“I’m sure Lee will be happy about that,” I muse.
“You think so?” she asks.
“If the little bit that I actually heard out of him about last weekend has anything to say about their time together, it was something he’s definitely looking to repeat.”
“I just hope he doesn’t break her heart,” she tells me honestly. “She’s not as flippant about things as she likes people to think.”
“Give him a chance. He just needs the right woman to lock him down.”
“And you?” she asks.
“I just need a chance,” I tell her. The idea saying all I need is her is on the tip of my tongue. But I can’t spring that on her right now. We’ve only ever been friends. Whatever this is that is sparking between the two of us is something that I’m definitely going to attempt to unpack and see what comes of it.
“You coming?” Lee shouts at me from the back doorway.
“Hold your horses; we’re coming,” Lindsay calls out to him, laughing as she takes in his impatient look.
I slip my hand into hers, linking our fingers together. I bring our clasped hands up to my mouth and kiss the back of her hand. “Come on, we’d better get out there before he lights my entire backyard on fire.”
Lindsay laughs as I tug her toward the back door, and it's one of the best sounds I’ve heard in a long-ass time. Since when does a woman’s laugh rank up there as one of the best sounds I’ve ever heard? “Isn’t he a firefighter? Isn’t that the exact opposite of what y’all are trained to do?” she asks, still laughing.
“You’d think.” I laugh right along with her. “But give that man some lighter fluid, and he goes a little crazy.”
“Well, then go save your property,” she encourages once we’re out on the deck. I leave her side, taking off in a jog to catch up to Lee. We safely get the bonfire pile lit, the flames lighting up the night sky.
Everyone that is still here starts making their way over to the fire. I head back for the porch, turning on the outdoor sound system with some country music. I also flip on the outdoor lights, lighting up the pond's pathway and the deck with twinkly lights.
With all the food put away and the table out of the way, the deck opens up and becomes a makeshift dance floor. A few couples make their way over when an older Tim McGraw song comes on. I look around to see if I can find Lindsay. My hands itch to touch her again, to hold her close like I did during the game.
I finally find her on the other side of the fire, sitting on one of the logs that surround the fire pit, talking with Lee and Allison, who obviously showed up while I was busy getting things going. I take in the way Lee is sitting behind Allison so that her back is to his front. His hands rest on her thighs as they face Lindsay. I sneak up behind her, mirroring the way Lee is sitting as I sit behind Lindsay. I slip a hand around her torso, my thumb finding a sliver of exposed skin where her shirt has ridden up from the top of her jeans. I draw lazy circles with the pad of my thumb, taking advantage of any inch of her creamy skin I can get my hands on.
We sit around the fire, shooting the shit with our friends for what feels like hours. The four of us trade stories from some of the calls and patients we’ve all dealt with over the years in our respective jobs. With Allison and Lindsay both nurses, and Lee and I both firefighters, we’ve all got some crazy times beneath our belts.
“I should probably head home,” Lindsay finally says as she yawns. Her head has been resting back on my shoulder for the last thirty or so minutes, and I can feel her getting more and more tired as she melts into me as the minutes pass by.
“I’ve got a spare room if you want to crash here for the night,” I offer.
“That’s okay. I’m not far. I’ll be okay to make it home,” she says, yawning again.
“You sure? I don’t mind at all.”
“I’ll be fine, Tuck,” she says quietly, pressing a little more of her weight into me.
“Then let me walk you to your car. You’re okay to drive, right?” I ask. I know she hasn’t had any alcohol since we’ve been sitting around the fire.
“I’m as sober as can be,” she assures me as we stand up. Lee and Allison are both getting ready to leave, as well, and seeing as how we’re the last four out here, I guess it's time to call it a night myself.
“What’s your schedule this week?” I ask as we make our way out to the driveway.
“I work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday day shift,” she tells me.
“Are you always on days?” I ask.
“Yep. Not many nurses rotate. Unless you’re a float nurse or covering for someone else, you work the same shift; the only thing that changes is what days we work. It doesn’t always work out, but I’m usually three on three off, but sometimes I’ll work three on two off or three on four off. Just kind of depends on people's vacation schedules and if we’ve got anyone out for maternity or some other kind of extended leave.”
“How many days are you off after your three on this week?” I ask, mentally rolling through my own work scheduled to see if we’ve got any aligning days off.
“Three,” she says as we make it to her car.
“Did you have anything inside that you brought and need?” I ask, realizing she doesn’t have much with her.
“Nope. The dishes I brought were in tossable containers.”
“What did you bring?” I ask, realizing that I don’t even know if I had whatever it was.
“Apple pie and those little bacon wrapped smokies with brown sugar on top.”
“Damn. I think both were gone before I got to the food. Damn operating the grill.”
“Sorry. Maybe if you’re nice, I’ll bring you a pie to have all to yourself.”
“Don’t tease me, woman. You might have just unlocked the way to my heart.” I wink at her, the light from the front porch bright enough to light up the driveway so that we can see one another.
“Good night, Tucker, thanks for inviting me. I had a great time,” Lindsay says before she moves to open her car door. I step aside, grabbing it for her and holding it open while she slides in behind the wheel. I should have fucking kissed her when I had the chance, rolls through my mind as I watch as she drops her keys into the cup holder, and presses the start button.
“Night, Linds, text me and let me know that you made it home okay, please,” I ask, adding the please onto the end.
“I’m a big girl, Tuck,” she says, rolling her eyes at me, but I know she’s not mad about my request, if the smile on her face tells me anything. “But, I’ll appease you and send you a text when I make it home.”
“Thanks, I’ll sleep better knowing that you made it home in one piece.”
“Night,” she says, reaching for her door. I push it closed for her, then step back from the car so that she can pull out. I stand and watch until I can no longer see her taillights in the dark. I turn around, realizing that, at some point, Lee and Allison left, as well.
I know that I’ve got about ten minutes until Lindsay makes it home, so I head to the backyard, pulling the hose with me to spray on the coals that are still going. With those properly extinguished, I pick up as much as I can see and fit in my hands on my way back to the deck. I’ll get the rest tomorrow when I can clean up in the daylight.