Oddball Mabel has always been quirky. Maybe it's due to the fact that she was homeschooled or perhaps it was because of her parents who sheltered her a little too much from the world. Whatever it is, she's determined to make her college years count...
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I played the radio in my truck on my way to Mabel's parents house but it did nothing to drown out the incessant beating of my heart. It had been a while since I'd seen Mabel - I'd drop Marco off when she was out and vice versa.
I could safely say it had been a crappy several days.
Logically, I knew that I could have left Marco with Mabel until she got back from her parents' in a couple days, but I had already missed seeing her when I was supposed to pick Marco up. Then some idiot decided to start a street race on a highway which meant the moron crashed into another car who crashed into two other cars. I hated being a fire fighter sometimes. It meant my job always came first even if there was nothing I wanted more than to see Mabel's smiling face.
It did something to me whenever I saw her. She was just so precious to me. But after hearing Jackson pretty much profess his love for her, I knew I couldn't tell her anything. She didn't deserve any difficulty in life and if this guy was good to her and seemed as into her as she was into him, I had no right to step in between that. What did I expect anyway? She got the guy she wanted. She'd want nothing to do with me in that way.
I parked my truck on the side of the street and hopped out, walking to the address that Mabel had sent me.
As I approached the brick structure, I noticed a flash of red hair rushing over to me.
"Marcus!" Mabel squealed as she ran out the front door and smashed into my chest. My arms automatically wrapped around her curvy frame as hers reciprocated the gesture. "You're here!"
I tightened my grip on her for a moment before moving my head back a decibel of a portion to take in her expression. Her beautiful hair was let out, curls wild in their glory; her full lips curling upwards, but those eyes, those goddamn Bambi eyes that always drew me in is where my gaze stopped.
"Are you okay?" I asked in concern.
"Am I okay? Are you okay?" Her arms moved from around my waist to pat around my shoulders but I had no idea what she was looking for. "You just fought a fire. I get that's what you do, but I actually saw this fire on the news and it was horrible. I'm so glad you're safe." Her eyes were shining with unshed tears and I realized for the umpteenth time how much Mabel cared. For her friends, for me, even for my dumb dog.
"I'm fine," I laughed, my arms still around her waist as she looked up at me with her grinning face. I thought I saw her eyes flicker to lips for just a moment and even though I tried to convince myself I was imagining things, I knew that I would always notice where her eyes focused. I couldn't tear my eyes away from them.
She cleared her throat and dropped her arms from around me and I noticed for the first time that she didn't have a jacket on. I shrugged mine off quickly and draped it over her shoulders.
"So," She began, licking her lips. "Do you feel prepared to meet my parents? Because I'm warning you, if you thought I was a lot, they're like Mabel hopped up on crack. I feel for you, really. This isn't going to be a meeting that's easy for you to repress."
