Page 61 of Dandelions and Smoke

Ainsley rolls her eyes toward the ceiling, but a small, involuntary smile tugs at the corner of her lips.

“The man runs into fires…” Tris pauses, bumping her shoulder against me, turning her jab into a joke that only someone as close as a sister could make. “…voluntarily.”

“So does Levi,” I argue.

She shrugs, jutting her chin out and squinting one eye, while a lopsided, mocking pout takes over her face. “Yeah, so I guess they’re all crazy.”

Turning to face her ridiculousness, I snort loudly, ready to continue our usual banter when arms wrap around me from behind.

Instantly, I lean back, fitting perfectly. One arm wraps around me, over my shoulder, while the other tucks in under my arm, pulling me close. Closing my eyes, my whole body relaxes as I melt into him. He kisses my head, and, turning to face him, I look up to see those beautiful baby blues as they take me in like I’m the most important person in the room.

“This is incredible. Thank you,” he says, taking my hand and drawing it to his lips to kiss my knuckles while his other hand draws soothing strokes at the back of my neck. “You didn’t need to go through all this trouble for me. It’s just a birthday.”

My brows twitch down, and my lips pinch together. “It’s not just a birthday,” I argue before allowing my expression to unravel into something gentler. “It’s my favorite person’s birthday. The day you were born. Which makes it the most important and best day ever.”

His baby-blue eyes brighten as his gaze ignites with a longing that leaves my thoughts scattered.

“Finally,” Callie’s voice thunders through my daze, causing me to jump and look in her direction.

She points at me after giving Tom a playful smack. “See?” she asks him, pulling Emma’s attention toward her as well. “Someone who gets it. Birthdays! They’re sacred.”

Tom exchanges a look with Emma like they’ve got some sort of secret, but I turn my attention back to Chief, fighting a grin. As usual, he notices, and the question in his eyes has me pulling him down, whispering in his ear.

“I’ve been so excited about this party and celebrating you, but now all I want is to have you to myself,” I admit.

He turns his head slowly toward me, our faces so close that the tip of his nose brushes against mine. A slow, familiar tug ignites a fire low in my belly. I close my eyes and tilt my head so that our lips touch, silencing the rest of the room. Pressing into his kiss, he returns my fervor, lifting me from my feet. Wrapping my legs around him as he cradles my thighs, I drag my thumb over the coarse bristles on his jaw before twining my fingers through his dark brown hair.

“Woooo!” Billy’s voice sounds through the room, followed by more echoes and cheers.

Awareness prickles across my skin, and a nervous laugh escapes my lips, vibrating against Chief’s mouth. I feel him grin before he slowly lowers me down. I look around the room, purposely avoiding Blake’s glare, not wanting to feed that fire, and instead focus on all the smiling faces. Ainsley stands near us, clapping, and Tris smiles widely.

“I hope he knows if he hurts you, I’ll kill him,” Tris states brazenly.

“Oh, really?” Chief challenges. “I thought you didn’t enjoy getting your hands dirty?”

“Times have changed. Besides…” She plants a hand on her hip, her stance daring him to push her. “I know a guy.”

Chief’s eyes narrow slightly, his grin wavering for half a second before returning to its usual relaxed expression, assuming she’s joking. This sweet man really does see the best in others, but although Tris has come a long way since her days as Ice Queen, I don’t doubt that any man who dares to hurt me will wind up a dead one… Or at least in a very unfortunate predicament.

“Don’t worry,” I say, reassuringly. “I’m usually the guy.”

I wiggle my brows, proud of myself and all the mischievous fun I’m capable of getting into when I put my mind to it. Tris looks at me like she’s recalling several of our questionable adventures, and Chief stares between us, eyes wide with worry like he’s wondering what he’s gotten himself into.

Shaking his head, his lips quirk up, and his mouth slightly opens like he’s in disbelief. “And you approve of this?” he asks Ainsley, folding his arms playfully.

“Of course. I’m the getaway driver,” she says proudly, causing Tris and me to double over in laughter.

“What does that even mean?” Chief asks, causing all three of us to laugh harder.

“Trust me,” Tom, or rather, in this particular context, Sergeant Hadley, cuts in. “You don’t want to know.”

Tom looks vexed as he glances between us, his mouth pressing into a thin line, shaking his head as he exhales sharply through his nose. There’s been one too many nights where his red and blue lights have appeared behind Tris, Ainsley, and me. In my opinion, he’s way too good at his job. I mean, who even notices a single street sign is missing at two in the morning?

Dragging a hand over his jaw, Chief studies the three of us as if he’s seeing us for the first time. Once his gaze flicks over my face, the crease between his brows smooths away, and his apprehension is replaced with a tenderness he reserves for me. Conversations carry on around us, but everything around me dissolves into background noise the longer his attention stays fixed my way. I should be used to this by now. Every time he looks at me, it’s as though I can feel his touch, like the warmth that fills and wraps around me when I stand in the sun. I’m at peace when he’s near and happiest when I’m with him. I’ve never had someone so important to me before, and it’s both exciting and terrifying.

“Chief!” Mark yells across the living room, where he stands with a bandana half covering his eyes. “Check it out.” He points to the pin-the-helmet game, where, somehow, he’s impressively placed the helmet exactly on top of the giant Chief head mounted on the wall.

“Think he cheated?” I whisper, coming up beside him.