Still don't own the good stuff….still waiting for your reviews! While doing so, giving you some funny Matt and Andy!
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The outing, as Gabriela so eloquently put it earlier, was really a very pleasant gathering of friends; firefighters mostly, some of them with their better halves like the Dardens who seemed to be incredibly lovely or the ones like Herrmann who came for a glass of beer having promised his wife and kids to be back in no time though we all witnessed him drowning at least a third glass, paramedics (Leslie brought her girlfriend Annie) and a couple people from Lakeshore Hospital. All in all I realized that I probably was the only one who didn't have any official connection to anyone on the crew. At first it really did put me off a little…for five minutes maybe but everyone seemed so inviting and friendly that in no time I actually forgot my silly concerns.
The beer and tequila were fountaining and soon enough Gabriela's joke with the corset (which she was wearing atop of a white shirt and completed the outfit with dark jeans and flat boots) was becoming more and more fun, some of the girls (Hallie and Annie) started dancing near the bar. In the grand scheme I happened to be holding two shots of tequila, standing with Andy and Matt, who were busy with their own shot glasses, we were smiling funnily at each other and for a passerby it was probably very easy to deduct that we were pretty intoxicated.
"You're not backing down?" Casey smirked.
I shook my head 'no' and mumbled something like 'never', Andy pushed into Matt, trying to make a point which was a lot of fun for the blonde started talking to the glasses in his hands begging them not to spill themselves. Andy and I burst into laughing.
"Ok, ok….stop, please." I think I was ready to fall in two from laughing so hard. "I'm gonna drop it if you don't stop!"
"One, two, three…DRINK!" and the three of us drowned each two shots in less than three seconds. Lemon, juicy and so good with tequila, followed.
When I was sucking on my slice of the fruit, I didn't notice how a muscular man in a black leather jacket appeared near the two friends.
"Oh my God, there're three of you." And I grinned. Oooook, no more tequila for Harper!
Andy didn't bother to say anything, he just came over to my side and put a hand on my shoulder, laughing hysterically. We almost fell on the bar with our upper bodies for Andy was much stronger than me and his body weight was actually hanging on me. Drunk me. It didn't stop our fit of laughter.
"You know Harper, right?" I heard Casey speak to our last addition. "She's our new friend! Harper?"
After Andy and I showed bartender that we needed four more shots of tequila, we turned to Casey and my tanked mind finally registrated who was standing next to the equally smashed blonde.
"Oh…" I produced and my face changed in some kind of grimace I don't think anybody actually could interpret.
Kelly cocked his head to take in both, me and Andy, at an angle we were…placed. A strange song about whips, chains and non-traditional sexual relationships started playing at the same time our tequila arrived. I felt Andy starting to drag me down with him and as my eyes went wide I grabbed on the bar stronger.
"Ook!" Kelly fast took a hold of his drunk friend and repositioned him on Matt's shoulders. "You take care of him, I'll take care of her."
Before any other wards could be heard from me or Casey, or even a slightly comprehensible thought emerged in my head, Severide caught my hand and waist, I caught two shots of tequila and he was dragging me outside.
"What did you do that for? I liked it in there!" I pouted, a common thing for a drunk me.
"A fresh air will do you good." He said calm as a stone and took a sit on the window shell, taking out a cigar. Really?! A cigar?
I grimaced at the sight of it but held my tongue, biting my lower lip.
"You gonna drink that?" He looked at the shots of liquid.
"You gonna smoke that?" I shot back.
He took out a lighter and a second later was inhaling a poisonous smoke. I decided that I could at least finish off my own poison and knocked back one after another. I think I was a little unstable on feet so when I reopened my eyes I was standing tangled with Kelly who was still sitting and he was holding me with one of his hands by the elbow.
I was silent and put a hand on his shoulder, feeling his leather jacket underneath my palm.
He put away the cigar never finishing it. Suddenly my head started spinning slightly and it felt like the silence gulped all the movements.
"I'm cold…" I whispered but the sound seemed to travel longer then I intended.
The firefighter stood up. He had at least two heads on me and was like tall hot wall that was blocking me from the street lights and shutting out the loud noises from the bar. He took off his leather jacket and a moment later I felt it on my shoulders. He didn't take his hands away, waiting for me to put mine into the sleeves. As I was struggling with the task I was looking at his neck, chest…didn't dare pulling my eyes higher. When he started zipping the cloth, I followed his hands with my eyes but as he reached my throat I felt the fingers of one of his hands leave the zipper and briefly travel to my chin, drawing it up so I would have no choice but to look at his face.
The wind was blowing at my hair and if it wasn't for the close proximity to this man no jacket would do the job on such a cold night.
"It was you. Tell me the truth because I'm not crazy – I know your arms…I remember your arms…" My voice was gentle but steady.
He didn't say anything for some time, then the hand that was holding my chin moved to my cheek. His hand was a heat and I was so cold.
"It was me." And his own voice was low as well.
His face was inches apart from mine. But his words flew right into my intoxicated mind and left a print there. I blinked a couple times as if to make sure I was there with that man, that it was really my life.
His face was still a finger distance away from mine. He was looking at my lips and my eyes and there was nothing I wanted more then to give in this warm sensation the intimate moment created but even with my drunk mind I realized that there's a great chance I wouldn't remember any of this tomorrow.
"Can you get me home?" I finally said, looking at him with the most sober eyes I could master.
He pursed his lips but I could swear I've seen a small smile play on them. Then Kelly nodded and wrapping an arm around me to steady me and keep me warm tugged me to the taxi station down the road.
I don't remember anything for I fell asleep on his shoulder as soon as the driver hit the gas, but before we got into the cab I remember that I turned to him and said as clear as I possibly could:
"Promise me that you'll tell me this again tomorrow if I forget."
"Get into the car, Pixie." And he pushed me in but something told me that he'd keep the promise.