Page 6 of My Three Hometown Firefighters (Aspen Springs #2)

CHAPTER FIVE

Sienna

My heels lay discarded under my chair because, like Tucker said, fuck what anyone else thinks . My feet hurt and I don’t want to wear my shoes anymore.

Gram walks over with her best friend, Martha, hot on her heels. I give her a suspicious look. I already saved her from doom once tonight. I really don’t have the energy to do it again.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Gram says with her hands on her hips.

“Like you’re a wild old woman who needs to be reined in?”

She swats the air between us. “Oh, shush. I’m just enjoying my life before I die.”

I roll my eyes. This is not the first, nor the tenth time she’s said this to me.

Martha throws her head back laughing, which earns her a glare from her partner in crime.

“Not like you’re any better,” I tell Martha. “You’re always the one putting ideas in her head.”

The two share a knowing look.

“I’m your grandkid. I shouldn’t have to babysit you two.”

“Oh, honey. You haven’t been a kid in a long time. My days of taking care of you are done. Now it’s your turn.” Gram wiggles her eyebrows at me.

I love this woman, but she’s going to be the death of me.

“I just wanted to let you know we are heading out,” she tells me, resting her hands on my shoulders.

“I don’t know if you should be driving. It’s dark and, knowing you two, I’m sure you’ve had a few drinks.”

“Always so worried about me,” Gram says, brushing her permed white hair away from her face.

Yeah, because it’s necessary.

Martha points toward the door, where I see Jack and Mary Truett waiting. They own Slice of Heaven, which happens to be my favorite pizza place ever. “Jack offered to give us a ride home.”

Bless their poor, sweet souls.

“Don’t scare them off,” I motion between the two of them, “you know… being yourselves.”

Gram laughs as she wraps her arms around me. “I love you, sweet girl, but you need to loosen up. I think you need to get laid.”

“Gram.” I try to pull back, but she keeps her arms wrapped around me tightly as she laughs.

“Life’s too short. Enjoy it.” After Gram plants a kiss on my cheek, they both make their way out to the parking lot.

Their endless chatter fades away, but her words remain embedded in my brain.

I think you need to get laid.

It’s been a while since I’ve tried to even go on any dates with any men in town. After the first few attempts crashed and burned when I moved here, I just sort of gave up.

Hadley’s laugh makes my head swivel to my left. She’s sitting on Austin’s lap with a huge smile on her face. The way he looks at her doesn’t leave anything to the imagination. He is head over heels in love with her.

Brooks and Conrad walk over to their table. They both give her a kiss before settling into the seats on either side of her.

She relaxes against Austin, like her whole world is complete now that her other two men are at her sides.

Their relationship isn’t “conventional,” and some people don’t approve, but I am so happy for my friend. She has found her happiness, even if it came in the form of three men, not one.

Seeing that level of joy and contentment sends a wave of loneliness through me. The feeling isn’t a new one, but it’s getting harder and harder to contain as time rolls on.

I need some air.

Hastily, I grab my shoes and purse. Breathing is a struggle as I weave my way through the tables toward the hallway that leads to the back exit. Not a moment too soon, I swing open the door.

The cool autumn air hits my face, making me suck in a shuddered breath. What the hell is wrong with me?

The door bangs shut as I pace back and forth on the sidewalk. Blindly, I dig into my bag, pulling out my phone. I hit the name of the only person I want to talk to right now—my mom.

“Sienna?” her sleepy voice asks over the line.

Crap. It’s late.

“Hi, Mom. I forgot what time it was.”

“You’re fine. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I say, cringing at the lie and the pain in my foot as I step on a small rock.

“Don’t nothing me. Out with it,” she says in her very motherly voice.

Tilting my head back, I look up at the star-filled sky, and I let it all out.

“I’m kind of freaking out. Okay, not kind of, I am freaking out.

I’m pretty sure I’m chronically lonely. I haven’t been on a date in like a year, but it’s been so long I can’t really remember.

They’ve all just sucked. Gram told me she thinks I need to get laid. ”

I laugh when I hear my mom’s soft chuckle over the line.

“She isn’t wrong, but I don’t even think I like sex. I mean, there was that one time when I did, but that’s not the point. Every other time it’s just been… unremarkable.”

Mom’s voice stops my rambling. “Sienna, I need you to breathe.”

I do as she says, dragging in a deep breath.

“It’s okay if you don’t like sex, but you said there was a time when you did?”

I nod, then realize she can’t see me. “Yeah.”

I know it might be weird to talk to my mom about this kind of stuff, but that’s just the kind of relationship we’ve always had. Given the way Gram is, it’s the way my mom was raised, too.

“Then, I would say if there is a problem to be had, it’s with the men you’ve been with and not you. You just need to find someone that makes you feel like that one man did.”

I sigh in understanding. Turning around, I come face to face with the man himself. Grayson stands there with a serious, almost pained expression.

He’s not alone, though. Tucker and Warren are standing just behind him on either side.

I’m faintly aware of my mom still talking, but I can’t make sense of the words she’s saying.

“I’ll call you back tomorrow, Mom. Love you.”