#dcpara

Alyssa knew that her Friday night was super lame. She knew it, no one had to tell her. She was sitting at home, in her pajamas, going through old photograph boxes while watching 21 Dresses on tv for the millionth time. Of course she would rather be at the Valentine's party but her jerk of an ex cancelled his father/son weekend which meant she was stuck at home. And the fact that she considered it being stuck made her feel bad but she was actually looking forward to doing something for herself for once. And now she was alone, as usual while her son slept and the first guy she was interested in in the last seven years was probably off having a great night without her. So, yea, she was pouring herself another glass of wine when she heard her cellphone ring.

Faye wasn't one for dances or anything but still managed to get out and go. Mainly for people watching, mainly for free food, but it was still weird without having Alyssa there. But spotting Duncan, obviously just interacting with a few of his coworkers, Faye perked up and hushed Lucas for a moment beside her before dialing her best friend's number.

Alyssa "Hey!" she had answered a little too excitedly. She was just very happy to have some adult interaction for the evening. "How's the party? Is it fun? Tell me it's awful and you're calling because parties without me are meaningless and you want to ditch and come watch romcoms with me."

Faye made a face as soon as Alyssa mentioned romcoms. "You're seriously watching those? Can you get even more cliche?" Faye joked, shaking her head some even if Alyssa couldn't see. "No, it's fun. Good food, childish music, but people watching is spot on. You're missing out." She said, tilting her head some to wink at Lucas beside her. "And people watching meaning seeing a certain boy toy with another blondie..."

Alyssa rolled her eyes a little at Faye's comment before letting out a soft laugh. "It's what's on, alright?" He defended. She began to pout when Faye didn't pretend to hate the party like she wanted. "A certain boy toy?" She questioned, actually not getting what she was meaning. "Wait! Is Richie Rich there with someone else? I will totally destroy him if he is!"

Faye "You do realize you don't have to watch live tv, right? You're the one with fancy cable and all that." Faye added on before realizing that was beside the point, shaking her head. "What? No! Why does everyone call him Richie Rich?!" Faye said, exhaling a deep breath. "I meant Duncan!"

Alyssa "Right...well, I like romcoms then, ok?" She said, not even going to try another excuse. "Plus, it's that 21 Dresses movie and you know I love James Marsden. He's so cute!" She took a sip of her wine, shrugging lightly, forgetting for a moment Faye can't see her. "Because he's rich?" She answered. "Wait...what? Really?! Who is with? Is...is he like, with with or like, they just both happen to be there and near each other?

Faye "See, you should've just admitted that. You're a bad liar." Faye added when Alyssa came clean. "He's alright, kind of looks like any other white dude in a movie." She said and pushed her lips together. "You're rich too? Still, no, it's not him. I'm not even sure he's here. But... yeah, he's here. With the blondie with the glasses."

Alyssa "Well, I didn't want to be judged right away," she joked. "Hey! Take that back. He's handsome and can sing!" She paused for a moment before letting out a small laugh. "Well, I guess you've got me there. But he seems super rich. So, Richie Rich still. A blonde with glasses? Wait...oh no...are you talking about his ex?!"

Faye "Too late, sweetie. It happens before you even speak." Faye joked again with Alyssa and made sure her tone was teasing so she wouldn't get too mad. "No, no... again, just like any other white dude in a movie. That's who you're choosing to spend your Friday night with? Seriously?" She asked, before shaking her head. "He's rich and attractive, he's got that going for him. Yep, the one and only. Blondie with glasses way too big for her face. Hitting it off by the snack table."

Alyssa "I mean, I'm not really choosing this. It was kind of forced since someone can't take up and responsibility to watch his kid and no babysitter in town wanted to miss tonight's celebrations," she said, a bit annoyed. But not at Faye, at her ex. "That might be his ex. Now, are they like...flirty or just being friendly like you do with an ex? Or...like a normal person might do with an ex, I should say."

Faye "Eh, the kid's asleep. What good are you really doing at home?" Faye asked with her brow arched. "It's totally his ex. I recognize her from emerging from her home in the basement and the cutest couple picture they had in our yearbook." She said, shrugging some. "Totally flirty. Like, she's had one too many shots before this and is all over him. She so wants him to put out her fire again."

Alyssa didn't say anything back right away, waiting for her to say she was joking or something. But when it didn't come she sighed into the phone. "Faye. That's illegal. I can't leave him all alone," she explained to her friend. When Faye confirmed her worries, she actually felt herself getting teared up. Though the fact that she was on her fourth glass of wine didn't help matters. "Oh, God...I...I can't believe this is happening! I finally thought I...ugh, this...this...just sucks. This sucks!"

Faye rolled her eyes again. She knew it was illegal, but also just really disliked kids. Ryan was an exception but really, he was asleep. What would be the harm? "He's asleep. That's like borderline close to being knocked out. He's fine." Faye countered, even if it would have gotten no where with Alyssa. When she began to panic over the phone, Faye sighed, knowing she was overreacting. "Alyssa... Alyssa! Shut up. Stop. Are you crying?"

Alyssa "I can't leave him, Faye. What if he wakes up? What if someone breaks in? What if something happens and I'm not here for him?" She countered. Alyssa was full on in panic and sadness mode. "Shh! Don't tell me to shut up! I'm allowed to feel! I thought he liked me. He made it seem like he liked me and if he's flirting with his ex then they'll probably get back together and I'll just continue being the lovely, single mother while Jonathan gets to do whatever and whoever he wants all the time."

Faye "Listen, this is why you need to let me teach the kid a few pointers. Especially if someone breaks in. I'm like, the master pro and if he knew how to defend himself, he would be fine. You're overthinking things!" She said and shook her head quickly with the phone nudged up by her shoulder. "Alyssa... Jesus Christ, no. This is your time to you know... start a fire or something... not cry!"

Alyssa "Teach him what exactly?" She questioned, not liking the sound of it already. "What?! Start a fire? That you insane?! And, no...if...they have history together and he'd totally choose her over me. This is the worst thing ever."

Faye "You don't need to worry about that. Let aunt Faye take over." She said, rolling her eyes immediately. "Alyssa, listen. He's not even dressed for a party so I'm pretty sure he's on call but like... where is he gonna go? We're at the station, so he'll obviously mingle. All you need to do is let off a innocent smoke alarm or like... pretend to... I'll slip the word to Julian or whatever and bam... you steal your man back."

Alyssa "Yea, I don't know if Aunt Faye is taking over anything any time soon." She made a little face when Faye started on about her plan, sighing loudly. "Alright but...what if that doesn't work and he's interested in someone else now?" She asked as she got up and grabbed a lighter and a candle. "Also, what if there is an actual fire? I can't have like...a whole squad or fire truck here. That would be crazy..."

Faye "This is why you're gonna have stress wrinkles before you hit 40," Faye added on and shook her head before glancing at Lucas, making sure he wasn't judging the phone call. "Girl, listen. This is why I'm gonna slip the word out. Just something someone needs to check up on! Maybe give him a little scare, so he could rush away from the so called nerd and be your savior."

Alyssa "Take that back!" She snapped, not liking that kind of curse to be on her head. She thought it over for a moment, looking at the candle before lighting it. "Alright, fine. But I'm just going to set off one alarm and you better make sure that only Duncan comes and there is no truck or craziness or I'll be super mad at you."

Faye "Nope, sorry. Can't take back the truth." Faye was laughing at this point, knowing that Alyssa was overthinking it due to the wine and what she implanted in her head. "Can't you trust me? I'm helping you out. Who knows? Maybe he'll put out your fire instead."

Alyssa "You're so mean to me. Why are we friends?" She sucked in her bottom lip, considering the plan a little longer. "Shh, the last time anyone put my fire out, I ended up with a kid, remember? And I believe that started with one of your great plans to help me out too..."

Faye "Because I love you and you still love me, even if you let me be a bitch to you." She added on with a growing smirk, knowing that eventually, Alyssa would cave to her plan. "Alright, that plan was good and how was I supposed to know he would be a dick? Just use good protection this time. We all need our fire tended to sometimes."

Alyssa "Not so sure I'm loving you at the moment," she teased a little. She did love Faye though. She was a good friend, even if Faye liked to pretend to be all hard and mean. "Ugh, alright. Fine. But this better not back fire," she said before blowing the fire out and holding the smokey candle up, right under a smoke alarm until it started to beep.

Faye "Don't lie to yourself, you're bad at it." She joked, biting down on her tongue to hide the fact that she was actually excited. She loved it when people went along with her plans, especially Alyssa. "It won't, I swear. Look, as soon as I see the beepers go off... I'll slip the word to Julian. I'm sure he would love to see his friend get laid. Also, wear something cute and sexy... okay bye!" Faye said into the speaker last minute, before she eventually spotted Duncan getting the word, which she was quick to spread her own to the rest of the guys.

Alyssa groaned a little at Faye and her confidence. "Bye!" She called out as the phone hung up. The moment the alarm began to beep, she put the candle back and ran upstairs to change out of her pajamas and into something nicer. She wasn't sure how much time she had so she didn't get as picky about it as she usually did.

Faye it took a little of convincing, but with the chief out of the station for the night and Julian being the first one to hear from Faye, word got back to Duncan that it was something minor though would need to be checked up on. Faye watched for a bit, noticing that once Duncan learned of what address it was, he was quick to grab his jacket and the station's normal truck to head off to Alyssa's house, pulling up to the house rather quickly.

Faye changed name to Duncan

Alyssa decided to skip make up and getting her hair fixed up too much, not wanting to be so obvious that she was expecting him. She wanted to look good but also casual and not like this was some part of an elaborate plan. She checked on Ryan quickly to make sure he hadn't woken up from the beeping before running back down the stairs. And just in time too since she heard a truck pulling up just outside. "Alright, Alyssa...be cool, casual...calm...don't be obvious," she said to herself, taking a few, deep breaths as she spoke.

Duncan arrived to the house quicker than he should have, especially if it was something minor and didn't require a whole team of men to arrive at the house. Still, it was enough to get word to the station, so that could have easily meant it was something medical or along the lines of something else. It was also Alyssa, and that worried him. Shutting the truck off quickly, Duncan hoped down, not bothering to throw his jacket back on over his station's t-shirt as he jogged up over the yard, knocking at Alyssa's door quietly but firmly.

Alyssa jumped a little, feeling a little more nervous than before once she heard the knocking. Not wanting Ryan to wake up from it, she quickly ran over to the door, pulling it open. Trying to be cool, casual and calm, she gave him a fake, confused look. "Hey? Is everything alright?" She asked, opening the door up further so he could come inside of her house.

Duncan looked down at Alyssa when she opened the door and when she seemed as confused as ever, it put Duncan off a bit. "Everything alright?" Duncan breathed out as he stepped around her into the house, immediately glancing around before moving into the living room. "Did you not hear your alarms go off?"

Alyssa watched him as he stepped around her, shutting the door behind him. "Mm, yea...no, I did. I...had a candle lit," she answered, leaning her back against the front door, smiling over at him before following him into the living room. "But it's fine now! So, no need to worry, right?"

Duncan moved further into the living room where the alarm had been which held a candle underneath it near the table, a sigh passing through his nose. "Jesus, Alyssa." He breathed out, pinching the bridge of his nose before turning to face her. "Don't you know you can't leave a candle unattended?"

Alyssa paused when she heard his sigh, thinking that she was totally busted and was about to get yelled at by him. Though when he finally spoke, she relaxed a bit and just made a little, cutesy expression. "I only ran upstairs to check on Ryan for a minute," she defended. "But thankfully I have a personal firefighter to come save me, right?"

Duncan looked from the candle toward her and let out a deep breath. He wasn't mad nor upset, more so worried. He dealt with a lot on the job and the least thing he would need was for something to happen, in this house of all places. "You could have easily had your brother come instead of me," Duncan started with a shake of his head, stepping up closer to the shorter girl. "Just be careful next time, ok?"

Alyssa lost any sort of confidence she had as he spoke, almost making her go into full on sad mode again. "Right...sorry. I...do have my brother. Um, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your evening plans or whatever you were doing, with whoever. Um...I'll...definitely be more careful..."

Duncan let out a laugh this time and shook his head as she seemed to back peddle. He had a habit of teasing her at her cheesy lines, he couldn't resist this one. "Alyssa, I was kidding." He said, lifting his eyebrow. "You just lucked out and got me with being on call. I... wasn't doing anything with anyone?"

Alyssa bit down on her bottom lip as he laughed. It might have been the wine she had but she really couldn't tell what exactly was happening anymore. He seemed actually upset about being there a moment ago and now he was saying he was joking. "Oh, right. Sorry. I just can't tell sometimes. I'm happy you were on call and that you where doing anything with anyone."

Duncan licked over his lips and twisted the watch he had on his wrist to it's right position, stepping up closer to her until he was up within reasonable distance. "It's just... I'm glad you're okay. That's all I was worried about."

Alyssa 's confidence began to come back as he stepped even closer to her, a smile returning to her lips. "You're so sweet to me," she said, as if he didn't know already. "Which is why I feel really guilty now. Faye convinced me to trick you into coming here..."

Duncan knew that the smile returning to her lips was a good thing and he was about to comment further on him turning sweet for her, but her next comment almost caught him off guard. Really, he should have figured it was a trap, but he was also a little amused. "... Really?"

Alyssa was now feeling a bit embarrassed and was sure he could tell since she could feel the blush on her cheeks. "Yes. I don't know why I let her talk me into things. She told me to make an alarm go off and she'd make sure you were sent out. But in my defense it's because I like you and under the impression that another girl was all over you so I got a bit jealous."

Duncan kept his brow ticked upward and attempted to keep the smug, amused look over his face at bay but was clearly failing. Especially with the blush crossing over her cheeks. "You... you especially composed a trap and got me here because you were jealous?" Duncan said, smirking now.

Alyssa pursed her lips a little as he questioned her. There was really no way to make this sound less crazy. "Yes," she answered slowly, nodding her head lightly. "To be fair...I have been drinking a little. Also, Faye told me someone was hanging all over you. And again, I like you so...yea..."

Duncan Again, did his best to hide his amusement but failed once more. He made it clear he liked Alyssa and was attracted to her, but still wasn't entirely sure if she felt it back. Sure, they had a date, and flirted. But most of the time, it was him showing interest in her and her dropping hints. "You're insane, Alyssa Carter, y'know that?"

Alyssa started to feel a little nervous about this entire plan as he just stood there with an amused look on his face. She was sure he was thinking she was insane and that he needed to get away from her now before she did anything else. As he spoke, a small sigh escaped her. "Yes, I've been told. Sorry. I...don't mean to be insane? But yea, I just...like I said, heard there was another girl hanging on you and it kind of freaked me out because I thought maybe you and I might have something, you know? If not, I get it..."

Duncan waited for Alyssa to speak since by the look on her face, she was wanting to explain. Her explanation almost amused him further but he refrained from showing it, not wanting to give her the wrong idea. "Insane is not necessarily a insult." Duncan replied under his breath and shook his head, smiling some. "What? No, no... there is definitely something. Unless you changed your mind?"

Alyssa quickly shook her head at him. "No! No, of course not. If I did, I wouldn't have held a candle under the fire alarm to trick you into coming here," she answered, which probably made her sound crazier. "If anything, I was thinking you changed your mind and going back to your ex."

Duncan glanced toward where the candle and fire alarm was at and chuckled, stepping forward so he could lightly lay his hand down on her hip. "Greer?" He murmured, arching an eyebrow. "Greer is the one that left me. I'm not going back to her anytime soon."

Alyssa glanced down as his hand moved to her hip, causing a wide grin to make it's way to her face. "Yes, yes...I know. I know that she left. But Faye said that she saw..." She trailed off, her rational side beginning to catch up with the rest of her mind. "That sneaky...she totally played me!"

Duncan began laughing as she came to the realization. He wasn't mad or upset by any means, actually a little surprised instead. "I think you got tricked just like I did." Duncan said, smirking a little. "Good to know you were jealous though."

Alyssa was feeling even more embarrassed now since she was so easily tricked by her friend. It should have been obvious. "Shh, jealous is so not a sexy look," she huffed, covering her face with her hands, trying to compose herself a little better.

Duncan "It's not a sexy look, no, but it's a signal that it might bother you enough..." Duncan countered with a smirk toying on his lips and he nodded, moving to dip down and lean into her, pulling her hands away.

Alyssa gave him a small pout as he pulled her hands away from her face. She couldn't believe she let Faye trick her like this. But he didn't seem to be annoyed by the fact that she faked an emergency to get him there. "Do you have to go back to the station?"

Duncan tried to hide the fact that he was more amused than average, not wanting to embarrass her even more. "Nah," He said, grabbing the pager from his hip. "I've got this handy thing right here that works everywhere."

Alyssa perked up when he said he didn't have to go. "I've never been so happy to know that someone owns a pager," she laughed lightly before leaning up and pressing a quick kiss against his lips. "Happy early Valentine's Day?"

Duncan laughed at her response. "Yeah, happy I'm still old school?" He joked and shook his head, happily returning the kiss and even pulling her a little closer. "Happy Valentine's To you too. What're you doing home tonight?"

Alyssa quickly responded by nodding her head, even though she did think the whole pager thing was a bit on the dorky side. She didn't even know those were still made. She let out a small sigh as his question, leaning back slightly. "I hate complaining about it because it makes me feel like an awful mom but Jonathan decided to skip daddy/son weekend and I couldn't find a baby sitter and despite what Faye thinks, I can't just leave Ryan home alone."

Duncan laughed again. "Don't judge me though. The entire station has these." He kept a hold on her hips lightly even when she leaned back. "You don't gotta feel bad, you deserve a night to yourself too." Duncan stated, nodding some. "Why'd he skip?"

Alyssa "Really? I've never seen my brother with one. He must hide it so I don't laugh at him." She gave him a small, quick pout before flashing a smile. "I know. But I still feel guilty when I think it. And...who knows? Probably had some fantasy sports game thing he needed to go to or something as equally as juvenile as that. He never has a real reason, just that something came up."

Duncan "Well maybe your brother wasn't included with the crowd." Duncan teased, squeezing her hips some. "That's fair, I guess." Duncan teased with a shake of his head. At the description of her ex, or assumed ex, He made a face. "That kinda sucks. Does he do this often?"

Alyssa let out a small laugh as he teased, though mostly over the fact that he was squeezing her hips. "Yea," she sighed lightly. "And he's been doing it a lot more lately and it's really frustrating," she added before moving to wrap her arms loosely around his neck. "But...you're here now so I guess it's not such a bad thing."

Duncan watched her for a moment, keeping his eyes on her face before taking the movement to move down over her entirely. "Doesn't sound very fair to you." Duncan said, having his own opinions about him skipping out on his chances with Ryan, but he kept quiet about that. Half smiling, Duncan dipped down for another kiss. "You really dig me, don't you?"

Alyssa shrugged her shoulders lightly. It wasn't fair to her or to her son. But she tried not to complain since at least he was somewhat involved and didn't completely cut her and Ryan out of his life. "I don't know. You've got a pager and say stuff like dig me," she teased.

Duncan didn't wanna press further about it, figuring he hadn't got to that point yet, or didn't want to bring down what mood they had down. "But I'm also a guy who saves lives and has a body you enjoy looking at," Duncan suggested, moving to pull her in closer.

Alyssa 's eyes widened a bit at his comment, not really expecting that to come from him. "Well, I mean...I can't really argue with you there since I do really enjoy your body. Which is sadly has been covered up the last few times I've seen you..."

Duncan smirked some. "Of course you can't argue, you would be lying." Duncan replied, his hand moving up to tuck some hair behind her ear. "You just want any excuse to get me out of my clothes, huh?" Duncan teased.

Alyssa pulled back a little as he teased her, shaking her head lightly. "Ok, cocky. I don't need an excuse to get you out of your clothes. Pretty sure I just have to ask," she pointed out to him. "Plus, you know you want me out of mine just as bad."

Duncan tilted his head some to look down at her and pull himself away to make a show of it. "Well, no. I think I've made it clear that I'm very attracted to you, too." Duncan said, smirking again. "Maybe, maybe not."

Alyssa "Just say it, you totally want me," she teased, smirking up at him. "Maybe? Maybe not? No, nope. Sorry, I think if I were to say, lets go up to my room and get it on, you would have a hard time saying no to that."

Duncan 's eyes widened but mainly because of the fact he was so not expecting that. "Well... you're right," Duncan said, looking over at her again. "I'm a guy and you're very, very beautiful."

Alyssa laughed at his reaction to her comments before nodding her head. "Exactly. Glad you can admit it," she teased lightly before grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the couch. "Do you want some wine?" She asked. "Wait...are you allowed to have wine tonight?"

Duncan "My mother didn't raise me to be a liar," Duncan responded and pivoted himself around so that he could follow her to the couch. "It's probably not a good idea in case I have to leave you," Duncan said, leaning down to take a seat. "Shouldn't be drunkenly putting out fires."

Alyssa "Good to know," she breathed out, completely meaning it. She had enough men lying to her in life so it was good that there was finally a nice one around. She scrunched up her nose a little before letting out a little huff. "Yea, I guess that wouldn't be so smart. Hopefully there aren't any fires to cut the night short."

Duncan flashed her a smile once more at her response, leaning back in the couch to get comfortable. When she huffed, Duncan couldn't help but laugh. "Small town, they're all at the station pretty much. There shouldn't be unless there's some freak accident." Reaching out, Duncan pushed some hair behind her ear. "I'll take advantage of what we have though."

Alyssa "And hey, if everyone is at the station and there is a fire there, there;s gotta be at least twenty guys that could take care of it without you," she pointed out, smiling up at him. As he reached out to brush her hair back, she moved closer to him on the couch. "Mm, please take advantage of as much as you want."

Duncan "Yeah, exactly. They don't need me and I certainly am not looking to leave anytime soon." Duncan said, moving his arm to the back of her when she moved closer, toying with the ends of her blonde hair. Pursing his lips, Duncan leaned up a bit into her. "You're sure?"

Alyssa nodded her head lightly as she bit down onto her bottom lip. "Yea, I'm sure," she murmured. "I mean...we can't go too far since my son is here but an old school, make out session on the couch could be fun, right?"

Duncan adjusted himself on the couch so he could be facing her instead, brushing his fingers over the back of her neck then down the length of her arm. "A make out session like we're seventeen years old and our parents could walk in any moment?" Duncan joked, "I'd be okay with that."

Alyssa laughed a little at the way he worded it, nodding her head. "Yep. Except instead of parents, a very confused child," she teased, turning slightly to face him a little more. "I know that dating me isn't going to always be easy or really that exciting so I understand if you're not actually into taking it slow and having to cancel because Ryan's dad bails last minute..."

Duncan chuckled and rolled his shoulders back. "We'll make sure a confused child doesn't have anything to walk into, don't worry." Duncan reassured, his head immediately shaking when she went on. "I'm not some guy who's going to drop you because you can't come out with me every night. I'd like to think I'm a bit more mature than that."

Alyssa "Thank you," she said, being sincere. She really wasn't ready to explain certain things to her son just yet. "Well, I know that. But I mean, you're young, newly single. I wouldn't want to keep you from having fun and going out and stuff."

Duncan "You don't gotta thank me," Duncan said, laughing as he did so and keeping it a quiet rumble so he didn't actually wake her son. Leaning forward, Duncan pressed a kiss to her lips before tilting them down to her jaw. "Alright, you've got a point..." He murmured, laying a kiss to her skin. And another. "But I've had my fair share of prowling the bars, and it's kind of old."

Alyssa smiled as he kissed her again, kissing him back happily until he pulled away to move his lips to her jaw. "Alright, you've convinced me," she giggled, tilting her head back slightly to allow him more access. "No more talking about that from me."

Duncan focused a bit more on laying his lips against her neck some more. "Good," Duncan started before leaning back up, his hand moving to her cheek to kiss her again. "Because I really do like you."

Alyssa moved her arms loosely around him as he started kissing her again, smiling against his lips. "Mm, you better," she mumbled against his lips before leaning back against the couch, pulling him down with her as she began kissing him back.

Duncan used the muscle in his arm to push himself up when she began to make the move to lean back, not wanting to rush her back though wanting to be ready to move with her. "How could I not?" Duncan breathed out against her lips, using the moments he took to breath as a time to speak, before he would kiss her again. "Enough that I'll be patient."

Alyssa could feel her smile growing as he kissed her back and assured her that he liked her. It had been a really, really long time since she felt like this for a guy and had a guy treat her like Duncan did. "Why are you so perfect?"

Duncan It was clear to him that he obviously hadn't been on a date in awhile, because hours prior to when he was even supposed to be headed over to Alyssa's, he was fumbling around at work and at home, probably based off the nerves. He didn't know why he was nervous, it wasn't some fancy date where he had to do all this work to woo her, but it had also been awhile since he was seeing anyone new. He dated Greer throughout high school and the two got engaged right after, so since the break off of the engagement, he really just kept to himself. Alyssa kind of sparked his interest from the get go, which didn't make him question even liking her. So he was quick to agree to a little date at her house as soon as she was pretty much given the opportunity, and once 8 o'clock rolled around, Duncan tucked his phone into his back pocket and stepped outside of his truck once he parked his car, heading up the drive to knock lightly.

Alyssa was more than nervous. She hadn't been with anyone since her ex and before that, she was with no one. Sure, she had little dates here and there but those never really panned out. She didn't even end up doing anything more than the first date with those boys. And after she got pregnant, dating was completely off the table. She didn't know that many people in the small town that was really interested in dating a woman with a child and she really didn't have time to leave Petersburg to find dates in the city. So yea, this was pretty much the biggest thing to happen to her after the birth of her son and she was kind of freaking out. She didn't know why she insisted on cooking them a meal because now she was freaking out that her food would be bad or he'd hate what she was making. She actually jumped when she heard the knocking and slowly made her way to the front door, talking to herself quietly, trying to calm herself down before she got to the door and pulled it open. She pulled on a big smile as he came into view and stepped slightly to the side. "Hey! Come on in."

Duncan looked up when Alyssa came into view and when he noticed the smile, he couldn't help but smile himself. "Hey," He breathed out before he turned and slowly moved inside the house, glancing around. It was then that he felt like a complete idiot for not thinking to bring flowers or something. "Smells amazing in here. What are you whipping up?" He asked, laughing as he slowly took his coat off.

Alyssa "Oh, thank you," she responded as he complimented the smell of the food. "Uh...chicken cacciatore," she answered. "I figured, who doesn't like Italian food, right?" She added, with a light, breathy laugh. Though after the words left her, she began to panic again. "I mean, if you don't, that's totally fine. And if you hate Italian food or even that specific dish, we can totally order. There is actually some great restaurants around here that are pretty fast with delivery..."

Duncan chuckled softly under his through again and nodded his head, moving to lay his jacket down, turning to face her. "Are you kidding? It smells amazing, I'm sure it tastes amazing." He said and clicked his tongue, stepping closer to her. "Haven't had a home cooked meal in months, I'm looking forward to this."

Alyssa settled down as he turned toward her and stepped closer. "Well, then, I hope you like it," she says, her smile returning. "Just...make yourself at home. I'm going to go check on dinner, make sure everything is still doing well. And...I've got wine. Or beer...or water, so if you're thirsty, I can get you something?"

Duncan rolled his shoulders and glanced around the house once more before he gave the girl a soft nod, cracking a half smile. "Sounds good to me," Nodding, Duncan rubbed his chin. "How about a beer?" He said.

Alyssa nodded her head lightly at him. "One beer, coming up," she said, moving back toward the kitchen. She checked on the food to make sure she wasn't burning it or anything and then went to the fridge to grab a couple of beers, popping them open before she headed into the living room. "Dinner's almost done."

Duncan nodded his head and moved to run his hand through his hair, making sure it wasn’t too messed up but not so perfect to where he was trying super hard. “Awesome, can’t wait.” He said and turned to face her a bit more, licking over his lips. “I’ve heard your cooking is pretty good.”

Alyssa handed the beer over to him as she got closer to him, scrunching her nose up a little. "Really? Was it my brother? Because he is not a great cook so he thinks like...everyone is an amazing cook. You really can't take his word for it. Or my son's. I'm the only one that cooks for him. So..."

Duncan reached out and grabbed the beer when she approached him and shot her a half smile in thanks, tipping back the beverage for a quick sip, licking his lips after. "I've heard it around the station at least. It was probably your brother though, his leftovers are open game when he's not there." Duncan cracked the joke with a laugh leaving the back of his throat, tucking his hand into his pockets. "But I'm sure it's good, you just seem like a good cook."

Alyssa couldn't help but smile as he continued to compliment her cooking, despite never actually having any of it. "Well, thank you," she laughed lightly. "I hope I live up to the expectation. Though, I feel like I'm way up on a pedestal at the moment so...take it down a notch," she joked before taking a sip of her beer.

Duncan released a low laugh from the back of his throat when Alyssa cracked her joke and he simply nodded. "Alright, alright, I'll tone it down a bit but just because you asked so nicely." Duncan said, moving to tuck his hand into his pocket. "Am I allowed to say you look beautiful tonight?"

Alyssa joined the chat 88 days ago

Alyssa "Thank you," she laughed. She felt herself blushing a little when he complimented her. Or well, asked if he could but still, it was pretty much a compliment. "You definitely can," she answered, smiling over at him. "Though, hold that thought because I should probably get back to the food..."

Duncan had to reach up and rub his jaw lightly to refrain from smiling too hard, not wanting to seem over the top or too eager. The last thing he wanted to seem was way too overbearing for her on what was sort of their first official date. "You do that, I'll hold up and wait." Duncan laughed, glancing back toward the kitchen.

Alyssa flashed him another smile before he quickly turned around and headed back to the kitchen to check on the food. Which was prefect timing since everything was done at that point. She started to move the dishes over into the dinning room, figuring she'd get it all out. And once that was done, she headed back to the living room where she left him. "Dinner's ready. I've set it up in the dining room. I never get to actually use that room for dinners so pretty excited to be eating in there instead of doing arts and crafts..."

Duncan As Alyssa moved back into the other room, Duncan than sipped from his beer ever so often and began to look around the living room casually. Looking over the pictures that were set up, he eventually heard her voice and turned when he did, flashing her a half smile. "You mean we aren't doing arts and crafts tonight? Damn," He joked, moving to follow her wherever she wanted to lead him to the table, moving to grab her chair for her.

Alyssa laughed at his joke, shaking her head lightly. "Hey, I've got some boxes for sand art that hasn't been open yet so you know...night's still young," she joked back, leading him into the dinning room. She smiled as he pulled the chair out for her, taking her seat and grabbing her beer to sip on. "So, how has your week been?"

Duncan She was laughing and laughing on the first date typically meant things were going good, or at least that's what Duncan knew from his experience with his previous relationship. Either way, Duncan definitely knew that he was gonna wanna make this girl laugh again based off just the sound of it. "Don't tempt me," He teased with a shake of his head and patiently waited until she was situated in her seat before he made the move to scoot her in and take a seat at his own, rolling his shoulders back as he got comfortable. "Busy," He started out as he released a laugh. "A lot going on at the station and strangely, got a lot of calls for assistance this week."

Alyssa really couldn't help herself to be amused with the joking about doing arts and crafts. It was silly but it was cute too. "Really? Are there like a lot of fires lately?" She asked. Her brother rarely talked to her about work and she didn't really press him on it since she knew he liked to unwind and not think about it when he was off so she really didn't know all of what was going on in the world of fires. "Or are they asking for help for other things like...cats being stuck in a tree?" She asked, teasing of course.

Duncan "Yeah, a lot of house fires and car accidents where the hospital needs our assistance." Duncan nodded his head slowly and moved to lean forward into the table, his forearm resting against the edge comfortable. "But no... can't say I've ever gotten a cat out of a tree or have I never needed to." He added, chuckling at her joke.

Alyssa made a little face at his answer. She would probably panic like crazy if there was ever a house fire in her house. She barely liked using the grill because of the fire. "Wow. That is...terrifying. I don't know how you do it. Or how any of you guys do it. You're...very brave and very good." She perked up a bit as he added to her joke. "Well, then...not sure if we could really consider you a hero yet."

Duncan "It's terrifying, I'm not gonna lie. Some people get a thrill from it and others find it rewarding. But, someone's gotta do it, you know?" Duncan said, watching her perk up which caused a smile to pull on his lips when he pulled his beer away from his mouth. "Oh? Well, excuse me, I gotta go find a distressed cat now to prove it to you..."

Alyssa nodded her head lightly as he spoke. "Yea, you're not wrong about that. Which is what makes you so brave. All of you guys. Like, the thought of having to put out a small fire freaks me out. Couldn't imagine a big one." She laughed as he mentioned finding a cat. "Hey! Given the amount of cat ladies in this town, shouldn't be too hard to find one."

Duncan "I'm sure you could do it if you really needed to. You seem strong enough both mentally and physically to do it." Duncan murmured and glanced over her momentarily, and as politely as he could. He definitely took that moment to check her out but didn't wanna seem like a pig about it. "Well, maybe I'll just go be that hero for them then...."

Alyssa laughed at him when he believed in her. "Oh, no. You're sweet but...no. I couldn't. I would be the one on the phone with 911 freaking out over a tiny, little fire that could easily be put out with a blanket. But thanks for believing in me." She reached forward to grab her beer, taking another sip of it. "You should definitely do it. It would be pretty sexy of you."

Duncan "Really? Why? Is it a fear or something?" Duncan said with a chuckle and watched her for the time being, the smile still evident on his face. "Sexy, huh?" He murmured after a moment before leaning back into his chair. "You think of me and how sexy I am?"

Alyssa shrugged her shoulders lightly at his question. "Yea, I guess you could say that. I'm not afraid of fires though. Like, I can light a candle or go to a bonfire. But putting them out, I'd be afraid I'm not doing it right or will hurt myself so I get someone else to do that. Usually my brother." She puckered her lips when he questioned her about thinking of him being sexy and lightly shook her head. "I didn't say that. I said it would be...as in...if you did that...so...let's not get a big head."

Duncan nodded his head slowly as he listened to her and half smiled in her direction, rubbing his hand against his knee. "Makes sense. A lot of people overthink it and hurt themselves while trying to put it out, anyway, so it's probably the best bet." He said and laughed, holding his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay... No big head here..."

Alyssa "See! Exactly, leave it to the professionals," she laughed. She kept her eyes on him for a moment before slowly nodding her head lightly. "Good. Guys with big heads can't be sexy," she teased lightly, smirking over at him.

Duncan chuckled under his breath and slowly shook his head, rubbing his chin as he did so. "Well, if you ever need a fire to be put out, you know who to call." Duncan said and diverted his gaze back down to his beer bottle, licking his lips. "Yeah... you do have a point. Definitely want to clock them in the face once they get in a ramble of talking about themselves. Julian, my guy, I love him so but sometimes... it could be fatal."

Alyssa "The fire department. Don't worry, big bro already made me put the number in my phone," she said, teasing since she knows he was talking about himself. She laughed at the mention of his friend and nodded her head lightly. "Exactly! It can be funny at times or even attractive when a guy is confident but...it can get old really fast. But I don't think that's something you'll have to worry about."

Duncan leaned forward a bit as an amused smile spread over his lips, an obvious joking response to his own joke, looking over the food. "Well... good. Big bro has you covered." He laughed, before he moved to grab the spoon and dish the two of them up so she wouldn't have to. "I don't think so, either." He flashed her a grin, sliding her plate her way.

Alyssa laughed along with him, ducking her head down a little as she pushed her hair back behind her ears. She looked back up at him, watching as he dished the food out onto their plates, a smile playing on her lips. "So, what do you usually do when you're not at the station?"

Duncan leaned back in his seat once he finished and reached over to take a sip of his beer, before turning back to her. "Uh, well. Not much." He laughed, though he was being serious. "I try to get together with a few buddies of mine from high school as much as I can, since we made this pact that we lamely try to keep up. Right after I graduated from the academy I headed out to fight forest fires, so I wasn't home much then. Hang with Soph, ride my bike, catch up on sleep..."

Alyssa dug into her food as soon as everything was plated, listening to him as he answered her question. She nodded her head along with him, smiling lightly as he trailed off. "Sounds about right," she joked. "My brother, same way. He sleeps in whenever he's here and spends the rest of his time trying to fill the day with literally anything that sounds fun. I don't know how to guys do it."