Free Starting Fires by Makenzie Smith Page B

might wanna come back next Saturday?”
    I tapped my chin and looked to the ceiling as if contemplating. Over his shoulder, I noticed Kate roll her eyes, but Lucas was all smiles. “Only if you promise to take me to lunch again,” I said.
    “Deal,” he said and squeezed my hand before pushing off the bar. “I gotta go grab some stuff from the back, feel free to drink what you want, watch what you want, whatever,” he called to me as he left.
    Then it was only Kate and me, and I had a good ten minutes before Charles would be there. She asked if I wanted another Coke, but I declined. A silence stretched between us as she started picking at her nails.
    “How do you know Lucas?” she eventually asked, now looking me directly in the eyes.
    “We’re neighbors. And I’m friends with Charles. We’re roommates. Wally, too.”
    Kate scoffed and turned away from me as if I just admitted the most disgusting thing in the world. I suppose to someone who didn’t know me or my relationship with Charles might think our living arrangement taboo—especially if you threw Wally into the mix. A single girl living with two single men didn’t scream virtuous. But Kate didn’t know me. At all. And passing judgments was something she had no business doing.
    Feeling a little angry, I told her exactly what I thought of her attitude towards me. “Not that it’s any of your business, but Charles and I have been friends since high school, and all three of us have separate bedrooms and it’s going to stay that way. Keep your judgmental scoffs to yourself.” Not wanting her to get another word in, I jumped off the stool and headed for the door. Charles should be here soon anyway.
    “See you soon, Firecracker,” Kate called from behind the bar, laughing. I rolled my eyes and kept walking.
    A few minutes later, Charles arrived, and I jumped into his beat-up truck with a sigh. “Rough day?” he asked.
    “Not really. It was nice until a little while ago. What is with that Kate chick?” I huffed and folded my arms across my chest.
    “Come on, Bird. She’s not that bad,” he laughed as he started pulling onto the street.
    “Well, I get the feeling she doesn’t like me. Which is ridiculous because she doesn’t even know me. We barely spoke two words to each other.” I knew it was more than two words, but over exaggeration had its place.
    “Most girls like you think that.”
    I let out an offended scoff. “Girls like me? What the hell is that supposed to mean, Bear ?”
    “I don’t know,” he retorted moving his hands around animatedly. “Girls like you and not like her. ”
    “Oh. What . Ever .”
    Silence filled the truck for a few moments as we drove. I still didn’t know what he meant by “girls like me,” and it irked me. I wondered if Lucas liked girls like her. They seemed friendly with each other—flirting, laughing, winking .
    “So what kind of girls does Lucas go for?”
    Charles huffed and shook his head. “I knew this was going to happen,” he said. I didn’t respond, even though I wanted to argue. “I don’t know. He just likes girls. What does it matter?”
    Oh, it mattered. “It doesn’t matter. I’m just curious.”
    “What do you want me to say?” He gestured in my direction, moving his hand down my body. “He likes girls with dark wavy hair, sexy as hell curves, and big beautiful eyes. Now go daydream to your hearts content.”
    “Thank you,” I giggled. “But don’t go giving me false hope.”
    “A-ha! I knew it. You wanna… do… do whatever with him, don’t you?”
    “Maybe,” I shrugged. “Doing whatever with him might be nice.”
    “I’m gonna reign in my big brother instinct and ignore this entire conversation.”
    Charles focused on driving for the remainder of our trip, and I wondered what he would think if something happened between Lucas and I. Charles had never been the type to get all protective when it came to me and men. In fact, he barely said a word about other guys