Rule 15 - Koi

Me: Where the fuck are you?

Swayze: Shopping. Give me an hour.

Iglanced at my watch. I had to be at the firehouse in ten minutes. I didn"t have time for him to go shopping. I looked around the camp. Who else had a car that could take me? Fuck it, I"d rather walk.

"What are you looking for?" Mattias and Mitchell, his boyfriend, walked over.

I brushed my hair back. "I need a ride to the fire station. Swayze is with your little sister, taking her shopping," I said as if it was his fault.

"Oh, yeah, I did hear about that. It"s a test." Mattias nodded and pulled out his keys. "Come on, I"ll take you over."

I followed them out of the park. "What do you mean a test?" I asked from the back of Mattias"s car.

"Fabian"s worried she"ll run. He sent Swayze with her to make sure that doesn"t happen."

I shook my head and sat back. Would anyone blame her? Their sister had literally offered me money to kill her.

"What do you think?" Mitchell asked from the passenger"s seat. He was more quiet and liked to move around the camp like a calm shadow, unlike me, who needed people to know when I was coming.

"It"s hard to say." Mattias looked uncomfortable. "What"s going on here?"

Cars were lined up on the road. Kids were running around with balloons and music was being played loudly from the roof of the firehouse. We pulled in and I thanked them quickly, heading inside without dawdling.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"Well, well, well, nice of you to show up, rookie." Captain Simmons came from his office, pissed off. I put my hands up.

"Swayze took my truck, sir. I"m here now. Where do you want me?"

"Grab a boot and get out there," he snapped, pointing to the gear. I hurried to grab a large rubber boot and ran out to join the other firemen in collecting donations from townspeople.

This was our biggest fundraiser of the year, and fucking Swayze made me late.

Despite my irritation and anxiety over what the captain would do to punish me for being late, I put on a smile and worked my charm on the ladies who"d come to see hot firemen. Soon, my boot was just as full with donations as the other men who"d shown up on time.

"Maitland, over here!" the captain barked as I was emptying my boot and preparing to head back out. I looked for him and found him across the yard. He stood next to two large metal tubs. I rushed over.

"Yes, sir!"

"You"re gonna run the Polar Bear Bath." Another fireman handed him a hose and he tossed it into the tub.

"The what?" I watched the tub begin to fill with water.

"Polar Bear Bath. We"re gonna fill this with ice water and then people can challenge others to donate and try it, or challenge others too."

Others came forward carrying buckets and bags of ice. Pound after pound, dumping them into the tub.

"Okay, so I just collect money?" I cocked my head, unsure of it all. They hadn"t done this activity last year.

The captain slapped me on the back harder than usual, causing me to lurch forward.

"Don"t be late next time, Maitland." He cackled as he walked off.

"Yes, sir," I muttered, even though he was too far away to hear.

Chip, another newbie, came over. I cursed under my breath. He was a total suck-up. What had he done to get put on polar bear duty?

"Ready?" He grinned at me.

"Not even slightly. How long are we doing this?" I looked at the baths, which were full now, and looked… cold. I wasn"t trying to dive in for stupid kids who jumped in and panicked.

"Until we cure retinoblastoma!" he said so cheerfully that I wanted to shove him into one of the tubs just to shut him up.

"What? I thought you out of anyone would appreciate the cause this year." He pointed to his eye.

"That's not how I lost my eye, dipshit."

I paused my shit-talking when a group of giggling young girls came over and asked what our attraction was. I let Chip take the lead and explain everything.

"Our goal for today is fifteen thousand. You want to help cure eye cancer?"

The giddy girls tossed their money in his boot and eagerly took their socks and shoes off. I grabbed a towel from the pile and stood on the other side for when they leaped out.

One by one, each kid jumped in and then right back out. They dried off, tossed the towels back, and ran to tell their friends how brave they were.

The job was dreadfully boring. I couldn't stray too far from the baths, and the only people interested were kids.

"The polar bear bath is meant to symbolize endurance when things get rough. Just like the people fighting retinoblastoma, they have to be tough and strong enough to handle treatments and long hospital stays. It"s often painful, just like sitting in ice is. Can you handle time in the polar bear bath?" Chip read off the card we'd been given.

"I can handle a lot of things." A familiar voice caused me to turn. I'd been so lost in my mind, I hadn't seen my own fucking truck pull in. Swayze smirked at me as I looked over in surprise. Beside him stood—Was that Domino? Holy fuck. She"d been pretty before... but now...

"How much have you guys raised?" she asked. I was momentarily stumped, staring at her freshly colored hair, the new clothes, the tighter clothes. Holy fuck she was hot.

We looked to the electric sign that updated periodically.

"7k. We're about halfway there. Care to try the bath? Our record is twenty-three seconds," Chip said.

"I don't know." Domino shook her head. "The shock probably won't feel good. I don't really like water, either."

"That's what I'm here for." I stepped forward, suddenly interested in helping Chip. He'd already had to dig at least a dozen kids and various adults out of the bath. He was soaked through completely, while I still bone dry. "Or are you too scared?"

"I'm not that scared. I just…"

"What if I made a deal with you? If you double your donation, I'll get in the bath with you," I blurted. I wasn"t sure where that had come from, but my heart was beating furiously as I waited for her response.

"What?" Chip, Swayze, and Domino all said in unison.

Forcing back my nerves, I slid off my boots and socks.

"Come on, we can do twenty-three seconds."

The shock on her face was intensely hot.

"I don't have a swimsuit. I don't want to walk around in wet clothes."

I tossed her my shirt. She had such a small frame, she'd be swimming in it.

"Put that on and get down to your skivvies."

I unbuttoned my shorts and hopped out of them, facing the fire yard in just my black boxers.

Murmurs came from around, and a few women let out gasps. I double-checked to make sure, but everything that needed to be was covered. The Karens would be fine. I repeated my directions to her, and slowly, Domino slid my shirt over her head and wiggled out of her dress. It fell to the ground and it took everything in me not to get hard.

She handed Swayze her shoes and stepped toward me. I climbed into the bath first, the icy water stinging my skin. I bared it and reached for her.

"Ready?"

She nodded and quickly leaped into the tub with me.

I pulled her down and into my arms, holding her against me.

"Breathe," I said to her as well as myself.

The shock of the freezing water paired with the hot girl resting against me was intense. It was like fire and ice to the senses.

"Domino," I grit. "Breathe, damn it."

Her chest hadn't risen since we got into the pool. Finally, she gasped loudly, and I squeezed her tighter, my arms underwater clutching her hips. She'd sunk in, leaving only her chin exposed.

Chip began to count, and I swore to myself. That fucking bastard. He took at least ten seconds before he started the timer.

"We've got this. You've got this. Twenty-three seconds, okay?" I said to her, trying to keep her calm. Her hands were going wild under the water, scrambling for something to grasp. I slid my hands under her shirt, and she stopped stirring. Slowly, as he counted, my hands drifted upward, and a moment later, it was I who forgot how to breathe.

She wasn't wearing a bra. Her nipple was taut and being pinched between my fingers. Holy fuck.

"Twenty-three! Care to keep going?" Chip asked.

"Yes," I growled. I cupped her other breast and pinched both nipples.

"Koi…" Her teeth rattled as she said my name.

"Breathe, beautiful," I whispered and removed my hands from under her shirt.

"Forty-five!" Chip called out, and I pushed off the bottom of the top and pulled us up out of the water.

"Are you alright?" I asked, scrambling to get her out.

"Yeah," she said, her teeth chattering. "I'll be okay. Did I do good?"

Chip wrapped a towel around her.

"You did," I said, astounded. I enveloped her in a hug, pressing the towel to her. "You took it like a champ." I then leaned close to her ear so only she could hear my next words. "You were such a good girl."