Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Caleb

Scotty was not as enthusiastic about meeting the other football players as I'd hoped, grumbling the whole walk over to Eric's place about how he didn't need me to coordinate his social life.

"Come on. Stop looking like I'm taking you to a math test." I ordered as he lagged behind. It took all my self-restraint not to snap that at least he had the hope of a social life. My own was likely in the deep freeze for the next year.

Talking to Tony earlier had helped some. Not to mention the moment I'd been sure he was going to touch me, possibly more than touch. My abs tensed at the memory. Probably a product of my overactive imagination. Regardless, finding someone who had been in a similar situation had been nice, even if he thought I was being a martyr and putting too much responsibility on myself.

However, what he didn't understand was that Scotty likely wouldn't be in this situation if I had been around more, less concerned with going out with friends in my late teens and early twenties, less into building my career, and more involved in his life. I owed him and Mom my best effort to save Scotty from himself.

Resolved, I marched toward the sound of young voices in the backyard of Eric's large yellow Victorian. John and two other teens were engaged in a shoving match with much laughter. Meanwhile, Sean and Denver lounged in wooden Adirondack chairs in front of the small carriage house. On the deck of the main house, Tony sprawled on a metal chaise, looking as lickable as ever and giving me all sorts of thoughts about what two could get up to on that chair. It was a cozy, friendly scene, one I hoped would lessen Scotty's scowl.

"Hey, Caleb." Tony waved as we approached the deck. Did his gaze linger? Was his smile that much wider? I couldn't tell before he motioned at Scotty. "And you must be Scotty. Let me introduce you around."

Tony hefted himself off the chaise and came down into the yard to introduce Scotty to John, whom I knew, Tony's nephew, Cosmo, who had Tony's height and a tackle's build, and Cosmo's friend, Elliot, a linebacker, who looked closer to thirty than seventeen, complete with beard.

"Are you going to play?" John asked Tony.

"Nah. That's why I recruited others for you." Tony gave a dismissive gesture as he headed back toward his chaise. "I'm going to chill on the deck with Caleb."

Of course, no one asked me whether I wanted to play. My reputation must have preceded me. But in addition to not wanting to play, I also didn't want to embarrass Scotty, so I didn't volunteer. Besides, the chance to talk more with Tony was only too tempting. I took an empty deck chair near Tony, trying to look more relaxed than I felt.

However, rather than chat, Tony watched quietly as the boys started throwing the football around and practicing moves. Scotty moved fluidly, running and throwing, and it didn't take long before he was laughing with the others and directing their actions.

"Your brother's a born quarterback." Tony's tone was more than a little wistful, and he flexed his hand against his side.

"It's okay if you want to play with the kids." I pointed out at the yard. "I don't need entertaining."

"No, I need to skip the roughhousing." Tony groaned and stretched his right arm overhead. "My shoulder's been acting up, and I've got the fire academy PT test looming."

"Shoulder pain is no fun, but I'm sure you'll do fine on the test. You're definitely in good shape." Crap. Did that sound like I'd been checking out more than his fitness level? I hurriedly added, "I bet you were good at football in high school."

"I was." Tony's voice took on a faraway tone. "Had a Division One scholarship lined up, offer letter ready to be signed. I was going to be the first football player from Mount Hope to play Division One college ball. We were actually good that year. Our single season of glory."

"What happened?" I kept my voice low, hoping to keep him talking.

"Tale as old as time." Tony laughed bitterly. "Took a hard hit in the last game of the regular season. I was distracted because of family shit, not enough sleep, didn't have my usual reflexes. Not that excuses matter." He gave a wave of his hand before adjusting the pillows on the chaise. "I landed awkwardly, broke my shoulder, and did a number on some ligaments. Recovery was long and painful, made worse by a lack of decent health insurance. The scholarship offer evaporated, and I ended up at the community college here in town."

"That's how you met Sean and Eric?"

"Yep. I was tired of butting heads with my old man, so moving into an apartment with my friends felt like a great option. I was still close enough to keep an eye on my sisters. However, I wasn't earning enough to help the family and make rent, so when the army came calling, it seemed like the better bet than continuing with EMT and firefighter training."

"I'm sorry." My heart ached for his younger self, the dreams he'd had to leave behind.

"Don't be." Tony pursed his perfect lips, full eyebrows furrowing, the most attractive dismissal of sympathy I'd ever witnessed. "Serving in the Rangers was the best thing that ever happened to me. And hey, now I get a do-over on the fire academy."

"Good for you. Second chances and all that."

"Yep." Tony abruptly stood up. "You want a beer or something?" He glanced down at me, but before I could reply, he called out to the others in the yard. "Hey, who wants some soda or water?"

Not surprisingly, all four of the teens requested drinks, along with nods from Denver and Sean across the yard.

"If you're going in anyway," Sean called, stretching lazily in his chair. "We'll take some of that local root beer. I got a case on the last shopping run but forgot to bring some bottles over here."

"I'll help you carry drinks," I offered, standing and following Tony into the kitchen before he could tell me not to bother. The kitchen was a bright room with white cabinets and a large island. Tony headed for the double fridge and started placing soda bottles on the counter.

"Beer?" He held up a bottle from a local brewery known for its pale ale. "Something else?"

"Beer is great." I accepted the bottle. As I removed the cap with the nearby bottle opener, I tried to catch his gaze. "I'm sorry if I made you think about unhappy memories."

"You didn't." Tony let out a rough exhale. "Or rather, you did, but it's okay. They're not all crappy memories. And I'm forty- two. Way past when I should be pining for high school glory days."

"At least you had glory days." I saluted him with my beer.

"That bad, eh?"

"You could say that." I groaned, not particularly wanting to revisit my own past, but he'd already shared. "I was a chubby, geeky kid with a talent for saying the wrong thing and being too eager to be included. Bullying was a daily thing through most of middle and high school. The curse of being an extroverted nerd. "

"You're sure not nerdy now. Or chubby." For the first time, Tony looked at me. Like looked, an appreciative once-over that was the last thing I'd expected from him.

"Thanks." My face heated. Damn, I liked his notice so much more than was wise.

"What changed for you?" Tony asked as he filled plastic cups with water from the fridge dispenser.

"Losing my dad partway through high school." I kept my voice flat, the same way Tony had when reporting his career-ending injuries and bad home life. "My dad was a firefighter and died on the job in a bad warehouse fire in North Portland."

"I'm so sorry." Tony set aside the last water cup, stepping closer and placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I'd never really given much thought to what I'd do after school. I only wanted to survive high school." My words sprung out too quickly, Tony's palm searing my skin and jumbling my brain. Maybe if I kept talking, though, he wouldn't pull away. "After he passed, Dad's two best friends started taking me to work out, like a mentor thing. Funny thing, the more I worked out, the less teasing I had to endure. And there was this scholarship fund the station started for us. I wanted to prove I could do the fire academy and make him and all his friends proud."

"Sounds like you did exactly that." Tony's tone was as warm and welcome as his touch. He stood far closer than a friendly distance, and damn if I didn't want to lose myself in his embrace rather than revisit old memories.

"Mostly. I got good grades in the fire program at a community college closer to Portland, but getting on with Portland Fire is notoriously hard. When the job in Mount Hope opened up, Dad's friends encouraged me to take it for the experience."

"So this is short-term for you?" Tony dropped his hand but didn't step away.

"Maybe at first. Not now. I've got to get Scotty through his senior year, and I genuinely like Mount Hope."

"That's good." Still much, much too close, he peered deeply into my eyes. His breath gusted across my cheek, but pulling away was the last thing on my mind. "Anyone ever tell you that you've got hypnotic eyes?"

"Never." At least I was honest, and he chuckled as he continued to stare.

"Well, you do." His voice was somewhere between pissed off and turned on. "And they've been torturing me all damn week."

"That so?" My voice came out all husky.

"Yeah." He returned his hand to my shoulder, squeezing gently. Nothing friendly or bro-like about this touch, and I leaned into it, testing. My memory of our conversation faded, and I couldn't recall what we'd been talking about ten seconds prior.

In fact, the whole world tunneled down to his brown eyes shooting laser beams at me. And he thought I was hypnotic? He exerted his own gravitational force field.

"You gonna do something about it?" I wasn't going to be the one to move away, but I darn sure was going to make him take the next step.

"This." And with that, he closed the minute gap left between us, muscled chest meeting mine, strong thigh wedging between mine, head dipping to capture my mouth in a kiss.

Kiss. My heart hammered, vision blurring and head swimming. Even through my disbelief, I met his incoming kiss eagerly. Brace for impact. His mouth was as solid as the rest of his rugged features, but his lips had an unexpected softness. And for all he'd sounded almost angry at me for having distracting eyes, his kiss was achingly gentle. The first pass of his mouth was tentative, but when I placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him even closer, he growled his approval and deepened the kiss.

More. More. More. The unspoken chant rang in my ears, my body clamoring for whatever Tony wanted to give me, hands hanging on tight for the ride. My stomach swooped like we were on a spinning amusement park ride. Had I really thought that first kiss was tentative? Unsure? Ha. There was nothing unsure about the way Tony kissed me now, tongue delving deep, mouth possessive, hands urgent on my back and shoulders.

My body surged, my back arching to get as close as possible. Our legs tangled, and hands grabbed, all gentleness long gone. All sense of space and time too. At least until a clattering sounded on the stairs up from the basement.

"Fuck." Tony jumped away from me, wiping his mouth and straightening his T-shirt and shorts, right before Jonas entered the kitchen, followed by a dog.

"Hey, Caleb. Oh, hey, we did get some of that root beer." For a big man, Jonas moved gracefully. He strolled over to the counter and helped himself to a soda. Too casually? I studied the guy's bland expression but didn't see any signs that he'd spotted Tony and me kissing. Soda in hand, Jonas wandered out to the deck, dog trailing behind.

"That didn't happen," Tony said sternly, as if he could will it so. I personally was never forgetting, but I nodded anyway.

"Understood." There was a pile of reasons we couldn't afford a repeat, starting with being coworkers, but hell if I didn't want more right that very minute. Tony might be able to wipe his memory, but I wasn't nearly so lucky.