Chapter 2

Aaron

I hold my coffee cup in front of my face to savor the aroma, hoping I can drown out my father droning on for one small moment. It’s not working. I can still hear him bitching about me wanting to be a paramedic and a hockey player. It’s all bullshit about split focus and which career will really make the most money. It’s taking all my effort not to roll my eyes.

“Dad, we’ve been through this a hundred times. I’m not quitting my paramedic job and I’m not gonna be satisfied by playing hockey alone.”

“You need to listen to me, Aaron.”

“You need to get over yourself, Dad.”

He shakes his head and goes back to his breakfast, the same one he always gets: Two pancakes, eggs over medium, bacon, sausage, and a bowl of cantaloupe. He never changes, never considers any views but his own. And his view is that I need to be playing hockey and giving up my passion.

“I don’t understand. You’re such a skilled player. Why do you need anything else?”

He drops his utensils on the plate and looks at me with eyes that are exactly like mine. The only thing we have in common.

“Because hockey isn’t everything to me. I love to play and I’m glad that I get to make money at it but it’s not my whole life. I’m passionate about helping others. I love being a paramedic. I save lives, help this community, and it feels good. What else is there to understand?”

He sighs and goes back to his breakfast. I’m not even hungry anymore. This isn’t the first time my father has invited me to a meal and sprung on me that he thinks I need to quit being a paramedic. I don’t know why I showed up again.

My phone goes off and it’s the app for the fire department. A woman collapsed at one of the shops on main street and they need assistance. I’m on call, so this is perfect.

“That’s a call, I have to go.”

“See? This is what I mean. I can’t have breakfast with you without this job getting in the way.”

“Dad, you knew I was on call when I agreed to come. This place is down the road, so it doesn’t matter that you picked me up. I’ll meet the ambulance on foot.”

I down the rest of my coffee and head out, my breakfast left half eaten. I look at my phone to double check the name of the place. It’s called Tiger’s Den? I’ve never heard of it but the map says it’s a quarter mile walk and I can hear the sirens headed toward me.

I step up to Tiger’s Den as the ambulance pulls up. A group of older women with picket signs are gathered around two other people. One seems to be a part of this group, on the ground and struggling against the younger woman trying to get up.

“Please, the paramedics are here. Let them help you before you try to get up again.”

Her voice is pleading but she’s not holding a sign. It doesn’t appear that she knows the older woman. She has raven black hair that cascades down her shoulders, stopping at the most perfect pair of breasts I’ve ever seen.

I have to shake myself out of it. There’s someone who needs my help here so no matter what the instant attraction is, I have to keep it at bay. I walk up to them.

“Hi, I’m Aaron, paramedic, can you tell me what happened here?”

The woman with the black hair stands up and I notice how tall she is, how her body curves while still looking athletic, how her lips are so beautifully plump. For a second, all I can think about is those lips on my dick.

“I’m Starla,” she says as I come back to reality. “These women have been protesting outside my shop and, after a heated argument, I came inside to call the police. She kept screaming at me and next thing I know, she’s collapsed.”

The woman is being loaded onto the gurney now and the other women start to converge on Starla. I look around to see if the police are here too and see a buddy of mine. I wave him down.

“Hey! Frankie! We need your help over here.”

He trots over and breaks up the crowd outside Tiger’s Den that’s trying to box in Starla.

Frankie turns to her. “I’m Officer Stanwick. You called us to help with crowd control, right?”

Starla glances at me over his shoulder. “Thank you for your help, Aaron. I think we have it from here.

I nod and head back to the ambulance while she talks to the police. I haven’t seen her around town before and this shop looks pretty new. Hopefully, she’s staying in town and this won’t be the last time I run into her.