“I guess I should head home,” Lindsay says, stretching before she stands up. “I’m turning off my alarms, silencing my phone, and sleeping in as late as my body will let me.”
“That sounds like the best plan.” I follow her to the door. She slips her sandals on, then gives me a hug before heading out the door. “I’ll text you once I’m up, and we can make plans for Joe’s tomorrow night.”
“Sounds good!” she calls back before disappearing down the hall.
I close the door, flipping the deadbolt before heading back into my living room. I collect our dirty glasses and trash, taking everything into the kitchen. I clean up the few things that are out, starting the dishwasher so that I don’t have to do it tomorrow. I pour the last glass of wine from the bottle into my glass, then toss the bottle into the recycling bin.
With the kitchen clean, I take my wine with me and head for my bedroom. A nice relaxing bath after a long-ass shift in the ER is calling my name. I turn on the water, letting the tub fill with hot-steamy water. Once it is high enough, I kick on the jets and toss in some soothing bath salts before stripping from my scrubs. I snag my kindle from my nightstand, placing it on the little tray that fits across my tub that Lindsay got me for Christmas last year. It has a tiny slot to hold up a book or, in my case, my kindle, and a place for my drink. No spilling is happening tonight. I also reach into one of the vanity drawers, grabbing one of my little waterproof vibrators. With the spice level of my current read, it wouldn’t surprise me if I needed to take care of business while in the tub.
3
LEE
I walk into Joe’s, and it is already a busy place tonight. Ladies' night is usually this way. People are ready for the end of the week, ready to kick off the weekend a day early. I push my way to the bar, flagging down Joe when he looks my way.
“What can I get you tonight?” he asks, setting a napkin down on the bar in front of me.
“I’ll take a Blue Moon on tap,” I tell him, handing over a ten-dollar bill. He quickly fills the chilled glass, adding an orange slice to the top. He sets it down, along with my change. I grab the drink, leaving a couple bucks’ tip on the counter for him. Joe’s always been a good guy.
I turn around looking for anyone I know. Tucker wasn’t sure if he’d make it tonight, daddy duty and all that. I don’t begrudge the guy. His daughter Paisley is his world, as she should be. She’s a firecracker and keeps him on his toes, but he wouldn’t change it for anything. She might have been a surprise, but she’s been the best thing to happen to him.
I see a few of the other guys from the station all holding down a table along the edge of the dance floor, so I make my way through the crowd and join them.
“You made it,” Jack, one of the guys on a different shift than I am, says. I shake his hand, slapping him on the back in a bro hug.
“How’ve you been, man?” I ask genuinely.
“Eh, hanging in there. Life’s been stressful, but I’ll make it through.”
“Sorry to hear that. How’s Rachel?”
He rubs a hand along his neck before blowing out a breath. “She filed for divorce about three months ago,” he tells me.
“Fuck, sorry about that, man.”
“Yeah, it was a shock to me, as well,” he says before downing the rest of his beer. “I guess I missed all the signs.”
“Things getting nasty?” I ask. I’ve heard of way too many horror stories from other guys from the station who’ve gone through divorces.
“Thankfully, we’re staying pretty friendly. Not having any kids makes things a thousand times easier. At this point, it is just a matter of waiting on the courts to process all the paperwork. We easily split our assets and went our own ways. I just never thought I’d be thirty and divorced.”
“Welcome back to the single life, man. It isn’t all that bad,” I tell him.
“If you say so. There’s something about having someone you can count on at home every night.”
“But is the heartbreak worth it when they decide it isn’t worth the fight?” I question.
He accepts another beer from the waitress, taking a healthy drink from it before answering me. “I guess that depends. Not every relationship ends as mine did. So, I’d like to think that I’d have still gone after Rachel all those years ago, even knowing the outcome. We had a lot of good times together. We just weren’t meant for forever.”
“You’re braver than me,” I tell him. “I don’t think I’ll ever settle down.”
“Never say never,” he says.
I look over to the dance floor, a few friends from high school catching my eye. One specific person—Allison. Now that’s a woman that could pull me in and wrap me up in her. My mind wanders back all those years to my senior prom, when she was my date. I still think back to that kiss we shared on the dance floor. We didn’t take things any further that night, but I’ve dreamed for ten years what it would be like to get a second chance at another kiss or, even better, a night in my bed.
“Need a napkin for all that drool?” Jack asks.
“Fuck off.” I laugh. “I wasn’t drooling.”
“Could have fooled me.” He smirks. “Why don’t you go over there and ask her to dance?”
“No, she’s off-limits. Definitely one of the good ones that are looking for a forever kind of man.”
“The good ones are worth it, man. If I can still believe that, then so can you.”
I don’t reply; I just take a drink of my beer. I watch as Allison and Lindsay shake their asses to the music, laughing as they have a great time out on the dance floor.
The song ends and they head for the bar. I follow behind them, pushing my way to the bar next to them. Joe comes over, taking their order before nodding to my empty glass. I hand him my card. “I’ll get these ladies’ drinks this round,” I tell him.
“Lee.” Lindsay turns to me. “You didn’t have to do that but thank you.”
“Anytime. Are you ladies having a good time tonight?” I ask.
“Yes!” Allison calls out. “It was one hell of a week, and this is just what we needed tonight.”
“Busy days in the ER?” I ask. I could smack myself upside the head at that stupid question.
“I swear it was a full moon all week. We had the busiest shifts we’ve had in a long-ass time.”
“I understand completely. We went out on more calls this past week than we usually do.”
“It was something. I’m just thankful for a few days off.”
“Me too,” I agree with them. “Do you ladies have a table? You’re welcome to join us over at ours,” I offer up.
“Thanks, we’ll do that,” Lindsay says. Joe returns with our three drinks and my card. I quickly sign the slip before tucking my card into my wallet and leading the ladies back to our table.
I make quick introductions when we reach the table. Due to our jobs—the ladies being ER nurses, and all of us guys being EMTs or firefighters—our paths often cross when we’re dropping patients off at the hospital.