right?"

  I nodded. "Sure." I finished my orange. "Hey, Mom, can I go to the park for a little before dinner?" The park wasn't far from our house, so my parents had started letting me g
o there by myself sometimes.

  Mom gave me a half smile. "That's fine. But take your watch with you and be back here by five o'clock."

  "K thanks, Mom." I ran up to my bedroom and grabbed the watch my parents had gotten me, then I went back downstairs and tried to look casual as I said goodbye to my mom before putting on my jacket and letting myself out the kitchen door. Once I was on the street and out of view, I ran to the park.

  Sure enough, Allie was there, barely swinging back and forth on the old metal swings. It was cold out, so the park was empty. After crossing the sand, bypassing the other playground equipment, I sat in the swing beside her. She sniffled and refused to look at me.

  "Your mom called worried about you."

  Silence.

  "She said you got into a fight."

  More silence.

  "Wanna talk about it?"

  She wiped her nose with her coat sleeve. "No."

  "Okay." I pumped my knees, letting myself get higher.

  After a few minutes, she finally said, "My mom won't let me go to your party."

  I let myself slow down, then I dragged my feet in the sand until I was stopped. "Why not?"

  She sighed. "I don't think she wants me to be friends with a boy."

  I laughed. "But we've been friends for years."

  "I know. Guess that's not so okay now that we're older."

  "How come?"

  "She doesn’t like it when Daddy talks to other girls either." She shrugged. "And I think she's worried you're going to kiss me."

  "Gross." I stuck out my tongue. The thought of kissing Allie—any girl really—was not in the least bit appealing.

  "That's what I said."

  "Why would she think that?"

  "She caught Brandon kissing a girl at his birthday party last week."

  I kicked the sand. "But your brother is in middle school. We're only in second grade."

  She sighed. "I know."

  "That stinks."

  "Yup."

  "Is that why you ran away?" I asked.

  She nodded. "I'm mad at her. Also, she was fighting with Daddy again." Allie’s parents had been fighting a lot lately. It always got her upset.

  I rubbed my lips together. "It's okay if you don't come to the ceremony."

  She finally looked up. Her bronze eyes were puffy and blood shot from crying. "You don't want me to go?"

  I ran my fingers over the cold chain links. "Of course I want you to, but it's not worth fighting with your mom over. We can have our own party during recess. Just you and me. It'll be way better and we won't have to get dressed up."

  She laughed. "That sounds fun."

  "Good. No more crying."

  She reached across the gap and punched me playfully in the arm. "I wasn't crying."

  I laughed. "Sure you weren't."

  "I mean it. I'm not a cry baby."

  "No, you're not. You're the toughest girl I know. That's why we're friends."

  She grunted. "I'm tougher than most boys you know, too." That was probably true.

  I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

  "I am!"

  "Sure you are." I hopped off the swing. "Come on. I'll walk you home. Your mom's worried."

  She sighed and reluctantly stood, tucking her hands into her pockets. "Okay."

  That Friday, we had the best recess celebration. We shared a cupcake during lunch and Allie drew me her own friendship MVP certificate, which was way better than any hockey award.

  Allie

  3rd Grade

  The sun’s warmth felt good on my beige skin as I sat with my friends at a table on the pool deck wearing my rainbow tie dye one-piece. For my friend Melissa's ninth birthday she had every girl in our class over to her house for a pool party. Melissa's father is the guy who came up with mini M&M's, so their family had a lot of money. Like rock-cave-with-a-waterfall-in-the-pool and movie-theater-in-the-basement kind of money.

  Everyone always loved getting invited to Melissa's house. When I'd told Kyle I couldn't hang out with him that Saturday because I was going to her party, he'd wanted to come with me, but it was a girls only party. Can't say he understood that. Actually, he’d gotten kinda mad and upset about the whole thing, although he'd never come straight out and admit it, but I could tell because he’d gotten real quiet after.

  While I applied another layer of sunscreen, Melissa gushed about Ian Baxter. “He’s like the cutest boy in our whole class, so I’m totally going to date him.” In Melissa’s world, Ian being the cutest obviously meant he belonged to her.

  I'll admit that Ian was cute. When I’d played little league baseball, Ian had been on my team, but I hadn't been into boys back then. Being nine was way different than being seven, though. Boys weren't quite as icky.

  Melissa wiped her wet blond hair off her face. "He totally wanted to come to my party, but my parents wouldn't let him. He said he's going to bring me a present at school on Monday though."

  Veronica swooned. "You're so lucky, Melissa. Ian is so nice."

  Lila nodded as she added another coat of glitter nail polish to her forefinger. "He is, but I kinda like a different boy in our class."

  "Tell me," Melissa demanded as she reached for the neon pink polish. "Which boy?"

  Lila blushed. "Kyle."

  "Oh, he is super cute," Veronica replied.

  Was there another Kyle in our class? Because surely, she couldn’t mean…

  I scrunched up my face. "Kyle Hogan? Are you serious?"

  Lila continued, "He has really nice eyes."

  I had to give him that. His eyes were so crystal blue they were almost like ice cubes. Sometimes, I found myself getting distracted by them.

  Melissa added. "Yeah, he's cute, too. Aren't you and Kyle like dating or something, Allie?"

  I coughed on my own saliva. "What? No! We're just friends."

  Melissa blew on her freshly painted nails. "You spend recess with him a lot."

  Veronica nodded. "Yeah, and those other boys, too. Shawn and Reece."

  "That doesn't mean I'm dating them. We're just friends." I'd always preferred hanging out with boys over girls. Over the years, there had been boys who hadn't liked that I wanted to play with them at recess and Kyle had always made it clear that I was invited and if they had a problem with it, they could go play with someone else. I liked that. Besides, it was way more entertaining to play box ball with the boys than to do hand clapping games like Miss Mary Mack or Rockin' Robin with the girls for forty-minutes straight.

  "Good. You can talk to Kyle about Lila then," Melissa urged.

  "Uh, sure." I stood up. "I'm getting hot. I'm gonna go for a swim." I jumped into the deep end before they could respond, not caring that the water was cold. My feet bounced off the bottom, catapulting me to the surface.

  Why’d I think going to an all-girls party would be fun? Every time I found myself stuck with a bunch of girls for an extended period of time, I was reminded why most of my friends were boys. All girls wanted to do was gossip and talk about boys and do their nails or makeup. That really wasn't my thing. After treading water for a minute, I swam into the shallows and got out. Once wrapped in my towel, I went to find Melissa's mom.

  "Excuse me, Mrs. Russo?"

  She turned away from the other mom's she'd been talking with. "Yes?"

  "I'm not feeling so well. Could I use your phone to call my mom?"

  "Of course, sweetie." She walked me inside to the kitchen. "Do you need anything?"

  I shook my head. "I think I just had too much cake."

  She handed me the portable phone. "You let me know if there's anything I can do while you wait for your mom."

  "I will. Thanks." I punched in the numbers to my house while Melissa's mom went back outside.

  "Hello?"

  I was surprised to hear my dad’s voice. He’d been working a lot of extra hours and was gone a lot.

  "Daddy, the party ended a little early. Can I walk to Kyle's house and hang out there for a bit?" Cold water dri
pped down my back from my hair and I inched my towel up to catch it.

  "It did?"

  "Please?" I knew he probably heard through my lie, but hey, I tried.

  "Sure, Allie. Call and let us know when you get to Kyle's house." His voice was hoarse, but that was nothing new. He was probably fighting with mom again.

  "Thanks, Daddy."

  "I'll have your mom pick you up in time for dinner."

  "Will you be home for dinner?" I asked, even though I knew what his answer would be.

  "Not tonight. I’ve got to go into the office."

  "Okay." I tried to hide my disappointment. "Bye."

  I went back out to the pool and told Mrs. Russo I was leaving, then I slipped my cover-up on, gathered my things, and snuck out the gate without bothering with goodbyes. It only took me about five minutes to get to Kyle's. When I arrived at the white brick house with black shutters, I let myself in through the kitchen door like I always did. "Hello?" I called out, but heard no response. It was a nice June day, so I went through to the back of the house and opened the sliding door. Kyle was having a water gun fight with his brothers. Way more fun than painting nails and talking about how cute my best friend supposedly was.

  I dropped my stuff on the patio. "Got one for me?" I asked as I took off my cover-up.

  Kyle pointed to the shed at the back of the yard, grinning mischievously. "You'll have to get through us to get it." His dirty blond hair was stuck to his forehead.

  I formulated a plan. "Okay." I darted into the yard, scooped up Kyle's two-year-old brother, Ryan, and held onto him as I ran toward the shed.

  "No fair," Dylan hollered. "We can't shoot at the baby."

  Mission accomplished. I located a water gun and tucked it under my arm. "Ready, Ry?" I scooted the giggling toddler around to the side of the shed where the hose was so I could fill up my water gun. I put Ryan down and he wobbled away. Once my gun was ready, I put the cap back in place and ran out into the yard, squirting water at the boys.

  We were all good and soaked and panting when Kyle's dad came outside with juice pouches. "Who's thirsty?" He set them on the table. "Allie, your mom called. I told her you were here."