Page 102 of Up In Smoke
“Hi, Jesse,” Teddy yells from where he’s still wrangling the hose on full power. “Welcome to the One-Thirteen. Don’t worry, they met my boyfriend in a disaster as well.”
“Oh my god, Foster,” Lili cries in pretend shock. “Do you have a boyfriend? We didn’t know!”
Despite still angling the hose like a pro, Teddy manages to give her the finger.
“Okay, okay,” I tell them, wrapping my arms around Jesse protectively. Now that we’re all safe and the situation is under control, I can relax again. “Yes. Everyone, this is my husband, Jesse Silverman. Jesse, these are the assholes I have to work with. But so long as you don’t feed them after midnight, they’re not so bad.”
Sawyer gasps from where he’s manning the other hose. “Lieutenant! Did you just make a pop culture reference?”
“And insult us at the same time?” Anton adds.
“Aww,” Lili coos. “Our little Rico is all grown up and making jokes.”
“Hey!” Del calls out from the triage area, looking annoyed. “If you’ve got time to be standing around gossiping, you’ve got time to hand out emergency blankets and bottles of water, right?” He glances at Jesse and gives him a genuine smile. “Hey, dude. Welcome to the family.”
“You heard the man!” Yara screams, popping up out of nowhere by Del’s side. “Get to work!” Then she grins and waves excitedly. “Hi, Jesse! We’ve heard great things! Sorry about your apartment. Okay, chat soon!”
With that, the squad disperses, leaving us with Captain Valentine, who comes and squeezes both mine and Jesse’s shoulders. “You guys have had a hell of a night. Lieutenant, I’m ordering you to take the rest of the night off. You need to be with your family.”
I shake my head and exhale heavily. “You’ll get no argument from me, Captain. I guess we should find a pet friendly motel. And maybe a twenty-four-hour grocery store.”
It really hits me in that moment. Until the building is cleared as crime scene and we can see if anything is salvageable, the only things that Jesse and I own are what he’s wearing and what I have back at the station.
Fuck.
“I can recommend some excellent glamor pods,” Teddy calls over to us from where he and Sawyer are still manning the hoses.
“Actually, I think I have a solution,” Jesse says cryptically before waving at Teddy. “But thank you so much.”
“Just let me know if you change your mind,” Teddy replies with a grin.
“You boys need a lift?” Padilla asks, reappearing with superb timing.
I puff out my cheeks and look between her, then Jesse and Klaus. “I think that would be incredible, Captain. Could you drop us back at the firehouse?”
“Consider it done,” she says with a wink.
I hug Jesse to my side and take one last look at the place that’s been my home for the past several years. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel anything. I’m angry, sad, grateful, and everything in between.
But most of all, it strikes me that the timing seems poetic. If Jesse and I were looking for a sign that we’re starting a new chapter in our lives, I don’t think it gets much clearer than this.
No matter what happens, so long as we’re together, I know we’ll be okay.
CHAPTER 31
Jesse
The Tavern has never felt morelike home as Rico and I pull into the mostly vacant parking lot in the small hours of the morning. The club might not be open, but the love hotel is, so the regular lights above the venue’s name and along the edge of the pathways are on, just not the colorful moving spotlights that entice people into the bar.
I’m so exhausted I could cry. And when Trixie comes bursting out of the front door dressed in a pink velour tracksuit with fluffy slippers and her blonde hair in rollers, the tears do spill. But they’re from relief and happiness rather than dismay.
“Aw, baby,” Rico says sympathetically as he parks the car. He kills the ignition and squeezes my knee. “It’s okay.”
“I know,” I say with a wet laugh, wiping my face. “I’m just so tired.”
“You can sleep soon, I promise.” He leans over and kisses my lips gently, then we exit the car, not wanting to keep Trixie waiting when it’s the middle of the night.
“Oh, sweetheart!” she cries as soon as I open my door. Before I know it, her arms are around my waist and she’s all but hugging me in half. “You poor, poor dears. I’m so glad you called me!” She releases me and immediately embraces Rico, who’scome around the car to join us. “You’re gonna stay here as long as you need, y’all hear me?”