Light up the Night (Firehouse Three #2)(21)

Everly looked down. Her polo was wrinkled, there was a smudge of dirt on her khaki shorts, and she was wearing her beat-up Keds. Biting her lip, she sat up straighter and redid her ponytail. There wasn’t anything she could do about her clothes right now, but she could at least try to tame her hair.

“Sorry about that,” said a deep voice at the end of the hallway.

With her ponytail elastic between her teeth, both hands in her hair, Everly looked up. Drake was walking toward her, basketball shorts slung low on his slim hips. He was pulling on a tee shirt, each movement showcasing the beautiful muscles she’d been wanting to touch all damn day. For a moment, she couldn’t move at all.

“I had planned on taking my date to that swanky new Japanese restaurant on Treemont Avenue, but what do you say to some takeout sushi instead?”

Everly blinked and realized she hadn’t budged in much too long. She hastily finished off her ponytail.

“That sounds good,” she said.

“There’s somewhere I’ve been wanting to go, so I’ll grab a few things and call in our order. Any requests?” He reached for his cell phone and glanced at the screen. His brows knitted together, and that sick feeling punched Everly in the stomach again.

Damn it. She closed her eyes.

“Your phone rang while you were in the shower, but I didn’t think I should answer it.”

“It’s nobody,” he said shortly, his features stony. “Sorry about that.”

She certainly hadn’t looked like nobody to Everly, but it was none of her business. This was just a date, and she didn’t have any right to pry into Drake’s personal life.

“I’ll call it in. Back in just a second.”

He stepped through the doorway to the kitchen, and Everly closed her eyes, threading her fingers together.

Damn it. She hated this. Should she just go? Maybe he really needed to talk to Belinda. Maybe she was his girlfriend and they’d gone through a rough patch but Belinda was forgiving him, and Everly was in the way. Maybe—

“Yes, I’d like to place an order please. Can I get a spicy tuna roll, California roll…”

At some point, she had to stop inventing endings to stories she knew nothing about. Maybe she’d try that tonight.

A buzz in her pocket brought her attention down to her phone.



Good luck tonight. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.



It was from Charlie. The laughing emojis she loaded up at the end of her text were clear indicators that she expected Everly to chicken out tonight. Gritting her teeth, Everly tapped out a reply.



I’m already in his apartment. Don’t worry about me, I got this.



The response was lightning-quick.



Really? Proud of you! Go get him!



Looking down at the phone, Everly didn’t see him until he was right there at her elbow.

“I just ordered an assortment of stuff. Hopefully there’s something in there that you like.”

“I love sushi, so no need to worry there.” Everly smiled up at him, feeling suddenly brighter and braver than she had since seeing him at the shelter what seemed like years ago. “Would you mind if I used your bathroom? I want to clean up a little bit.”

Drake smiled back, and the expression lifted her mood even higher. Damn, he was hot. And he wanted to go out with her. Why was she worrying about shit she had no control over? She needed to just focus on this moment, and make everything she could out of it.

“Of course. Second door on the right. There are washcloths and towels in the closet there, if you need any.” He brushed her shoulder casually, letting his fingers trail down her arm.

With a deep breath, Everly let her fingers tangle with his for a quick squeeze before she stood and headed down the hallway. Well, would you look at that? She was getting bolder already.

In the bathroom, which was still warm with steam from Drake’s shower, she scrubbed at her face with a washcloth. There. A little bit of the sweat of the day gone and she felt better. Looking in the mirror, she straightened her clothes and looked this way and that.

Not great, but honestly, it wasn’t as bad as she’d thought it might be. And since Drake had been nice enough to dress in comfortable clothes, she felt less out of place in her working getup. Everything would be okay tonight. It might be a date, but it was a casual one, and Drake was funny, kind, and sexy as hell.

“You can do this,” Everly whispered to the pink-cheeked girl in the mirror, and gave a nod.

When she got back to the living room, the sight of Drake packing a duffel bag gave her pause.

“What’s all this?”

“You can’t have a picnic without a blanket,” Drake said matter-of-factly as he stuffed it into the bag and zipped it up. “I already got the wine and glasses. White okay?”

Wow, he’d really thought of everything. “Yes,” Everly said, trying to keep her smile from beaming. Really? What had she done to deserve all this?

“Are you ready?” He had shouldered the duffel bag and was holding his arm out to her. She laced her fingers around his elbow, and smiled up at him.

“Ready,” she agreed, and the two of them left his apartment arm-in-arm.

Everly tried her best to keep her breathing even on the way to his truck, but it was hard. Who would have thought that her night would end this way? Certainly not her.