Chapter 23 Lindsey
LINDSEY
“Beckett,” says Joe, the fire marshal, patting Oliver on the back and taking a swig of his beer. “Good thing you’re better at being a firefighter than you are at playing pool.”
Oliver gets a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Or maybe I’ve been letting you win because you’re my boss.”
“Guess we’ve got to play another round and find out,” Joe says with a wink. “Ladies, if you’ll excuse us.”
Oliver leans down to kiss me on the cheek before they head back to the vacant pool table.
We watched the game on the big screens at Snappy’s, and at halftime, Oliver and the guys decided to hit the pool table.
Their buddies Martinez, Sanders, and his girlfriend tapped out after the Green Bay Packers won, leaving me and Joe’s wife, Tessa, sitting at a table nearby, munching on the remainder of the cinnamon dessert pizza we ordered somewhere around game three.
“Oh no. The trash talking has begun.” Tessa turns back toward me, shaking her head. “Joe has a bit of a competitive streak, in case you didn’t notice.”
“Really?” I tilt my head to the side, feigning surprise as the guys start their sixth game. “I never would have guessed.”
“So, how long have you and Oliver been together?” Tessa asks, twirling a piece of her long blonde hair around her finger.
“Um.” A nervous laugh bubbles out of me. “We actually just started dating. This is very new.”
Her eyes widen. “No way. Really? Wow, I would have thought y’all had been together for years. I just assumed you moved here with him.”
“Why’s that?” I ask, taking a sip of my soda.
“I don’t know.” She taps a short, sparkly nail against her chin. “It’s just the way you are with each other. Comfortable.”
I drop my gaze to the table, picking at a piece of the sugar-dusted crust left on my plate. It does feel like I’ve known Oliver for ages, even though it’s not quite been a month.
“Joe and I were like that,” she says, glancing at her husband, who’s crouched over the pool table, preparing to make his next shot.
“You know, I was married before to my high school sweetheart. We were together six years, married for one, and let me tell you, that was one year too long. Thought I’d never get married again in a million years.
I spent the rest of my twenties single as a dollar, not looking for change.
It wasn’t long after my thirtieth birthday that Joe came into the salon for a haircut, and that was all she wrote.
We went down to the courthouse and got married two months later. That was ten years ago.”
“Wow. Two months?” I ask. “Were you nervous at all?”
“Oh yeah.” She chuckles. “I got cold feet and almost called it off the morning of. My mom wasn’t on board with her little girl getting married so fast, especially after what I went through with my ex, and it just got in my head.”
“What made you decide to go through with it?”
“He showed up at my apartment to talk things out about an hour later, and he brought my favorite coffee,” she recalls with a nostalgic smile.
“Which may not sound like a big deal, but even after all the years my ex and I were together, he still couldn’t remember what I liked.
I ordered coffee in front of Joe once. He paid attention.
Hell, he still does. Sometimes that looks like having dinner made when I get home because he could hear in my voice while on the phone that I had a rough day at work.
Other times, it looks like him watching my silly reality shows and pretending to be interested simply because I love them. ”
“Anyway, we got married, and I never looked back,” she continues.
“I think I always knew he was my person. Call it intuition. Or maybe it’s an instinct we have that becomes sharper after being with the wrong people.
Maybe it becomes easier to identify the right one.
Whatever it was, I think sometimes we just know. ”
“Maybe you’re right,” I say.
“Hey, babe,” Joe calls over to Tessa. “You mind closing out our tab? Beckett here just sank the eight ball.”
“Sure thing,” Tessa answers. “Anyway, we should do this again. Maybe we could go on a double date sometime.”
“I’d like that.”
“We’ll set something up for after New Year’s,” she says, rising to her feet. “I’ll be right back.”
Oliver catches my eye from across the room and starts toward me, making everything around us fade.
“I sank that ball on purpose,” he says, sliding into the seat next to me. “I was hoping to have you to myself for a bit before I take you back to your car, if that’s okay. I know it’s a work night.”
“I think I can manage to stay out a little longer before I turn into a pumpkin. Is there somewhere you’d like to go?” I ask, hoping that wherever it is, it’ll be warm. Even with all of my layers, my body is still chilled.
“Actually, there is.” He leans in closer. “Are you afraid of heights?”
I shake my head, but concern is tiptoeing inside my brain. Maybe he wants to take me to a really tall…building?
“Why?”
He reaches for my hand. “There’s something I’d like to show you.”
“The fire hall?” I ask with a laugh as Oliver turns into the lot. “You do know I’m from here, right? A visit to the fire hall was customary every year when I was in elementary school.”
“I promise you’ve never seen this,” he says, pulling to a stop near one of the rigs out front.
He opens the door for me, and I realize someone is waiting by the fire truck. As we get closer, I recognize her as the woman who responded to the call with Martinez when Ron got sick.
“Evening, Beckett,” she says with a smile, and he greets her with a wave. “Nice to see you again, Lindsey.”
I nod, still unsure of what we are seeing her for. “You too.”
“Thanks again for doing this, Helen,” Oliver says. “I know it was kind of short notice.”
“No problem,” she says. “Better than watching Smith kick Tucker’s ass at chess again.”
Oliver chuckles. “When will Tucker realize he can’t Uno reverse himself into beating Smith? He’s the only one here that remains undefeated.”
“Who are you telling, Rookie? I’ve been here for eight years,” she says. “There’s always some dingleberry that can’t accept defeat. Anyway, y’all heading up?”
“Up?” I ask. “Up where?”
Helen motions toward the fire truck and then toward the sky.
I whip my head toward Oliver. “Um, I don’t know. Are we?”
“We sure are,” he says. “There’s something I want you to see, but you can only see it from up there.”
My muscles are already throbbing, and I’m so cold, it physically hurts. Why didn’t I tell him I needed to get home? That I have an early morning tomorrow.
Of course, I know why. What if he sees I’m not exactly the perfectly put-together version of myself he’s gotten to know? It was a problem for Daniel, so how can I know it won’t be one for Oliver too?
“You said you’re not scared of heights, right?” he asks.
“No,” I say quickly. “Definitely not.”
“I’ll be with you the whole time.” He presses a kiss to my forehead. “I won’t let you fall.”
“Are you sure this is okay?” I ask, stalling, hoping someone will call with a barnyard animal stuck on a roof and need this very rig.
“Actually, it was Joe’s idea,” he admits.
The fire marshal has stamped his seal of approval on this activity, so I don’t think I’m getting out of it.
Unless I just tell him the truth.
“See those supports?” Oliver asks, pointing to the metal legs attached to the rig. “Those keep the truck stabilized, and Helen will be right here just in case we need anything. You’ll be secure at all times.”
I force a tight-lipped smile to cover my chattering teeth. “Let’s do this.”
We step onto the bucket, and he latches the door behind us.
“First, we’ve got to fasten you in.” He wraps a large belt around my waist and tightens it, drawing me closer. Even as crummy as I feel physically, I love being next to him.
After putting on his own belt, he pulls me into him with one hand and maneuvers the control panel with the other.
“Elevator going up,” he says, and with a small jolt, we’re on our way.
I nestle into his chest as the view around us starts to shift, and it feels like we’re closer to the stars than to the ground. In a matter of seconds, we’re above the buildings, high above the trees. That’s when I see it.
“What do you think?” he asks as we crawl to a stop.
I draw in a breath. “It’s beautiful.”
From up here, Loving is a cluster of colorful constellations. The Christmas lights scattered all throughout town resemble fireworks. Forever suspended in the night, never burning out.
“It’s magical, isn’t it?”
I nod. And it is. I only wish this magic could make the pain that’s seeped into my bones disappear.
He must feel me tremble because he moves his hands up and down my arms to warm me.
“I clearly didn’t think this through with the weather,” he says, holding me tighter. “I should have stopped to get us some hot chocolate.”
I laugh, but my voice shakes. “To be fair, I’m not sure I could hold anything because I can’t feel my fingers. It was worth it, though.”
“We should get you back to your car so you can get home to your mom’s and warm up.”
He reaches for the panel, but I stop him. “Wait. Let’s stay just a little longer.”
I know that tomorrow, I’ll regret every minute spent in the cold, every second I haven’t rested, despite my body begging me to. I might hate myself in the morning, but tonight I want to enjoy the perfect view with the perfect man because I know moments like this don’t last forever.
“Penny for your thoughts?” he says, peering down at me.
I slide my arms up his chest and around his neck. “Kiss me.”
“Lindsey, sweetie, are you okay? Lucy just called. Lindsey? It’s after eight.”
“What?” I bolt upright, sending a sharp pain through my neck. “No, it can’t be.”
I blink hard, desperate to clear the fog that’s settled around my brain, and snatch my phone off the nightstand. Sure enough, it’s 8:13 a.m., which means I’m late for work.