She glances toward the coffee shop and I see Duke and Garrett standing there. My eyes are drawn back to her like they’re magnetized. Before she can answer me, I lift her off the ground and swing her around, her long hair flying, the scent of it bringing me alive. “I missed you,” I tell her.
“I missed you, too.”
As soon as I set her down, Adrian pulls her into a long hug, squeezing her so hard I’m afraid he might break her. “This is a great surprise,” he says.
She giggles nervously. “Is it? That’s good.”
“Of course it is,” I say.
The three of us stand looking at each other for a moment without saying anything more as Duke and Garrett come over to us. Garrett shakes our hands, and Duke pulls us each into a hug.
“Are you hungry?” Duke asks.
“Starving,” I say. “We just need to put our stuff upstairs and get changed.”
“Do you have to change?” Autumn asks. “I like your uniforms.” Adrian and I are in the light gray polo shirts the fire department issued to us, along with dark blue pants. “You look so official,” she says.
“If you like this, you should see us when we’re wearing forty pounds of gear,” I say, and the way Autumn’s eyes sparkle when she smiles make me feel like I own the world.
At our favorite nearby restaurant, we dig into our food, because Adrian and I work up a big appetite every day. The conversation mostly revolves around our training, and Autumn and Garrett ask a lot of questions, but as the meal winds down, I get around to asking what’s been on my mind ever since I saw Autumn in the lobby.
“So you missed us, huh?” I say, my teasing eyes focused on her.
She just smiles back at me, with most of the smile expressed in her eyes. I’m asking a question that doesn’t require an answer.
“You three have been hanging out?” Adrian says, gesturing lightly between Duke, Autumn, and Garrett with his finger.
The three of them exchange glances that further pique my curiosity.
“It’s a recent development,” Duke says, his eyes smiling too. When I squint at him, waiting for an explanation, he says, “Let’s go back to the hotel.”
The conversation returns to lighter topics during the ride back. At the hotel, Duke leads us to his room, where he picks up a cooler bag full of drinks and then follows Adrian and I to our room. For these months we’re in training, we share a modest extended-stay suite, with two queen beds in separate rooms, a small kitchen, and a living area with a couch, chair, and desk.
Duke opens beers for everyone and a comfortable, but not completely settled, silence falls over us as we claim spots on the living room furniture. I pull Autumn down on the couch next to me, because I need to be near her.
“You smell good.” I inhale a deep lungful of her soft scent as she nestles in against me, my chin resting on her head.
“So do you.”
“I went to see Autumn play at Rusty’s,” Duke announces.
“How are your shows going?” I ask her.
“Good. Really good,” she says.
Duke leans back in the chair, stretching his legs out. “They love her there, and she sang a lot of new songs.”
“That’s great!” My arms slide around her, keeping her close.
“We had a good talk that night after the show.” Duke gives Autumn a meaningful look and she squirms in my embrace. When she leans forward, I release her.
“I need a few more sips of this,” she says, reaching for the bottle she’d set on the coffee table.
I try to meet Duke’s eyes, but he’s focused on Autumn. At the other end of the couch, Adrian is looking as curious as I feel, while Garrett’s expression is neutral.
Finally, with liquid courage in her belly, Autumn turns back to me. “The night Duke came to see me, I confessed how much I missed him. How much I missed all of you.”
I nod, encouraging her to continue.