Free Safe Passage by Kate Owen

she could avoid thinking about Gen and tonight. Then when she realized the song was all about sex she grunted and turned the radio back off. She got to the boathouse and saw most of the team there already.
    "Jules, how's everything with that safe?" Becs hollered. "Did you find someone to translate the letter?"
    "Yeah, Becs, I did."
    "And?"
    "It's complicated. The letter just raised some questions about my aunt I'm trying to answer."
    "That's not too complicated. I mean, I am a detective."
    "Well, two things about that. Thing number one, you're not nearly as cute as the girl I've got helping me with this."
    Becs waved her off. "Pffft, whatever, I'm hot as hell, you just couldn't handle me."
    "Right, moving on, thing two, the complicated part, is that I have a date tonight with the French teacher who helped me translate it."
    "Ah, way to go Jules. Where are you taking her?"
    "Lakeside Sushi."
    "Oh, nice. Good choice. Amber and I went there last month."
    Jules and Becs' talk was interrupted by Jessica, the cox. "Alright, let's get going," she yelled from across the boat house. They picked up the boat and put it in the water, climbing in and starting their practice. After an hour and a half on the water, they put the boat up and started walking toward their cars.
    "Jules, you up for brunch?" Becs asked.
    Jules nodded and hopped into Becs' Jeep.
    The two of them headed to a diner near the canal and slid into booths.
    "So," Becs said. "Tell me about this French teacher. First date?"
    "Um, maybe."
    "Jules, how the hell are you not sure it's a date?"
    "No, I know it's a date, I just don't know if it's our first date."
    Becs held up her hand to stop Jules. She looked over at the waitress. "Coffee and a Denver omelette."
    The waitress nodded and looked at Jules.
    "Coffee and pancakes with a side of sausage." One of the things Jules had been happiest about when she stopped training for the Olympics was that she could eat pancakes again.
    The waitress left to get their coffees and Becs shook her head at Jules. "This college crap doesn't work anymore, Jules. You are thirty years old. Nut up! How are you not sure it's your first date?'
    "Well, I had her over to my place and I fixed her dinner, but that was before I knew she was gay. Then she brought me coffee and beignets the next morning and told me that she was gay and that I was cute. Then that night she brought Thai over to my place. Both the times we were at my place we were working on figuring out stuff about the safe."
    "Huh, only you could fall into this kind of thing. I get how you don't know, though. I don't either. Play it by ear?"
    "Thanks, you are enormously helpful."
    After their breakfast, Becs drove Jules back to her car and she headed home to try to distract herself until 7:30, when she had to leave to pick up Gen. She graded papers, and cleaned up her house, just in case. Samson watched her frenzied cleaning from the couch, his forehead wrinkled as if he couldn't understand why his human would work so hard. After Jules had done everything she could do, she glanced at the clock. It was still only two o'clock. She sighed and went to the store, figuring she'd cook something for dessert, just in case.
    She came home from Whole Foods with all the ingredients she needed, and went to work on a chocolate raspberry torte. After she finished making it and cleaned up the kitchen she glanced at the clock again. Now it was six o'clock and she could go start to get ready. Jules showered, dried her hair, and then spent time going through her clothes, finally settling on a fitted grey cashmere sweater that was thin enough to not make her stiflingly hot and black pants with a matching grey pinstripe, she paired it with black driving shoes and a black linen sport coat. As she threaded her black belt through the belt loops, she thought about what she'd had planned. It was a basic date. She didn't want to go overboard. She kept going back and forth on the flowers she'd bought while she was at