Chapter Twenty (Superman)

Previously, on "Memoirs Of A City Girl":
Ch. 19 (Jessie's Girl)
-My best friends Jamie and Brooke arrived at the party first.
-Luke and J.C. came soon after.
-They confided that Brad talks about me all the time, and he's "sprung".
-I found myself surprisingly attracted to Luke.
-Brad and Luke reminisced about the time that J.C. broke his leg during a skateboarding accident.
-To make matters worse, Luke is also a fireman.

*Featured on Seaweedy's Blog: Today In The World Of Sim Stories: 12/28/11

*Strong sexual content, strong language*



Location: 99 Embarcadero Drive
Date: Saturday, 9/10/09
Time: 7:33 p.m.

"Brooke, add a hot tub to our must-have list." Jamie points out as she sinks into the hot, bubbly water.

"I'm on it!" Brooke replies, stretching her arms behind her head in pure bliss.  Now I'm wondering how many girls have been in this tub of liquid heaven.  How many of them made out with and straddled Brad?  Especially with this good-looking trio, it probably isn't hard for them to attract women when they go out.



"Damn baby, I'm getting hard..." Brad murmurs against my neck, interrupting my thoughts.  While my ears and eyes are glued to the on-going conversation between Jamie and Brooke,  my hand is stroking Brad's hard length under the hot, bubbly water.  I desperately fight the urge to bite my lower lip and let out a moan, knowing what we're doing is wrong and it's in front of our company.  I glance over at J.C., and he's busy staring at Brooke.  Jamie is now conversing with Luke, and from the look in her eyes, I can tell that she's having naughty thoughts about him.

"Shhhh..." I whisper against his ear as I lightly squeeze him, loving how hard and big he feels in my hand.  I'm so turned on that I just want to straddle him right now, I don't care if they're watching.  But of course I can't do that, not if I want our lovely guests to come back.  I also don't want Luke and J.C. to think I'm a freak.  Which Brad is turning me into.

Suddenly I feel someone's gaze burn on my body, and I turn towards Luke.  He quickly looks away, but for a brief moment, I catch the fire glowing in his pale, emerald green eyes.  They are immersed in a mixture of curiousity and desire for what he can't have.  There's something about the way he looks at me...as if he's imagining me doing these naughty, delicious things to him.  He seems to be devouring me with his eyes, and it makes me very uneasy, yet even more aroused.  Oh my God, what is wrong with me??  When did I become such a whore?



"What do you think they're doing?"Jamie whispers to J.C. with a smirk.

"I don't even wanna know." J.C. chuckles, closing his eyes as the steam caresses his face.



"I'm gonna go fire up the grill.  We're not done though." Brad lets out a deep breath as he tries to make his hard-on go away.

"You might want to wait a little bit." I whisper, giggling. After a few minutes, he climbs out of the hot tub.

"Dude!! You got a major tent goin' on!" J.C.'s eyes are wide open. I can even hear Jamie and Brooke giggling.

"You wish you had one, bro!" Brad yells as he walks away.



"I'm gonna go check on him.  I"ll be right back." I mutter to Jamie, who has a huge grin on her face.  Luke and J.C. went inside with Brooke, so it's just the two of us left.

"Uh huh..." She raises her eyebrows.

"You're a perv." I give her the evil eye, shaking my head.

"No, YOU'RE a perv. I know what ya'll were doing!"

"Seriously?? Was it that obvious?"

"Yeah. Even Luke and J.C. noticed. And let me tell ya, Luke was seriously looking."

"You noticed it too?" My heart races, now embarrassed of what he might think of me.

"I can tell he's a freak. With that body...mm, mm, mm." She bites her lower lip, her eyes glazing over.

"You guys should hook up. He's single."

"I don't know...he looks like he'll just fuck me and leave me."

"Oh my God, Jamie!!" We both start cracking up.



The smoky smell of lit charcoal penetrates my noise as I walk over to Brad. This reminds me of hot summer days when my dad would grill up steak and chicken in the backyard as music softly plays in the background. I would make iced tea sweetened with honey, Adam would help make the coleslaw, my mom would check on the peach cobbler baking in the oven and even Naveah would help cut up the seedless watermelon. Afterwards we would take a dip in the pool, the water cooling our skin against the intensity of the afternoon sun.

"You need any help?" I ask, watching the hot charcoal burning underneath the sizzling hotdogs.

"Umm...yeah, you can get the condiments ready." He coughs, trying to fan the smoke away.

"You okay?" I gently pat his back.

"I'm fine. It's just really smoky."

"Alright babe, I'll be inside if you need me."  I kiss him on the cheek before I head towards the kitchen.



"Do you need any help?" I hear a deep voice behind me as I grab the buns and mayo from the fridge. I turn around, and it's Mr. Green Eyes. My heart skips a beat.

"Umm...I'm just getting the stuff for the hot dogs." I reply, placing the ketchup and mustard on the counter.

"Anything I need to open? Jar of pickles?" He smiles, his eyes penetrating into mine.

"Haha. Umm..." I dig through the fridge and find an unopened can of relish. "You can open this."

"Thanks." He chuckles as the lid pops with one swoop of his large hand.

"Wow, you're pretty strong." I stare at the opened can of relish, then return his gaze.

"I've had a lot of practice." He grins mischievously, making me look away.

"I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find
The better part of me"



My mind keeps telling me, "Stop! Walk away!" but my body feels hypnotized by his eyes and his presence.  I thought Brad was smooth with the ladies, but Luke...he's like a walking sex on a stick.  There's something about his ruggedness that pulls me to him, his facial hair, his masculinity. Why am I having these thoughts about my man's best friend?? Stop it!!

"Is that right?" I inch closer, ignoring my mind's protests.

"Yeah...I'm good with my hands..." His eyes scan my body from head to toe, then pause at my lips. My breath gets caught in my throat. Oh dear.



"Hey baby." Brad wraps his arms around me from behind, kissing my neck, making me gasp and shiver in surprise.  Oh shit.  What the hell am I doing?? Fuck, I hope he's not upset.  

"Oh..hey sweetie!" His scent and the warmth of his body brings me back to reality, reminding me that my heart and body belongs to him. And only him.

"Did you get the stuff ready?" He squeezes my waist possessively.

"Yeah." I mumble as my eyes lock with Luke's.  He has this look on his face I can't describe.  I feel like I'm in a showdown between two virile, alpha males who have their eye on the same female.  Instead of feeling ashamed, I'm actually flattered by the attention, and it makes me feel even more sexy.

Suddenly I hear a loud explosion.  What the hell??

"Oh my God!!" I hear Brooke shriek from the balcony.  We all rush out of the kitchen to see what happened. 



When I open the door, I see everyone huddled in front of the grill, which is engulfed in flames. The heat is so intense that I have to quickly let go of the door knob since it's burning my hand. Hot waves of red, orange and yellow take over the corner of the balcony as it quickly crawls up the walls.

"What happened??" I ask, watching the flames grow with every second that passes.

"The tank just exploded!!" J.C. explains, backing away from the heat.



"Oh my God!! It's getting worse!!" I panic, frozen in fear as the heat travels to the roof.  I want to run inside and grab a bucket of water, but my eyes are too fixated on the flames taking over the corner of the balcony.  I try to scream but no sound comes out, and all I can think is, Where's Brad?  Is he okay?



Clouds of black smoke take over us, and it becomes harder to breath.  I can hear everyone coughing around me but the sound of wood snapping and crackling is even louder, letting me know that the fire is much stronger than I expected. We are all blinded by the smoke, aimlessly wandering around in panic and bumping into each other.  I can hear the thumping of my own heart as I wonder if we are all going to make it out of this building alive.  What if the fire gets worse??

"I can't breathe!!"

"Somebody help!!"

"Call 911!!"



"Everybody, stay back!! Do not come any closer!!" I hear Luke yell from behind the wall of flames, holding the fire extinguisher.  I watch him calmly spray the busted propane tank first before he sprays the top of the grill.  The whooshing sound of the fire extinguisher slowly calms me down, letting me know that Luke is confidently battling the scorching heat.  Thank God he's here tonight!

"I'm more than a bird
I'm more than a plane
I'm more than some pretty face
Beside a train
And it's not easy to be me"



"It's coming back!!" Brooke freaks out as Luke fearlessly goes after the stubborn flames taking over the wall and roof.

"You need to move back!! I got this!" He assures Brooke as he moves closer, increasing the pressure of the fire extinguisher.



I watch as the last glimmer of orange and yellow dies down, overpowered by a shower of white, chalky substance.  Silence takes over the air as everyone lets out a sigh of relief.  We're all standing there for a moment, trying to grasp what just happened.  I look over at Luke as he wipes his forehead and lets out a deep breath.  It's over.  A part of me just wants to wrap my arms around him right now, to let him know how thankful I am that he just saved our lives.  I know he's a fireman and that's his job, but he still risked his life for us.  He stepped in front of the smoke and flames, knowing he could have been burned or damaged his lungs from smoke inhalation.



"Hey man..." Brad walks up to Luke with a solemn look on his face.  Whatever happened earlier, he must have been able to move past it.

"Hey..." Luke looks at Brad nervously.

"Thank you for what you did." A smile forms on Brad's lips, letting bygones be bygones.

"It was nothing." Luke smiles back with a sigh of relief.



Amidst the crowd, our eyes find each other.  I can still feel my pulse slowing down, but the sight of him makes it jump again.  After seeing what he did, I've developed a new sense of respect and admiration for him.  Despite his macho bravado, I sense a kind soul who will do anything  to protect those that matter to him.  Even those that he just met.  In fact, he's willing to risk his own life for strangers, and he does this everyday.  I don't know if it's the rush from tonight's close call with death but I can feel him gently tugging at my heartstrings.  It doesn't change how I feel about Brad, but a part of me wonders...what if?  And I think this question is even more dangerous than the strong flames and smoke inhalation combined.



"Are you okay?" J.C. asks Brooke.

"Yeah. I thought we were all going to die tonight." She mumbles, inching closer towards him.

"I know. Me too." His eyes never leave hers.

"You wanna get out of here?" She whispers.

"Yeah." He places his hand on the small of her back as they walk back inside.



With Brad's arms wrapped protectively around my waist, we say goodbye to Brooke and J.C. as they head to the elevator. Luke and Jamie linger at the door.

"We still had fun even with the crazy fire." Jamie comments, looking at Luke.

"We did." Luke returns her smile.

"It was good to see you, bro. Thanks again." Brad mutters behind me.

"Thanks Luke." I mumble, our eyes connecting again.

"Don't mention it." His gaze lingers just a little bit longer before he turns to Jamie. "You need a ride home?"

"Yeah. Brooke just took off with J.C." She chuckles.

"I'm only a man
In a funny red sheet
I'm only a man
Looking for a dream"

*Copyright 2011 Lyn C.S.*
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"Superman" by Five For Fighting
Video by: fiveforfightingVEVO