Page 8 of Stopped

“He’s already ruined. You hear Rainey’s mouth when she's on a roll.” Josh clinked the necks of our bottles together. “EJ, huh?”

“Oh God, not you too.”

“Man, I wasn't going to say anything, but you've been pining for a decade. Did you really think it escaped Raine’s attention that you only swipe right on lean, lithesome brunettes with dark eyes who could pass for his relatives?”

I shrugged and avoided answering by taking a gulp from my beer.

“Exactly. You're hopeless. You guys were always close. Half the school already thought you two were an item even before you got caught locking lips.” Josh shifted closer to avoid the smoke from the grill. “Just go for it. Offer to help him with the supervisorshit. Ask him out to lunch. Even if you two don't end up dating, wouldn't it be nice to have your friend back?”

“Yeah, I guess.” I flipped a burger too vigorously and broke it in half. “I really do miss him.”

“I know, man. I know.” He squeezed my shoulder and then shoved me out of the way. “Now it's time to do something about it. Stop ruining dinner.”

I gladly ceded control of the tongs and stepped out of the way. The clamor of hungry men grew louder as I worked on grabbing the buns and condiments from the cooler. We were an animated bunch, but even more so when food was involved. Some things would never change. We passed items back and forth and back again in between opening another round of beers and a bunch of bags of chips until, finally, peace settled over the group as we all sat down to stuff our faces.

If I thought distracting them with food and drinks would work, I was sorely mistaken. If anything, I’d turned myself into a captive audience since the venue of our gathering was my damn backyard. I couldn’t escape, even if I wanted to. The consensus was the same, each of my friends adding their own spin on it—I had to grow a pair and talk to Elijah. Everyone agreed the campaign for Town Supervisor was the ideal excuse to get him one-on-one, prove myself a changed man, and shoot my shot. I was scared shitless over the prospect.

With the sun setting and the evening winding down, we all switched to bottled water and soda. Except me. I didn't have to drive anywhere, after all. The quieter conversation, with baby Grayson sprawled on my chest and softly snoring, was a balm for my morose mood. Good food, good friends, a gorgeous evening, and lots of laughs were exactly what I had needed to drag myself out of my pity party. EJ’s name on the ballot was the talk of the town and thus, the topic of most of our conversation as the evening wore on. The personal spin my decade’s worthof regret and pining added to the mix made for some very interesting talking points. At one point, Benji was convinced we were getting married at the ballot box. No one had the heart to deny him his newfound obsession with suits, so we rested on redirecting the conversation every time he insisted he was right.

A clatter, bang, and the subsequent shrill cry of the smoke detector from the side of the house where I resided had us all shooting out of our seats in a flash. My quick movements startled poor Grayson awake, adding another layer of noise to the pandemonium as I gently handed the bawling baby to his father before taking off at a sprint. My friends were hot on my heels as I shoved the sliding door open with a grunt and dove into my apartment. A heavy cloud of smoke filled the air, so thick I could barely see, even after flicking the light switch on. An ominous orange glow from the kitchenette sent me into emergency mode. Thank God for my Academy training—I could keep a level head, even when the emergency involved my own home and family.

“Dad, call out!”

“I’m fi—” A fit of coughing interrupted his reply.

With my t-shirt pulled over my nose, I crouched down and moved forward. My grappling hand connected with fabric and a warm body. Once I had a good grip, I hauled my father away from the source of the fire and shoved him toward the waiting hands of Cam and Dennis. Working purely on muscle memory, I dug the fire extinguisher from under the sink, pulled the pin, and promptly doused the entire stove. Hissing, popping, and sizzling erupted over the sound of the extinguisher, but mercifully, the flames went out. A firm hand slapped against my back and I was jerked backward so fast, I nearly stumbled over my own feet. Outside and coughing up a fit, I blinked my eyes until Benji’s face came into focus.

“Yeah, he good!” He pulled me into a hug with a relieved sigh. “Dude, stop with the heroics. I almost shit a kitten.”

I clapped his back with one hand, still clinging to the extinguisher with a death grip in my adrenaline-fueled focus. “I’m good, Benj. Fire’s out. Dad?”

“He’s safe. No injuries. Pissed about his popcorn, though.”

“Wait… popcorn?” My eyes darted to the bodies crowding around my clearly irate father. My father, who wasn’t wearing a single stitch of clothing except for tight white briefs, socks, and a pair of Crocs. Without thinking, I strode toward him with anger rising to replace my fear. “Dad!”

“Wha’?!”

“What were you doing?” I pitched the extinguisher to the ground with a growl.

“Making popcorn. Oven’s busted.”

“Dad, it’s microwaveable!”

Cameron placed a hand on my chest and eased me backward a step. “Will, hey. Look at me.”

The glower aimed at my father turned to aim at Cam’s concerned face. “What?!”

“Take it easy, man. Rash actions have long-term consequences.” He eyed me with a somber expression. “I know you’re mad and scared, but he’s okay. You’re okay. Breathe, bud.”

Begrudgingly, I did as he instructed. Once, twice, three times before physically turning away to get some much-needed space. Cam was right—I was so fucking mad, but more than that, I was terrified. If I hadn’t been here, the whole situation could have been ten times worse. It was a flimsy miracle that didn’t do much to reassure me.

Sirens, with their piercing shrill warble, crept closer and closer until the pulsing strobe of the emergency lights threw the house into silhouette. With one last glance toward my father, I trudgedthrough the side yard to meet the firefighters out front. The last thing my poor apartment needed was a good dousing with a fire hose. I didn’t even know how much damage I was already dealing with, but I definitely didn’t need water damage on top of it. Suddenly, all my little problems and my pathetic pity party ranked really low on the list of shit I had to deal with. I sighed as I slipped into professional mode to report the incident to the men tumbling out of the fire truck. It was going to be a long night. Tomorrow would be even longer. Even if Elijah gave me the time of day, my life wasn’t made out for relationships. Not when shit like this was becoming an uncomfortably regular occurrence.

Chapter Five

Elijah

A little over aweek after the car repairs turned into a socially awkward failure of a reconnection, I ran into William in the most unlikely of places—my front porch as I was hurrying out the door to meet with a few different local business owners. I’d whipped the door open mere moments before he knocked, resulting in startling us both into exclaiming. My hand flew to my chest as my heart tried to beat itself free from my rib cage.

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