“Ok boys! Let’s go!”
Her crew is very good. They have been together for the last two years and have gone through some tough fights. The whole team of fourteen are in top shape. From twenty-seven to thirty-seven years old. Tammy is right in the middle at thirty-two, but she’s the chief. In the beginning, there were rumblings about her ability to lead a team, but those guys were put in their place as she came out on top in everything they threw at her.
Tammy used to be a pretty thing that the boys thought that her cuteness was too much to be a serious chief. Her ambitious goals when she was first hired on was a private joke to the rest of the crew.
Well, shit happens.
It was four years ago that they were called to a garage fire in a residential area. They were a bit too casual about it as it was only a stand-alone residential single-car garage. Tammy went in and the meth lab exploded. She was in full gear, but the helmet wasn’t buckled properly, and it blew off with the blast. Her whole head was severely burned, but the guys were right there to extinguish her down.
Her face got the brunt of the blast and it sustained third-degree burns. With the quickness of the guys there, her eyelids were burned but survived. Her ears are mostly there. Her hair came back nasty, but she wants to keep some because her head looks horrible with all the scarred skin on it. So she keeps a butch cut. The blonde hair covers most of the bad areas. Her cheeks and her mouth got the worst of it. It almost looks like a deformity as her cheeks have sunken and her lips are just not there. Her mouth opens and she can smile a bit, but the skin is tight. She looks a bit like the stone guy in Fantastic Four around her mouth. Her chin and throat are all marked with third-degree burns. Vitamin E oil is helping a lot to soothe and restore her skin, but it’s not doing it fast enough according to Tammy.
Carl’s driving this time and Tammy barks out the address and puts it into the GPS. They are off with three trucks screaming out of the hall. The big city has installed the new draw gates that come down for the trucks to leave the station at full speed out of the hall. Almost everyone stops for the trucks. Almost. Three months ago one ignorant jerk figured he could beat the fire trucks out of the garage and went around the dropped barricades. The driver of the firetruck smiled hit the back corner of the BMW and kept going to the call out. Now the guys are looking for stupid drivers to nail.
Tammy yells over to Carl as they head out and no stupid drivers pull out, “Better luck next time!”
Carl laughs as he was thinking the same thing.
The five-car pile-up takes forever to clean up as there is a fatality with this one. The cops and coroner have to come out, and that made it a long afternoon. Two of the cars needed the jaws of life to extract the drivers and one passenger. All are a bit down as they had to free the guy without his foot attached to him still. The guy was a professional dancer and bawled the whole time he was extracted and put in the ambulance.
They get back to the station and they are all beat. Time to clean up the tools of the trade. The guys pull the stuff out that was used and clean all the dirt and blood off. Half the team is excused as they have family. That’s the excuse tonight, but it doesn’t happen like that often.
After clean up, Carl, the lead driver today, asks Tammy, “Beer?”
Tammy nods, “Yeah, sure. Let me check my voice mail first.”
She heads to her office and puts it on speakerphone as she looks for notes on her desk. Well, it looks like everything quietened down after their last call out. Nothing in the voice mail either.
Five guys and Tammy head to the bar. They are in their casual clothes now, and just a bunch of friends. Well, more just acquaintances. They go out maybe once every couple of months, but usually, most have their own lives after work.
They sit around and clink their bottles to one another’s, and nod.
Tammy says, “Good job today guys.” And they go over some things that need some attention.
Tammy notices a guy at the next table sitting by himself. It seems he’s eavesdropping on their conversation and Tammy turns to the guy.
She waits for him to look at her, but says after a bit, “Hey Buddy. Do you mind? We’re kind of talking shop here. Not for the faint of heart.”
The guy looks towards her and smiles and nods, “Naw, I don’t mind. I’m just waiting. Go ahead. It sounds like you guys are a pretty close bunch.”
He puts his hand out a bit to the side of Tammy, “Ross Bowman. My buddies used to call me Bo.”
Tammy looks at the guy, still looking a bit beside her and she takes his hand, “Tammy Arbuckle, station three chief.”
He smiles and turns his head a bit more towards her.
She asks, “Your Buddies used to call you Bo?”
His smile goes down, “Yeah, I was the lucky one. I lost my sight and my buddies lost their lives. Nobody calls me Bo anymore.”
One of the firefighters gets up, “Gotta get home to the little missus.”
That seems to get everyone going.
Bo smiles as he hears a couple of the guys, “Later, Bo!”
Tammy sits there still twisted in her chair towards Bo.
She watches the guy a moment and he says under his breath, “Shit, I can still smell her.”
Tammy softly giggles, “That’s because I’m still here.”
Bo gasps and holds his heart, “Oh shit! You scared the crap out of me!”
Tammy giggles now, and gets up to sit at Bo’s table.
He smiles as he smells her closer now.
He leans back, “I’m sorry, this blind thing is fairly new to me. I haven’t ventured out much in the last year or so. I wanted to get a brew and convinced my nurse to bring me down here.”
Tammy watches as he slowly reaches for his drink. She moves the glass to his hand and he smiles and picks it up. He uses both hands, with one on the top rim to feel where his lips should go. Tammy watches as the guy struggles with a bit too much tipped into his mouth.
Bo says, “Shit. So much for first impressions for the beautiful young lady.”
Tammy has to smile, “You’re doing fine. Here, let me help you a bit.”
“No, no. I‘ve got this.”
He sets his glass down and it tips off the edge of the table and crashes to the floor.
Tammy watches him for his response, and softly giggles when he lifts his hands up and drops them to the table, “Table’s clear!”
They chuckle together as the barmaid comes with a mop and broom to clean up the mess.
Tammy’s still watching the guy and he settles back in his chair.
He says, “So, you’re chief. How’d a pretty thing like you get to be chief? You can’t be thirty yet.”
She smiles, “A shit load of hard work. Yes, I’m more than thirty years old.”
He smiles, “Not by much. Where’s your boyfriend? Or husband?”
She’s quiet a moment, “You sure ask a lot of questions.”
He says, “Yeah. Been cooped up too long. I don’t get many people coming by to chat with. Come here often?”
She smiles, “No, not at all. Maybe every couple of months the guys and I will come for a beer.”
They chat a bit more about where they are from and Tammy gets up, “I have to go now. I’ll see you around.”
He chuckles and she catches what she said, “Oh shit. Now I’m sorry. That just came out.”
He smiles, “That’s OK. I couldn’t say the same thing though. But I enjoyed your company. I also hope to… um… find you around again.”
Tammy smiles, “How about I come by here next Tuesday, you know, if I don’t have a call out? Would that work for you?”
He smiles big, “Oh man. I’ll make it work, Tammy.”
They part with a handshake and she walks out of the bar. The big calloused hand is noted, but there is more to the guy than just a farmer or construction worker. She heads to her car and goes to her apartment. She used to put on a ball cap and sunglasses, but now she doesn’t care what others think of her looks. She just ignores the stares.
Tammy is always aware of her looks now, and the way others look at her. She always sees the stares. Always sees someone looking at her a bit longer than normal. She’s always self-conscious of the first impressions of people. Everyone. Even for a split second, even if she’s talked to them before, they all have that hesitation, that microscopic look of disgust at her face.
All except for today. Bo just sat there when Tammy turned towards him. She didn’t know he was blind at first, but his look was as if she was normal. Sure, the long timers at the station house are used to her look now, but even some of the guys still react to her looks when caught off guard. But Bo just smiled at her. Introduced himself like she was normal. She saw it and felt it. She didn’t pick up any repulsive vibes from him. Of course, he didn’t, but the feeling of being unconditionally accepted. Sure, she was a bit gruff with the guy. She was going for the shock factor too as she turned around. The guy just sat there and listened, then smiled at her. This almost shocked her in a sense.
Then she thinks of Bo as a potential date. Maybe getting together with him. They’re a ways off from that right now. Then she’s pissed off as she thinks of some of the comments from others. Cruel comments. Like, ‘she could only get a date if she had a bag over her head’, or ‘if it’s pitch black out’, or ‘if the guy is blind’.
Now here she is. Attracted to a blind guy. He is everything normal, even good-looking. He never got up, so she didn’t see his height or build. He was wearing that sports jacket and behind the table. But shit, really? A fucking blind guy?
She has a tear as the cruel words come to reality. She shakes her head and rethinks the idea of meeting with Bo again. When others find out she’s interested in a blind guy they will laugh, ‘told you so!’ Forget it. Bo was just a chat. Movin’ on.
Tammy focuses her frustrations out on her workout routine. She turned the master bedroom in her apartment into a workout room with an advanced Bowflex machine in the center. There’s still room for her to use loose weights and jump rope. The master bath is handy for a quick shower right after a good workout.
The weekend passes like normal. Friday afternoon she stops at the small grocery store to pick up a few items for her weekend alone. Not that there’s much of a weekend with shift work. Sometimes she gets inspired to go for a drive out of the city.
Tammy had no problems getting dates. The guys were lined up around the block to take her out. She went out with many during school, and even after she graduated. There was a potential suitor just before the accident. Or ‘incident’ they call it. There was no accident.
Now here she is. Thinking of meeting the predicted blind guy again. She remembers the comment of dating a blind guy and who it came from. The guy is not on their team anymore as he wanted to leave as soon as she became chief. She had no problems with him going to another station. Go. Asshole.
But word would go out. She can even picture the guy laughing at his predictions coming true. Tammy gets worked up about it and adds another rep to her workout to get the frustrations out of her.
After her shower she runs her fingers through her hair and muses, “I wonder how it would look a bit longer.” But then shakes her head at the thought.
It still would be on this hideous head. Big deal if the hair was flowing beautifully down her shoulders.
She’s heard it before. Maybe read something about it. A guy in the military had a burnt face also, and he wished he just lost an arm or a leg. That seemed to be more noble than being stuck behind such a horrible mask of disfigurement.
Then she thinks of Bo’s subtle hitting on her. She remembers the feeling of being attracted to a boy. The way they shyly flirted with her. This was close to that. Bo seems to be a sweet guy. She really did like the feeling as they chatted for a few minutes.
Poor Tammy’s mind is all over the place. She even thinks of when the time comes to tell him of her disfigurement, her horrible face. She thinks of his look when his fingers actually touch her face. She can see it already. The same look as all the others. Maybe even more so as she’s held off on telling him right upfront. Maybe he’ll feel deceived by her holding out on telling him. Maybe she won’t go that far. Maybe she’ll just keep it a friendly relationship.
Shit. Maybe she should just forget about the whole damn thing. Fucking Bo. What the hell is he thinking anyways?
By the time Tuesday afternoon rolls around, she’s almost excited to go to the bar again to see Bo. She’s so nervous even Carl asks her if she’s ok.
She looks up at him standing by the door to her office, “Yeah. I’m fine. What makes you think something’s up?”
He shrugs, “I just thought that you were a bit preoccupied. That’s all.”
She shakes her head, “Everything’s normal.”
He smiles at the station’s common saying. Everything is so far from normal as they get calls for all sorts of things and at all hours of the day.
Tammy’s on day shift this week. Seven am to seven pm. The station is everyone’s second home. There’s no other females on the team so she has a room to herself. It’s more of a bunk with a small shower and toilet, but life is in the common areas. The kitchen and lounge are the same room, and the gym is towards the back of the hall.
It’s just after seven and she sneaks away to the bar. She makes sure she’s not followed and turns in the door. She smiles and softly walks up to where Bo is sitting. She watches and only waits a few seconds for his smile to come up.
He sniffs deep as he points his nose up, “Ah. A breath of fresh air has arrived.”
Tammy giggles and sits down, “Hi Bo.”
He smiles big, “Hi Tammy. Glad you could make it. Thanks.”
Tammy asks, “For what?”
He says, “For making it. I didn’t really expect you to come back. You had an exit strategy, and you could have just said you went out on a call.”
He smiles again, “But you’re here. Thank you.”
She smiles back and orders a beer. They chat superficially for an hour and it seems a good time to part.
He says, “I had my nurse drop me off here hoping you would escort me to my home. I live only three blocks from here. Would you do me the honor of walking me home?”
Tammy smiles at the request, but hesitates, “Where’s your nurse? Why isn’t she ready to take you home?”
Bo chuckles, “He’s not really my type.”
Then he mimics a deep voice, “Hey Bo, get your ass home. Let’s go.”
Tammy laughs and stands up. Bo hears her chair get pushed out and stands himself. The guy is about six foot three inches tall. The baggy jacket is pretty much filled out, in a good way.
Tammy is wondering how this will work as Bo smiles, “I’m clutching at straws here, but I’m wondering where you are.”
Tammy giggles and puts out her hand to help guide him around the table. He stops and she lets him go. She smiles as he presents his arm to the lady. She takes it, and he instructs how the walk will go.
First he pulls out his wallet and pays the tab for both of them.
Tammy says, “That’s not necessary.”
He smiles and says nothing as they walk out. He bumps a bit into the door jamb and lesson one starts.
He says, “Bill, my nurse, has given me a few tips for me to not walk into things. There is a reason for me to extend my arm to you. Your hand gives me direction to what I have to avoid. Ok, now move your fingertips like you wanted me to turn towards you.”
She pulls her fingers on his arm to indicate for him to turn. He turns square in front of her and she waits a moment.
He chuckles, “That was pretty severe message. You only have to move your fingers a bit. But if you want me straight in front of you, you know what to do next time.”
She softly giggles and he smiles and goes beside her again.
He says, “If you were to bring your fingers under my arm and tap two or three times, I would know we are going up some stairs. I would let you lead and I would pay attention to every time you take a step up. You don’t have to count and tell me. I’ll follow your lead.”
They walk slowly along and they are coming up to a curb to step down in the roadway. She tries her new knowledge and taps once gently on top of his arm that she’s holding onto.
He smiles, “What?”
She says, “Curb down onto the street.”
He chuckles, “Very good. Thank you.”
She giggles and they cross. She’s a bit late with the tap under his arm and he catches his toe on the curb and stumbles a bit.
She catches him, “Sorry! Sorry. My fault entirely.”
He smiles as he straightens up, “We just have to get used to each other. Not entirely your fault. Not at all.”
She sighs and turns beside him again. They start walking in silence and she’s wondering where they are going.
She puts it together, “You know this route pretty good.”
He smiles, then chuckles, “Every day now I’m at the bar. Ever since I met you, I come down at about seven to hear and smell if you’re there, or have been there. I’m getting used to the walk now.”
He stops in the middle of the sidewalk and turns to her, “Three fifty-seven.”
Tammy looks over his shoulder and smiles, “You’re damn good. Right outside your door.”
He smiles and doesn’t move. She looks up at him as they stand square in front of each other.
He softly says, “There’s something about you. I sense it as people walk past. Care to elaborate?”
Tammy’s shocked. She never thought that it would be picked up on.
She softly says, “No. Not now. Maybe later.”
He says, “You have to be a tough cookie to be chief of a bunch of macho fire fighting guys. Shit, you have to be tough as nails. But I sense a soft side of you as well. I sure hope I meet you again soon. I quite enjoyed my time with you.”
She pats his arm and steps back a bit.
He softly says, “Thank you for walking me home, Tammy.”
She smiles, “You’re welcome, Bo.”
He turns and walks into a garbage can.
He stumbles and mumbles to himself, “Blind as a bat…”
Tammy giggles and helps point him in the right direction. He says thanks again.
Tammy is grinning as she makes her way back to the station.
She’s paid attention to as people walk past her. They quiet down and then sometimes there’s whispering behind her back. She’s noticed it for a long time already. But Bo picked it up right away. She’s wondering how long she can keep up the secret from him. Or even if she should keep it a secret from him.
The next day is coming to an end and she looks up at the clock. It’s five to seven in the evening and she wonders if Bo is there again. He said he’s been coming down every day to see if she’s been there and smiles at the thought of being pursued.
Again Carl looks in on her and sees her goofy grin. This time he comes in and closes the door. She tries to look perturbed at the guy for just barging into her office, but he sees right through it.
He smiles, “Bo?”
She looks at him a long time before she sighs heavily, and leans back in her chair. She stretches her arms over her head looks at Carl, and nods slightly.
Carl asks, “He know?”
Again she’s a long time before she answers, “He knows something’s up. But no.”
Carl nods and thinks a moment, “Tammy, you’re like a sister to me. You know that Jill and I will take you home for dinner any time. You’re like family. I’ve offered, and let you choose, but I dearly love you. You know, like a sister.”
She waits for him and he sighs now, “I just don’t want to see you hurt. I saw it before, you getting your hopes up, when you went out yesterday. Please hon. If I can help, let me know. OK?”
She smiles and nods, “Thanks, Bro.”
He smiles too and just for a second she remembers watching a movie with John Goodman as a pilot and his goofy look. That would be Carl to a T. Then she would think of herself as the girl, what’s her name. She thinks it’s Holly Hunter, and the guy, her boyfriend, Dreyfus, as Bruce. Dreyfus died and Bruce is gone. So far it’s working out similar to the movie. Even this tall new guy as the young pilot taking over Holly’s heart, Bo is stepping in now. She sighs at the thought, and Carl walks out when she has no words for him. Again she’s torn on going to the bar.
It gets the best of her and she tries to sneak out again.
This time Carl is in the bar right across the room from Bo sitting there in plain view. Tammy looks pissed at Carl and he sits there and bounces in chuckles. He waves to her and she looks towards Bo.
His smile is up and he asks softly, “Miss me?”
She stops to think about it a moment and wonders, ‘Exactly what does he smell on me that is so evident?’
She smiles, “Mmmaybe.”
Now he chuckles as she looks at Carl’s goofy grin still. At least Carl’s alone.
Tammy pulls out a chair and sits. She brings her hand to his and holds the top of his knuckles a moment like a handshake. More like an intimate touch. He moves his thumb to hold her hand a moment, then let’s go as she pulls away.
He asks, “Who’s the guy?”
Again Tammy is floored at the guy’s perception on what’s going on.
She sighs and smirks and has a quick glance back at Carl, “He’s like a pesky big brother. He knew I was up to something. He’s pissing me off.”
Bo chuckles, “So, fire him.”
Tammy laughs and looks at Carl and makes a gun with her fingers and makes like she’s shooting him.
Carl laughs out loud now and yells as he gets up to leave, “Later Bo!” And leaves without a response.
Now Bo laughs and holds open his hand to her. She giggles softly and looks at the hand. He pulls it away before it’s awkward.
He asks, “You blushing?”
Tammy giggles softly, “You damn well know I’m blushing. Ass.”
His eyebrows hike, “What?”
She giggles again and kicks him under the table.
He cringes, “Ooh, didn’t see that coming.”
She softly giggles again settles back and looks at the guy. He sits there and just waits and listens.
She softly says, “Sorry.”
Again his eyebrows hike, “Why?”
She shakes her head, “Oh man. I sound like a weak little girl, all the time apologizing. Sorry for calling you an ass, and sorry for kicking you.”
He smiles and softly says, “I think I like the little girl coming out of you. I bet it’s been a long time since she’s been out.
She watches him. She can tell he’s thinking of another line to give her. She smiles and waits.
He says nothing.
She says, “Yeah, it’s been a while since anyone has heard my giggle, including me. Seems you just bring it out of me. I have to be the hard-ass at work, and then there is no one at home to giggle with. Not that I’m looking for a giggle at home.”
He smiles, “What are you looking for? At home?”
Now a tear starts, “Don’t. Don’t start. The one I giggled with left me all of a sudden. There is a hell of a lot of pain there still.”
His smile goes down, “I hear not only your words, but your heart. I’m sorry for treading on your heart, but I’m not sorry for opening it up.”
She asks, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He’s a moment, then softly says, “To let in someone into your heart you have to open it. There is a hell of a lot of pain in there that has to come out so another will fit in. Whether it’s me, or another. For you to move on, you have to open your heart.”
She sobs, “No. Not now. It hurts too much.”
He softly smiles and puts out his hand again. This time he holds it there longer. Again she does not take his hand.
He says, “I think we may have something. I feel a connection somehow. I would be willing to wait for you and help you through your pain. It sounds like it was with another guy, but there must have been something to trigger a sudden departure.”
Tammy says nothing now.
He sighs and pulls back his hand, and smiles, “I look forward to our next chat, but I must go now.”
Tammy asks, “You need a hand to get home?”
“No, I think I’ve got it figured out. I just have to mind the damn garbage cans.”
She smiles at his stumble yesterday. More his comment.
Tammy watches him go, and then picks up and leaves too. Again she’s in deep thought about his words. Open her heart for the crap to come out to let others in. Well shit. The crap will always be there. How the hell can the crap leave?
She drives into her parking spot under her apartment and turns off the engine. She sits there and the tears start. She sobs, then the torrent of tears comes. Oh, she’s missed the personal touch. Oh, how she yearns for a man’s touch. Sure, she gets high fives and a slap on the back from her guys, but that is macho stuff. Not the loving touches Bruce used to give her. She cries more now at the loss of any real close friends. They pissed her off when they wouldn’t come around, then she pissed them off too. They don’t want me anymore, I don’t want them anymore either. Shit. That didn’t work. Now she’s thinking of all the shit and bad attitude she’s had towards the ones that made a half-assed effort to keep befriending her. She thought that they were just patronizing her. She thought that they were just hanging around to look at the freak.
It wasn’t much longer and no one came around anymore.
She turns her focus on the job. She works out harder and smarter. If she failed, she got pissed with herself and went to her home gym to train for the next few weeks until she could pass that part of the testing. Eventually, she blows through her physical tests and starts on the theory. She studied and wrote her exams, and again flew through the courses she needed for being chief. But now. That’s all done and she’s all alone. And worse yet, she’s lonely.
Bo, the asshole, has opened her heart. There’s a hell of a lot of hurt in there. Not only of what others have done to her, but also how she’s burnt bridges with relationships.
She stays away from the bar for the rest of the week. She works hard on call-outs and almost goes too far with enthusiasm. Carl pulls her back and has a little talk with her, and she’s OK now. Later she apologizes to her team for her actions and frustration. Carl, the smart ass, tells her to go get laid. Pretty much all the guys have a hoot at the chief’s blush. All is well in station three.
A couple of guys are standing around the front of the fire hall at the end of their shift, and see the big guy slowly come up with his red and white cane.
Bo hears the guys talking in front of the open overhead door and asks, “Fire hall number three?”
One guy says, “Yeah, man. What can we help you with?”
He chuckles, “Looking for your belligerent chief.”
The guy says under his breath, “Shit, you don’t know how right you are.” Then says to Bo, “This way, sir.”
Bo puts up his finger to show to be quiet, “It’s a surprise visit.”
The guy nods, “Yeah, OK. No problem.”
Bo reaches for the guy and says, “Just let me follow you and I’ll hold your shoulder.”
The fire guy knocks on the chief’s door and they hear, “In!”
He opens the door, then steps aside for Bo to be seen.
Tammy smiles as the guy steps out of the way, “Thanks, Tony.”
Then turns to Bo and stands to help him find a seat, “Well, isn’t this a surprise.”
She surprises him with a quick hug before he falls back into a chair. He smiles and follows the sound of her going around her desk to sit. She waits for him.
He says, “I missed you. But then I thought a girl likes to be pursued, so I came pursuing you. I hope that’s ok.”
Tammy smiles, “Yeah. Yeah, I like that.”
He smiles and sits content.
Then asks, “How’s the heart?”
Oh, man. Don’t start.
She says, “Asshole.”
He chuckles with raised eyebrows, “Oh?”
She says, “You’re going to make me a fucking mess again, aren’t you.”
He says, “Aw girl, I’m interested in having a piece of your heart, but I hear it’s pretty full right now. By the sounds of things, it’s pretty crappy stuff in there. I can’t seem to get close to it.”
He pauses, “You think I could help?”
Tammy looks at her guest a long time. Who the hell is this guy? Where did he come from? I’ve never seen him around, anywhere. Now he drops into my life like an angel. He seems to always get right to my core, my heart. He’s very good-looking to her, but she also knows he doesn’t know yet, about her face. How the hell do you broach that to the guy? When would be the right time? She can’t lead him on, then say, oh, by the way, my face is a car wreck.
She makes up her mind. She’s been in turmoil for two weeks with this guy interested in her. Right now is as good a time as any. At least there’s paramedics around if he faints.
She stands up and softly says, “Stand up, Bo. I have something for you to touch. Something about me that you hinted about before. My secret from you.”
He stands and there’s no smile. He hears in her voice how serious this is for her. He’s actually nervous now at the touch indicated.
She removes her jacket and has her sweater on under. She moves to be square in front of him.
She whispers, “OK, Bo. Touch me.”
Bo reaches for her hand first, “I’ve wanted to hold your hand.”
She shushes him softly. His hand holds hers a moment and the other finds her other hand. He smiles nervously and slides both hands up her arms. He feels her smooth arms and starts to breathe heavier as the touch happens.
He stays rubbing her arms too long and Tammy whispers, “Bo, touch my face.”
The look on his face is torn. To just imagine the girl as perfect is fine with him, but he really wants to know what the big secret is. Again, he’s a nervous wreck as Tammy takes his hand gently and turns it up to touch her cheek. He has no idea what he’s touching until she turns her head and kisses his palm.
He gasps at the rough skin but touches more. He brings up his other hand to her other cheek. He softly gasps again and sobs at the poor girl’s condition. He feels her cheek and neck a long time and Tammy moves his one hand to the top of her head. Again he gasps and sobs at the rough feeling through her hair and scalp.
Tammy is starting to weep as she watches the effect on the guy. Now he starts softly crying in gasps as he pulls her head in for a hug. Tammy weeps also and hugs Bo hard around his waist. He kisses the top of her head and feels her ears. More tears for the girl as he discovers more. He weeps and pulls her head into his hug again. His shaking hands are running all through her hair as she weeps with him.
After they calm down he lets the hug go as she lets go of him. He has to sit now as he’s spent from the emotional moment. She sniffs and sobs and puts a tissue in his hand. They both wipe their eyes and blow noses. She bumps the underside of his wrist to indicate a trash bin and he drops the used tissue. She leans on the front of her desk right in front of him.
He breathes in a big sigh, “Wow. Never saw that coming. I thought it was just a mental block of some kind that you had a problem with. I had no idea, hon. How do you feel now?”
She’s a moment, then says, “You’re not an asshole.”
He chuckles and wipes another tear. She puts another tissue between his fingers. He indicates a thanks and wipes his eyes again.
Tammy says, “I wanted to do this now as we are getting closer. I thought if you had the same disgusted look that I’ve seen on others, we would part ways. But you’re not an asshole. As a matter of fact, you might just be an angel.”
He smiles, “I like that better than asshole. There’s one good step forward in our relationship.”
Tammy giggles and has a shuddering sigh of relief.
He asks again, “How you feeling, hon?”
She smiles, “Like my heart either grew, or cleaned out for an angel to grip onto.”
Bo smiles big, “I like that.”
He pauses, “Is there more? I mean damage than what I felt?”
Tammy says, “No. it’s only my head. My face and neck got the worst of it. My hair didn’t come back the same, but I wanted some to cover a bit more of the scar tissue. If my hair is longer it’s horrible and unmanageable.”
She tells him of the incident.
They are quiet a moment and she softly says, “Stand up again, please.”
He’s nervous right away, but says with a smile, “Oh goodie.”
Tammy takes his hand and brings it to her mouth. She tries to make a kiss sound, but it’s not working. She moves her tongue on his palm and now he softly gasps at knowing where his hand is.
Tammy pulls his hand off a bit, “This was a test. I watched your eyes. I watched your look as you touched my face. I saw your reaction and your actions. From what I saw and felt from you, your actions spoke volumes to me. Now that I know you still accept me as a person, I feel we can move on.”
Tammy smiles at his concerned look as she turns his hand again.
When she was leaning on the desk before, she squirmed out of her bra under her sweater. She now watches his face again as she sets his hand square on her left breast. Poor Bo gasps again, but there is no tears this time. Tammy has to move his fingers a bit before he takes over the grope. She moves his hand to her other breast and she smiles and closes her eyes at the touch.
Bo is breathing and gasping like he’s being slowly dipped in cold water. He gropes the breasts, going from one to the other. He really wishes he could see what he’s holding right now.
Bo moves his hands to her sides, to her rib cage, and feels her very fit shape. He pulls her in for a hug and rubs her down to the small of her back. Tammy is so much enjoying the touch of a guy. A really affectionate touch. She sobs softly as she really has missed this kind of touch.
She hugs back hard and Bo’s hands stop on her lower back. She stops too and wonders what’s on his mind.
Bo squirms, “Um, Tammy. Um, I was wondering, you know, if our relationship is strong enough to ask you another question.”
She tenses up at the thought of another painful question.
She nods eventually and hugs him harder.
She hears the smile in his voice when he asks, “Um, May I rub your butt?”
She has to softly laugh with him now. She grips his ass with both hands, “Sure, I guess so.”
He laughs too and runs his hands to her butt. He feels the curve of the small of her back to her pronounced ass. He rubs down to cup her ass cheeks in both hands, then moves them to her hips, then down her thighs a bit. His hands come up slowly grips her ass cheeks again and just holds on. Tammy is softly laughing at his actions and then looks up at his goofy grin.
He softly says, “I knew it. If the lady is chief of a fire department, she damn well worked hard to get there. I figured you would be in fantastic shape. Wow girl, you’re hot.”
She giggles in the embrace, but it soon turns to tears again. Words she heard often before. Words that were almost pesky as she knew the guy’s intentions. Again she didn’t realize how bad she was yearning to hear those words again.
He chuckles, “I love this, but I’m hurting. I didn’t see this coming!”
She gasps at his words and pulls back from the hug. He quickly bends over to find his seat again. Tammy sees her sweater wrinkled where he got busy groping, and pulls down the hem to straighten it out. She smiles at her nipples showing a bit through it.
She leans on the desk a bit again and asks, “So, where do we go from here?”
He smiles, “Oh man. I had no idea your state of mind when I came in here. Hon, it’s been a long time since I’ve been this close to a sweet girl. I definitely don’t want to piss you off. Let’s just say that I would be open to pretty much anything you want.”
She sighs and thinks, ‘Shit! I’m ready to take you home!’ But says, “Bo, I’m really starting to like you a lot. You stepping in my life right now has my world upside down. I never pictured a relationship in my near future. Don’t get me wrong. As we have talked, I really liked the idea of a guy pursuing me. It’s been a long time.”
He softly asks, “How long?”
She waits a moment, “Four years ago. As soon as my bandages came off my face, my boyfriend quietly left my room and never came by again. He was too much a coward, and, instead of telling me, he told my mom that he didn’t see a future with a girl like me now. He left me.”
Bo says, “No wonder there is so much shit in your heart. That’s pretty much the day it started.”
She says, “Yeah, I was devastated at the results after the bandages came off, but when mom told me that Bruce walked out on me that really hurt. It hurt a long time.”
She smiles when he stands again and indicates a hug. She’s really liking the idea of the touch.
They rock a bit in the hug and she pulls away. She sniffs as he releases the hug too. She leans back on the desk and he has to sit down again. She smiles at his tent in his pants and wonders, for a fleeting moment, how big he is.
She shakes her head and says, “I need to get home now. The night duty guy uses my desk.”
He smiles and takes the hint. He wants to ask why she has to go home and not with him but lets it rest for now. He got a lot farther today with her than he expected. He’s not pushing her into anything quick. This broken flower needs some time to heal up her heart. He just hopes he’s around when she’s really doing better.
Over the next days she thinks of Bo often. She smiles at his look when he touched her face. She was looking really hard at his reaction. She was pleased. Very pleased. She really enjoyed the hug. He didn’t push it at all that he wanted more from her. She’s thinking of heading to the bar again tonight.
Being Sunday night, it’s a bit quieter than Friday and Saturday nights, and is slightly surprised as he’s in his regular seat. She comes up from a different angle so not to give him her scent.
He smiles anyways and softly says, “Have a seat, sweetheart.”
Tammy softly giggles that he’s pegged it again, “How the hell do I smell different? I even came in from the other way this time.”
He smiles at her, “I know.”
She shakes his hand and then decides to give him a hug.
She leans over the table for a hug and now he’s pleasantly surprised, “Oh. Didn’t see that coming. Thank you.”
He’s ginning big and the bar guy brings her beer. She’s been in a few times that he knows her preference.
She thanks the guy, and giggles softly at Bo’s look, “What?”
He chuckles and puts his head down, “I really liked what we did in your office. You know, the hugging… and… you know.”
She giggles out loud now, “Yeah, I thought so. Nice ass, hey?”
He groans, “Oh yeah. And other parts.”
She laughs now and slaps his forearm. He’s quick enough to grab her hand on the second attempt. She giggles again and lets him hold her hand. He even opens up his hand and she keeps it there this time.
He smiles, “I like that.” As he nods towards his hand.
She says, “I thought so.”
He chuckles, “How you doing?”
“I’m doing pretty good now. I’m working nights for the next week so I will be starting work at seven. I’ll have to come for a drink at six to see you then.”
He asks, “When do you have time off?
“Next week I have seven and a half days off, then I start days again.”
He raises his eyebrows, “A week off every two weeks? I like it!”
She says, “Well, I work seven twelve-hour days, then seven twelve-hour nights after a day off between. You know, just to get turned into a night owl. Then I have seven days and nights off until I do it all over again.”
He asks, “So, you start tomorrow night?”
She nods, then says, “Yeah, sorry.”
He asks, “Why sorry?”
She giggles, “I nodded. You missed that.”
He chuckles, “So. Sleeping all night and all day tomorrow to get used to night shift.”
She smiles, “Well, not the whole time.”
He smiles as he hears her smile, “Oh? So, what will you be doing if you’re not sleeping and all?”
She softly giggles, “I don’t really know. Got any suggestions?”
His heart soars, but he holds it in check, “Oh, I don’t know. We could hang out together. See if there’s anything on the TV.”
She giggles, “Yeah, like you’re an avid TV buff. Where’s the TV?”
He grins big, “In the bedroom.”
She laughs, “Yeah! Like you would get any TV time!”
He nods vigorously, “You’re damn right!”
And they both have a good laugh.
They are quiet a moment, then he asks, “Young lady. Will you escort me back to my home?”
She smiles again, “I thought you knew how to get there by now.”
He chuckles, “Someone keeps moving those damn garbage cans.”
Again she laughs, but stands up. He hears her giggle standing up and follows her. He drops a dollar on the table and turns to walk out.
She snorts, “The barmaid will be pissed.”
He turns back, “What?”
“That’s a buck you left there.”
He chuckles, “Yeah, she sure will be.” And turns to present his arm to Tammy.
She giggles and just leaves it like that.
They walk out chatting and they get to the curb. He stumbles over the edge and catches himself with her help.
Tammy says, “Oh shit! I forgot my part!”
Again he says his common line, “Didn’t see that coming!”
She giggles and apologizes again. Now she’s more conscious of the obstacles for Bo as they enter the loft doorway. They head up the stairs and he leads. He pulls out his keys and she watches him do the braille thing with the lock. He’s pretty good at it, and she frowns and nods.
They get into the loft and he doesn’t turn on a light. He’s so used to being alone that he knows where everything is.
He turns to her, well aware of her being in the dark, “Welcome to my world. If you don’t mind, let’s leave the lights out for a bit so we can explore each other on an equal basis. If you need to later, you can turn on the light.”
She smiles and comes into a hug for the big guy. He wraps his arms around her and they hug a long time.
She opens up her jacket, and he feels it and helps her with it. He drops it on the floor and she softly giggles as he just missed the chair. He removes his jacket and the same thing. The jacket slides off the chair onto the floor. He’s not paying attention to that right now.
He leans down for a kiss and she can just make it out as the street light comes into the far window. She reaches up to connect. She feels him hesitate only for a second, then he puts more effort into the kiss. He brings his one hand up to the back of her neck and pulls her in.
She feels the warm soft lips on her mouth and closes her eyes. A lover’s kiss. Oh, she’s missed that. She didn’t realize how much she missed a kiss like that. Her arms go over his neck and she pulls him down for a fierce kiss too.
He surprises her as he picks her up in a cradle carry, and heads to the couch. She’s watching with one eye half-open as they glide to the living room area and he sets her down.
They pull apart, breathing heavy, and she says, “There was a problem when you had your hands on my breasts and ass.”
He smiles, “Oh?”
She smiles, “Yeah, there was too much clothing in the way.”
She gasps as she’s out of her shirt already. He’s working on sliding her yoga pants off and she’s working on her bra. After her clothes are all on the floor she starts on his clothes.
He goes for a funny, “You mean I have to get naked too?”
She howls, but keeps working on his buttons, “Oh hell yeah! It works better that way!”
He chuckles and works on his pants. The buttons are undone and he slips his shirt off, then his pants. She hugs him again but pulls herself tight to his groin. He groans out as she smiles at his feeling.
She stops a moment and whispers, “May I?”
He smiles big and nods for a giggle.
She pulls the front of his boxers open and goes fishing. She smiles big as she finds something so soon.
She has a low chuckle, “Oh boy, are we going to have fun.”
He chuckles too and grips her ass with one hand and the other comes up to her left tit, “Oh hell yeah.”
Well, that got both of them right up to orgasm as soon as they connected.
The couch was missed by inches as she squeals and falls on top of him on the floor. She’s laughing at his groan but continues with the connection. It’s a frantic fuck right out of the gate until they both climax. It’s like it was pent up for a long time and the explosion happens. Then they slow down to realize their actual position.
She’s under him and his weight is on her. He lifts off and finds her mouth to kiss again. She’s liking that idea and accepts all he has for her.
He whispers after a bit, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
She whispers back, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
He’s on his elbows with his arms on either side of her head. He leans down for a kiss, and she moves for her nose to be in the way. He moves again and she moves her nose in the way again with a smirk. She does it a third time and he finally just sucks in her whole nose. She howls again and grosses out at his actions.
He’s laughing pretty good and asks, “What? I thought you wanted that! You kept putting your nose in my way!”
Now he comes down to kiss her mouth, and she grosses out again.
He’s chuckling and goes harder to her mouth. She squeals as the nose sucker sucks her mouth now.
She calms down and accepts the kiss. He moves in her more again and she moans into his mouth. The feeling has been so missed as well. She loved sex with Bruce. They had so much fun together too. But this guy seems to be really paying attention to her. She’s really liking this a lot more. Sure she loved the fuck, the frantic fuck. But now this feeling of a lover reading her wants. She moves more, so does he. She slows down, he does too. She smiles as the kiss parts a bit as breathing takes precedent.
Now he starts groaning to indicate that he’s close for another deposit. She smiles and spreads her legs to indicate she wants what he has for her. He slides in tight, then holds it there as both of them feel the pulse deep in her. All his muscles are tense, then he slowly drops on top of her.
She’s about to groan, and he grips her ass cheek and rolls over on the floor. She has to laugh at his casualness of gripping onto her and getting the result.
She pushes up to sitting on him and smiles down at him. She looks at his face, then his chest. She runs her hands on his muscles and down his arms. He smiles big and returns the rub. First up her hips and to her waistline. Then a bit more to her ribs, then her breasts. He stays on them for quite a while, and she giggles that he hasn’t moved past them. He chuckles too and moves to her shoulders and down her arms slowly, to her hands. They smile at each other and he just knows that she’s pleased with him. He can hear her sigh of contentment.
She’s still softly rocking on top of him and he groans for effect. He can feel her giggle silently through her body on him. He goes to her breasts again.
After a while, he moves his hands up her body. She watches his face close as he’s ready to explore the hideousness again. Tammy’s smile goes down more as his hands come up her neck. She knows that he can feel the course skin as the burn marks are still pretty prominent. She holds still and eventually stops rocking on him. His hands come up closer to her mouth and cheeks. He feels with light finger touches all around like the little fish nibbling on her skin. She feels the touch, but it’s not near as sensitive as the normal skin. It’s almost like she has a layer of something attached to her face that has no sensitivity, but she can still feel the very slight pressure of the touch.
She closes her eyes as he keeps softly touching. He feels her eyelids and her eyeballs moving behind them. He feels up higher where her eyebrows would be.
Then she hears a sob. His hands keep exploring higher, to her original hairline, and she opens her eyes. She sees the palms of his hands right in front of her eyes. She looks down and sees the torrent of tears. She’s surprised at the look on him.
He has to bring a hand down to get the tears out of his eyes. Laying on his back they don’t drain too well. He sniffs once and brings his hand up to finish exploring the damage.
Both hands move to the side of her head, to her ears. He lightly runs a fingertip around the rim of the ear. He feels the coarseness that should be smooth. Maybe even a bit of soft fuzz around there. Now there’s nothing but roughness.
He sobs again as he wraps his hands around her head to have her lean over him a bit more. He runs his hands through her short-cropped hair. He combs it with his fingers one way, then the other way.
He pulls her down farther and runs his hands to her neck, then the nape, then back to normality, her back. He rubs hard down to the small of her back, then back up again. With his height, he has long arms that wrap around her torso.
They are face to face and he kisses her all around her mouth. The lips explore her face as well as he kisses her cheeks and neck.
Tammy is in tears too as the love of this man is shown to her. The love shown by the tears for her hard life of the last four years.
She calms down and lays on top of him. She finally relaxes with a man so close to her. She has to smile when he groans so very softly and feels the pulses go into her body. Something on his mind and in his hands made him do it. She feels sexy now that he’s done this with her. Even the more detail discovery of her face and head was OK by her. Definitely OK. Especially when she saw his tears for her. The way he reacted and acted with his touch on her. The way he softly sobbed for her pain. This guy is truly an angel sent to her for comfort.
She could dwell on the fact that she could have used him coming around a hell of a lot sooner but then thinks of her progression with the fire hall to get to this point. A guy would have interrupted her advancement to the chief. Although, she probably wouldn’t have minded. This is good. Very good. The timing is right on as far as she thinks about it now. Any sooner could have complications with work. She is just getting restless with the mundane home life. She really didn’t want to go out. But she is going a bit squirrelly all by herself. No one to talk to. No one to badger to go for a movie, or coffee, or beer.
Bo softly says, “Where’s your head right now?”
She sighs in contentment he can hear, and picks up her head, “I think I need a shower. Any ideas?”
He chuckles, “Oh man. Have I got a surprise for you.”
They both stand and she feels the faint familiar feeling of him running down her inner thigh.
She softly squeals and cups her hand over her pussy, “Come on! Let’s go! I’m leaking on your carpet.”
He chuckles and leads her to the master bath shower. Oh yeah. Oh, hell yeah!
Tammy laughs, “It’s huge! I love it!”
He chuckles and turns on the instant hot water. He hugs her and tells her about the never-ending supply of hot water. She smiles, then giggles at the thought.
They hug closer and she steps up on the shower curb to try to connect vertically. It works to a point, but the bed looks more inviting.
They do get some sleep, but not near enough as she drags her ass to work just before seven pm.
When she gets there she sees Carl do a double look at her. She smirks and goes to her office.
It’s only two minutes she hears a soft knock on the door.
She yells, “In!”
Carl opens the door so slowly, she has to look up. She softly giggles when she sees his big goofy grin.
He asks, “Really?”
She smiles and eventually nods.
He asks, “Bo?”
She giggles, “Yes. Who else?”
He chuckles now, ”Do I have to have a little chat for him to be respectful to my sis?”
She giggles again, “No. He was respectful all night long.”
He laughs, “Get any sleep?”
She laughs with him, “No!”
He howls and closes the door. She giggles as she hears Carl walking away, still laughing.