Chapter Eleven
Eric
“So, you’re finally doing it, huh?”
I glanced over my shoulder from the laptop on my lap as I sat on the edge of my bunk to see Carter standing over me, arms folded. His head motioned toward the screen of my laptop. I turned back around as he rounded my bed to stand in front.
“Yeah, it’s about time,” I answered, typing in the rest of my registration form for the lieutenant's exam.
“Damn right it is. When’s the test?”
“End of October,” I grunted.
“Gives you about three months to study. Little less,” he commented, sitting down on his own cot.
“Can you believe it’s almost a hundred dollars to register? And if I pay by card, they charge me an additional three percent fee,” I scoffed.
“That’s the Fire Department for ya’. Nickel and dime where they can. Well, that’s most businesses and organizations for you, to be honest.”
I peered up at a frowning Carter, whose mind had obviously drifted off to someplace else.
“You ever think about taking the exam?” I questioned. Carter had been with the department for as long as I had.
He grunted. “With all the recent shit I’ve been in? They’d probably laugh my request off the captain’s desk.”
“They wouldn’t. You had some trouble, but you dealt with it.”
“They won’t see it that way. Not so soon, anyway. Its okay, man. Maybe in a few years when I’ve racked up all the commendations you have, I’ll apply.” He was teasing, but I could see the the want behind his eyes.
“Just make sure you save up to be able to pay for this registration process,” I joked.
He chuckled. “I’ll do that.” It was funny because Carter was the wealthiest man in the fire station… hell, the entire department. He was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. And he walked away from it all to do what he loved. He and I had that as one of our bonds. We both turned down lucrative futures to put out fires.
“Hey, is Don around?”
“Yeah, last I saw him, he was cleaning his gear.”
“Good.” I nodded and finished up my registration before closing my laptop.
“I’m going to catch some sleep,” Carter said, laying down. He was on the twenty-four-hour shift, so he was just coming up on his sixteenth hour at the station. The previous night had been a busy one.
I stored my laptop in my storage space, right next to my bunk before heading downstairs to seek out Don. I checked in the area where we kept our equipment, but he wasn’t there. I headed right for the kitchen, knowing that nine times out of ten that’s where he’d be.
“Heard you're registering for the exam,” Don stated as soon as he saw me. He peered at me over the brim of what I was sure was his fourth cup of coffee. He, too, was working a twenty-four shift.
“Word travels fast.”
“Nah, I just knew it was coming up and figured you’re the most qualified. Plus, I saw Cap pull you in his office the other week.”
I grinned. Don liked to play down how savvy he was, but the man had street smarts and book knowledge.
“Yeah, I just registered.”
“Good. We need a lieutenant around here. Whip these damn rookies into shape.”
“And to keep an eye on the more seasoned guys.”
He grunted at that.
“Hey, anyway, I got a favor to ask.”
“Shoot.”
“You still have your friend down at the police department?”
“I have a lot of friends at the department.”
“The one who runs IDs and can get you all types of information?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Why?”
“I need him to look someone up for me.”
“It’s a she,” he corrected.
I gave him a look. He shrugged.
“Whatever, man. Can she look someone up for me?”
“This person causing you trouble?” Don’s voice took on a serious note as he stepped closer.
“No, not much. I just need his address or possibly his whereabouts during the day. First name Marshall. I don’t have a last name, but he works as a teacher over at the middle school on Henderson.” I gave Don all the information I had on Marshall. I didn’t want to ask Angela for more info to not arouse any more suspicion on her part.
“All right, man. Let me see what I can do.”
“Thanks, man.”
“You sure you’re good, though?”
“Positive.”
“Okay. I’ll give her a ring now.” He strolled off, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. I appreciated he didn’t ask for more information about why I was seeking this guy out.
With that settled, I reached for my cell phone, sending a text to Angela letting her know the guys and I planned on stopping by the bar tonight after our shift. That wasn’t unusual, but I still wanted her to be in the know. I also didn’t want to admit to myself that I was probably just finding any reason to reach out to her during the day. She’s been on my mind since the moment I left her place. For once, I regretted that I had to get up and go to work.
I’ll be waiting. Came back her text reply with a winking eye emoji. I had to make sure to wipe the stupid, school-boy grin off my face before any of the other guys saw me.
****
The three of us walked in the bar, and the first thing that hit me, as usual, was the energy. Patrons mingled, laughed, and danced to the tunes of “Good Life” by OneRepublic. The first place my eyes zeroed in on was behind the bar. And there she was, once again, the focal point of most of the patron’s entertainment, dancing and serving drinks. A male bartender was with her this evening, but he was dancing right along with Angela to the music. I had to tamp down on the jealousy that ran through my chest at the sight of her laughing with another man. It’s her job. It was also her personality―open, friendly, laughing, and welcoming. Who wouldn’t want to be around that type of energy?
I answered my question when my feet picked up their pace headed in her direction. I didn’t bother to see if Corey and Carter followed or if they went to find a table for us; it wasn’t my concern at the moment. I took the space at the bar a woman just vacated after retrieving her drink. When Angela’s eyes landed on me, my heartbeat quickened the same way it did whenever we got a call at the station. Her eyes smiled before her mouth did and for a second I was thrown back to the previous night when I first thrust inside of her. Then, her eyelids hung heavily, drained after the orgasm I gave her with my mouth. But as soon as I pushed up against her, those tawny orbs sparkled with fire and awe.
“And for you, sir?” Her voice was airy. She was flirting with me, but it wasn’t the same, friendly flirting she did with her other patrons.
I had to adjust myself in my jeans before responding. “Four of the usual, Angel.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I only saw you come in with Carter and Corey.”
My lips parted, and I leaned farther on the bar. “You watched me come in?”
“I’ve been waiting for you,” she admitted, leaning over the bar as well. Our lips were only a few inches apart, and with temptation like that, I wasn’t one to resist. I took the liberty of leaning in even more and brushing my lips against hers. The kiss wasn’t nearly long enough for either one of us.
My head spun to the right of me when a man whistled across the bar. “I’ll take one of those as well!” he called, causing the few patrons around him to laugh.
“Like hell you will!” I shot back without hesitation or thought. The men laughed, but my frown remained.
“He’s just teasing,” Angela stated, bringing my attention back to her. “So, four of the usual?”
“Yeah, Don was taking a call outside,” I responded to her earlier inquiry about there only being three of us.
“Ah.” She nodded, her curiosity satisfied.
Seconds later, she placed four Coronas with lime slices sticking out the tops of the bottles in front of me. I hesitated to retrieve the beers, not wanting to take my eyes off her.
“You closing tonight?” It was a ridiculous question; she always closed.
“Yup.”
“Which means you’ll be done around three?”
“Possibly sooner if I can ge―”
“Make it sooner.”
She gave me a curious look.
“I’ll wait for you.”
“You just got off work. You’ll be exhausted by the time I finish closing up.”
I stared at her, not even realizing my brain was working to memorize every aspect of her face. “I’ll wait for you.”
Placing money on the bar, I grabbed the four beers and turned, surveying the bar and looking for the rest of my crew. I found them seated at one of the corner tables, talking with a few guys from another fire station. I strolled over in their direction, handing Corey, Carter and Don―who’d apparently ended his phone conversation―each of their beers.
“I’m starving. Wanna order a round of wings?” Don asked.
Corey, Carter, and I all grunted our agreement. The other firefighters had gone back to their tables. Don strolled toward the section of the bar where food orders were placed. He was back within a few minutes, tapping me on my back.
“That call was from my friend with the police department. She gave me the info you were looking for.” He pulled out a small piece of paper that he scribbled Marshall’s information on.
I looked it over, noting his home and work addresses, including the community center he worked at over the summer as a tutor.
“Thanks.”
“Should I even ask what you’re going to do with that?” He nodded in the direction of my hand, as I placed the paper in my back pocket.
“Probably not.”
We headed back to the table.
“Wanna tell us what’s up with you and the owner of the bar?” Corey asked, nonchalantly, just as the food Don ordered was brought to the table.
Three pairs of smirking eyes were trained on me. “No.”
“Aw, come on, man!” Carter cried.
“It’s about time you gave us something. We’re not gonna act like we didn’t just see what happened at the bar. Don’t say it’s nothing! The Harvard we know doesn’t do PDA,” Corey challenged.
Letting out a deep sigh, I attempted to divert attention back to the food. “I thought you bozos said you were hungry.” Nine times out of ten, it worked. Not this time.
“We can eat and talk. Spill it,” Don added.
I narrowed my gaze at him first, then the rest of them. “I can’t believe I call you guys my brothers.”
“Brothers from another mother. And don’t you forget it. Now spill,” Carter laughed.
“Look, it’s new. Really new, and I’m liking it. That’s all I’m saying about Angela and I. Now mind your fucking business and eat your goddamn wings.”
“Someone’s sensitive,” Corey sing-songed.
He was right, I was sensitive over my budding relationship. Especially after what happened with my mother. And while I didn’t fear these guys wouldn’t accept Angela like my mother hadn’t, I didn’t want to share her either. Not yet. I turned back toward the bar and smiled as Angela danced behind the bar again, serving drinks. When she looked up and caught my eye, I gave her a wink, and her smile grew even wider. The stirring in my groin happened again, and I began counting down the minutes until the bar closed.
****
“You’ve been up for nearly twenty-four hours,” Angela commented, as we stepped up onto her porch.
“I suddenly got my second wind.” My hand went to the small of her back.
She grinned at me over her shoulder. Instead of heading right to the door, as I expected her to do, she turned for the wooden swing sitting at the far right side of the porch. She sat and patted the space to the right of her for me to sit. I joined her, but my need to touch her became overwhelming, so I picked her up, placing her on my lap, nuzzling my face into the crook of her neck. Her sweet scent made me feel heady and my fingers dug into the flesh of her thighs.
I used my long legs to push off the porch and get us swinging, causing her to laugh. It was one of those perfectly warm summer nights. While sirens and car horns could be heard in the distant background, Angela’s street was quiet. Quiet enough that you could close your eyes and almost pretend that instead of being in one of the nation’s most populated cities, you were in the suburbs of Middle America.
“My dad built this porch and swing for my mom. I think I was about eleven or twelve. My mom loved sitting out here summer nights with her friends from the neighborhood, or with my dad after Sean and I went to bed. They were so much in love, even after years and years together and two kids.” The wistfulness and sadness that was always there when she spoke of her parents was apparent.
I pulled her in closer.
“You see that house right there.”
I lifted my head to see her pointing to a home across the street and two houses over. It was a moderate size home. The layout was different from Angela’s home as it appeared to be a one-story home as opposed to Angela’s two-story house.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“My father grew up in that house. His father was a sharecropper down south. He came up to Williamsport as part of the Great Migration and brought my grandmother and father, who was just a baby. They wanted my father to be able to live in a place without fear of being lynched or shut out of opportunity because of his race. My grandmother worked as a nanny, and scrubbed floors part-time. My grandfather was able to get a job in construction. They bought that house a few years later. They raised my father and his siblings in it. When my father grew up and married my mother, they lived there with my grandparents as my father had this house built. He became a firefighter in his early twenties, but on his time off he spent hours working with his father and others to build this house. Today my younger cousin owns that home, but she travels a lot, so she rents it out.”
“Your father sounds like an amazing man. Your family’s background sort of mirrors my own.”
She sat up, looking at me. “How so?”
“My grandparents—my father’s mother and father—immigrated from North Korea to the U.S. for a better life.”
“Really? I assumed your family was from South Korea.”
“My mother’s family is. My father’s parents were able to get out just around the end of the Korean War.” I continued to explain the evolution of my family as they barely escaped Communist rule. I told her how my parents met their junior year of college and married within weeks of knowing each other.
“My grandparents, on both sides, were pissed, but they were relieved when my parents agreed to wait to have children.”
We sat again, for a few more moments in silence, until Angela broke it. “All the circumstances our families have been through just to get to this point. All of that for you and I to be right here. Right now.” She paused to sigh. “Do you believe in fate?”
It was a surprising question, but I didn’t have to think about the answer. “Yes.”
“Really? Why?” Surprise was evident in her tone.
“It comes with the job, I think.”
“How so?”
“I’ve seen too much not to think fate, or something like it exists. When I’ve seen a man, who should be dead, come back to life. Or a woman narrowly miss being hit by a beam falling on her. Or a perfectly healthy child dies in a matter of minutes by a freak fire or accident. I don’t know. It seems like there is something behind it all, directing the show. Maybe our destinies are determined before we get here.”
Her head tilted up from my chest, where she’d again laid into me. “You think you and I are fate?”
That was another easy answer. Instead of giving a verbal response, I pulled her to me and brought our lips together. Heat rose in my belly and I moved to have Angela’s legs straddle me, so I could stand up.
“What a―” she questioned, breaking free from the kiss. By the time the first word was out, I was at her door.
“Open it or―”
“My neighbors will get a show?” she retorted saucily.
“Exactly,” I growled, nuzzling her neck again and then biting her earlobe.
She did as told, turning awkwardly in my grasp, with her legs still around me to unlock the door. Once she had it unlocked, I moved, turning the knob and pushing it open, then slamming it behind us. By the time we were halfway down the hall I had her dress stripped from her body and on the floor.