“She’s got three quarters of a tank,” he pointed out. “And she gets pretty good gas mileage. Plenty of time.”
“I’m not having sex with you in a truck parked on the street. There is zero chance of that, so let’s go to the bar and have a good time.” She turned her head to give him a suggestive smile. “Andthenwe’ll come back and have a better time.”
That got him moving. He had to park a little farther from the bar than she would have liked, considering how cold it was, but once her gloved hand was in his and his body was helping block the wind, she didn’t mind the walk so much.
As they reached the door, he slowed their pace slightly. “So, listen. They all think they’re comedians, so they’ll probably give me a bunch of shit. And probably you, too. But it’s all in fun, so just try to think of them as really annoying brothers.”
“I doubt they’ll give me any shit.” Through the corner of her eye, she saw him wince. “What?”
“You’re the EMT who pushed the firefighter down the stairs.”
“Seriously? I’ll just tell them the truth like I told you.”
“They know the truth, Cait, but the truth isn’t as fun. Annoying, wannabe comedian brothers, remember?” He bumped her shoulder with his. “I know you can handle them, but I figured I’d give you a heads-up.”
It seemed like they were all there, and the introductions were a whirl of faces and names. They weren’t technically introductions since she knew most of them in passing and they all recognized her, but she thought maybe it was more symbolic for Gavin. She wasn’t being introduced to them professionally, but as his girlfriend.
“So,” Scott said once they’d done the rounds and she had a beer in her hand, “tell us why you pushed a firefighter down the stairs.”
She was never going to live that down, she thought with a laugh. “Joe got in the way. Then he wasn’t in my way anymore.”
Scott’s eyes widened while the other guys laughed, which meant Gavin had been right. Scott Kincaid knew the real story of what had happened with Joe Grassano, but it wasn’t a fun story. So she’d give him one.
“He’s a big guy,” she continued. “It wasn’t easy.”
After blinking at her a couple of times, Scott joined in the others’ laughter. “My wife would like you. I don’t want you in the same room because God only knows what evil you could get up to, but she’d like you.”
They all milled around the alcove chatting and laughing, sometimes spilling into the bar area to make room for the guys shooting pool. At some point, a second mug of beer replaced the empty first and she made a mental note to keep track of how much she was drinking. She was a sleepy drunk and she had plans for later.
“Hey, do you know Derek?” Gavin pointed to a dark blond guy who’d come in later. He was in a BFD T-shirt like most of them, and Cait recognized the scar on his face. It made him look a little sinister, though she knew that was far from the truth. “He’s Engine 59, but he works Wednesdays and Saturdays. Usually, anyway. I’m surprised to see him here tonight.”
“We’ve met a few times.”
Derek spotted them looking at him and made his way over. “Hey, Boudreau. Hi, Cait. How you been?”
“Good. You?”
“Same shit, different day. I had to switch shifts because my kids had a thing today, but it’s their weekend with their mom so rather than go home alone, I thought I’d come hang out and shoot some pool.”
She’d heard about his divorce through the grapevine, and rumor had it everything had been amicable. “How are the kids?”
He smiled, and it totally softened his face. “They’re good. It’s tough during the school year because I have the Saturday tour and they don’t have much free time during the week, but we make it work.”
They chatted for a few minutes, and then somebody called his name, so off he went. The entire night was a rotating conversation, but she didn’t mind. Gavin was clearly enjoying himself, too, and even though he was surrounded by guys who were like brothers to him, he was never far from her.
Cait got a little nervous when Rick Gullotti approached her. Not only was he Gavin’s LT, but she knew he had a huge amount of respect for the man and his opinion of Cait could actually matter. Not that she thought he’d dislike her, but she couldn’t help being aware of his importance in Gavin’s life.
“You having a good time?”
“I am, actually. And that’s not just the beer talking.”
He laughed and lifted his own mug. “Doesn’t hurt, though. Especially with this crowd.”
“I was expecting a little more in the way of giving him a hard time, though. They’re all being pretty nice.”
“Give them time.” He shrugged as he scanned the room. “But, yeah, they’re going easy on the kid. It’s the first time he’s ever brought a girlfriend here.”
“Really?” She filed that away to obsess over later—what did it mean—and limited herself to a mentalwoohoo!
