Avery gritted his teeth. “Because I think I just quit my job, and I need to get drunk.”
* * *
Linc’s day had been both epically shitty and longer than it had any right to be. His evening the day before started with two phone calls in quick succession from his sisters. First, Lilah tried to cajole him into going to their nephews’ end-of-year school play. She played it off super casual, like he came down for visits all the time, but somehow that only upset him more.
Lacey called minutes later, like she’d been waiting for Lilah to hang up so she could have her turn. One of her kids wanted to know why she’d never mentioned “Grandpa” before. Linc hadn’t known what to say there either and was left feeling more and more useless.
Then he’d gone to the station for his shift, only to discover the workout room had been TP’d. Vasquez and Brian lurked by the door, smothering grins.
“Must have been some kids playing a practical joke.” Brian’s belly shook over the top of his belt.
“You can clean it up though, right, rookie?” Vasquez winked. Linc glared and grumbled until the alarm sounded. The mess in the workout room was long forgotten because the next fourteen hours were the longest of Linc’s life.
The apartment fire was two towns over. Ten stories, all of them ablaze. The local department was already on the scene, but the SFD had been called in for backup. People were scattered everywhere. Some of them looking dazed and scared, others sobbing and calling out for loved ones. Linc, Vasquez, and Brian could do nothing but keep throwing water on it with the other trucks and keep it contained to the structure and none of the other buildings or infrastructure in the area. These people’s homes were gone, no matter what the firefighters did.
The station was quiet when they got back, but everything smelled like smoke and ash. Linc ached, and getting their gear checked and stowed seemed to take forever. After that, he was too tired to shower or do anything but fall into one of the bunks in the dorm room and crash. Except he’d only gotten about an hour of sleep before they went out on three consecutive false alarms. He’d been dead on his feet and crashed again for another hour, then woke when Avery called. “I need to get drunk.”
He was already at Fitz’s when Linc walked into the bar.
“Hey!” He waved, nearly knocking his pint glass over. For a guy who’d had a rough day, he looked awfully happy to see Linc, which pleased him so much more than it should have.
“Get started without me?”
Avery waved at the bartender and pointed at Linc. Another pint was delivered promptly.
“Cheers!” Avery held up his glass, and Linc clinked their pints together. Beer sloshed over the top of his, dribbling over his hands and Avery’s too.
“Oops.” Instead of wiping his hand on a napkin, or even his shirt, Avery stuck his beer-soaked fingers in his mouth one at a time, gazing absently around the room.
Linc exhaled and focused on taking his first sip without spilling because watching the finger that went between Avery’s lips would only lead to bad—so good—things.
“So you quit your job?” Linc said.
Avery wrinkled his nose. “No. Maybe?” He rested his forehead on the bar, and Linc winced because bars in places like this were generally disgusting. Avery might as well be lying on the floor.
Linc poked at his cheek, watching it dimple under his fingernail. “Wanna talk about it?”
“Only if you tell me about your shitty day first.”
So he did. More than he really should have, but he needed to talk to someone. The fire. The TP—which seemed so minor now, but he was fully sick of being treated like the newbie. The endless false alarms.
“Do people in this town not know we have to come out every time we get a call?”
Avery clinked his glass. “I’m glad you came out.” His eyes widened. “Er...Not like that! You’re not—I mean...” He glanced around them, as if Derek or someone like him was waiting for any hint of gayness so he could pounce.
The only one pouncing on Avery would be Linc, especially when he got that flustered expression on his face.
Shut up. Shut up.
“So tell me what happened,” he said.
It didn’t seem all that bad. Avery’s uncle sounded very old school. If Avery wanted to do something different, he should.
“You’re young. If you need a change, that’s not a bad thing.”
Avery poked Linc’s biceps. They were most of their way through a second pint. “I’m not that young. I can’t be much younger than you. Why does everyone always think I’m a kid?”
“I’m twenty-six,” Linc said.
