“I’m supposed to pick up my son. Now I have to go looking like a fucking fairy,” Sean growls as he finally reaches me, wrapping his massive arms around my waist.
I’m laughing too hard to retaliate too much which is how Carter gets the drop on me as well. We wrestle for I don’t know how long.
“I may not be the Chaos I once was but don’t fuck with me,” I threaten Sean and Carter as I put one of them in a headlock, which one, I don’t know because the other one is busy putting me in a headlock.
“Fucking school children,” we hear a deep growl.
All three of us pause to see Captain Waverly standing at the door a grim expression on his face. He merely watches us for a few seconds, grabs a cup of coffee, and heads back out. The three of us pick up exactly where we left off.
****
“What time is it?” I question Carter sometime later, as he passes me on his way to the kitchen. I smirk at his wet hair. He’s showered and tried to get the glitter off of him.
He peers at the watch on his wrist. “Uh, quarter after nine.”
“Thanks … Oh, and you still have some glitter in your hair.” I laugh as I exit the kitchen while he’s tossing me the middle finger. I head to my locker and pull out my cell phone. I frown when I don’t see any missed calls. Usually, Janine and I talk on the phone during the evenings when I’m on shift. If I don’t answer, she knows it’s because I’m on a call and I always call back as soon as I can.
Since I’d forgotten my phone in my locker while we were out, I figured I missed her call but there are no missed calls, voicemails, or texts. A fact which has me immediately pulling up her name in my contacts and calling.
“Hey.”
Her voice instantly alerts me that something isn’t right.
“What happened?”
There’s a pause at the other end of the phone. “Nothing happened, just not a good day.”
“Come see me.” It’s the first thought I have and I go with it. I want to see her face, to kiss her lips, and wipe away whatever it is that’s bothering her.
“Emanuel, it’s late. And you’re working. I—”
“Either you come see me now or I’ll pull this big ass fire truck to the front of our building, blocking everyone in, and pissing them off when they find out there’s no fire.”
“You wouldn’t do that.” I hear the small grin in her voice.
“Try me.” I mean it with every fiber of my being.
“Don’t they need the fire truck for actual fires?”
“We have a second one here. So what’s it going to be?”
She pushes out a heavy breath. “I’m on my way.”
“It should take you fifteen minutes to get down to the station. I’ll be generous since you drive slow, and give you twenty.”
“I don’t drive slow. I just don’t drive like a bat out of hell like you do. Plus, I need to put on my shoes.”
“Fine, twenty-one minutes. A minute over and I’m coming looking for you.”
As I hang up the phone, I hear her mumbling something.
I head down the stairs and wait outside, despite the fact that it’s early December and the weather has dipped into the high forties. Watching as a few guys from the station head out, I wave, partially wishing that I was heading out for the night also. I’m working an overnight which is the only reason I was waiting on Janine to come to me instead of going to her.
It still amazes me that she has me wishing to be somewhere other than the firehouse. I’veneverhad that feeling before. The fire station has become my home over the past seven years. Even when I couldn’t stand the captain I worked for, or I wasn’t getting along with a member of my squad, there was no place I’d rather be. Until Janine.
After idling around for a while, I pull my phone from my pocket and frown when I realize it’s been twenty-two minutes since we hung up the phone. Just when I turn to head to the garage to climb in the fire truck, her grey Kia pulls into the driveway.
I barely give her enough time to put the car in park, before I’m pulling the driver’s side door open, and pulling her into my body. Her arms tighten around my neck.
