As the jacket rested on her shoulders, she held it open with both hands and wrapped her arms around his waist. It enveloped them both like a small blanket. She pressed her body against his, and rested her head on his chest.
Sudden warmth came over him, and only partly from her body heat. Through the smell of smoke that permeated their clothes and hair, he could smell her subtle perfume and the scent of her. He became aroused by the closeness of her body to his and marveled at her effect on him.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer as he answered her question. “This will do just fine. I could stay like this all night and not get cold at all. And it just might take all night for them to let us back in to get our equipment out. But as much as I would selfishly like for you to stay with me like this, you should probably get out of the cold and back to your warm apartment.”
“I really don’t mind staying for a while,” she said. “I’m warm now myself. Do you think your instruments and equipment will hold up to the fire and smoke?”
“Some of it will, and some of it may not. We won’t know the extent of the damage until we recover everything and clean it. I imagine the metal mic stands and instruments will fare okay, but the wooden, string instruments might be damaged beyond repair. We’ve all put a lot of money into our equipment, but Zach has the most to lose. His guitar is a vintage classic 1965 Gibson Firebird III with a reverse body in cardinal red. He put a lot of cash and T.L.C. into his ‘baby’ and will be crushed if it is lost.”
As Adam spoke, he watched Zach pace back and forth a few yards away, and he knew that he must be thinking the same thing.
As everyone else in the crowd dispersed, their little group waited in a small huddle for the fire department to give them the word that they could reenter. About an hour and a half later, they were finally cleared to go in and retrieve what they could. It wasn’t as bad as they had anticipated. It looked like mostly smoke damage. It would take some major scrubbing and elbow grease, but most of the equipment was salvageable—even Zach’s beloved Gibson. Zach nearly cried when he saw that ‘his baby’ had suffered no permanent damage. No one would have ribbed him about it, either. They all had the ultimate respect for the vintage classics.
They finally wrapped it up at about two o’clock in the morning, and Adam offered to follow Maddie home to make sure she made it safely. Like him, she still seemed pretty shaken up. He had to admit the fire was probably one of the scariest things he had ever experienced.
He and Maddie walked hand in hand in silence from the parking garage to their neighboring apartments. They were both still in shock and exhausted from the horrific events of the evening. He felt glad that she had stayed behind to help. He also wondered what, if anything, the rest of the night might have in store for him and Maddie. He considered himself a typical guy when it came to sexual expectations, fire or no fire, exhaustion or no exhaustion, and he could only hope.
When they got to her door, she stopped and said, “I’m so thankful that everyone made it out tonight. I could see there was no escape for the band and I was so afraid for all of you.”
She paused for a moment and continued, “So despite the fact that there was a fire, the nightclub almost burned down, and people almost died, I had a great time.”
Adam grinned at her attempt at humor.
“It’s good that we can joke about it now. But seriously, though, I’m touched that you were worried for me. I was worried about you too. I’m glad everything turned out okay.”
“You guys are really awesome performers, and I really enjoyed the show. Thanks for inviting me,” she said as she stepped forward, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him gently on the mouth.
He felt heat spread throughout his body. As she stepped back, he stepped closer to her, pulled her back to him and said, “I’m so glad you came to the show. It meant a lot to me.” And he kissed her back, gently at first, and then, with the passion building, a little more firmly.
Her lips parted and a slight moan escaped as the kisses grew deeper and their bodies pressed closer together. They stood like that for several minutes enjoying and exploring one another. Adam was just beginning to think that she might invite him in for the night when she stepped back and said, “I hate to be a mood kill, but I really need to get some sleep. I’ve got a lot of writing to do tomorrow and I’m up way past my bedtime. I need my beauty sleep.”
She winked and added, “But I really had a great time…up until…well, you know.”
Adam forced a smile to hide his disappointment. After all, they hadn’t even been on an official date. He actually found it somewhat alluring that she didn’t jump into bed with him right away. But he didn’t want her to get away before he could get a chance to officially ask her out.
“Trust me. You don’t need any beauty sleep,” he said. “I can’t imagine you getting any more beautiful. Listen, I want to keep my word and cook you that gourmet meal I promised.”
“I’d like that, Adam.”
“Are you free on Tuesday night?”
She grinned and said, “I believe my calendar is open that night. When should I come? And what should I bring?”
“How about six o’clock? And don’t feel like you need to bring anything. Leave everything to me. I love showing off my cooking
