The Best Laid Plans. Amy Vastine

quiet, Alvarez. Arcades can be a ton of fun,” Jones argued as the entire room erupted in laughter.

      Lieutenant Keller shook his head. “I hate to break it to you, Jones, but there may be plenty of first dates in your future but absolutely zero second ones.”

      Probies were usually on the receiving end of a lot of teasing, but Jones had a way of saying and doing things that made him the biggest target of all. He looked to Serena, the only female at Station 22. “Hayes, you’re a woman. Help me out here.”

      “Why do I think I’m going to regret this?” she grumbled from behind the Chicago Tribune.

      “You’d have fun at an arcade, wouldn’t you?”

      She peered over her newspaper at him. “Did you really take some poor girl to the arcade? What was she, ten years old?”

      “Come on! It was a fun date!”

      Charlie chuckled. Even he knew better than to take a woman to the arcade on a first date. He also had success getting many second dates. What he didn’t know was how to become more than just a date.

      Emma was bringing a date to the wedding. The disappointment this created in Charlie weighed down his usually buoyant mood even now, days later. He tried to focus on the positives: she had liked his idea for the wedding and there had been no confirmation of a boyfriend, only a date.

      There was still hope.

      Charlie didn’t simply want to date Emma. He wanted to be that someone who made her lose track of time, the guy she’d want to spend the day with no matter what her other plans were. That meant he needed to be interesting instead of some boring pushover who had basically complimented her right out the door.

      “I’d love to know what women want,” he said aloud unintentionally.

      More than a few heads swung in Charlie’s direction.

      “Fletcher needs dating advice?” Jones asked. “Since when?”

      Pete O’Reilly, the shift’s cook, set a plate of brownies on the table that were snatched up in a matter of seconds. He was happily married to a gorgeous woman, who he claimed was an even better cook than he was. In fact, the two of them ran a catering business together when he wasn’t cooking for this motley crew. The O’Reillys had three adorable kids and somehow managed to keep the romance alive after fifteen years of marriage. Everyone—except Alvarez, the eternal bachelor—wanted to be as lucky as O’Reilly someday.

      “Who you got your eye on?” Pete asked Charlie while everyone else was busy devouring their dessert. “Is it that blonde you were talking to at Duke’s last week?”

      “I bet he’s planning to make a move on that new paramedic at 55,” another firefighter guessed. A discussion erupted over how distracting her good looks had been at the softball game last week.

      Serena folded her paper up and set it on the table. “My money’s on a tall brunette who works at Saint Joe’s.”

      The room fell silent and Charlie’s jaw dropped. “How did you know that?”

      Serena rolled her eyes. “If you had seen yourself the other day, you would not be asking me that question. I had never witnessed a tongue-tied Charlie Fletcher before then. It was very entertaining.”

      No one could believe it. If there was one thing everyone knew about Charlie, it was that he could talk to anyone. He made friends with people who were just walking down the same street. That was who Charlie was. He was everyone’s friend. Didn’t matter if you were eight or eighty, a drop-dead gorgeous waitress or a wrinkly old retiree. Charlie would talk your ear off.

      “Fletcher at a loss for words? I would’ve loved to have seen that,” Alvarez said.

      Everyone wanted to know who this tall brunette was. They began badgering Serena for her name and any other details she could remember. Luckily for Charlie, Serena wasn’t a gossip. She wouldn’t say anything.

      “Come on, give us something!” Jones pleaded.

      “She’s a nurse in the ER and that’s all you guys are getting,” Charlie said. “I tell you a name and the next thing I know, she’ll be getting provocative gifts sent to Saint Joe’s claiming to be from me.”

      “You know us so well,” Alvarez admitted.

      O’Reilly waved his hand dismissively. “Sounds like you’ve got nothing to worry about, Charlie. The nurses over at Saint Joe’s love you.”

      “Like Fletcher ever has problems getting a date,” Jones said with a hint of jealousy. “Women think he’s so funny.”

      “Aw, don’t feel bad, Jones,” Alvarez consoled him. “Women think you’re funny, too. I mean, they’re laughing at you, but they sure think you’re hilarious.”

      Jones stood up and puffed out his chest, challenging Alvarez to “bring it.” Alvarez rose to his feet, ready to do just that. The lieutenant barked at them both to sit down and knock it off. They both did as they were told, but Charlie saw Jones mouth that this wasn’t over.

      Charlie had learned over the years that firefighters were no different than brothers. They teased one another relentlessly but would lay down their lives for each other without a second thought.

      The alarm sounded, effectively putting an end to fun time. Everyone scattered to gear up. Charlie got the information from dispatch regarding the nature of the call and location. Serena made sure the ambulance was properly loaded and jumped into the driver’s seat.

      “So, what’s up with you and this nurse?”

      Charlie belted himself in. “Emma’s my buddy’s soon-to-be sister-in-law. I have a little crush, but I think she’s already spoken for.”

      “Married?”

      “No, but she plans to bring a date to the wedding.”

      “Well, then, unless they’re engaged, she’s still up for grabs. A nice guy like you shouldn’t have much trouble convincing her to give you a shot.”

      “I don’t know about that. The last two women I dated broke up with me because I’m supposedly too nice. Then there were the ones who didn’t want to settle down with a guy who didn’t aspire to be more than, and I quote, ‘an ambulance driver.’”

      Serena made a sharp left as she followed the fire truck in the lead. There was nothing she hated more than being called an ambulance driver. As if riding in an ambulance was akin to taking a taxi. “Who said that? That teacher you were dating?”

      “That’s the one.”

      “Don’t you listen to a word that woman had to say. She was all wrong for you. I could have told you that after ten minutes of talking to her. She also shouldn’t work in a school. She hates children. She shouldn’t settle down with anyone.”

      Charlie couldn’t argue with Serena’s impression of Jenny, the fifth-grade teacher he’d dated for over two months. She was cute and funny, but not the most compassionate soul he’d ever met.

      “Emma’s not like Jenny. I think she falls more in the first category—unimpressed with nice guys. We’re helping plan the wedding for her sister and my friend. I tried to be agreeable about everything, but somehow that didn’t seem to win her over. I got the sense she didn’t find my cooperativeness very interesting.”

      “Your cooperativeness?” Serena laughed. “Oh, Charlie. You can’t agree with everything the woman says.”

      “What is wrong with agreeing with a woman? Don’t women love to be right? You love being right. Wouldn’t you like it if a guy told you that you were?”

      “I like being right, but where’s the fun in it if the guy never tries being wrong?”

      Charlie wasn’t following.

      “Most