unrefined

Leyla realised a small crowd formed around everyone dancing to the music. The plaza was her favorite place to be on Sunday mornings for a reason and it was all of the lively things around. It felt like Fallbrook collectively breathed out all of the stress from the past week as music played and vendors worked on their food stands. She jutted her chin up to meet the firefighter’s eyes. “Just relax those hips, Webber. I know you got it in you.” Leyla reached down and grabbed her water bottle. She offered him some before she took a few big gulps. “No bigger than usual.” She looked around. “But sure, I’ll teach you some moves and maybe you can finally land a date with someone.”

/

Leyla wasn’t the only mesmerizing person dancing in the plaza, but Jordan was a helpless romantic and he could turn any of them into the most eye catching with his will alone. He shook his head at the offer (all he had done was walk there, but he would gladly take some later). He leaned on one foot to eye the confident brunette up and down. “I’ll have you know I’m a happy bachelor, Ley.” A hand stuck out first. “Alright, show me what you got.” Jordan pulled her into a spin the second their hands touched. “Not totally helpless.” His smile was big.

Jordan walked up to the first familiar face he found in the crowd of onlookers with a smile. “When are you gonna teach me those moves, Ley?” The weekend always brought street performers out to the park and Jordan made a point of going. He was still considered new in Fallbrook, but he wanted to make friends so being anywhere people gathered to eat and listen to live music was a good thing in his book. He bumped his shoulder against her and started to walk wherever she was walking to. “Big crowd today, huh?”

Sloane holds the bin in her hand and her blue-green orbs fall onto the blonde. “Hi,” she smiles, raising the container in her hand. “I may have had some alterative motives.” She smirks. “And used cookies as my way through the door. No one ever turns you away in this station if you have treats.” She chuckles. Her gaze remains on him as he plucks a cookie out to take a bite out of it. “How much longer are you on shift for?” She asks. She knows the fireman schedule is a little more complex than a usual one. They seem to work for three days out of the week but they work the whole three days in case something happens in the middle of the night. She slips her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. 

/

“You’re not wrong.” Jordan laughed and chomped away at another cookie. He looked down at the watch on his left hand to look at the time and did some quick math. “Exactly seventeen minutes. I was here overnight.” And he was looking forward the next couple of days off. “What can I do for you? You won me over with the bribe so I’m all ears. Unless you meant to give them to someone else. The Chief?” He guessed and looked back to see if the man’s office was open enough to overhear the conversation with the blonde or not. 

Jordan saw the blonde the moment she walked into the station with a bin between her hands. He slapped one of the guys on the back to excuse himself and headed over to her (with a grin on his face). "Hey, Sloane. I see you know your way into the department’s heart. Let me take those off your hands. I hope these are to share and not to butter someone specific up.” Jordan winked and opened the container. He welcomed himself to a cookie and ate almost all of it in one bite. Disastrous events were quiet in Fallbrook for over a year (Jordan had not been in town that long, but he wasn’t looking forward to the luck everyone told him the town had). All they were getting were normal calls lately. Medical and small brush or home fires. It was a lot safer than his hometown.

Teodora blushed a little bit as he said that and she took a deep breath. “How would you make it up to me?” She asked, trying to calm herself a little so she could flirt back with him. She made a face as he touched her forehead and swatted it away. “Shut up. That’s for me to know and you to wonder about.” As his stomach growled, she shook her head. “Come on. Let’s go.” Instead, he decided he was going to change and she watched as he pulled his shirt off. Her cheeks went more red and she quickly turned towards the window and she shook her head. “Nope. Take your time.”

/

“I suppose you’ll see if that ever happens. No need to worry about it until then, right?” Jordan smiled confidently. He saw the look on her face when he took his shirt off and chuckled (not bothering to hid how amused it made him). He slipped a white henley on and stepped out once he was freshened up and dressed again before he walked straight to the door (he only stopped to slip his wallet and the keys into his pocket). “Here’s to a nice weekend away.” He raised his hand to high five Teodora, but held on to her and looked down at her fingers while they walked. “Is that a birthmark?” He pointed to one of the small beauty marks on her skin there. He traced it down to another one and then one more. “Look! They make a little triangle.” He sounded amused. 

Avia could tell Jordan liked her. She knew it from day one of their friendship but she had also been a first hand witness to his flirty personality and saw how women fell for him left and right. And truly, the fact that she didn’t want to date someone like that wasn’t even that unfortunate for him because she wasn’t really a catch either. Avia was bitchy and demanding, and she hid so many parts of herself just to get ahead in life. She rested her hands on Jordan’s shoulders and swayed her hips to the live band as they danced, dropping her head back in a laugh when he called her out. “Maaaaybe.” She smiled, tilting her chin back down to meet his eyes. “Mostly when you’re around.” She leaned in a bit, dancing closer to him. “You have a sweet spot for me, don’t you, Mr. Webber?”

/

Jordan couldn’t get past how beautiful Avia was. He wanted to ask if she knew, but he knew her well enough that she would give him a snarky answer and pull away. He saw her do that countless of times with other men and it made him want to know why compliments made her so uncomfortable. He never thought about how her aversion to him had to do with his personality. Her laugh mesmerized him and made him laugh along too. He tried to keep a steady hold on her, but her blunt question made him nervous. They were both tipsy and that made him more daring, but he knew she would downplay anything he chose for an answer. “The sweetest spot, Av.” Jordan pulled her in so her chin could rest on his shoulder as they danced. He didn’t want to give her a chance to say anything to his confession. “Tell me when you’re ready to head home.”

“Yea the baskets, seems like I wasn’t prepared enough for this year’s auction.” Sienna clarified with a smile towards him. Granted she’d only heard of the event recently she was excited to be apart of something so cute. She already had clear thoughts on what she’d add but all that remained now was what would hold all the food. The man’s offer was met with a thankful smile and a quick nod as Sienna assessed both baskets, “I think I’ll go with this one!” she excitedly pointed to the second one he held up. “Yea that part is still taking some getting used to,” she admitted. “Nice to meet you, I’m Sienna Davino.” she greeted, “Do you know what you’re putting in your basket?”

/

Jordan gladly handed her the basket she wanted. His truth was that he would take the other home and forget about it until Sunday rolled around and he showed up empty handed to the auction. Life always found a way of making him lose focus but he liked to think of it as a new and better direction. “Don’t worry, everything takes time!” He liked to look at brighter side of life as much as possible. “I don’t know, maybe a ride on the firetruck if the Cap let’s me. Oh shit. I don’t think we’re supposed to talk about what’s in them so I’ll have to think about something else.” He winked at her because he had no intention on doing that if he remembered to make the basket. “So you’re the reason Ben hasn’t been up our asses lately? I owe you a thank you for that.” 

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, are you? Should I leave you two alone or something?” She joked and noticed him blushing, but didn’t point it out. However, she did think it was adorable that he was blushing for a change. “Sometimes, but it’s mostly something fresh out of the oven.” She laughed before she listened to him talk about what he used to do when he was younger and just grinned. “I can’t blame her. I’d be mad too if you came home with stains.” Teodora teased before pouting at him about her cooking at all this weekend and let out a groan. “Fine.” She sat down by him. She was just so used to cooking and hadn’t really let anyone else cook for her in a long time. She rarely ordered out or anything. Not because she thought she could do a better job, but because it was basically second nature to her. “I don’t know when the last time I had room service.” She blushed again at his words and looked away from him. “Stop. I am not.” She put her head in her hands for a moment before shaking her head and smiling at him. “Yeah. Food sounds great. And no, I’m not. I’d ask you the same, but you’re a firefighter. I’m sure you’re up on a ladder all the time.”

/

Jordan playfully winked at Teodora. He could have the fun back and forth with her all day and was happy they got to spend the weekend together. He thought that life worked out in funny ways, but he liked surprises and was shocked that after growing up in Fallbrook he hadn’t stopped to get to know Teodora’s sense of humor before. “If I came home to you in stains.... I would make it up to you.” Jordan was someone who always took the bite and if he saw an opportunity to flirt with a beautiful woman, he would. “No? All pure thoughts in there?” He touched her forehead with his finger for a second before he laughed and stood up moments after he asked her to sit down (but his stomach growled and he couldn’t just ignore that). “Good to hear it and yeah, no worries here.” Heights were never an issue for him and if they ever were the fire academy had taken care of it. Jordan’s fingers found the hem of his shirt and he pulled it off as he started to walk towards where his duffle bag was by the bathroom. “I’m gonna change into something warmer, don’t mind me.” He grabbed the bag and disappeared into the bathroom to quickly freshen up before dinner.

“I would say it’s my lucky day too,” it was nice to get back into the whole string-less hookup  thing. After Owen, the blonde couldn’t imagine putting herself back out there like that again because coming back from it was a lot harder than she thought it would be even though she was nothing but happy for her ex. She turned her head to look over at him, biting down on her lower lip when she noticed his gaze. “Keep lookin’ at me like that and we won’t leave this room,” she muttered as she reached down, grabbing her purse and slinging the strap over her shoulder. “Most of the time the guy doesn’t want to go eat at a diner after a one night stand.” She pointed out as she slipped out the hotel door, slightly turning herself to look at him as he walked out with her. “Yeah, um… I had a lot of fun last night.” She cleared her throat, holding the strap of her purse. “Maybe we can do it again sometime?”

/

A lot of women liked a hopeless romantic and Jordan had to admit that it was pretty nice for himself, but there were more times where he left a situation with a broken heart than not (his fault not theirs, because the boundaries were always clear but he was hopeful and a little reckless). Jordan leaned against the dresser and smirked. He liked how confident Sloane was, it was an attractive quality in any woman. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.” They were both flirts and it made their time together more fun (would that eventually be good or bad?). “I’ll check out if you want to wait in the lobby.” He looked at her surprised when she spoke. “Who would say no to a nice breakfast after having dessert all night?” He winked at her and walked towards the receptionist where he turned in the room key and was handed a receipt for the night. Jordan walked back to Sloane and pushed his hands into his pockets. “Ready?”

She nodded, but shrugged. “I guess so.” Honestly, she wasn’t sure if her dad ever complimented her cooking. Her brother did, obviously, and others always had, but her dad was always talking about other things that weren’t related to her really. She always felt like the forgotten one. She wondered if any of that was coming across while she kinda talked about her cooking and tried hiding it quickly. “You don’t try to beat anyone else?” She asked him curiously. Maybe he had a point about it being meant to be if someone one her basket. She hadn’t really felt like that before. She shrugged as she sat down and took a deep breath at his question. "General stuff, I guess. Binging shows, watching movies… I’m definitely always in the kitchen it feels. If not at work, then at home.” Teodora explained to him. “What about you?”

/

“No. I think if something belongs in my life then it will be.” That didn’t mean that Jordan was someone who didn’t work hard. He took care of what he had, but he always thought that things would fall into place if they were meant to be. He took a bite of the apple when the alarms inside the firehouse started to ring. He turned and jumped off the bench on instinct. “Gotta go.” He wasted no time and started to head back in, but not without turning back to Teodora. “I’ll make sure to put some movies and a spatula in my basket for you!” He called out with a last laugh before he jogged back to work to help on the emergency call. 

She watched as he talked about the room and smiled at him. “Okay, it’s nice. I didn’t mean anything by saying it’s just a cabin.” A laugh came from her and she shook her head before she moved to the little kitchen herself and looked around to see what they had there. “Hmm?” She asked and nodded. “Sure.” She said and took an orange. “You and fruit.” She teased him; recalling the last time they had talked before she moved and looked out at the view. “Okay, you don’t have to keep talking this place up.” She teased him before turning back to the kitchen. “I should’ve packed some stuff and I could’ve cooked for us.” Teodora said, more to herself, and then turned back to Jordan. “Oh, um, yeah. If you’re sure.” She hadn’t thought about the sleeping arrangement just yet. It was something she was trying to avoid. “I don’t know. We can go check?” She suggested. “Though, I don’t think I brought a swimsuit.” Though, she could probably just go in her bra and underwear. The thought of that one made her blush and she moved to put the orange back to just focus on something else for a moment.

/

“Really? Because I’m set on taking a personal vendetta up for this cabin against you.” Jordan teased her. He could feel his cheeks turn red around her too, but he was used to that around anyone he thought was pretty. He started to peel the orange in his hand. “What? You don’t chomping down on something fresh when you get the chance?” It was true, Jordan never passed up on free fruit. “You know, I used to ride my bike around the groves at the country club when I was younger and steal all the fruit I could reach. I always came home with stained pockets and my mom used to get so mad, but she never figured out where I got it from.” He walked over to where she was, standing behind her for a moment to take in the view of the mountains and lake nestled deep inside their range. He let out a low whistle before he walked to the futon and sat down. “Don’t even think about it. We’re on vacation and it’s all inclusive so I hope you know I’m going to take advantage of that.” He popped a edge into his mouth. “We just use that handy phone and call for room service when we’re hungry.” He nodded about the futon. It was fine and he used to sleep on one anyway so it wasn’t going to be bad. “Why are you blushing over there? Oh I know. You’re thinking about something naughty, aren’t you.” He said playfully. “How about we check it out later and get some food now? I don’t think the orange is going to cut it for me. We can head over and checkout the restaurant. I heard it’s on the edge of a cliff.” He looked at her. “You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?”

“Good. That’s… good.” She said and took a deep breath. “Oh, thank you.” She knew not many these days did the whole eye contact thing, but she tried to no matter who she was talking to. She felt it was more polite than looking elsewhere, especially at her phone or something. She listened to him as they walked outside before she followed him to a common area. “Good to know.” Teodora laughed softly. “I think that’s the one thing I’m best at, though. I mean, my dad relied on it and I cook for everyone it seems.” She was a chef, after all. What else would she be known for? She sat down and took a deep breath of the fresh air. “I’m not sure if I’ll bid. I haven’t really decided yet. We’ll see what baskets there are and then I’ll decide.”

/

“He must have liked your cooking a lot if he relied on it everyday.” Jordan could tell there was more to her story than that, but from her reaction earlier he wasn’t going to pry it out of her. He smiled again because that was just what he was always doing. “It can be intimidating when you have people outbidding each other all the time. I try to bid one time and if someone outbids me then..... oh well. Wasn’t meant to be.” Jordan believe in fate a little more than the average person. He took a seat on the bench outside and patted the side for her to sit down. “What are some of your favorite things? Other than all the delicious food you make.”

Teodora was a little nervous for the weekend get away with Jordan. She hadn’t done something like this since her ex and while she liked Jordan, she didn’t want this to end up awkward or ruin the friendship they had; even if she thought the man was attractive and wouldn’t mind maybe dating him if that ever came up. However, she wasn’t about to turn it down and make it worse, so there they were outside a cabin and she was waiting for the door to open. Finally, Jordan got it open with the help of the front desk and there they went. “It is.” she agreed as they walked in and she looked around. “I’m not sure. I think it’s just a cabin.” Teodora said before she smiled as he took her bags and brought them in fully. “Thank you.” She sat on the bed and smiled at him. “A whole weekend out here, huh? You sure you’re ready for that?” She tried teasing a little.

/

“Just a cabin? What are you talking about? It’s great! Look they have a king sized bed, there’s the kitchen, the even have that sweet futon over there.” Jordan wasn’t thinking about the auction date as hard as Teodora was. He couldn’t read her head, but he could see it on her face. He was just there to have a good time and it was cute that she looked a little flustered. He walked their bags to the other side of the cabin and set them down by the dresser there before he spotted a bowl of fruit on the counter and reached for an orange. “Want one?” He grabbed another one and raised his hand to toss it to her if she wanted it. “And don’t even get me started on that view.” He looked out the large windows that lined one side of the wooden walls. “I was born ready.” Jordan challenged and laughed. “I can take the futon. Do you think they have a jacuzzi on the patio?” 

She blushed a little as he said that and was a little glad that he had cut himself off. “Them, um, really do that?” She asked him as she looked into his eyes before nodding again at his words. “Definitely. And you do an amazing job.” She paused. “I mean, you all do a great job. You… you guys are great.” She stammered and took a deep breath as she tried focusing a little more on the task at hand and not how she was stumbling through this conversation with him. She was checking out everything the kitchen had before she stopped and her blush increased. “Oh, god. Don’t… Don’t look at that.” She said and turned away as she tried to find her focus again. She took a deep breath and tried calming herself down; his chuckling made it a little harder. “Okay.” She said and headed towards the stairs with him. “I don’t know yet. Probably some food, though. I’m not the best at the whole gift giving thing so filling it with anything else would be silly.” Teodora said and felt her cheeks cool down. “What about you? Are you entering?”

/

“Not all the time.” That was an answer in a way. “Wow. You have impeccable eye contact.” He moved two fingers between the two of them. “I should practice that more.” A lot of people were what Jordan liked to call passerby talkers because they were always on their phone during a conversation or doing something else while talking. People couldn’t even eat food at home without having their phones propped up in front of them. He made sure to grab two apples before they headed out and hope that the time that he was looking away could be used by her to compose herself (even though he didn’t think that was necessary). He meant it when he said her blushing so much was cute. He was usually the one doing it more. “Food is the best thing to put in baskets, in my opinion. I look at the experience baskets every year and always go for the food ones because I think to myself.... hmmm, I can go to the water park whenever I want but I’m never going to be talented enough to make homemade toaster strudel. You know?” The made it outside and he showed her a nice area around the corner of the firehouse where he tossed a ball around with the firefighters sometimes. “No. I’ll bid, but I don’t have a lot of time to go find something to put in a basket right now.” He thought about it for a moment. “Unless you’re bidding too. Then I’ll go make one tonight.”

“Holy shit. This place is amazing.” Jordan was on the phone with the front desk because he was having trouble with the door when they helped him fix it and he walked in to see the place. “Er, yeah. Thanks a lot.” He hung up and shoved his phone into his pocket. “Weren’t these supposed to be villas?” Since when did they make them so nice? He whipped around and laughed. “Sorry.” He said to Teodora. “Here, let me take you bags. I’ll bring them in.” The last time they talked he never expected to win her basket at the annual auction. All of the firefighters were expected to participate in some way for the community and Jordan had done it happily because the Teodora’s basket looked amazing. 

She shook her head and tried to stop herself from blushing. The last thing she wanted was to feel embarrassed around Jordan, especially when they were talking about a calendar that showed him as one of the pretty people he was talking about. “Maybe, but there’s a difference when you know the person.” She tried pointing out and met his eyes for a moment with a smile and shook her head. “There’s no joking about fire safety, is there?” She asked him before nodding and shrugging as she looked around the kitchen a little more. “I… I did all the cooking growing up.” She told him, not wanting to really dive into the issues she had with her dad. “I need to see this.” She laughed before her face turned red at the suggestion of him in the next calendar being in the kitchen and her mind going straight to him wearing nothing but an apron. Teddy was trying hard to control her blush and cleared her throat. “Um, whatever you want.” She said before shaking her head and watching someone come in; her blush increasing. “Well, I…” She stopped and looked at him. “Sorry. I lost focus.”

/

“It’s nice knowing you think so. None of the old ladies at town meetings seem to think that way when they pinch my as-” He cut himself off because the Captain’s office was nearby even if the man kept that door sealed shut most of the day. “No, sorry.” He smiled when her eyes met his (even though it was s short second). “Gotta keep everyone in town safe.” Jordan repeated the truth. There would be no point to his job if they couldn’t do the main reason for it, but he was good at not lingering on things that put people in a bad spot so he kept joking with her about all the other things. He added the apron comment when he saw the way she seemed a little reserved when he had asked about her culinary skills. He was always paying attention to people. It was his way of making sure they were happy. “You’re even prettier when you blush.” He was pointing out the obvious but also kind of flirting. Jordan waved at the firefighter who walked in and waved when they left before he returned his attention to Teodora. “That’s okay! Happens to me all the time too.” He chuckled. “Alright well, come on. Let’s take a break and then we can get back to planning the event. Have you thought about your basket yet?” He pointed to the stairs so they could head outside for some fresh air.