Chapter 9

9

LEILANI

A few days later, Leilani was back at work; the call they were on was nothing too serious, though it was easy to see how it could have been if they hadn't gotten there when they did. They were in a small state park and there, inching closer to the tree line, was a growing brush fire.

Civilians had already been evacuated, leaving them to handle the growing blaze in peace. Only a few of them went out on the call, Rory, Lux, and Leilani were there led by Captain Hunter.

"Alright everyone, you know what to do. Let's move."

The group moved with practiced ease, working together to beat back the blaze. It seemed like no time at all before they managed to extinguish it.

Rory let out a cheer, glancing at her watch. "I think that was a new record."

"It isn't a contest," Captain Hunter chastised, but she was smiling as she said it. "That being said, you all did well. You should be proud. Now let's get back to the station."

The ride back was always far livelier than the one out. Gone was the tension of going into a potentially dangerous situation and in its place was the excited buzz of a job well done.

A short time later, they made it back to the fire station and headed to go get cleaned up and do their paperwork.

It was maybe an hour after that, they were meeting up to enjoy some well-earned down time.

They were just sitting around. They'd probably start figuring out what they wanted for lunch soon, but for now they were just catching up over cards and coffee. Rory and Sierra were about halfway through a game of Spite and Malice, Leilani shuffling cards for them when the draw pile ran low.

"Are you still seeing the Sugar Mommy you brought to our monthly dinner?" Sierra asked, tossing another card in the discard pile.

Leilani smiled.

She couldn't quite believe how well things had been going. Admittedly, Adaze had been weird after the evening she had spent at dinner with Leilani's fire crew, but the next day, things had been totally fine again. And Leilani imagined it would be a lot meeting them all at once. And when they were alone together… well, it was just perfect.

Sexually, Adaze had taken her to places she had never been. It made Leilani realize how vanilla her sexual past had been. Maybe she had just been waiting for someone like Adaze to open her eyes.

She had never imagined herself calling anyone Mommy in bed and yet with Adaze it felt so natural. Oh, and such a turn on. That was the thing about their sexual connection. Adaze had the power to have Leilani melting in a pool of desire with one touch, one look, one command. She yearned for Adaze's commands, and she thrived on being called Good Girl . Maybe she did have a total praise kink as Adaze said.

Aside from the sex, Adaze liked the same movies Leilani did. The super feminist ones, the lesbian classics; she even seemed to have the same sense of humor. Leilani loved it when they snuggled up to watch a movie together, laughed together, fell asleep in each other's arms. Leilani loved the tender moments just as much as the red-hot ones.

There was just something in the back of her mind that felt like Adaze was hiding something from her. Leilani worried that maybe when it came to real life, they might just be too different. She hadn't met any of Adaze's friends or family yet and it bothered her.

"Adaze is her name… and yeah, and I think it's going really well."

"That's great, Leilani! Should we be expecting any exciting news soon? A move-in to her mansion or adoption party for a new furry friend?"

Leilani let out a nervous laugh. "Come on, it's still too early for anything like that. It would be way too presumptuous to think about that any time soon."

"Oh my god!" Rory gasped. "You are thinking about it, though, aren't you?" She grinned. "I don't believe it! I knew it!"

"You can't not believe it and know it," Sierra said, setting down an ace.

"What?" Leilani snorted. "No, it's way too soon. That would be crazy!"

Her coworkers shared a look before they burst out laughing. "It's okay, Leilani. We're all sapphic women here. Most of us have u-hauled, or at least thought about it, at least once."

"She's right," Sierra chimed in. "There's nothing wrong with thinking about it. That doesn't mean you're going to do it, but even if you do, it isn't the end of the world. Sometimes you just know it's right."

Leilani smiled. "I think you're right. I don't know if I'm going to do anything about it, but it is nice to think about."

"Good, I'm glad things are going well. You deserve to be happy."

"What about you?"

"What about me?" Rory frowned.

"Have you thought any more about getting back out there?"

"No, and I'm not planning on it."

"But why not?"

"Because I don't want to. It's just not worth it."

"We'll see about that," she muttered.

"Leilani, no. I don't know what you're planning, but don't do it."

"Not planning anything. I'm just thinking. I'm allowed to think, aren't I?"

"Leilani," Rory warned.

"I'm not doing anything!"

She gave her a look.

"I'm not!"

"Not yet."

Leilani crossed her arms. "What if I get you lunch?"

"What does that have to do with your plotting?"

"Not plotting. No plots here. Do you want lunch or not?"

"I do," Sierra said. "I'll give you money; I just don't want to walk all the way to the cafe."

"It's just across the street," Rory rolled her eyes.

"You got it. So? Am I getting you lunch?"

"Fine," she sighed. "Do you want me to text you my order?"

"Yes, please. I'll be back soon."

Leilani headed outside. It didn't take her long to make the short walk and place their orders.

She found herself waiting for their orders when a woman walked in with a large, dark gray pitbull. He was one of those dogs who looked like he was always happy, lips turned up so he always looked like he was smiling. She couldn't help but notice he only had one dark brown eye..

Leilani forced herself to wait until the woman had placed her order and moved to wait near her, but then she couldn't help herself.

She walked over, forcing herself to look at the person and not her pet. "Hey, I'm sorry to bother you, but can I pet your dog?"

She lit up. "Of course!"

"What's his name?" Leilani asked.

"Sebastian, but I usually just call him my Bassy Boy."

"Hi Sebastian!" she grinned, running her fingers across his short fur. He leaned into the touch, licking at her shoes. "Aren't you just a cutie pie!" After a few minutes, she reluctantly pushed to her feet, turning her attention to the woman with the dog. She was a short woman with a fluffy blond bob and large green eyes. She was in a dark purple velvet tracksuit that looked very expensive and matched Sebastian's collar. "Thank you for letting me say hello. He's very sweet!"

"Thanks for coming over. He's a big boy, and because of his breed, people don't tend to approach him all that often. They can be very wary of him."

"That's a real shame. He's beautiful and it seems like he loved the attention."

"Oh he does," she laughed.

"Have you had him long? Did you get him as a puppy or adopt him as an adult?"

"I got him from a rescue about two and a half years ago. I adopted him when I first moved out on my own. He was already about three when I got him."

She stood up. "He's a real sweetheart. Reminds me a little of my rescue cat, Jaspurr. He only has one eye too."

"Your cat sounds adorable!"

"He is. Do you want to see some pictures?"

"Do I?!"

The pair talked until Leilani's order was ready. "I've got to get back to work, but give me your number. I can recommend some trails and parks for you to check out."

"That sounds great! You'd really do that?"

"Of course. I remember when I first moved here how hard it was to find good trails, I imagine it's even harder with a dog to think about."

"It definitely can be."

"Then I'm happy to help. Let me know if you need someone to show you around too. Even if I'm not free, I probably know someone who is."

"Thanks, I'll probably take you up on that."

As she took her phone back, she saw that the woman's name was Veronica.

Leilani grabbed her order and made her way back to the station. Everyone was immediately on her, claiming their orders.

She laughed as everyone snatched their things. "Vultures, all of you."

"You love it," Sierra grinned.

Rory snorted.

"Besides, if you don't want to deal with it, you can always stop offering to pick things up for us while you go on your lunch."

"Pardon me for being nice," Leilani rolled her eyes. "And I believe I only offered for one of you."

"But I asked nicely," Sierra pouted.

"You did, so I brought it for you. By the way, Rory," she turned her attention to the other woman as they sat down and started to eat. "I met someone who's in the area for work. She's got a super nice dog and was looking for good hiking trails. I know you like dogs, and um, women, and I thought you might know a few for her to check out."

Rory chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Seriously? I told you to drop it and yet here you are, plotting."

"What? What did I do? I'm not plotting anything!"

"Don't pretend you don't know exactly what you're doing. You got a girlfriend so now you're trying to play matchmaker?"

"Who said anything about a date? I just thought you might be able to help her out. After all, who knows the parks here better than you?"

The woman did not look impressed.

"What? What's that face?"

"You know why I'm making this face."

"Oh come on. I didn't even do anything this time."

"Yet."

Leilani rolled her eyes, pouting as she took her seat. "I really wasn't even trying to set you up."

"No?"

"No!"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say."

"So, to be clear, you don't want to meet her?"

"I didn't say that, did I? I just have questions, why don't you tell me about her."

"Well, her name is Veronica, and she's got this dog. His name is Sebastian. He's a rescue pitbull and a total sweetie."

"I'm glad you got along with her dog, but I was asking about the human."

"Well, why would you want to know about her?"

"I don't know. Maybe because you are not-so-subtly trying to send us on a date."

"Hike! I said hike not date. You're the one who said date."

Rory sighed. "I appreciate it. I really do, but I'm just not looking for a relationship right now. Just leave it."

"I still don't know what you're talking about, but fine. I'll drop it."

"Thank you. I?—"

Her words were cut off by the siren. It looked like it was going to be a busy afternoon.