Above and Beyond (Twist of Fate 4)

Lucky moved past me to grab his phone off the nightstand. He looked dejected as he stood with his back to me. It only lasted a few seconds because then he reached for the items on the bed and stuffed them into his bag. “I have to go,” was all he said.

“Go where?” I asked.

He didn’t answer me. I watched as he jerked on a pair of navy pants and some kind of uniform shirt. It wasn’t until he pulled a jacket out of his closet that had the word “Paramedic” emblazoned across the back that I realized what secret he’d been hiding from his family.

Lucky wouldn’t make eye contact with me as he shrugged the jacket on and then stepped into his shoes. When he headed for the door, I moved in front of him.

“I have to go, Zach. I’m the most junior member of the team, so they only call me when they really need me.”

“Why haven’t you told your fathers?” I asked. Lucky looked so grown up in his paramedic uniform that I almost didn’t recognize him.

“You’ve been gone a long time,” Lucky murmured. “I have the best parents in the world, but there are days when I know they wish they could wrap me in bubble wrap…”

Reality dawned and I remembered my brother’s words about Lucky’s behavior after I’d left.

Jake had called it a “rough patch.”

While being a paramedic wasn’t the most dangerous job in the world, it would definitely put him in some precarious situations with drug overdoses, horrific car crashes, and gunshot victims. And from his comment about his dads wanting to wrap him in bubble wrap, my guess was that Lucky knew what their reaction would be if they found out what he was up to. I couldn’t imagine Xander and Bennett being anything but proud of their son, but what did I really know? I’d purposefully kept my nose out of any business relating to Lucky from the time I’d realized he’d had feelings for me.

I stepped out of Lucky’s way.

“You should rest some more,” Lucky murmured as he moved past me.

I ignored the warmth that spread through me at his show of concern despite everything that had happened. “I will,” I said.

“Liar,” Lucky said with a slight grin. I couldn’t help but smile myself. But then reality returned.

“We need to talk about what happened to your car. And the notes,” I said.

Lucky paused in the doorway but didn’t respond right away. When he did, it was simply to say, “Bye, Zach” and then he was gone.

Chapter 6

Lucky

For three days I tried my best to forget about Zach Warner. Hell, for the past couple of years I’d been doing the same with zero success, so I wasn’t sure why I thought things would be any different after our run-in at my apartment. Now I had the memory of his firm, warm body against mine in my bed. I had the scent of his hair on my pillow and the feel of his strong arms around me imprinted forever in my brain.

So maybe it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when I found myself shitfaced and desperate that Friday night after the final semester classes had come to a close. My friends had dragged me to Ghetti’s for happy hour, and it seemed every other student in a ten-mile radius had the same idea. The place was packed, the music vibrated the floor, and somehow every man in the building reminded me of a certain grumpy Army Ranger I knew.

The thought of Zach was immediately followed by the humiliation of all the things I’d said to him the night I’d cared for him during his migraine. How the hell had I managed to admit to him that I hadn’t let a guy kiss me since I’d been a kid because I’d been waiting for him? Why hadn’t I just gone ahead and told him I’d only ever given a few guys hand jobs and blow jobs while getting myself off because I knew their hands on my body would only serve to remind me that they weren’t Zach’s hands? The warmth of the alcohol was replaced by the sting of shame.

“They shouldn’t call them Rangers. They should call them grumpy old men,” I said out loud to anyone interested.

Min narrowed her eyes at me. “We were talking about Erin’s semester abroad in Italy in the fall. How’d you get Rangers from that?”

I glanced at our friend Erin who looked as buzzed as I felt. “You fell in Italy? Are you okay?”

Someone off to my right snort-giggled, but Erin nodded. “Yeah. Totes fine. But I’ve never been to Italy before.”

That was confusing. I looked at Min for clarification, but she simply rolled her eyes. “Never mind,” she muttered. “Go dance or something. Work off the beer.”