“Was forced to dance,” Juliette interrupted with a glare.
“Fine, I forced her to dance, and she bumped into the lamp, knocked it over, and broke it. It was pitch black. Girls were shrieking, guys were trying to be all macho, drinks were spilled everywhere. It was a mess.”
“Ha-ha.” Juliette rolled her eyes, not quite as amused as her friend.
“Were you invited back after that?” I asked. Even though it was years before I’d met Juliette, I couldn’t help the jealousy shooting through me at the thought of Juliette hanging out with frat boys.
“Yeah, I don’t think anyone there even knew who we were. They only knew Nicky,” Jenna said.
I watched Ryan’s gaze narrow on Nicky. They’d be an interesting match. He better not screw things up, though. I liked hanging out with Juliette and my friends.
“That’s only because the two of you insisted on leaving every party early. You were more excited to stop at the gas station for hot chocolate on the way home than for the party.”
“Mmm, remember the hot chocolate with French vanilla creamer?” Jenna said.
“So good. Why don’t we do that anymore?” Juliette asked.
“Because now we drink too much coffee like the overtired, overworked adults we are.”
“See what I had to deal with? More interested in going home to get hot chocolate than going out!” Nicky said with exaggerated disgust.
“You’re lucky you had us to rein you in with hot chocolate. Without us, you’d have slept around at the party, then burned it to the ground,” Jenna said.
“She had some anger issues,” Juliette added.
Nicky shrugged, but didn’t deny it. “Life is meant to be lived. Besides, you’re one to talk,” she said to Jenna. “If I didn’t drag your ass out, you’d probably still be hiding in our dorm room.”
“Also true,” Juliette added again. She was impressive at saying just enough to be part of the conversation without speaking much.
“Don’t act like you’re any better. You would have gone all four years without talking if it weren’t for us.”
Juliette shrugged and nodded in an awkward and adorable gesture.
“And now look at the three of you well-adjusted adults here. Let’s drink to growing up to be better versions of ourselves,” Ryan said, with a surprising hint to his own issues.
We clinked our drinks together, and I knocked back the rest of my beer. I looked around to see if Juliette or anyone else needed a refill and caught Liam eyeing Jenna with a critical look. I followed his line of vision to see her tipping her drink to her lips without taking a sip. Liam raised an eyebrow at me, and I gave a subtle shrug back. Ryan looked between us, reading the silent conversation. He looked at Jenna and her full glass for a second and caught on, giving a slight nod.
We were fortunate that our crew at the firehouse had been together for years. We had each other’s backs in life-or-death situations, and each of us knew that any of the others would risk his life for another if need be. We spent over half of our lives working, eating, sleeping, and generally living together at the station. At this point, we were open books to one another. Sometimes it was because we were just shooting the shit, sometimes we deliberately shared our dreams and demons,and sometimes the emotional toll of a callout ripped us open, whether we wanted it or not. Bottom line is, I knew exactly what Liam and Ryan were thinking.
Jenna had caught Liam’s attention, and Nicky had Ryan’s. It was no surprise that the three girls were best friends. They all had a vulnerability and resilience at their core that drew in my friends the same way Juliette did to me. I sent my friends a silent warning.I found Juliette first. Don’t fuck this up for me.
14
Juliette
Ireread the email for the fourth time, still not understanding it. I understood the words, obviously, but why was it sent to me?
Juliette,
Please reviewthe attached information regarding applying for the position of Lead Therapist. I think that you would be a great fit.
Sincerely,
Michelle Jameson
OT/PT Supervisor
“Hey, Katie,”I called over the half-wall that separated our cubbies. “Can you come look at this for a sec?”