“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, clearing my throat. Jayce slid into the empty seat Candace had just vacated, letting his backpack drop to the floor beside his feet.
“You’re so cute,” he said, and my skin flushed with heat.
“What can I say? They’re really good, okay?”
“How is Candace?” Jayce took a water bottle from his backpack and took a long drink, then capped the bottle and dropped it back into his pack.
“She thinks she’s going to take me dress shopping,” I muttered, annoyed all over again. “She’s picking me up tomorrow after class.”
“That’s great,” Jayce said, reaching for the scone I still had out on the table to take a bite. He put it down, chewed thoughtfully, then took another drink of water. “Are you excited to go?”
“As excited as I would be to get a root canal,” I said with mock excitement. “Only, a root canal might be nicer.”
Smiling, Jayce leaned across the table and took my hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss the back of it. “You never cease to amaze me,” he said. “And I love it.”
“I know, I’m the dream girl.”
“You’re certainly mine.”
“I do what I can.” I pushed what was left of the scone across the table towards him and Jayce scarfed it down. “How is studying for the midterm coming?”
“It’s actually...really good,” Jayce said, taking another swig of his water. “I’ve been studying between classes. Even made up some flash cards that I’ve pulled out and started using.”
“I’m proud of you,” I told him earnestly. “We were supposed to have a tutoring session tonight, but I have a shift at the fire department. I need to catch up on hours, I’ve been working less than I should be.”
Jayce nodded and got up from his seat, coming around the table to reach down and pull me to my feet. He pulled me into him as our bodies molded together and he kissed me, teasing my lips with his tongue. “Be safe tonight,” he said. “Since this was supposed to be a homework night, I’ll study extra, just for you.”
“That’s hot,” I said, popping up on my toes to kiss him. “Don’t burn out.”
“Me? Never.” Jayce took my cheeks between his hands and sighed softly, shaking his head as he stared into my eyes. “What did I do to ever deserve you?”
“You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Funny.” With one last sneak kiss, Jayce grabbed his backpack and backed away, blowing kisses as he vanished down the stairs and to his next class. I didn’t realize I was still grinning like an idiot until some girl looked at me strangely as I backed right into the edge of the table and slammed my hip. Ever the classy one, Macey Kate Britton.
I finished up what homework I was doing and then packed up my bag, glancing at my watch to make sure I was still running on time. It didn’t take very long to find my car and drive to the station where Addy was already there making coffee in the kitchen. It was five p.m., and my stomach growled as I joined her in there, rummaging through the fridge for something to tide me over until someone made dinner. Hopefully not me, but I made a mental note to check the white board.
“Cup of joe?” Addy asked, grabbing the sugar from the counter and the cream from the fridge. I nodded gratefully, and Addy filled a mug for me, handing it over. I felt tired now that I was here. It wasn’t even late, and yet I felt like I hadn’t slept a single glimpse last night.
“So,” Addy said as we sat down at the table. The firefighters were out—and by out, I mean either outside running drills or downstairs working out—so the kitchen was empty, an unusual occurrence. When half a dozen or more people worked the same twenty, twenty-four, and sometimes even forty-eight hour shifts together, sleeping together, eating together, and training together, it was difficult sometimes to find even a tad bit of privacy unless you weren’t opposed to hanging out in the back of an empty ambulance. “How is the boy toy? Jayce, is it?”
“Jayce,” I said with a nod. I smiled in spite of myself. “He’s good. He’s...amazing.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. He took me on a date this weekend—if I could even call it that.”
“Tell me about it.”
I told Addy everything, about the romantic walk through Garden of the Gods, to the bike ride downtown where he’d treated me to a candlelight dinner...and then to the jewelry store where he’d picked me up the bracelet he’d had made especially for me.
“And then we stayed the night at a charming little cottage on the lake, and that’s where he got down on one knee and asked me to spring formal.” I was grinning like an oof at this point, but Addy looked elated for me.
“Girl, do you know what happened the first time I met Jay?” Addy asked, and I shook my head.
“I remember hearing something about it,” I said thoughtfully. “Wasn’t he running from the cops or something and you two crossed paths?”
“I’ll spare you the details,” said Addy with a laugh. “But boy was it an adventure, and not a romantic one, either. At least, not at first.”
