"About twelve years now," she said, shooting a glare at Eric who had the nerve to wink at her.
"Wow, twelve years. You must have some pretty amazing stories to tell. Maybe sometime we should get a drink and talk about them?"
Before she could answer, Eric spoke up. "That sounds like fun. She really likes that bar over on Madison. They have karaoke there every Thursday and Saturday night."
Greg' smile widened. The poor bastard probably thought Eric was helping him. "Really? You like karaoke?"
"She loves it," Eric said, wiggling his eyebrows. "You should hear her rendition of 'War,' she totally kicks ass."
Joe sucked in a breath. That rat bastard! The one time she made the mistake of getting drunk at a frat party and danced on a table taking requests and he was going to throw it in her face? Unbelievable! He was the one that requested that song!
"So, what do you say?" Greg asked, giving her a cocky grin that he probably thought was irresistible. There was only one man she knew who could pull that grin off without fail and right now he was a rat bastard.
"Say about what?" she asked, returning her attention back to the candy bars. If she was going to survive this night she was going to need chocolate.
She heard Eric's soft laughter and discretely flipped him off, making him laugh harder.
"Tomorrow night? You, me, dinner, dancing, and maybe a little karaoke?" Greg asked smoothly.
"Not gonna happen tomorrow night, spanky. She has plans with me," Eric announced. Joe wasn't foolish enough to think he was coming to her rescue. Oh no, not Eric. He just didn't want to get stuck with whatever bimbo his mother was throwing his way and had no problem with using her as a shield. If she didn't love Alice, Eric's mother, so much or really love her cooking she'd ditch his ass in a heartbeat.
"Well, what about this weekend?" Greg asked, sounding a little unsure of himself.
Oh, this was perfect. She smiled sweetly when she answered, making sure she could see Eric's expression. "I'm sorry. I already have plans for this weekend. I'm going deep sea fishing for three days." She was not disappointed by Eric's reaction.
"You betraying bitch!" he hissed.
She winked at him. "You got that right." There were really only a few things in this world that Eric really loved and lived for and deep sea fishing was one of them. His Uncle Brian and grandfather used to take them out several times a year when they were kids and they both loved it. Still did.
"Echo seventeen?" dispatch called.
Eric leveled a glare on her as he brought the portable radio up to his mouth. "I'm going," he announced.
"Nope," she said, loving the power she held over him. Ah, it looked like she was finally going to get some help painting her garage. There wasn't much Eric wouldn't do for a weekend of deep sea fishing.
"Watch me," he said, before he keyed in. "Echo seventeen."
"What's your location, echo seventeen?" dispatch asked.
"East side," Eric answered.
"Echo seventeen, take a priority one call at 258 Lawson for an assault. Police are already in route."
"Echo seventeen received, 258 Lawson."
"Oh my god!" Greg said, shaking. "Oh my god!" He dropped the candy bar, ran for the door, tripped over his own feet, stumbled, but didn't let that stop him from sprinting towards the ambulance and diving in.
With a pained sigh, Joe put her candy bar back and walked to the door. Eric held it open for her. As they walked towards the ambulance Eric asked, "Where are you going?"
"Cape Cod."
"That's a six hour drive," he pointed out.
"Yup, I'm leaving around four in the morning Friday. I won't be back until late Sunday night, but don't worry I'm sure you'll have fun without me," she said, smiling.
"Bullshit, I'm going and we both know it," he said, climbing into the passenger seat.
"Oh my god, oh my god," Greg mumbled from the back.
Joe climbed in behind the wheel and started the rig. She flicked on the emergency lights and pulled out. She kept one hand on the wheel and the other on the emergency switchboard, switching the sirens from the fog horn to the wailing sound.
Eric pulled out an emergency run sheet and attached it to his clipboard, ignoring Greg's "oh my gods," which had now turned to pure excitement. The kid was about to start operating on pure adrenaline. No doubt it would make the call more interesting.
"I'm going," he stated as he filled in the date and their names.
She maneuvered in and out of traffic with the grace of a pro. "Nope, you're really not."
"Why not?" he asked.
"Probably because I didn't invite you?" she said. She really enjoyed messing with him.
He snorted. "And you think that means something to me? I'm going. End of story."
"We'll see," she said.
"Yeah, we will, won't we?" he said confidently as they pulled in behind two police cruisers in front a small yellow house that had seen better days.
"Echo seventeen on scene," he informed dispatch.
They stepped out of the ambulance the same time the front door flew open and a na**d man wielding a knife ran out. "Fuck you, pigs!" the man yelled as he ran towards them.
"I'm so going," Eric said before he launched himself at the guy. He grabbed the man's hand and twisted it behind his back, making him drop the knife.
Joe ignored the man's screams and threats of violence as she kicked the knife away and helped Eric take the guy to the ground. She held the man's legs down while Eric restrained him to the ground.
Two cops came running towards them from behind the house as older officer came out of the house, leading two cuffed, bleeding men towards them. The cops spotted them and grinned.
"Oh look, Eric and Joe brought us a present," Bret, a cop ten years their senior, said as he shoved the two men in front of him. "Don't worry we brought you something, too," he said, gesturing to the two men under arrest.
"Oh, Bret, you are just the sweetest man alive," Joe said, giving him a sweet smile that made the older man chuckle.
"I do what I can. Do you want to look these two over for us?" Bret asked.
"Sure thing," Eric said. "Just as soon as you take tiny here off our hands."
The two officers quickly took over. Eric helped Joe to her feet. She pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer and squirted some in Eric's waiting hand before taking some for herself.
"Hey, isn't that your third rider puking?" Jeff, one of the younger cops asked.