The elevator let them out. Summer tugged him out again, saying, “Nine-eleven cleanup. It happened the beginning of my senior year, and I took all the breaks I could to come up and help out as much as I could. I, um, got on search-and rescue pretty fast, and then some of the EMTs noticed how good I was with the post-traumatic people. So I ended up coming back after graduation to help them some more.” She chewed on her lip, eyes far away. “It was … a pretty bad time.”
Tony let go of her hand, moving his arm to wrap around Summer’s shoulders. “Impressive,” he gave her a side eye glance and smiled. It faded, however, as she finished the thought. “I know how bad it can be. But somebody’s got to do it,” his shoulders moved slightly against her form. He held her close, leading her out the lobby to the front of the tower where a limo was waiting. “Do you still do search and rescue work then?” he inquired as he waved her into the vehicle first.
“Oh yeah,” Summer answered immediately. She leaned into his warmth. She refused to gape at the limo, instead scrambling in. She couldn’t stop herself gazing around with wide eyes, though. “It’s all I’m really good for.” Buckling herself in, she gave Tony a wry smile. “I’ve spent quite a lot of time at the periphery of your life because of that, actually.”