Page 21 of Ember

Chapter 8

“You sure your old ass is cut out for this?” Tucker questioned, glancing over at Will. “You know you’ve put on a couple of pounds.” He playfully swatted at his friend’s stomach.

“Mannnnnn, I’ll wipe the court with you, and these youngins out here. Don’t play with me.”

“Okay,” Tucker snorted. “We're gonna find out.”

The two of them approached the basketball court for their annual game against kids in their community. It wasn’t a huge thing, but something they kept up with in order to maintain a relationship with the people they kept safe.

“What’s up, Tuck?” Darius, star ball player and current sophomore at Brighton Heights A&M called as they approached the court. “Will.”

“What’s up with you, youngin?” Will relieved himself of his gym bag. “You ready to take this L?”

“See, I was gonna take it easy on you, but since you came out the gate talking shit, I’ma have to make an example out of you.” Darius laughed, dapping up one of his friends.

“We ain’t the usual old ass, out of shape scrubs, you’re used to playing. You do know that, right?” Tucker reminded him.

“And that’s cool. I don’t mind working for my W’s.” A cocky grin covered Darius’ face, and Tucker and Will laughed.

“Let’s do this then, young blood.”

“After you, gramps.”

* * *

Tucker spent a couple of hours at the park before cutting things short to head home to shower and change. He and Danica had plans to meet up, and being late wasn’t an option for him.

He arrived at her house early to deliver a bouquet of flowers before they left.

“This is nice,” Danica commented, slipping into the passenger seat of my car as Tucker held the door open for her.

“You say that like you’re surprised,” he let out a laugh, closing the door after her. She didn’t respond until he’d walked around and slipped into the driver’s side.

“Honestly, I half expected you to pull up in your rig.”

“I do have a life outside of the station, Dani bae,” Tucker’s face curled into a smile as he pulled away from the curb. “You make a decision about the job?”

“I called and told them that I would take it. But I’m a little nervous,” She admitted, settling into her seat. “Kids are already bad as hell, but when you throw them into a place where their teachers don’t believe in, or have faith in them, it makes the job ten times harder.”

“While there are a lot of teachers that focus on the paychecks and let the kids fall through the cracks, the ones like you stand out the most for going the extra mile to show them that everybody hasn’t written them off. They’ll appreciate it in the long run.”

“By then I’ll be in a wheelchair with a head full of grey hair.”

“And the most beautiful senior citizen rolling.”

“You know what!” She laughed loudly, smacking his arm. “You’re not funny!”

“Dang, that’s the thanks I get for complimenting you?”

“No, that’s what you get for trying to be a smart ass.”

Reaching for her hand, he kissed the back of it. “I’m just messing with you, Dani bae.” Tucker chuckled. “But my point still stands. It’s going to be hard, but you should take pride that at the end of the day you’re going to make a difference in somebody’s life. Who knows, you might even change the course of their life.”

“Now I wouldn’t say all that,” Danica let out a scoff. “And enough about work, please? I’m supposed to be celebrating this progress, not obsessing over it.”

Tucker laughed as she turned to him with her bottom lip poked out. It never ceased to amaze him how beautiful she was even doing the smallest things.

“Okay, you got it. No more work talk.”