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“I think my brother is dating Eddie.”
Maddie takes the bowl of popcorn from Chimney’s hands and sits on the couch. She’s come to enjoy the routine of Chimney turning up with a new movie once a week. Every time he insists it's a classic, but Maddie is yet to be convinced.
It’s been so long since she’s had a truly close friend; someone who she could talk to, who was easy to talk to about anything and everything.
And Chimney is easy to talk to. He’s got a wicked sense of humor that tends to lean into the darker side, as seems to be the trend with a lot of first responders. But best of all, he’s kind. Maddie’s not sure she’s ever met another person as kind as Chim.
“Wait.” Chims takes a seat beside her. “Our Buck and Eddie? Really?” He seems unconvinced as he reaches for a fistful of popcorn. “I mean, I know they’re close, but Eddie’s married… to a woman. He really doesn’t seem the type.”
“Yeah, well looks can be deceiving,” Maddie points out. “Besides, I know Evan better than anyone. There is definitely something going on between the two of them. The day I moved in here, Evan basically told me he thought Eddie was cute.” She doesn’t mention that the basis of the conversation had been her telling Evan that she thought Chimney was cute. No, that was a thought that was going to stay very firmly in her head and not cross her lips.
“They do spend a lot of time together,” Chim agrees, his expression thoughtful. “Bobby partners them for everything because he knows they’ll complain if he doesn’t. They’re pretty inseparable.” He turns to look at Maddie. “You really believe they’re together?”
Maddie reaches for her wind glass and takes a long sip before speaking. “I do.” Lips tugging up in a cheeky smile, she grins at Chimney. “ And I bet I can prove they’re dating before you can.”
“Oh, you’re on,” Chim says, reaching for the TV remote. “I just hope you’re not a sore loser.”
“Like you’ve got a chance,” Maddie laughs. “I basically raised Evan, he can’t hide anything from me.”
“You forget that I spent at least 80% of my time with them at work,” Chim counters. “So, when you lose, you have to….” he taps his chin in thought.” Oh, you have to come sing karaoke with me down at the bar.”
Maddie raises an eyebrow. “And when I win, I get to pick your song.” She raises her wine glass and waits for Chimney to click his beer bottle against it. “Now are we going to watch this movie or what?”
She settles back against the couch as the opening strains of music fill the room.
~
The bar is packed as Maddie scans the crowd for Chimney. She spots him at a table in the far corner of the room and waves to grab his attention before weaving her way towards him.
It’s a nice night, not too cold despite Christmas being only a few short weeks away. From the way Chimney is bundled up, she’s not sure he’d agree with her. Her mind drifts, for just a moment, and she wonders what Chimney has planned for Christmas day. It’s been a long time since Christmas evoked any feelings other than fear and anxiety, but Maddie’s surprised to realise she’s looking forward to it this year.
She shakes the thought off as she approaches the table.
“Sorry I’m late, have you ordered yet?” Maddie asks. She shrugs off her jacket and hangs it over the back of the chair before taking a seat.
“Don’t worry about it,” Chimney reassures her with a grin. “I haven’t been here long.” His finger fidget with the paper label on his beer bottle. “I ordered the wings for you and a glass of that wine you had last time. You said it was your favourite.”
“Oh.” Maddie can’t help the smile that tugs at her lips. “Thanks.”
On cue one of the bar staff approaches their table with her wine and another beer for Chimney.
Maddie takes a sip of her wine, savouring the taste and letting the stress of the day go. “So, I’ve made some progress on the Buck and Eddie front.”
“You really think you’re going to win this, don’t you?” Chim asks.
“Uh, yeah.” Maddie takes another sip. “And I can’t wait to see your impression of Elton John.”
“You think I can’t pull it off, but I’ll have you know that I’d make a fabulous Elton John.” Chim waves her away and Maddie laughs. “What’s got you so convinced they’re dating?”
“Two words—” Maddie plants her elbows on the table and leans forward. “Santa’s village.”
Chimney’s brows crease in confusion. “Okay?”
“Buck mentioned it yesterday when I asked him over for dinner. He was taking Eddie and Christopher to go see Santa at that market that’s popped up downtown.”
“Wait.” Chrim raises a hand to stop her. “Was he taking them or just going with them, because those are two very different things.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know that.” Maddie brushes it off and leans back in her seat. “I got the impression that it was Chris’s idea, but Buck was going to pick them up and drive them over because—”
“—because Eddie hates LA traffic,” Chimney finishes for her.
“Yes…” Maddie narrows her eyes at him. “But how did you know that?”
“Because, my dear Maddie,” Chim starts with a wide grin. “Buck and Eddie carpool to work almost every shift they work together.”
“Wait, really?” How had she not known this? She knew everything.
“Uh huh.” A waitress arrives with their food and Chim reaches to steal one of the wings. “Face it Maddie Buckly, you can’t win this.”
He takes a bite, his shiteating grin still plastered across his face.
“I think taking Eddie and Chris to see Santa beats carpooling,” Maddie counters, pulling her plate away from Chimney before he can snatch another wing. “Visiting Santa is a family outing. Carpooling doesn’t mean anything. You can carpool with strangers. There’s an app for it.”
“Fine,” Chim concedes. “You make a good argument, but I wouldn’t call it proof.”
Maddie sighs. “You’re right. I don’t think either of us win this round.”
~
“Guess who's got the definitive proof that your brother and my colleague are dating,” Chim crows as he crosses the foyer to meet Maddie.
“That’s such a weird way to word it,” Maddie tells him, leading the way inside. “What’s wrong with calling them Evan and Eddie?”
“Well, first of all,” Chim jokes. “You are the only one who calls Buck, Evan. It just feels weird in my mouth. Who even is this Evan person?” He ducks away from Maddie’s playful shove. “Second of all, it’s more dramatic this way,” Chimney says. “And gossip this juicy needs a little drama.”
The head over to the ticket counter to purchase tickets. Maddie doesn’t understand all the hype around the movie, she hasn’t even seen any of the trailers but Chimney had been excited when he’d asked her to come with him.
And god, Maddie just loved his enthusiasm. It was so hard not to get caught up in it and Maddie could never resist.
“So?” she asks, prompting him with a nudge when he gets distracted by popcorn flavours. “Are you going to tell me what the juicy gossip is?”
“Right,” Chimney says, turning to face her. “So, yesterday, at the start of the guess who turned up wearing a shirt that wasn’t his?” He doesn’t give Maddie a chance to answer and just jumps in with, “It was Buck. He was wearing one of Eddie’s shirts. You know what that means—”
“—he stayed the night,” Maddie says, cutting in over Chim. “Oh my god. He stayed over at Eddie’s. Damn, we’re good at this,” she laughs, raising her hand to share a hi-five with Chimney. “What did Evan say? Did he know he was in the wrong shirt?”
Chimney nods. “Yeah, he said his washing machine was broken and didn’t have anything clean.”
“Uh, he’s been using my washing machine! And there’s nothing wrong with it.” Maddie gets an ice cream and they pay for their snacks before heading to the theatre. “I just don’t understand why he thinks he needs to hide it? He had a boyfriend in high school so it’s not like that’s a surprise or anything.” She stops in the middle of the corridor, turning to face Chimney. “Do you think it’s Eddie? He is still technically married.” She frowns. “Evan would keep a secret to protect someone else.”
“Maybe that’s it,” Chim agrees. “Or maybe it’s new. Maybe they haven’t addressed their feelings for each other yet.” The look he sends Maddie is unreadable.
“Maybe.” Maddie turns back towards the theatre and Chimney falls into step beside her. “He just— the other week when you were all helping me move, I saw him and Eddie in the kitchen, just talking and he looked—” she takes a breath and looks up at Chimney. “He looked happy. Really happy, and I want that for him.”
“It’s normal to wish happiness for people you love,” Chimney tells her as they enter the darkened theatre. “But maybe it’s time to let it go.”
Sighing, Maddie follows him up to their seats. “Maybe.”
~
Maddie makes her way up to the apartment, struggling under the weight of the bags clutched in her hands. She’s running late, taking too long to decide what to bring, and then taking the freeway because she’d been so sure that this time it would be different. And she’d been wrong. Again. Maybe next time she’ll get lucky.
Reaching the door, she knocks, holding up the plastic bags as the door swings open. “I come bearing take-out.”
Chim places both hands over his heart and steps aside to let her in. “My hero.”
Laughing, Maddie steps through into the apartment. “I couldn’t decide what to get, so I just got everything.” She puts the bags down on the counter and goes to the cupboards for bowls.
“I don’t know why you struggle so hard to choose,” Chim teases, fetching glasses and cutlery. “All you gotta do is pick one.”
“Why are you complaining?” Maddie asks, amused. “You get to keep the leftovers.”
“I’m not complaining, I’m just pointing out how against your character it is to be so indecisive about this one thing.”
“It’s a delightful character trait and you love it,” Maddie says, laughing as she gathers up as much as she can carry to take over to the coffee table.
Chimney doesn’t say anything as he follows her over, bringing the bags of takeout with him. They settle in on the couch, spreading the food over the table.
“So, any new updates on the Buck and Eddie situation?” Chim asks, breaking the companionable silence.
Maddie shakes her head and starts spooning rice into her bowl. “No. Nothing solid. Apparently Chris is upset that he and Eddie are both working Christmas.”
“You know Hen said they spent the weekend together putting up Christmas decorations,” Chim passes over the satay vegetables and takes the rice from Maddie.
“See, that’s what I’m talking about,” Maddie says. “I feel like I’ve barely seen Evan since he moved back in with me. He’s either at work or he’s with Eddie.” She stares thoughtfully down at her bowl. “They do everything together. And when I do see him he’s always talking about Eddie or Chris. How can two people spend so much time together and not realise they’re dating?”
“I don’t know,” Chimney says slowly, and there’s something in his tone that makes Maddie glance up at him. “Maybe one of them realises the other has had a rough past when it comes to relationships. Maybe they don’t want to make a move because they’re afraid the other isn’t ready and they don’t want to risk ruining the friendship they both have.”
“I—” Maddie closes her mouth again, realisation dawning on her. “This isn’t about my brother and Eddie anymore, is it?” She glances away, her eyes catching the spread of food on the coffee table. “This is about us. I got so caught up in trying to prove Evan was dating someone, I didn’t even realise that we—” she trails off with a disbelieving laugh.
“Nothing has to change, Maddie,” Chimney tells her gently. “I know you’re probably not ready for another relationship, and I’m not going to pressure you into anything. If you just want to stay friends, I’ll respect that.”
“But?” Maddie prompts him.
“But I really like you, Maddie,” Chimney confesses. “And if you decide this is something you want, I’ll be here. And if not—”
“I do.” The words come rushing out of her mouth. “I do want it. With you. I just— I don’t know if I’m ready. It’s been a really long time and I don’t know how to do this with— with someone else.”
“We don’t have to do anything,” Chimney tells her. “We could just finish this insane amount of food, watch a movie and just take it one step at a time.”
“Yeah,” Maddie says, a smile tugging at her lips. “I’d like that.”
~
Buck drops into the seat at the table beside Eddie. “I can’t believe they dragged us out to this,” he complains, passing over a beer and taking a long sip from his own.
“Karaoke isn’t really my thing,” Eddie admits. “But you’ve got to admit, they’re pretty good.”
They sit and watch Maddie and Chimney up on the stage belting out another Elton John classic. They’re facing each other, laughing as they try to outdo each other and it hits Buck all at once.
“Oh my god,” he blurts, almost choking on his mouthful of beer.
“What?” Eddie glances across at him, concern etched across his face.
“Chim and my sister are dating.” Buck gestures towards the stage. “Look at them! They’re totally dating.”
The song they’re singing comes to an end and they hand their microphones back to weave back through the crowd towards the table.
“How can you be sure?” Eddie asks, his voice low.
“It just makes sense,” Buck argues. “They hang out all the time, they’re always doing things like this together.” He gestures towards the stage again.
“They’re friends,” Eddie points out. “Friends spend time with each other. How does that make them any different from us?”
“We are the worst example you could have picked,” Buck says, rolling his eyes and turning his attention back towards his sister. She has her hand on Chim’s back, using him as a shield to guide her through the crowd.
“You know what I meant,” Eddie counters.
“Look, you don’t believe me, and that’s fine,” Buck says. “But I bet I can prove that they’re dating.”
“Oh, you really want to do this?” Eddie laughs.
“I know my sister better than anyone,” Buck insists. “They are dating and I can totally prove it.”
“Okay, you’re on,” Eddie tells him, knocking their drinks together as Maddie and Chimney reach the table.
“What are you two talking about?” Maddie asks, reaching for her glass.
“We were just saying how good you guys were,” Buck says, a smile tugging at his lips as he nudges Eddie to agree with him.
Maddie narrows her eyes like she doesn’t believe him, but she doesn’t call him on it. She shares a look with Chimney and Buck knows he was right.
He was going to make Eddie eat his words.