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Shit, why had I allowed myself to be in this situation? This man was nothing but good to me since I met him, and he was the last person who deserved this. My heart felt stuck, staying with him as I drove off into the night.
13
Nathan
Work was impossible to get through, especially while in a haze. Even with the ringing alarms and howling sirens, I still caught myself zoning out. I couldn’t stop thinking of Julia. Even now, stuck between men in a humming firetruck, I stared down at my boots, lost in my own world. I hated how our night ended, so abrupt, so sudden. I felt lost, I felt the old urge that I thought I buried so long ago, to pick up a bottle, to have a drink. So weird, the thought even felt foreign, still haunting none the less. It scared me.
“Great fucking work today, Manning.” Smith, our driver, addressed me by my last name as he does with everyone. The truck was a crowded, vulgar place, but it was home. It felt like a high school locker room, a place to shoot the shit and piss off your buddies.
We had just finished putting out a burning car, and everyone was pretty excited. Willie thought he saved a baby, but it ended up being just loaf of bread that fell out of the driver’s groceries. His face was covered in black crud. It was a little creepy actually, especially with how his ice blue eyes popped out.
“Jesus, Willie, looks like an exhaust pipe came in your face.” Miller hollered, the biggest asshole out of us all was relentless. Everyone laughed.
“I must remind you of your wife then.” Willie motioned in the air, jerking off an imaginary dick. I wanted to jump out of the truck and roll away.
Chaos ensued as they started shouting at each other. I sat quietly, ignoring their screams when suddenly my pocket vibrated. It was like I was floating at sea and someone just threw me a life vest. Julia’s name flashed across my screen. I haven’t heard from her since our time last night, and it felt so damn good to see her text.
Julia: I’ve heard movies during the day are pretty dead ;)
That wink face emoji, oh she’d pay for that one. Here I was, in the middle of this mayhem, instantly thinking of all the naughty things I wanted to do with her.
Nathan: What theater? I can meet you after my shift.
Julia: meet me at the Rialto at eleven. Robbie thinks I’ll be with Eve.
Nathan: I’ll be there. can’t wait babe
I couldn’t help but smile, maybe a little too much. I should have known that these sharks would smell blood, to see me beaming. I could hear the guys talking to me, chanting my name. Shit, here we go.
“Yo Manning, a little birdie told me you got a new piece of ass. How’s that new pussy?” Miller remarked raising his bushy, peppery eyebrows. He sat in front of me, so I was the perfect target for his bullshit. Immediately, I looked over at Willie, the only little bird with my secret. His creepy eyes still popping out from his dark face. He looked like a ghoul, but I still loved the kid.
“That’s big boy talk, Leslie. You don’t need to worry about that.” I called Miller by his first name, which he hated. He looked like an angry apple, fuming red. I was happy. Miller was a known womanizer, and he treated his wife like shit. Honestly, he kinda reminded me of Robbie, which sorta pissed me off right now.
“If you won’t tell me, maybe I’ll just have to find out for myself.” Miller pointed down towards his crotch and humped the air. This I didn’t like. I knew Willie could tell. It was my grin, my unfazed stare. A surreal joy that took over, the moment I got to remind someone who they are and where they belong.
“Ease up, Miller.” Wille tried to cut the tension, nodding to me as if it was taken care of. It wasn’t.
“What's wrong, sweetie? You gonna let Willie talk for you?” Miller hissed. Willie looked shocked as the men ooh’ed all around us. Cackling spread like wildfire in the truck.
“We’ll see how much you’re talking, once your face is on the floor.” The truck went nuts. Everyone knew my stories, they knew why I was here, how this was my last chance to stay on a fire squad. Bad habits die hard.
“You ain't shit, Manning. You’re an act, always have been.”
My collective grin remained as I raised my brows, “Come get some.” I urged him.
Willie stared between my clenched knuckles and Miller’s punchable face. The whole crew was about to see the truth for themselves. For a moment we just stared, but Miller looked down at the floor.
“Alright, boys, chill out.” Smith chimed in from the front, steering our massive truck down towards the street of our station. The whole space felt weird now. A little awkward to be honest.
“I look like Santa on a bad night.” Willie pointed to his face, which did look as if he fell through a chimney. We all laughed. Good save. buddy. Willie always knew how to lighten the mood. Honestly, he was the only guy I could count on at the firehouse, besides the chief. Sure, he ran a tight ship, and he was always on my ass, but he really did look out for me. Everyone saw me as a troublemaker, but he saw me for the hero I could be. I owed him more than he knew. I’d never disappoint him by hitting Miller; it wouldn’t be worth it.
As soon as we pulled into the garage, I yanked out my phone. I couldn’t think of anything but Julia and our date. I sent her a quick text.
Nathan: on my way, you’re gonna pay for sending me that wink during work.
The station looked like a mess. Men were moving tables and auction items into vans, preparing for our annual charity event. Meeting Julia seemed like a good excuse to bail, as I hoped our encounter would take us late into the night. As soon as I sent my text to Julia, I ran into Miller. I felt kinda bad about our ride home. That wasn’t my style anymore. I knew I had to say something.
“Hey, sorry about earlier, buddy. I was just busting your balls.” I placed my hand on his shoulder.
