Finally, the dog went to the edge of the roof andleapedover to the neighbor’s roof. The gap must have been twenty feet wide, but the dog made it look effortless. From there, he hopped down to a shed roof, then to the ground below. He ran around to join his waiting family, then sat at the base of the ladder and started barking at Taylor from there.
“You’re a real piece of…” Taylor started to say.
“There are children around,” Derek scolded.
“…cake,” Taylor said while descending the ladder. “Real piece ofcake.”
Loki let out a long howl of agreement.
“Another glorious day in the life of a firefighter,” Jordan said, sending a grin my way.
I grinned right back at him as they collected the ladder and returned to the truck.
24
Clara
The guys had a good laugh at Taylor’s expense the rest of the evening. It was all good-natured though, and even I got in on the fun.
But I made it up to him that night. Jordan watched Baby Anthony while I tip-toed into Taylor’s bedroom, silently kissing him as I slipped under the covers. I pushed him down on the bed and straddled him, giving him a long, slow ride until the bed was rocking so much I was afraid the legs might break.
It was nice having a couple of sexy guys who I could doanythingI wanted with. Like Uber, but for sex rather than cars. And there wasn’t an app involved—I just jumped their bones when I wanted to.
The next day was boring like all the others. Taylor seemed like he was in a weird mood, and I couldn’t quite place why.
The answer came after dinner, when Jordan suddenly emerged from the pantry with a round chocolate cake in his hands. Seven candles were lit on top.
“Happy birthday!” he said.
Taylor sank into his couch and chuckled. “I thought you guys forgot!”
Jordan scoffed. “We would never miss our teammate’s seventh birthday.”
“Ha ha. Very funny,” Taylor said, but he was grinning from ear to ear. I could tell he was happy with the gesture.
The three of us sang happy birthday to him, and then he blew out the candles. While Jordan sliced the cake, I asked, “Where’d the cake come from?”
“Chief baked it,” Jordan replied.
I swung my head around to Derek. “You baked a cake?”
“What?” he asked. “Baking is easy. Just follow the instructions.”
“You’re sweet,” I said. He gave me an awkward little shrug, but as he turned away from me, I noticed he was trying to hide a smile.
So he has a heart after all.
“When are your birthdays?” I asked while we ate the cake.
“March tenth,” Derek replied.
“November twenty-fifth,” Jordan said around a mouthful of chocolate cake.
I paused with my fork halfway to my mouth. “Seriously? November twenty-fifth?”
He grimaced. “It sucks. It’s always around Thanksgiving.”
“It’s on Thanksgiving Day next year,” I said. “I know because it’smybirthday, too!”