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Sue brushed excess water and clay on her apron before placing her hands on her hips, facing the man.
"You seriously want to learn wheel-throwing? Like, making pottery? You?"
"Well, sure, yeah! It seems like fun!"
Firefighters had comparable social skills to a slice of burnt toast. Well, at least the one currently in Sue's shop did. He flirted like one too.
Sue took pride in her work, as she owned a quiet little pottery store in a more hidden area of the city. Indeed, there was such a thing, and it just happened to be here a couple weeks ago that disaster struck.
Disaster, in this case, was a knife she had been using to carve designs in a vase she was crafting. It wasn't going right, and ended up piercing through the vase. In her frustration, she crushed the clay and stood up quickly.
Not noticing the water on the floor, she slipped right off her feet and lost grip of the knife. As the phrase goes, a falling knife has no handle. It cut her hand and sunk squarely in her thigh as she landed hard on her tailbone.
It was completely her fault for not being more careful, but boy did it hurt! Not only the being stabbed part, but also her pride. She was somehow able to scoot her way over to the shop's phone and dial the local police station with minimal damage.
It wasn't cops that then came through her door a few minutes later, it was two firefighters. A bit unusual, but she wasn't going to complain. At that point, she would've put her faith in a two-by-four with a face drawn on it to drive her to a hospital.
It was slightly uncomfortable, being vulnerable in front of two strangers, but Sue quickly got over that once she confirmed their assurances were genuine. They had stopped the knife from wiggling around, had wrapped her hand, and before long she was in the back of an ambulance off to be treated.
The man that had gotten in the ambulance with her was...undeniably cute. Something in the brown eyes, the long hair--Sue really loved that--the soft and crooked smile. It removed at least some of the pain on the ride there.
But Sue wouldn't dare tell him she just got over a bad breakup. More than a bad breakup. A breakup that almost completely broke her trust in men. Yes, the firefighter was adorable and probably had a wonderfully soft side to him, but she simply wasn't ready.
"We can't accept gifts" they had told Sue. The cute firefighter had also mentioned how things weren't made to last and that they broke two of their mugs at the station in the span of a month.
She took that as a challenge. Once she was cleared to walk and work, she sat down and fashioned two lovely mugs. Its deep, natural red color shone through after firing. Intentional, of course. Firefighters. Fire station. Red color. It only made sense.
Her visit to said station was unexpected, but they seemed used to those kinds of guests. They again informed Sue they couldn't accept gifts, but after they unwrapped the pieces and looked them over, she knew they couldn't say no.
It was then she made a mistake. "If any of you are interested in pottery making, I'd be happy to teach you for free." She had told the six. She honestly didn't think the offer would be taken up. After all, it required a steady hand and gentle movements.
Imagine her surprise when the cute one walked into her shop two weeks after she delivered the stoneware. He announced his intentions to take up her offer, intrigued by the process.
And now, here she was. Staring at him in disbelief. His real intentions were probably to work up to asking for a date. What the heck.
She sighed and gestured to the air. "Well, I did offer. I intend to uphold it."
The firefighter clapped his hands together. "Alright! How do we start?"
Sue smiled in humor before breaking into a hearty laugh. He was certainly eager!
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"And then you...just...no, no, just literally--"
"Slap it on?"
"Like I showed you, yes."
Three sessions in, and Sue had learned a few things about John. Number one, he picked up on new stuff fast. Number two, he was indeed an absolute goof, just as she predicted.
She watched him make a face, look at the clay in his hand, and slap the lump on the wheel harder than needed. In doing so, some of it splashed into his face.
"Oh my gosh Johnny, gently! Not with the might of Zeus!"
Number three. He didn't care about getting dirty. That one probably came from the job. John grumbled his frustration, wiping his face with his hands, then on the loaned apron before fluffing up the front of his hair.
"Ya know, you make it seem so--so easy." He shot Sue a crooked smile, humor in his eyes.
She responded with a sigh. "Well, I've been doing it for years."
Sue removed the block of clay from his wheel and planted it back on the table, prepping it for another go.
"And honestly, you..." she began with her back turned to him, "really should tie your hair back. If you get clay in it, I assure you it won't come out."
"Oh yeah? Soot comes out pretty easily."
The lump of clay was ready for another go as Sue grabbed it and turned back around.
"Well, clay like this, when exposed to water, becomes a mess."
She sat down next to him and handed over the ball of clay. "I mean it. Gently. Think of it as...maybe treating someone in your job."
That seemed to make something click in the man's brain. He leaned back a bit, mouth slightly open in realization before taking the clay from Sue.
"Don't worry about being good. Just enjoy the process." Sue leaned back and allowed him to apply what she showed him before.
He did it much more gently now, just as she suggested. He barely seemed to understand it of course, but still pressed on.
She tilted her head slightly. His hair was slightly messy. His hands were rough. There were splotches of clay on his pants. Much more different than the clean man that first appeared in her shop. It was kind of hot.
Who was she kidding, it was really hot.
Imagine the soot on his face. The even messier hair from sweat and his helmet. Rough hands under thick gloves reaching to help someone. Tough firefighter appearance, but the kindest eyes. Eyes that could let someone know all would be okay.
Yet at the same time, treating someone with drugs and other things, being as gentle as possible. John seemed to pick up on Sue's fear the moment he had crouched by her with that hospital phone thing. He immediately let her know that all was okay. He and his partner were perfectly fine with letting her know their next movements.
"So, ah, how's this?"
Sue flicked her head up slightly as she snapped out of her thoughts. The lump of clay now looked like a misshapen rounded pillar, with a pushed-in top.
She smiled at him. "Most of your attempts will look like art projects before you get the hang of it. You did good."
John looked nonetheless pleased with himself as he wiped his hands on the apron. Sue suddenly understood why her friend found hands the most attractive thing on a man.
"It took me hundreds of tries." Sue finished. She stood up from her seat, making her way across the shop. She knew John was staring at her as she pulled open a random drawer, producing something.
Sue gestured to the air and flipped around. "And...I know I said 'absolutely no dates' at the fire station."
John lit up near-instantly. God, it was adorable. She held up a hairband, raised an eyebrow and wiggled the band a bit.
"Let's get this on you and we can talk."
Sue was finally ready to move on from her previous relationship. Finally ready to trust again. All just felt right, felt okay.
And of course, she had to say yes to dinner.