Chapter Ten
Nate
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I drawl as I stare at the brightly colored funhouse that looks rather ominous, despite its vibrancy. I side eye AJ.
“You said you needed a job, and it’s temporary,” he says, like that is just the end of the discussion. Which, honestly, I don’t know how I feel about that.
On one hand, it’s kind of hot when he gets all growly and tells me shit, but on the other hand, I want to tell him to fuck off, he’s not the boss of me.
Part of me wonders what he’d do if I did that… and I’m quite tempted to do just that because I hear the unmistakable laugh of a clown. I fucking hate clowns.
“Yeah, because they probably murdered the last guy who worked here,” I bite. “Unless you brought me here to kill me.”
AJ chuckles. “Trust me, Bright Eyes, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t do it where there are children running around.”
I scoff at him as a young woman heads down the metal slope towards me, dressed in a bright yellow and red polo and pants, her cheeks painted with pink hearts.
“Oh my God, AJ!!!” she squeals as she runs up and throws her arms around him. I raise my eyebrow, as he laughs as she nearly knocks him over.
Who the hell is this?
And why is she mauling my firefighter?
Okay, so he’s not my firefighter, but… doesn’t mean I can’t be jealous.
I know what it feels like to have those big, beefy arms around me, and I can’t say I didn’t like it. Though I’m sure I’ve destroyed all chances of that at this point.
“Darla, it’s so good to see you. This is the guy I was telling your mom about—”
The young woman who barely looks old enough to even work here gives me a huge smile.
“Darla’s mom used to work at the diner down the street from the firehouse.” He smiles, but I don’t miss the word. Used.
“She’s not there now?” I gently prod.
Darla shakes her head. “Nope. Retired after we nearly lost this place in a freak electrical fire. It needed a lot of work, but AJ helped.” She gives him a push. I raise my eyebrow.
“AJ helped… how?”
She smiles as he shrugs. “I may have helped build a few things.”
She rolls her eyes. “And don’t forget about the money.”
“Money?” I chirp.
“That wasn’t—”
“AJ organized a carnival to raise money to bring the electrical up to code so we could open the place back up and not have to worry about any more fire hazards.”
I can’t help but grin. Of course he did.
He’s a fucking angel with abs.
“Your mom around?” he asks, sliding his hands into his pockets as Darla looks me up and down.
“She’s off today. But I can show him around.”
“Show me around?” I deadpan.
Darla giggles. Like a psychopath.
Clearly, you have to be a lunatic to work at a carnival. During Halloween season.
“Yeah, AJ said you could start today.”
I glare at him.
AJ smirks at me, as if he wants me to argue with him. Like he’s waiting for it.
So I don’t because something tells me that’s precisely what he wants, so I’m not about to give in so easily.
Especially because he didn’t say anything about me starting a job, just that he knew a place and that after I was done talking to the insurance company—which apparently, AJ knows my agent and was able to get him to sit down with me for nearly a half hour—we’d be going over there to talk to someone about it.
He never once said I was starting a job.
I’m not exactly in any position to say ‘no, thank you, I don’t want to be murdered by clowns today,’ because my options are limited.
I mean, I could apply at Shadows but I guess it’s a job, and I can’t be picky when every one I’ve applied to hasn’t panned out.
But that doesn’t mean I’m going to like it, and it also doesn’t mean I’m not going to find some way to get back at AJ because who the hell just tells someone what they’re doing without at least asking them if it’s what they want?
I mean, this is real life, not some trope-laden romance novel.
“Right, guess I just forgot,” I say carefully.
Darla grabs my hand.
“What time should I pick him up, Darla?” AJ asks, his voice full of humor and sex appeal. I swear it’s the sexiest voice I’ve ever heard.
“Nine is good!”
“Nine?” I yelp. That’s five hours!
Lacey’s definitely going to think I’ve been murdered if I don’t text her and give her the heads up.
I’ll have to call her so she doesn’t worry, and I’m sure I’m going to have to explain everything to her later, except I have no clue what I’m going to say.
How does one even begin to explain that they went to a damn sex club, got completely wasted, almost got taken advantage of then went home with the firefighter who rescued them the other day and embarrassed the fuck out of themselves and somehow ended up with a job that said sexy firefighter apparently got for me. Without my permission.
Or my consent.
Isn’t that breaking the rules or something?
AJ waves at me with a smile.
“Have fun, Nate.”
I’m going to fucking kill him.
AJ is waiting for me, headlights shining, stereo blasting at precisely eight fifty-five, and I am exhausted.
I had no clue what to expect when Darla showed me around the carnival and then stuck me at the ticket booth, but I was not expecting the crowds of kids and adults that we got today.
Thankfully, I don’t have to be back until the weekend, which gives me a few days to rest and relax.
And plot my revenge against the world’s hottest firefighter.
The sound of heavy guitars and drums echoes and I have to scoff because it’s just so… so…
Annoyingly perfect, I guess. AJ hangs out of the window of his pickup truck, the position of his arm drawing attention to his large biceps.
God, he’s so fucking hot, and so good. And probably straight. I mean, there were a few moments where I thought he might be into dick because he seemed almost flirty, but aside from that, he hasn’t given me any indication he is.
Sure, he made that comment about cleaning me up, but some people just have a dirty sense of humor. And some people fantasize a little too much about men they can’t have.
AJ is so out of my damn league, I don’t even know if we’re in the same fucking ballpark. Still, even if we were, I doubt his type would be a hot mess with the worst luck in the world.
He blares the horn, pulling me from my thoughts and I check the clock. Eight fifty-nine. One more minute to go. I stare him down, feeling a sense of pride at his impatience, but I don’t leave my podium until it is precisely nine p.m.
And I take my time walking over to his car.
“You always make people wait for your ass?” he grumbles.
I shrug as I slowly open the passenger door and jump in, but before I can answer him he nods to the seatbelt.
“Seatbelt.”
I glare at him as I make a show of grabbing it and buckling it.
He opens his mouth, and before he can speak, I do.
“Do you always make demands without other’s consent?” I bite. “Or am I just special?”
AJ lets out a low growl, and I hate that the sound makes my stomach flip and my dick twitch. How the fuck does he do that? Am I really that easy?
Yes, apparently I am. Because I have half a nerve to push his buttons just so I can hear it again.
But I swear his face pales, and the sight makes me reconsider.
His eyebrows furrow and he frowns, like I’ve just told him his damn dog died.
Which makes me feel like an asshole. Which…
I’m not the asshole, here! He’s the one who showed up and…
and… just told me what to do like some child!
“You’re right,” he says, but he doesn’t take off like I expect him to. The sounds of the radio play, Three Days Grace’s “I Hate Everything About You” drones on amidst the rumble of the engine, and I can’t help but raise my eyebrows because I did not expect him to just…
Is he agreeing with me?
“I overstepped. I’m sorry.”
I blink, unsure if I heard him correctly.
“You… are?” I ask, dumbfounded.
AJ nods. “I just…” I watch as he runs a hand through his hair, biting his lip before he lets out another one of those long breaths. “I wanted to help.”
It’s the way his words soften, the sadness etched in them. Something about it resonates with me on a level I can’t explain.
“You don’t have to,” I say. “You’ve done enough already, I—”
AJ glances at the space between us, and I’m acutely aware of how small it is.
He’s a big guy—not huge or anything, but he definitely takes up more space than I do, despite us being almost equal in height.
But it’s not just his body, or the small seating in his car.
I think it’s just him. His personality, his presence.
He’s impossible to ignore, impossible to resist staring at.
My eyes feel drawn to him, and I find it hard to tear my gaze away.
“Maybe I want to,” he says, his voice taking on that darker tone again, and gone is the soft moment of vulnerability.