Chapter 20
CHAPTER
TWENTY
WITHOUT EVEN TRYING, Elijah managed not to see Georgia for almost a month. Between shift work, hanging out with his friends, and remodeling his basement, he didn’t have time for much else.
But that didn’t mean he hadn’t thought of her.
He promised Nash he’d meet for happy hour at Lighthouse since he bailed on going out the other night for Thatch. Like the pathetic man he was, he was optimistic the invite also included Georgia.
There was no way in hell he was fucking her again. He just liked being around her. She was the calm to his storm. She made him laugh when he was normally grim. Plus, she was hot as fuck, and he was in favor of staring at her all night.
It was a Tuesday, so Lighthouse was slow. Only a few people were at the bar. Nash was sitting with Arlo and Georgia.
Fuck yeah.
“Over here!” Nash yelled out to him.
Elijah walked to the cocktail area where they had a table and sat across from Georgia. Honestly, he wasn’t sure he trusted himself to sit next to her and not touch her. Yes, he promised himself he wouldn’t sleep with her again, but her skin was so soft. His fingers itched to feel her.
Maybe wishing she was here wasn’t his smartest idea.
“I’m only staying for one drink,” Arlo tossed out as soon as Elijah sat.
Nash grinned as he took a sip of his beer. “So you’ve said, but you love going out just as much as I do.”
Georgia reached into the bucket on the table, pulled out a beer, and handed it to him. Elijah took it and focused on Arlo. “Nash has a good point. You’re always up to be out all night when you aren’t working. Why is tonight different?”
“I’m going skydiving tomorrow, and I can’t be hungover or tired.” Arlo was proud of this with a giant smile on his face.
“What the fuck?” Nash’s eyes were huge with surprise. “I know you’re an adrenaline junkie, but that’s fucking dangerous.”
“So is running into burning buildings, but all three of you do that,” Georgia pitched in as if she was defending Arlo’s decision.
Which annoyed Elijah.
“There is a big difference.” Elijah's eyes drifted over her beautiful face, doing his best not to linger down and stare at her ample cleavage. “We are educated, have safety provisions, follow policy, and we’re also heavily trained.”
She put her hands up in defense. “I’m not saying you are putting out fires without thought. It’s just I doubt Arlo is skydiving without similar precautions.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” Arlo nodded his head. “I’ve done my research, and I’ll go through a safety briefing.”
Since those two were sitting next to each other, Georgia looped her arm over his shoulders. “Any time. I expect to see all the pictures.”
“Obviously,” he smiled at her. “I will share all the details with you at Anna’s party on Saturday.”
For no reasonable explanation, Elijah wanted to punch Arlo square in his stupid face.
“Fuck, I forgot about her party.” Nash drained the last of his drink. “It’s my first day off shift. I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it. Who’s all going?”
Georgia bit her plump lower lip for a second. “Arlo and I will definitely be there.”
Why did she say it like they were going together?
Elijah regretted coming out with Georgia here.
“Benny is coming, and so is Roman and Sloane. Anna also invited some friends she has from college. Oh, and Sophie is going too!”
Nash grabbed another beer, twisted the cap off, and took a big gulp of his drink.
“Elijah, are you going to Anna’s too?” Georgia, with pure sweetness oozing from her, asked him.
Arlo put his empty bottle on the table. “If he isn’t there, it’s because he’s in Clifton looking for a hookup.”
Yep, Elijah wanted to punch Arlo. Sure, he’d gone to Clifton, another nearby town, and had a few hookups there, but he didn’t expect his friend to be so blasé about it. He wanted so badly to remind Arlo of the woman who recently showed up at the station for him, wearing only a trench coat.
Georgia eyed him with a dark-green stare. “Oh, is that one of the zip codes you find acceptable for dating?”
Nash patted him on the shoulder. “Clifton is definitely on your rotation. But, Baby Sister, I’m not sure Elijah considers what he does dating.”
“I’m well aware,” she murmured back.
Arlo stood, saying goodbye to Elijah and Nash, and then the asshole gave Georgia a hug, promising tons of pictures to share on Saturday.
“Nash.” A blonde shimmied over to the table, wrapping her arms around him. “I was just about to leave until I saw you. What are you doing tonight?”
His playboy friend pulled out his wallet and threw a couple of twenties on the table. “I’m actually ready to go. Want me to give you a ride home?”
The blonde was basically humping Nash’s leg. “Among other things,” she told him, pushing her chest into him.
“Gross,” Georgia whispered, turning away from her brother and some woman kissing.
Nash pulled away from her and looked at Elijah. “Do me a favor and give George a ride home.”
“Just like you’re giving me?” The blonde wagged her eyebrows.
“Never.” Nash was quick to refute Elijah ever touching Georgia. “He’s my best friend, and she’s my little sister.”
Fuck if that wasn’t like a bucket of cold water being dumped on him.
“I’M GRATEFUL I’M not my brother’s doctor.” Georgia cringed as she spoke to Elijah when her brother and the blonde left. “I’d hate to have the safe sex talk with him.”
This made Elijah laugh. God, how she loved his laugh. “Your brother does not want to have kids, so I am sure he wraps it.”
“Thanks for the visual,” she deadpanned, grabbing the last beer from the bucket on their table. “Do you want to have kids?”
Her question immediately stopped Elijah’s laughter. “I don’t want to get married, so having children is off the table.”
“Plenty of people have kids without being married.” She countered, wanting a real answer from him.
Elijah finished his drink, and she knew his rule: he limited himself to only one since he was driving. “And I’m glad that works for some people, but that’s not how I would want to do it.”
“Is this because of what happened with your mentor?” Georgia’s voice softly asked, never forgetting what he revealed to her a month ago.
“His name was Miles Blackwood,” he shared, and she wished they weren’t at the bar for this conversation. “He was fifty years old when he died in a fire, leaving his wife and son behind. It was chaos, on them obviously, but also the whole community.”
Georgia reached out to him and slid her hand in his, noting how he was leaving out how it affected him.
“Our whole station went to therapy, and we did what was required of us, but I couldn’t be in Maine anymore. I moved here a couple of years later.”
“You know it’s not your fault, right?”
He nodded, but she wasn’t sure if he believed it. “Regardless, I don’t want to put myself in a situation where my career could have that effect on someone else.”
“Just to be clear, we all put ourselves in danger every day. Elijah, you shouldn’t sell your life short because of one incident.”
The man she craved turned away from her, scanning the bar before glancing back at her. “Understood.”
They needed to get out of the bar. Her eyes darted to the money on the table and then back to him. “How about you take me home? My idiot brother left double the cost for the beer, so our tab is paid. Is that okay?”
“Yeah.” He stood. Once she hopped out of her seat, he placed his hand on her lower back, guiding her out of the bar.
They didn’t talk much as she got into his car and buckled in. As soon as he was in and had fastened his seat belt, he drove to her apartment complex, the sounds of Coldplay playing low from the speakers.
She loved the song “Clocks,” and she began singing along. Her singing talent was not going to get her on American Idol, but she didn’t care. Music was meant to be felt, so she sang her little heart out.
He pulled into a parking spot, and he turned the car off.
“I hate to tell you,” Elijah said, leaning toward her over the center console and cupping her cheek. “But no way in hell are you replacing Chris Martin in Coldplay.”
The sparks from him touching her were ignored as she laughed her butt off at his commentary. One of the things she adored about him was that he always told the truth.
“And to think I was going to tempt you into sleeping with me again,” she sassed him as she got out of the car.
Even though she didn’t invite him up, he scrambled out of the car. He quickly caught up with her before she got inside the building. With his arm wrapped around her waist, he said, “You just need to breathe, and I’m tempted, Peach. But I’m trying to behave myself.”
Hmm, Georgia wasn’t too sure how she felt about Elijah and him behaving himself.
“You can test your resiliency.” She wiggled out of his grasp. “And come up to my place if you want.”
“I want,” he groaned out as he followed her into the lobby, watching her shake her hips left and right. They were in the elevator, and she stood in front of him, her butt pressed against him. “Georgia,” he warned through a clenched jaw.
The elevator doors swooshed open, and she glided out to her apartment. They were inside her home for all of two seconds before he grabbed her hands and locked them behind her back.
“Stop taunting me,” he said lowly, his voice making her tingle.
She arched her head back. “You said you have resistance.”
He dropped her arms and moved to sit on the couch. “It’s not as good as I thought it was. You.” He pointed to the other side of the sectional. “Sit there.”
Georgia did, but she kicked off her shoes and put her feet in his lap. “Thoughts on watching a movie or show?”
“Can I pick it?” Elijah’s hands massaged her feet, and it felt amazing.
“As long as it isn’t scary.” She reached for the clicker on the coffee table and tossed it to him, which he caught with one hand.
He scrolled to Hulu, clicked on Chicago Fire, and pressed play.
“You are so predictable,” she teased him.
Back to rubbing her feet, he tossed back, “And you love it.”
They were a few episodes in, and Georgia wanted to scream at him about how there were firefighters married on the show but kept it to herself.
She wasn’t sure what point she was trying to make.
Not when he was still notoriously known for rejecting commitment, which gutted her.
It was a bitter pill to swallow that he was enough for her, but she wasn’t for him.
By the time the sixth episode came on, a soft snore came from the other side of the couch. She slipped her feet from his lap and got up to grab the blanket draped over the back of the recliner.
She went back to Elijah, who was so peaceful in his sleep, and covered him up.
Unable to stop herself, she climbed on the couch and curled in next to him. His arm instantly went around her, tugging her closer to him. Then he bent down and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead before stretching his legs out in front of him.
That was how they fell asleep.
It was perfect, but it wouldn’t last long.