The Fire Within

3 | The One With a Towel (or lack thereof)

— R A E —

The first few minutes went by as normal. I sat on a bench off to the side while waiting for him to finish just in case he needed anything. It was actually quite relaxing with the sound of the splashing water and caress of the warm steam hanging in the air. And it was only slightly distracting to have a sexy naked man standing not far away separated only by a curtain.

I snap back to attention as I hear footsteps in the hall outside the bathroom. Sure enough, the door swings open a moment later and a rigid-looking, middle-aged man walks through. The man is still in uniform, but it looks a little different than the other uniforms I'd seen so far.

He misses a step when he finally sees me.

"What the hell are you doing in here, young lady?" His voice booms in the tiled restroom.

"Uhh..." I start. I'm at a loss for words yet again today. I know this has to look very weird for me to just be sitting in here, but I didn't really think through what I would do if anyone came in.

This must be how a deer in the headlights feels. I swear I think my soul just left my body.

"Chief?" Ajax calls from the shower, "Is that you?"

"...Ajax?" The chief replies, still confused.

"Chief, it's not what it looks like, I swear! I cut my arm pretty bad during my shift, and Rae here volunteered to help me bandage it up. I'm just showering off first to clean it before she can bandage it, but I swear that's all there is to it!"

The Chief paused then to look back at me, and again to Ajax in the shower, seeming to consider.

Considering how to murder us I presume. Gulp.

"Ajax, you know this is the men's restroom, right?" he asks.

"Yessir... I'm sorry, we didn't have much of a choice sir, I couldn't..."

"And you know the visitor rules, right?"

"Yessir, no visitors after 9pm, and strictly no overnight guests."

"Good," states the Chief. A pregnant pause fills the silence until he sighs, "it's only 7:30, and knowing that you've never caused any problems before I'll take your word for it this time. For now, I'll pretend like this didn't happen, and I'll come back for my shower in 15 minutes. You'd both better be out of here by then, understood?"

"Yessir, of course! Thank you, Sir!"

I let go of a giant breath I didn't realize I was holding. Holy shit! I thought for sure the Chief was going to chew us out!

I was about to thank him when he suddenly stops and leans toward me to speak quietly.

"Do. Not. Tell him what I'm about to tell you..." he pauses and looks at me for emphasis. When I nod he goes on.

"Ajax is one of my best men. I've known him most of his life and worked with his father before that. I like to think of him as something like a son to me. He has a completely clean record here, never even so much as a hair out of line. Frankly, I think he takes his job way too seriously, and he's probably the only man here I haven't caught with someone at least once.

"If what you say is true, and you're really only here to patch him up, so be it... But if it's not true, I suppose I can turn a blind eye this once, as long as he has some fun. The kid deserves it. Deal?"

The Chief gave me a surprisingly kind smile as I agreed and thanked him before he left.

So Ajax is a stiff, huh? He could've fooled me with that teasing smile, I would've figured he had admirers lining up down the block. Mason did mention that Ajax doesn't get out too much, so I guess that would make sense. But he seems like a catch! Handsome, funny, I know I can't take my eyes off him. He really hasn't had any company recently..? He's been kind of flirty, unless it's just my imagination. But both the Chief and Mason are trying to get him to lighten up, and I'll admit I do kind of enjoy his company.