She was completely shocked by his assumption. And so turned off by his attitude she gained back her sanity.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but I’m not here to hook up with you. I’m here to take your food order.”
He snapped his head up and looked her over. When his deep blue eyes cascaded over her body, she could have sworn she felt it as if he touched her. She licked her lower lip and his eyes zeroed in on them.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, well, maybe some coffee might help clear your head?” she suggested, and he nodded. Serefina walked over to the coffee bar and Lester was there.
“Shit, Ace looks all pissed off. It must have been a bad night at work. He likes his coffee black with two sugars.” She nodded and made the coffee then brought it over to him. She placed it down and he leaned back in his chair.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yes, you said that. Are you ready to order?” she asked, and he raised his eyebrow at her attitude. Well, la di da. Not everyone had to swallow shit for a living.
He didn’t even glance at the menu, which told her he was familiar with it.
He rambled off his order and she wrote it down and then started to walk away when the other guys called her over.
“Serefina, have you gotten a chance to go to the bar the Station?” one of them asked. She shook her head.
“You have to come by. Think about meeting us there tomorrow night?” he asked and the guys were all staring at her. She had that funny feeling in her belly, but this one was for a different reason. She knew that a lot of guys were into ménage relationships around town. She saw some firsthand since arriving back, and it seemed more and more people were into it. She didn’t want these five guys to think she was interested. Her mind frame wasn’t even considering dating in general, never mind that type of relationship. She was doing her best to not think about other men, but since meeting that nice guy on the beach the other day, she couldn’t seem to forget him. Plus, this guy Ace, despite his piss-poor attitude, he reminded her of the guy from the beach.
“I don’t think so. I’m really not into hanging out at bars. Plus, I have plans with my friends.”
“Then bring them along. It’s a fun place. It’s not like other bars.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said, and the guys smiled and then asked for the bill.
She walked over to the computer and noticed the other guy, Ace, Lester called him, was watching her. He had overheard that entire conversation. If she had said yes to meeting those guys, he would probably think she was a fire buff and out to land a fireman. If he only knew. Why do I care what he thinks anyway? She shook her head and entered the order into the computer. A few minutes later she walked over to offer him more coffee.
“When did the owners hire you?” he asked her.
“Oh, just in the beginning of the week. Do you come here a lot?” she asked him. When he crossed his arms in front of his chest, she could see the tattoos more clearly, that were on his large biceps. The one on his right looked a lot like the one on the guy’s arm from the other morning. She glanced down at her ankle as if feeling a tinge of pain and a reminder of him. How silly.
“I thought they had plenty of staff.”
“They were in a bind. Some people didn’t show up. But it worked out okay. I’d better go check on your order.”
She walked away and couldn’t help but to glance back at him. When she saw that he watched her, it made her belly quiver. She shouldn’t be feeling this way. She shouldn’t be attracted to two different guys. What about Matt? Nine months, and so quickly I could forget about him and what could have been? She felt scared and nervous as she rubbed her hands together and grabbed the check for the guys. She walked it over and then headed back to the kitchen.
* * * *
Ace had never seen the young waitress before. If he had, he definitely would have remembered her. She was very attractive, and had grabbed the attention of a group of guys from Engine 10 across town. He kind of felt like a dick assuming she was a fire buff. He had insulted her and she was annoyed at him. That was obvious. He thought about his conversation with Ice and Bull. They were annoyed with him, too.
Since Marco’s death, he had been overly protective of them. He understood their frustration, but why couldn’t they understand his? It was how he handled the entire thing. The four of them were close, and they had grown up doing everything together and as a team.
They joined the service together, they served in war together, and they worked in the firehouse together. Losing Marco was like losing a major part of his life. Weren’t his brothers feeling it?
He wondered what he could do to make things right? If this kept up, his brothers were going to hate him. Where were the things that used to bring them closer? The little shared emotions and experiences, or reactions to something or someone? Why were they losing touch?
“Are you okay? Would you like some aspirin or something?”
He looked up to find the pretty, young waitress staring at him with concern. Maybe he was imagining things? Why would she feel concerned for him when he had been such a jerk? He ran his hands through his hair.
“Sorry, I’ve got a lot on my mind.” He leaned back as she smiled and then placed his platters of food down in front of him.
He stared at her.
“What’s your name?” he asked her.
“Serefina. And yours?” she asked.
“Ace.”
“Your call sign, huh?” she asked, placing her hand on her hip. The move caused her blouse to part a little more, revealing a delicate lace-trimmed tank top and a nice amount of cleavage. The petite little thing was built well.
“I guess we get so used to it.”
“Of course. Well if you need anything else, just let me know. I can get that aspirin if you like.”
“I’m good, although I might need some help eating all this food.” he glanced at the abundance of food in front of him.
“I guess the cook knows you. He definitely hooked you up with that burger. Looks incredible.” She walked away and he watched her, appreciating the shape of her ass, and the sweetness about her personality. It hit him all of a sudden. She was so not even his type. But then again, did he really have a type? It had been a year since he had been with anyone. Hell, he was pretty sure that was the same for Bull and Ice. He paused before he took his first bite of food. That was it. He found her attractive, and he immediately thought his brothers would, too. It was just like Marco said it would be. They would all meet the woman they could share, that they could further bond with, and she would ultimately lock them together.
He continued to watch her. He felt excited, kind of happy at the prospects of the epiphany. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt like this. He needed more information on her. He had to tell his brothers about her. Ace felt almost panicked. But then he realized she worked at their parents’ place, so finding her again was not going to be difficult. Now he had to find out if she had a boyfriend.
Hell, he felt jealous and sick all at once at the possibility. She couldn’t. He stared at her.
She could.
She was stunning, sweet, sexy, and classy. He could tell. Being in his thirties he was a good judge of character. Then he felt a bit unsure of himself. She looked to be early twenties if that. Oh shit, what if she wasn’t even twenty?
His cell phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. Glancing down, he smiled. It was Bull. Was it coincidence or what?
He answered the call.
* * * *
Bull had been worried about the argument Ice and Ace got into the other morning. Ice had been acting funny since the morning he showed up late to the house and then work. Of course Ace had covered for him with the chief, but it pissed Ace off. Especially since Ice didn’t explain why he was late. The three of them were drifting apart and he didn’t like the feelings he had. Then Ice told him that he was going down to the boardwalk instead of getting some rest.
When Bull asked him why he was sneaking around, it led to an argument about why he had been late the other day, and Ice confessed about meeting a young woman on the beach. He didn’t give great details but he was definitely interested in her. Bull didn’t know how he felt about that.
When Marco was alive, they had talked about finding one woman to share. One special person who could complete them. They had done everything together. After years in the service and going through some heavy situations in the war, they had suffered with trust issues and opening up to people. If they could, the four of them would be most content by themselves instead of having to pretend confidence and independence in the public eye. There was this special link, a bond between the four of them. Everything was perfect when they were together.
When Marco died, killed by the arsonist, it started tearing them apart. They were all on edge, all ready to break down. It was getting worse, and now that Ice seemed to be really distancing himself from them, he was worried. So he called Ace to tell him that Ice went looking for this woman down by the boardwalk and beach.
“Does he have his cell phone on him?” Ace asked, and he sounded funny. When Ace had answered Bull’s call, he sounded excited, and that didn’t sit right with Bull considering they left work pissed off at one another.