Free Fire Always Burns by Krista Lakes

me or he would have seen me stiffen and blush. Luke popped his head out from the aisle, and called him over. I wanted to hide as Andrew strode around the corner. Nothing happened, nothing happened, nothing happened!
    Andrew's face twitched, a blush creeping up into his cheeks as soon as he saw me. Our eyes connected and I knew I was just lying to myself. Something did happen.
    "So Thursday? That should work. Let me check Holly out and I'll pull up the calendar. I think I have all the stuff your dad needs," he said, balancing screws and lathes. He headed towards the checkout desk and I followed meekly, avoiding Andrew's gaze.
    "OK, $10.34," Luke announced as he bagged all the items and took my money. I was amazed he didn't feel the tension in the room. I could feel Andrew's eyes on me, his look burning into my skin. I could feel the blood rushing to my face and my hands started sweating.
    "Thanks Luke. I'll see you guys around. Bye Andrew," I said hastily, shoving my change into the plastic bag and heading towards the door. My mouth hung onto Andrew's name, desiring it like it desired another kiss from Andrew's mouth.
    I made it to my car, throwing the bag in the passenger seat and breathing hard. I sat for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts. I could barely keep my thoughts straight. I wanted to kiss him again so badly, but I knew I never could. What if Andrew and I had been the ones making out in the backseat? The idea made me want to laugh and feel hot inside at the same time.
    I heard a loud knock on my window, and nearly jumped out of my skin. "Holly, you forgot your gloves," Andrew said loudly.
    I rolled down my window and took the gloves with thanks.
    "Holly, I want to talk to you about the other night," he said leaning into the car. I could catch just a faint whiff of his cologne through the open window, his arm stretched out onto the roof and displaying his muscles through his long-sleeved shirt.
    "Nothing happened. Nothing can happen. We promised, remember? We can't do that to our friends," I said quickly, trying not to focus on his arms.
    "OK, good. That's just what I was thinking," he responded a little too quickly. He dropped his arms off the car and folded them in front of him. "Good, so I'll see you around then."
    "Yeah, definitely," I nodded. He backed away from the car, his eyes unreadable. I headed back home, feeling my head spinning. I told myself I was glad I had told him no, but somehow it made my chest hurt. Nothing happened, nothing happened, nothing happened. Maybe if I repeated enough times, it would be true.
    ▪▪▪
     
    I effectively avoided Andrew for almost two weeks. I texted him as little as possible, and when I saw him in public, I always made sure there was another person nearby. I thought that maybe if I didn't spend time with him, I would stop dreaming about him.
    It didn't work. If anything, my dreams became more vivid. I loved and dreaded sleeping because I knew I would dream of his hands on my body, touching and caressing me; his lips on my skin, the taste of his tongue. I would wake aching for more, aching for the real thing.
    It was my first day off all week. My dad had left for a business trip that morning, so I had the house to myself. I sat in front of the tv in my pajamas eating my third bowl of chocolate cereal watching reruns of old sitcoms, reveling in the opulence of a day off.
    Bing. Can you come meet me in the library? I want to show you something.
    I sat looking at my phone, Andrew's face smiling at me from the screen next to the message. I was dressed and ready to go in less than five minutes.
    The parking lot was empty, the public library and high school sharing the same space. I navigated through the library doors towards the main desk. I looked around for a moment, the library quiet and serene.
    I smiled at the librarian stacking books to be put back on the shelves, and headed towards the conference room. Andrew and I had met there to work on projects before, so I