Free Spark Of Desire by Christa Maurice

late getting back from lunch and heard her name paged before she got through the inside foyer doors. Grabbing the phone at the register, she answered the page, which started her on an afternoon of running. For the next half hour she bounced around the store on one errand after another.
    “Good lunch?” Mindi asked when she met up with Jessica in the cash office getting change for the registers.
    “Great lunch.” Jessica sorted through bundles of ones and fives, putting bigger bills away in the safe. “I think he’s starting to like me.”
    “The fireman?” Mindi let the door close behind her. She hopped onto the stool in the corner of the cramped office.
    Jessica nodded and kicked the safe closed. “We sat over lunch and had a great conversation. Then we went to the hardware store and he showed me some of the tools I need to learn. He opened doors. He listened to me. He’s so wonderful.”
    “Lunch is a start.” Mindi nodded.
    Jessica stood, leaning her hip against the desk. “It was great, Mindi. I have never known a guy like this.”
    “You think he’s the one?” Mindi’s eyes brightened and she leaned forward.
    “I don’t know. I’ve never been right before. I don’t want to jinx myself.” Jessica scooped up the money on the desk. “It’s funny, I’ve seen him around the store a hundred times and never looked at him twice, but now… Everything’s different.” Jessica hugged herself, remembering the way he looked at her over lunch. Attentive and kind. Almost hanging on her every word. Never had she felt that comfortable on a date, with the guy or with herself. It had been strange and normal at the same time. Like some part of her that had been out of joint had slipped back into place. For that hour it had been okay for her to be five-ten and broad-shouldered.
    “That was a pretty smart idea, telling him you wanted to train for the fire department.”
    “What?” Jessica’s mind ground as it tried to change gears.
    “You got him to spend lots of time with you. That was smart. You had me really freaked out.” Mindi rolled her eyes. “I thought you were serious. I honestly believed you wanted to join the fire department.”
    Jessica’s hands dropped to her sides. “I am serious. I do want to join the fire department.”
    “You just said you were trying to catch this fireman.”
    “I never said that. I said I thought he was starting to like me.” Jessica’s mouth went dry. Why did Mindi think this was a trick? Would Kevin think it was a trick? “This isn’t a joke or a gimmick to get a date. I want to join the fire department. I always have. Don’t you remember when we were in college I worked security?”
    “Yeah, but that was just walking around campus with a flashlight.” Mindi bobbed her head side to side. “How cool, I have a big flashlight. You got to meet all the cute security guys.”
    “I didn’t do it to meet security guys. You ended up dating all the security guys,” Jessica shouted.
    “That’s because you didn’t seem to mind. You kept bringing them home and introducing them to me,” Mindi shouted back.
    “They were my friends. That’s why they came to the dorm.”
    “They were also cute. You’re just mad because you didn’t have as many dates in college as I did.”
    Jessica felt herself starting to shake. The office was too small and too cramped for her to be this angry. “That is totally unrelated. You always do that. It’s time to play Bait Jessica Until She Goes Ballistic.”
    “You’re the crazy woman whose greatest goal in life is to run into a burning building.”
    Pounding rattled the door. “Hey! Hey! Open the door,” Eric shouted.
    Jessica could hear him fumbling to fit his key into the lock and she jerked the door open. Eric fell into the room, catching himself on the safe. Behind him, a crowd of coworkers stared.
    “Will you two keep it down?” Eric whined. He stood up and realized he was trapped between them, nearly brushing into Jessica.