The Do Over

I didn't want to embarrass her. I knew no one, including me, wanted to be here on a Saturday afternoon. Since I'd just come off a tough shift, I was tired and irritable. But when Captain called in a rare favor, asking that I cover for him, I couldn't say no. He'd been like a dad to me for the past ten years.

On top of being worn out, I was running late, so I got behind on setting up for the class. I hated being late. It was one of my pet peeves. I just wanted to do my job and then relax. It had already been a very long day, and it was still early. I also had plans for later that night, and I couldn't get out of them. All of this put me in a bad mood, and I hated that even more than being late. Taking a deep breath, I focused on my priorities and decided I was going to do a damn good job.

As I scanned the class, I saw all eyes were on me except for one single set. What on earth is she doing? I walked around the table, tilting my head to the side to get a better view. She was looking at something on her lap. As curiosity got the best of me, I headed in her direction to see that she was staring at a tablet. I wondered if she was on Facebook, YouTube, or maybe even Netflix.

I weighed my options. Will I let her sit through the entire class and then not give her the certificate? Or should I just put a stop to it now? I wasn't into playing games, so taking control was the only choice. As I got closer, she had an expression of despair on her face as she clutched her shirt. Maybe she was reading something important. Now, I felt bad for her. Seeing her vulnerability, I toned down my approach.

When I stopped in front of her, she looked up at me through her long lashes. Her eyes were a dark amber color with darker flecks of brown. Her skin was flawless, and her brown hair was pulled up on top of her head.

As I leaned down to whisper in her ear, she gasped, making my lip curl into a half smile. I wasn't sure what came over me, but I needed to regain my composure and focus. I was here to teach a class, not to pick up girls. So, I got up and made it look like I was on my way to close the door.

On my way back to the front of the class, I glanced over at her and smiled. I had to remind myself again that I was a professional. For the remainder of the class, I tried to distract myself by focusing on and engaging the other students. I had an important job to do. It wasn't easy though. My eyes were drawn to her. I noticed she was definitely paying attention now.

As a Lieutenant in the Miami-Dade Fire Department Technical Team, I prided myself on always being professional in every setting. I had always wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps and become a firefighter, and I became even more passionate about my choice after 9/11. Before I entered the academy, I earned an Emergency Management degree from the University of Miami. I loved what I did, and I took pride in the way I conducted myself. I was dedicated and committed to my career.

Now, I was leading a training class where I couldn't get one participant out of my head. As I kept glancing at her, I found myself wanting to smell her sweet perfume again. I was looking forward to this part of class when the students had to come up for hands-on training.

"Now, we're going to put into practice what we talked about. Who wants to go first?" I asked the class, looking around to see who would be my first.

A few overly eager students raised their hands, and I had to admit, I was a little disappointed. One at a time, they came up and we went through the motions. Although I rushed through the demonstrations, I made sure I wasn't compromising the objective. Looking over at her again, I noticed she wasn't showing any interest in this part of the class. It was my job to make sure that every student was properly trained in advanced life support. I owed it to her to engage her in this class activity.

"Ms. Ruiz," I called, waving for her to come up to the front.

She straightened up, like she was startled. Shit, I hope I didn't freak her out.

After she sauntered to the front of the class, she got into position. Clearly, she knew what she was doing, but that didn't stop me from assisting her. I didn't know what had possessed me. I was drawn to her. I stood behind her as she placed her hands on the dummy. She was the perfect height. I could've easily rested my chin on her head. I reached over, almost leaning into her. I laid my hands over hers as we pushed down on the dummy.

Making sure she applied the correct pressure, I said in a hushed voice, "Make sure it's deep, hard, and steady. Yeah, that's right. You're doing it perfectly."

I wanted to know if the rest of her was as soft as her hands were, but I fought the urge, keeping my hands from traveling up her arm. Her soft perfume filled the air around me. All I wanted to do was bury my head in her neck.

Leaning in, I gave her the commands. Together, we counted, "and one, and two, and three, and…" My voice was huskier than I wanted it to be.

She was the consummate professional. She didn't flinch through the whole exercise. I wanted to say the same about myself. At least I tried while we went through the entire process practically attached to one another. Captain would have my ass for this. I felt like such a prick. I was practically dry humping her. If she leaned back as much as half an inch, she would know just how turned on I was.

I needed to think about baseball. Yes, lots of baseball. How about that UM game? I wondered if she was turned on. I just wanted to press my body up against her, gently stroke her skin, and kiss her neck. I needed to stop thinking about that. Sports, Sports Center, ESPN, football, baseball, grandmothers. That was what I needed to think about. I had to clear my head of all other thoughts. We were almost done with the demonstration. Get a grip. I thought about the look of disappointment on Captain's face. Yep, that definitely did it.