“Good, maybe then you’ll stop stealing my lotion!” Dave called back.
“Are you two arguing over lotion again?” Mark said, coming around to stand at the back of the truck. It appeared he was attempting to grow a mustache since I’d seen him last. “Rhett needs it more than you do, Dave. That guy hasn’t gotten laid in a while.”
“Will you shut up,” Rhett said, looking at me, then at Dave and Mark. “There’s a lady here.”
“The lady probably can tell you’re not getting laid either. It’s no secret.” Mark made a hand gesture that signified exactly what everyone thought Rhett to be doing with said lotion.
I tried not to laugh, but the way the guys were with each other was hilarious. Dave just slapped his buddy’s back. “It’s okay, Rhett. You can keep the lotion.”
“Sharing is caring,” Mark finished.
“Jesus Christ,” Rhett muttered and walked off.
“Aw, poor guy,”
I said. “You embarrassed him.”
“This is nothing,” Cal said. “Rhett may be stomping away, but he’s already plotting revenge. Within the hour, he’ll unleash some kind of hell on us. Probably take that lotion and spread it all over our pillows.”
“And you all are friends?”
“Best of,” Dave said. “Don’t worry, after you leave, we’ll give Cal shit too for having you over again. But we’re wearing our polite hats now.”
“Oh, boy,” I said with a small laugh. These guys were so laid back and funny it was hard not to get caught up in it.
“Throwing the stick is what we say when we take the ladder out,” Cal clarified part of Dave’s earlier statement. He stepped up, one, two, three, big steps to get to the first level of the fire truck. He held a hand down, reaching for me.
I looked up at him, then at the big ladder that was currently resting happily horizontal on top of the truck.
“I’m going on that?” I asked.
“Nope, we’re going on that.” He glanced at the ladder.
With a deep breath, I reached for the handle, put my foot in the first rung, and started my climb up the truck.
Cal was right there, hand out, and I reached for it.
It wasn’t until he pulled me up to face him that I realized what I’d just done. But I pushed the notion away.
No reaching…
“You okay?” he asked, hands on my hips, keeping me steady.
I nodded quickly, adrenaline already rising.
“Follow me then.” He led me up and across the ladder, walking along it like I would a plank on a pirate ship, only there was a bucket with controls at the end. He opened the small gate and helped me in. “You can hold on,” he said, pointing to the rail. There was just enough space to fit the two of us. He gripped one of the levers and smiled at me. The moon shining down on his chiseled face made his white teeth sparkle. “Ready to leave the world for a while?”
“Yes, please.”
He pushed the lever and the bucket jolted.
“It’s alright,” Cal said in that soothing voice again. “She’s a bit jerky, but you’re perfectly safe.”
I grabbed on to the railing and couldn’t help but gasp when we swayed again, still going up. I tried to think of something other than the unnatural height we were climbing to.
“So, this is how you get cats out of trees, huh?”
“Yes, ma’am. Only the finest equipment for our feline friends.”