Page 4 of Double Dirty

I reached across the table where her hand rested beside her plate. I almost took her hand. At the last second, I swerved and stole another fry. It was a close call. I had wanted to assure her that she could trust me, that I would keep her safe as if I knew her, as if she were mine to safeguard.

I steered the conversation into shallower waters, told her about my self-defense training, how heavy the full simulation gear is and how many nut punches I took before I admitted I needed to wear the gear. She laughed, completely at ease. It was amazing how well we got along, how easy it was to talk with her, to make each other laugh.

When I looked at my phone, I was surprised to see that we’d been there two hours. I told her what time it was. Lexi was shocked, too.

“You’re kidding. It’s like we just got here. I’ve been on dates where half an hour seemed way longer than this. Not that this was a date,” she said, flushing pink, seeming a little flustered.

“No. I know exactly what you mean. This was fun. Could I walk you home? Make sure you get there safely?”

“I drove, thanks. If you want to be extra protective though you can walk me to my car,” she said.

We both stood up and I followed her out and down the block. She unlocked a little Toyota and got inside. She started it up and rolled down the window.

“Thanks for tonight. I feel a little better.”

“That’s good to hear, Lexi,” I said, saying her name just because I wanted to.

“Hey, I’ll see you Friday at class, okay?”

“I’ll see you then,” I said. I wanted to say something else, tell her to be careful or to lock her doors, but it seemed intrusive since we barely knew each other.

I walked home and found my best friend Leo already there.

“What, no fires tonight?” I said, popping a beer.

“No. I got off early. You, on the other hand, are out late. Did one of your self-defense girls need a little one-on-one tutoring in the locker room?” he joked.

“No, the opposite, you horn dog.”

“The opposite as in one of the self-defenseguysneeded one-on-one?”

I rolled my eyes at him, “No. There was a new girl in class. She stayed in the back and acted nervous. I wanted to make sure she was okay.”

“By nervous do you mean hot?”

“I mean nervous, like she was going to jump out of her skin if anyone even spoke to her.”

“Trauma victim?”

“Got threatened at work,” I said, sitting down beside him on the sectional.

“Ex-boyfriend?”

“Client.”

“Hooker?” he asked.

“Social worker. God, you’re a pervert. Does the Fire Chief know about your dirty mind?”

“He and I aren’t that close,” Leo said, “plus, I like girls. What does this one look like?”

“I dunno,” I said, setting my beer down on the table and rubbing my neck.

“You dunno?” he laughed, “You’re acting like we’re back in high school and you think I’m after your homecoming date. Just tell me what the woman looks like.”

“Dark hair. Big eyes like she was a lost puppy, at least at first. I swear to God, she looked like one of those woodland animals from a cartoon, all big eyes and eyelashes.”

“A cartoon. That sounds hot,” Leo deadpanned.