Brent rolled his eyes. “You stand in front of buildings and spray them with water from a hose,” he said flippantly. “Hardly sounds like the great and noble calling you make it out to be.”
“Do you know how many firefighters die every year in this country?” I demanded. “Do you know how many sustain terrible injuries doing what we do?”
“No, but I’m sure you’re about to lay the answer on me,” he said carelessly. “Please tell me, or I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
“Get the fuck out,” I said tiredly.
He started walking down the hallway, whistling as he went. “I’m just saying,” he said. “You used to be fun.”
I shut the door and took a deep breath. Brent could be a real ass when he wanted to be, but I knew that when I first met him and had decided to put up with it then. I felt as though it was too late now to turn back the clock. And I realized that I didn’t even want to…because of Megan. Brent had been my road to Megan, and that meant it was worth putting up with him every now and again.
That thought was what helped me make my decision. That thought was what sent me to my phone again. I called Megan, hoping she hadn’t already fallen asleep.
“Megan?” I said, the moment she answered.
“No, Stanley.” She laughed. “Of course, it’s me. What’s up? I didn’t expect to hear from you again tonight.”
“I need to ask you a question,” I said, coming out with it before I could change my mind again.
“Wow…must be important if you’re calling me again just to ask it.”
“I’ll let you be the judge of that,” I said.
“Okay…what’s your question?” she asked curiously.
“Will you go out with me?”
There was a long pause on the other line. “What?” she said at last.
“Will you go out with me?” I repeated again, but this time more slowly.
“Uh… I’m a little confused,” Megan said. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
“I am.”
“But you said you didn’t have room in your life for a relationship.”
“I’ll make room,” I said, with sudden conviction.
“What about my brother?” she asked. “You said you didn’t want to risk your friendship with him by dating me.”
“Turns out…he isn’t that great a friend to begin with,” I said. I heard Megan’s lyrical laugh and felt a little surge of hope. “Is that a yes?” I pressed.
“That’s a yes,” she said at last.
Chapter Eight
Megan
Nerves kept driving me towards the bathroom mirror to make sure I looked okay. I had chosen to wear a white dress with thin straps and a gently flowing skirt that looked both casual and dressy at the same time. I wanted to look carelessly elegant and worried that my self-consciousness might betray the plan.
I had left my hair loose around my shoulders and had applied subtle makeup that highlighted my eyes and lips. I was wearing a thin black choker combined with a silver necklace, and as I stared at my reflection in the mirror I decided that I looked excited, but at the same time, I wasn’t trying too hard… I hoped. I kept walking back and forth, trying to keep my expectations at a minimum.
“You’ve been talking to him for two months, Megan,” I told myself. “It’s fine…you know him.”
And yet, it still felt like I was meeting him for the first time. But I supposed that the excitement of seeing him for only the second time since we met was making me feel that way. Phil had told me he would be around to pick me up at seven o’clock, but I saw him step out of his car at six-thirty. He was early, and I took that to be a good sign. We had agreed that on our first date it would be appropriate to go watch a movie together, considering half our conversations over the last couple of months had revolved around film.
I watched him enter the building and then waited patiently by the door. A minute later there was a gentle knock, and I took a deep breath and opened the door for him.