Fake flame, p.5
Fake Flame, page 5
But Cait was sometimes too shrewd for her own good—or for his. “Ohhh. You acted like a big ol’ caveman, didn’t you? Did you beat your chest?”
“No, not really.” Dammit, his sister could still make him feel all of six years old and forty pounds, the once tiny kid who had attracted bullies like a magnet. “But I kinda jumped the gun on the whole fake dating thing because her ex showed up in her office all abusive and horrible and I told him to stop treating my girlfriend like that.”
The next few seconds contained something Sean had never heard from his sister: stunned silence.
* * *
“Okay, let’s do this.” The this in question was Eva’s summer seminar syllabus, but as much as she appreciated alliteration, she always dreaded this task. When she’d begun her second year of teaching it had seemed like it would be easy: copy last year’s, change the dates and the details, and hey, presto: new syllabus.
The reality was very different. First of all, she didn’t believe in teaching the same exact class year over year. That path led to stale class content and bored students. While the sprout of the new class always sprang from the seed planted the year before, she introduced different texts, which led to different questions, which led to different discussions. All of which made for a vibrant, fun semester, both for her and for her classes.
But man, it was a lot of work, requiring lots of passes over the document to make sure everything was just the way she wanted it. And also, she had to check the dates at least three times. Calendars seemed like they should be the easiest thing on the planet to wrangle. And yet, no. She needed to be aware of holidays—and not just the ones the university officially celebrated—she wanted every student in her class to know they were important: that their learning was something she was invested in, and that meant carving out ways of ensuring that some of her students weren’t caught out because their religious practice had a celebration or holiday service.
In the end, it was worth it. But in the beginning, it always looked like an impossibly steep mountain to climb. “Journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step,” she muttered to herself as she opened a new Word document and copied and pasted the basics—her contact information, her office location and the rest of the minor details that thankfully didn’t alter year over year.
Just as she was considering her digital calendar and starting to create a structured outline, her phone rang. She sighed when she saw it was her mother on the other end. “Hi, Mom,” she said.
“Hi, honey. Your father checked your academic calendar and it says that classes have been done for over two weeks. Why haven’t you contacted us about coming down for a nice, long visit?”
Eva suppressed a shudder. “Well, I was grading and that takes a lot of time. And now I’m preparing to teach a summer seminar.”
She must have been on speaker, because her father’s voice boomed out, “What’s the use of having an academic job if you don’t get summers off?”
“Hello to you, too, Dad.” She didn’t say that one of the major reasons why she always taught at least one class over the long break was so she didn’t have to go to Florida. In the summer. “I couldn’t come for a long visit anyway,” even if I wanted to, she didn’t add, “because it would be unfair to Timmy to leave him for that long.”
The dog, hearing his name, lifted his head from his paws and gave her what looked like an anxious look. Don’t worry, she mouthed at him, even though that was a ridiculous thing to do. He couldn’t possibly understand her. But he did put his chin back down and let out a sigh, his black-spotted sides heaving.
“I swear, you care more about that dog than you do your own family,” her mother fussed.
“No,” she said, drawing the syllable out in the hopes that speaking slowly would artificially grant her patience. She hated the way even the simplest conversations with her parents could stress her out, the way her mother especially would always put the worst construction on her words. “But I am responsible for him. And I take that responsibility seriously.”
“Don’t understand having pets,” her father grumbled. “It’s not like they’re good for anything.”
“Timmy is a comfort to me,” she said, her patience starting to fray the way it always did when dealing with her parents.
“Well, if you settled down with someone, maybe you could develop some healthier relationships with people,” her mother said in a voice that was supposed to be sweet and reasonable but was really just passive-aggressive.
“I am seeing someone,” Eva said. And for several long seconds, her parents had not a blessed thing to say back.
* * *
“So wait. You actually did the fake dating dance in front of the ex?” Caitlin was audibly suppressing giggles now.
“There was no dancing,” Sean said.
“You know what I mean. Like those dude birds who do the elaborate look at me thing in front of the lady birds. It’s as much a message to the other dude birds.”
“Not sure that’s entirely accurate, but whatever. I just told the guy I didn’t appreciate how he was talking to my girlfriend, and he said something about how I’m an over-muscled and under-brained guy and she wouldn’t stay with me long and stomped off.” He didn’t much care that Darren had called him names, but he hoped Eva hadn’t taken the other man’s words to heart.
“Some asshole called my little brother stupid?” Cait’s voice was practically a growl.
“Now who’s being a caveman?” Sean asked.
“Cavewoman. And it doesn’t have the same cultural significance, so—” His sister blew a raspberry. “Anyway, you’re the most annoyingly well-read person I’ve ever known who didn’t get a four-year degree. So it’s cool that she’s a pop-culture studies professor. Maybe she’ll even expand your reading beyond that one romance book.”
An idea started to take shape in his head. One that could connect them even further. “Yeah. Maybe I can get her to recommend some books to me.” The idea of them reading together on some cozy sofa popped into his brain and it warmed him straight through. He’d love that kind of domestic scene with Eva. Nothing big, just everyday closeness. Perfection.
“Don’t make it like a class, though. It’s shitty to expect people to do their job for you for free.”
“No class. Got it. I ain’t got no class anyway.”
“Ugh.”
“I can hear your eyes rolling, little sister.”
“Just because you grew up to be so big and buff doesn’t mean I can’t still take you out, annoying boy.”
“That’s annoying man to you. Oh, and I’m going to be teaching her self-defense. And Felix suggests maybe I offer that as a class for her students.”
“That’s not a half-bad idea. I knew I liked Felix.”
“Anyway, it seems like we might have the beginnings of a plan.” He loved the way this was shaping up, like a more complete picture than the bare sketch they’d had before.
“Just be careful, though.” Caitlin’s voice went all serious, unlike his usually irreverent sister.
“What do you mean?”
“I know you, you giant squishmallow. Underneath all that protective gear and heteronormative beefcake, you get hurt easily. And I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Sean infused his voice with all the overconfidence he didn’t feel. “No worries. I got this.”
* * *
Eva’s mother rebounded from her apparently stunned state. “You’re not going to try to work it out with Darren?”
Ugh. It figured that her parents would just love Darren. He was that kind of liar: very plausible to snobby parents. They considered her career as a pop-culture professor to be low class, whereas Darren could get her parents tickets to symphony concerts and operas, so his job was just dandy. It fit with their image of who she should be, which was a reflection of them. Doctor’s daughter, not a person in her own right.
“No, Mom. Darren lied to me.” She hadn’t talked directly about the cheating because Mom’s pearls had already been clutched way too dramatically from some of Eva’s more risqué utterances in the past. The damn necklace might just pop apart one of these days.
“Well, did he say he was sorry?”
Eva’s teeth met with an audible click. “Darren and I are finished, Mom. And I’m finished talking about him.” Are we done here? she wanted to ask. But knew better.
“Well, that’s too bad. We were looking forward to seeing him when we came up in a few weeks.”
“Wait—what?” Why had they harangued her about visiting if they were just going to fly up here?
“Yes, some of your father’s former colleagues at the hospital are having a little reunion weekend. It will be so much fun!”
Considering her father’s interventional cardiologist colleagues had been, to a man (yes, they were all men), boorish braggarts, Eva failed to see the fun side of things. No wonder her mother wanted her to still be with Darren. Her parents and their friends were in a constant state of what looked like all-out war to Eva but they probably considered it “friendly” competition. Who could claim the biggest bragging rights. And having a childless daughter who was still single in her forties with a career they didn’t think much of didn’t give them any ammunition.
“And of course, we’d like to have dinner with you. It’s too bad Nana’s house doesn’t have more room—we’d love to stay with you.” This was such a typical ploy, she almost didn’t register it. Her grandmother had left her the tiny two-bedroom house and Eva’d done the second, smaller bedroom up as her office. Even so, there was barely room for a futon in there, let alone the luxury king her father would demand.
“I’m sure you’ll be much more comfortable at the Marriott,” Eva said in what she hoped was a soothing tone.
Her mother sighed audibly. “Yes. I suppose you’re right.”
“Anyway, I have a lot of work to do. Send me the dates you’re going to be here and we’ll figure out an evening to have dinner.”
Her mother rang off without any more fuss—her dad had probably wandered off at some point, bored and at loose ends like he had been since he entered retirement. He was one of those retirees—someone who’d had an active and personally fulfilling career who hadn’t wanted to give it up. But tremors in his hands had ended all that, and her mother had always dreamed of retiring to Florida.
Eva couldn’t think of anything she’d enjoy less.
But at least they’d sold the giant house that had to be cleaned weekly by a small army—a ridiculous enough home for three people, but when she’d gone to college and moved out, it had become an absurdity. And by the time her parents moved, it was a positive albatross.
She glanced around her tiny office. If she’d chosen this little house instead of inheriting it, she might be accused of overcorrecting.
Her laptop’s inbox chimed and she saw her mother had already sent their travel plans, down to the flights in and out of Baltimore and a suggested date for dinner. She shook her head, remembering the guilt trip her folks had tried to lay on her at the outset of their conversation. It was practically Pavlovian: get Eva on the phone, try to get her to do something.
She tapped her chin and considered her phone, then picked it up. Having admitted she was “seeing” someone, it would be odd if she didn’t at least invite him to the family dinner. She tapped out a quick text with the information, feeling an odd squiggle of pleasure when she saw three bouncing dots immediately.
Seven
Sean could feel the ridiculously wide grin that split his face in two as he read Eva’s text. Dinner with her parents? Sure, why not?
Eva: They’ll be awful, fair warning.
Sean: Awful how? An awful lot like you? Because that’d be awfully adorable.
Eva: Cute. No, they’re snobs. Sorry to say. They don’t approve of my job.
Sean: They don’t approve of you being an actual tenured college professor?
Eva: Nope. Dad was a big-time doctor. Pop-culture studies? Heresy.
Sean: So no approving of firefighters with associate’s degrees, huh?
Eva: Afraid not. Going to say no, now that you have the whole picture?
Sean shook his head as if she could see him. Nope. I’m in. I don’t care what two strangers think of me. Sticks and stones, right?
Eva: Brave man.
Sean: I run *into* burning buildings for a living, remember?
Eva: Yeah, but you haven’t met my dad.
Sean: I look forward to it. Wanna come to a family thing with me later this month?
Eva: Absolutely. That way I won’t owe you the world’s hugest favor.
Sean: I’ll send you the details. We’re on for tonight, right? Project Get to Know You?
Eva: I’ll be there.
Sean: Good. Later, pretty lady.
Eva just sent a blushing emoji at that. Sean chuckled and set his phone down, picking up the novel Felix had lent him.
“Is the book that funny?” Thea said, entering the dayroom where Sean was stretched out on a sofa.
“It’s pretty funny in places, but I was laughing about something else,” Sean said, opening the book and willing nosey Thea to keep out of his business.
Too late. “Ohhh, is this about that lady from the callout the other week? Felix and I knew you were smitten with her. You love her, you want to date her, you want to kiss her...” Thea singsonged like Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality, a movie the firehouse had streamed a few weeks ago with a break in the middle to put out a small fire some jerk kids had set in the woods.
Come to think of it, Thea kind of resembled the movie character, at least in personality. Ambitious yet goofy, no “girly shit” as she would say. She also didn’t give a crap about appearances, and her relationship with her hairbrush was, well, casual.
“Careful, or I’ll start calling you Gracie Lou Freebush,” Sean warned, keeping his eyes resolutely on the page in the hopes she’d drop the whole thing.
“Might be worth it,” Thea mused, theatrically stroking her chin.
“Worth what?” Felix asked as he came into the room and offered Thea the bag of cheddar popcorn he carried with him.
Thea dug in and shoved some popcorn in her face, talking through her mouthful. “Being called a horrible nickname from a Sandra Bullock comedy if I get to tease Sean about his massive crush.”
“Careful there, Gracie Lou Freebush. You won’t be crowned Miss Manners if you talk with your mouth full.” Sean sometimes felt like he was hanging with his sisters when he verbally sparred with her. It was familiar. And a little disturbing sometimes. He had enough sisters, after all. As much as he was amused by Thea, he didn’t need another.
Thea stuck her butt out and made a fart noise, then left the room. “Maturity, thy name is Anthea Martinelli,” Felix muttered, shaking his head. But there was a smile lurking in his expression, too.
“Eh. She reminds me of Caitlin sometimes. It’s homey.” Sean made to open up his book again, but Felix cleared his throat in an overly theatrical way. “What’s up now?” he asked, looking up and putting a finger between the pages to mark his place.
“Did Thea say, massive crush? Because we knew you had an attraction to Eva, but this seems like it’s moving a little fast. Have you even seen her since she agreed to my wacky scheme?”
Sean should have been fine with this question. He had enough years of experience with nosy sisters, after all. But something about this coming from Felix made it different. There might be few secrets in the firehouse, but Felix seemed worried, which wasn’t normal. He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking about what to say about how he felt about Eva. Every short text communication they’d had since she gave him her number seemed to have a thrilling layer of flirtatiousness spread over the top. It was just so easy to be himself around her.
Felix pointed at him. “Uh-oh. That’s your tell, dude.”
Sean froze. “What is?”
“Whenever you are uncomfortable, you rub the back of your neck or your head or something.” Felix’s eyes had gone all troubled in a way he really didn’t like.
The alarm went off at that point and Sean got to his feet, dropping the book to the coffee table as he hustled to get geared up.
Saved by the bell. Literally.
* * *
Eva shifted on the tall bar stool and tried not to check her phone for what felt like the thirty-fourth time that evening. Sean had texted: a callout had run long and he had to shower and change before he could meet her.
He wouldn’t stand her up. He wouldn’t. She told herself that over and over.
But she also didn’t know him, and her glass of white wine had been as sweaty as she felt for about twenty minutes now, and the bartender was giving her a sort of pitying look she didn’t like. Then her eyes shifted over Eva’s shoulder and widened, a broad, flirty smile spreading over her face. “Hey, what can I getcha this evening?” she said, winking and tossing a cardboard coaster on the bar.
“Tap beer.” That voice. It just rumbled through her like a sonic boom, resonating in her chest and stomach and lower still.
“We have...” The bartender started rattling off selections as Eva turned and caught Sean’s eye. He raised a hand to the bartender and she trailed off.
He shot her the barest of apologetic looks and a grin. “Just whatever’s not too hoppy. I have to apologize to my best girl here first.” He picked up Eva’s hand and she thought he was about to kiss the back of it in an old-fashioned move. But no. He turned it over and pressed his lips—his soft lips—to the center of her palm. Sensation zinged through her and she shifted on the bar stool again, this time in involuntary reaction to...that.
