Third installment for Jeff's Way on Wednesday Briefs

Welcome to Wednesday Briefs, the post that will make you smile, laugh, cry, or just enjoy the story.  Jeff's Way is the second story in the New Orleans Nights series. You can read the beginning of Jeff's Way here.

"When the moon hits your eye, like a ....", or the alternatives: have a character that actually flashes,  or use: crumble, beneficiary, patio, or "Pardon me, miss (sir), but I've never done this....", or write about a spring fling

I used Crumble, beneficiary and patio. I hope you enjoy more of Jeff's Way

Jeff opened his mouth to speak, his slides up for the presentation, new shirt on, clean pants, everything perfect when the fire alarms sounded, causing everyone at the table to jump up. Marci headed his way, another cup of iced coffee in her hand and he flinched then jumped back, burying himself in the corner, far away from her path, not wanting to be the beneficiary of her clumsiness. Could today get any worse?

Three weeks working up the numbers, two weeks going over facts, and one week writing the presentation all boiled down to spilt coffee and a fire alarm. Hell, maybe his mom would show up and he could tell her he liked dick. That would go over well, especially after her cryptic note about wanting grandchildren.

He shut down his laptop and grabbed the device, dropping it into his computer bag as he followed the rest of the employees out of the building. He hated fire drills. For safety sake and insurance purposes they had to organize a certain number or they’d get into trouble, but they seriously interrupted work. Usually they received a warning about the impending drill, allowing them to adjust their meetings around the interruption. Jeff guessed he’d missed that memo.

The door opened to the outside as the first group of employees streamed out onto the patio and the sound of sirens broke the air. Like a wave rushing to shore, panic flowed through the crowd, voices rose and the pace picked up as the seriousness of the situation struck.

“Cam.” Jeff whispered. He glanced around, searching for his friend, wondering where the man was. Would he leave the building through this door or another? God, he had no idea where Cam would be at this time of the morning. First floor, second, or was he up on the sixth? Fuck, why didn’t he know where Cam spent his day?

“Cam,” Jeff called out, panic evident in his voice. He drew in a deep breath, smelling the smoke for the first time. Oh God, there was a fire and he had no idea where Cam was.

Jeff thought about going back, to search for his friend, but where to begin. He was only inches from the door when the first of the firemen ran in. One of them blocked his path and pushed him out the door. Jeff knew it would be foolish to rush back into the burning building but he needed to find Cam. He took four steps and glanced back, shocked at the amount of smoke pouring from a window on the sixth floor. Oh fuck, that looked bad.

“Cam,” Jeff yelled, moving through the crowd of employees, searching every face, looking for the man. “Cam, does anyone know where Cam is?”

People shook their heads, some said no and others stared at him blankly. His panic rose as he moved from the front of the building to the side and the employees thinned out.

“Has anyone seen Cam? Anyone know where he is?”

By the time Jeff walked to the back of the building he was frantic. No employees were at the back so he raced to the front, all the while calling out Cam’s name. A heavy hand landed on his shoulder and relief poured through him, but when he turned it wasn’t Cam.

“Hey Jeff, Cam didn’t make it down with us. We were all up on the sixth, fixing some of the servers when the blaze started.”

Time stood still, Jeff shook his head. Surely he’d heard this wrong. “Mitch, right?”

“Yeah, I’m Mitch. I work with Cam. He didn’t make it out.”

“I don’t understand.” The words Mitch said made no sense. How had Cam not made it out? The building had safety measures. “But maybe he--”

“I was up there. The fire started and the doors closed, preventing the spread of fire. He didn’t make it.”

Jeff crumbled to the curb, his head in his hands as the news finally penetrated his brain. He looked up, glaring at the heavy black smoke pouring out of the building. How the hell could this have happened? Now he wished he could go back, he would’ve kissed Cam, no matter who walked in on them, he should have fucking pulled Cam into a hug and kissed him long and hard, sinking his tongue past those plump lips, probing his depths and taking everything the other man offered. Now he had nothing, no Cam, no memories of them together, just another person who he’d lost, never able to tell them how he really felt.

Tears pooled in his eyes and raced down his cheeks. The sounds of more sirens split the air. Two ambulances pulled to the front of the building but Jeff stayed seated, knowing that if he stood he would crash to the ground in seconds, unable to function after hearing news of Cam’s death. A commotion broke at the front of the building, but he ignored the noise as his stomach clenched, pain overwhelming him.

...to be continued

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