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But, the more I get to know him, the more I realize those qualities might have just been a show to lure me in.

“What’s her problem anyway? She’s such a bitch. Never understood why you were friends with her in the first place.” My mouth hangs open at his snide words. “Can’t say I’m not thrilled you won’t be living with her any more. Can’t stand that bit–”

Shoving away from him, I cut him off mid-sentence. “Oh no, you don’t.” My voice is filled with sass and more than a touch of anger. “She”—I point to Jade and Johnny out on the dance floor—“is my best friend. And you”—I poke a finger at his chest, hard—“are nothing but a . . . a . . . jerk.” He laughs at my stammering.

Since the bench is open on both sides, I slide away from him and stand by the edge of the table. “This isn’t working, Blake.” Waving my hands between us, he knows exactly what I mean by “this.”

With menacing slowness, he moves toward me, scooting along the green leather seat. Standing in my physical space, reminds me of how much larger he is than me.

What was I thinking? What did I ever see in him?
I ask myself as he looks down at me, a syrupy sweet look plastered to his hard face.

“Maybe we should talk outside, Grace.” My name falls from his lips like a curse as his fingers curl around my wrist in a vise grip. His eyes glaze over as his dilated pupils eat up all of the color that would be there. Any sense of the man I thought he was is replaced by the image of this stranger before me.

In a split second, he changes tactics. Being overly sweet, a lazy smile spreads across his face and his hard eyes soften, as does his grip on me. “Sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to get mad,” he coos, sweeping a piece of hair out of my eyes. “I just want you all to myself.” Pulling me to his side, he presses an affectionate kiss to the top of my head.

Not wanting to ruin the night, I let him hold me for a few seconds. Stepping back, I look up at him. “It’s okay. Just try to calm it down a bit, please,” I beg, adding a hint of seduction to my words in the hopes of keeping him quiet the rest of the night.

“Sure thing, babe.” He nods in agreement. “I’m going to go grab a drink. Want anything?”

“Another beer, please.” I move back to the bench as he struts away.

That boy is so complicated; his mood swings give me whiplash. His temperamental attitudes, however, are wearing thin. So even though I can play nicely for the rest of the night, I brace myself knowing a very real conversation with him about his behavior and its impact on our would-be future is on the very near horizon. Lost to my own internal musings about ending things with Blake, I don’t even see Jade as she returns to the table. Pulling my almost emptied mug from my hand, she chugs down the last sips of my beer before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

“That man can dance something fierce.” Chuckling, she points to Johnny, who’s standing at the bar next to Blake.

“Did his panties unbunch?” Her words are heavily laced with cynicism.

Leaning forward, I try my best to keep my voice as low as possible. “For now, but I’m not so sure about us.” At the mention of the last part, Jade also leans forward. Placing her hands over mine, her face twists in concern.

“What did he do?” Seriousness fills the small space between us.

Shaking my head, I try to put into words the very distinct feeling I just had about him. “I think it’s more than just being a little jealous. I don’t know. There was something in his eyes. Actually, it was what wasn’t in his eyes. He was cold and hard. I just don’t see myself with him for much longer.”

Deep down, I know those words make Jade happier than she’ll ever admit to. She doesn’t have any time to react or to engage in the conversation we so obviously need. Wordlessly, she tips her head over my shoulder as Blake and Johnny approach from behind.

“Blake,” she greets him icily.

“Jade.” He does the same.

Johnny makes himself cozy next to Jade, handing her a glass of wine. Of course, I give her the stink eye as I hold up three fingers. “Oh, shush, you.” She swats at me with her hand and Johnny laughs along with her. “Loosen up, Grace. We’re college graduates. Drink up, would you?”

Three glasses go up in the air and Blake’s arm slides around my shoulder. “To Jade and Grace and their bright futures.”

His toast leaves me speechless, and since I don’t have any words in my mouth, I fill it with beer. In her life-long quest to have me loosen up, Jade starts chanting “chug it, chug it” as I start to pull my mug away from my mouth. Of course Johnny and Blake join in.

Surprising even myself, I figure what the hell. Three gulps later, my mug is empty and my head a touch fuzzy. Never having been a huge drinker, downing two beers in less than thirty minutes has me feeling good and buzzed.

After slamming the mug down on the table, I call out, “Let’s dance.”

Rushing to the dance floor, Jade, Johnny, Blake and I join Johnny’s friend, Chris, and the girl he’s paired up with. The music is pumping so loud, I barely hear her introduce herself. I think she says her name is AnnMarie, but I could definitely be wrong.

With the lights flashing and the music blasting, it’s easy to lose myself. Blake’s hands roam all over as his body presses into mine from behind. Though I would normally pull back from his outward display of public affection, tonight I lean into it willingly. Spinning around in the circle of his arms, I loop mine around his neck and consider stretching up on my tiptoes. I know if our lips meet in what should be a hot kiss, the only fluttering I’ll feel would be from the alcohol.

Blake’s little pissing match from before, cemented some concerns I already had about him. So now, instead of thoughts about stripping my boyfriend down when we get back to his apartment, the only thing running through my head is how I can break things off with him.

Luckily, just as I begin to pull back from him, a loud siren rings over the music. The crowd erupts into a huge round of applause. Lots of woohooing screams fill the air and as I scan the crowd, I see all of the girls racing toward the front of the bar.

“What the hell?” I call out to Jade, who simply shrugs. Stretching up on her toes, she can easily see above most of the other people here, but she still can’t see what all the fuss is about.

That’s when Johnny leans in and explains the scene playing out before us. “You ladies have never been here, huh?” Both Jade and I shake our heads, eager to hear the rest.

“This place isn’t called ‘Smoke’ for nothing. It’s a firefighter bar and those guys”—he points across the room—“just finished their shift.” Jade’s eyes widen at the mention of firefighters. So do mine, but I try my best to shield it from Blake, knowing full well it’ll piss him off.

Having spent the last six years of my life in New York City for college and grad school, I developed a healthy appreciation for New York’s bravest. Hell, I challenge any red-blooded American woman not to. And I’m pretty sure their effect can be felt outside of America as well.

When the loud roar of the crowd dies down somewhat, we make our way back over to our table only to find that it’s been occupied. “Bar?” Blake asks against my ear.

“Sure,” I try my best to disguise the excitement in my response, but Jade can sense it. That’s where the group of firefighters is and even though I can’t touch, it sure won’t kill me to look.

“Wait for me.” Jade falls in line with us as Johnny grabs hold of her hand. Yeah, she’s just as excited as I am.

When the guys are turned toward the bar ordering our drinks, Jade leans down and whispers, “How the hell have we never been here before? A bar dedicated to firefighters? It’s like we’ve died and gone to Heaven.”

“I know.” I pitch my voice low so Blake can’t hear me, but can’t stop myself from jumping up and down in excitement.

“What’re you two chatting about?” Blake asks suspiciously as he hands me my drink.

“Oh, nothing,” Jade deflects, looping her arm through Johnny’s. “Gracie and I were just talking about how great this place is.”

Seemingly placated, Blake takes a long pull on his beer and scans the room. “Doesn’t seem like anything special to me,” he huffs.

“Oh, I don’t know. Gracie, what do you think?” Shooting Jade a death-ray stare, I try to stop her from egging Blake on, but it’s really no use. The two of them are like oil and water and I can barely blame Jade; she’s just the easier one to reason with.

“Come on, Gracie, let’s dance.” Jade pulls me back out onto the dance floor when a new song starts up and I’m glad for it. Seems like the further away from Blake I am, the more fun I have.

Three times.

I heard the name three times.

My head always turns when I hear the name Gracie, but my eyes never fall on someone who looks even remotely familiar.

But the woman dancing out there looks just what my Gracie would–at least the vision that’s in my head.

It has been eighteen years after all, but there are some things you just don’t forget. For me, it’s two things—her hair and her laughter. Both bright streaks of light in a mostly dark world.

As I lean my elbows back against the bar, those are the two things screaming at me, telling me that the woman out there just has to be my Gracie.

“See something you like?” Ian elbows me in my side, nearly knocking my drink out of my hand as he does.

“Huh?” I pull myself back to the here and now, away from the girl I knew so long ago. “Uh, no. Just spaced out there for a minute.” Avoiding having to say anything else, I swallow back the rest of my Jack and Coke.

After placing the empty glass on the bar, I turn back to face the dance floor immediately. There’s a pull to her—the girl dancing out there with her friend. Sure, she’s beautiful—not all that graceful, but she’s moving like she’s having fun. A lazy grin pulls at my lips as I watch her stumble a little as she dances. Her friend rights her and they laugh like it’s the funniest thing they’ve ever witnessed.

“Here you go, man.” Ian hands me a shot and while they’re generally not my thing, we’ve all just had a crazy shift. Loosening up with a few drinks when I don’t have to be at work again for another two days isn’t a terrible idea.

By the time we’re done with our shots, I try to find Gracie out there, but all I catch is a glimpse of her back as she walks off to the bathrooms with her friend.

“She’s really caught your eye, huh?” Ian asks as we walk over to a high-top off to the side of the bar.

“Not really.” Yeah, it’s a lame defense, one that Ian sees straight though. He shoots me a ‘cut the shit’ look and I give in. “Okay, fine. She’s cute.”

“The redhead? No, she’s not cute, man. You need to get your eyes checked. She’s smokin.’” His voice has that ‘on the hunt’ quality to it, and it irks me more than it should.

Cocking an eyebrow at him, I laugh. “You’re really going with smokin’? Can’t come up with anything more original?”

Shrugging, he leans back in his chair. “What do you expect? Some Shakespeare shit? Yeah, that is most definitely not going to happen.”

“Fine, she’s more than cute. But she has the same name as someone I used to know when I was a kid. I was looking at her to see if I could figure out if it was her or not.” My answer is mostly truthful. To be honest, trying to figure out if she is the Gracie I rescued from that fire all those years ago is only part of the reason I was staring at her. The other reason is plain as day.

She is smokin.’

By the time I finish telling Ian the rest of the story about what had happened when Gracie’s house burned down, I see her walking back out of the hallway where the bathrooms are located. As she walks toward the bar, a guy grabs her, pulling her through the crowd.

The music is too loud for me to hear anything, but the look on her face says everything I need to know. He’s hurting her and not letting go. Jumping down from my stool, I start to walk over to them. Her friend is trying to get in the middle of them, but it’s not working.

“Where the hell did you go?” The guy is practically yelling in her face.

“Blake, you’re hurting me. Let go.” She squeaks, trying in vain to pry his hand off her arm.

Walking up behind him, he doesn’t see me, but she does. Her eyes go wide when my hand drops to his shoulder. “Excuse me, but I think the lady said you were hurting her.” I tip my chin at his claw-like grip on her arm.

After releasing her, she rubs a hand over where he’d just held her. Relief washes over her face as her friend pulls her away from the asshole.

“And who the hell do you think you are?” he seethes at me.

A smug chuckle bubbles out of my mouth. “Someone who knows enough never to lay a hand on a woman.” Stepping past him, I make sure to brush my shoulder against his with more than a little force.

“What the fuck?” he yells, grabbing my arm and pulling me back to his face.

I’ve got a few inches on him and I revel in the fact that I can look down at him as I say, “You might want to reconsider that.” My eyes travel down to his hand on my arm.

“And you might want to reconsider sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong,” he retorts nastily. At least he’s smart enough to take his hand off me. “Mind your own fucking business,” he adds before turning toward the table where the girls are.