Page 2 of A Sudden Response

“I might have to pick up another shift tomorrow night, Mom,” Eric said, already knowing that wouldn’t fly with his mother.

“I’ll expect you by six. Oh, and make sure you let Joe know,”she said, sounding really fucking pleased before she abruptly hung up on him.

“So, who was she trying to set you up with this time?” Jeff asked, sounding really fucking amused.

“A cashier,” Eric said, hanging up the phone.

“At least it wasn’t her gynecologist again,” Jeff said, chuckling as he headed back to the living room as Eric did his best to block out the memory of his mother discussing her pap smear over pot roast.

“Anyone seen Teddy?” Eric asked, wondering where his partner for the night was. If he hadn’t been bored out of his fucking mind, he never would have taken this shift.

Being an EMT was probably the best job he’d ever had. The hours were good, better than good, the pay was decent, and every day was something new, but getting stuck with an asshole was the one thing that guaranteed the shift dragged the entire night.

Working with someone in what really came down to a box on wheels could either be a hell of a good time or have you regretting your decision not to call in sick when you had the chance. There was truly nothing like getting stuck working with someone who didn’t bathe, doused themselves in a gallon of cheap perfume, or was just an outright asshole or a completebitch hell-bent on fucking you over. More than once, he’d found himself standing outside the rig, counting down the minutes until his shift was over.

He was luckier than most since his regular partner was also his best friend. They’d been best friends since they were eight. Joe was a hell of a partner. Never complained, always had a ready smile, and was easy to get along with. He’d really lucked out with Joe. Teddy, on the other hand, was a Class A prick. The guy had more write-ups than the entire squad put together, but thanks to the union, they couldn’t fire him. Besides being an arrogant asshole, the guy didn’t know what the hell he was doing. It made him wonder why he’d agreed to come in tonight.

“Don’t get all choked up, but Teddy banged out an hour ago,” Jeff said as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

“No shit?” Eric asked, hoping that Jeff wasn’t fucking with him.

“I shit you not. Seems he pissed someone off and ended up spending the night in the emergency room,” Jeff said, chuckling.

“Who am I working with tonight instead?” Eric asked as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Not sure. Bill’s been on the phone for the past hour trying to find someone to come in to cover his shift,” Jeff said, leaning back against the counter.

“If one of you gentlemen would be so kind as to go release my third rider and tell him to clean up, I’ll check out the rig,” Eric said, sighing with relief.

“Do we have to?” came the question that had him chuckling as he made his way to the board to grab the keys for ambulance seventy-nine, only to find the hook empty. Hoping the last crew left the keys in the truck, Eric headed into the ambulance bay. He walked past the first line of ambulances and sighed with relief when he spotted ambulance seventy-nine in the back corner with its back doors wide open.

Whoever his partner was for the night was already in the ambulance checking it out. He walked over to the truck only to bite back a groan when he spotted his partner bending over to check the bottom cabinet. He ran his eyes over the familiar figure, taking in everything from the long honey-blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail to the perfect heart-shaped ass that was pointed his way.

Christ, he couldn’t think of a better way to start the night off. It was too damn bad that there wasn’t a chance in hell that he would ever find out just how good those curves felt beneath him.

“I thought the restraining order stated that you couldn’t come within a hundred yards of me?” Eric asked, smiling as he joined the incredibly beautiful woman that just made his night a hell of a lot better.

Joe bitback a smile when she heard the familiar deep voice that never failed to make everything better. Eric was the only man who could make her smile even as he pissed her off.

It had always been that way.

She still remembered the first time they met. It had been her first day in another new school. Her mother, who’d decided that this time was going to be different, decided to shove her in a dress that was too small for her, barely reached her knees, was covered in wilted lace, and was the ugliest dress that she’d ever seen. During recess, she tried to hide from the rest of the kids, but that only managed to draw more attention. When one little boy came over and shoved a handful of worms down her dress, she made sure that he ate every single one of them.

An hour later, they were sitting outside the principal’s office, covered in mud and pissed at Tyler Mathews for tattling onthem. They’d made a pact then and there to make Tyler pay and they’d been best friends ever since. Their friendship had survived the cootie stage and continued on into middle school, high school, and then EMT training. Most people, including Eric’s mother, thought they would eventually end up married one day. It had taken some time, but they’d eventually accepted the fact that they would never be anything more than best friends.

Over the years, she’d lost track of the number of women who got pissed over their relationship. Most of them tried giving Eric an ultimatum because they couldn’t handle that his best friend was a woman. He never batted an eye when he dumped them flat on their asses seconds later. Hell, he even broke up with his fiancée three years ago after she tried forcing him to cut her out of his life.

There had only been a few men who’d tried that crap with her, but they’d quickly learned that Eric was the most important man in her life. That problem had been the cause of many breakups over the years. It’s not like they’d purposely tried to push people away, but sometimes, it was hard for other people to handle their relationship. She’d never understood their problem. If anything, it should make them feel more comfortable that they were both loyal. Plus, and let’s be honest here, if they’d wanted to be together, they would have done it a long time ago.

She felt the back of the ambulance dip as Eric climbed in behind her. “I can appreciate a woman who’s willing to turn her nose up at a judicial order to be with me,” he said in that incredibly sexy voice that she loved, even as she rolled her eyes.

Joe turned around as she smoothly shoved several bags of expired saline in his arms. “You know a piece of paper will never stand in the way of our love,” she said with a heartfelt sigh.

“I see you missed me,” Eric said, chuckling as he shifted the saline bags in his arms.

She nodded solemnly. “I did. I really did. When Bill called andbeggedme to come in even though we just got off a twenty-four-hour shift this morning, I jumped at the chance. You know that I can never stay away from you. You’re just so darn cute,” Joe said with a helpless shrug.

“I’m studly, baby. Get it right,” Eric said, sighing heavily as though it was a burden to remind her yet again.

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