Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Maybe this chance to boss someone around was exactly what I needed.
“Morning, Captain.” And then, Tony ambled into the break room in street clothes of a nice polo and clean jeans, looking entirely too delicious with his silver-streaked dark hair, lean muscles, and chiseled features. Nope, not what I needed at all.
“Morning.” Sean had a wide smile for his friend before gesturing at me. “And you’ll remember Caleb from the park.”
Ouch. Talk about twisting the knife. All my hard work of trying to move beyond the incident evaporated as Tony laughed. “How could I forget?”
He extended a hand, leaving me no choice but to set aside my coffee cup to shake it. And, of course, he had the perfect strong grip with wide palms and long, elegant fingers. I could think of far better uses for his hands, but I was not going to fall prey to another hopeless coworker crush.
Sean continued to grin like a proud big brother. “I’ve tapped Caleb here to give you a tour of the station and to go over some of the basic maintenance tasks.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Tony nodded at Sean before turning his big brown eyes in my direction. “Lead the way.”
I grabbed my neglected coffee cup, more out of a need to do something with my hands than actual thirst. “We can start with the locker room so you can change.”
“Good idea.” Sean’s tone was a bit too encouraging. “I put some uniforms in locker forty-seven for Tony earlier.” He waved us away, adding a cheery, “Have fun!”
Not likely, but I tried to take his advice about leadership skills to heart, striding toward the locker room with a confidence I didn’t exactly feel.
“That’s your locker.” I pointed to the metal locker Sean had assigned Tony. “You can go ahead and get into uniform. The pants and T-shirt are generally acceptable for duties at the station.”
“Thanks.” Tony immediately moved to pull off his polo shirt, so I positioned myself and my coffee, looking over at the showers, not him. Didn’t matter how much I wanted to ogle, I knew better. Tony, however, made a noise of protest. “Hey, you don’t have to turn into a statue. I’ve spent twenty years in military changing rooms. I lost all modesty a long time ago.”
“And I learned as an openly queer dude to keep my eyeballs to myself because you never know who’s going to take issue.” Might as well get that out there now.
“Fair enough, but not me.” Tony smiled when I turned slightly toward him. I resolutely focused on the locker beside him and not his bare torso. “I’ve been friends with Eric for over two decades. Was a groomsman at his wedding to Montgomery. Besides, I trust everyone to be professional.”
Ah, the old I’ve got a friend line, but no detail about his own sexuality. Not that he owed me that information and not that I cared. No more crushes on coworkers, no matter how engaging Tony’s slightly mischievous smile.
As Tony got dressed, two of the younger crew members sped through the room, roughhousing and play fighting because of some lost bet over a baseball game.
Tony’s eyes widened, and I had to chuckle. “Professional can be a loose concept around here.”
“I see.” He shut his street clothes inside his locker, and for all I kept reminding myself to not get a crush, the man looked even tastier in uniform, navy tactical pants hugging his muscled ass and thighs, department T-shirt showing off a defined chest and arms. He had faded pen-and-ink tattoos on both forearms, stylized designs that seemed to fit with his military background.
Rather than getting hung up on Tony’s looks, I continued our tour of the fire station, ending up in the engine bay.
“One of your big tasks will be keeping the equipment and vehicles ready to go at all times. That means maintaining precise inventory, updated after each call, and keeping the trucks sparkling. Chief calls it parade ready.”
“As a staff sergeant, I’m more than familiar with inventory.” His tone was a bit bored. No doubt, the former Ranger was used to way more action and less menial tasks, but he would simply have to deal.
“I’m sure.” I scooped up a nearby container of the wax polish we used on the engines. “No time like the present to do a little touchup. Grab a rag.”
Tony pursed his lips, feet shifting from side to side as he made no move toward the box of rags stored on the same shelf as the polish.
“Look, I’m sure you think this cleaning is beneath you, but it needs doing.” I made my tone firm. Sean wanted me to have leadership skills, so lead I would. “Come on, rook.”
I put the same emphasis on rook that he had on kid at the disaster in the park, and the flare in his eyes said he knew precisely what I was doing.