"What's shakin' bacon?"
"Hey, Maggie," Alisha smiled into the phone. "Listen, I have a favor."
"Sure, what's up?"
"My building's on fire and I don't know how bad it is or when—if—I'll be able to go home." The thought of losing her home and all of her belongings finally sank in and voice grew tight with tears.
"Oh, my God! Are you okay? I mean, you're physically okay, aren't you?"
She decided not to fill in her best friend about her act of bravery just yet. "Yes, I'm fine. I just need a place to stay—maybe borrow some clothes."
"Of course. I was on my way to meet Russell for a drink. I'll get him, and we'll come get you."
"You don't have to do that I can just—"
"We're on our way. Don't argue!"
Alisha pulled the phone away from her ear once Maggie had clicked off and shoved it back in her pocket. Leaning back against the gurney, she watched as the crew of men worked quickly and efficiently to douse the flames that threatened to destroy her home.
Big and James exited the building, the fire having been extinguished, and began rolling up the hoses. James watched his friend, who'd had a scowl on his face the entire day, only now it seemed even more intense. "Big, seriously—what is your deal today?"
"Nothing," he grumbled.
James shook his head. "I've known you since we were eight. I'm not really buying that sorry excuse, dude."
He shot his friend a look that clearly stated he didn't want to talk about it, and James backed off.
"So—the venue for our gig tomorrow night is supposed to draw a lot of cougars."
Big smirked at James. "Shut up, asshole," he said with a laugh, throwing his gear back onto the rig. He saw Jones and Bart out of the corner of his eye and that made him wonder about the brunette he'd forced from his mind earlier. He'd been a real asshole to her and while she'd acted stupidly, she hadn't really deserved that. She'd made an easy target though. He decided after all of the gear was packed up, he'd go and check on her—and that was only because he'd been unusually dickish—it had absolutely nothing to do with her looks. Nothing whatsoever.
"Alisha!" Maggie called.
Alisha turned at the sound of her friend's voice and smiled, relieved to see her two best friends rushing towards her. She took off the oxygen mask and hopped off the gurney, only to be engulfed by two sets of arms.
"You said you weren't hurt," Maggie admonished. "Why are you on oxygen and why is your hand bandaged?"
"I'm fine, really," Alisha insisted, tucking her hair back behind her ears. Maggie leveled her with an arched eyebrow and Russell with his crossed arms and no-nonsense look. "Mrs. Weigel's cat was still in the apartment and she was so sad about it—"
"Oh, Delicious—you didn't!" Russell scolded.
Alisha's cheeks reddened. "I'm fine, I promise. I got Swabby, a fireman carried me out, no harm, no foul."
"A fireman had to carry you out?" Maggie asked, incredulous. "Alisha!"
"Was he hot?" Russell inquired, only to get an elbow to the ribs from Maggie and a withering look from Alisha. "What?"
"I didn't need to be carried out, he was pissed off that I was searching for the cat and not leaving the building, so he—carried me out by force, I suppose."
"Why do these things never happen to me?" Russell wondered.
"Because unlike Alisha, you have the sense to not run back into a burning building," Maggie remarked. "You're an idiot, Alisha Larrington! You could've been killed."
"I know, I know," she sighed, resigned. "But I promise, I'm fine. Aren't I, boys?" she asked the two paramedics.
Jones and Bart exchanged amused glances. "Yeah, she's fine," Jones said. "Talks a lot though, this one."
Maggie and Russell chuckled. "That she does," Russell agreed.
"Am I free to go?" Alisha asked.
"Yep," Bart said. "Just sign this accident report and you're good to go."
Alisha scrawled her name on the bottom line and smiled at the two men. "Thanks for taking such great care of me—even if I didn't really need it."
"All in a day's work, lady," Jones smirked.
"Let's go," Alisha said, turning back to her friends.
"If you think that you've already gotten the lecture, you're sorely mistaken," Maggie said, wrapping an arm around Alisha's shoulders.
Alisha sighed, both grateful and slightly annoyed to have such amazing friends.
Once Big and James and the rest of the crew had all of their gear stowed away, Big made his way over to the ambulance. He spotted Jones and Bart, but didn't see any sign of the brunette from earlier. The pang of disappointment he felt was quick and shocking, and much like the flip from earlier, he didn't care one iota for it. "Hey," he called to the paramedics.
"Hey, Big," Bart said, packing up medical supplies.
"Sup, man?" Jones greeted. "Looking for the girl you rescued?"
"Nope," he lied.
"Well, she's fine. Her friends just came by to get her."
"Whatever. Hopefully they take her and get her head checked out. That girl is a moron," he said gruffly, and walked away.
Chapter 2
A few days later, Alisha had gotten fully settled into the guest bedroom of Maggie's luxurious apartment (sometimes it paid to have a best friend with a trust fund). The lectures, though well deserved, had finally died down, somehow morphing into jokes at her expense. "Russell, if your building is on fire and you have to choose between your Prada shoes or your Armani suit, which do you take? Neither. Get your ass out and send Alisha back for both." She loved her best friends, and she had acted stupidly, so the jokes would be tolerated. For now.
Alisha knew she was a lot more fortunate than others in her building with a free place to stay until their building was repaired. She was extremely thankful that the fire department had gotten
