Chapter Eight
Eric
As soon as she opened the door, I could tell something was weighing on Angela. She greeted me as warmly as she had any other time, but the shine in those tawny eyes was dimmer than usual.
She smiled. “Hi.”
“Hello,” I returned, leaning down to press a kiss on her lips.
“I thought instead of finding something to eat before or after the movie we could have dinner picnic-style in the park.” She held up a white wicker picnic basket.
“I should’ve known you’d be making something. I didn’t want you to go through the trouble.”
“No trouble at all. We both need to eat right?”
“Right. Let me.” I took the basket from her arms so she could lock up.
“It’s a perfect night for a movie in the park. It’s cooled off since this afternoon,” she stated as I started the ignition.
I placed the basket in the backseat so we had enough room as I drove.
“How was your day?”
I took my eyes off the road for a second to see her flash me a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Instinctively, I grabbed her hand for comfort, bringing it to my lips and then placing it on my thigh as I drove.
“It was good. My brother and nephew came over. I made his favorite dish...’pisghetti.”
“’Pisghetti?”
She laughed lightly. “Yeah, Jeremiah still has a little trouble pronouncing spaghetti. Anyway, I made them lunch, lemon pound cake included, and they took the leftovers home. I hate leftovers. But don’t worry, I made us strawberry cheesecake tarts for our dessert. Two desserts in one day is going to have me tripling up on my spin classes this week.” She lightly patted her flat stomach.
“I have a few other ideas in mind to help you work those calories off.”
She giggled.
She talked more about her nephew, Jeremiah, and her brother. It was apparent how much she loved them.
It took us about twenty minutes to get to the park and find parking, but I paused just as I was about to turn off my car. Instead, I turned to her, again noticing the sadness in her eyes.
“You want to tell me what’s wrong?”
She appeared shocked. “Nothing’s wrong. Why, did I―”
“You didn’t do anything. I get the sense you’re a little off tonight.”
“I’m sorry, I―”
“You don’t owe me an apology. But I don’t like seeing the sadness in your eyes.”
She blew out a deep breath, turning toward the windshield. “It’s my parents.”
“Your parents?”
“Yeah, seeing Sean with Jeremiah always gets to me. It reminds me of how my dad and Sean were together, and how much my parents loved Jeremiah. They were so excited when they found out they were going to be grandparents. I remember my mom mentioning how much she couldn’t wait until I had kids. She planned to spoil them rotten,” she chuckled.
When she paused, I covered her hand, which still rested on my lap.
“It’s ridiculous… they died almost two years ago. I should be over it by now.”
I snorted. “There is no expiration date on grieving for the people you loved. It’s okay to be sad.”
She gave me a half smile through watery eyes. “And now I’ve ruined our date.”
“Nothing’s ruined. We’re still together.” I passed her a tissue from the box I kept in the glove compartment. She dabbed at her eyes with the tissue in her free hand. I still held onto her left hand in my lap.
“How about we take a drive?” I suggested.
“What about the movie?”
“There’ll be other movies.”
“I’d like that.” Her voice was low, filled with a sweetness that pulled at my heartstrings.
“Why do you have this?” she questioned, pointing to the scanner I’d taken out of my glove compartment.
We drove around for the better part of an hour. I asked her about her parents, and she divulged all about them. If the light in Angela’s eyes when she talked about them was any indication, they seemed like great people. Her sadness transformed to happiness as she talked about the different family vacations they went on. Her voice growing shakier when she talked of the last trip they took to the Bahamas. The one that’d killed them.
“It does bring me comfort knowing they died together. I don’t know if either one of them would’ve survived without the other,” she’d said when speaking of their death.
“It’s a police scanner,” I answered her question, pulling it from her hand. We were parked at a spot that was about ten miles outside the city. It overlooked the surrounding suburbs and part of Williamsport.
“I know what it is. I just want to know why you have it?”
Smirking, I leaned my head against the back of my seat. “I’m sure your brother and father had one.”
She laughed. “They did and do. I know most firefighters carry them. Why?”
I gave a one-shoulder shrug. “To keep up with what’s happening.”
“Even when you’re not at work?”
“Especially when I’m not at work. I don’t need it then, I have my walkie-talkie at work. I often turn my scanner on when I’m driving in to hear what’s going on or get updates on what happened while I was out.”
“You guys are addicted.” She shook her head, smiling. I was grateful her mood seemed to lighten.
“You hungry?” she asked.
I almost forgot about the food.
“Sure.”
“I made turkey club since I know you liked the last one. This time I used an avocado sauce instead of mayo. Or I made a roast beef and cheddar melt. Which one would you like?”
“Roast beef.”
She reached back and grabbed the picnic basket, handing me the sandwich and pulling out paper cups and a bottle of champagne.
“You came prepared.”
“Always.” She winked. “Let’s listen.” Her head jutted toward the scanner.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I wanna hear what goes on between you guys.”
I laughed. “We save the dirty talk for the station. Not over the scanner.” I flipped the switch, turning it on. After a few moments of static, we heard voices come through.
“Let’s get in the backseat to get more comfortable.”
I waited for her to climb in the back, before going after her. I positioned myself to one side, and Angela slid in between my splayed legs, making herself comfortable. She fit like a glove. We ate our sandwiches and fruit, listening to the scanner.
“What’s a 10-88 mean?” she asked between bites.
“It’s a code for a type of fire. A 10-88 is a relatively small fire. Probably only a one alarm.”
That went on for the next two hours, us listening to the scanner and her asking questions about what this code or that code meant. I didn’t mind the questions; I genuinely appreciated her interest. Now and then she would intersperse her questions with a memory of her father talking about a run he went on with her mother late at night.
“He rarely talked about the big fires with us, though.”
“Most of us don’t.” That slipped out of my mouth before I had a chance to think better of it. That was unusual for me since I always measured my words before speaking.
“Why is that?” Sitting up, she stared at me expectantly.
“We just don’t want to bring our work home. Most people try to separate work from their personal life. No different with us.” That wasn’t the complete truth. A bad day for someone who worked a nine to five could mean being yelled at by their boss. A bad day for a firefighter could mean a person dying in your arms due to burns or smoke inhalation. Every man wanted to keep his personal life separate from that. The home was our respite from the sometimes dark world of our careers. No matter how much we loved the job, everyone needed a respite.
She continued to look at me as if the answer hadn’t satisfied her, but she didn’t push the issue.
“I worry about you,” she said, voice low. “I used to just worry about Sean, but now I worry for your safety, too.” She grabbed my hand, wrapping it around her waist, tightly.
“No need to worry about me.” I tried to sound lighthearted about it.
“Are you kidding me? You run into fires for a living. How can I not worry?”
Bending down to place a kiss on the top of her head, I ran my thumb along her forehead to smooth out the worry lines.
“Keep scrunching your forehead like that, and you’ll get early wrinkles.”
“Don’t joke about this, Eric.” She sat up and fully turned to me.
I sighed, sitting up and cupping both sides of her face in my hands. “Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I work for Rescue Four. We protect one another. We’re the guys everyone else sends in when a man is trapped inside. You know what that means?”
She shook her head.
“It means that I work with the best of the best. If I’m in trouble, I know I’ve got the department’s finest coming in after me. I have my own personal insurance policy as a Rescue Four guy. All right?”
Her gaze pinned me, soaking in my words and picking them apart. Finally, she nodded. I pulled her into me, fusing our mouths together. She sighed into my mouth. I tasted the sweetness of the fruit she ate after her sandwich. It mixed with her sweet flavor, and the more I tasted, the more I wanted. She made me greedier than I’ve ever felt. I pulled her onto me, so she straddled my lap. Even through my jeans, I felt the heat from her center. My groin tightened as my need for her grew. She moaned into my mouth at the same time as her hips started rocking into mine. Feeling the bulge in my pants, she began rubbing herself against it. I moved my hands from her face to her hips, pulling her onto me even more. I kissed a trail down her neck, sucking on the soft flesh there and licking it. She let out a loud moan and her body began to tremble. She was about to orgasm. I needed to see the expression on her face when she came. I pulled back.
“Eric,” she whispered and I swear I almost came in my jeans.
“Let me see you come, Angel,” I encouraged.
And she did. Head thrown back, eyes closed tightly, she came. And it was the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.
****
Angela
I panted and huffed as I stood up, hunched over the handlebars, legs pumping, doing my best to keep up with Cynthia’s instructions. It was Wednesday morning, and I decided to take Cynthia’s spin class this week. I meant what I said about needing to up my exercise routine after all the sweets I had eaten over the weekend. Plus, with extra energy to burn off, I needed the outlet. Eric and I were going out later that evening, and he was taking me to his parents’ home for dinner. It was his father’s birthday, and they were having a family dinner to celebrate. To say I was nervous would be an understatement.
“That’s it, Angela! Show ’em how it's done!” Cynthia yelled out, causing a few of the other spinners to laugh and cheer.
I laughed and pumped harder, turning up the resistance on the bike when she instructed us to. I was in my zone, heart-racing, feeling good. A good sweat always had a way of making me feel as if I could conquer the day. And that feeling was just what I needed to tackle this date head-on. By the end of class, I was feeling spent in that really great way. Each of my muscles were singing to me, and I wanted nothing more than to stretch them out and then head home for a small lunch and a bath to calm my nerves and look my best for my guy.
“I’m probably overreacting,” I mumbled to myself as I sat on one of the gym mats in the corner to stretch. In all likelihood, I was overreacting. Families often loved me. The boyfriends I’ve had over the years all brought me home to meet their parents, and they fell in love. Of course, the relationships never worked out in the end, but it wasn’t due to family strife. I was a natural at making people warm up to me. I could do that again, especially when it came to someone who’s become so near and dear to my heart in such a short period of time.
I smiled to myself, just thinking about Eric, as I moved into a downward dog position. I groaned as my heels strained to make contact with the floor, stretching my calf muscles.
“It’ll be fine,” I stated, continuing to talk to myself. By the time I was finished with my stretches, I felt much better about the night ahead.
“Long time no see.”
Turning from the stack of mats, I found Marshall standing behind me. A surge of guilt hit me in the gut. I ignored his last two calls, and this was the first time we’ve seen each other since that night at the fair.
“Marshall. Hey. How are you?”
“I’m well. I see you’re doing okay.”
I nodded. “You know, just enjoying what’s left of summer.”
“Same here. Trying to, at least. Did you receive my messages?”
I did my best not to avoid eye contact, though my guilt nearly forced me to hang my head in shame. “I did. I’ve just been busy.”
“With that guy you were out with?”
“Yes.” No sense in lying about the obvious.
“You’re seeing him now?”
“We’re getting to know one another.” That sounded way too casual for what was going on between Eric and I. No, we haven’t defined our relationship as boyfriend-girlfriend just yet. It’s been close to a month since we started dating, but it felt like we were a lot further than that in the “getting to know one another” stage. That was even funnier, seeing as how Marshall and I dated and talked for nearly the same amount of time, and yet, the connection I had with him was nowhere near what Eric and I had.
“I thought you and I were getting to know one another.”
“Right. We were. Are. Were.”
He frowned at my confused statements.
“Marshall, you’re a great guy. It’s just that…well, the feelings and chemistry aren’t there between us.”
“There’s more to a relationship than chemistry.”
“I know that,” I retorted, feeling defensive all of a sudden.
“And I know I’m not some macho six-foot firefighter who women swoon over, but I won’t dog you out like―”
“Dog me out? Wait, how do you even know what Eric does for a living?” I haven’t spoken to Marshall since the night he saw us together on our first date.
“I came into the bar one night. I saw you and him at one of the booths. A couple of the other firefighters were there talking about their fellow firefighter dating the owner.”
I blinked, feeling somewhat caught. “I didn’t see you that night.
“I know. I left after I saw that kiss between you two. Looked like a lot more than just getting to know one another.”
I tilted my head back, angling a sideways look at Marshall. I didn’t like the accusation I heard in his voice at all.
“I never would’ve thought you’d fall for one of them. You know how they run through women. I thought you were smarter than that.”
“Whoa!” I was taken aback by the harshness of his tone and insulted. “I could’ve sworn you just called me stupid. But I’m sure that’s not the case because I know you’re smarter than that.”
“I didn’t call you stupid. I just―”
“Insinuated it.”
“I just meant that I thought what we were building was something real. And you traded it in for a roll in bed with a firefighter. For what? A fun story to tell your girlfriends?”
I could feel my anger rising, my heartbeat quickening, and my hands balled into fists at my side. How dare he insult what Eric and I have? Marshall knew nothing of went on between us, nor was it any of his business!
“Marshall, I’m going to excuse everything you’ve just said and intimated about my character. My intent was never to hurt your feelings. You and I were just in the ‘getting to know one another’ phase, and now that is over. This will be our last conversation. You have a nice life.” With that, I sidestepped Marshall and headed to the women’s locker room to gather my belongings, not bothering to give him a second thought. I was not about to ponder for a second longer on his words. I knew all too well about the reputations firefighters held of being players and breaking hearts left and right. I also knew Eric wasn’t above any of that, as well. The man looked good, and he knew it, but I could feel right down to my toes that what was happening between us was deeper than a woman going all heart-eyes emoji over a good looking firefighter, and him playing me. There was something real between Eric and me, and I had every intention of finding out what it was, even if it meant the possibility of getting my heart broken in the long run.