Page 20 of Captivating Anika
The grin grows wider.
“Then I’d know I’m on to something. Tell me about last night, Anika. Where were you?” Her eyes narrow on me. “Or maybe I should ask who you were with.”
I guess better Lindsey than anyone else. Of all people, she may understand my confusion. It wasn’t that long ago she had to come to terms with the shift in dynamic between her and her man, Wapi. Their relationship changed from an adversarial one to a hot-and-heavy romance just last year.
“I went over to Hog’s place last night,” I admit.
“Hog? Pig-farmer Hog? Bodhi’s friend Hog?”
“Yes, yes, and yes. One of his pigs had a litter a few days ago.”
“But that’s not why you’re hesitant to talk about it. Something happened,” she concludes accurately.
No turning back now. She wouldn’t let me.
“There was a kiss.”
She shoots upright, startling the sleeping baby in her arms.
“Hog kissed you?”
I shrug, dropping my eyes to the carpet at my feet.
“Technically, I think I kissed him.”
Hog
Must be a full moon or something, because the calls haven’t stopped since the start of our shift almost twelve hours ago.
I take my seat in the rig and wipe at the sweat and soot stinging my eyes. The call was a house fire a few blocks from my crewmate Cheddar’s place. Two teenage kids had been home alone, dicking around in the garage with their father’s welding torch, surrounded by a variety of flammable and/or combustible materials.
It obviously didn’t end well for them. They may have gotten out with relatively minor burns, but by the time we arrived on scene, the house was fully engulfed with their family dog still inside. The parents pulled up right behind us and had to be held back while Cheddar and I went inside to see if we could find the dog.
It wasn’t easy, the poor thing hid under a chair and had been overcome by the smoke. It was just a little ankle-biter, weighed next to nothing when I carried it out. It took me almost ten minutes to revive it by giving the animal CPR. I wasn’t sure if we were going to get her back, but despite her size, she had a strong will to live. One of the neighbors offered to take her to the vet because the parents had their hands full with the kids and the house.
Glad we were able to rescue the pooch, but I’m not a big fan of a mouthful of dog snot and slobber. I’d feel a fuck load better if I could rinse and brush my teeth. Maybe I’ll even have a chance for a quick shower and a bite to eat before the next call comes in.
“Good save,” Vic says, patting my knee. “I still say kids between the ages of twelve and eighteen should be locked up for their own safety and the safety of the community at large.”
Her own nephew, Tucker, almost got himself killed a little over three years ago in some stupid teenage stunt.
“Hear, hear,” Cap says from the front passenger seat.
Our captain, Scott Beacham, has children of his own. Two daughters who are in college now, but judging by his stories, they did their own share of stupid stuff when they were teenagers.
“I’ve been considering it,” Cheddar, who has two kids as well, admits. “But Tahlula wasn’t too keen on the idea.”
Tahlula is his wife and the mother of their two little ones. They still have those teenage years to look forward to.
“Well, I for one am glad I don’t have kids to lose sleep over,” Vic comments. “Right, Hog?”
Technically Vic has a stepdaughter, but she was already an adult when Vic met Bill. I guess I’m the only other non-parent in the crew. To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about that. Maybe she’s right, and I dodged a bullet.
When we arrive at the fire station, I’m thankful it’s not my turn in the kitchen tonight, so I rush for the showers. I pull a towel and a clean uniform from my locker and shove my dirty clothes into the laundry bag to take home.
The showers here at the station are amazing. The old ones were no more than a trickle and barely warm, but since the renovations a few years ago, we now have ample hot water and enough pressure for a decent massage. Too bad we tend to be limited to quick showers while we’re on shift, because I’d love to just stand here and let the water pound my neck and back.
This work is strenuous, and even though I’m in pretty decent shape for my age, my body doesn’t recover as easily as it once did. The aches and pains, plus the lack of sleep while on shift, get a little harder to deal with each year. Still, I have no plans to retire in six years when I’m fifty-five, the thought scares me a bit. I don’t have to until I’m sixty, if my body holds out.