“Will you be my girlfriend, Goldie?” I asked, letting the seriousness of that question stand over us as I stared down at her. “But know that I’ve never been in an official relationship before, so I’ll probably mess it up. Probably more than once.”
“Well,” She brushed her fingers over my cheek, still leaned back over my knee with a look of sweet adoration in her blue eyes as she stared up at me. “Good thing for you, I have so much love inside my soul, I’m willing to use it to teach you how to be the best girlfriend in the whole world.”
“Promise?” I asked seriously.
“I promise.” She whispered, and I leaned down to kiss her, sealing it with our lips and a vow.
“Good,” I sighed against her lips, “Now give me that damn brownie before I spread open your smooth thighs right here on this picnic table for my sweet treat.”
She giggled excitedly, “Hmm, I’ve never had sex on a firetruck before.” She mused, and I bit her neck to keep her from tempting me. “Fine, here you go. I knew you had a sweet tooth.”
“Only for you, sweetheart.” I winked at her. “Only for you.”
I could tellthat Rhea didn’t usually invite people into her world, and sitting next to her at the scratched-up dinner table in the station’s kitchen felt monumental.
It made the moment feel powerful.
She had invited me to stay for dinner after she had eaten her dessert at the picnic table.
The brownie—not me. Regrettably.
There wasn’t a chance that I would say no to her, with her dark, sensual eyes pleading with me to continue to build our relationship into a deeper, long-lasting connection.
So, there I was, tucked in between Rhea and a guy called Sweetie, though I wasn’t sure the big monster of a man could muster a smile even with a gun held to his head. The guys were loud, but I expected nothing less.
A guy named Rowan told a story about someone getting stuck in a child’s tire swing—a firefighter, not a citizen. Devon, who ordered a ham and cheese panini sandwich with a large green tea smoothie every Thursday from the bakery like clockwork, made three inappropriate puns involving hose lengths before the garlic bread even hit the table.
And I laughed so hard at the camaraderie that I snorted my milk and made a massive mess all over myself.
I was having ablast.
“Okay, okay,” Martinez grinned, tossing a packet of butter across the table. “Now that Goldie is officially one of the crew, someone’s gotta ask—” he looked at me directly. “How’s it feel knowing the firehouse won the battle for your heart against the boys in blue?”
A silence fell as every set of eyes turned to our side of the table. There was nothing but the awkward clink of forks, and my smile slipped. I hesitated, suddenly overwhelmed by the question.
But Rhea didn’t let me hang.
“We didn’t win anything,” she said calmly, taking a sip of her water. “Goldie is dating both me and Tanner.”
Every soul in the room froze, the only things moving were the eyes of every man as they all looked at each other, trying to figure out what to say to that. Sweetie even choked on his meatball.
I looked at Rhea, blinking at her.
“She’s poly,” she added, as if it were the easiest answer in the world to give. “And we’re all happy.”
Thomas, a guy I recognized as one of Tanner’s friends, whistled from the other end of the table. “And Brooks hasn’t said a word about it.”
“I’d be quiet too if I were worried about being the second runner-up,” Martinez chimed in.
“No,” Thomas gave me a small nod from his end of the table, “It means he’s taking it seriously. Just like Rhea is. Good for you, Goldie. I hope you all find incredible happiness this way.”
I didn’t respond to him, besides giving him a small smile, and neither did Rhea as she shifted the conversation.
But she reached under the table and squeezed my hand.
Hard.
She had said it out loud, to the guys she worked with every single day in life and death situations, like it was simple and true.
