Free Unintentional Virgin by A.J. Bennett Page A

either.”
    “After you, Karma,” Jax said as he gestured for her to take the lead.
     
    Twenty minutes later they were sitting in a booth across from each other. Karma had an overwhelming need to learn as much as she could about Jax. She wanted to know what made him tick. Their time was limited. She knew she wanted to remember every last detail about him for the rest of her life, so she had to be a sponge and soak in as much as possible. 
    Karma ran her hand over the sticky red-and-white-checked plastic placemat. So many questions ran through her head, and she had no idea where to begin. She figured she would start with the most intriguing thing about him. 
    “What made you decide to become a fireman?” Karma asked as Jax looked over the menu. What compelled someone to willingly walk into a burning building? Karma always admired the courage they had to possess to risk their lives for a living. Definitely a rare breed of men and women.
    Jax glanced up, and their eyes met. His clear blue eyes clouded over for a second as a play of emotions crossed his face. 
    Finally, he looked away and said, “My father was a fireman. I guess you can say I followed in his footsteps.”
    “Oh, that’s cool. Do you guys get to work together at all?”
    Jax looked down again. “No, he was killed in a fire when I was younger.”
    “Oh, wow. I’m sorry. I can’t even imagine,” she said, trying not to squirm in her seat. Why did she always have to stick her foot in her mouth? She struggled to come up with something to say to break the tension. 
    His jaw clenched and relaxed just as quickly. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” 
    Karma absently moved her fork around on the table. She tended to move her hands a lot when she was nervous or unsure of what to do or say. “Still, that has to be hard.”
    “You could say that,” Jax said as he pushed the menu to the middle of the table. He looked relieved when the waiter came over and placed two glasses of water on the table. 
    “Hey, Karma, the usual?”  Stephen, the owner’s son, asked.
    Karma nodded and then figured she’d better make sure it was okay with Jax. “Meat lover’s?” She raised an eyebrow. 
    “Perfect.” Jax smiled his approval and added two Cokes to the order. 
    They sat in awkward silence for a couple of minutes. She needed a subject change and fast. “So, five sisters, huh?” 
    “Oh yeah. The house was always full of drama growing up.” Jax laughed, clearly grateful for the subject change. “What about you, any brothers or sisters?”
    “Nope. Just me. I always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or sister, but to be honest seeing my friends fighting with their siblings all the time didn’t look like much fun to me.”
    “It’s not so bad. I honestly can’t imagine being an only child.”
    “Are you the youngest?” Karma asked. 
    Jax grinned. “People always assume I’m the youngest. Thinking that my parents kept trying for a boy, but that’s not the case. I’m actually the third in line. If my father hadn’t passed away there would probably be ten of us. My mom loved being pregnant.”
    “I can’t imagine raising six kids on my own. Your mom must be one tough lady.”
    “That she is. Salt of the earth as they say.”
    “Does your mom still live in the area?” Karma took a sip of her water and began to relax.
    “Yeah, about twenty-five minutes from my place. I still go over for dinner every Sunday if I’m not working.”
    “That’s cool, she must love you coming by still.”
    “Probably. So, are you adopted?” Jax asked with a raised eyebrow.
    “Actually, I’m not. Garrett is my biological dad. Long story short…he was in the closet and tried living a straight life. As you can see, that didn’t work out very well for him. I was four when they divorced, and I’ve been living with my dad ever since.” 
    “What about your mother? Is she still in the picture?”
    Karma shifted in her seat. She hated