6. Where There’s Fundraisers.
6
Where There ’s Fundraisers...
Phoenix “Phee” Preston - June 7th, 2025
Today was the day of the annual Tucker Firefighters Fundraiser Festival. Yeah, it was a mouthful, but everyone was so used to it that we didn’t want to change it. It’s been about fifteen years since it started, and it was one of the most anticipated events in our small town.
Usually taking place on the first weekend of June, this event signified the end of the school year for kids, teens, and college students and was the first event to kick off the summer. There were carnival games and rides available, and many stalls set up along the main street that featured various foods and handmade goods from the different businesses in town. Only about 5,000 people lived here, but it felt like so much more when everyone came out to celebrate.
As far as the fundraising went, my fellow firefighters and I were in charge of managing the games and hosting the talent show and contests we also had throughout the day, along with volunteers, of course. All proceeds from those events would be put towards helping to fund the local primary and high schools. They were underfunded, as expected from schools in a small town, but with the money we raised, we could help get the most up-to-date textbooks and other supplies and learning materials the students would need.
With the money we made last year, we finally got updated computers for the high school, and it felt like such an accomplishment. Mainly because the old computers had been there since I was a student.
I placed two boxes of cups on the table for the ladies running the snowball stand before pulling out a towel from my back pocket to wipe the sweat from my face. It was in the mid-80s already, and it was barely 9 a.m. I knew that by the time noon rolled around, it would be in the 90s. Luckily, we had plenty of activities to keep everyone cool, including a few inflatable waterslides, free hand fans, and unlimited snowballs.
I’m so glad I threw on a pair of shorts this morning instead of wearing jeans like I originally wanted. Since I had to wear my Tucker Fire Station t-shirt, I wanted to coordinate it with some black jeans, but as soon as I stepped outside and realized how hot it was, I immediately turned around and threw on some black Nike shorts instead.
“Damn sis, you look tired already,” I hear from behind me. I turn around to see Raven standing there with her husband and kids. They r un over to me and I pull them in for hugs. They giggle, and I swear, they’re the cutest 5-year-olds I’ve ever seen.
“Hey, my loves,” I greet as I kiss them each against the forehead.
“Tee Phee, can we have a snowball?” Lovey asks, and I nod with a smile.
“Of course you can, cutie,” I reply. They busy themselves ordering snowballs as I turn to finally greet my sister and her husband. “Hey, I’m so glad y’all could make it.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Senior replies with a smile. Raven nods.
“Yeah, sis. We know how much this means to you and how much it meant to Granddad,” Raven adds with a small smile. I nod, trying not to get emotional as thoughts of him drift into my mind.
This fundraiser was one of the things he looked forward to every year. He always said that he loved how it brought the whole town together. He was always big on community and being there for your neighbors and those in need. Honestly, he was the kindest, most selfless person I’d ever had the privilege of knowing. Angel reminded me a lot of him. They both had big hearts and would stop at nothing to make sure that everyone around them was well taken care of. I admire that trait and aspire to possess it as well.
“Oh, my god, something smells so damn good,” Raven suddenly says. She sniffs the air a bit and looks around until she stops. I follow her gaze over to the stall for Taste of Heaven Bakery . I smile to myself. Of course. “Whatever they’re serving over there, I want some.”
“ Let’s go see,” I state, and she nods as she follows me. Senior tells us that he’s gonna wait with the kids for their snowballs. “Okay, we won’t be long.”
As we approach the stall, Rae immediately looks at all the sweet treat options. Meanwhile, I was looking for a treat of my own, except what I wanted wasn’t on display behind a clear case. I craned my neck to see if she was behind one of the taller workers, but when he moved, it was one of the other ladies who worked with them. Was she not here yet?
“Excuse me,” I say, stopping one of the guys. He looks at me. “Is Angel not here yet?”
“Uh, she was just here,” he says as he turns to look behind him. “Huh…where in the world did she slip off to that fast?”
“Sorry, guys! I had to make a few phone calls, but everything is good!” I hear the sweetest voice say right before she comes from behind the stall.
I think I forgot how to breathe as my eyes drink in her appearance. Today, she wore a yellow sundress decorated with little white flowers that stopped right above her knees and displayed all her curves. She paired it with soft yellow Converse, an Apple Watch with a white band, and a silver necklace with a heart-shaped pendant.
She also wore silver hoop earrings that matched the small one she had in her septum. Her face was lightly made up, and she was wearing one of those lip glosses that I loved to kiss off her. She was still wearing glasses as usual, but these had white frames that matched perfectly with her outfit. Then, to top it all off, her hair was braide d in medium box braids that flowed down her back beautifully.
She was stunning in every sense of the word.
“Oh, hi, Raven!” she greets my sister excitedly. She pulls her in for a hug, and she giggles. “How are you today?”
“I’m doing great,” Raven replies with a smile. “I came over because I smelled something heavenly. Are those…red velvet cinnamon roll cupcakes?”
“Yes, they are!” she says excitedly as she opens the clear case. She grabs the tongs and carefully takes one out before placing it into a small, plastic container. She hands it to Raven. “It’s on the house! Consider it an extra tip for squeezing me in last minute yesterday. You’re so talented and I love how my hair turned out so freakin’ much.”
“Shit, you don’t have to tell me twice,” my sister replies as she bites into the soft pastry. “Thank you, Angel. You are the sweetest.”
“Damn, where’s mine, Sweets?” I joke before licking my lips. She looks up at me, and her eyes immediately light up. “Come give me some love, mamas.”
“Hi, Phee!” she squeals as she comes around to where I am. She drapes her arms over my shoulders as mine find their way to her waist. I lean down to kiss her softly before pulling away.
“You look good in this lil dress,” I flirted, my hands traveling lower, but she shook her head as she giggled.
“Chill out,” she says under her breath. I look around, and a few people are looking at us, including my sister. She gently guides me aro und the back of the stall, where there aren’t any prying eyes. “You’re gonna have the whole town talking about us.”
“Woman, you know I don’t give a damn,” I laugh, pulling her back into my arms. “You’re my girlfriend, and I’m not afraid to let everyone know. Are you?”
“No, that’s not what I meant,” she frantically says. “It’s just that you feeling all up on me in public would not be ideal.”
“Ah, you’re right,” I nod. “I’m sorry. I promise to save the touching until we’re in private.”
“Thank you, Phoenix,” she chuckles, shaking her head.
“Sweets, don’t call me Phoenix unless you want me to drag you to the nearest bathroom and rest your legs on my shoulders,” I say as I stare down at her. She gasps. “You know how much I love the way my name sounds when you say it. Don’t tempt me, love.”
“God, you’re so fine,” she sighs as she stares up at me. I flash her a smile and wink. She leans in closer, and my eyebrows furrow. “Wait, are you wearing diamonds on your teeth?”
“Oh yeah,” I chuckle. I run my tongue over the small custom grills I have on my two upper canine teeth. One was silver with a diamond in the middle, while the other was silver with a heart cut out. “I have a small collection of them. Some are for a singular tooth, and some are for two teeth. I even have one that covers my whole bottom row.” I smile, and she lightly grips my chin to pull me down to get a better look. “You like them?”
“You’re so freaking cool,” she smiles as she continues to admire them. “Also, your teeth are pretty. I know that is a weird thing to say, but dang. Everything about you is perfect.”
“ That’s funny because I think the same about you,” I reply as I cock my head to the side. “Now, how about we go back to doing what we’re supposed to be doing? Because I promise you, if you keep looking at me like that, I’m gonna drag your fine ass to my truck and you’re just gonna have to try to muffle your screams as I feast on that pretty pussy.”
“Chill outtt,” she giggles before pushing me away. She walks around me, and I admire her ass and the way it sways. “Stop staring at my booty and come on, Phee.”
“Yes ma’am,” I chuckle, following her back to the front of the stall.
I leave her to get back to work as I walk over to where my sister is standing. She has her arms crossed over her chest as she stares at me. I wasn’t sure what her problem was, but I wasn’t stupid enough to ask her around all these people. If some wild shit was about to come out of her mouth, I needed to make sure she was out of earshot of everyone else.
I sigh, telling her to follow me, and she does without question. We weave through the crowd, saying hi to a few people on the way to our destination. We make it to the parking lot, and I lean against my truck as I wait for her to say whatever she has to say.
“Rae, spit it out,” I sigh after a minute of pure silence.
“Is the reason why you stopped coming over for our Sunday dinners because you’ve been busy fucking on Mrs. Henrietta’s granddaughter,” she finally asks with a smirk and my eyes almost pop out of my sockets. “So, I’m right, huh? That’s also why you were against the blind dates, right?!”
“ Rae, who I’m sleeping with is none of your business,” I groan. “Besides, I told you, I’ve been on-call these last few weeks. Yes, Angel and I are dating, but just like I haven’t been able to make it to dinner on Sunday, there have been a few times when I had to cancel plans with her.”
“Well, when did you plan on introducing us?” she questions. “Because there wasn’t anything stopping you from doing so earlier. She was literally sitting in my chair yesterday getting her hair braided, and now she’s out and about kissing my sister? Does she even know we’re related? Does she even know you have a sister?”
“Yes, she knows, but she doesn’t know you’re my sister,” I inform her. “At least I don’t think she does. We aren’t identical twins, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she waves me off before smiling deviously. “So, you’re gonna bring her to the family dinner tomorrow, right?”
“Fine,” I sigh. “She should be closing up shop by 6 p.m., so we’ll be over after that.”
“Good,” she states before patting me on the cheek. “Now come on, big sis. Let’s enjoy some festivities and raise money for my kids’ future school!”
I chuckle as I shake my head. As much as this heifer drove me up the wall, I couldn’t help but love her. She has always been a sweetheart, just a little unorthodox about how she went about it. She was my twin nonetheless, and I would always stick beside her.
We returned to the festival and said our goodbyes before heading our separate ways. She went to enjoy the activities with her family, while I made my way over to where some of the games were. I wasn ’t sure which one I was in charge of, but whatever it was, I knew that I would have a good time.
7:50 PM
I can’t believe I’d gotten stuck working the dunk tank for the past hour and a half. The number of times I’d fallen into this bucket of water was frustrating. We needed to go ahead and start our own Little League team because there was no way this many kids should be this fucking coordinated. They needed to be on somebody’s baseball field or something.
I sigh deeply as I climb out of the tub for the 15th time in the last hour. I’m thankful they let me change into a different pair of shorts and a black tank top. I would've been so mad if I’d gotten my clothes soaked like this. I know I could’ve just washed them, but what in the hell would I have worn home after all of this was over?
“Okay, that was the last go-round of the night,” Kentrell assures me with a sly smile. I flipped him off, and he laughed.
“If your ass wouldn’t have faked sick, I wouldn’t be getting soaked like this. I swear, if I wake up tomorrow with even the smallest sore throat, I’m coming to your house and coughing on you in your sleep,” I threaten. He continues to laugh, handing me a towel to dry off.
“Oooh, can I play?”
We both turn to see Angel standing next to some big, buff guy. He was rocking similar glasses to hers as he stood there with his arms crossed over his chest like he was her bodyguard. They share a few facial features, and it clicks that this must be one of the brothers she mentioned. Damn, this dude was swole as fuck.
“I’m sorry, but we’re about to close…” Kentrell says, but I shake my head. He looks at me and then at her. He smirks, nodding knowingly.
“I got one more round in me for you, Sweets,” I flirt, and her face lights up.
“Chris, hold my purse, please,” she tells the guy beside her. He nods, not taking his eyes off of me. She comes over to where I am and smiles up at me. “I just throw the ball, and you fall if I hit the target, right?”
“Correct,” I nod. Kentrell helps me back into the tub and onto the little platform where I sit. I cross my arms over my chest and smirk at her. She wasn’t gonna make it, so I was good.
“Thank you,” she says to Kentrell after he hands her a ball. She stands behind the line that he directs her to and I almost lose my shit at how cute she looks as she pushes her glasses up on her nose. She stands weirdly, and I chuckle to myself.
“It’s okay if you don’t get it on the first tr-”
Before I could even finish my sentences, the platform slipped from under me, and I dropped into the water once again. I’m in shock, but that’s what I get for underestimating her. I should’ve known by now that she could do anything. I stand up and wipe off as much water from my face as possible. It's a good thing I’d tied my hair u p in some plastic bags earlier, or else it would be as soaked as my clothes.
I climb out of the tub again, officially done with this game. I was shivering and wanted nothing more than a hot shower. I saw Angel standing there with a huge smile when I opened my eyes. Instantly, my grumpiness melted away, and I decided that I would do it all over again if she asked.
“That seemed like it was so cold,” she giggled as she handed me a towel.
“You got an arm on you, Sweets,” I say as I dry myself as best I can.
“Well, I kind of played softball for a bit in high school before I had to quit because of how my body reacts to being out in the sun too long,” she sighs. “It sucks because I really liked it, but I’d always break out and have to sit out half of the game.”
“I wasn’t expecting that, but I should’ve known it wouldn’t take much for you to get me wet,” I smirked, and her eyes bulged.
“Phee, please,” she whispers as her eyes travel over to the guy she came with. “Not in front of my brother.”
“Oh, so you not gon introduce me to my future brother-in-law?” I tease.
“You are too much,” she laughs, but takes my hand and pulls me in his direction. He finally uncrosses his arms and stares at me with an unamused expression. “Chris, this is my partner, Phoenix. And Phee, this is one of my older brothers, Chris.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say, extending my hand. He takes it in his hand and nods.
“ I was wondering why she wanted to come over here so bad after we packed all her stuff, but I see now,” he nods. A small smile plays on his lips, but he tries to hide it. “I ain’t tryna be that overbearing older brother, but you better not break my sister’s heart, Phoenix. She’s a kind soul, and she’s been through enough. As long as you do right by her, you and I are cool.”
“Respect,” I nod. “You ain’t gotta worry about that though. I care for Angel with all of my heart, and I plan on being by her side for years to come.”
“Imma hold you to it,” he nods, a smile finally breaking through.
I return it before letting his hand go and returning my attention to Angel. She’s standing there nervously waiting to see what will happen next. I lightly grab her by the waist and pull her closer to me. I cup her cheeks in my hands and kiss her lips lightly.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Sweets,” I tell her as I rub my thumb across her lips. “Call me tonight before you go to bed, okay?”
“I will,” she assures me. We share one last kiss and a hug before she waves bye to Kentrell and then follows her brother to where they’d come from.
“Finally meeting the family is always a great sign,” Kentrell laughs, and I shake my head.
“Let me go change so we can head out,” I laugh, and he nods.
His partners, Emerald and Tahj, were cooking a big meal for all of the firefighters, and I was not about to pass up on their bomb ass food. Emerald and Tahj owned the soul food restaurant that Angel and I loved. I would’ve invited her, but she told me this morning that s he was going out to celebrate her niece’s birthday with her family tonight. They were driving to the city to have dinner at one of Kennedy’s favorite restaurants.
I sigh as I head towards my truck to grab my clothes. I changed into the ones I’d worn this morning and followed Kentrell to where everyone was meeting. It was a good time, but I wish that Angel had been able to come. However, I felt much better when she called me later that night. We spent hours talking about everything under the sun.