My eyes burned painfully from the lack of sleep. It had been a long shift, responding call after call with no rest. I was exhausted, hungry, and downright filthy. My body ached to where I just wanted to sit down and never get back up. I drifted off as our rig pulled back into the station. Two house fires, several medical calls and a bunch of false alarms made up my twenty-four-hour shift. Pleasant thoughts of my next four days off put a weak smile on my face.
The sound of Captain Anderson's voice had me weakly opening my eyes. "Good tour gentlemen, enjoy your days off."
"I couldn't agree more, thanks Cap," I said tiredly.
I opened my door and step down off the truck. We had been out on a run during the shift change as the clock read a little past seven AM. The guys from the B shift were already buzzing around, doing inventory checks and cleaning equipment. I took my gear back into the equipment room, doffing it in its usual stall, and headed for the showers. The hot, steamy water felt amazing on my exhausted body. Once cleaned up and dressed in my civilian clothes, I wished the B shifters good luck and headed towards my pickup.
Four days off, man, what am I going do first?
I thought to myself, pulling out of the station's parking lot.
I turned on the radio and rolled my window down, letting the morning breeze whip through my hair. I love my job. I work as a firefighter/EMT on engine 15 in the city and enjoy every second. The shifts can take a toll, but knowing I get a full day off after a tour, or even a few days off depending on my schedule, makes it even more awesome. I don't live in the city, rather I live about a half hour away in your average sized town just outside of the suburbs. My house, rather my parents' house, sits in a quiet cul-de-sac with friendly neighbors. I flipped on my blinker and turned onto my street. Driving into the cul-de-sac, I noticed my parents had the camper hooked up to my dad's truck. It quickly dawned on me that my parents were leaving for their annual summer camping trip. Each June, they took the camper and headed up north for ten days of bonfires, fishing, and relaxation.
I pulled my truck up into the garage and lazily stepped out, just as my mom was walking out of the house. "Sweetie, you look awful. Did you even get any sleep?"
"No. We got swamped with calls, a couple of big fires, too."
"Well, make sure you get some rest. I left a list on the counter of things that need to be done while we are gone. There's plenty of food stocked in the fridge and the freezer."
"Thanks mom, you have a great trip," I said, giving her a big hug.
"Call if you need anything," my dad said. "We should have decent reception where we are going."
"Will do, pops, drive safely."
I gave him a hug, and they got into the truck and pulled out of the driveway. I turned to head back towards the house when something moved out of the corner of my eye. I glanced over towards my neighbor's house and found the source. Ms. Michelle Carlson was my next-door neighbor. I've had a crush on her ever since puberty struck. She had moved into the neighborhood some years ago with her husband and their two boys. He was an ass right from the start, and later became the biggest ass around when he went and cheated on Mrs. Carlson with a female fitness instructor from the local gym. He ended up moving in with her, leaving the house to his soon to be ex-wife. Now, several years later, Ms. Carlson lived all alone. Their twin sons, Matt and Mitch, were a couple grades below me and had accepted scholarships to play baseball together at a college out of state.
My jaw nearly hit the ground when I realized that Ms. Carlson was getting her morning paper in a silk black bathrobe. She turned to wave at my departing parents, allowing me to drink in the sight of her. A few inches shorter than my 5' 10" self, she had long, light brown hair that went down past her shoulders. Deep brown eyes and a gorgeous face. A few small wrinkles around her eyes and mouth showed her age, but I easily saw past them. She was somewhere in her early forties. Her figure wasn't the tightest by any means, but she had nice curvy hips and a soft stomach from birthing two children. She worked out frequently, usually running around the neighborhood wearing tight spandex outfits that surely had to turn a few heads. She also could still pull off a bikini, which was a nice sight, considering my bedroom overlooked her backyard and pool. She had a nice rear end that jiggled ever so slightly. Her working out kept her butt and legs nicely toned. My favorite part of Ms. Carlson was by far her chest. She has the most beautiful breasts, measuring 36C to be exact. Gravity and age had played their part over the years, but they still look very firm. I knew her size only because of teenage hormones and stumbling upon one of her bras while going to the bathroom. I had been hanging out with her sons after school one day and discovered the black, sheer item hanging on the edge of the hamper. I had many more fantasies about her after that wonderful discovery.
I felt the blood rush between my legs and the sudden surge knocked me out of my trance. Ms. Carlson picked up her paper and turned my way, flashing me her gorgeous smile.
"Good morning, Josh. How are you?"
"Doing well Ms. Carlson. A little tired, but I'll live. How are you?"
"With a beautiful summer day and no work on a Friday ahead of me, I'm doing more than fine," she said, raising her arms out to embrace the sunlight. The movement allowing the hem of her knee length robe to pull up enough for me to catch some of her eye-popping thighs briefly on display. My member suddenly surging to full mast.
"I hope you enjoy your Friday off. I'm going to get some sleep. I'll see you later," I said, turning to head back towards my house. Hoping she didn't notice the color change in my face.
"Have a good one Josh," she said, giving me one of those sexy little finger waves.
My heart skipped a beat as I stepped into the garage, stealing subtle glances at her as she walked back into her house. Closing the garage door, I stepped into the mudroom, kicked off my shoes, and raced towards the bathroom to have some time to myself before crashing. Having satisfied myself with a dirty fantasy, I stripped my clothes and was out like a light as soon as my head hit the pillow.
****
I woke to the sound of the landline ringing downstairs. "Fuck it," I mumbled, rolling back over on my bed.
The phone quit ringing, and the answering machine took over. I heard the beep and the voice leaving the message had me bolting up out of bed. I nearly slipped down the stairs as I sprang into the kitchen, reaching for the phone. She was speaking when I picked it up and hit the talk button.
"Hello Ms. Carlson, what can I do for you?" cutting her off mid-sentence.
"Oh Josh, I hope I didn't wake you?"
"No, no, it's alright. I was already up just thinking of what I should do with the rest of my day." I glanced at the kitchen clock, reading 2:23 PM. I had been asleep for about six hours.
