The Men of CLE-FD updated (12 page)

“I’m sure you’ve made her very proud.”

He laughed.  “Well, I did cause a slight setback when I married Maggie but now that we are divorced, she is happy with me again.”

“Good, we have to keep our parents happy.  Well, you have inspired me to keep looking for a job.  I really have to find a place to stay too.  Geez, something has to brighten my world soon or I’m going to lose my mind.”

He crumpled the plastic bottle in his hand to recycle later.  Smiling at her, he said, “If you still want the house, you can rent it.”

Her eyes widened and her chest stood straight as she sat up against the tree trunk.  “What?  You’re going to rent me the house?”

“You can choose the colors to paint the walls and I’ll finish the heavy duty work next week.  If I work around the clock on my days off, the house should be completed in another month.”

She hugged him taking him by surprise.  The musky odors of their bodies blended perfectly.  The friction of her breasts rubbing against his arm ignited the launch sequence, which was not good.  The dream he’d had caused him to call her for a bike ride.  His intention was to make a move but now he couldn’t after they’d revealed so much about themselves.

Her lips planted a wet kiss on his cheek.  “You have made my day, Orlando!  After we’re finished biking, I want to go shopping for furniture.  Will you go with me?”

“Huh,” he uttered, before she cut him off mid-sentence.

“I’m sorry for assuming you didn’t have anything else to do today, but follow me around the mall again.  Yesterday you were gracious to carry my packages and wait for me try on shoes.  “I’ll ask Lincoln to go if she isn’t busy with Anthony.”

He touched the spot on his cheek still stinging from her soft lips.  “No, it’s okay; I’ll take you shopping—again.”

“Great!  Let’s finish the ride so we can go home and shower.  I’m excited to furnish my new house,” she said getting off the ground.

He sighed slumping forward wanting to kick himself for offering to endure the same punishment a second day in a row.  Yesterday’s shopping spree was painful and the reason he'd stopped shopping with Maggie.  Volunteering to shop with Regan armed with a platinum credit card and time on her hands meant death for him.

He got off the ground thinking he must feel something for this woman.  One way or another, the sexy shoes she modeled in front of him in the store would be coming off along with a lot of other clothing.  He just had to be patient and wait for the right time.  He’d been celibate for two years and would wait until Regan was ready to receive him.

Chapter Five

Orlando sat in his office quarters doing paperwork.  The part of the job he disliked.  His mind drifted to Regan interrupting the report he was writing.  He had never met a woman like her.  Her playful nature was a breath of fresh air compared to Maggie.

He sighed when Maggie came to mind.  She would not let it go he refused to reveal how or when he had met Regan and how serious they were.  She was still under the notion she had the right to know his every move regardless of the constant reminder for her to mind her business.

A knock on the door took him away from his thoughts.  He turned around to see Anthony standing outside the glass door and motioned for him to enter.  Anthony was not a regular on his shift but agreed to fill in for a firefighter on sick leave.

“Hey, Anthony, what’s up?”

Anthony entered and closed the door behind him.  “I was letting you know I was here.  Jon is going to split Colby’s shift with me since I can’t do the whole 24 hours.”

“Yeah, I saw the Chief had that marked on the calendar.  We’re grateful you guys could help out.”

“You know we got your back,” he said rubbing his hands together.

Orlando dropped the pen on the desk and crossed a leg over one knee.  “You got that beady-eye stare going on; anything else on your mind?”

“Now that you mentioned it, what is going on with you and Regan?”

Orlando pulled at the short hairs on his goatee and answered, “We are friends.”

“Is that it?”

He held steady to his answer.  “That’s all she wrote, Ant.”

“You’re going to lie to my face and tell you don’t feel anything for her?  You two have been together on your days off.”

Orlando fought to stay aloof and not break under questioning.  “We’ve been out to eat and shopping.  What is the big deal with that?”

“It’s a big deal!  Face it Orlando, you want more with Regan.”

Frustrated he threw up his hands.  He wanted to scream it was true—it was true he wanted Regan but she had settled on them just being friends.  She was treating him like a BFF and not a woman looking for a love interest.

“What is it with you?  I don’t have to be in a relationship to be happy with my life.  I am happy, Anthony.  I’m so freaking happy I could skip down Main Street butt naked.”

Anthony grinned.  “I would believe you except for two things,” he said holding up his fingers.

“What two things are you talking about?”

“One you have never skipped down any damn street and two, Cleveland doesn’t have a Main Street.  So give me the scoop.”

“There is no scoop, bro.  If there were anything going on, I would tell you.”

Anthony relented and sat back in the chair.  “I have to accept that as the truth.  Let me give you some advice, Orlando.  I know Maggie hurt you.  She had all of us fooled which is hard to do.”

“Yeah, well, I’m over that hump.”

Anthony shook his head negatively.  “No, you aren’t.  You are allowing her to stand in your way of happiness.  Regan is crazy about you, but she won’t push for more than the
friendship
you are offering,” he said making air quotes with his fingers.

Orlando’s eyes perked.  “How do you know that?”

“Sister’s talk and Lincoln lets things slip.  Regan had a rough go with her divorce.  Dude could have broken her, but she managed to walk away with her dignity intact.  Why can’t you do the same?”

“I have my dignity, thank you.  Regan and I have fun together and if we mix that with romance, it might sour.  Anthony, I’d rather have her as a friend as opposed to not having her at all.”

“I’m just making sure before Lincoln moves on with phase two of her plan,” he said standing to leave the office.

“Wait, what is phase two?”  Orlando asked concerned.

“Jon’s brother is moving back to town.  Lincoln wants to introduce him to Regan.”

“Jon’s brother the doctor?”

“Yup.  Look, Orlando; I am friends with both you and Jon.  Jon and I practically grew up together so when he asked about Regan’s status, I had to tell him the truth.”

Orlando creased his brow feeling tense.  How were his two best friends conspiring to snatch Regan away from him?  “You didn’t know our status until now!”

“Whoa, why you got bass in your voice, bro?  I thought you weren’t interested in a romance with Regan?”

He paced the small office.  “If she hooks up with Jon’s brother, that means I lose her as a friend.  She can’t hang out with me and have a man in her life at the same time.”

“You’re right, she can’t.  But, you cannot monopolize her either.  She has a right to be happy and if you aren’t willing to step up to the plate and make that happen for her, then be prepared to face the consequence of losing her.”

Orlando felt the sting of Anthony’s word radiate through his body.  He had to make a decision concerning Regan.  A beautiful spirit such as she, wouldn’t want to be single forever.  If he was not willing to go the distance then, he had no choice but to remove himself.

The air expelled from his nostrils heavily.  “All right, I will make a decision about Regan.  Anthony, you have to stall Lincoln introducing him to Jon’s brother.”

“It’s too late, man.  She has a dinner party set up for this Friday.”

“I’m on duty this Friday!”  He said balling his fist.

“Calm down before you blow a gasket.  You have a chance because Regan does have feelings for you and she might not take to Jon’s brother.  She may blow him off like she did Herman”

“Yeah, well, Sherman never had a chance.  Jon’s brother is a successful doctor and she is used to being with a successful man.”

“A life she doesn’t want anymore.  She wants a regular man, with a regular job.”

“You seem to forget my job killed my first marriage, Anthony.”

“No, Maggie killed your marriage.  The woman schemed her way into your life and you fell for it.  It happens to all men that look at women as sex objects.”

“I did not look at her that way.”

“She used sex to get you and it proved it didn’t keep the marriage or relationship together.”

“Can we drop the subject of my failed marriage?  This is what I didn’t want to drag Regan into.  I married Maggie before getting to know her.  It was a mistake and I’m paying out the ass because of it.  Regan’s husband cheated on her and she is looking for stability.  If we got together, Maggie would not rest until she ran Regan away because her dog-like senses would know I was happy for a change.”

“You need to put your foot in Maggie’s….”

“HEY!  Don’t say it regardless how true the statement is,” he said laughing.  “Ant, I know what you are saying.  I appreciate you want me to have someone special in my life.  Regan is a great woman.  She makes me laugh when I don’t want to and is willing to try anything once.  I’m just not sure if I want the marriage thing again.”

Anthony braced his hand on Orlando’s shoulder.  “I felt that way after losing Melanie.  But I am taking the plunge and asking Lincoln to marry me.  I’m older than her and that could be a factor for her but it won’t stop me from asking.”

Orlando shook his hand.  “That’s great, Anthony.  I’m sure she will accept your proposal without thinking about the age difference.  When are you going to pop the question?”

“I’m not sure yet.  I’m thinking maybe a nice getaway for two or a romantic dinner….hey!  You are deflecting the conversation to me.”

Orlando laughed.  “You are an easy one to fall for that.  Come on let’s get a cup of coffee.”

In the galley, they helped themselves to coffee and stale Oreo cookies.  The firefighters designated to grocery shop had forgotten the snacks for their shift.  Their unit got a call to respond to an emergency while they were shopping forcing them to drop everything and leave.

Orlando and Anthony sat on the mesh chairs outside of the firehouse.  Another scorcher was on tap and most of the calls the firehouse received were to turn off fire hydrants illegally turned on by residents looking to cool off the neighborhood kids.

“This weather has been crazy,” said Anthony flapping his t-shirt to cool himself.

“I wish it would rain.  My newly planted grass is dying,” he said putting the coffee on the table.  It was too hot outside to drink it.

“It’s going to murder on you running those 42 flights if the weather doesn’t ease.”

“Nah, I got that under control.  I have to break a ten-minute record.  I think I can do it in eight minutes or less.”

Anthony eyed him with a chuckle.  “Man, you ain’t twenty anymore.”

“I have a thousand dollar check challenging me,” he said wiggling his eyebrows.

“How are the supermen of station 30?”  A voice said coming from around the building.

Orlando bit his lip to keep from cursing when he saw Maggie’s familiar swag lumbering in the direction he and Anthony were sitting.

Dammit, just what I need to end my day!
  Here was the last place he expected Maggie to show her face.  She hated the firehouse and never visited when they were together.  Orlando scowled.  “What are you doing here, Maggie?”

She produced a covered Tupperware dish handing it to him.  “I baked chocolate chip cookies and decided to bring some for your crew.”

Anthony had already unseated himself and was halfway inside the bay when Orlando spotted him.  “Where are you going?”

“Man, it’s too hot for drama.  I’ll catch you later,” he said disappearing inside the firehouse.

Maggie pouted her lips.  “He’s still as immature as ever.  Are you going to take the cookies or wait for my arm to fall off?”

Orlando turned away walking inside the firehouse straight to his quarters.  Maggie fell in step following him.  “Orlando, these are a peace offering,” she said closing the door for privacy.

“Do I have a reason to make peace with you, Maggie?”  Where was a triple-three alarm when he needed one?  Let him decide to shower or use the bathroom an alarm went off without fail.

“Yes.  We have been at each other’s throats for too long.  We should try to be civil if not friends.”

He chuckled.  “Good God, you must be suffering from heat stroke or something.  We will never be friends.”

“Why can’t bygones be bygones, Orlando?  What happened to us is in the past.  I want to start over and remove the animosity between us.”

“Why?  What do you have to gain from us being friends?”

“Orlando, I would have a peace of mind and maybe your forgiveness.”

“What you did is unforgivable,” he said shoving his hands in the pockets of the dark blue uniform pants.

“Orlando, I was losing you.  I couldn’t let that happen.”

“We weren’t in an exclusive relationship, Maggie.  We both agreed to keep it that way because you were on a break from the other guy you were involved with, and I wasn’t looking for a steady relationship with all I had going on at work.”

“I know that and I had a hard time dating other men because I had fallen in love with you.  Baby, fate brought us back together,” she said running her hand up his chest.  “I miss the feel of your body on mine.”

He snatched her hand from his chest.  “Maggie, just tell me what you want so we can end this for good.  Hell, it’s been two years already, and I’m tired of talking to you.”

“I want you back,” she said bluntly and with a hint of truth in her eyes.  “I know I did a dreadful thing, but I have always loved you.  You have to believe me when I say that.”

Orlando played the field back in the day and that is how he met Maggie Denton.  Maggie at one time was a fun and attractive woman.  He found her sexual appetite irresistible.  Her luscious curves and soft dark skin hypnotized him.  Their arrangement consisted of satisfying each other physically, but nothing else since he wasn’t looking for a relationship and she had set her standards higher than settling for a blue-collar man.