Sudden Response

by R. L. Mathewson

  door of the ambulance, forcing her to tilt her head back to glare at him.

  "No, I'm not," she said, struggling against the restraints.

  "If you're not my patient then what are you doing on my stretcher?" he demanded, cocking a brow.

  "Because you're an ass?" she suggested, struggling and getting her left arm free.

  "Is everything okay?" Dave asked as he walked towards them, carrying a couple of bottles of water.

  "No!" Joe of course said, making Dave frown and look a little uncomfortable.

  "Ignore her. It's just her time of the month," Eric explained with a careless shrug.

  "You betraying bastard!" Joe hissed out and he knew the second that the competition ended that she was going for that nut shot, which of course meant that he was going to have to leave her strapped to a backboard to protect his boys.

  *******

  "Flip the backboard!" the announcer ordered over the bullhorn.

  Joe took a deep breath, but it didn't quite prepare her for being turned over until she was facing the ground. She wished she could turn her head to glare at the bastard but thanks to the neck collar, tape and the fact that she was secured from head to toe on a long hard plastic backboard she couldn't move an inch.

  As one of the refs checked each restraint she was forced to ground her teeth as she seethed with anger. She couldn't believe the nerve. First he screws her over at work and then he screws with her head and body and then ignores her only to piss her off by manhandling her. She couldn't wait for this damn contest to end. The second, the very second he let her out, she was going to beat the shit out of him and then tell him off.

  When she was flipped back over and placed on a stretcher, anticipation coursed through her veins. He thought she was weak? She'd show him. She'd also show him that he couldn't push her around or screw with her head. He might be her best friend, but that didn't mean that she had to put up with archaic bullshit.

  He would learn......oh, would he learn........

  "What the hell are you doing?" she demanded when she suddenly found herself being placed in the back of the ambulance.

  "Enjoy the ride," Eric said before the backdoors slammed shut and the roar of the ambulance vibrated all around her.

  He wouldn't dare.........

  He did.

  Chapter 17

  "Where's Joe?" Nathan asked as he pulled out a chair and sat down while scanning the bar.

  "She's out enjoying a joy ride," he said, feeling his lips twitch. He idly wondered how she was enjoying her scenic drive down Old Man Mason's road, a ten mile stretch of country road that hadn't seen so much as a tar patch job in twenty years. It was one of those obscure roads that everyone forgot about, except for the kids who liked to race on the potholed, cracked mess for a challenge.

  Nathan threw him a curious look, but shrugged it off as his continued to look around the bar.

  "Where's Caitlyn?" Eric asked, looking around the bar for the cute little brunette.

  "We broke up."

  He really shouldn't be surprised by this point, but he really was. He'd only met the woman a handful of times, but she seemed sweet and perfect for his brother. Then again he hadn't met any of Nathan's girlfriends that he didn't think was perfect for him.

  "Why?" he asked, taking a sip of his beer while his brother continued to scan the bar.

  "It was just time," he said with a shrug, never ceasing in his perusal of the busy bar.

  "You're a fucking idiot." Had he said that out loud? Based on his brother's sudden glare he would have to go with a yes on that one.

  "What?" Nathan demanded, turning his attention on him.

  He could apologize, but this bullshit had gone on for far too long.

  "You heard me. You're a fucking idiot. You had a great girl, another great girl I might add who from what I could see adored you and was perfect for you and what do you do? You toss her aside on a whim. What the hell is your problem?"

  "Stay out of it," Nathan bit out tightly.

  "Sorry. Not going to happen. I want to know what the hell your problem is. You keep meeting these great women that seem to make you happy, but for some fucked up reason you keep letting them go. I don't understand what the hell your problem is."

  "Look who's talking," Nathan spat out.

  "What the hell are you talking about?" Eric demanded.

  "Joe," Nathan said, making Eric turn quickly in his seat to look for her. "Yeah, that's what I thought," Nathan said coldly, drawing his attention, but not before he scanned the bar once again for her.

  "What are you talking about?" he asked distractedly as he turned to see if she was standing next to the jukebox since that's the first thing she always did before ordering a beer was to see if there were any new songs added to the playlist.

  "That you have a lot of balls to talk."

  "Meaning?" Eric asked, taking a sip of his beer as he kept his eyes leveled on his brother, not entirely sure he liked where this was going.

  "You think I don't know?" Nathan demanded with a harsh laugh. "Everyone fucking knows."

  "Then maybe you should clue me in," he said, placing his beer down on the small table.

  "You're in love with Joe," Nathan said with a smug smile that had Eric chuckling.

  "That's bullshit and you know it," Eric said, taking another sip of beer with a casualness that he didn't feel.

  "Is that why you watch her like a hawk and warn off any man dumb enough to get within touching distance of her?"

  "I protect her, the same as you," Eric said, slamming his beer down on the small table hard enough to make the small wooden bowl filled with empty peanut shells bounce.

  Nathan snorted at that. "I protect her because she's my sister. You protect her because you don't want anyone else touching her."

  "You're full of shit and you know it," Eric said, hating like hell that they were even talking about this. It was something he didn't want to think about never mind discuss.

  For years he'd done his damndest to ignore the way Joe made him feel, like he would go out of his mind if he didn't touch her and now that he had it was a constant battle not to go after her and pull her right back into his arms. She was his best friend, the only person he could go to for absolutely anything or nothing. He loved being with her and just talking to her over the phone eased his soul and that's exactly why he shouldn't be feeling this way.

  If they ever took it to the next step he knew it wouldn't be long before it ended badly. They both sucked at relationships. None of his previous girlfriends could hold his attention longer than it took to get them into bed and that usually didn't take long at all. After sex being with them felt like a chore, one he despised.

  The same could be said for Joe. None of the guys that she dated could hold her attention for very long. For the most part they seemed to irritate the living hell out of her. She didn't do long term relationships, a month for her was too much. Hell, two weeks was too long for him and that's exactly why he knew this would never work.

  She was forbidden fruit and the moment he had her he knew he'd tire of her too. Then they'd be left with an awkward situation that even their relationship wouldn't be able to recover from. Then what? Did he continue with her, pretending that he still wanted her because of their friendship? For her he would try, but he knew he'd come to resent their relationship and push her away like he'd done with so many women before her.

  Then what? If they managed to go back to being friends there would always be an awkwardness between them. They might continue being friends, but their relationship would never be what it once was and he'd miss that. He'd miss their easy conversations, her companionship, her smiles, the way she busted his balls, but most of all he'd miss her. She might be the woman that he lusted after twenty-four seven, but she was also his best friend, his world and no amount of sex was worth risking that.

  "So, it wouldn't bother you if she was in the arms of another man right now?" Nathan asked, sounding amused.

 

Yes. "No," he gritted out.

  "Good," Nathan said, nodding. "Then it probably shouldn't bother you that Dave and Johnny have their hands all over her right now."

  "What?" The word practically exploded from his mouth as he surged to his feet, sending his chair flying back in the process. He turned around ready to kill someone only to come to an abrupt halt when his eyes landed on the trio near the door. He felt his brows clear his hairline and he doubted that he was the only one at the moment.

  "Just let me go!" Joe demanded as she fought against the two large men struggling to hold her back. "I promise I'll only kill him a little bit!"

  He felt his lips twitch as he watched as Joe managed to drag the men a few feet towards him.

  "You said that you only wanted a drink!" Johnny said accusingly as he doubled his efforts to pull the little spitfire back.

  "I do. Killing makes me thirsty," she explained tightly as her eyes landed on him and narrowed dangerously.

  Any other man would probably realize that he was in deep shit and haul his ass out the back door, but that wasn't his style. This was the reason why he was going to make damn sure that he never touched her again. He loved her, loved the way she drove him crazy and he really loved pissing her off.

  "How was the ride, Joe?" he asked, walking over to her and enjoying the way she tried to lunge at him.

  "It was great. Nothing like a smooth ride through the country. Why don't you come closer so that I can thank you properly?" she suggested sweetly even as she stomped on Dave's foot, forcing the poor bastard to let her go.

  She didn't waste any time in reaching up and going for Johnny's nipple. The look on the poor besotted bastard's face was priceless. He took one look at the hand nearing his nipple and practically dove away from her, leaving Eric with absolutely no doubt that she'd done it before. Probably as soon as she got loose from the backboard.

  Joe wasted no time in going for him and probably would have gone for his throat if Nathan hadn't suddenly appeared between them and caught her around the waist with a bored sigh and threw her over his shoulder, wrecking all of Eric's fun.

  "Let me go, Nathan!" Joe demanded, grabbing the back of Nathan's pants to push herself up so that she could scowl his way.

  "Are you going to behave if I do?"

  "Yes!" she lied and everyone knew it. She was eager to kick his ass and as much as he'd enjoy a good laugh it probably was for the best if he didn't have a reason to put his hands on her right now.

  "Will it make you feel better if I take you out to dinner?" Nathan offered even as he headed for the door.

  Joe glared at him for a moment as she thought it over. "Can I have dessert?"

  "When the hell did you turn into such a little gold digger?" Nathan demanded, earning a rather cute little eye roll from Joe.

  "Don't turn your back on her, Nathan!" he called after them, "or she'll add an appetizer!"

  "Betraying bastard!"

  *******

  "Are you still mad at me?" he asked as he stepped into the bunkroom and tossed his sleeping bag and backpack on the empty bunk.

  She didn't look at him while she jammed the pillow into the pillowcase with more force than he thought was necessary.

  "Why would I be mad at you?" she asked mockingly.

  He could easily think of five things for her to be pissed at him for. There was getting her pulled out of the Muster competition, getting her ass on light duty, their little fight last week, sending her on a bumpy little joy ride, but the thing that probably pissed her off the most was when he convinced Bill not to allow Joe to switch to a different shift. As long as she was safe, and he made damn sure that she was, he really didn't care if she was pissed at him.

  In fact it would probably be for the best if she didn't talk to him for a week or two. That should be more than enough time for them to forget their moment of stupidity and get over it. There was no doubt in his mind that in a month or two they'd be laughing their asses off about what almost happened. That moment couldn't come fast enough for him.

  They hadn't spent any time together or spoken in a week and he missed her. He felt so damn lost without her. Being without her was hell and he'd do whatever it took to get them back to where they needed to be, where he needed them to be. He needed to talk to her, touch her and hold her.

  For the past week he hadn't been allowed to do any of those things. This past week had been the first time since they were kids that they'd ever really spent any time apart and he'd hated it. Every day the ache in his chest intensified until he didn't think he'd survive another moment without her.

  He'd tried calling her, but he only got her voicemail. The few times he swung by to see her hadn't gone well either. After the third time she slammed the door shut in his face he'd gotten a little desperate and bought one of those milkshakes that she was addicted to only to have the little brat snatch it out of his hand before slamming the door shut in his face.

  Obviously she needed time and he'd give it to her if it meant that things would go back to the way things used to be. Of course the fact that she couldn't get away from him and was stuck working with him for at least forty hours a week probably had something to do with his calm acceptance of the cold shoulder she was giving him, but whatever. He got to spend time with her and that's all that mattered.

  She tossed her bag on the freshly made bed, grabbed a book and threw him a killing glare as she walked past him. He should probably give her some space, he mused, but then again she'd had a week without him. He followed after her, knowing that she'd probably kick his ass, but what the hell, it would be worth it just to see her smile.

  Chapter 18

  "Let me up," she whispered tightly as she struggled to get up, but the big jerk simply tightened his arm around her waist and held her on his lap.

  "Hold you tighter?" he asked, sounding put out. "Fine. I suppose I could do that."

  Not laughing was one of the hardest things she'd done in a while, but somehow she managed it. She was mad at him, pissed actually and she couldn't believe that he had the nerve to act like nothing was wrong, but this was Eric and they both knew that she couldn't stay mad at him for long no matter how hard she tried.

  After what the jerk did she really should stay good and mad at him for a long time, but she just couldn't. She hated the fact that she'd pretty much forgiven him. He cared about her even if he was going about it in a dumb ass way. Instead of talking to her he'd gone the high handed route, but that was Eric and he wasn't going to change and to be honest she didn't want him to.

  That didn't mean he got to control her life. He didn't. He may think that he had a say in her life, but he didn't. As much as she appreciated him, Nathan and Alice, she was still very much on her own. She loved them more than anything, but she wasn't their responsibility and sure as hell didn't want them to see her as the burden they got stuck with.

  Eric might want to take care of her, but she didn't want to be his responsibility. That was the reason why they'd never moved in together even when they were first starting out in life and sharing an apartment would have made sense. It was the same reason why she worked two mind numbingly boring jobs to pay for EMT training even though Alice and Nathan both offered to pay for it and why she refused to let anyone co-sign with her when she bought her house even though she probably would have gotten a better mortgage if Alice had signed.

  Her mother might have been comfortable with leaving everyone else to take care of her responsibility, but she never would be. She liked taking care of herself. She loved knowing that she would never have to depend on another person again for anything as long as she lived.

  It was because she could take care of herself that she would never have to worry about coming home only to find her things thrown out because someone didn't pay the bills. She would never have to worry about going hungry or being cold in the winter. She paid her bills, bought her food, had no debt besides her mortgage and had money in the bank for an emergency and paramedic school and last week that had been more than enough to allow her to sleep at night.

  Now she was worried. She wasn't sure if it was because of the close call she had or what Eric said, but he had a valid point. Not that she would ever tell him. That would only encourage him and his bossy ways, but she now realized that she needed a backup in case something ever happened that prevented her from working as an EMT.

  Her savings were decent and could probably hold her over for eight months, but that wasn't good enough. She never wanted to struggle to pay the bills and she sure as hell didn't want to be put in the situation where she had to take a handout, especially -->