Dana rushed to place a wet towel under her bedroom door, trying not to panic as she heard the sirens and saw the fire trucks pull to the curb. Placing the pillowcase over her mouth, she hit the floor to avoid the smoke- filled air and crawled to the window. The minute she pushed it up, more smoke puffed in and a window shattered in her living room.
She screamed as loud as she could, swinging a towel out the window to signal her location. Dragging herself up to the window, she spotted the firefighter waving to her, “Flatten yourself to the floor. I’m coming up.”
The ladder hit her window frame as she collapsed onto the floor. She gagged and coughed on the stench, causing tears to flood her vision. Terrified of passing out, she screamed again as the paint on her door bubbled. Hands suddenly lifted her from the floor and a mask was placed on her face before someone yelled, “Are you alone?”
She nodded before he yelled, “Hang on to me!”
Dana wrapped herself around him, gulping the oxygen and squeezing her eyes shut. Petrified of heights, she screamed in panic as he made his way down the ladder from her second story apartment. Other residents milled about, huddled together on the lawn as all their belongings went up in smoke.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, he tried to pass her to another firefighter but she wouldn’t let go of his neck. He swung her into his arms, “It’s okay! We’re on the ground.”
She relaxed but was still shaking so he carried her a safe distance before reassuring her again before she would finally release her death grip. He ran toward the three-story building, aiding others in pointing a huge hose directly at her window before they released the valve.
She coughed into the mask as her neighbor, Rose, sat down heavily beside her with shock written all over her face. Dana tried to hold it together while asking her, “Did everyone make it out?”
Looking around, Rose nodded before they both cringed when the roof caved. Scrambling backwards in the face of the chaotic scene, she shook even worse as tears flew into her eyes.
Rose leaned toward her and pointed to the firefighter that carried her down the ladder, “That’s my brother, Chad!”
Dana distractedly nodded, knowing the woman was trying to take their minds off the chaos. She finally broke, gasping between sobs while wondering where she would stay. With no family and new to the area, she’d just rented the apartment a week ago.
Rose put her arm around her, “It’s okay. At least we made it out alive.”
She nodded but couldn’t stop crying so Rose asked, “Did you lose a pet?”
Dana shook her head, unwilling to admit that she was completely alone. Her brother sank down in front of them and, seeing how upset she was, asked the same. Dana shook her head and admitted, “I just arrived in town. I don’t know anyone. Is there a shelter around here?”
Rose stared at her brother who quickly said, “Rose will be staying with me. You’re welcome, too. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of you.”
She glanced at Rose who was nodding as well. Dana frowned, “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”
He nodded, “I’m positive.”
Dana thanked him, wiping tears away as Rose put her arm around her, “How old are you, Dana? You don’t look old enough to be on your own.”
“Twenty-three. Everyone thinks I’m younger.”
Her neighbor nodded, “Yeah. You look more like fifteen.”
Dana grinned through her tears but shook her head, “I can’t prove it because my purse was in there.”
Rose patted her knee, “I believe you. What do you do for a living?”
She told her where she was to start work as they watched the firefighters douse the apartment building. A tower of smoke started to rise as they kept each other company. They finally fell into silence, commenting occasionally about various things in order to keep the shock at bay.
Her brother, Chad, finally came back and asked how they were doing. Both nodded before he asked Rose if she was okay to drive. She stared at him, “My keys are in there.”
He glanced at Dana, “Same here but I have a spare under my back tire.”
“Are you okay to drive?”
Dana nodded, leading Rose to the parking lot where most of the tenants’ cars remained. Rose directed her to his house where she slipped a key out from under the doormat. Slipping inside, she went into a spare bedroom before telling Dana, “Let me go see what I can scrounge up so we can get out of these pajamas.”
Dana glanced around at the scant furnishings before wandering out into the hallway. Rose reappeared and handed her a T-shirt, pointing to a door, “That’s the bathroom. Sorry but this is the best I can do.” She shrugged by way of apology, “He’s not married and that shirt is going to swallow you but…”
Dana waved her off, “It’s great. Listen, thanks! Are you sure he won’t mind?”
Rose grinned, “From the look on his face, he didn’t mind you staying here at all.”
With a wink, she headed into the bedroom to change and left Dana to frown over her comment. Shrugging, she went into the bathroom to change. Pulling Chad’s shirt over her head, she grinned over the realization that the T-shirt held a distinct male aroma. Rose was right, the shirt swallowed her but she was grateful that the smoky odor was gone.
Peering at her blonde hair in the mirror, she cringed and washed the black streaks off her heart-shaped face. She hurried back out to ask Rose if she had a washcloth but ran right into Chad who was walking down the hall.
He grabbed her as she bounced off him, “Whoa, I almost knocked you flat. Shit, you are a tiny thing!”
She’d thought the firefighting suit made him massive but realized that was just his build. She swallowed hard, suddenly gasping for air for a completely different reason.
He grinned, “Are you okay?”
She squeaked out, “You’re just… huge!”
He laughed, studying her face as Rose peaked out the door, “He was a football player in high school.”
Stepping back and looking up at him, Dana’s quick wit surfaced, “Is the air thinner up there?”
Dimples appeared as interest flew into his eyes, “You tell me. Come here.”
Rose’s head appeared around the corner again with her mouth open in surprise before she grinned, “Chad, remember you put fires out… not start them!”
Dana was suddenly face-to-face with him as he asked, “So, is it?”
Completely forgetting the question, she stared at him until he laughed, “The air… is it thinner up here?”
“Oh-kay! Um… no, it’s not.”
Dimples hit his cheeks at her breathless tone, “Are you sure you don’t need some oxygen? I can perform mouth-to-mouth.”
Rose’s amused snort from behind them rang through the air, “I told you he doesn’t mind you staying.”
“Oh, hell no. Let me take a shower and I’ll show just how accommodating I can be.”
Rose rolled her eyes as Dana slid down his tall muscular frame, almost sliding straight to the floor as amusement shot over his face, “Damn, Rose. Why didn’t you tell me that you had such a cute little neighbor?”
“She just moved in last week. I haven’t talked to you since before then.”
He nodded and pointed to a door, “You know where the towels are if you want to shower.”
Turning to Dana, he winked, “That dress looks good on you.”
Her jaw dropped, leaving Rose cackling at her expression. He brushed by her, “I’ll see you ladies after I wash this smoke off me.”
Dana stared at him before shooting a wide-eyed look at his sister who was bent over and shaking her head as she tried to control her laughter. She scrambled behind her, placing the sister between them when he reappeared to say, “Oh… I’ve got a stocked fridge with beer if you guys are hungry or whatever.”
Looking directly at her, he pointedly said, “And you make yourself at home.”
She dumbly nodded as Rose got a grip on her laughter to pull a door open and drag some towels out. She handed one to Dana and asked if she wanted to go first. She eyed his bedroom and nodded, needing a moment to cool her heated cheeks. She barely used the hot water, standing under the tepid spray while contemplating the massive hunk that had just saved her ass from a burning building.
