said. “Grab it.”
“Take back what you said about a father-figure, douchebag,” I said as I stared down at him.
“What the fuck, dude! My arms are going to collapse.”
“Take back what you said!”
“I take it back. I take it back!”
I grabbed the barbell and put it up. Nathan sat up, trying to catch his breath as he slowly shook his head at me.
“You wait, bro. You wait.” He pointed his finger at me. “And you.” He pointed at Elijah, who stood there with a smirk on his face. “You were just going to let me get hurt?”
“Hey, this is between you and him. I’m staying out of it.”
We finished up our workout and left the gym.
“Are you working today?” Elijah asked me.
“Yeah. I need to be there in a couple hours.”
“Maybe I’ll swing by later and we can have lunch,” he said as he placed his hand on my back.
“Sure. Sounds good.”
By the time I got home, Sara had already left for work. I wouldn’t be seeing her for the next couple of days, which was good. It would give us both time to cool down. After I showered, I repacked my bag and headed to the fire station.
I had just gotten back from a rescue and headed to my office to do some paperwork when Elijah came in.
“Do you have time to have lunch with your brother?” he asked as he stood in the doorway holding up a plastic bag.
“Hey, bro.” I smiled as I got up and gave him a bro handshake. “Yeah. I’m starving. What did you bring?” I asked as we walked to the kitchen.
“Subs from that deli you love by the office.”
“Shit. Tell me you got me the Dagwood?”
“Of course.” He smiled as he took it out of the bag.
“You’re the best, bro.”
Walking over to the refrigerator, I grabbed a couple bottles of water and set them down on the table.
“Tell me about this guy friend of yours.”
“Is that why you wanted to have lunch?” I asked as I bit into my sub.
“No. It’s been a while since just the two of us talked.”
“Elijah, he’s just a guy. I don’t know why everyone is making a big fucking deal about it.”
“Who is everyone besides Nathan?”
“Sara for one. We got into a fight last night.”
“Over Jack?”
“Yeah. I asked her what she thought about him, and she said something is up with him. It was as if she doesn’t trust him.”
“So you got into a fight over her opinion?” His brow arched.
“Yeah. Because she shouldn’t judge people she doesn’t know. She only talked to him for a couple of hours and she already made her decision about him.”
“Let me ask you something. Why do you care so much what Sara thinks about him? Is something going on between the two of you that you haven’t told us about?”
Shit. If I lied to him, he’d know. He always knew when people were lying. It was the lawyer in him.
“We have an arrangement.”
“What kind of arrangement?” His eye narrowed.
“Friends with benefits type of arrangement.”
“You two are still sleeping together?”
“Yeah.”
“That explains why you haven’t been forthcoming with your one-night stands like you usually are.” He smirked. “So how is it working out?”
“Great. She’s just as horny as I am all the time. We have rules.”
He sat across from me and slowly shook his head.
“You two and your rules. Anything else about her I should know about?” A smirk crossed his lips.
“If you’re looking to get the answer that I’m madly in love and can’t live without her, the answer is no. That is yours and Nathan’s weakness, not mine. No offense. Don’t get me wrong, I love Aspen and Allison to death, but you know where I stand as far as relationships are concerned.”
“But you let some random stranger cause an argument between the two of you. If you didn’t care about her, you wouldn’t care what she thinks. Just saying.” He brought the bottle of water up to his lips.
“It’s the principle of the matter. He gave her no reason at all for her to feel the way she does.”
“I will admit, I am concerned how you took to this guy so quickly.”
“Come on, Elijah. Fuck.”
Suddenly, the alarm went off, and a call came through about a shopping plaza fire.
“I have to go, bro. Duty calls,” I spoke as I quickly got up.
Chapter 27
Sara
I loved my job, and I loved being a doctor, but I didn’t feel complete or satisfied. There was a need deep down in my soul. A