11. Levi
Levi
“ L ook, man,” I say, my stomach churning as I pace between the trucks in the empty bay while Mack curls thirty-pound dumbbells at the weight bench, “I need to tell you something about Zoe—”
“How dare you speak my sister’s name!” Mack bellows in a voice that sounds more like a cartoon villain than my best friend. “I trusted you, bro!”
“Hell,” I murmur, dragging a hand down my face. “Alex sounds nothing like that.”
Mack switches arms with a grunt. “Hey, I’m doing you a favor here. And that was a solid impression.”
The familiar scents of diesel and detergent fill my lungs as I try again, my jaw clenching. “Alex, you know how Zoe and I—”
“Banged like bunnies at my wedding?”
“For fuck’s sake.” Heat crawls up my neck, my collar suddenly too tight. The words I’ve rehearsed in my head a hundred times over the past two days scatter like smoke in the wind. “I’m trying to be serious.”
“Reyes.” Brock saunters through, travel mug of coffee in hand. “You’re overthinking this, man. Just rip off the band-aid.”
“Is that what you did? When you finally confessed your feelings to Libby?”
“Well, I was just getting around to it when my mom stopped by and…interrupted the moment.” Brock takes a long sip of coffee. “Libby split, but then it was Charlotte, you know my sister—”
Mack and I exchange a look at the mention of Brock’s sister, which he, fortunately, doesn’t notice.
“—who made me realize I was being a complete idiot. Kind of like you.”
“Super helpful,” I reply, rolling my eyes before I glance down to my watch, which shows only four hours until the dinner. Four hours to figure out how to tell my best friend I’m in love with his sister, without destroying fifteen years of friendship.
The other night, I decided to tell Alex. And soon. Arriving early for dinner and catching him before Zoe arrives for her celebration will be perfect. Kristina will kill him if he ruins the night, and dinner will give him a chance to process the news. And see us together. See how perfect we are with each other.
Brock lifts his mug in my direction before heading upstairs to his shift briefing with the captain. I’m gathering my thoughts, though my chest feels as if I’m pinned under the weight of a collapsed ceiling, as I turn back to Mack, who’s still smirking.
“Can we focus? Please?” I ask.
“I’m ready whenever you are.”
“Great,” I murmur, the words sticking in my throat like thick smoke. “Alex, there’s something I need to—”
“Oh, beloved friend!” Mack clasps his hands to his chest. “How could you betray our sacred brotherhood?”
And with that, my last thread of my patience snaps. Considering my mood, I’m surprised took this long.
“You know what? Forget it.” I rake my hands through my hair. “It’s not like you would know how to handle this shit, anyway. You’ve never loved a woman enough to risk everything.”
Mack’s weights hit the concrete with a metallic clang that echoes off the walls and straight through my skull. “And thank God for that.” He smirks and flicks a glance over my shoulder. “Plus, around here, there are already enough guys falling for a woman they shouldn’t be. No need for me to join the fray.”
I spin to see Jake has emerged from the stockroom, no doubt searching for any excuse to dodge incident reports. What is this? A three-ring circus around the station today?
“Hey, leave me out of this,” Jake insists, shooting Mack a say another word and I’ll kill you glare.
I ignore Jake’s drama with Brock’s sister, Charlotte, and focus on the task at hand. The entire reason I came in on my day off. “There’s nothing wrong with actually caring about someone.”
“Says the guy who’s spent five years avoiding the woman he claims to love,” Mack mutters.
Jake, a born peacemaker, ignores our friend. “So, how do you think Alex will react?”
“Probably kill me,” I mutter, my stomach twisting into a knot at the thought.
“You think?” Jake leans against one of the trucks. “I mean, surely, the guy knows you well enough to take something like this seriously. Is he the type to fly off the handle?”
“No,” I mutter, thinking of my level-headed friend, who kept his cool even when we were stranded on the side of the road in the middle of a snowstorm a couple of years ago.
“Plus,” Jake adds, “Zoe will be there to defend you, right?”
“Eventually,” I confirm, “but I want to break the news alone.”
“Hell,” Mack says, grabbing hold of the pull-up bar. “Maybe, you want to wait for her to show. I mean, if you can go from this girl flat-out rejecting you to now defending your ass in a matter of weeks, you really don’t need my help.”
But before I can assure him I want to talk to Alex alone then surprise Zoe at dinner, a deafening alarm slices through the air like a blade, making us all jump. My heart plummets to my boots at the repeating siren, which is nothing like the standard chime for a regular call. Sure enough, within seconds, the dispatcher’s voice crackles over the speaker, calm, but urgent.
“Attention all units, this is all call for a hazardous materials incident on East Fifty-seventh. Repeat, an all call with full response. All available personnel respond immediately. Hazmat protocols in effect. Standby for additional details.”
“No, no, no.” I check my watch again, the numbers swimming before my eyes. “Not now.”
But Captain and Brock come rushing out of the office as the siren keeps wailing.
“Good thing you’re already here, Reyes,” Captain calls as the emergency lights flash orange, and we all sprint for our gear.
I’ll be lucky if I make it to dinner at all, now.