Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
A NNIE
I get out of the Uber in front of Station Three and thank the driver, Tim, giving him a five-star rating since he allowed Bean to come in his car. He even opened my car door so I didn’t spill the large bowl of fruit salad I made, though Jack insisted I didn’t need to bring anything.
I’m just trying to figure out the details of how I’m going to manage calling Jack to let him know I’m here while handling Bean and the food when Fitz walks up carrying a box of donuts.
He eyes my fruit salad and then his box of donuts and smiles shyly. As if in explanation, he says, “I don’t cook.”
I smile and giggle to myself that Charlie Fitz considers making a fruit salad cooking.
Fitz helps me inside and leads me through the station to the backyard, where everyone is gathered.
Jack’s manning a large griddle over an outdoor grill, with Gracie sitting by his side.
I let Beanie off his leash, and he spots Gracie at the same time she notices him. They take off into the yard, chasing each other and rolling in the grass together.
Jack looks up and over at me, breaking into a gorgeous smile that makes me feel all the feels, even in places I haven’t felt things in quite a while.
“Hey, Annie, so glad you’re here! I’m almost done cooking. Teddy, introduce Annie to the rest of the guys while I finish, would you?”
“Sure thing.” Teddy smiles. “Annie, this is the rest of the B shift crew—Garcia, Jones, Reynolds, and Captain Johnson. And you know Fitz.”
“Doesn’t anyone have first names?” I whisper to Teddy, teasing.
“Not at the firehouse, they don’t.” He smirks.
Teddy finishes introducing me to the fellow firefighter/paramedics from his shift, as well as A shift. But most of the C shift are out on calls since it’s their day to work.
I say hello to my fellow Spicy Girls , Trina and Emily, but besides the three of us, there are only three other women here. I recognize them from the wedding but didn’t meet them there and Teddy doesn’t introduce us.
No one from Teddy’s family is here and only Trina from Emily’s family. Come to think of it, I didn’t see anyone else from either of their families at the wedding yesterday and there wasn’t a traditional father and daughter dance or walking of the mothers down the aisle. I wonder what that’s about.
By the time introductions are done, Jack is heading over to the main table to set up the pancake buffet he has created for today’s main course.
I smile as I watch him, thinking how the man really seems to love his pancakes.
As everyone gets their food, one firefighter asks, “What the heck is this, Donley? Cereal or pancakes? ”
I look at the table and nearly melt.
Jack has recreated the pancakes that I had last night and has little cartons of whole milk next to them, instructing everyone he serves they must try these pancakes. Jack winks at me from across the table and something flutters low in my belly.
Once everyone has been served, Jack comes and takes a seat next to me, across from Emily and Teddy. Beanie and Grace are tired out by now and have made their way to the picnic table as well. I think I fall a little in love with Jack when he not only intermittently pets Gracie at his side but also reaches down to scratch Bean behind his ears as Bean rests under the table below me.
After everyone has eaten, some guys from A shift grab a football and start tossing it around before challenging B shift to a game of touch football.
Jack puts his arm around my shoulders, leans in near my ear, sending a shiver down my neck, and whispers, “Do you mind if I play for a little bit? If you’re uncomfortable, I’ll stay here with you.”
I smile and assure him to go play—I’m fine. Trina went into the building a few minutes ago and Emily has stepped away to take a call, but she’ll be back soon to keep me company.
Jack isn’t gone from me for five minutes when the three women who I don’t know come and sit at my table, each with either a mimosa or bloody Mary in hand. I smile politely at them and return to sipping my coffee and watching a very hot Jack as he cuts across the field, dodging the A shift squad while running toward the makeshift end zone.
They’re playing shirts and skins, and Jack’s team are the skins—lucky for me. God, he’s so damn attractive I feel like I’m going to need to go take a cold shower after watching this show.
He’s got well-defined muscles pretty much everywhere, yet isn’t overly bulky, and his lower abs are damn near sinful as they taper into a V-shape leading south. I’m admiring the way his ink spanning across both shoulder blades—a tribute to firefighting and his Marine service—flexes as he throws the football.
“So,” the platinum blonde in the middle of the women says to me, interrupting my focus. “Are you and Jack together? You don’t seem like his usual type.”
I spit out a little of my coffee and look at her pointedly for a few seconds. I’m already annoyed that they interrupted my entertainment, but that was also really bitchy.
“Jack and I are friends. I work with Teddy over at the ER,” I say flatly. I turn my head back to the game, not trying to hide that I’m annoyed.
“Sorry, no offense,” says her friend next to her. “We just know Jack has a lot of options so…”
I pivot in my seat and glare directly at them, about to tell them what I really think of their sorry asses when Emily walks up and sits next to me. Tilting her head at the girls, she says sweetly, “Aw, bless your hearts. Are you ladies still upset that Jack won’t give Chelsea the time of day? He has a lot of options, you know.”
The girls’ mouths drop open, and they stare at us for a few long seconds before getting up and walking away.
“Sorry,” Emily says. “I didn’t mean to abandon you to the ‘girlfriends.’ We all went to high school together and they’re classic mean girls… just petty bitches. Their primary goal in life seems to be to chase whatever firefighter will give them an iota of attention. They’ve all bagged one—hence why they were at the wedding and are here—but their friend Chelsea has had it bad for Jack for some time. It makes them crazy th at he wants nothing to do with her. Or any of them, for that fact.”
“Why doesn’t he?” I ask, genuinely curious.
“He just doesn’t really date seriously since things happened between he and Maggie. With that bunch, though, I think he knows what kind of people they are, and he isn’t about that. I mean, he’s gone on some dates, but it takes a lot to turn Jack’s head. It’s unheard of for him to bring a date to something like this. So, you being here today is a surprise to everyone.”
“Oh, it’s not a date,” I explain quickly, not sure I’m even convincing myself.
Emily just smiles at me. She’s probably the sweetest person I’ve met here in Cleveland, but she has me dying laughing by the time the guys finish playing a half hour later.
I’m pretty sure I’ve not even heard truckers say some words I hear come from this five-foot-two kindergarten teacher’s mouth in the last half hour.
JACK
Once things wind down, Annie helps me clean everything up while the dogs play. I don’t think she realized it but even when I was trying to focus on the game, I couldn’t stop sneaking glances at her.
After we’ve finished, Annie pulls her phone and a business card out of her pocket. “I just have to call my Uber driver, Tim. He said just to let him know when I was ready to go home,” she explains.
I’m sure Tim only did that as a business strategy. Yeah, and it has nothing to do with the fact that she’s absolutely gorgeous today with her hair in a ponytail, cut-off jean shorts showing just enough of those toned legs, and that fitted tank top that she fills out so well it’s been driving me mad since she got here. Yeah, right, Tim. Right.
“I have a better idea,” I say, smiling at her. “How about you and Bean walk the two blocks to my house with me and Gracie and then I can give you both a ride home. You’d be doing me a favor by helping me carry these supplies back.”
Annie agrees and by the time we get back to the house, give the dogs some water, and I have the remaining supplies put away, we turn around and find the dogs both asleep on the kitchen floor. Their heads are together and their paws touching. They look absolutely fucking adorable and Annie pulls out her phone and snaps a photo.
Grateful for the dogs needing a nap, I convince Annie to have a cup of coffee with me while we let them rest. I make us each a cup and we take it to the couch to sit.
She laughs and teases me for my “sorority girl” coffee with my sugar and sweet-cream creamer while she takes hers with just a splash of milk. I feign offense and we laugh and joke around for a few minutes before her face turns serious.
“Can I ask you something?”
Bracing myself, I flashback to seeing the “girlfriends” sitting with Annie during brunch, and I really hope it’s not about something they said to her. I’ve been wondering about the brief interaction since I saw it going down. Swallowing the small lump in my throat, I tell her, “Sure, go ahead.”
“Why weren’t any of Teddy’s family at the wedding or the brunch?”
I pause for a second, wanting to be honest with her but not wanting to share too much, as it’s not my story to share.
“You noticed that, huh?” I ask.
She nods, her face serious.
“Well, Teddy hasn’t always had the easiest time in life, and he’s been estranged from his parents and brother for a long time. He’s a good guy but has made some mistakes and those relationships didn’t recover. You probably noticed only Trina was there from Emily’s family as well. The rest of her family don’t approve of Teddy and so they said they couldn’t show support for the marriage.”
I look up to see her frowning and her eyes moist.
“I’m sorry,” she says, “that just makes me sad for them. They’re both such wonderful people.”
There’s that compassion I’ve seen in her when I’ve watched her in the ER since we first met. It’s shined through when she’s comforted a scared child, or an elderly husband who just lost his wife. But this time, it’s for my fun-loving best friend and his lot in life. Her capacity to empathize with others hits me square in the chest.
I stare unabashedly at her for a minute, and she turns her gaze toward me. We’re quiet for a few seconds, and then, when her gaze lowers to my mouth, I can’t stop myself. I place my hand on the nape of her neck and gently pull her toward me until I’m only inches from her face.
Her breathing picks up, and she looks me right in the eyes with those gorgeous green beauties of hers.
“Annie, I’m about to kiss you, so if you don’t want this, I need you to let me know that really quick.”
She inhales sharply and then closes the gap between us, bringing that sweet mouth to mine.
She’s gentle and tentative at first, and then, within seconds, the electricity of the kiss has her running her hands through my hair and opening her mouth to let my tongue in. She moans softly and I about lose my shit right then. Deepening the kiss, she climbs into my lap, straddling me as she takes control of the kiss.
She teases me, running her tongue across my lower lip then gently biting it and pulling it toward her.
I growl and flip her onto her back on the couch, kissing her neck as she exposes it to me. She arches her back, making those glorious, hard nipples rub against my chest.
She moans as I move my kisses lower, to her collarbone and down toward her chest.
My eyes meet hers, the unspoken question in them clear.
She nods and whispers, “Please, Jack.”
That’s all I need to hear, and I have her nipple in my mouth, through her tank top, gently biting and sucking while rubbing circles along her trim waist with my other hand.
She grips my back under my shirt, her nails slightly digging into my skin, encouraging me.
I’m so lost in the moment, but then Annie giggles just before I feel a wetness in my ear. Bean has apparently woken up, come over to check things out and decided I needed a wet willy for making out with his mom. I groan, grossed out, and look up at Annie before we both start laughing uncontrollably.
We make our way back to a seated position and, when we stop laughing, I turn to her and hesitate before saying, “I’m sorry I lost a bit of control there. I hope I didn’t overstep.”
Annie stares me straight in the eyes, her gorgeous green eyes boring into me and says, “Don’t you dare apologize, Jack. You didn’t take advantage of me. I wanted that as much as you did. I wanted more than that, actually.”
ANNIE
Arriving at my house, Jack insists on walking me to the door and, after I let Beanie in, I come back down to say goodbye and find him leaning against the porch rail. His hands are in the pockets of his perfectly worn jeans and he looks sexy as hell.
Once I step outside onto the porch and pull the door shut behind me, he speaks. “I like you, Annie. A lot. I want to get to know you better. Can I take you to dinner this week?”
Hell, his directness is hot.
I back up to the door, leaning against it for support. I’m both excited and a little panicked because my first thought is, Yes!
I stare at him for several seconds, grateful I hadn’t said that yes out loud. I choke out, “I don’t date people I work with.”
His eyes narrow and his gaze intensifies, but he doesn’t miss a beat when he calmly replies, “We don’t work together. I work for the city and you work for the hospital. Problem solved.”
I pause for a few seconds to gather my wits and silently wish I agreed with him, but I don’t.
“Jack, we basically work together. I like you too, and God knows my traitorous body made it obvious I want you. But after everything with Jason, I can’t date someone I work with. Physical I can handle, but I’m not looking to get serious again and risk my heart or my career. Dating someone from work isn’t an option for me.”
He watches me, saying nothing, before he pushes himself off the railing and stands upright, his gray eyes never leaving mine. I’m sure he’s going to walk toward the steps and away from me.
Instead, he moves closer to me, plants one hand on each side of my shoulders and lowers his head near enough to kiss me. But he doesn’t.
I look up at him, loving the sensation of being pinned in by him.
“We don’t work together. And I’m not Jason. I want you, obviously, but not just physically. I want more of the Annie I’ve already gotten to know. So, we don’t have to call it dating if you don’t want, but I’m not okay just being physical. I want to explore if there can be more than that with you. I guess we’ll just have to give it some time and see if you want that, too.”
Then, when I’m ready to jump him again, he brushes a kiss to my temple and walks away. It takes me a solid three minutes after he drives off to catch my breath and turn to go back into the house. And now I cannot concentrate on anything else.
An hour later, I’m sitting upstairs at my desk in my spare room, struggling to focus on the quality improvement project I’ve been working on for work and am hoping to get published in a nursing journal. But I can’t keep my mind on it to save my life, thanks to my thoughts constantly drifting to Jack.
Getting published will help when I apply for the Assistant Manager job, which rumor has it will open at First City when Leah, who currently holds the position, has her baby. She’s been open that she is likely going to cut her hours to be home with her kids and my Nurse Manager has given me a heads up that the position may open soon. Although I really need to get this done, I can’t get Jack out of my head.
Giving up, I look down at Bean at my feet and say to him, “C’mon, boy, let’s see if a nice long run will help us get our mind on something else.”