She nearly dropped the towel from her hands to the wet tiles under her feet.
“Yeah. I think he’s from CCPD, but I can’t guarantee that I’m right. He’s not wearing a uniform. But,” she whistled low and slow, “he’s good looking.”
“Ah… okay.” Harmony lifted the towel and started to dry off her arms. “It can’t be…”
“You want me to let him know you’re in the shower?”
“Yes.” That was her instinctive reaction. “Wait… no!”
Betty laughed and Harmony did, too.
“Sorry, Betty. I… I don’t know why I said that.”
Betty laughed again. “I get it. Handsome guys can make us stupid. Thank goodness the only guy in my life is my son.”
“I bet he’s great.”
“He’s… a challenge some days, but I love him beyond reason.”
Harmony felt a little sting of melancholy. “Love is beyond all reason sometimes.”
Betty smiled brightly at her. “That’s a great way to put it.” She gestured toward the door of the locker room. “I need to go to the morning meeting. Don’t forget tall and handsome out there. He looks pretty nervous.”
“Okay.”
Betty left the locker room and Harmony dried herself off and put on her clean clothes. Was it really Crois? Who else could it be?
She folded her dirty clothes and the towel and tucked them away in her laundry bag for later. Picking up her duffel, she walked out toward the apparatus floor.
When the sunlight touched her face, she squinted at it for a moment and blinked to acclimate her eyes to the sunlight.
“Harmony! Here.”
She turned toward his voice and stood staring.
Crois.
He looked good.
Really good.
Jeans that had no right to look that good wrapped around his legs and a simple black t-shirt.
She walked in his direction and slowly came to a stop just out of reach. “They said I had someone waiting for me.”
He didn’t move closer, he just leaned in a little.
He made her feel… smaller. Almost dainty.
Which wasn’t something she was concerned with, but when he was around… when he was close, it felt good to have him nearby.
To have him standing there, almost towering over her.
Working as an EMT there weren’t a lot of times when she could feel dainty, protected.
Her job was to wade into danger and emergencies and save people. Bring them to the light.
You can’t be someone who needs protecting in the way she wanted to be protected.
