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His tablemates laughed at something Logan said, pulling Jake from his thoughts. He’d met Logan in high school and they’d become best friends. They’d bonded because neither of them had a father present in their lives. Logan’s dad had run off with another woman and never looked back, and Jake’s dad had passed away when he and his twin sister, Jessa, were six.
He and Logan had been partners in crime all through school. But after a couple failed semesters at college, Jake had moved to California.
He’d invited his friend to come, but Logan had been in the middle of EMT training and decided to stay behind. Jake had no clue what he’d wanted to do with his life back then, so hanging out on the beach and learning to surf had sounded way better than studying for classes he didn’t give a shit about.
It only took about a year before he’d moved back home. “Missed my family” was the excuse he’d given. And even though it was true, he’d really needed to get the hell away from California… and her. The girl who hadn’t let him get away, she’d pushed him out the door.
After he’d moved back, Grand—you didn’t dare call her “Grandmother” unless you wanted to take your life into your own hands—had read him the riot act.
Jake grinned. He still remembered exactly what she’d said….“Grow the hell up, pull your head out of your ass, and get your act together.”Grand wasn’t one to mince words.
Logan had been working as an EMT at the time with his sights set on becoming a fireman. The more Jake had thought about it, the more being a firefighter had felt like a good fit for him too. And not just to get girls, though that was an added bonus.
The two had gone to the fire academy together and now were lucky enough to work at the same station.
It’d taken Jake a while to find his calling, as bullshit as that sounded, but now he couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Taking a long pull of his beer, Jake saw the woman in the pink baseball hat approaching. Eyebrows drawn together, she was wringing her hands, looking everywhere except at him. It was kind of adorable, since she was heading straight for his table.
She glanced up a moment, and their gazes locked. Not two seconds passed before panic flashed in her eyes. She spun around and smacked into one of the girls she’d been sitting with, who was right on her tail. A little scuffle ensued, before the chick with the purple hair forcibly turned her back around and gave a push. Baseball hat dipping slightly, she stumbled forward a few steps before regaining her balance.
Jake fought back a smile. He wasn’t used to being approached by women who were shy—most strutted right up to him, the desire for a good time blatant on their faces. Not once had a woman approached him as if there was a gun at her back forcing her toward a firing squad.
He watched her take a deep breath, tug her hat lower on her brow, and start advancing again. Her steps were cautious, but wobbly. She’d said earlier she hadn’t been drunk, but judging from her walk, she might be now.
Her shoulders rose and fell on a breath, before she took the final few steps to reach his table. Jake’s friends stopped talking and turned her way, but she stood frozen until her friend nudged her.
“Hi,” she blurted out, tugging on the brim of her cap.
From his position at the far end of the table, Jake could barely hear her over the din of the crowd.
“Hi,” Logan echoed.
One half of the fire station’s paramedic team, Tori, gave a little wave. “Hey.”
Randy, her paramedic counterpart, said “hi” as well.
Jake waited until she braved a look at him, then flashed his “panty-melting smile,” as a number of women had dubbed it. “Hello, again.”
She swallowed hard, but didn’t say a word.
Her friend bumped her with a shoulder, forcing another sharp “Hi” from her throat.
Since she seemed incapable of saying anything else, the purple-haired chick took over the introductions. “I’m Skye. And this…” She steered her friend around the table until she was standing between Jake and Logan. “…is Laurel.”
“Hi, Laurel. I’m Jake.” He wasn’t expecting her gaze to drop to his mouth, but his dick pulsed when it did. “Can I get you two something to drink?”
Laurel nodded.
“She’s good,” Skye said with a pointed look at Laurel, who wrinkled her nose in response. Unfazed, Skye pushed her closer to Jake.
When Laurel glared at her, Skye held up five fingers.
Laurel spun back to face him. “Can I have your beer?” Without waiting for his reply, and before her friend could stop her, she grabbed his beer off the table and gulped down the entire thing.
Jake watched her set the empty bottle back on the table. It took her a few tries to keep it from tipping.
“I would’ve bought you one,” he told her.
