by Claire Adams
“You should know that,” the platinum blonde said to her friend. “You fucked him for like a month.”
“It was more like a week,” she replied. “And, I barely remember that week—we were stoned off our asses.”
I suppressed a sigh as the two girls bantered on without paying any attention to me. I scanned the room, wondering when the appropriate time would be for me to take refuge in Brent’s room and shut out the party. The door opened and a couple more people filtered into the apartment. My eyes fell on one guy in particular; he had the same expression in his eyes that I imagined was in mine.
He was around medium height, probably about five-ten or five-eleven. He was built well, lean, and lightly muscled. He was dressed simply, too, in dark jeans and a black t-shirt that showed off his toned arms. He had dark brown hair cut short and hazel eyes that reminded me of my own. He was carelessly handsome, and it seemed to me that he stood out among present company.
“Fuck, he’s a hottie,” one of the girls was saying, having noticed the same guy I was staring at.
I bristled a little at her comment and wondered if it was jealousy I felt.
“Mmm… Now, he looks like he knows his way around a woman’s body.”
“Who is he?” I asked, turning to them.
“Beats the shit out of me,” the blonde replied. “But trust me, I’ll try to find out.”
Then Brent yelled his name across the room. “Phil, come here!”
“Phil,” the dark-haired one said. “Didn’t expect that name.”
“Oh, what were you expecting?”
“Clint,” she replied. “Or Xander… Something strong, sexy…confident.”
“You don’t need a name to make you all those things,” I pointed out. “You need charisma.”
“What?”
Both girls were looking at me blankly, and instead of explaining, I decided to bow out of this forced conversation. “It was nice meeting you both,” I said, as I walked away from them.
I decided to make my way to the kitchen again, knowing that I would have to pass right in front of Brent and his handsome friend in the process. I slowed my pace slightly as I passed, them and thankfully, my brother spotted me just in time.
“Hi, Meg!” he said loudly. He always got a little loud once he had a couple of drinks in him. “Get over here. I have to introduce you to my boy here.”
I turned to Phil and nodded to him. “It’s very nice to meet you,” I said.
His answering smile was beautiful, and I noticed that he had a dimple on his right cheek. “The pleasure’s mine,” he replied. “How are you adjusting to life in Philly?”
“Uh…it’s a transition,” I replied. “But I like it so far.”
“She got a job recently,” Brent said.
“Yeah?” Phil said, and he sounded genuinely interested. “Where at?”
“Bradshaw’s,” I replied. “They’re a local retail company in Philly.”
“I’ve heard of them,” Phil nodded. “How are you liking working there?”
“I only just started,” I replied. “I’m working as an intern at the moment.”
“You didn’t tell me that,” Brent said.
“You didn’t ask.”
“So, they’re not paying you?” he asked bluntly.
“Luckily, Bradshaw’s offers paid internships,” I said. “It’s not much, but I think I can grow there.”
“Fuck that then,” Brent said, without even listening to me. “Quit and find someplace with decent pay.”
“Give her a break, Brent,” Phil said, stepping in. “She’s looking at this job as a long-term opportunity.”
“Well, you might not be able to do much better,” Brent said, with a shrug. “Everyone wants a college degree these days.”
Phil frowned. “Uh…don’t you have a degree?”
I tensed instantly and tried to make eye contact with Brent to tell him to shut up, but he didn’t even glance at me before he spoke.
“Nah, Meg dropped out.”
I felt a black cloud of shame fall over me, and I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. I was embarrassed enough about my decision, no matter how justified it might have been, and to be outed in front of this handsome stranger...it was too much. It made me feel small and stupid, and suddenly, I didn’t want to be here anymore.
“Excuse me,” I said, without looking at either Brent or Phil.
I grabbed my backpack on the table and retreated to Brent’s bedroom, shutting the door on the party. Sighing, I fell back onto his bed and shut my eyes. I was reading through one of my old textbooks when the door opened slightly. I realized with a start that it was Phil.
“Hi,” I said, surprised to see him.
“Hi,” he replied. “Can I come in?”
I was so surprised that I answered right away. “Sure.” I nodded.
He walked inside and shut the door behind him. “I don’t want to disturb you, but… I guess I just needed to get away. Apparently, you had the same idea.”
I smiled. Then I patted the space beside me on the bed. “I don’t mind a little company.”
Phil sat down next to me and leaned against the back wall. “I like your brother,” he said. “But he knows some weird people… I don’t know what that says about me.”
I laughed. “I have to admit, I’m kind of surprised that Brent has a friend like you. You seem too…grown up and stable to be hanging around with my brother.”
Phil laughed. “Let’s just say I knew him back when I wasn’t quite as stable.”
“Ah.”
“Listen, about earlier… I’m sorry if you got upset about the whole dropping out business.”
I felt my cheeks color instantly, but I forced myself to remain composed. “It wasn’t my finest decision,” I said. “And, I suppose I’m a little ashamed of it.”
“Don’t be,” Phil replied. “College isn’t for everyone. I never went.”
“By choice?”
“Well, no.” Phil smiled. “I suppose I never had the opportunity.”
“I did,” I said with disappointment.
“And if you feel strongly about it, you can always go back in the future,” he pointed out.
I glanced over at him. He really was a handsome man, and I appreciated how intuitive he was. It was almost flattering. “What do you do, Phil?”
“I’m a firefighter.” I could detect the note of pride in his tone when he told me his job, and I was instantly impressed.
“Wow…that’s quite a job.”
“It was a hard road, but I finally made it.”
I smiled. “Did you always want to be a firefighter?”
“I never dreamed that far,” he replied. “I guess I just wanted to survive—everything else came second.”
I found myself staring at him, wondering what it was about him that was drawing me in and making me feel both weeks in the knees and light headed.
“Megan?”
I looked down self-consciously, hoping he hadn’t caught me staring. “Yes?”
“It’s easy to talk to you,” he said unexpectedly.
I smiled. “It’s easy to talk to you.”
“Do you think we could…hang out one day?” Phil asked. “As friends?”
I was happy that he wanted to spend time with me, but I was also disappointed that he had been specific about delineating the type of relationship we could hope to have. I didn’t just want to be his friend. My attraction to him was palpable, and I had a feeling it would only grow.
But I wasn’t about to say no to the option of being his friend. I was lonely in this new city. My brother had his own life, and it wasn’t one that I was particularly keen on being a part of.
“Of course.” I nodded. “I would like that.”
Chapter Three
Phil
“Hey,” I greeted as Matt and the boys filed in.
They were in their fire safety uniforms, but there was no sign that they had been near a fire. They
just looked tired and slightly drawn.
“What happened?”
“Accident on the interstate,” Tanner replied. “Two cars had collided and one toppled over. There were two men trapped inside.”
“You go them out?”
“Yes.” Tanner nodded tiredly. “But one was severely injured.”
“Driver?” I asked.
“Passenger,” Tanner replied. “He was unconscious when we pulled him out. The paramedics took over from there.”
I nodded and stood up. “Good job, guys,” I said, as I made my way to the day room.
My group was sitting at a table in the dining area. Kendrick was snacking on a bag of chips, Mel was eating a sandwich, and Ryan was having his usual salad. I sat down beside them, and Kendrick pushed a second bag of chips towards me.
“No thanks,” I replied. “I’m not hungry.”
“More for me,” he said, with a shrug as he pulled back the bag of chips.
“You look…well rested,” I observed, looking at Kendrick.
He smiled. “I spent the night here in my bunk,” he said. “You get more sleep. I don’t lose time going all the way back home.”
“You can afford to do that,” Mel said. “You don’t have a family.”
“How is the family, by the way?” I asked Mel.
“Janine is fine,” Mel nodded. “Running around with the kids most days. And in her free time, she’s usually nagging me for some reason or the other.”
I smiled. “Do you deserve it?” I asked as Ryan and Kendrick laughed.
Mel smirked at me. “Most days I do,” he admitted. “It’s just hard to make every piano recital, play, and ball game with this job. I miss a lot.”
Kendrick smacked him on the back. “Which is why I won’t ever get married.”
“You say that now,” Mel said. “Just means you haven’t met the right girl yet.”
As the boys went back and forth about the merits of a committed relationship versus the single life, I found my mind wandering.
I had really liked meeting Megan the other night at Brent’s apartment. She was nothing like her brother. She had a certain quiet confidence about her, combined with obvious maturity and a soft-spoken nature. She also happened to be beautiful.
She had blonde hair that looked like spun gold, but her roots were a soft, earthy brown. Her eyes were a light and piercing hazel that held little flecks of gold that matched the color of her hair. She had a heart-shaped face, a small nose, and lips that reminded me of a bow. I had been strangely obsessed with those lips when I had met her that night. Every time she spoke, my eyes focused in on how her lips moved. I wondered what it would be like to kiss those lips.
Instantly, I shook off the thought. She was Brent’s sister, and I needed to be respectful of that. But more importantly, I had a full-time job that was demanding at the best of times. I had no room in my life to accommodate a new relationship.
And yet… I couldn’t get my mind off her. It was nice to have someone to talk to outside of the fire station. I loved Ryan, Mel, and Kendrick but somehow talking to them just wasn’t the same as talking to Megan.
“Earth to Phil,” Ryan said, waving his hand in my face.
“Oh…sorry.”
“Zoned out, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“What were you thinking about?”
Before I could come up with a plausible lie, the alarm went off and the four of us jumped to our feet. “Let’s go,” Mel said, in a completely different tone. “Apparatus bay in two minutes.”
Putting my game face on, I pushed all distractions from my mind and headed out.
That night when I got home, tired but satisfied with what we’d accomplished during the day, I headed straight for the shower. Once I was clean, I walked to my room and collapsed onto my bed. I was tired, but I wasn’t ready to go to sleep just yet. What I really wanted to do was speak to Megan again.
I had casually mentioned spending some time with her as friends. She’d seemed up for it, so I figured it wouldn’t be the worst thing to just call her up for a chat. I had taken her number just before leaving Brent’s the other night.
I pulled up my phone and scrolled through my contact list. When I found her name, I paused for a moment, wondering whether I was getting myself into a situation that would complicate my life in the future.
In the end, my need to speak to Megan overpowered any reservations, so I hit her name and waited for her to answer.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Megan,” I replied, hoping to sound casual and friendly. “It’s Phil.”
“Phil,” she said, and she sounded happy to hear from me. “How are you?”
“I’m good.”
“You sound tired,” she said immediately.
“I am.” I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “It’s been a long day. There was an accident near Blue Marsh Lake; my team and I were the first responders.”
“An accident?”
“A car had driven into the lake. The driver was intoxicated.”
“Wow,” she said. “I wasn’t really aware that vehicular accidents were part of a firefighter’s job description.”
“Oh sure,” I replied. “Fires aren’t the only emergency situation we deal with. We deal with car crashes, flooding, chemical spills, water rescue, and general rescue.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.”
“Just for the record, I think it’s amazing what you do.” There was awe in her tone that was clearly not feigned. “It takes a certain amount of selflessness to do what you do every day.”
“Oh, I don’t know about selflessness…”
“Are you kidding? You’re risking your life every day.”
I smiled. “Thanks, that’s nice of you to say.”
“I was thinking of you this morning,” Megan said unexpectedly.
“Oh?” I asked. “What were you thinking about?”
“About how you’re the first person I’ve met since getting here who I’ve actually been able to have a real conversation with—and that includes my brother.”
“You know what?” I said. “Same here.”
“Did you know anyone at Brent’s party?” she asked.
“I’ve met a couple of the guys before,” I replied. “But just in passing. Brent introduced me to two girls that night. Five minutes talking to them, and I knew I needed to get the hell out of there.”
She laughed. “Are you referring to Melanie and Tracy?”
“Were those their names?” I asked. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Oh, but they were paying attention to you,” Megan told me.
“Is that why the blonde one made it a point of telling me she could do amazing things with her tongue?”
Megan burst out laughing. “She didn’t!”
“She most certainly did,” I said. “And the other one kept touching my arms and telling me how she could cut rocks on them.”
“To be fair, I thought the same thing,” Megan said, but I could tell she was teasing.
I laughed. “So, what made you decide to come to Philly?”
“Uh… I suppose I had no place else to go,” she replied. “And since Brent lived here, I thought it might be nice to have a familiar face around.”
“Where were you studying again?”
“Virginia,” she replied.
“Right,” I nodded. “Did you like it there?”
“I liked the university I was enrolled in.”
“You did?” I asked, frowning a little. “Then why did you drop out?”
There was a second of silence on the phone, and I sensed that she was uncomfortable with my question. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to,” I said quickly. “I was just being nosy.”
“I’m sorry,” Megan said, and I was glad that she didn’t sound upset. “I just… I’m not really ready to talk about that yet. Is that okay?”
“Of course,” I said.
“You know what
I haven’t done in ages?” I knew she was trying to change the subject and gloss over the nearly awkward moment between us, but I didn’t mind. I was just grateful she wanted to keep talking to me.
“Tell me?”
“Seen a movie in the theater,” Megan replied.
I smiled. “Same here.” I nodded. “I love watching movies; my idea of a perfect day is sitting at home with a bunch of junk food and about ten movies ready to play.”
“You just described my perfect day,” she said. “When was the last time you had a movie marathon?”
“Geez… I can’t even remember,” I replied. “I must have been a teenager. I was over at a friend’s house for the day. We stayed in his parent’s basement and watched all three Godfather movies. Then we started on the Die Hard franchise.”
“Whoa…how many movies was that?”
“I think the fourth movie in the franchise had just come out,” I replied.
“So…seven movies.”
“Yup,” I nodded. “We were quite proud of ourselves. It was almost an accomplishment.”
Megan laughed. “I love the old movies…Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Casablanca… There’s nothing like watching old movie stars on screen.”
“Do you have a favorite?”
“Audrey Hepburn,” Megan replied immediately. “But Elizabeth Taylor was pretty amazing, too.”
“Hmm… I’ve never watched their movies.”
“What!” Megan asked, and she sounded scandalized.
I laughed. “Am I missing out on something?”
“Only the best performances you will ever see,” she insisted.
“Well, I’m ready to be converted.”
“You’ll watch Casablanca with me?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Oh my God, I’m so excited.”
I laughed. “But I expect some quid pro quo.”
“Seems fair,” she replied. “What would you like me to watch with you?”
“Have you watched Fight Club?”
“I haven’t, actually,” Megan replied. “But I’ve always heard good things, so it’s been on my list.”
“Never got around to actually watching it?”
“Life got busy,” she replied. “It got stressful, too, and when I’m stressed…”
“What?” I asked when she trailed off slightly.
