But the sound of my coworker’s voice hissing into my ear slammed me straight back into reality.
I wasn’t in that secret back alleyway… I was in the Firehouse 56 weight room. And I wasn’t with Cass… I was surrounded by my colleagues.
I jerked out of Duke’s embrace, jabbing my elbow into his chest.
“Ohhhh baby!” he recoiled with a high-pitched squeal. “I love it when you’re rough with me!”
“Keep dreaming,” I grunted, rolling my eyes.
I felt a burning pain shoot through my biceps, and I remembered the pair of 100 lb barbells that I was clutching in each fist. I slammed the weights back into the metal rack, and the warmth of immediate relief flooded my swollen muscles.
“The only person dreaming here is you, my friend,” Duke cracked back. “You’ve been in la-la land all morning.”
“I’m just trying to concentrate on my sets,” I muttered, flicking the sweat rag off of my shoulder and using it to wipe away the perspiration that had beaded up on my brow.
“Oh really?” Logan smirked up at me as he slammed his own set of barbells into the weight rack. “Is that why you’re staring off into space, grinning like a schoolgirl who just got her first kiss?”
Duke smooched his lips at me as he sank down onto a weight bench, then he uncapped a bottle of Gatorade and took a long swig.
“Am I distracting you, January?” Troy teased from the opposite side of the room. He dropped the barbell he had been deadlifting, and the weight sent a tremor through the padded floor. Then he stood up and stretched his arms over his head, flexing his ten-pack abs.
“I can put my shirt back on…” he winked at me as turned his arms downward, flaunting the dense bulge of muscles in his shoulders.
I rolled my eyes. When it came to muscle mass, Troy could have easily given Dwayne Johnson a run for his money. But despite his ridiculous physique, I was convinced that there wasn’t a single muscle on his body that was stronger or denser than his own damn ego.
“Well, I would ask you to put your shirt back on...” I quipped back at Troy, “But I don’t think Duke would ever forgive me.”
Duke flung his empty Gatorade bottle in my direction. The plastic bottle missed by a long shot, striking into the brick wall over my shoulder and clanking down to the padded weight room floor.
“Stop deflecting, January,” Logan said, turning back to me. “You must have had one hell of a hot date with the ‘ol ball and chain last night. I haven’t seen anyone with that many hearts and stars in their eyes, since the time Duke was invited to play a private game of search-and-rescue at a sorority house…”
“Hey, that night was the pinnacle of my career,” Duke said.
“I’m sure it was the pinnacle of your sex life, too,” Troy teased as he squatted down and positioned himself over the barbell again.
Logan rolled his eyes: “Come on, Brady. Give us the play-by-play.”
“Yeah,” Troy echoed, slamming the barbell into the ground after completing another deadlift. “Give us all the dirty details.”
“No can do,” I shook my head and grinned. “That’s classified information.”
“I guess we’ll just have to use our imaginations,” Duke smirked darkly.
Speaking of imagination… I needed a distraction to prevent my mind from slipping back to that dark alleyway, and the visions of Cassidy’s bare curves in the silvery moonlight… so I grabbed an empty barbell and propped it up next to the weight rack.
“Well boys,” Logan let out a dejected sigh and shook his head. “I thought we still had some time left with him, but I’d say it’s official: the Brady Hudson we used to know and love is gone. We’ve lost him to the dark side.”
“RIP, January,” Troy said solemnly, imitating a single tear trailing down his cheek with his fingertip.
The door to the weight room opened. I glanced up from the rack and immediately locked onto the cold, steely grey stare of my brother’s eyes.
Josh flicked his gaze away quickly as he stepped into the room.
“Perfect timing,” Duke said, greeting Josh with a nod. “We were just mourning your brother’s untimely demise.”
“Huh?” Josh sounded confused.
I rolled my eyes, turning back to the rack and shoving another cast iron weight plate onto my barbell.
“Your brother is a changed man, Joshua,” Logan said grimly. “He has been ruined by love.”
“He used to be a pussy master,” Troy chimed in, “Now he’s just a… lovesick little pussy.”
Josh snorted incredulously, and I could feel his eyes burning a hole into the back of my neck. I ignored him, reaching for a heavier weight plate and adding it to the stack on my barbell.
“This must be a real mind-fuck for you, Josh,” Duke said. “One day everything is normal… the next day, BAM!” -- he clapped his hands together, sending a loud echo through the brick walls -- “Your big brother tells you that he’s marrying the girl you grew up playing hopscotch with.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Josh shrug. I clenched my teeth together and slammed another weight onto my barbell.
“Were you shocked?” Duke asked eagerly. He wanted dirt… he wanted to stir the pot. “Did you feel hurt? Betrayed? Angry?”
Self-control was one of the greatest gifts the Army had given me… and I needed every ounce of it at that moment, as I remained hunched over the weight rack and forced myself to keep breathing. I could control my actions and my breathing… but I couldn’t stop my heart from hammering through my chest as I waited to hear how Josh would answer Duke’s question.
“It was definitely unexpected,” Josh said slowly, dragging out his words. I knew he was doing it on purpose to make me sweat. “Everything seemed to happen so fast…”
“Do you think it’s happening too fast?” Duke probed. “Do you think your brother is making a mistake?”
“What are you, Barbara Walters or something?!” I groaned, glaring over my shoulder at Duke.
“Only Brady knows the answer to that,” Josh ignored my retort. I imagined the smug smirk snaking across his face. I knew he was getting a kick out of torturing me… and I also knew that I couldn’t stand listening to this conversation for much longer.
“Can I get a spotter?” I barked, standing up from the weight rack. I gripped onto the barbell I had loaded with weights and I hoisted it up. It was heavier than I had intended… I must have been so distracted that I lost track of the plates I was slipping on.
I ignored the strain of resistance in my muscles, and I huffed in a deep breath as I carried the weight over to the bench and slammed it down onto the metal spotter rack. Then I dropped onto the bench and reclined backwards, so my back hit the vinyl pad and I was staring up at the ceiling.
“I can spot you,” Troy offered, but when I blinked up, I saw that my brother had already assumed the position behind the bench.
“I got this,” Josh said, then he glanced down at me and narrowed his eyes. I narrowed mine back as I reached up and gripped the barbell.
“Think on the bright side, Josh,” Duke said, reviving the conversation. “You grew up with the groom and the bride… that means you have plenty of material for your best man speech.”
“That’s true,” Josh smiled, keeping his eyes locked down at me. “I’d have plenty of great material for a speech…”
I gulped, tightening my grip on the barbell until my knuckles went white.
“But,” Josh said with a sigh, “Brady hasn’t asked me to be his best man.”
“What? Seriously?” Duke asked in disbelief. I scowled. This conversation was making me like Duke less and less… and I hadn’t liked the guy much, to begin with.
“He hasn’t asked me,” Josh shook his head.
“What the fuck, dude?!” Duke popped into view, craning his head over the bench to blink down at me. “You have to ask your brother to be your best man!”
“I thought we were all going to be the best man?”
Troy asked.
“No,” Duke glared across the room at him, “There’s only one best man. That’s why they call him the ‘best man.’”
“Wait… are you serious?” Logan asked. “I thought we were all going to be the best man, too…”
“For fucks sake, you guys,” Duke rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Have any of you idiots actually been to a wedding before?! There’s only one best man. The rest of us would be groomsmen.”
“When did you learn so much about weddings?”
“What are you talking about?” Duke glared. “This is common knowledge! Everyone knows that there is one best man, and a handful of groomsmen…”
“I didn’t know any of that stuff,” Troy shrugged.
“Yeah,” Logan said, “This is all new information to me...”
“Well it’s not my fault you guys were raised by wolves,” Duke shook his head in disgust.
“Wait a second…” Logan said, his face lighting up with realization as he stared up at Duke. “Are you the one who set up the DVR on the break room TV to record ‘My Fair Wedding’?”
“What?!” Duke recoiled. “Of course not! What are you talking about?!” He was still glaring, but his face was about as red as a fire engine.
“Don’t deny it!” a smile spread across Troy’s face. “I totally walked in on you watching some wedding show on TV a few weeks ago! You had popcorn and everything!”
“Ok, that was one time!” Duke grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. “And I was just watching it because the bride was a total babe!”
“Uh-huh, sure,” Troy rolled his eyes.
“It’s cool, bro,” Logan said, wrapping an arm around Duke’s shoulder, “Everyone has their kinks. If yours is weddings--”
“I don’t like weddings!” Duke shirked Logan’s arm away and his scowl deepened.
“Maybe Duke should be your best man,” Troy grinned down at me. “It’d probably be a dream come true!”
I pinched my eyes shut and blocked out the chatter as I pressed the barbell up out of the rack. My muscles screamed as pain shot through my entire body. I fought through it, guiding the barbell over my chest and letting it sink down.
Then I took a deep gulp of air, and in one solid motion I pressed up… up… up… until my arms were straight. I released the breath that I had been holding, and then…
I felt a quiver shake through my muscles. Suddenly my elbows felt like jelly, and I felt the weight start to slip out of my grip as I lost control…
It all happened so fast; I braced myself, wincing my eyes shut and expecting to feel the full force of the barbell slam straight down onto my chest. But then, just as quickly as it had started slipping down, the bar stopped.
I blinked open my eyes, and I saw Josh’s hands gripping onto the barbell, holding it steady, just inches above my chest.
I was speechless. All I could do was pant for breath. His face was blank as he blinked back down at me, and I realized that he was just as shocked as I was…
“You ok?” he asked finally.
I nodded and swallowed heavily, then I tightened my grip on the steel bar as Josh guided the weight back into the rack.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN | CASSIDY
POP!
The cork sprang free from the bottle and a fountain of shimmering, milky white bubbles cascaded down the wrist of Vanessa Bailey. She squealed and tilted the bottle towards me, pouring a stream of foamy, fizzy champagne into my glass.
“A little bubby for the beautiful bride!” she winked up at me, “...and for the best bridesmaids in the world,” she added, tilting the bottle towards the other two girls in our circle: Aubrey and Nyah.
The four of us were squeezed together around a curved tufted white sofa in the private dressing room of Something Blue, a chic bridal boutique that looked like it had fallen straight out of Pinterest heaven and landed in the center of downtown Hartford.
The whitewashed brick walls were draped with gauzy white lace curtains. The soft carpet was a cheerful shade of robin egg blue. A kitschy white chandelier hung directly over a pedestal surrounded by ornately decorated antique full-length mirrors, and next to the pedestal there was a rose gold dress rack filled with wedding gowns that a shop attendant had picked for me to try on.
A nervous flutter filled my stomach when I looked at the rack of gowns, and I took a sip of champagne to calm my nerves.
“Not yet!” Vanessa scolded me playfully. “We have to say a toast first!”
“Oops,” Aubrey giggled, not-so-subtly swallowing the sip she had already taken from her own glass.
“Ooh, can I say the toast?” Nyah asked.
“I think we should all say something,” Vanessa replied. She emptied the last bit of champagne into her own glass, then she sat back on the sofa. “This is a special occasion! I can’t even remember the last time all four of us were together!”
I couldn’t remember, either. Aubrey, Nyah, Vanessa and I had all been best friends since high school. We had bonded over the pains of growing up: bad dates, heartbreak, acne, trips to the mall, diets, school dances, failed classes, secret crushes…
For four years, the four of us were inseparable. But after graduation, life had taken us all in separate directions. We had slowly drifted apart. We saw each other less and less, and then the phone calls and text messages became less frequent, too.
When Mom got sick, I guess I retreated even more.
Even though we had grown apart over the years, I knew that I couldn’t plan a wedding without asking them to be my bridesmaids. I also knew I couldn’t lie to them.
I had planned on telling them the truth about everything… but by the time I called them up, they had already received the ‘Save the Date’ cards that my mother had mailed out. I expected them to be confused, shocked, or even hurt… but instead, they greeted me with squeals of excitement.
Once I heard how genuinely happy and excited they were for me, I knew that I couldn’t tell them the truth.
“I’ll go first!” Aubrey said, clearing her throat and sitting up on the sofa. She raised her glass towards me: “I’d like to propose a toast to Cassidy Laurent; the girl who once swore that she would never get married!”
“Oh God,” I groaned, sinking down into the sofa and burying my face in the palm of my hand. “I didn’t really say that, did I?”
“You sure did!” Vanessa squeezed my shoulder, “Among other things…”
“Like that one time in senior year, when that asshole guy from the swim team asked you out on a date and then stood you up… and you decided that you were going to swear off men completely!” Nyah recalled fondly.
“I think it lasted for, like, all of three weeks,” Aubrey rolled her eyes playfully. “And then we went to see some movie with… what was that actor’s name?”
“Henry Cavill,” I mumbled, still shielding my face behind my hand.
“That’s it!” Aubrey nodded enthusiastically. “So, we were watching this movie and, halfway through it, Cass leans over and whispers: ‘I guess men aren’t so bad, after all…’”
Nyah fell back onto the sofa laughing, and champagne sloshed from her glass. “At least you’ve always had good taste in men!”
“I don’t know about that,” I mumbled, grimacing as I raised my glass and took a sip. The champagne tickled my tongue, then the back of my throat. “In fact, I’m pretty sure there was a reason I swore off men in the first place…”
“True,” Nyah conceded with a sigh. “You had to kiss a few frogs… but now you’ve found your prince!”
“And,” Aubrey said, clinking the rim of her glass against mine. “Brady kinda looks like Henry Cavill, too!”
“Oh my God, you’re right!” Vanessa squealed. “He totally does!”
“And who would have thought that your prince was right next door, all along!” Nyah added.
I hid my face again, this time to conceal that fact that my cheeks had darkened by several shades of pink
.
“My turn!” Vanessa announced, raising her glass. I had forgotten all about the toasts, but I obediently raised my glass and listened.
“Cassidy,” she sighed thoughtfully, “I’ve known you for a long time… and I’ve never once seen you sparkle the way you do now. I know I haven’t met Brady yet, but I feel like I already know everything I need to know about him, just by looking at your face. If a guy can make you radiate happiness like that, then he must be a pretty good guy…”
“Yes!” Nyah agreed enthusiastically, raising her glass. “I’ll have what she’s having!”
“I’d like to say something, too,” I said. For some reason, my eyes were suddenly misting with tears and I felt a lump grow at the back of my throat. I swallowed it quickly and sniffed.
“I know we haven’t been that close lately,” I said, “But I’m so grateful that you ladies agreed to be part of my wedding. I couldn’t ask for better bridesmaids.”
Then I turned to Vanessa and added: “Or a better maid of honor.”
“Ugh can we please drink now, before I start crying?” Aubrey, dabbing her own eyes.
“Yes!” I said. We all clinked glasses, and then I gulped back my champagne. I knew I needed all the liquid courage that I could get, for the afternoon of dress shopping that lingered ahead of me…
“Anyways!” Nyah said, crossing her legs and reclining on the sofa. “I need to hear more about this mystery man!”
“Me too!” Aubrey agreed. “His last name is ‘Hudson,’ right?” She pulled out her cell phone and started tapping something on the touch screen.
“Are you Googling him?” I blushed. Aubrey just smirked.
“So, you met when you were kids?” Nyah said, jerking my attention back.
“Right,” I nodded. “We were next door neighbors.”
“Ok… so how did you start dating?”
“Umm…” I remembered the night by the pool… the white wine buzz, the trip to Brady’s kitchen… the informal proposal... “We just started bumping into each other, and I guess we both felt a spark…”
“Holy shit!” Aubrey said, her eyes widening as she stared down at her phone screen. “How could you not feel a spark?! Look at this guy!”
The Complete Firehouse 56 Series Page 11