2. Nicholas

2

Parker was already on his second whiskey sour.

He looked absolutely miserable, his overall demeanor radiating defeat. It was throwing me off, how disturbed he seemed over something that couldn't have possibly been his fault, like someone was expecting him to see the future when it came to the weather, to predict when trees would be hit by lightning.

Besides, why would a tourist care so much about his cabin being on fire?

I assumed he would've been happy just to still be alive.

"You doing okay over there?" I asked, watching him sip away at his drink. "Still kind of recovering from the shock?"

"Yeah. I'm just…" Parker waved a hand, like he was waving away my concern. "I'm fine. It's just a lot."

"Whoever rented you the cabin isn't going to hold you liable," I replied, trying my best to give him some hope about the situation. "These cabins are always insured for accidents like that. You wouldn't be the first victim of a dry tree hitting a dry cabin."

"Yeah. I know."

"Sorry. I just thought that you were maybe concerned about the money aspect," I explained with a small shrug. "Sometimes, tourists don't always know the ins and outs of cabin rentals?—"

"I'm not a tourist." Parker seemed to wince at the word. "I mean, I'm not from a different state or anything."

"Oh. Sorry, again, Mr. Evans."

"You're going to sorry me to death, Nicholas." Parker offered me a half-smile. "And please. Stop calling me Mr. Evans. My name is Parker."

"Parker. Right," I nodded, before I went on, "So, Parker. If you're not a tourist… what brings you out here?"

"Mostly being an idiot? I think?" Parker lightly chuckled. "I came out here because I wanted to try something different, hence the dry cabin. I've been camping before. Hell, I thought I'd roughed it before, really. But this was supposed to be a new challenge. Something different that would've really pushed me past my limits."

Parker's gaze turned toward another wall in the room. "But instead… nature had other plans for me. Plans that included my cabin burning down and me going home with my tail between my legs."

"Better that than being burned alive."

"Oh, you'd be surprised." Parker let out a lifeless laugh. "When I have to explain what happened tonight, it's going to feel like I'm being burned alive, regardless."

"But it wasn't your fault," I pressed. "You didn't do anything wrong, Parker."

"Sure. Of course." Parker seemed to smirk at the suggestion. He then snapped before playfully pointing over toward me. "Anyway, enough about me. What's your deal, Nicholas?"

"My deal?"

"Do you have a habit of saving people from fires and then taking them to bars?" He smirked again. "Or did you just take pity on me because I seemed extra sad about the whole almost dying thing?"

"I'm actually not big on people," I quietly admitted. "I usually keep to myself. I don't know. Most people aren't interesting."

"So, you're saying I'm interesting?"

"I'm saying that not much happens in this town," I corrected, with a small grin. "You're the most interesting thing that's happened here in a while, Parker Evans."

"I'm going to choose to take that as a compliment." Parker casually knocked his shot glass against my own. "But if you're not big on people, doesn't that mean I'll need to figure out a motel situation or something for tonight? I wouldn't want to invade your space or whatever. I know how introverts get about guarding their dragon dens."

"Who said anything about me being an introvert?"

"You did. When you said you're not big on people." Parker flashed a smile. "Or is there another word for that these days?"

"Well, either way, there's no use trying to get a motel tonight," I replied. "Places around here don't really do 24 hour check-ins. You'd either be standing out in the cold all night or trying to wake someone up out of their REM cycle. Both are bad news. You might as well just stay put for now."

"Really? You'd let me stay at your place?"

"As long as you're not an axe murderer, sure. Or an asshole."

"The first one, definitely not. The second one… well, there's been some debate," Parker joked, as he sipped his drink.

"Un-huh. We can figure out what to do with you in the morning," I joked back. "Seriously, though. We can go to the cabin tomorrow morning. I can tell my guys to leave it as is, if you prefer, so you can look through your stuff, pick out whatever's left."

"Wait. You're saying it's not all burned up?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." I shrugged. "Fires are their own kind of mystery?—"

"Get off me, Kirk! I'm not going home with you tonight!"

Our conversation was interrupted by a woman's voice rising throughout the room. I looked over and spotted her near the other end of the bar, her back leaning against the wood, her tank top featuring the logo of the bar itself across it.

Sadie.

I'd seen her around before, usually on the other side, offering up drinks and conversation as a bartender.

But since she was standing on the customer side, she must've been off the clock.

And then, there was the matter of Kirk. I was much less familiar with him, maybe seeing him hanging around the bar a few times here and there. He looked like he might've played football in high school, his build imposing like a linebacker. He was an out-of-towner who, judging by the current situation unfolding in front of me, may have only been coming into town to see Sadie.

"Don't be like that, Sadie," Kirk started, his words slurred. He was inching closer to her, almost crowding her against the bar. "You know that she meant nothing to me. I would never do anything to hurt you?—"

"Too late. You already did." Sadie let out a bitter laugh as she spoke. "Now, get the hell out of here."

"Make me!" Kirk barked back. "You're always pulling this! Acting like you're in control of everything?—"

"I think the lady told you to get the hell out of here." Suddenly, Parker was standing in front of Kirk, tapping him on the shoulder. "Which means, it's time for you to get the hell out of here."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Kirk turned around to face him, before he threw another look over at Sadie. "Do you know him?"

"No—" Sadie started, her head shaking. "Kirk, stop?—"

"That's what this is about, isn't it? You don't care about me hooking up with some girl. You just want to hook up with other guys, like this asshole!"

"Of course, she wants to hook up with other guys! Look at how you're acting right now!" Parker said as he nodded toward her. "You're scaring her and you don't even care. You're scaring me, too, frankly, but that's okay. I know that people like you get off on scaring people because you're scared yourself. Scared that we're all going to see you for who you really are."

Parker took a step closer to Kirk, closing the distance between them. "And who you are is the exact kind of slimeball who'd terrorize a woman half his size in public just so you can feel like a big man. Was it worth it? Do you finally feel like a big man?"

"You fucking piece of shit—" It was the last thing Kirk said before he drew back his fist, a punch headed straight in Parker's direction.

But before he had a chance to land the hit, I was there, my own palm covering his fist, stopping him right in his tracks.

"You don't want to start this fight, Kirk," I said, my voice calm. "You really should just go home."

"Or what? You're going to kick my ass?" He scoffed.

"Why? Do you really think I can?" I asked, faux innocence in my tone. Kirk and I both knew that I could've easily taken him, unless he was in complete denial. It wasn't something I was into, using my physical presence to intimidate people, but with guys who were acting like Kirk, all bets were off. I was happy to intimidate him if it kept him away from this bar, especially if it kept Sadie safe, too.

"Fuck you, dude." Kirk backed away from me before he shot a final look over at Sadie. "And fuck you, too, Sadie. I'm glad we're through. I can do a lot better, anyway."

Kirk finally walked out of the bar, an annoyed look on his face, just as Sadie wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. "Thanks for that, Nicholas. Things looked like they were about to get bad."

She then moved toward Parker, pulling him into a tight hug, too. "And thank you, too, you perfect stranger."

"No problem. I have a pretty bad allergy to guys like that. If I don't say something to them, it really agitates my sinuses," Parker replied, with a bright smile.

"Do you need a ride home?" I asked Sadie, my hands resting on my hips. "Because Parker and I were just about to head out, anyway?—"

"I'll be okay." Sadie offered me a small smile. "Thanks for the offer, though. And don't worry about closing out your tab. I'll make sure to tell my manager that your drinks are on the house tonight."

"Ah, the perks of being nice people." Parker chuckled. "Free drinks are the best reason to do anything good, really."

"Come on. Let's go before they rescind the offer," I joked, nudging Parker toward the exit and out into the parking lot.

Blood. Blood running down my shirt.

Specks of blood on my shoes.

My knuckles reverberating with pain.

Pain. Pain. Pain.

Memories playing out behind my eyes, my hands slightly shaking as I gripped the wheel. It was like all the pent-up adrenaline from the fight that didn't happen back at the bar was finally coursing through me, and it was hitting me like a ton of bricks. I hadn't been in a fight in years, on purpose, not since?—

Not since something I didn't want to really ever think about again.

"Hey. You okay?" Parker quirked an eyebrow as he looked over at me from the passenger seat of the car. "You look like you were thinking about something heavy."

"Just thinking about what happened back there," I started as I turned a corner. "Or I guess what didn't happen."

"Yeah. Sorry about that," Parker murmured. "I could've gotten us in some real trouble with the whole running my mouth thing. I just… I don't know. I don't like guys like that thinking no one's ever going to stand up to them. I feel like if we don't push back, this whole world's just going to be overrun by bullies."

"You don't need to apologize to me about that." I shook my head as I spoke. "I know a thing or two about standing up to assholes."

I winced as another memory flashed behind my eyes.

I knew about standing up to assholes all too fucking well.

"I would've had your back, you know," Parker went on. "If it had turned into a real fight."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Definitely." He smirked. "Even if you don't seem like the kind of guy who needs help in a fight."

"I'll keep that in mind for next time."

"Yep, the next time you're on the verge of a bar fight, just give me a call—Watch out!"

Before I knew it, Parker's hands were on the wheel of my car, steering it in a different direction. I looked out the front window, my eyes momentarily locking on two large deer, who were staring right back at me. If I'd kept going the same way I'd been going, there would've been a collision for the ages, the kind that ended in a bloody disaster.

A few seconds later, and I'd regained control of the car, pressing down hard on the brake. We'd pulled over to the side of the road, both our chests heaving like we'd just run a 10K in record time.

"Thanks… for that." I was the first to speak as I spared a look over at Parker. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he replied, still taking hurried breaths. "Shit. We could've been roadkill."

Just then, something playful warmed behind Parker's expression. "Wait. Oh, my God. Does this mean that we're even?"

"Even?"

"You saved my life and then I saved yours?" Parker's eyes lit up as he spoke. "Does this mean I get to be an honorary firefighter now? Can you get me one of those sexy suits?"

"That's absolutely not how that works." I couldn't help but laugh, which felt so strange, knowing that we could've been involved in a tragedy only a few seconds ago, and yet, the joyful sound still escaped my throat. "And I don't know if I would go so far as to call the suits sexy."

"They make firefighter calendars for a reason, Nicholas," Parker replied. "You're telling me no one's ever asked you to be Mr. January before?"

"Nope. Or at least, not that I know of."

"Come on!" Parker scoffed. "You're so hot?—"

Parker suddenly held a hand up in front of his face, like he was motioning for something to stop.

"Ignore that. Ignore me. All that whiskey and the whole near-death experience thing?" He sank into the passenger seat. "Maybe we should just get back to your place so I can pass out."

"Yeah. Of course. Sure thing," I said, already pulling back onto the road.

You're so hot.

The words had been playing on repeat in the back of my head as I drove us down the road. They didn't stop when I pulled up to my home, somehow seeming to get even louder as I put the car in park and headed toward the front door. For some reason I couldn't explain I wanted to know more about what Parker thought of me, specifically if he was speaking in general about finding me attractive or if he meant it personally?—

Wait.

Why the hell did I care?

It wasn't like Parker was the first person I'd saved from a fire who suddenly thought I was attractive. There'd even been people passing through town who just happened to spot me at the fire station and tried to flirt with me right then and there. I'd always chalked it up to people being infatuated with the badge more than anything else, fantasies of buff firefighters sliding down poles messing with their heads.

Still, I'd been careful not to entertain them or turn into one of those fantasies myself. While I'd had my share of experience in the bedroom, I'd learned enough about relationships to know that they didn't last too long if I happened to be on the other side of one. Because while people may like the idea of being with a firefighter, no one had been able to fall in love with my schedule, or the dedication I had to spending time at the station and staying on guard during the dry season. I didn't mind it so much, though, being alone in the romance department. It wasn't like I was lacking companionship or lacking for ways to stay busy.

I wasn't a lone wolf by nature, but things sure seemed to be working out that way.

Which was why Parker's comment sticking to my brain like glue was confusing the hell out of me.

Why did I care?

I watched Parker as he came into the house behind me, already headed back to my bedroom. I couldn't deny that he was gorgeous, with the kind of wind-swept hair and sun-kissed skin that only existed in magazines with world-famous models on the cover. But his kind of beautiful was still somehow down-to-earth, like the boy next door who doesn't know that they could be on magazine covers to begin with.

It was an easy kind of beautiful, natural.

The kind of beautiful that a part of me wanted to reach out and touch?—

"Where are you going to sleep?"

"What?" Parker's question knocked me right back down to reality, thoughts of magazine covers and reaching out to touch him quickly disappearing. "What do you mean?"

"There's only one bed in this place, right?" Parker asked. "I didn't realize that when I was first here. Probably because I was recovering from all that smoke being in my lungs."

"Oh. Right." I casually crossed my arms against my chest. "Don't worry about it. I can just sleep on the couch."

"No. You won't." Parker let out a laugh. "As in, you literally won't. If you're talking about the couch in the living room, it's way too small for you, Nicholas. Just take your bed?—"

"Or we could just share the bed? Head to feet?" I suggested. "We could stay spaced out, too. Opposite ends."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure." I offered him a small smile. "This kind of thing happens sometimes down at the station, too many bodies, not enough beds. But I think we can make it through the ordeal since we'll both be adults about it. It doesn't have to be a big deal."

"No big deal. Got it." Parker winked before he headed back down the hall, even though there was something hesitant in his tone. "We'll both just be adults about it."