Page 27 of Hollis (The Moore Men #2)

Seventeen

Hollis

I spot my best friend as soon as I step inside The Rusty Spur. He’s in one of the back corner booths, messing around on his phone, with a tray of nachos in front of him. Strolling through the bar, I slide in across from him, grabbing one of the fully loaded chips and popping it in my mouth.

“Fuck, that’s tasty,” I murmur in between chewing.

Remi sets his phone down on the table before grabbing one for himself. He flicks his gaze up to me and wrinkles his nose. “Dude, you fuckin’ stink,” he says, the corner of his lip twitching.

“Fuck you.” I chuckle as I grab another chip. “I didn’t wanna keep you waitin’ here, so I didn’t run home and shower once I finished with work.”

“Next time, be late, my friend.”

“This is the smell of a hardworkin’ man, my friend . What do ya know about that? ”

Remi snorts. “I know hard work. That’s just plain cow manure and sweat.”

Flipping him off, he huffs a laugh as I grab my phone from my pocket. My pulse kicks up when I see a notification from Ford. After he fucked me last week, I insisted we exchange phone numbers. He fought me on it, but in the end, I won. I always win.

Daddy Ford: Mmm… That all for me?

Heat spreads low in my groin as I thumb out a response.

Me: I don’t know… You took so long to reply, maybe I got someone else to take care of it for me. *smirk emoji*

About halfway through the day, I snuck out behind the barn and sent Ford a picture of my cock—a glorious one, if I do say so myself.

“Why’re you smilin’ like that?” Remi asks, pulling my attention away from my phone.

Shaking my head, I slip it back into my pocket. “No reason.”

“Bullshit. Who is it?”

“Just some guy I met on Hive .”

It’s not technically a lie, but it still tastes bitter on my tongue.

I enjoy fucking with Remi and telling him how hot his boss is, but the truth is, I don’t love lying to him.

It’s not something either of us does, but this is a tricky situation.

Not only do I know he won’t approve of this, but it’s also not just my secret to share; it’s Ford’s too, and he specifically said he didn’t want Remi to know.

“Have you met him yet?”

“Yup. What about you?” I ask, wanting to change the subject. “Any new men on the Remi roster?”

Like me, my best friend has never really been a relationship kind of guy, but unlike me, he hates hookup culture.

He’s not into meeting someone and immediately taking them home.

Instead, he prefers a more friends-with-benefits approach.

Which to me feels an awful lot like a relationship without all the labels.

Keeping it strictly about the sex and nothing more is way less messy, but what do I know?

I think Remi is a closeted romantic; he just hasn’t found the right person to bring out that side of him.

He’d never admit that, though. Mostly because I don’t think he even knows it himself.

“Except for your dad?” he teases with a wink. “Nah, I’m kinda over the whole app thing.”

“Hilarious,” I deadpan, rolling my eyes as I bite back a laugh. Grabbing my phone again, there’s a response from Ford, but it’s a picture. My dick twitches and my body heats. There’s no way I can open this in front of Remi. “Be right back,” I announce, sliding out of the booth. “Takin’ a leak.”

“Grab a pitcher of beer on your way back,” Remi calls out behind me.

Locking myself in the stall, I’m buzzing with both excitement and arousal as I pull up the message. I haven’t even seen the picture yet, and I already know it’s going to be hot as fuck.

Daddy Ford: Well, then maybe I should give this to somebody else…

“Oh, Jesus fucking Christ…”

Resting my back against the stall door, I admire the work of art presented to me.

This might be the nicest dick pic I’ve ever received.

Sitting in a chair in what looks to be his office, Ford’s wearing his navy-blue Station 14 shirt, those sexy-ass fire pants with the red suspenders, and his helmet’s resting on his head.

He’s fisting his cock, and the angle of the photo lets me see every glorious ridge and vein, making my mouth water.

Me: Absolutely fucking not.

Daddy Ford: Then quit your bitchin’ .

Fuck, he’s hot. I picture him saying that to my face, his voice all growly.

Me: You put all that gear on for me, Cap?

Daddy Ford: Maybe. Or maybe I was already wearing it.

Me: The only time y’all wear that gear is when you go out on a call. I know better than that. You put that on special for me… Admit it.

He sends the shrugging emoji back, and I chuckle. I do love the idea of knowing he put all that on just to send me a picture. After I really do take a leak and wash my hands, I reply before heading back out.

Me: Why are you still at the station? Y’all’s shift ended an hour ago, didn’t it?

Daddy Ford: Had some paperwork I needed to get done.

Swinging by the bar, I order a pitcher of beer, then meander back to the table, where Remi’s wearing an amused expression, staring at his phone.

“What’d I miss?” I ask as I slide back into the booth.

Glancing up, he breathes out a laugh as he pockets the phone. “You know how Chandler’s goin’ on that cruise in a couple weeks?”

“Yeah. What about it? Her wife is sick, and she needs a replacement vaca buddy? Because I volunteer.”

“No,” he says with a chuckle. “We’re gettin’ a loaner from the 120 to fill in for her, and Cap just sent out a text to the team, letting us know who it’s goin’ to be.”

I wait to see if he’s going to say anything further. “Well, don’t keep me waitin’,” I say. “Who is it?”

“It’s Tanner Baker.”

Remi says it like I’m supposed to know who that is, and it takes a minute, but then… “As in, the firefighter you fucked in the bathroom during the Christmas party last year?”

Groaning, he nods. “That’s the one.”

I burst out laughing before I can help it. “Shut the fuck up. That’s gold.”

Remi isn’t the guy to randomly hook up with somebody he’s never met before, but he got ridiculously drunk after he ran into his ex-boyfriend who cheated on him at the party with one of the firefighters, and ended up in the bathroom with Tanner. I was proud of my best friend.

He was…not so proud.

The drama between firefighters is honestly astounding, but very interesting to me.

“Glad you find this so amusing.” Remi narrows his eyes.

Pulling myself together, I ask, “Have you talked to him since that night?”

He shakes his head. “Nah, not really. It’s going to make for an awkward as hell week at work.”

“Wait, the 120…” I pause, holding a hand up. “Isn’t that the station Cap’s ex-husband works at too?”

“Well, they’re still technically married, but yeah, it’s Trent’s house.”

I nod, trying to appear nonchalant. “Do you think they run into each other much?”

“I have no clue.” He shrugs before taking a pull from his beer. “Definitely not at work, though.”

If it weren’t for me knowing the fire station’s business because of Remi, I wouldn’t even know Trent existed.

I’ve rarely seen him around town, and we’ve never interacted at any fire department events, and because he works in a different county, he and Ford lived more on the outskirts of Wolf Creek.

I don’t know him, but I don’t like him, and I’m not entirely sure why.

Ford’s never shared any details of their marriage, or their separation, with me, but I’m suddenly wishing he would have.

Did they end on good terms? Bad?

Who ended it?

Is Ford still hung up on the guy?

Will working around him stir up old feelings?

Why does the thought of that put me on edge?

“You think things are civil between them?” I ask, my curiosity getting the best of me.

“I don’t think so.” He shakes his head. “Trent’s a sensitive subject, so I try not to dig too much.”

Well, that’s unhelpful.

“What do you think of him?”

“I think he’s all ego and nice hair.” Remi huffs out a laugh. “I’ve only had to work with the guy a handful of times, but it’s clear from the very first hello that he thinks his shit don’t stink.”

I try to picture Ford with a man like that, but I can’t see it. Ford’s all grump; he needs somebody to lighten him up. Surely, an egomaniac can’t do that.

Maybe that’s why they’re getting a divorce.

“Who ended things?” I ask, my knee bouncing a mile a minute under the table.

“Damn, Hol.” Remi chuckles. “What’s with the twenty questions tonight?”

I force a laugh and shrug before the conversation veers in another direction.

What is with all my curiosity, though? Yeah, I’m into hooking up with Ford, but so what?

Where’s this sudden need to know the guy's whole backstory? I don’t need to know somebody on a deep, personal level to fuck them, but with Ford…

For whatever reason, I find myself wanting to get to know him.

It’s just like the other night at his place after he fucked me; I wasn’t in a hurry to leave.

I wanted to be around him.

It’s different… And confusing.

But that doesn’t stop me from pulling out my phone and finding our text thread as soon as we pay our tab and walk out of the bar.

Me: Free your afternoon tomorrow, Cap. We’re gonna have some fun.

Daddy Ford: Meaning you want to have sex?

I chuckle to myself.

Me: I’m good for more fun than just sex, thank you very much.

Maybe getting him out—getting him relaxed —will let me dig around and find out some of the answers to my questions.

Purely for nosy reasons, of course.