Sudden Response (EMS #1)(65)

Feeling his lips twitch, he gestured to the box. "I picked breakfast up for you," he said, trying not to laugh since he knew that would only make things worse.

"Oh," she said, frowning down at the box. "Then I need to grab a coffee."

"Got one in the truck for you," he said, feeling quite proud of himself for meeting all her needs this morning.

"Thanks," she mumbled, looking lost.

It was then that he realized he'd gone beyond f**king up. It was over. She was dumping him and he was helpless to stop it. He didn't know what he should say or do, but he knew that he didn't want this to go down in front of the guys. If she was going to break his heart then he wanted it done in private.

"Let's go for a ride," he said, gesturing to the ambulance.

With a nod she walked around the front of the ambulance and climbed into the passenger seat. After a slight pause he followed. He called them on the air, half praying that dispatch had a call for them so that they could put this off for a little longer, but they didn't. They were posted to the south side and he thought that maybe that was for the best.

For ten minutes they rode in silence as Joe absently toyed with a corner of the cardboard box. His hands tightened around the steering wheel as he wondered how something that hadn't even happened yet could hurt so damn much. His chest ached and he felt sick to his stomach. Any other woman and he would have beat her to the punch line and dropped her before she could drop him, but this was Joe.

His Joe.

He needed to hear it from her lips. He needed to know that this was what she wanted. He'd give her a chance to explain all the ways he'd f**ked up and then he'd use that newfound knowledge to fix their relationship and beg her to take him back. She had to know that he couldn't live without her and that he loved her. That had to mean something.

"Echo seventeen on south side," he said into the mike as he threw the ambulance into park.

"Echo seventeen, received."

For a moment they sat there in silence as he did his best to prepare for what was about to happen. What he hadn't been prepared for was Joe suddenly unbuckling her seatbelt and scrambling over the middle console to climb onto his lap and wrap her arms around him as she buried her face against his neck.

"Joe? Baby, what's wrong?" he asked, wondering if he should feel relieved that she was clinging to him so tightly. If she was ending things between them he didn't think she'd be reacting this way.

At least he hoped not.

It was a little concerning that after three months he still didn't have this relationship shit down. Then again being with Joe was nothing like dating those other women. With her he was calm, relaxed and happy. He didn't have to try hard to impress her like he'd done with the other women and he'd only done that to get them in bed just to get off. Things weren't like that with Joe. He touched her and did things for her because he enjoyed being with her, not because he wanted something from her.

"Nothing," she mumbled against his skin.

"Nothing, huh?"

"No."

"Then why are you on my lap?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Because you're comfy," she mumbled, snuggling deeper into his arms.

"What's wrong, Joe?" he asked softly, hating to see her upset. He almost wished that she was mad at him, which he was eighty percent sure at the moment that she wasn't, just so he could apologize and fix it.

"Why do you think something's wrong?" she mumbled, repositioning herself until she was sitting across his lap with her back against his door. She laid her head against his shoulder while she absently played with the buttons on his shirt.

"Besides the fact that you canceled our date at the last minute last night and you aren't devouring the pastries I bought you?" he asked dryly.

She shrugged. "I could have had a better offer last night."

"And how would that explain you turning down free pastries?" he asked, feeling himself relax.

"Because he fed me breakfast in bed," she answered, turning her attention to tracing shapes on his shirt.

"Was he good?" he asked, leaning his head back to look down at her.

She let out a long suffering sigh. "I've had better."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, smiling as he leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead.

"So was I. I had such high hopes for him, too," she muttered, giving up her idle movements to simply snuggle in his arms.

He looked around the abandoned parking lot, noting a few private ambulances also stationed in the area. Normally he wouldn't mind shooting the breeze with any of them to pass the time, but today he was glad that they weren't parked close to them and the other EMTs didn't look like they were going to come over and chat anytime soon. He pressed a kiss to Joe's head as he looked across the street at the convenient store, wondering if he should get her some chocolate since it always seemed to make her feel better.

"Isn't that Greg?" she suddenly asked.

Curious, he followed her gaze and sure enough there was Greg. They'd had several third riders before and after him, but not one of them had pissed them off more than that guy and he was counting the guy he'd knocked out.

"Oh my god..........," Joe breathed, sounding as shocked as he probably looked.