Chapter 3
Chapter Three
LYLA
I smiled behind the lip of my beer bottle as Izzy recounted the whole proposal to Nicole and Mia.
I had heard some of this already at the birthday party on Saturday, and we’d already gotten some details through text, but since we were meeting up for dinner and drinks, it became the opportune time to fill us all in on all the details.
“I really thought the girls were making a picture with the chalk and they didn’t want me to see it until they were done.” She chuckled. “I was so surprised when I came out and they stepped aside to reveal the message just as Logan dropped to one knee.”
“That’s adorable.” Nicole lifted Izzy’s hand, looking at the ring again. “And the ring is so gorgeous.”
“He definitely has good taste in jewelry,” Mia added with a smirk.
That was probably as much as we were going to get from Mia on this topic.
If her friends were happy, she was good with that.
But when it came to talk of love and commitment, sometimes I thought she would crawl out of her skin.
She’d had a rough childhood and not a lot of positive examples of solid relationships.
Her mom was always looking for Prince Charming, but none of the guys she dated ever stuck around.
I think it really did a number on Mia. At least in the way she viewed men.
Sometimes I wondered if her job as a 911 dispatcher was perfect for her or if it just fed into her tendency to always think the worst of people.
We talked a bit more, learning Izzy wanted a spring wedding and a coed bachelor and bachelorette party. I wasn’t sure exactly what my role would be, but I was excited for it all.
Mia nudged my arm, gaining my attention. “Now that you’re single again… There’s some hot guy at the bar looking at you.”
I shook my head. The idea of jumping right back into dating someone was absolutely not on my radar.
I was too clumsy, too curvy, too dramatic, too everything for Ted.
He didn’t always say those exact things, but his subtle criticisms slowly crept into everything, definitely making me feel them.
I had no interest in dealing with that crap again.
Single again at twenty-seven, I had to wonder if I would ever find someone to settle down with.
“Or your hot firefighter.” Mia tipped her chin over my shoulder.
I looked behind me at the guys coming in the door. It was my day off, and I spent time with my parents on their farm, then came out with the girls. But Adam and the rest of the crew were on shift today.
“Friends with benefits is always fun.”
“Don’t start that again, Mia.” I narrowed my eyes at her.
She shrugged. “What? A little no-strings-attached sex with a friend? What’s wrong with that?”
Izzy choked on her drink as Nicole chuckled.
I rolled my eyes. This wasn’t the first time Mia had brought this up, and each time I would explain we weren’t like that.
We were just friends. I had tried a little subtle flirting in those weeks when he was my instructor, and there wasn’t a single inkling that he was interested.
And now that we were friends and coworkers, I liked what we had.
Even if he would be down for a friends with benefits situation, there was no way I would go there and risk messing up our personal and professional relationship.
I opened my mouth to respond, but snapped it shut as I sensed someone sidle up on the other side of me. Adam reached over and stole a few fries from my plate, popping them in his mouth with a smirk while Logan made his way around the high top to where Izzy sat.
I pushed my plate closer to Adam. “You can have them.”
He raised a brow, took a few more, and then pushed the plate back in front of me. “You’ve barely touched them, and I happen to know they’re your favorite.”
I sighed. He wasn’t wrong. But between the bun on the burger I had and the second beer I’d been nursing, I didn’t need any more carbs.
Izzy turned to Nicole and Mia. “Do you guys care if the boys join us?”
Zack didn’t wait for their response, already pulling up a stool at the end of the table between Nicole and Mia, shooting them both his signature smile. Mia glared back and huffed before looking over at me.
“Did they have to bring the annoying one?”
Working with these guys since July, I’d come to enjoy Zack’s carefree, happy-go-lucky personality. It was refreshing. But I’d also quickly realized he wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
I shrugged and glanced around. “Where’s Jay and Owen?”
“They went home to their wives and kids,” Adam answered.
That tracked. “What about Seth?”
“You think he would choose to come out with us to a bar over going to Violet’s?”
“Right.” I chuckled. “Forget I asked that.”
Adam pulled up a stool next to me and Logan did the same on the other side next to Izzy. He leaned in and pressed his lips to her cheek. I smiled. He was so crazy about her and it showed in everything he did. One day, maybe I’d find someone who looked at me like that.
Zack reached over and attempted to grab a fry from Mia’s plate, but she pulled it away. “Get your own fries.”
“Lyla shared hers. How come you won’t share?” He sent her a dramatic pout. “You know, sharing is caring.”
I stifled a laugh as he tried grabbing another fry and she slapped his hand away.
“Ugh. You’re the worst,” she huffed.
“Don’t you share a bedroom with Lyla? Seems like sharing a single fry with me wouldn’t be that hard.” He propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand. “Inquiring minds want to know, do you two sleep in the same bed?”
She rolled her eyes. “You must have been dropped on your head as a baby.”
He was really trying his best to rile her up tonight.
Maybe our living situation was…different, but it worked out well for us.
I had been living with my parents since quitting my boring desk job in a real estate office last year, taking some time to figure out what I really wanted to do.
After I finished my EMT training, I got assigned to Half Moon Lake, and I really wanted to be closer to the station.
My parents’ farm was two towns over and a forty-minute commute.
It was doable, but when Izzy decided to move in with Logan, she’d asked me if I was interested in taking over her apartment.
Mia was also looking for something since her lease was just about up, and she wasn’t interested in renewing it.
We’d talked about maybe finding something together, and the only thing that had come available in Half Moon Lake was Izzy’s apartment.
It was just a one-bedroom, but we decided to make it work.
We could do it for the remainder of the lease and then try to find a two-bedroom after that.
Adam leaned close and whispered, “Will those two ever get along?”
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t count on it.” They were like oil and water, and as long as Zack took every chance he had to torment Mia, she would continue to find him annoying.
“I wonder which one of you will be the next victim of the love curse.” Zack glanced over at me and then back at Mia with a smile.
Adam and I groaned in unison. He thought the whole thing was as dumb as I did, but supposedly the last four tenants had found love while living in the apartment.
Adam and Zack had joked about it being cursed.
And surprisingly, Mia had been reluctant about living there when I told her.
I just assumed she’d laugh it off like I did, but even the slightest chance of being bitten by the love bug was enough to make her hesitate.
“Totally Lyla. I don’t do love.”
“Too much sharing, huh?”
She threw her hands up in the air. “Oh my God, if I give you some of my fries will you sit there and be quiet?”
His smile grew and he nodded as he pretended to zip his lips. “Not a sound.”
“Great.” She pushed her plate violently toward him.
He stopped the plate before it slid off the table, and with a victorious grin, he popped a fry into his mouth.
I stole a glance over at Adam, who sat there shaking his head at the exchange.
“How was shift?” I asked.
Adam shrugged. “We saved a bunch of kittens from a storm drain.”
“Isn’t that more animal control’s job?”
“That’s exactly what I said.” Logan huffed. “But they needed us to help get the grate off.”
“Ah. Makes sense.”
We listened as they explained how the call went. None of us were surprised that Zack was filmed holding one of the kittens, and apparently, the video had already been posted on social media.
“It already has a couple hundred likes.” Zack’s smile widened even more.
Unlike most of the crew, he loved the limelight and rarely missed an opportunity to be in it.
“Maybe it’ll go viral and I’ll have single women lining up to bring me baked goods.
I love me some chocolate chip cookies, or brownies, or really anything sweet.
” He sent Mia a wink. “Sour can be yummy too, though.”
“Ew, gross.” Mia huffed and rolled her eyes. “You’re disgusting.”
I couldn’t hold back the chuckle that slipped out.
Like I said, I was used to Zack’s goofy personality and it didn’t surprise me at all that he enjoyed the attention.
Seth had hated the spotlight and the dozens of trays of baked goods he received for his viral video, but of course Zack gave him shit about it.
In Zack’s mind, attention and yummy sweets equaled greatness.
After another moment, we all fell into easy conversation. As I looked around the table, even with a few of the guys missing, it made me happy how well our small group meshed.
Well, except for Mia and Zack. But maybe eventually they would grow to like each other.