Stuck.

chapter fourteen , Hot Girl Summer

a/n : I just started thinking about more ideas for this fic and...it's going to be so sad

Don't forget to comment, I love hearing what you guys have to say!

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"Ow, dammit!"

Amaya holds up her arms as Emery clutches her foot. "These narrow ass halls..."

"I'm sorry, mom said that she'll be able to come and pick me up next week." Amaya huffs.

Emery shakes her head, "No, you're fine." She grabs the breakfast take out and sets it on the table. "I just need to find a new place."

After the earthquake, Emerson's entire apartment complex was destroyed. Everyone that lived in the building had to find a new place. Emery's parents lived 2 hours away from L.A. so even if she wanted to stay with them, the hassle to drive back and forth would be too much. Emery didn't want to bother any of her co-workers even though they (except for Buck) insisted on letting her live with them. Emery reassured everyone that she was okay and decided on staying at a hotel. Since the roads were still under co structure from the earthquake, it was going to take their parents about a little longer to get to L.A. So, Amaya was staying with Emerson.

And the two bed hotel room was getting smaller as the days went on.

"I can help you, y'know?" Amaya says. "Since I'm doing online school. I've got a lot more free time on my hands."

Both sisters sit down at the table and open the box of breakfast. Emerson chuckles, "I appreciate it. And since you'll be spending a lot of time there, how about you pitch in on rent too?"

Amaya purses her lips, "I think me helping you find a place is enough."

Emery rolls her eyes, grabs two pancakes, and puts them on her plate . Amaya watches her sister eat the pancakes. "How are you doing?"

Emery looks at her little sister and shrugs. "Fine."

"Emery..."

Emerson raises her brows. "I mean, I work. So, I'm good. But if you're talking about if I still think of William? Then, yes. I do think of William and I am not fine."

Amaya places her hands against the table. "You need to get over him--"

"I know, I know." Emery presses her hands on her head.

Amaya squints her eyes and slowly nods her head. She then runs her tongue across her teeth.

"I think you need a hot girl summer."

Emery slows her chewing, "I'm sorry—a what now?"

Amaya bunches her shoulders. "A hot girl summer. Be selfish, have fun."

"Have fun? I have fun."

"No, hot girl fun." Amaya emphasizes.

Emery holds her arms out, "I am a hot girl!"

"Sex, Emerson—sex!"

"Oh, God, Amaya!" Emery covers her face and shakes her head. "Why are you taking about that?!"

"I didn't want to say the word, but you weren't understanding." Amaya cocks her head to the side. "It's not my fault you live under a rock."

"Okay, fine." Emery drops her hands to the table. "So, this 'hot girl summer'...I have sex—"

"Meaningless sex." Amaya shrugs. "Just have fun. No feelings or attachments."

"With randos?"

"Yeah, randos. Or someone who you know you wouldn't have feelings for." Amaya shrugs and takes a bite out of her pancake.

Emery purses her lips. "So, I just...have fun."

Amaya nods, "Yeah and when I mean fun. I mean, doing things you wouldn't normally do."

"What I do is fun!"

"All you do is work, clean, and do crosswords."

Emery timidly looks at her pizza.

"I do word searches too..."

Amaya shakes her head and laughs. Emery then pulls her brows together, "Wait, how do you know what a hot girl summer is?"

Amaya holds her hands up, "Emerson, I'm almost 17."

Emery wrinkles her nose, "You need to stop growing up."

☆

"She's over here!"

The Firefighters get out of the fire engine and enter the Saddle Ranch.

"Holy crap, you are hot."

Emery snorts, "You don't have to lie, ma'am."

Buck quietly mocks the girl and lightly elbows her arm. They manage to get through the crowded bar and make it to the parking lot. Emery stops in her tracks, "Now, I knew we were going to see a lady with her head stuck in a tailpipe. But it's still weird just seeing it."

"Right?" Chimney voices.

"What's her name?"

"Betty." The man states.

"Jennifer." The woman corrects from the inside of the tailpipe.

The buzzed cut man raises his brows. "Sorry, I thought you meant my truck."

Emery rolls her eyes, "Oh, God..."

"This is your truck?" Bobby asks.

"Yeah, but it's not lie I backed into her." The man says. "She did this out of her own free will."

"You dared her to." A woman in the crowd voices.

All the firefighters look at the man and he tenses. "We were flirting."

Emery pulls her brows together, "That's your idea of flirting?"

The buzzed cut man looks at the girl and his jaw goes slack. "My idea of flirting is whatever your idea is." he takes a step towards her.

Emery wrinkles her nose and looks at guy up and down, while Buck laughs. She nudges Buck in order to silence him. Emery ignores what the man said and crouches next to the truck. "Hey, Jennifer, How you feeling?"

"Uh, pretty good, actually." Jennifer answers. "Except for this whole, you know, ginormous tailpipe on my head."

"Hey, Jennifer, you're gonna feel me poking around." Hen speaks. "We're just checking you out, okay?"

"All right."

"Why is this tailpipe so large?" Chimney asks.

The buzzed cut man crouches beside Emery. "It's custom."

Emery snaps her eyes over to the man, "Okay...?"

"Where'd she get these bruises on her arm?"

"I just wanted you to know--"

"You know, it's illegal to have a tailpipe with a diameter larger than fifteen inches, right?" Emery arches a brow.

A small smile forms on his lips. "Do you just know random facts? Because, that is so hot."

"Please take step back, sir. We need space to work." Emery looks away from the man.

"My name is Josh, by the way." He stands up and steps away from Emery.

Emery lets out a deep sigh, "Of course, it is..."

"Where'd she get these bruises on her arm?" Bobby asks.

Josh holds his hands up, "It wasn't me."

"It's from the bull." One of Jennifer's friends speaks. "She rode it like, five times."

"There's no way we're gonna get a collar on her." Chimney states.

"I got it."

"Get me out of this thing!"

"These things are meant to increase the power to the engine." Buck states.

Emery rolls her eyes, "Of course, you're an expert in cars."

"Jealous?"

"Horrified, actually." Emery gives him a cheeky smile. "A TSA 230 saw should do the trick, Cap."

Bobby nods, "Like a knife through butter. Let's get to it."

"Chim?"

"Excuse me. Way ahead of you, Cap." Chimney comes through the crowd with the saw in hand.

"What?! No, I spent 1,200 bucks on that tailpipe." Josh exclaims.

Emery frowns, "Think about it this way. Now, you won't get fined."

"You might want to close your eyes during this part." Bobby says.

Josh looks at Emerson and the girl jokingly covers her eyes with small laughter. One of Jennifer's friends holds her phone out to Buck. "Just type your number in my phone, and I'll text you so you have mine."

"Thanks, but I actually have a girlfriend, and I need to focus right now so my Captain doesn't cut your friend's head off." Buck declines the woman.

"Hi. Do you have Snapchat?" Another woman talks to Eddie.

Emery closes her eyes and presses her thumb between her brows.

"No. And, uh, I don't think I'm what you're looking for." Eddie says. "I have...I have a son."

"That's great. So do I." The woman smiles.

"Can I get your number or something?" Josh asks Emery.

Chimney and Hen look at eachother, smiling at the three young firefighters that were stressed from the attention. Emery looks at Josh, then the two woman. "Okay--you three, get back. Now." she motions her hands back and the three step away from them. Emery exhales a sharp breath.

"I think I'm gonna puke!" Jennifer call outs.

"You better not." One of her friends speak.

"These fire guys are totallly hot." The woman calls out. Her eyes shift to Emery and she tilts her head. "And there's a fire chick out here, who is smoking. And I think she's gunning for Josh."

"What?!" Jennifer exclaims.

Emery rolls her eyes, "Okay, first of all, thank you for calling me smoking." she smiles. "And second of all, I am not going after Josh. I just got out of a serious relationship!"

"Wait, you and William broke up?" Chimney asks.

Emery closes her eyes and groans. "Dammit..." she looks at Chimney. "Yes, we broke up."

"Jeez, Em. I'm sorry." Eddie says.

Emery shakes her head, "We can talk about this later--"

"I knew first!" Buck holds a hand up.

"You told Buck?!" Chimney exclaims. "Before me?!"

"Well, I knew first, actually." Hen speaks.

"What?!" Buck gasps.

"I feel so betrayed right now." Chimney places a hand against his forehead, trying to comprehend this information.

"Guys, can we focus please?" Bobby speaks from under the truck with Jennifer.

Emery points at Bobby, "Yes. Captain is right. We need to refocus on the task at hand. And I will explain this to everyone later."

Jennifer was finally cut off of the truck and they pulled the tailpipe off her head with some borrowed lube.

"Wow, you really are hot." Jennifer says, looking at the firefighters.

"Would you like us to transport you to the hospital, get checked out?"

"She just needs another drink."

Emery lets out a deep laugh, "Uh, that's a no."

"What she needs to do is go home." Bobby states. "All three of you do, in a cab."

"Listen to me. When you sober up, you feel like you have a headache or blurry vision, or you feel confused, you got to get yourself to a hospital, you understand?" Bobby advises.

Jennifer slowly nods her head, then she erupts into a fit of drunken laughter. Hen holds the cut off tailpipe towards Emery and she pinches her brows together. "What?--"

"Firefighter!"

Emery's expression drops, "Hen--"

"Have fun..." Hen says in a singing tone. She wiggles her fingers and walks away. Emery turns on her heel toward Josh. He stands in front of her. Emery presses her lips together and holds the tailpipe toward him. Josh chuckles softly and grabs the tailpipe. "It's cool. There was a plus side to this."

"Yeah? And what was that?" Emery places her hands on her hips and tilts her head up at the man.

"I got to meet you."

Emery raises her brows and snorts. She covers her mouth and laughs. She then shakes her head, "Oh, God. Listen, I am super flattered. But, I'm not looking for..." she trails off her sentence. Emerson was going to say "She wasn't looking for anything". But then she thought about her conversation with Amaya earlier. Hot Girl Summer.

Emery rolls her lips into her mouth, before she speaks. "I'm not looking for anything serious." she corrects her words.

Josh raises his brows, "Oh. All right."

Emery presses her lips into a small smile. She goes to turn away from him.

"So, can I give you my number?"

Emerson stops in her tracks. She turns on her heel back towards the buzzed cut boy. Emery frowns, "Uh, yeah. Sure..." she smirks and holds her phone out to Josh. He grabs the phone and puts his contact information in. He hands it back to her and Emery grabs it.

"I guess, I'll be seeing you."

Emery nods her head, "Yes, you will."

☆

Emery and Buck didn't get along one-on-one. But lately they've been hanging around each other a lot and that was due to them both being friends with Eddie.

Buck and Emery quickly follow Eddie through the hospital. Eddie catches sight of a familiar face, "My Aunt." He walks over to her. "Tia. ¿Qué Pasó? Is Christopher okay?"

Emery and Buck watch as Eddie and his aunt hug.

"You mean Prince Charming, hmm?" She points behind Eddie. "He's peachy."

Emery follows the woman's finger and sees Christopher talking to the nurses.

"It's your Abuela. She broke her hip."

Emery quickly looks back at the woman.

"What? How?"

"She was out back on the steps and calling him to come inside." Eddie's aunt explains. "She lost her balance. Christopher called 9-1-1. The rescue got there really quick."

"I want to see her."

"No, she's sleeping now." Eddie's aunt notices the two people standing there. "And, uh, who are they?"

"This is Emery and Buck. We work together." Eddie introduces them.

Emery wiggles her fingers and presses her lips into a small smile.

Eddie's aunt softly hums. "I thought you just dress alike."

"This is my Aunt Josefina. Pepa." Eddie introduces.

"Hi."

"It's nice to meet you."

"You can't keep doing this, Eddie." Josefina says. "You cannot keep leaving him with her. She's not up to it."

Eddie nods his head, "I know, I know, and I'm sorry." his voice was filled with guilt. "I'm trying to find some permanent help, it's just...too many forms to fill out. It's worse than the V.A."

"I can't believe your gringa ex stuck you with all of this."

"I'm not stuck, Tia." Eddie quickly says.

Eddie loves Christopher. And the last thing he wanted was people assuming he was 'stuck'. Eddie was right where he wanted to be.

"Do you have to go back to work?" Josefina questions.

Eddie doesn't answer, but that gives his aunt an answer. "Ah. And you're not stuck." she shakes her head. "I'll keep him tonight, but you need to get this figured out."

"Daddy!"

Eddie turns to his son and a smile immediately finds his lips. He quickly makes his way over to Christopher and lifts him up into a hug.

"Must be rough." Buck voices.

"Raising any child alone is rough." Josefina states. "My nephew is a saint. But I pray for him anyway."

Josefina walks away and Emery inhales a small breath. She looks at Buck and pulls her brows together, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that Eddie needs help." Buck sighs.

Emery rolls her eyes, "Thanks for that, Captain Obvious." she scoffs. "I meant, what's your idea to help him out?"

Buck pulls his brows together, "Why do you wanna know?"

"So, I can help." Emery bunches her shoulders.

"You want to help me?" Buck cranes his neck forward,

"If it's to help Eddie? Then yeah, I'll put my hatred aside for you and help." Emery pats his arm. "You're gonna need it anyway."

Emery brushes past Buck and he lets out a bitter chuckle. "Come on, tell me about your terrible thought out idea, so I can organize it."

Buck holds his hands out to the frustrating girl and pretends to strangle her. He then exhales a defeated breath and follows after her.

...

After their shift, Emerson and Buck decided to go back to his (Abby's) place to discuss an idea on helping Eddie find anyone to help him take care of Christopher while he's at work. Kind of sucks these two hate each other. How were they supposed to start any conversation without insulting one another?

"So, what stupid idea did you come up with?"

Buck shakes his head, "You do realize you're in my house, right?"

Emery holds up her pen, "Uh, no. I'm in your absent Girlfriend's house. Which I find creepy, by the way."

Buck didn't admit this to anyone but Bobby, but he also thought it was weird that he's been staying at Abby's house without Abby there. Emery presses her lips together when she receives no answer. "You're not answering me because you know I'm right, right?"

"Wh-what?" Buck focuses on the girl's cocky smirk. "No—no! You're wrong, all right? I like staying here and I'm going to continue staying here until Abby comes back."

"And did she give a specific date of when she's coming back or...?"

Buck swallows and Emery quickly raises her brows. "Sh-Shut up."

"Also known as, 'Emerson is always right'." She fires off her imaginary gun at Buck. She then blows on it. "Now, what idea did you come up with?"

"Okay, uh, so I know Eddie's aunt has work sometimes. So, maybe until she can get off work we could talk to Bobby and get Christopher to stay at the Fire Station." Buck explains.

Emery slowly nods her head. "Okay, that's not...bad."

"You could just say it's a good idea—"

"Then I would be lying." Emery stands up. "Do you have food here or are you just sleeping here like a weirdo?"

Buck rolls his eyes, "Uh, there should be some stuff in the fridge. I just went shopping."

Emery snorts, "You grocery shop for this place?"

"Yeah, Emerson. I do."

Emery smirks when she hears the annoyance in Buck's voice. "Jeez, dude, chill out. S'not my fault you're living in your Ex's place—"

"Not my ex, actually." Buck turns to her. Emery grabs a yogurt from the fridge and sighs. "Oh, right. Of course, how could I forget?" She then rolls her eyes.

"Is this you're way of just forgetting about your painful breakup? By bashing on my incredibly healthy relationship?" Buck scoffs.

Emery squints her eyes, "Healthy? Incredibly healthy?"

Buck shifts. 'Incredibly healthy' was an exaggeration. He was just getting fed up with Emery talking shit about his relationship. Emery opens the yogurt, "Where are the spoons?"

"Drawer to the left..." Buck sinks in the couch. Emery pulls open the drawer and grabs a spoon. "Buck, as a connoisseur of unhealthy relationships. You and Abby aren't doing too hot."

Buck let's out a deep sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose. Emery walks over to Buck and sits next to him in the couch. "I'm going to say this in the most...nicest way I can possibly say this."

Buck reluctantly looks at Emery and he pulls his brows together. From the soft expression across her face, he figured she was going to actually say something nice. He thought she was going to give him some advice to save his relationship. He was desperate for it.

But, of course, he had his hopes too high.

"You're relationship with Abby died the day her mother did."

Buck covers his eyes as Emery nonchalantly eats her yogurt.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Buck groans.

Emery shrugs, "What, I just—"

"You can't say things like that." Buck shakes his head with his head in his hands. Emery blinks, she then rolls her eyes. "You needed to hear it, Buck."

"No, I didn't because I already knew that, Emerson."

Emery raises her brows and Buck's jaw goes slack. He didn't mean to admit it. But Emerson just had a way of making things come out. Whether it was unsaid words or emotions. And it drove him crazy. Emery tilts her head at the boy and looks him up and down. "Are you going to continue or—"

"No. Let's focus." He looks away from the girl.

"Oh, come on!" Emery sits criss-crossed and sets her yogurt on the table. "It's just us."

"Exactly. And I don't know if you know this, but I don't like you—"

"William cheated on me."

Buck snaps his eyes back over to her. Emery presses her lips together and shrugs her shoulders.

"He what?"

"He cheated." Emery points at herself. "On me."

Buck slowly shakes his head, "Emerson, I'm...that sucks. I'm sorry."

Emery purses her lips and slowly nods her head. Buck let's out a small breath, "I don't like staying here."

Buck motions around the house. "I mean, it's weird."

Emery nods her head, "Yeah, I could've told you that."

"You have told me that." Buck manages a small chuckle, but the pain was evident. Emery scrunches her lips together. She had to admit...a part of her felt bad for him.

Only a part of her, all right?

"Do you wanna beer?"

Buck looks at her.

"Do you even have beer?"

"Yeah, uh...freezer."

Emery raises her brows, "Freezer?"

"Yeah, I don't keep it in there for a long time. It's just better—"

"Freezing cold? Yeah, I do it all the time." Emery chuckles and walks into the kitchen. "Well, not all the time. I'm not an alcoholic or anything."

Buck turns and watches as Emery grabs the beers. He pulls his brows together. Emery has actually being tolerable these last couple minutes. And it shocked the hell out of him.

"Hey, what about Carla?"

Buck blinks, noticing Emery was staring at him. "Uh, what? Who?"

Emery cranes her neck forward, "Carla? The health caretaker for Abby's mom."

Buck knits his brows together, he then raises them and his eyes widen. He snaps his fingers and points at Emery. Emery then points at him.

"Carla!"

Buck shoots up from the couch and quickly walks over to Emery. She raises her brows as Buck stands close to her and dials a number on his phone. Emery holds the beer out to him and Buck looks at the beer then Emery. He takes a moment to notice the way Emery's dimples deepened when she smiled.

He slightly shakes his head and grabs the beer. A small chuckle leaves his lips. "Uh, thanks."

Emery raises their beer, "All in a day's work, Probie."

☆

The entire station spent the whole day with Eddie's son, Christopher. Everyone had their turn hanging out with him. Emerson challenged Christopher to a speed coloring race. He won. Emery took too much time coloring in the lines. Eddie was so grateful to everyone that helped him watch after Christopher. Especially since he's been having a hard time finding permanent assistance with watching after him while Eddie's working a shift.

"Daniel, help is here." The woman calls out. "The Fire Department is here."

Hen comforts the woman.

"Please tell me he's gonna be okay. Please help him."

"We're gonna do everything we can, okay? They're gonna take it over from here. What's his name?"

"It's Daniel."

"Hey, Daniel, can you hear me?" Bobby calls down from where the man fell through the floor panel.

"We got to get this stuff out of here." Chimney motions to the panels and wires.

Once they got everything out of their way, Bobby speaks.

"All right, Chim, you're on. Em, go down there and aide him."

Emery nods and drops into the floor panel with Chimney. Chimney presses his fingers against Daniel's wrist. "I got a pulse, guys."

"Hey, Daniel, can you hear me?" Emery voices.

The man begins to awaken. "Ariel...?" He murmurs and moves around. "No, I need to see her for..." he goes to sit up but Emery tenses.

"No, don't move." Emery advises. The man then screams from the pain erupting in his leg when he shifted.

"Yes, I need you to stay very still, okay?" Chimney voices. He looks at Emery and she understands what he wants her to dk. Chimney wanted Emerson to distract Daniel. Emery inhales a small breath. "I want you to keep talking to me."

Emery opens her mouth, "What made you come to the mall today? New jeans or...?"

"I was uh, proposing t-to my girl."

Emery raises her brows, "Really? That's sweet. How long have you two been together?"

"F-Five...years."

"You're very lucky to have found love like that." Emery chuckles.

A weak smile forms on Daniel's lips. "I-I am, aren't I...?"

"All right, talk to me, Chim." Bobby voices.

Chimney stands up and looks at everyone else that was standing above the floor panel. "It's not good."

Ariel's worry rises and she takes a few steps forward. "What's happening? Why are you stopping?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy, easy." Buck holds a hand out to her, making sure she doesn't step any closer.

"The chain is sitting on top of his femoral artery..."

As Chimney continues to explain, Emery and Daniel still talk.

"So, how long have you been wanting to propose to her?" Emery chuckles. "And be honest."

"S-Since our...first date..."

Emery frowns and nods her head. "Sounds accurate enough."

Daniel's eyes begin to close and Emery's breathing hitches. "Hey, Daniel! You got stay with me, okay?"

Daniel opens his eyes again. Emery swipes her tongue across her lower lip. "Okay, uh, I...I wanted to propose to my wife the first time I laid eyes on her."

Daniel furrows his brows, "What?"

Emery nods, "Yeah, it was pretty crazy. Especially since I was 15 when I first met her."

"High school sweethearts."

Emery laughs softly, "Yeah, we...we were." Her smile saddens. "Ariel's waiting for you up there, y'know? You gotta make it back to her."

"I...I want to."

Chimney comes back into the floor panel. "We're going to have to take the chain off his leg."

Emery looks at Chimney and swallows, but she nods her head. Chimney looks back at the chain, "Can you get to his leg and tourniquet it?"

"Yeah, I've got it." Emery holds her hand out to Chimney. He hands her the tourniquet. Emery wraps the tourniquet around Daniel's leg and tightens it. Daniel groans from the tight feeling of the tourniquet. Emery turns to Chimney and gives him a nod.

Chimney grabs the bolt cutters, "Clipping the wires and chain."

Emery looks back at Daniel, "All right, Daniel. I'm not gonna lie to you. Once that chain comes off of your leg it's going to hurt. But, we need to get you out of here; so you're going to have to keep your body relaxed."

And as soon as Chimney cuts the chain from Daniel's leg, he screams. "Daniel, try to breathe." Emery calls out as she and Chimney pull him out from the wires.

"We're gonna get you out of here!"

Emery and Chimney look at eachother. They both knew this was going to be the hard part for Daniel.

"Okay, on three."

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three!"

They both pull Daniel out from under the stair and he screams even louder than before. Chimney and Emery lift him out from under the floor panels and their team grabs him. Chimney and Emery come out of the floor and make their way over to Daniel. The crowd that formed began to applaud. Daniel looks at Emery, "Wh-What did she say?"

Emery raises her brows and turns to Ariel. Her eyes travel to her finger and sees her wearing a blue ring pop. Emery slightly opens her mouth, she then smiles softly. She looks back at Daniel. "She said yes."

Daniel then smiles and he opens his mouth to say something. But his body convulses and he begins to cough. Blood splatters across Emery's turnout gear and face. Her heart rate quickens and presses on Daniel's shoulders.

"Blood pressure's dropping." Hen speaks.

"Breathing is shallow." Chimney says.

Emery pulls her light from her pocket and leans toward the convulsing man. She shines the light in his eyes, "Daniel, can you hear me?"

"I can't find a pulse."

"He's in cardiac arrest."

Emery pulls herself back and Chimney begins CPR. The girl watches with an intense eye as Chimney continues to try and resuscitate Daniel. Hen pulls the stethoscope from her ears. Emery lets out a small breath and sits on her knees with her shoulders sagging. It's like her entire body went numb.

"Chim." Hen speaks, but Chimney continues the CPR. Hen touches Chimney's shoulder. Chin looks at Hen.

"He's gone."

Chimney stops and pulls away from Daniel. Ariel runs over to Daniel's side and collapses on the floor beside him. She lays her head on his shoulder and lets out a gut wrenching wail for her fiancé.

...

After that last call (of their shift). Emery couldn't think of anything else. The girl's life had been at a constant stop since things ended with William. And now a man, who was supposed to be getting married, died. And a woman was mourning the loss of her fiancé. It all hit Emerson pretty hard.

And she needed a distraction.

Emery stares at her phone on the counter. Amaya wasn't home yet, she had to stay late for a late computer science meeting. So, Emery had to make this decision herself. She already had her mind made up, she just didn't know if this was something that would bite her in the ass later. Oh fucking well.

Emery grabs her phone and swipes her tongue across her lower lip. She scrolls through her contacts and lands on the name. Emery deadpans, "Tailpipe Josh—what the fuuuuck..."

Was she really going to have sex with a guy that put himself down as 'Tailpipe' Josh in her contacts?

Emery hovers her thumb over the name and gnaws on her lower lip. "Hot Girl Summer...Hot Girl Summer..." she slowly nods her head and hypes herself up. "Fuck it."

Emery presses the name and puts the call on speaker. She places the phone back in the counter and spins her ring around her finger.

"Yello?"

"Oh, fuck." Emery hangs her head low from how the man answered the phone.

"Is this a prank call?"

Emery lifts her head up, "No, no it's not a prank call." She scratches the side of her nose. "It's—it's Emery. The firefighter from earlier."

"Oh...Oh. You called."

"Yeah, and I was wondering if you were...busy like right now?" Emery closes her eyes and scrunches her face, waiting for an answer. She never did things like this. Emery needed plan and this definitely wasn't that.

"I totally am busy, actually."

Emery lets out a small breath. "Okay, yeah. I-I'm sorry, I even called—"

"I'm busy waiting for you to come over."

Emery's expression drops and she wrinkles her nose. The man begins to laugh and she rolls her eyes. "Get it?!"

"Uh, yeah. I get it—hilarious. So, can you send me your address? I'll be over there soon, okay?"

"See you, there, Emery."

Emery softly hums and ends the call. She lets out a sharp breath. "Holy shit." She covers her eyes and shakes her head.

"Hot Girl Summer is such a dumb phrase..."

━━━━━━━━━━

author's note.

Emery hates the term 'Hot Girl Summer' but she doesn't have any other phrase to name it 😭

Also Buck and Emery coming up with ideas to help Eddie is so sweet 🥹

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