Playing With Fire (Firehouse Fourteen Book 2) by Lisa B. Kamps

you so much. You know, I'd expect something like that coming from any of the other guys but not you. So thanks." He moved, fully intending to stand up and walk away, but was stopped by Mike's hand on his arm.
    "Jay, that's not how I meant it and you know it."
    He brushed her hand off but didn't move. "No, I don't."
    "Jay, this is me you're talking to, okay? How many times have you said yourself that you're not interested in a relationship? That you have 'encounters', not 'dates'?" Her voice was quiet, understanding. Not judging, just stating fact. But it still upset him to hear his own words thrown back at him. And if it had been anyone besides Mikey saying it, he would have stormed off and taken his aggressions out on the punching bag downstairs in the gym.
    But it was Mikey. And they were his words.
    He shook his head, not sure what to say. No, he had no interest in a relationship. He tried that once and it hadn't ended well, and he had never looked back. He had also never looked forward, never thought about looking forward. He was quite happy just living day-to-day.
    And Mikey, of all people, knew that. Which was the only reason he didn't say anything.
    "So, about Angie. Is she just another encounter?"
    "No." Jay shook his head. "No, she's not." And it was the truth. He wanted to keep seeing her, liked just being around her. And he wanted to keep getting to know her better. He had no idea where things would lead, just knew that he liked being around her. Liked being with her. Why did that have to be so terrible?
    Mike watched him, her head tilted to one side as she studied him. "Jay, are you sure you're not interested in her just because...I mean, it's not a case of forbidden fruit, is it?"
    "Christ Mikey, really?"
    She leaned back and held her hands out in surrender, but the small grin on her face let him know that she wasn't really worried about upsetting him.
    But was she right? Was this attraction to Angie nothing more than wanting something he wasn't supposed to have? He closed his eyes, recalling Angie's face and her smile. Her laughter. The sound of her voice when they talked for hours. He shook his head. No, if it was a case of wanting something he couldn't have, he mostly certainly wouldn't be thinking about her face or her voice. And if it was a case of wanting something he couldn't have, well, he certainly wouldn't have gotten so pissed off last night. And he certainly wouldn't be worrying about when he could see her again.
    He opened his eyes and looked over at Mike, shaking his head in answer to her question. "No, it's not a case of forbidden fruit. I like her, Mikey. Why does that have to be a bad thing?"
    "I never said it was. I just want to make sure you know what you're getting into, especially with Dave. You're going to have to sit down and talk to him, Jay, regardless. And if you keep seeing Angie without talking to him? Well, things could get even uglier."
    "Yeah. Yeah, I know."
    She stood up and stretched, then punched him in the shoulder as she walked by. "Call me if you need to talk."
    Jay watched her leave, knowing she was right. He needed to talk to Dave. But what was he supposed to say? And what about Angie? For all he knew, she might not be interested in seeing him again, especially if Dave had given her half as bad a hard time as he had given Jay.
    And that thought worried the hell out of him.

CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    A light breeze blew through the open window. The sheer curtains billowed into the room, letting more of the early evening sun into the room. Angie twisted her head to the side and thought about getting up to pull the shade.
    She didn't have the energy.
    And her wrist hurt.
    Of course, if she hadn't been holding the e-reader in her left hand, her wrist wouldn't hurt as much as it did. But she had nothing better to do today, and wanted to just laze around and enjoy a quiet Sunday. So far, she had been successful.
    If you didn't count all the times she had looked at her phone, wondering if