[Book One]
Agatha Miller Nash thought she was finally starting to have the perfect life she always dreamed of while growing up.
She had a job that made her feel proud of herself, the man that she would spend the rest of her life with, and a place s...
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N I N E
"Eight minutes and two seconds," I heard Eddie announce after I gently put down the human dummy I was carrying over my shoulder. This was the fourth circuit I have done today as preparation for the Candidate Physical Ability Test. Earlier in the week, Eddie and Buck offered to help me practice before our shifts, and I could not pass on the offer.
"I can do better," I panted, my heart beating fast as if begging me to take a break from all this unnecessary cardio. The heavyweight on my body started to disappear as I began to take off the firefighter equipment after deciding that it was enough practice for today.
"Are you kidding right now? That time is more than perfect. The test requires to be done in ten minutes and twenty seconds or under," Eddie reminded, his words making me shake my head. Out of the four times, I did the circuit; this has been my best time, the others coming close to nine minutes and ten seconds. This last round was proving I could do so much better.
"Eddie is right. Who cares about the time, Aggs? All that matters is that you do it on the required time, and it is more than clear that you can do it," Evan chimed in, throwing a towel and bottle of water my way.
I know I was hard on myself about this, but the only reason I was like this is that I know I can do better. Growing up with an army trauma surgeon and a nurse anesthetist, I learned that if I was going to do something, I had to give it all I got, or it was not worth trying. Now that I am older, I realize how terrible it sounds, but I always wanted to be as perfect as both of my parents were at the things they did cause excessive pressure on me in everything I do.
Drops of sweat trickled down my neck making their way down my chest, causing the area to itch. To get rid of the itch, I took off the top of the bunker gear staying in my sports bra, passing the towel over my neck and chest. "You guys might think that it does not matter, but I do care," From the corner of my eye, I caught Eddie hitting Buck on the back of his head making him hiss in return. "What?"
"Nothing," Buck spluttered, biting his bottom lip. "You can try again, but we all know that you will never beat the time I got when I was getting my certification back," he teased, trying to distract me from my question.
"Is that a challenge, Buckley?" putting my hands on my hips, I raised an eyebrow after noticing the cocky look on Evan's face.
"Maybe," he said, mimicking my pose. I couldn't help but stare at the way his tight shirt wrapped around his arms, showing his muscles. How haven't I noticed that before?
Eddie groaned, interrupting the intense staredown Evan and I was having. "You guys are so frustrating. I'm going to change," he threw the stopwatch at Buck, making his way to the locker room. "Admitan sus sentimientos,"
My arms went limp on my sides as my eyes grew wide at Eddie's words, "Te puedo entender, Edmundo," I shouted, letting him know that I could understand him, "¿Qué quieres decir con eso?" I added curious to understand why he said that we needed to admit our feelings.
