Page 91 of As Long As You'll Have Me
I laugh not because I find him funny but because he parroted the words she told me before we came inside.
“You and Rae,” I start, taking a sip of my drink.
“Oh, I’m totally in love with her. Have been since the first time I saw her,” he answers easily. “It was like something out of the movies. Saw her from across the bar and I knew I was done for.”
I look at him then and notice that he isn’t looking at me, he’s looking at her. Eyes soft and lips pulled back in pure admiration and infatuation. The look of a man who’s completely consumed by a woman who’s perfectly his match. My eyes move across the bar and land on Hanna who’s spinning Rae around and swinging her hips back and forth to the beat of the song.
“Yeah, I know the feeling,” I mumble, mostly to myself. Watching her, I feel it in my core. The burning need to keep her close at all costs because the thought of losing her is almost too painful to bear. As I’m watching her and Rae dance, I see two guys slide up behind them.
“Oh, hell no,” Leon growls, taking a step forward.
“Hold on, they can handle it,” I say, pressing my hand into his chest. As much as I want to march over and break some fingers, I also know that Hanna can handle herself.
We wait and watch from across the bar. The two assholes do what they can to slide in behind the girls who do their best to shake them off to show them they aren’t interested. I try to take steadying breaths so I don’t absolutely lose my mind on the guy who’s getting way too close for comfort. But when he grabs Hanna’s wrist after she very clearly tells him no, I lose it.
“Okay, fuck this,” Ihuff.
Leon and I take off towards the girls and cross the room in a few determined strides. I reach an arm around Hanna’s waist and pull her away, her eyes locked on mine as I do. Leon does the same grabbing for Rae’s hand and pulling her into his chest.
“I suggest you learn to keep your hands to yourself, buddy,” I say to one of the strangers, dropping my voice an octave lower than normal.
“Oh, relax, we’re just having a little bit of fun,” he says with the wave of a hand. “The girls don’t mind.”
“It sure looked like they minded to me,” Leon barks, glancing protectively at Rae.
“Listen, buddy, we were just having fun. You don’t have to be such a dick about it,” the other friend says, taking a step towards Leon. Outweighing the guy by at least thirty pounds, I step between them and stare him down. I tuck Hanna safely behind me as I do.
“Unless you want the entire force of the Charleston PD on your ass, I suggest you take a major fucking step back. My best friend pretty much runs the place and it wouldn’t take more than a phone call for him to be down here and arresting you for harassment,” I threaten.
He holds my glare for a moment before rolling his eyes and smacking his friend on the chest. I don’t look away from either of them until I watch them leave the bar completely. Once they’re gone, everyone takes a collective exhale. Before I know it, Hanna’s arms are around my neck, squeezing me tightly.
“Thank you,” she says into my ear loud enough for me to hear her over the blaring music.
I wrap my arms around her center and can feel her feet leave the ground as I hug her. “Like I told you, doc, I take care of what’s mine.”
When I set her down, she frames my face with both hands and kisses me right in the middle of the dance floor. The entire world seems to melt away when she does.
“I hope to be yours for a very long time, fireman,” she says, pulling away and gazing up at me.
“As long as you’ll have me doc, I’m yours,” I promise.
When she kisses me again under the strobe lights and house party music, I’ve never been so sure of something in my life. That Hanna has my heart and I never want it back.
33
HANNA
My ears prick up at a familiar sound and I roll over in bed. The thick comforter Miles uses is almost swallowing me whole as I rotate my body, trying not to be tangled up in the sheets and his limbs next to me. My head follows the sound when my ears hear it again. Slowly, I blink my eyes open. It almost sounds like a whimper or a small cry. Looking around the room, I see that it’s still dark outside so I reach for my phone to check the time. 2:43 flashes in front of my eyes which I squint shut at the blue light. The small, muffled, cry murmurs through the room besides me. Turning over, I realize it’s coming from the man I’m sharing a bed with.
Reaching over in the darkness, I brush his cheek with my fingers only to find that they’re damp. Concern rolls through me and I quickly lean over to turn on the bedside lamp. When the light fills his room, I can fully see his face. It’s twisted up and pained, his eyes crushed together as his head thrashes back and forth. It’s as if a movie only he can see is playing behind his eyelids and every frame is terrorizing him.
He’s having a nightmare.
Doing the work I do, I know first hand the dangers of waking someone up from a nightmare. Even worse, a night terror. The best thing you can do is sit with them and make sure they’re safe until they finally come out of it. Pushing myself up in bed, I cross my legs underneath me and adjust the oversized T-shirt of his I’m sleeping in to cover my legs. We’re supposed to go to family breakfast later this morning, which is why I’m staying overnight at his place. I also think it was a perfect excuse for him to invite me over and “watch a movie.” His way of saying “come over and let me have my way with you.”
I bring one of my hands to his arm and slowly start to stroke it. I can only guess what he’s dreaming about but I’m almost certain I know it’s about his fallen comrade. This isn’t the first time I’ve witnessed one of his nightmares and more than likely won’t be the last until he learns how to move past his grief. Having known Miles for a few months now, I know how much he carries the burden of being the leader of his shift on his back. He treats the men and women in his company like they’re his siblings, like they’re family. Because to him they are. The bond between firefighters is bone deep and Miles embodies that every day he goes to work.
When his head thrashes to one side again, I reach my free hand to frame his cheek. Slowly, I move my thumb back and forth and try to console him.
