“You, me, and a spicy sausage sandwich date,” I said, ignoring the warning in her tone. “Sounds about right.”
“Don, we were talking about Rogers.”
“I’m still talking about him. See you Saturday, and I’ll give you the details on him.”
“I’ll have Hallease look him up in the meantime.”
I kissed her cheek. “You do that.”
She raised a hand to my cheek. “You look tired.”
I briefly closed my eyes. “The last twenty-four hours kicked my ass.”
It’d been a busy shift at the station.
“You earned your forty-eight hours,” she said. “Go get some rest.”
I kissed the inside of her palm. “Saturday.”
She nodded, and I reluctantly released her.
She walked me to the door, and I briefly glanced over my shoulder before leaving, the door shutting behind me. If I’d taken a longer look, there was a chance I would have kept her locked inside for the rest of the day, but neither one of us could do that. She had work to do, and I needed more sleep. The hours we put in during our shifts were tiring as hell on the body. I’d likely sleep the day away.
Even as I thought about how exhausted I was, I still pressed my palm against her closed door. The pull between us made it damned challenging to walk away.
Summoning more strength than I felt I had, I pushed away from the door and strolled to the staircase to take my ass home, anticipation for Saturday night running through me.
Chapter 19
Jocelyn
“Oh my God. You did not.”
I gasped, nearly wheezing as Don told his story of swapping out the shampoo for Nair hair removal cream at the station—another one of his jokes on a rookie at Rescue Four.
“Was he mad?” I asked as we walked along the lit, crowded trails of the Williamsport Park, side by side, on the narrow pathway. Our arms and fingers brushed against one another’s as we strolled. Every time our skin touched it felt like a tiny electrical shock, only pleasant.
“He was pissed. The son of a bitch chased me around the entire station, but I’m too fast for him. Then he scowled at me for the rest of the day, like I was supposed to be scared. He’s lucky I didn’t put sugar in his gas tank.”
I spotted the amused gleam in his eyes and could almost picture him lying in wait to carry out such a prank. “You’re planning it out in your head right now, aren’t you?”
Grinning, he carefully guided me out of the way of an oncoming woman with a stroller. “You know it. That’s what he gets for lying on me about another broad.”
“Wait, this is the rookie that said you had a call from Cynthia?”
Don rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Fucker. I’m not letting up on his ass about it, either.”
“Leave him alone,” I said. “He was just teasing you.”
“His teasing caused a delay in our first kiss. For that, he’s lucky I’m still letting him breathe.”
The pathway opened up and we were welcomed by the sight of more couples and groups of friends, walking and laughing, the streaming sounds of a DJ playing techno music, and the smell of seasoned meats from the surrounding food trucks.
He jutted his head in the direction of one of the food trucks. “There he is. Danelo’s. Best sausages in town.”
“And cheese fries,” I added. “You better not forget about my cheese fries.”
“How could I forget how fucking expensive you are to please?”
