Spark Of Desire. Christa Maurice

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СКАЧАТЬ You know, she’s a woman who wears comfortable shoes. She prefers her women short and sweet. Her middle name is Butch.” Bobbie drew a deep breath, preparing to pelt him with more euphemisms.

      “I get it,” Kevin cut in before she could. He looked out the window again. Jessica was still listening to her hysterical friend with an almost perfect calm. Her sweet face focused on the other woman, her hair falling across her cheek and her hands folded in front of her. Two other women walked up to them. Kevin thought he remembered one of them from the coffee bar at the bookstore.

      “But then you weren’t interested in her anyway, were you?”

      “No, I wasn’t. It’s just… I never thought… She just doesn’t look like the type.”

      Bobbie raised one eyebrow. “Oh really. What does the type look like?”

      “I don’t know. Not like her.” He stood up. Suddenly the heat of the restaurant was too much to bear. “I have to use the restroom before I eat.” Jessica couldn’t be like that. He stalked toward the back of the restaurant, grinding his teeth. If she was, it made his job easier. If she didn’t like men, she wouldn’t be hitting on him, and he wouldn’t be thinking about it, either. But he wasn’t, was he? If he wasn’t, why was he noticing how her clothes fit? If he did hit on her by accident, would she deck him? Pushing open the door to the men’s room, he noticed his hands were shaking.

      In the mirror over the sink, he studied his face. It still looked like the same face he’d shaved this morning, but it didn’t feel like it was attached right anymore. He splashed cold water on it, and discovered the bathroom had run out of towels.

      If she was a lesbian, that should make everything easier. There wouldn’t be any messy attraction to get in the way. It would be like working with one of the guys. Cap said she’d have a harder time getting in if they were a couple. This ruled that out. In addition to being too young and too unfeminine, she wasn’t attracted to men in the first place. It also gave him the perfect answer for the guys when they started harassing him . Of course, it would just give them another tack to work from.

      Bobbie would have it all over the department in under twenty-four hours.

      * * * *

      Jessica sat down at the table, looking around. “Where’s Kevin?”

      “The john. What’s up with your friend?” Bobbie leaned her cheek on her fist. The waitress stopped next to her and put plates in front of them.

      “Mindi? She hates not being the center of attention. We’ve been friends since college, but I get the sneaking suspicion she never heard a word I said.” Jessica surveyed her plate. All three of them had ordered burgers and fries. At least she wouldn’t have to change her diet much. She didn’t feel much like eating right now, though. Her stomach still churned from her chat with Mindi. If Diana and Sonya hadn’t dragged her away, they’d still be out there.

      “Oh? How do you mean?” Bobbie ignored the food in front of her.

      Jessica looked toward the restroom. Where was Kevin? She liked Bobbie, but felt leery of her at the same time. “I guess she’s happy working at the bookstore and husband hunting, and I’m not.”

      “Not happy husband hunting?” Bobbie pressed.

      “Working at the bookstore.” Jessica poured ketchup on her plate.

      “All the guys are going to assume you’re a lesbian.”

      Jessica almost dropped the ketchup bottle. “What?”

      Bobbie picked up her burger. “The guys. They’re going to assume you’re a lesbian. No regular woman wants to be a firefighter. It’s not a great place to find a husband.”

      “I’m not looking.” Jessica’s mouth went dry. Did Kevin think she was husband hunting? What a stupid way to do it. Right about now, that was a secondary concern. Sort of. She hoped to marry someday, but looking at the wedding flowers book was getting more and more depressing. Tall, dark, and good-looking in a tuxedo wasn’t showing up. Locating a husband required finding an acceptable male who was looking for a wife. Joining the fire department she could do on her own, mostly.

      “Oh.” Bobbie bit into her burger and then spoke with her mouth full. “So are you?”

      “Am I what?” Jessica glanced at the bathroom doors again. What was Kevin doing in there? She needed him to protect her from Bobbie’s insistent and strange questions. Wiping sweat off her cheek with her palm, she had the horrified thought that Bobbie might be flirting with her. Hopefully, Bobbie would supply her with an easy out if she was.

      “A lesbian.”

      Jessica sighed. As easy an out as possible. “No. If it matters.”

      “Doesn’t.” Bobbie shrugged. “Don’t worry. I’m not looking for a girlfriend either.”

      “I didn’t assume you were.” Jessica studied Bobbie across the table. Something about this whole line of questioning did and didn’t fit into the rest of her conversation. “You’re doing this on purpose.”

      “Doing what?” Bobbie salted her fries.

      “You’re trying to throw me off.” Jessica narrowed her eyes. “You keep pitching curve balls.”

      Bobbie grinned. “Smart girl. I’m just trying to prep you for the guys. Kevin’s a really nice guy. Too nice. He’d keep encouraging you and pumping you up until you fell on your face. I think it’s better to be prepared before you get kicked in the teeth.” Bobbie leaned her elbows on the table. “They don’t just do this to women. In training, they will put you through hell. They need you to break down early if you’re going to so you don’t kill somebody because you freeze up.”

      “Strength of character as well as strength of body,” Jessica murmured.

      “Exactly.” Bobbie shoved a french fry into her mouth. “Speaking of strength, what do you bench?”

      “I’m not sure. I know some of the boxes we receive are about seventy pounds, and I don’t have any trouble with those.”

      “You’re going to need to be able to carry one hundred and sixty-five pounds over your shoulder for about a hundred feet.”

      Jessica nodded.

      “Don’t worry, Kevin has weights in his basement. Don’t you, Kevin?”

      “What?” Kevin slid into his seat. He glanced at Jessica, swallowing hard.

      Jessica noticed the collar of his t-shirt was wet. He didn’t seem to want to meet her eyes and when he sat down, he’d moved his chair away from her, crowding against Bobbie.

      “Weights. You’ve got a set, don’t you?”

      “Sure.” Kevin coughed, busying himself with salt and ketchup.

      “She said she can lift sixty-five pounds comfortably.” Bobbie’s eyes shifted from Kevin to Jessica and back again.

      Kevin nodded. He started going through a list of physical requirements she’d have to meet, but Jessica couldn’t СКАЧАТЬ