Firefighters Next Door: A MFM Menage Romance Read online

  Firefighters Next Door

  A MFM Menage Romance

  Nicole Casey

  Copyright © 2019 by Nicole Casey. All Rights Reserved.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronically, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the proper written permission of the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental.

  Temptation Next Door Series

  Hot Dad Next Door

  Doctor Next Door

  Mr. Fixit Next Door

  Author Next Door

  Prince Next Door

  Firefighters Next Door

  Contents

  1. Alice

  2. Max

  3. Jeremy

  4. Alice

  5. Jeremy

  6. Max

  7. Alice

  8. Jeremy

  9. Alice

  10. Max

  11. Alice

  12. Jeremy

  13. Alice

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Nicole’s New Series is coming your way…

  Sneak Peek of Book 1: Two Billionaires in Vegas

  1. Erin

  2. Jackson

  3. Erin

  4. Caleb

  Also By Nicole Casey

  About the Author

  1

  Alice

  “Sweet child, don’t you have a man at home to get back to? This is your second graveyard shift this week.”

  I looked up at Cookie and smiled politely. I was exhausted, but that wasn’t any excuse to forget my manners. I giggled half-heartedly. “I’m covering for Kayla.”

  Cookie rolled his eyes and made a show of putting his hands on his hips. “You’re too nice to that girl, child. She needs to learn a little responsibility. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she’s trying to work you to death.”

  I shook my head and grinned. “You’re just saying that because you don’t like her.”

  He snapped his fingers with a flamboyant head shift from side to side. “Damn straight, girl. She’s one nasty bi–”

  Wilma, our fry cook, smashed the little silver bell sitting on the service counter. She looked as tired as I was, with heavy circles beneath her eyes. Her brow was shiny with sweat, and the few stray hairs that weren’t contained within her hair net stuck to her temples and cheeks. “Your orders up, Alice,” she informed me, flat and to the point. She glared at Cookie and sighed, “For fuck’s sake, stop distracting my only waitress. She’s got tables to take care of.”

  I picked up the two sizzling plates of food –the Jessy’s Diner combo platter full of lightly salted fries, fried pepperoni, savory onion rings, and juicy breaded mozzarella sticks– and brought it over to the massive table of ten sitting in the corner. The group consisted of seven men and three women, all of whom were dressed in light brown turnout pants with yellow reflective bars sewn around the ankles. They weren’t wearing their matching firefighter jackets, and were instead in matching navy blue shirts with Sacramento Fire Department badges printed in gold over their chests.

  “Here we are,” I said chipperly as I placed their appetizers down. I quickly rake my eye over the table and notice the majority of them are already finished with their drinks. “Can I get you some more beer?”

  The pair of men sitting at the very end of the table caught my eye. They were younger than their colleagues, maybe in their mid-to-late twenties. One of them, the one with short black hair and deep brown eyes, raised a finger at me. He smiled wide, wearing his boyish smirk like a badge of honor. He had incredibly broad shoulders, and it looked as though the fabric of his shirt could barely contain the hard muscles of his arms and chest. His face was bright and charming, capable of making anyone smile just by looking at him. From where I was, I managed to glimpse at the tattoo that snaked its way around his right bicep, burying itself beneath his shirt sleeve.

  “We’ll take two more here, miss,” he said. He nudged the guy beside him with the point of his elbow. “Right, Max?”

  The man sitting next to him, Max, was built just as sturdy. They almost seemed like brothers, though he didn’t seem as outgoing. I studied his face, drawn to the dark green of his eyes and the soft appearance of his cropped brown hair. He wasn’t exactly scowling, but his relaxed expression seemed generally standoffish. Even still, it was impossible to deny how handsome he was in a rugged, don’t-mess-with-me kind of way. Looking at the two of them together, they reminded me of an excited puppy and a bitter old cat who’d found an unlikely friendship with one another.

  “We shouldn’t go overboard, Jeremy,” said Max. His voice took me by surprise. It was a lot lower than I thought it would be, devastatingly deep and commanding. His words filled my ears, bounced around in my brain. I thought he could have made a killing as one of those movie trailer voiceover actors if he ever decided he wanted a change of pace.

  Jeremy rolled his eyes and groaned. There wasn’t any heat behind the gesture, more of a dry sarcasm shared between two good friends. “Oh, come on. We’ve got tomorrow off. Live a little, would you?” He turned to me and threw me a casual wink. “What do you think, miss? Can you help me convince him?”

  A little giggle bubbled past my lips. It wasn’t one of those fake waitress-laughs I had to throw on from time to time in order to guarantee a bigger tip at the end of the meal. This was something genuine, something light and playful. Jeremy seemed like a really fun kind of guy, but I also felt sympathetic for his friend. I wasn’t much of a drinker, either, so I said in his defense, “I think you should do whatever makes you happy.”

  For a second, I thought I saw a ghost of smile flickered across Max’s lips. It faded away too quickly for me to truly be sure. He simply let out a small grunt. I couldn’t tell if it was a sound of approval or not.

  “Fine,” he mumbled, “two beers.”

  Jeremy nudged Max in the arm again. “Dear God, who taught you your manners? What’s the magic word?”

  I giggled and waved my hand dismissively. “It’s alright, no worries. I’m sure you’ve all had a very long day. I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

  As I walked away, I heard Jeremy whisper to his friend, “She’s kind of cute, don’t you think?” I was fairly certain he said it just loud enough for me to hear, but I didn’t stick around long enough to learn Max’s reply. I was too busy scurrying back to the small bar area, checking my reflection in the bar display’s mirror backing to make sure I wasn’t as red in the cheeks as I felt. Luckily, only the tip of my ears had turned a discreet shade of pink at the compliment.

  I grabbed two frosted glasses from the wide freezer just beneath the bar, moving with ease to pour the beers from the tap. As I watched the amber liquid fill the bottom of the glass, which I had tilted to reduce the amount of foam head, I occasionally glanced over at Jeremy and Max. It had been a long time since I’d been with anyone. Even though I was busy with work, a girl still had needs. The last time I had sex would have been six months ago, back when I was still with Kellan. I was disappointed things between us had to come to a crashing, car wreck of an end. Kellan just wasn’t willing to give me as much as I was willing to give him.

  After placing the beers on a black plastic serving tray, I made my way back over, studying the duo with my ey
es. I didn’t do it often, but every now and then, I liked to daydream about my customers. While I waited for tables to finish their meals, I’d sometimes come up with little backstories for them. It was a necessity to keep my mind active, especially during graveyard shifts when customers came in sporadically throughout the night and all my side duties were already taken care of so there was nothing to do.

  I wondered how long Max and Jeremy knew each other. Judging by the way they spoke –or rather, how Jeremy spoke to Max– I assumed they must have been old friends. There was a familiarity between them, something warm and trusting. I wondered what sorts of things they got up to in the run of a day. The life of a firefighter must have been super exciting, unlike the boring waitressing gig I managed to land myself. I supposed I made good enough money here. Every dollar I earned through tips went straight into my college fund, but it was still mind-numbing work sometimes. Day in and day out, it was always the same orders, the same combos.

  That was what the daydreaming was for.

  Not saying that I would, but if I had to choose someone to come home with me, I’d probably pick Jeremy. He seemed easy to get along with, like he’d be up for the thrill. On the flip side, Max was also a very good candidate. He looked like the kind of man who was neat in the street and a freak in the sheets. I wondered what it would feel like to be held in his strong arms, what his weight would feel like on top of me. This was obviously just a hypothetical scenario in my head to keep the boredom at bay. I wasn’t the kind of girl to sleep with my customers, no matter how sexy they may have been.

  I dropped off their beers, placing them on the table before them.

  “What do you say, Max?” Jeremy teased.

  Max sighed and muttered, “Thank you.”

  I found myself giggling lightly once again. They really did make a weird pair –two complete opposites that in reality shouldn’t work, but totally did anyways. “You’re welcome,” I replied.

  I let the table enjoy their finger food and drinks, returning to the serving station to make up a fresh pot of coffee. There were a couple other tables that I needed to attend to, but they were all regulars at Jessy’s Diner. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson, the elderly couple sitting in the middle booth by the tiny display of vintage maple syrup cans, always came in late at night to enjoy some of Cookie’s famous cherry pie. They were the easy-going kind of folks, so I only every checked on them when they waved their hands at me to flag me down. I also had a table full of teenagers –a mean looking bunch, if I was being perfectly honest– that kept ordering soft drink refills because it was free. I didn’t expect too big of a tip from them, but I nevertheless made sure they had everything they needed.

  It was around one in the morning when an unruly group of bikers showed up. I heard them long before I saw them, the terrifying rumble of their motorcycle engines shaking loose everything in the diner that wasn’t bolted down. It was like a stampede of buffalo had just come through. They stomped on in through the glass doors, stupidly pushing against it instead of pulling. I stifled a frustrated sigh. I was going to have to wipe the glass free of their smudgy handprints when I got a second.

  “Welcome to Jessy’s Diner,” I greeted as professionally as possible.

  They didn’t bother to acknowledge me. They were all big and burly and rude, shoving right past me to claim a table in an obviously closed section of the diner. The night shift didn’t normally see so much business, so half of the restaurant was closed and set up for the next morning’s breakfast service. A part of me really wanted to go over there and ask them to move to one of the free tables, but one look at them as a collective group had my stomach doing flips. There’s was no way they’d listen to someone as small and timid as myself. I was just going to have to grin and bear it, cleaning and setting up once they left.

  I was about to drop off a couple of menus and ask if I could bring some refreshments over, but one of the bikers –a mountain of a man with a bald head but a full beard– slapped me right on the ass and chortled, “Bring us whatever’s on tap, sweetheart. Make it snappy.”

  I flinched, unable to find the right words to berate the man. “I, uh– O-okay.” My cheeks flushed bright red as I scurried away, too embarrassed to do anything but glare furiously at the ground.

  Cookie and Wilma, who’d seen the whole thing happen, had left their stations and exited through the kitchen doors. Wilma patted me on the back in a stiff attempt at comfort while Cookie crossed his arms in front of his chest and huffed, “You alright, honey? I can kick them out if you want.”

  I sniffled back tears, refusing to let the rising humiliation in my chest get the better of me. Sometimes I wondered if I should get a different job, but I knew I didn’t have a pretty enough resume to get anything better. I just needed to swallow my pride and work until my fingers were raw. The second I had enough money squirreled away, I promised myself things were going to change. I was going to put myself through college, I was going to follow my passion in design, and I was going to make something of myself.

  Dealing with assholes was just an obstacle, another test for me to ace –even if it was a struggle sometimes. If I could handle standing up to Kellan, I could handle serving these people for an hour or two.

  “I-it’s okay,” I mumbled. “Let’s just hurry and serve them so they get out of here.”

  Cookie gawked and pointed in the bikers’ general direction. “I think that might be sooner than you think.”

  I turned around and spotted Max and Jeremy approaching the group of bikers. Their backs were turned toward me, so I wasn’t able to make out what they were saying, but judging by how abruptly the bearded biker stood up and grabbed Max by the shirt collar, I had to guess it wasn’t something very pleasant.

  Everything that came next happened in the blink of an eye. Upon seeing that their colleagues were in trouble, the rest of the firefighters rose from their seats and rushed over, backing Max and Jeremy up. They outnumbered the bikers two-to-one, so it was understandable to see why they backed down as quickly as they did. The bearded man hissed something under his breath, shoving Max out of the way.

  “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” he grumbled as he left.

  Jeremy broke out into a fit of giggles. “See? This is why you need to drink more often. You’re way more fun.”

  I shuffled over, anxiously threading my fingers together. “A-are you okay? What happened?”

  “We should be asking you,” said Max, gruff as ever. He sounded angry, though I didn’t think it was directed at me.

  Jeremy patted his friend on the shoulder. “We saw you getting hassled. Thought we’d do something about it.”

  “Th-that was very sweet of you,” I bumbled, heart racing in my chest. “You really shouldn’t have, though. You could’ve gotten hurt.”

  Max didn’t say much. He simply grunted before reaching into his pocket to pull out his wallet. He handed me a couple twenty-dollar bills and muttered, “We need to get going. That should cover the table.”

  I glanced down at my palms quickly and listened to my stomach squeal with muffled joy. “T-this is much too much,” I started to protest, but Max was already on his way out the door.

  Jeremy simply shook his head and chuckled. “Don’t mind him. He’s really shy. Sorry if we caused you any trouble, miss.”

  “Alice,” I breathed. “My name’s Alice.”

  He grinned at me, brilliant and dazzling. He stuck his hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Alice. I’m Jeremy Rodriguez. My buddy there’s Max Cato. And well–” He gestured to the rest of his crew, but most of them had already left. “And they’re gone, so I guess you’ll only need to remember two names.”

  “Does this mean you’ll be stopping by again soon?”

  “Probably. We really liked the service.”

  A little laugh escapes my throat as my cheeks reheat. “Let me guess, you’re the smooth talker while he’s tall, dark, and handsome?”

  Jeremy chuckled. “Do I not fit the criteria,
too?”

  I blushed harder than I’d ever blushed in my entire life. “I mean, you’re more tall, bright, and handsome. You don’t really have the brooding thing going for you.”

  He burst into laughter. It was difficult not to laugh along with him. I tucked a strand of my red hair behind my ear, sheepishly glancing away.

  “Would it be alright if I gave you my number?” he asked me.

  My smile evaporated at the question, returning to something more neutral and professional. Flirting was one thing, but actually exchanging contact information? That was a different situation entirely. I threaded my fingers back together as I pushed memories of Kellan away. He used to always check my phone to make sure I wasn’t texting any other men. Sometimes he’d sneak into my Instagram app and block old high school friends of mine without my knowledge. Kellan used to always say that it was a mistake, or that he wasn’t thinking straight because he got so jealous at the thought of me with someone else. I used to think it was endearing at first.

  Right up until it wasn’t.

  I shook my head slowly, smiling gently to let Jeremy down easy. “I’m sorry. I… I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  Jeremy, unperturbed, smiled at me and shrugged his shoulders. “Alright, no problem. Can’t blame a guy for trying, right? I’ll see you around, yeah?”

  “Uh, yeah. Yeah, sounds good.”

  “Have a good night, Alice.”

  “You, too.”

  I watched as Jeremy left, just like the rest of them, catching up to Max in the parking lot of Jessy’s Diner. The soft blue glow of the restaurant’s neon sign casting them in gentle light. Jeremy threw his arm over Max’s shoulder, and Max immediately shrugged him off. I observed their mouths moving, but couldn’t make out a word.