Page 19 of Only You and Me

I scoff. “Well, that is not gonna happen. No matter what he might hope for.”

“That makes me happier to hear than I should probably admit to you,” Joe says.

Heat rushes to my cheeks.

We finish out the song we’re dancing to, and the band starts playing a fast one. I explain to Joe that I really should get back and check in with my friends, and he graciously walks me off the dance floor.

Before he leaves, he says, “I won’t ask for your number because I don’t want you to feel obligated to give it to me. But remember, you have mine on the card I gave you. Use it for any professional needs, but also if you decide you’d like to get to know each other better.”

I’m embarrassed but smile and nod at him, then he leans in and kisses me on the cheek, says goodbye, and walks away.

Sometime later, I assume he’s left, but I’m not sure. Because, unlike when Ben left, and I watched him until he was gone, once Joe walks away, I don’t look for him again.

Instead, I go to the bar and order another glass of wine and find a high-top table off to the side where I can be alone for a few minutes. When I’m done with the glass, I stand intending to go hang out with the guys from my shift at the Fire Station.Before I can get there, I’m stopped by a guy I recently met, Darren, and he convinces me to give him one dance. Once that dance is over, I quickly head over to the table where some of the guys from my crew at the Fire Station are sitting. Relief floods me when I’m finally seated with them and can relax.

The rest of the evening passes pretty uneventfully until shortly before the time Emily, Shayna, and I had decided we’d leave. I’ve been sitting with my crew and we’re laughing at Gio telling stories about his last few dates.

I sense someone behind me before I even turn around and, when I look, I recognize the guy from New Year’s Eve that I danced with for a few minutes.

“Hey, Trina.” He moves closer to me, off to the side a bit, and he reeks of beer.

“Um, hello…” I stare at him for a minute searching my brain for his name but quickly realizing it’s probably not in there because I doubt I gave it a second thought after he told it to me.

“John. My name’s John. Wow, how quickly you forget. You wound me.” He’s grinning like we have a familiarity that we don’t.

“John, right. Well, it’s nice to see you. I hope you’re having a good time.”

“I am. But I came over thinking we could finish that dance you owe me. And that I could get your number. You took off on New Year’s Eve and I didn’t get a chance?—”

“Sorry, John. But I’m pretty sure our captain doesn’t owe you anything,” Tony chimes in.

John’s tone irritated me but the last thing I need is one of my guys getting into an altercation over me.

“It’s fine, Tony.” I peer back up at John. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m not interested in dancing. I also don’t give my number out. It was?—”

“Well, now you’re just lying because I saw you dancing with three other guys so far tonight.”

I sit back in my chair, shocked at his tone, and Tony and Gio both stand at the same time.

“It’s time for you to go, man,” Gio says, leaving no room for argument.

John glares at him for a moment before he lets out a sarcastic laugh. “Sure thing. Trina, I’ll see you around.”

I don’t respond, and we all watch as he walks away. The discussion at the table quickly returns to a lively review of Gio’s love life and everyone is back to normal.

I smile and laugh along, but an uncomfortable sensation takes residence in the pit of my stomach…

CHAPTER5

TRINA

“What did you think of that arson presentation?” Jack asks.

We’ve just left the last session of the fire service conference Elladine sent us to and we’re walking back to the hotel we’re both staying at. The hot Las Vegas sun warms me, and it makes me shiver just thinking about how cold it will probably be when I get back to Elladine tomorrow. March might be warm in Vegas, but it’s usually not in Ohio.

“It was good. But I had a really hard time focusing because of that guy snoring next to me. Ugh. Like, why are you here if you’re gonna sleep during the sessions?”

Jack chuckles. “I thought I was gonna die when he leaned against you like you were a pillow and you pushed him off.”

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