Flames & Firehoses (Arsonist X Firefighter)

Chapter 7

"Why does he pop up everywhere I go?!" I angrily thought.

Standing on the other side of Danny's front door staring back at me in shock was Henry. Danny rubbed the back of his neck in tense silence. We were all waiting for one of us to say something, in order to dispel the awkwardness. There was nothing that any of us could think of to explain the situation in a way that didn't hurt someone's feelings!

"Shit! I totally forgot that was today!" Danny cursed, shaking his head.

To my added dread, he opened the door wider, inviting Henry to enter his home! I clutched the bed-sheet tighter to my naked body and crossed my knees in embarrassment! Combined with the expression on my face, I probably looked like I was straining not to lose bladder control!

"I'm so sorry, man!" Danny muttered.

Henry took a step inside and closed the door behind himself slowly and carefully (to give us all privacy), but didn't move off from the welcome mat. The subtle click of the hinge closing caused a prickly shudder to run up my spine! I suddenly realized that I wasn't bold enough to convincingly pretend that Henry didn't possess damning information about me! My palms started sweating, as soon as I saw him! Perhaps, the idea of an ulterior alibi (using Danny) was plausible in my mind; but, in reality, I was frightened that just one detail from Henry would uncover everything that I had tried to keep buried about myself (since I was eight years old)!

"No big deal!" Henry easily accepted Danny's apology. "We'll reschedule," he waved away the inconvenience. "The weather is a bit humid and sticky-" he abruptly stopped his analysis, when the double meaning of his word choice hit him. "I'll...uh...text you later!" he smiled and reached for the door handle.

I was halfway through expelling a sigh of relief...when Danny called Henry back! Their voices sounded warped in my mind and time felt like it slowed dramatically, while I watched the guys leisurely interact with one another, as if I weren't in the room!

"Come on in! We just ordered pizza," Danny invited.

I paled with morbid terror, as my mind processed the information! Henry paused in the open doorway, turning around to glance over his shoulder. I prayed that he would just keep going! My desire must have been clearly written on my face, because the firefighter's eyes briefly flitted to mine; then, he averted his gaze with a stony expression.

"Nah! Thanks!" he smiled warmly at Danny. "Catch you later!" he waved in the general direction of us both and left.

I expelled a long breath of relief and felt blood rush back into my rubbery legs! Danny strode to the kitchen, pulled out plates and napkins, cleared the table of his work equipment by stacking it into one, large pile onto the island counter and replaced it with a neat setting of dishware. I shakily stood frozen at the door, waiting for another knock or a ringing doorbell! Fear rooted me in place, forcing me to wait for the pizza delivery guy, in order to soothe my anxiety! After a few minutes, Danny walked over to check on me.

"Are you alright?" he asked with worry.

"Uh...yeah," I lied unconvincingly and rubbed my arms with both hands to comfort myself.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Danny tried to divert my attention to himself. "What's going on?"

"I...uh..." I stammered, unsure of what to admit. "That was just really awkward!" I sighed, summarizing my cocktail of emotions with one, over-simplified statement.

"...And you were worried about me having issues with your...whatever-you-want-to-call them, us...me?" Danny smirked jokingly.