THIRTEEN
CASEN
The entire firehouse is abuzz with the previous day’s high-rise fire. Justin, one of the rookies on that shift, fell through one of the floors and had to be taken to the hospital. He will be okay but something like that always shakes us to the core. It could be any one of us, and it could be at any time. It wasn’t a rookie mistake. It just happened. I’m just glad nothing worse came of it. Justin is a very dedicated fireman. Like Reece and me, he went to school for fire science. Most of us start off volunteering or joining right out of high school. I knew I wanted to become more so I craved the education. It seems to be paying off because hopefully in no time I will be a Lieutenant. Reece and I are both taking the test soon.
I find him in the gym area of the firehouse running on the treadmill. His headphones are securely in place as he looks straight out into nothing. He doesn’t hear me call him or see me standing there so I wait until the last two minutes of his usual twenty are up.
“Reece!” I yell once he slows the speed.
He turns, before shaking his head, and continues to ignore me. The brush off infuriates me. So much so that I stride over, hitting the button to increase the speed.
“What the fuck are you doing, man?” he yells, jumping off and coming chest to chest with me.
I shove a finger in his chest. Knowing he corned Embyr and made her feel uncomfortable still pisses me off. “We didn’t get to finish our conversation the other day. You pussied out and left before I could talk to you.”
He looks to the side. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The fuck you don’t, Reece. Why don’t you tell me why you were in Embyr’s bathroom asking her the reason she said yes to Ian and not you. It doesn’t make any sense. Why do you even fucking care?”
Reece’s face turns furious. “Why do I fucking care?” He shoves me so hard I fall to the ground. “Why do I care? Because you weren’t the only one with eyes, Casen. You weren’t the only one to fall for Annie. Okay?”
I quickly stand to my feet, composing myself. “What are you talking about, Reece?”
His head falls to his chest while his hands find his hips. “I liked her too. I felt just as much for her back then as you did and she didn’t even give me the time of day. She had her sights set on you. Everyone could see that. Everyone except you. Dammit, Casen. You always got everything. Nothing was ever hard for you!”
“Is that why you made the bet? To make my life miserable?”
He laughs. “That’s exactly why. Do you know how great it was to watch you sweat it out? But Annie – I didn’t think she would give any of us a chance. She was all doe-eyed for you.”
He liked her too but never said anything? Then made the bet to fuck with me? This blows my mind more than finding out Embyr was Annie. “You were my best friend, Reece.”
“I am your best friend. Still. Nothing has changed. And just like that stupid fucking bet, I was young and dumb and naïve.”
I don’t know. This seems like more than a childish thing. Why would he ask her that now? Why be concerned with her choice of going out with Ian back then? It doesn’t make sense. But he’s right. It was a long time ago. I’m learning to let things go, and I want this to be one of them. I just don’t know if I can yet. It’s one thing to do all of that stuff ten years ago. It’s a whole other situation if he is cornering her into answers about it now.
“I need to think this over, man.” I shake my head. “I’ve had so much shit happen lately I don’t think I can process this just yet.”
The alarm sounds just then, ending this. For now because I know it’s not finished yet.
I don’t like having tension between Reece and me. I halfway chastised myself for allowing a woman to potentially come between the two of us, but that’s what he did back in high school, didn’t he? He never told me about his feelings for Annie back then. I could have done something, but maybe he was too far gone. Telling me I got everything I wanted handed to me. That’s bullshit. Yes, my life was made easier by my parents always helping me out but his parents were loaded too. I don’t know where he is coming from now – or hell back then. If he’s talking about everything handed to me in the girl department, that’s bullshit too. He had more girls in one month than I had my entire high school career. I just don’t understand why he needs her reasoning. Even if he did like her back then, it shouldn’t matter now.
“Hey.” He calls from the entryway to my room.
I lift my chin. “Hey.”
His hand comes up to rub the back of his neck, and he shrugs. “I’m sorry, man. Finding out she was Annie brought back some repressed high school memories I wasn’t prepared to face, and it was dumb of me to corner her like that.”
“Yeah, it was.” I don’t disagree.
“I’ll apologize the next time I see her.”
I don’t respond, I just continue to scroll through my iPad. Taking the hint, he leaves.
I walk into my condo just past six o’clock the next day. It was a rough night with a lot of calls, and then I had to help my sister move some furniture out of her house before the new stuff arrived. It’s taken a toll on my body. I must have smashed my fingers half a dozen times. I don’t mind helping her but she really needs to find a boyfriend.
When I open the door, the aroma that greets me is heavenly, so is the vision. Embyr is in the middle of my kitchen, work clothes still firmly in place. Something I plan to fix later. She’s at the stove cooking what appears to be burgers. She must not notice I’ve gotten home yet, and I’m thankful for the moment or two I get to watch her. She flips the burgers and then reaches for her shirt, unbuttoning it before taking it off. It leaves her in a thin-strapped tank top.
Stepping forward, I wrap my arms around her waist. “I could get used to this.”
