by Olivia Rush
“Yep,” I said, feeling pretty damn proud, not to mention a little turned on watching him in action again.
“He’s like a superhero or something,” said Bethany, folding her hands over her chest as a dreamy expression formed on her face.
“That’s exactly what I thought,” I said. “I mean, how often do you meet guys who literally leap from burning buildings?”
“You’re not getting to the good stuff,” said Katelyn. “What happened with the date?”
“I was, um, pretty smitten after watching this all go down in person,” I said. “And when he showed up at the bar in a skintight white T-shirt that showed off pretty much every muscle he had, I was done for.”
“Does that mean what I think it means?” asked Bethany, raising her slim eyebrows.
“It does,” I said, a small smile on my lips.
The two girls let out a shriek that nearly shattered the glass of the windows. Then, without missing a beat, the two of them started speaking in hushed tones, asking me for every detail imaginable.
“Come on,” I said. “You guys know I don’t kiss and tell.”
“Yeah, and it’s totally lame,” said Bethany. “You’ve got all the luck with the guys and you never give up the goods when it comes to gossip.”
“Wait a minute,” I said, confused. “Are you seriously suggesting that the string of loser hipster artists and Wall Street frat bros I’ve been wasting my time on for the last few years has been ‘luck’?”
“Beats the hell out of my dating life,” said Katelyn. “I’m lucky if can get a Tinder rando to meet me for drinks.”
“Trust me,” I said, “it’s been totally exhausting. Half the time I’d rather stay at home with some wine and a supreme pizza from Nico’s.”
“Grass is always greener, I guess,” said Bethany. “But anyway, you guys have another date lined up, right? Please tell me you do.”
“Nope,” I said. “After it all went down, I got out of there. It was all so much to have happened at once, I would’ve felt weird sticking around.”
“Wait,” said Katelyn. “Let me get this straight: You had the hottest date imaginable with a life-saving fireman, and then after you had probably the best sex of your life, you just ducked out of there because you didn’t want to make it weird or something?”
Hearing it put like that did make it sound a little odd. Leaving had just seemed like the right thing to do at the time—the night with Ethan was just too much all at once.
“I guess so,” I said.
“What’s the freaking deal?” asked Bethany. “You think some other totally jacked fireman’s going to come ask you out tonight?”
“I know, I know,” I said. “It was totally stupid. But it’s not a total lost cause. I mean, I did finally get the field trip lined up. I heard back from the fire chief and he said I could bring the kids to the station. It’s planned for tomorrow.”
“Then there you go,” said Katelyn. “You’ve got a second chance, lady—don’t blow it!” She checked her phone and sighed. “All right,” she said, “time to get going. Science isn’t going to teach itself.”
Katelyn and Bethany both got up, wished me goodbye, and left the lounge. I sat there for a while, watching the steam curl from my coffee as I thought the matter over. It sounded so silly, that I’d just gotten up and left Ethan. What if he’d been offended?
I laughed a little to myself as I considered this. Something told me that Ethan wasn’t likely the type of guy to have very thin skin—not like that Bushwick hipster I went out with awhile back who told me he was in love with me after we made out.
I put the cap back on my coffee thermos and headed out of the lounge.
“Morning, Miss Parker!” shouted my kids as I stepped into the classroom.
“Look at you all!” I said in a chipper voice. “Sitting down, hands folded on your desks, just like I asked.”
Big smiles beamed from the kids as I walked back and forth in front of the rows of desks.
“You all are on such good behavior, just like I’d asked. In fact, you’re on such good behavior that I think I just might take you on that field trip to the fire station I was telling you about.”
The kids shared excited looks, talking among themselves in eager tones. I raised my hand, the signal for silence. They quieted very quickly.
“We get to go and tour the fire station tomorrow morning.”
A hand shot up, belonging to Charlie, a tiny, sandy-haired kid.
“Do they have a fire pole there?” he asked, so excited it looked like he just might jump out of his seat.
“They sure do,” I said. “They’ve got a fire pole, and two fire trucks, and they even have a really nice dog named Mitch that you’ll get to meet.”
More eager noises sounded from the kids.
“And you know what? Let me show you the fireman that you’re going to be meeting tomorrow.”
I admit it—I couldn’t help myself. I booted up the computer on my desk and played the clip of Ethan’s heroics for the kids. But it was just as much for me as for them. I could’ve watched that clip all damn day. And I noticed that the view count had already taken a big jump up, gaining several tens of thousands of views in the time between now and when I’d shown the video to the girls. Was Ethan about to go viral?
The kids watched the clip, totally enthralled. Gasps shot out as Ethan made the jump with the girl, and when he landed safely on the other fire escape, cheers followed.
“He’s awesome!” shouted out one of the boys.
I spotted the same dreamy expression on some of the girls’ faces. They were a few years just before that age when they’d started to notice boys, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d started off lifelong fireman obsessions in a few of them by playing the clip.
The kids settled down, and we went on with the day. Ethan was like an invader, popping into my head constantly—I couldn’t shake him. I couldn’t remember the last time a man had this effect on me. It was thrilling and scary all at once. At recess, the kids were mostly playing kickball, and I had time to let my mind wander.
“Hey, Miss Parker!” shouted out Micah, a lanky redheaded boy who always seemed to be getting himself into one kind of trouble or another.
I looked around for just where he was calling from. Finally, I spotted him on the side of the school, scaling the fire escape. My heart raced as I realized just how high up he was.
“Take a picture of me!” he said. “And show it to the firemen tomorrow!”
The kids gathered around me as I looked up at Micah.
“Micah Monroe, if you want to even think about firemen ever again you’d better get down here right now!” I called out, my hands on my hips.
“Come on,” he said from his perch. “Just one picture!”
“You want to go tomorrow?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Then you have until the count of three.”
That got his attention. Micah scrambled down the fire escape with the speed of a caffeinated monkey. I didn’t realize I was so anxious, but once he was back on the ground I was relieved beyond comprehension.
“Don’t ever do that again, buddy,” I said. “Got it?”
He nodded, sufficiently shamed. As he scampered back to the rest of the kids, however, I couldn’t really blame him for wanting to imitate Ethan. Tall, handsome, strong, and brave, Ethan was basically what every little boy wanted to be when he grew up.
And, not to mention, he was who every little girl wanted to end up with.
7
ETHAN
There were two things on my mind that next day: the fire and Chloe.
When I woke up that morning, I instinctively placed my hand on the side of the bed where she would’ve been sleeping had she stayed over. It was strange—even back in my player days I never really cared much for the company of the girls I’d brought over. As far as I was concerned, the girls could scram as soon as we’d gotten what we wanted from each other.
Chloe, on the other hand…she was different. When she rolled off the couch and started collecting her things, my heart sank a little bit, a wave of disappointment running through me. I’d only known her for a little while, but she’d gotten her hooks into me in a way that no other woman had before, not even my ex.
I went through the motions of getting ready for the day back at the station. The chief had given me the night off after the job last night, figuring a little R&R would do me some good. But when I woke up that morning, I was already chomping at the bit to get back to it.
“There’s Mr. Internet Sensation,” said Stone, his massive body in front of a laptop on the table in the station kitchen.
A few of the other guys were gathered around him, all of their eyes flicking from the screen to me then back again.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, a curious expression on my face. “You all watching Netflix or some shit? Don’t you have work to do?”
“More important stuff here,” said Stone. “Come check it out.”
I poured myself a cup of coffee and sidled in behind where the guys were gathered. The screen was opened to some YouTube video, the setting a New York street that looked very familiar.
“Check out that title,” said Stone, tapping the screen with his finger.
“‘Hero Firefigher’?” I asked. “What the hell is this?”
Then it hit me.
“Oh no…” I said.
“Oh yes,” said Stone. “Check out that view count.”
“Two hundred and forty-four thousand hits?” I asked. “No freaking way.”
“People love a hero, Ethan,” said Stone.
He tapped the play button, and the clip started. Sure enough, it was a recording of the rescue yesterday, taken from the vantage point of one of the civvies watching from the street. There was me, carrying that girl and leaping over to the other fire escape. The boys cheered as I stuck the landing.
“What a move! That was pretty bad ass, Stokes.” shouted Stone, slapping me hard on the shoulder.
“Someone’s gonna be drowning in pussy,” said Mike.
It was strange watching myself like that, and I turned away from the screen.
“What’s the matter?” asked Mike. “Feeling a little uncomfortable in the limelight?”
“Nah,” I said. “Just something about that fire. Seems off to me.”
“How you mean?” asked Stone. “Looked like a regular electrical fire or something to me. And we got it taken care of before it spread anywhere other than the store.”
“It’s nothing,” I said. “Just getting suspicious over nothing, I guess.”
“If you say so,” said Mike.
With that, Stone hit the play button again, starting the video from the beginning. I watched for a few seconds, this time noticing that Chloe had dashed in front of the camera on her way to wherever she’d hidden when she left the truck. I wanted to rewind the clip, to freeze it on her as she filled the screen for a brief moment.
I sipped my coffee, making the rounds and ensuring the place was in good shape for the day ahead. Mitch was in his big dog bed, and he raised his head as I walked past him in anticipation of the head scratch he could usually count on from me.
The fire was stuck in my head—I couldn’t get it out. Once I’d drained the last bit of my coffee, I stopped by the chief’s office and gave the door a quick rap.
“Come in,” came the gruff voice from inside.
I opened the door and stepped in. The chief’s office was a simple little space, decorated with a few pictures of his family, along with some shots of him back in his younger days with the rest of his crew. The chief sat at a small, simple desk, some documents spread out on the surface in front of him.
“There’s the viral star,” he said, turning his attention to me as I walked in, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands behind his head. “Mind if I get an autograph while you’re here?”
“Sorry about that,” I said. “I know you don’t like the station to get unnecessary attention.”
“You kidding?” he asked. “Shit like THIS is gold for the station. Any time some city employee gets good coverage like this it makes the whole FDNY look good. Though, I should probably tell you I’ve already gotten a few calls from news stations asking if they could interview you.”
“Oh great,” I said. “What’d you tell them?”
“I said I’d get back to ’em,” he said. “But what’s up? Something tells me you didn’t come in here to talk about your newfound internet fame.”
“Mind if I sit?”
He gestured to one of the folding chairs in front of his desk. I slid into the seat and tried to figure out where to start.
“You ever get a feeling from one of the jobs you did? Like it’s more than you thought it was?”
Swift gave me a curious look. “Now, Ethan,” he said, “you know coming into my office saying things like that is just gonna make me tell you to get to the point, right?”
He was right, but that didn’t mean I felt any less crazy about the subject.
“It’s probably nothing,” I said, looking down and shaking my head.
“If it were nothing, you wouldn’t be thinking about it. Lemme guess—you got a gut feeling about the fire?”
I looked up, my eyebrows raised a bit.
“How—”
“You don’t make it to chief without developing a sixth sense about these sorts of things. Now, let’s hear it.”
“It’s just what you said,” I told him. “Just a gut feeling. When we got that girl out of that car crash the other day, for example, I didn’t think about it even for a minute after we’d saved her. Other than wanting to know if she was OK, that is. Meaning, I didn’t have any reason to think there was anything sketchy about the accident. But this fire…I don’t know. I can’t shake it. Even though I know there’s nothing that should be giving me pause.”
“And it doesn’t help when you try to rationally convince yourself there’s nothing to it.”
“Exactly, exactly.”
Chief sat back in his seat and weaved his hands together over his stomach.
“In my experience, when you get a little splinter in your mind like that the only way to get it out is to satisfy your curiosity.”
“Check out the scene?”
“Check out the scene later tonight. Maybe you’ll see something, maybe you won’t. Head over there later on. Let me know what you find.”
And that was all that needed to be said. Chief gave me a nod letting me know that we were done, and I left the office. The rest of the morning and afternoon passed by slowly, and by the time evening arrived I was keyed up and ready to check out the place, to see what there was to be seen. Soon, I was on my way to the scene of the fire, walking the streets of Williamsburg feeling both overly paranoid and purpose-driven.
Soon, I arrived at the scene of the fire. The bottom floor of the building was charred black, the inside an unsalvageable mess. The police had cordoned off the building, and whatever pedestrians happened to pass all stopped to take a look at the ruined shop.
I stepped up to the building, getting a closer look. At this distance, I spotted the black char of smoke on the brick front of the apartments. It was a damn miracle that this happened during the day when no one was home. If the fire had broken out at night, there was a good chance that the smoke would’ve killed the people who lived in the building before we even knew a fire had started.
I approached the police tape, glancing around to see if any cops were still on the scene. Even standing this close, I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. But that wasn’t good enough. I threw one leg then the other over the police tape and ducked into the building.
The smell of burned, well, everything, flooded my senses as soon as I stepped in. Glass crunched under my boot, and all I could see was black. Still, nothing stood out as any sign of foul play. I made my way slowly through the store, my eyes peeled.
; I was about ready to give up by the time I reached the back storeroom of the shop and heard the low murmuring of conversation through the steel exit door.
“Looks fine to me,” I heard someone speak, the voice high and thin. “Don’t know what the hell you wanted us to come back here for.”
“Because the last time you got sloppy as hell. Got too close to getting popped,” spoke another voice, this one low and deep.
I stood still, listening carefully to the conversation.
“I don’t like doing this shit during the day,” said a third voice, this one a little melodic.
“I didn’t ask you what you liked. That’s how we’re doing it. Day jobs get more spectacle—send a clearer message, you get it?”
“Just makes me nervous,” said the third man.
I needed to get closer, to see what these guys looked like. It sure as hell seemed like they were talking about the fire. I spotted a broken window further along in the storeroom and slowly made my way toward it. When I was near it, I had a slightly better look into the alley. I took a quick peek out and spotted the figures of three men, all dressed in dark colors, mostly black.
“Now can we leave?” said the first man, the high-talker.
“Yeah,” said the second, the low-voiced man who seemed to be in charge. “Just wanted to make sure you two didn’t make any obvious screwups.”
“Thanks for the fuckin’ vote of confidence,” said the third man.
“When you two show you can pull off jobs without screwing up, then you’ll get all the confidence you could ask for.”
This was all I needed to hear. I needed some answers, and lurking in the shadows wasn’t my style. Moving as quickly as I could back out through the front of the store, I made my way around to the small alley behind the building. There, I saw the three men, standing just out of view behind a dumpster.
I stepped into the alley, cleared my throat, and called out to them.
“Hey,” I said, my voice echoing down the alley. “You guys mind answering some questions?”
The three faces turned and locked onto me, surprised expressions on each one of them.