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I jogged over to her and gave her a hand getting up. “Are you alright?”
April laughed. “I think I’m dying on the vine over here.”
“I hear that,” I replied.
“Want to call it quits and grab that drink in the bar we were talking about earlier?”
I smiled. “Deal.”
I’d met April Dubchek at the station on my first day. She was a quiet sort, who didn’t seem to be real clique-ish with the other girls in the unit, but there was a quiet confidence about her that I found myself drawn to. As the new girl, it was easier to try to talk to someone who wasn’t surrounded by a huge group. It was like a nice baby step towards being accepted by the unit as a whole.
I liked April from the start. She was a feisty, pretty girl with long auburn hair, a winning smile, and a slender, but athletic build. She had the long legs and swiftness of a runner, possibly a sprinter, but I was still surprised by her strength and athleticism. Her strength seemed to be generated more by speed than by brute force, but it was very effective.
I was surprised when she invited me to the country club where her parents’ were members. It was a posh, swank place outside of the city. The golf course was immaculate. The pools were beautiful and pristine. And the people were genuinely nice and interesting. They seemed to accept me right away just because I was with April. I always expected people who were country club members to be snooty and stuck up, but these people weren’t like that at all. Most of them were doctors, lawyers, dentists, and entrepreneurs, and it felt good to be amongst them.
April suggested we spend the day getting to know each other a bit and play some racquetball since we both had the day off.
We finished our showers and then hit the bar area to have a few cocktails. I ordered a mojito and sipped it slowly. It felt refreshing after the grueling game we just had, of course I had polished off about two liters of water before hitting the shower to rehydrate myself. Now I was going to dehydrate myself once again with a few alcoholic beverages. It sounded like a great way to spend a Saturday.
“So, how are you getting settled in?” April asked me.
“Oh, it’s been fine. I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone, but I’m still trying to find the groove point.”
“How many other fire stations have you worked in?”
“This is the third one I’ve been to,” I said. “They all are a little bit different. Some place value on one aspect of the job, while others place value on the efficiency in another area. So, as a trainer I have to kind of fit into whatever mold I’m asked to. That can take a bit of time to get really secure with.”
“Interesting,” April said
. “Why did you leave the last company?”
I paused before answering. She was kind of putting me on the spot here. I knew that this would happen eventually. I just had to relax and take a deep breath. I knew the answer here. No one knew me in this new world. I could reinvent myself and be whoever I wanted to be.
“The pay is better here,” I said. “That was really it. I was working in Detroit before, and when I found this job opening, I decided to go ahead and apply. The pay is better, and it was time for a fresh start.”
I shouldn’t have said that last part. I cringed inwardly. And of course, April picked up on it instantly.
“A fresh start? What happened?” April asked inquisitively.
I smiled and tried to downplay it. “Oh, I’m one of those people who can’t be tied down too long in one spot. I have… what’s it called…? Wanderlust. That’s it. I like to move around, see different places, and eventually I would like to be in a good place financially that I can take a few years off and really travel and see the world.”
“That’s interesting,” she said. “And is Chicago that much different than Detroit?”
“It’s a little different, but the main motivator for moving here, as I said before, was money. And I’m a Cubs fan.”
April laughed. “Good girl! That will put you in good with some of the fellas in the squad. Speaking of which, who do you have your eye on?”
I was a bit put off by her question. “What do you mean?” The question sounded stupid coming out of my mouth, but I went with it. I was vaguely aware that I was just trying to stall.
She smirked and gave me a bit of the twinkle in her eye. April had that sassy spirit that you could see when she was thinking something kind of raunchy or downright naughty.
“You can level with me. We do work with firemen. Any woman who says she wouldn’t want to make it with a fireman is lying to you. That’s like one of the top three fantasy guys, right? Don’t they make a lot of female oriented porn about that? I’m not sure anymore. I’m kind of out of the loop on that.”
I tried not to laugh, but April was one of those people who had that kind of unstoppable confidence where she would say or do anything, probably without even thinking about it. That could be very entertaining.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “I haven’t really had my eye on anyone, but that’s extremely frowned upon in my understanding. The Chief gave me a huge lecture on that when I was first hired.”
She sighed. “Yeah, that is a bummer, and they are deadly serious about that no fraternization garbage. But it’s still fun to pretend.”
