Page 49 of Smokin' Situation

“If you don’t want to dance with Baker, I’ll take you out for a spin,” Rhodes offered my sister, tilting his head toward the dance floor.

“That sounds like an excellent plan,” she chuckled, sliding off her stool to take Rhodes’s extended hand. They disappeared onto the crowded dance floor, Reese laughing as she shot an arched eyebrow at the dejected man to my left.

“On that note,” Baker growled, pushing his stool back from the high-top table we’d found when we came in, and we watched him turn toward the bar. “It’s time to get fucked up.”

Since he was taller than half the patrons surrounding us, it wasn’t hard to see him make a beeline toward the bar. He took two shots of a brownish liquid the bartender poured for him and then scanned the occupied stools, his face lighting up briefly before he settled into the space between two women in short skirts. He propped his elbows on the bar top behind him while he introduced himself, his eyes briefly flicking to the dance floor where his friend was spinning a giggling Reese in circles in a skilled two-step.

“While I’m enjoying the show just as much as you,” Tripp whispered, ghosting his lips across my bare shoulder. “I’m gonna need that drink order or you’re coming to dance with me.”

“You dance?” I laughed, turning to look at him.

He smiled, raising an eyebrow. “I might be a bit serious, but I know how to have fun occasionally.”

“Oh, I know exactly how much of a good time you like to have, but I wasn’t sure if those sexy hip movements of yours extended to the dance floor.”

“Why don’t you take me for a spin and find out,” he whispered, and I was once again reminded why I was falling so hard for this man. Just when I thought I had him figured out, he surprised me in the best possible ways.

Grasping my palm in his, he helped me stand, lifted my hand to his mouth, and placed a delicate kiss on the back. Before I could anticipate his next move, he’d spun me into the empty space surrounding our table and back into his chest. His large palms grasped my waist and spun me so my back was to his chest. With his arms around my waist, he swayed his hips against mine to the fast-paced country beat coming from the band playing on the opposite side of the dance floor.

“Believe me now?” His deep voice was a teasing whisper, and as I met my sister’s eyes across the space between us, I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. She shook her head, rolling her eyes before she let Rhodes lead her back into the sea of bodies.

I was in trouble with this man with a capital T.

Baker passed us, leading both of his friends from the bar toward the dance floor, laughing loudly before he stopped near where my sister was smiling at Rhodes and spinning both ladies out before he pulled them back in to grind against his solid thighs.

And that was when I knew my sister had enough trouble of her own, her jaw dropping at the blatant display Baker was clearly putting on for her benefit. He tipped his head at her when he noticed her looking and gyrated his hips to the beat, much to the delight of his dance partners. But I wasn’t convinced my sister was as unaffected by him as she wanted to appear, her eyes revealing that his actions cut deeper than she wanted to let on.

“Maybe Baker needs to ride in the front seat on our way home, because I am not driving home with the two of them fucking in the backseat of Marty’s truck.”

“Ew, just no…” Laughing at his crass assessment of where the night was going, I led him toward the edge of the dance floor, ready to enjoy those fluid hip movements of his until we could leave.

Annie

Thetruckwasquieton the way home, but my mind was buzzing. Reese had talked me into having one mixed drink with her about an hour into our night, but three hours later, the effects had long worn off. And since I’d actually slept last night, with the sexy man driving the truck wrapped around me, I wasn’t tired.

“Look behind us,” Tripp whispered, squeezing my knee.

Shifting, I glanced into the back seat, stifling a laugh when I noticed the scene behind me. Baker was seated with his back braced against the window and had an arm draped across the back of the seat, Reese was tucked under his shoulder with her head buried in his chest. Her fingers gripped the open placket of his buttoned shirt possessively, and he seemed to enjoy her unconscious attention.

Baker noticed me looking and grinned, winking as he picked up a loose curl and twisted her hair around his fingertip. Soon after his display with the two ladies from the bar, he’d excused himself to go to the bathroom and come back out to the dance floor alone, cutting in on where my sister was still dancing with Rhodes.

His friend had taken it in stride, escaping outside to take a call while Baker pulled my sister into his arms, swaying closely to a few slow songs until she’d practically sprinted to the bar when the music picked back up. This continued throughout the evening. Baker somehow convincing Reese to take another turn on the dance floor, followed by her rushing back to the bar for an escape after.

Despite wanting to watch their interactions like a tennis match, Tripp had kept me on the dance floor until we were both sweating and laughing, my somber mood from the morning was nowhere in sight.

Tripp squeezed my knee again, and I returned my gaze forward, giving my sister some privacy.

Watching the horizon as we drove north, I scanned the tree line for the glow that had once accompanied the sight of the mountain range to the north. But it never came, the stars nearly visible through the lingering haze that’d blocked the sky out for days.

As much as I hated the fire for its destructive nature, I could already feel parts of myself ready to sprout and bloom under all the changes that’d happened in my life in such a short period. While almost everything in my future was uncertain, I knew two things wouldn’t change. My growing attachment to Tripp, and the job that’d grounded me for years. Along with my sister and my friends, I could figure everything else out as it came at me.

Rhodes was quiet as he climbed out of the truck at the fire station, heading down the block to a newer apartment complex with a backward wave.

Reese was still out cold when we stopped in front of the bakery, her grip on Baker unwavering.

“You need some help with her?” I asked and tried not to swoon when Baker ran his fingertips along her hairline, whispering into her hair.

She let out a little growl, but didn’t wake, which caused the burly firefighter to grin. “If you open the doors for me, I can get her tucked in.”

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