Page 74 of My Favorite Hero

You can ride a firefighter if you want.

Cool. Which one?

ME, Pixie. You can ride me.

Oh. I thought you were offering something different.

You can ride me cowgirl style if you want something different, but it will still be with me. Clear?

Okay, then. Crystal.

Mark Wednesday off.

Done, boss.

Stop bothering me at work, Pixie. I’m a busy man.

I started laughing at that text. Teasing Thorne was still around. That was good news. I hoped he was around when he got home tomorrow. Maybe I would cook him a roast with extra gravy.

Go back to shining the truck, mister.

For your information, I’m shining the brass.

As in knob? LOL

I’ll leave that up to you for now.

I snickered at his humor, and my phone finally stopped pinging with incoming texts. I stared at the screen, grinning. I did like to rile him up. I had never ridden cowgirl style, and for fun, I looked it up, my eyes widening when I watched the screen.

I was definitely holding him to that one.

JESSE

I shut my locker, towel-drying my hair. I was anxious for this shift to end. To go home. See Miller.

Fuck Casey.

It was strange how much I missed her. Our fun texts seemed only to amplify that feeling. It wasn’t one I was used to, and I told myself it was because this was new. Different.

I ignored the laughter in my head. I was getting used to it being there. And thinking I would have her out of my system in a day or two proved to be wrong. I wanted her more now than ever.

I pulled on a fire station T-shirt and pants, ready in case we got a last-minute call. It had been busy yesterday, but today had been spent mostly in drills and card games. The sun was high and summer almost here. I was looking forward to taking some time off, planning some trips in the truck, Miller beside me as we explored parks, camped, and enjoyed nature.

I dismissed the thought of Casey joining us. This wasn’t a relationship. We’d set those ground rules very clearly.

And I disregarded the fact that we were both lousy at following rules. Or that, at times, I was tempted to sway from that one—it felt like a relationship of some kind.

I headed for the kitchen, needing coffee. I stepped into the chief’s office to wish him a safe trip since he was leaving on holidays the next morning. He waved me in, smiling in thanks at my words.

“Whatever you’re doing different, Thorne, keep it up.”

“Sir?” I asked.

“You’re smiling more. I heard you tell a joke last night.”

“Oh, ah…” I scrubbed the back of my neck.

He chuckled. “Whatever or whoever it is, I like it.”