“Come on.” Harper shimmied closer, half dancing. “You know you want to go. It’ll be fun. No thinking about anything except the drink in your hand and testing out this new Lana that isn’t afraid.”
I raised a brow. That did sound nice. No thinking. No fear. They were firemen, for goodness sakes. Good guys.
“Unless you want to mope around here, trying to cyberstalk the guy from last weekend?”
I laughed. I didn’t even know Jack’s last name. Besides, cyberstalking wasn’t my style.
I didn’t know what to do next, whether I’d ever see Jack again, but the way he looked at me, and the way he spoke to me with that sinful promise in his voice, I could only hope. In the meantime, I had reality to face and a best friend who needed a wing girl. Time to step up.
“When does the party start?”
Chapter Four
It was almost dusk, and I was standing in the middle of the large park, complete with a barbeque, a couple of picnic tables full of food, ping pong, which turned into beer pong an hour ago, and a makeshift bar. Harper was near the open field area, flirting with two different firemen. The fire station wasn’t far away. I could see the big trucks parked out front in the driveway. Good thing, since most of its crew seemed to be here.
“I hope someone is actually on duty,” I said to myself, finishing my second drink of vodka and something from a red plastic cup.
“There always is, Kitten,” a deep voice came from behind me. I turned to find a tall, broad wall of muscle with bright blue eyes staring down at me.
I almost choked.
“Do you usually sneak up on people?” I asked, realizing that two drinks seemed to be the right amount for my courage to show up. The man had a dark blue Golden Fire T-shirt on, paired with jeans and a whole lot of muscle.
“Do you usually talk to yourself?”
I glanced at my empty cup. Great, just great. Captain America thought me a crazy person. It had been too long of a day to feel any more embarrassed, though. I’d promised Harper and myself, that tonight, I’d attempt to have a good time.
“Yes, sometimes I do. When I can’t find suitable company to occupy me otherwise.”
He raised a brow and chuckled. Man, he was built. I could see the rivets of his six—no—eight-pack through his thin tee. An intricate tattoo peeked out from his right sleeve and took up his entire bicep, all the way to the crease of his elbow.
“Suitable company, huh?” he said, reaching behind him and grabbing a bottle of water off one of the tables. He untwisted it and poured some into my plastic cup. “What qualifies as suitable in your mind?”
“For starters,” I paused, because he drank down some water from the bottle he’d just split with me, and watching his mouth and throat work made me fantasize momentarily about being that bottle.
Jesus! What had Jack done to me and my brain? Because I had one thing on my mind, and it involved mouths and skin and so many other parts.
“Um, someone with manners is always a plus,” I said quickly.
“Ah, then we’ll be great friends. Look,” he tilted his chin at my cup, “I got you a drink. Pretty gentlemanly.”
“Depends on your motives behind it.”
“What makes you think I have motives?”
I shrugged and took a sip. “You never know.”
“Ah, yes, the water motives.” He glanced at my cup and leaned in to lower his voice. “It’s all part of my plan. Ply you with all the water you can drink, and get you hydrated enough to admit your darkest secrets. Then, and only then, will I bring in the ice cubes and go for the fantasies.”
“That’s some plan.” Here I was trying to forget last weekend, or at least keep my mind off of it, and this guy with disarming charm and an easy smile that seemed so genuine and a little dangerous, made my body aware that it had undergone a switch recently. One that made my body hot and now had me thinking of ice cubes.
“Are you thinking about which fantasy to tell me now? Because I’m all ears,” he said, pouring a bit more water into my cup.
He looked at me for a long moment. He was easily over six foot, about Jack’s height. Maybe a bit taller. He towered over me with muscle and yummy smelling cologne and a naughty expression paired with a lazy smile. He was charming. He knew it. I knew it. But tonight wasn’t the night, and I wasn’t that girl.
“So, you’re on duty?” I asked. Probably one of the reasons I felt okay around this guy. He had to be somewhat responsible. There was also a sexy swagger that must come department issued. Because running into fire required adrenaline and danger. But in the spirit of testing out this “new Lana,” I went with casual conversation.
“Yes, I am on call.”