#inthesummer

Buck and Eddie are alone at the boxing gym, getting a brutal workout in after their shift. The good news is the owner trusted Eddie with the keys. The bad news is there’s no air conditioning. 

It’s hot as hell outside, and Buck’s got sweat dripping down his brow. He swipes his wrist across his face, annoyed that he can’t wipe it properly with the boxing gloves still on his hands. 

Buck looks up at Eddie, who is sitting on a stool in the corner. He’s breathing heavily, but somehow Eddie makes sweating look way better than Buck ever could. His white tank top is clinging to his chest and his defined abs. His biceps are on full display as he wipes at his face with a towel. Buck’s chest clenches while he watches him. It’s a strange sort of intimacy they’ve been sharing lately - after shift, they practically live in each other’s pockets. They work out together, get dinner together, Buck even crashes at Eddie’s place sometimes. On the couch, though.

Buck wants to change that, but he keeps overthinking it. He feels like he can’t just ask. He’s been waiting for the right moment. There’s got to be some kind of grand gesture, or go-sign, or something to make it obvious that Eddie is interested in him the way Buck is interested in Eddie.

But then Eddie looks up at him and meets his gaze. He’s pulling off his gloves, but his focus is completely on Buck as he looks him up and down. His eyes are dark, the pupils blown wide and his mouth slightly parted. He’s checking Buck out, and he’s being obvious about it.

Buck involuntarily shudders. He keeps right on watching Eddie though, because it suddenly feels like it’s allowed.

Maybe this is the sign Buck had been waiting for.

He walks purposefully across the ring, his eyes never leaving Eddie’s face. He’s trying to give Eddie plenty of time to dodge, or get up, or say something. But he’s hoping Eddie stays put.

A few heart-pounding moments later, and Buck fits himself right between Eddie’s spread legs. He leans down. He can smell Eddie’s aftershave, and his deodorant, and he’s close enough to follow a bead of sweat down his neck. 

“You just going to stand there?” Eddie asks, but his voice is soft. Fond, even. 

Buck snorts. And then he leans down the rest of the way to press his lips to Eddie’s mouth. It feels natural, easy as breathing. Buck’s heart pounds and he moves his hands up to clutch at Eddie’s hips. Buck feels relief and joy flood him all at once, and he shudders again. 

He flicks his tongue out against Eddie’s bottom lip, and Eddie moans against his mouth. But Buck pauses there. He doesn’t want to make it too filthy, not yet anyway. This is their first kiss, it should be special and sweet. 

“No,” Hen answered quickly—probably too quickly, but she knew it was too late to take it back now. “I’d love the company. I’m Hen.”

The woman slid into the chair across from her, offering Hen a warm smile. “Hen, huh? I’m Karen.”

“So, what’s a beautiful woman like yourself doing all alone at a bar?”

“I could ask you the same question, you know,” Karen said, taking a sip from her drink that Hen had failed to notice she brought with her to the table.

“I’m supposed to be meeting my best friend and he is ridiculously late.” Hen rolled her eyes before she looked at the entrance of the bar once again.

“Well, I’m supposed to be on a date.” Karen laughed, pushing her hair over her shoulder. “I’d begun to think that she stood me up…” She tapped her fingers against the table, leaning forward a bit before adding, “then I realized there are two bars with the same name in Los Angeles, and I’d somehow ended up at the wrong one.”

Hen’s eyes widened before she laughed. “Wow. You should really go meet your date after all of that that—”

Karen shook her head a little and then smiled. “I think I’m good here.”

Hen opened her mouth to argue, but instead brought her beer to her lips, taking a pull from the bottle. Karen didn’t look like the kind of woman that needed to be swayed or told what to do. She seemed assertive and confident and Hen would be lying if she said that wasn’t attractive as hell.

“Okay,” Hen said. “If you insist.”

“So what do you do for a living?” Karen asked casually as she studied Hen from across the table.

“I’m a paramedic.” Hen smiled. “I work with the LAFD, Firehouse 118.”

“Wow.” Karen’s eyebrows shot up at her words before bringing her glass up to her lips and taking a small sip. “So you’re just out there saving lives every day.”

“It’s my job,” Hen replied. Karen gave her a disbelieving look before Hen added, “it’s what I’m most passionate about. What about you?”

“I’m… a rocket scientist,” Karen responded cautiously, causing a startled laugh to burst past Hen’s lips. “I mean there’s a lot of really boring ways that I could explain what I really do, but that’s the jist of it.”

“You’re an actual, living rocket scientist?”

“I am.” Hen picked up on the trepidation in Karen’s voice instantly and it made Hen’s lips pull down into a frown. The lightness in Karen’s features had slipped away into a more protective mask. “People usually like the idea of dating someone smart… until they believe that they’re too smart, you know?”

“Well I don’t really know you at all, aside from the fact that you must be brilliant,” Hen said. “But I feel like those idiots must really be missing out because they’re threatened by your intelligence.”

“And you’re not?” Karen asked. “Afraid or threatened?”

Hen pressed her lips together thoughtfully before letting out a light laugh. “I learned a long time ago that you can’t just put people into boxes. I’m more than a firefighter and you’re more than a rocket scientist. If people don’t click then… that’s it, y’know? But writing someone off for something like that is crazy, especially when the dating pool is pretty shallow to begin with.”

Karen’s features softened again and her smile returned. Hen was thankful that she was the one to put it there and not Karen’s date that was missing out across town.

“Can I buy you a drink, Karen?”

As soon as the words left her mouth she noticed Chim entering the bar, and he stopped short when he saw her at the table with Karen. He pulled out his phone and a moment later she heard the sound alerting her of an incoming text, then Chim motioned towards the exit. She glanced down at her phone briefly, seeing a text from Chim that told her to text if she needed to leave, but she looked busy.

Hen smiled and turned her attention back to Karen.

“Well, I’d been planning on a date tonight and we both know that didn’t quite work out,” Karen said. “Anyway, I don’t think a bar is really date worthy. If you’re willing, I’d love it if you’d let me take you somewhere.”

It would be crazy to say yes to this woman that she’d met only twenty minutes ago. Sheonly knew her first name and occupation, but in spite of that, Hen didn’t hesitate.

“Yeah, I’d really like that.”

*

“I’m not really sure where I expected you to take me,” Hen said, watching as Karen turned around holding a couple bowls of ice cream. “But taking me out for ice cream really wasn’t it.”

Karen laughed as she rejoined Hen, handing her the mint chocolate chip ice cream that she’d ordered. “Going to a restaurant on short notice isn’t the best idea. Besides,” Karen turned to face the beach. “Most of them don’t have a view like this.”

“That’s true,” Hen agreed. She took the offered ice cream from Karen with a smile and thanked her for it, letting her eyes linger on Karen, then followed her gaze to the sunset. “You really can’t beat the view. Plus, who says no to ice cream?”

They took their time and walked along the pier while they ate their ice cream, keeping the conversation light while still trying to get to know one another. Hen was still kind of blown away that this is the turn her night had taken. She had been planning on having beers with Chim and now she was walking next to an incredible woman who she suddenly felt the need to know everything about.

It was hard to explain it, especially since she didn’t even know she existed before today. Still, she felt the need settle in her chest, big and overwhelming. Karen was easy to talk to, to be honest with— which Hen had found wasn’t normally the case.

“Are you up to a walk on the beach?” Karen asked as they tossed their empty bowls into the trash.

“Yeah, of course.” Hen slipped her sandals off, picking them up when they reached the sand, waiting for Karen as she did the same before they started on their walk down the beach. There were still people scattered about on the sand, some families here and there, building sandcastles and playing volleyball. They continued toward the more secluded stretch of the beach.

“I’m gonna say something really crazy,” Hen said, looking over at Karen as they continued their walk, the familiar dampness of the cool sand beneath her feet grounding her.

“Oh here we go. Are you some lifetime criminal who’s running from the law?”

“What?” Hen couldn’t contain her laughter. “No.”

“You were abducted by aliens?”

“No, I—” Hen bit down on her lower lip, trying to restrain her smile, looking out of the corner of her eye at Karen. “I don’t feel like we’ve just met. Talking to you like this, getting to know you feels easy. And it’s never easy. Dating is a freaking minefield and there are so many terrible singles out there.”

Hen halted when she felt the warmth of Karen’s hand surrounding her empty one, coming to a complete stop. Her laughter cut off when Karen’s eyes settled on her own.

There were so many awful dates that Hen could recall although she had been on some decent ones, too. She’d spent years with Eva and it was impossible to explain it—but she felt like she knew Karen better than that, despite the fact that they had just met a couple of hours ago.

“I feel that way too. Even if it doesn’t make any sense,” Karen admitted, still holding Hen’s hand in her own as they gazed into each other’s eyes, the sun reflecting off of the water as it set.

They stood there, toes curling into the sand, enjoying the warmth of the summer night together. “Do you wanna go walk down closer to the water?” Hen asked.

“I have another kind of crazy idea,” Karen admitted, still holding Hen’s hand. She simply tilted her head to the side a little, waiting for Karen to continue. “I’d really like to kiss you, if that’s okay. If you don’t want to, there’s no hard feelings.”

Hen smiled, letting her sandals fall from her other hand and they plopped into the sand below. Karen did the same and the awkwardness that would be usual for two women who’d only just met tonight was nowhere to be found.

“I’d really like it if you kissed me,” Hen whispered, the sound of the waves creating a perfect soundtrack. Karen took a half-step closer and leaned in for a light kiss to Hen’s lips, their mouths barely touching. Hen reveled in the sweetness of her kiss, tasting like the chocolate ice cream she’d finished only a little while ago. As Karen moved to take a step back, Hen chased after her lips, wanting another small taste, just another moment of Karen’s lips pressed against hers.

The kiss was fleeting, then Karen pulled back with a smile. “Never thought I’d say this, but I’m really glad I showed up at the wrong bar tonight.”

Hen laughed softly, casting a glance at Karen. “Yeah, me too. It’s kind of crazy when you think about it.”