Page 53 of Up In Flames
It was nice to know that the other guys recognized the effort I put in to being the best I could be.
“Dorsey is tired, though.” I wasn’t. I just wanted to be home where I could call Oren to come over and we could be together. Because I wasn’t brave enough to invite him out.
I hadn’t been the only one working hard this week. Whenever I had a packed schedule, Oren tended to put longer hours in at work. A couple of times over the past month, his boss had sent him home early. I’d encouraged Oren to go out with his friends, but he’d laughed and told me that I was his friend. Me and Hal. He’d mentioned a guy named Liam now and then, but Liam wasn’t local. His social circle had always been small, but the accident had shrunk it even further.
As if I conjured him up by magic, my phone buzzed, Oren’s name flashing up on the screen. I stuffed my normal reaction down inside me, hiding how pleased I was to see his message.
Want company?His text read.
I did. But I wasn’t home. I was out with the guys. I thought about inviting him and how that would go? How would I evenintroduce him to everyone? This is my friend, Oren. I pulled him out of a burning car once. You were all there, remember? I’d never know if I could handle being around Oren and my friends unless I tried.
Out with the guys. We’re at that pub near your office. You should stop in.
My fear that people would see Oren and me together and they’d know about me didn’t go away once I sent the text. The thought that they’d somehow know that I was head over heels in love with him terrified me. Would they be able to tell that I was sleeping with him? Dreaming about him? It was stupid because most of the guys were as observant as a blind barn cat. But fear wasn’t meant to be logical.
You sure?Oren asked with a string of emojis.
That’s what I loved about him. He took things so well. He was willing to roll with all my bullshit hang-ups about coming out. Nothing seemed to bother him, and his understanding nature only made me want him more. He never pushed or prodded. The subject of me coming out hadn’t come up since we’d last discussed it, and true to his word, Oren had seemed perfectly happy to hang out at either my place or his.
It made our dates more intimate, but fairly routine, and I wondered if he’d ever get tired of that. Of never doing anything except hiding with me.
I sent him a text telling him I was absolutely certain then I tucked my phone away and did my best to immerse myself in the conversation around the table. I didn’t know if Oren was going to show up or not, but the offer was out there now.
Briggs and Jonas were trading stories from different calls they’d been on. After his time working for the family catering company and before his firefighter days, Jonas had been an EMT. Some of the stories he’d told me turned my stomach.
“Why did you quit being an EMT?” I asked him.
He shrugged, but there was something not very nonchalant about it. “Fighting fire sounded more fun.”
Briggs snorted. “Yeah, burning buildings are a riot.”
Jonas shrugged again and took a sip of his drink. “They beat showing up to your fifth domestic in one night.”
Briggs let out a low whistle. “Fuck that.”
“My sentiments exactly. I wanted to help people, but that job was killing me. So I hung up my ambulance keys and traded them for keys to the shiny red fire truck. Pulling kittens out of storm drains is a lot better for my mental wellbeing.”
“I think we can all drink to that.” I raised my glass, and Briggs clinked his against it, shooting me a grin as he downed the rest of his beer.
“I’ll get us another round.” Briggs stood up and wandered to the bar. He leaned in, chatting with the bartender.
Jonas leaned close. “You okay, Dorsey?”
“Yeah.” I snapped my gaze away from Briggs and focused on Jonas. “Why?”
“No reason. You’re distracted today, that’s all.”
“It’s been a long week.”
When Jonas nodded, it gave me the impression that he didn’t believe me but couldn’t call me on it because it had been a long week. Briggs came back with a pitcher of beer and set it down on the table.
Movement to my left caught my attention, and I turned my head to see Oren walk into the bar. Hal was by his side, which sent a shimmer of relief through me. I was glad Oren had more than just me to hang out with. Even if Hal was a coworker, they’d been spending more time together recently.
Oren walked over to me, Hal in tow. He did a good job of appearing as though we all just happened to be in the same place. A complete coincidence.
“Oren, hey. Good to see you.”
“You too. Haven’t seen you around in a while.” Oren’s delivery was smooth. Flawless. He let his gaze drag over the guys. “I can see that you’re busy, but maybe I’ll see you around.”
