Chapter 85 - Burnin' Shit Down



Inside the gear room, Cate also stood with her eyes closed, breathing deeply, willing herself to maintain her resolve. God, how she had wanted to melt into him, mold herself against Jon’s hard chest and let the feel of his strong arms around her stoke the fire of her arousal.

When she had dropped that fire helmet onto those gorgeous blonde locks, Cate had damned near fainted. This is just so fucking unfair… she thought to herself. Why the Hell did I set up arson training?

She knew the answer… because she had secretly wanted to see him playing out one of her fantasies. This was the one selfish thing she had done when scheduling Jon’s training at the beginning of last week. She knew Jon didn’t really need arson and bomb training, but she thought he would enjoy it. And she knew she would enjoy seeing him all decked out in the turnouts, handling the firehose. At the time she had had no earthly idea that she would be in this position, fighting to keep herself from yielding to him.

Cate let out a shuddering sigh. Guess it serves me right… she thought. She chuckled sadly to herself and shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

Cate took another deep breath, then toed off her shoes and pulled on the pants of her turnouts. She slipped the suspenders up over her shoulders, then stepped into her boots. She grabbed her coat, gloves, and glasses, then pulled a helmet from a cubby. Be strong, she reminded herself, then she stepped out of the supply room and walked over to join Jon.

Jon gave Cate a little smile, then the two of them strode down the asphalt drive toward Mike and Colin. The two men were dressed in their own gear, waiting next to a hydrant where they had hooked up a firehose. Jon noticed a second hose sat coiled next to another hydrant a bit further down the street.

“Lookin’ good!” Mike grinned as Cate and Jon approached. “Damn, Cate… we always love it when you come out and play with us!” he flirted teasingly. “You make those turnouts look goooood!”

Cate laughed and shot Jon a sideways glance. She saw that he was grinning too. “Yeah, yeah,” she replied. “You say that to all the girls.”

“Yes I do,” Mike replied cheerily. “But I only mean it with you!” He gave her a wink, then turned to Jon. “Okay, Jon. Ready to light this Mother up?”

“You bet,” Jon answered eagerly. He still couldn’t quite believe he was going to actually burn down a building.

“Alright. Come on over… you can leave your coat and other shit here, if you want. You won’t need it until we get the fire rolling.” Mike swept his hand toward the ground. Both Jon and Cate dropped their turnout coats, helmets, and gloves next to the hydrant, then followed Mike and Colin across the street and into one of the houses.

Jon looked around the structure and saw that it was pretty simple: just a shell of a house, but with one wall covered with drywall, another with insulation, a third with wood paneling, and the fourth with wallpaper. There was a large rectangle of shag carpet on the plywood floor. A dropped ceiling hovered at the tops of the walls. It was obvious that this house had been recently rebuilt; the wood was unweathered and the wall coverings and ceiling panels were unmarked.

Mike pointed out the different wall surfaces to Jon and explained how each would react to heat and flame. Jon nodded along, again fascinated by the science of fire. Then Mike stepped outside the door and picked up a metal bucket holding several clear plastic squeeze bottles containing different types of liquids. He showed Jon each of the bottles and described the substances inside them.

Jon was surprised to hear that all of the liquids – even dish soap – could be used as accelerants to intentionally start and spread a fire. He was even more surprised when Mike stood and squirted the contents of one of the bottles against the wood-paneled wall, then touched the flame of a butane torch to the wood. Jon watched as a line of fire crawled up the wall, the flame flickering pale blue. Mike explained that the color of the flame was caused by the chemical composition of the accelerant. He let the flame burn for a couple minutes, then smothered it with his gloved hand.

Jon smirked at a vague memory of high school chemistry class, when he and his lab partner had to burn different substances in a Bunsen burner to produce different-colored flames. He hadn’t done well in that class. Thankfully his lab partner was smart and cute, so he had been able to charm her into doing his homework and most of the lab work. After all, the kind of chemistry he was good at wasn’t the kind created in a lab.

Cate’s eyes were glued to Jon as he conversed with Mike, her heart fluttering a bit at the excited little grin on his face. She couldn’t keep herself from smiling when Mike handed Jon a bottle and had him squirt an accelerant against the wall, then light the fire himself. The delighted look on Jon’s face was priceless. He glanced at Cate and saw her smiling at him, and his grin widened.

Mike let Jon light several different liquid accelerants, each time patting out the flames after a few minutes of explanation and observation. Finally, he stepped back and handed Jon a gasoline can. “And here we have the most common accelerant of all… good ol’ gasoline. The preferred substance of many an insurance fraudster and amateur firebug,” Mike grinned. He gestured to the rug. “Go ahead, knock yourself out.”

Jon raised his eyebrows in surprise at what Mike directed him to do. “Really? Where, on the rug?”

“Wherever the hell you want… rug, walls, ceiling… Just be careful you don’t get it on your clothes or skin.” Mike grinned.

Jon chuckled and stepped forward. He hesitantly poured a small amount of gasoline from the can onto the rug, then looked questioningly back at Mike. Cate laughed at his apprehensive expression. He looked like a little kid who couldn’t quite believe that he was allowed to make a mess.

“Go for it, Man!” Mike encouraged. “You’re not gonna hurt anything. We’re just gonna burn this shit down, anyway!”

Jon nodded, then swung the gas can forward, splashing the liquid against the walls and across the rug. He backed slowly toward the door to avoid stepping on the wet carpet as he poured out the toxic liquid. Cate and Mike stepped out the door, then Jon followed them, draining the last of the gasoline from the can.

Mike grinned and handed Jon a book of matches. “Here ya go, Firebug. Burn, Baby, Burn.”

Jon laughed, opening the matchbook. He tore off a match, then hesitated and looked at Cate. She grinned back at him as his eyes sparkled with excitement. Jon took a deep breath, struck the match, and tossed it onto the gasoline-soaked carpet. He tensed, ready to jump back away from the fireball he was sure would erupt. His expression turned to puzzlement as he saw only a small flame flicker on the rug, where he had tossed the match.

Mike laughed at Jon’s reaction. “Yeah, all that shit you see in the movies? The giant fireball from a match dropped in gasoline? It don’t work that way.” Jon gave a sheepish little smile. “Don’t worry, though… we’ll have a nice, big fire in a couple minutes. Let’s roll.” Mike turned and walked back across the street, Cate and Jon following, to where Colin waited next to the hydrant. “Go ahead and get your gear on,” Mike directed as he picked up his own turnout coat.

Cate stepped back to side of the road where she had dropped her coat and other items. She turned her attention to donning her gear, putting on her tinted safety glasses before pulling on her turnout coat and doing up the buckles. She quickly twisted her ponytail up into a loose bun at the nape of her neck, then settled the helmet onto her head. She slipped her hands into her work gloves, then turned around to face the men.

Her lips parted as she sucked in a breath at the sight of Jon, completely decked out in firefighter’s gear. Catching her reaction, Jon gave her a sexy smile, then pursed his lips into a little pout he knew would drive her crazy. Then he turned his back to her, standing with his hands on his hips, his right hip cocked to the side, as he watched the fire.

Cate felt her pulse race as her heart thumped wildly, and a wet heat crept between her thighs. She felt like she was about to combust, in much the same way the structure before them was about to be consumed by heat and flame.

Cate took a deep breath and licked her parched lips, then took three shaky steps forward to stand beside Jon and Mike. They stood next to the firehose, watching as orange flames appeared in the doors and windows of the house, the fingers of fire licking at the openings like a living beast.

“She’s starting to roll now,” Mike commented. Jon turned his face to look at Cate, tilting his head a bit, his golden hair stirring with the action as it peeked out from under his fire helmet. His azure eyes sparkled behind the tinted shield of his safety glasses as he lowered his chin slightly. Cate felt weak as he slowly slid his tongue over his lips, then gave her a naughty smile.

Jon chuckled throatily to himself at Cate’s silent reaction to his tease. Oh yeah, she’s getting hot alright… he thought dirtily, chortling again at the comparison between Cate and the fire. He turned his attention to Mike. “Do we need to get ready to spray it down?” he asked.

“In a couple minutes,” Mike answered. “We’re gonna let her blaze good and high, get really hot, before we open up the hose.”

Cate let out a little groan as Jon turned back to her, grinning ear-to-ear with barely contained glee at Mike’s unconsciously dirty comment. Daaaaaamn…. she thought. Yeah, Jonny, I’m all blazing hot and want you to pull out your hose….. She silently repeated what she knew was running through his mind.

Jon waggled his eyebrows at her, then turned back to watch the fire before he said something out loud that was not for Mike’s ears.

Mike pointed toward the fire and explained to Jon what the color, height, and intensity of the fire meant at different points on the structure. He also pointed out the different types of smoke emitting from the burning structure, noting how firefighters watched the smoke for clues as to how to effectively fight, control, and extinguish the fire. After a couple minutes, Mike turned to Colin and nodded. “Let’s wet her down,” he said.

Ignoring the sexual undertone of Mike’s comment, Cate stepped forward beside him. She had helped extinguish a couple dozen fires on this range, and she knew how to handle the firehose. She also knew it took more than one person to keep the highly-pressurized stream of water trained on the fire.

“Jon, you get in front, yeah?” Mike directed. “Cate will back you up; she knows what she’s doing.” He stepped up beside Jon and picked up the end of the hose, showing him how to operate the nozzle on the end. “When Collie charges the hose you want to be braced, have a good, solid stance. You want to spray the water over the surface of the building first. Wet it down as much as you can to control the fire, then we’ll worry about extinguishing it.”

“Got it,” Jon nodded. He turned to look over his shoulder at Cate, who was standing several feet behind him, holding a section of the hose in both hands. He gave her a little grin. “So you have experience handling a hose, eh?” he teased. “My lucky day.”

Cate groaned. “What are you, twelve?” she shot back. Seriously… there you are, looking hotter than that damned burning building in those turnouts and that helmet, and all you can come up with are hose jokes? she thought. Believe me, I can come up with a few other choice phrases….

“Alright, here we go!” Mike shouted. Cate braced herself, sliding her left foot ahead of her right in an exaggerated Weaver stance. She bent her knees slightly and tensed, knowing what was coming. She looked ahead at Jon’s back, and saw him brace himself as well. Then she felt the water course through the nylon-covered rubber cylinder in her hands.

The pressurized water exploded out of the nozzle of the hose, just forward of Jon’s hands. “Shit!” he swore in surprise and staggered slightly backward, bumping into Cate. She leaned forward, bracing against his back with her shoulder, her cheek against his turnout coat.

“Lean forward!” she yelled toward his ear. “Lean against the pressure!”

She felt Jon slowly right himself, then bend forward at the waist. Mike stepped up beside Jon and shouted to be heard over the water, coaching him in moving the hose’s spray over the building and the flames that engulfed it. Cate focused on her job of managing the give in the hose, helping Jon redirect it as necessary to train the spray on a certain part of the structure. Slowly they walked the hose closer to the burning structure, until they could feel the scorching heat and taste the charred soot floating out from the inferno.

Cate and Jon worked together to fight the fire, with Mike’s direction, for another ten minutes or so. By the time Jon had succeeded in knocking down most of the flames, he and Cate were both damp from the fine mist of water that had floated over them from the hose’s spray.

Jon redirected the water toward the structure’s doorway, as instructed by Mike, then partially closed the nozzle to narrow the stream. He and Cate slowly walked the hose forward, approaching the house to spray down the inside, to ensure the fire was extinguished. Mike followed along, staying within earshot and coaching their movements.

When they reached the doorway, Jon peered through the charred frame. He noticed a long tongue of orange flame still licking at the wood-paneled wall. He knew what to do, and he grinned confidently. Jon turned the nozzle on the hose to open it wider, increasing the flow of water so that it would reach the back wall and fully extinguish the flame.

Jon was caught completely off-guard by what happened next. Cate, however, saw it coming. The second she saw the flame at the back of the structure, she knew what he would do; it was a typical rookie mistake. “Oh, FUCK!” she swore, just as Jon opened the nozzle.

The pressure that had built up inside the firehose when the nozzle was partially closed was immediately alleviated, and the water surged forward through the opening. It had the same effect as the recoil of a gun when the bullet left the chamber, an explosive “kick.” Only it was about ten thousand times stronger.

Jon yelped out an obscenity as the hose jumped in his hands, the unexpected surge causing him to lose his footing. He tumbled backward against Cate, knocking her down. The hose slipped from his grasp and shot backward, the nozzle flipping up into the air and spraying the stream of water skyward.

Cate struggled to free herself from Jon’s weight, managing to slip out from under him and throw her body across the hose, trying to smother its movement. She heard Mike and Colin laughing heartily at the two of them as she scrabbled across the asphalt, battling to control the runaway firehose.

Jon sat up, slightly dazed, and looked toward Cate. Realizing what she was doing, he also launched himself forward onto the hose. He managed to get his body over it, then belly-crawled forward toward the nozzle until he could grasp it with both hands. Finally he was able to bring the rogue firehose under control and direct the stream back toward the smoking rubble of the burned-out building.

“Damned Fine Job!” Cate heard Mike bellow. “Way to go, Rookies!” Still lying prone across the hose, one leg and both arms wrapped around it, Cate looked up and gave Mike and Colin a scowl. Mike grinned and gave her a wink, then nodded to Colin. The big man cranked the fitting on the hydrant to turn off the water.

Cate let out a sigh of relief as she felt the pressure in the firehose drop, the remaining water snaking out through the nozzle. Panting and dripping wet, she pushed herself up until she was kneeling, still straddling the hose.

Once he felt the water pressure dissipate, Jon relaxed his clutch on the hose as well. He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, then sat back on his heels. He turned to look at Cate, breathing heavily from the exertion of wrestling the hose. He laughed out loud at what he saw.

She was kneeling in a puddle, straddling the hose, rivulets of water running down her face from under her fire helmet. Her wet bangs curled against her forehead, and her eyes sparked ice-blue against the red flush of her cheeks. The contemptuous look she gave him clearly communicated the thought running through her mind: Dumbass!!!

Jon couldn’t help himself; he just had to blurt out the first thought that flashed into his mind. He grinned and pulled his fire helmet off his head, running a hand through his wet hair. “Hey Baby, you’re on my hose!” he drawled dirtily at Cate, giving her a wink.

Mike and Colin burst out laughing at Jon’s comment. Cate’s mouth dropped open, then she snapped it shut. Oh, how she wanted to shoot off a clever comeback… but she couldn’t. She couldn’t even remember her own damned name as she stared at Jon, her eyes drinking in the vision of him, all wet and sooty, dressed up like a fireman, just like in a smoky, naughty fantasy.

It was all she could do not to launch herself forward and attack him. God, how she wanted to lick the little beads of water off of his upper lip, to suck on that delicious Adam’s apple that was bobbing with his laughter, to strip open that coat and snap those red suspenders against his hard chest that she knew was sheathed by a sopping wet black t-shirt….

Cate closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Focus… she growled at herself. For God’s sake, get your shit together! Cate opened her eyes and saw Jon smiling amusedly at her, the corner of his mouth twitching. He obviously wanted to say something else to her, but was holding his tongue, probably because of their audience. Finally Cate found the words she had been looking for.

“Well, I wouldn’t have to be on your hose if you knew how to handle it.” she replied smoothly, giving Jon a direct look. The corners of her mouth curled up into a tiny smirk as she heard Mike and Colin howl with laughter at her response to Jon’s dirty tease. She shot a triumphant little glare at Jon, then climbed to her feet. From the corner of her eye she saw him tip his head to her in acknowledgement, a silent “touché” to her zinger.

7 comments:

  1. Kids! *shakes head* So, how will they get dry again, huh? lol

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  2. ROFLMAO!!!!!
    "Just how old are you anyway?"

    BTW, Jonny, I had an A+ in chemistry...Can I be your partner? I can think of a few experiments I'd like to run... O no, wait... that would actually be anatomy and phisiology lab...

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  3. Great chapter, Catte! Lots of imagery and fun dialogue.

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  4. Geez, the sexual implications here. Come on girl, just go for it..you know you want to.

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  5. Well if she doesn't want to play with his hose,I will! LMAO!

    Boys! (insert eye roll) Do they EVER grow up?

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  6. wow... that was a good chapter!
    Love the dirty teases!

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  7. Lord, Girly! My favorite chapter so far! God, if only....

    So proud of you for getting this out there! Smooches! :o)

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