Wildfire Griffin (Fire & Rescue Shifters: Wildfire Crew #1)(43)
The easy companionship between the two men made a little pang of longing go through her. How nice it would be to sit with Rory like that. Comfortably side-by-side, leaning against his solid, strong warmth…
Tanner noticed her watching. The B-squad boss gave her a little wave, smiling behind his beard. She waved back, shaking herself free of her reverie. The brief daydream filled her with renewed determination. If she opened up to Rory like Wystan had said, then maybe one day it would be her and Rory sitting together like that.
Jittery excitement tingled through her limbs. She scanned the gathered firefighters, but couldn’t see any of her squadmates. Their customary table was still empty.
Rory, can we take a walk after dinner? She practiced her script in her head as she collected a tray and waited in line for her turn. She barely noticed what the grumpy cook dished onto her plate. There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you…
She took her usual spot, still trying out alternative phrases. Rory, I’ve been watching you for some time and…no, that made her sound like a stalker. Rory, I admire you so much…no, too ambiguous. Rory, you sex god, take me now…
“Hey. We want to sit here.”
She jumped at the unexpected voice. In her preoccupation, she hadn’t noticed Seth until he was looming right over her. Two other men from C-squad flanked him. All three wore identical smiles, eyes glinting.
“Uh.” She looked around, confused. There were still empty tables available. “Don’t you normally sit over there?”
“Yes.” Seth put his tray down, shoving hers aside a few inches. “But today we’re going to sit here.”
Maybe they were just trying to be friendly? They were smiling, after all. She smiled back uncertainly.
Rory had said that A-squad should try to be polite to Seth. It would be rude to get up and go somewhere else, or ask them to take a different table. She didn’t want to do anything that would give Seth an excuse to snipe at Rory.
“Okay.” She scooted over a little, giving Seth room to sit down. “There’s plenty of space.”
The three C-squad hotshots exchanged glances, as though this hadn’t quite been what they’d expected to happen. Then, with a shrug, Seth slid in next to her. She cringed away from the heat of his leg near hers, fixing her eyes on her plate.
“So where’s Doofus and the Goon Squad?” Seth asked as he shoveled a forkful of pasta into his mouth. “Got lost in the woods?”
“I-I don’t know.” His close proximity rubbed against her skin like sandpaper, but she couldn’t edge any further away without falling off the bench. “They went off to do something. I don’t know what.”
“Leaving you behind, huh?” said one of Seth’s buddies. With an effort, she recalled his name was Ernie, while the other one was Ed. “Well, we all know Rory didn’t hire you for your firefighting skills.”
It took her a second to work out what he meant. Heat rose in her cheeks.
“I’ve never slept with Rory,” she blurted out.
“It’s all right, princess,” Ed said. “You don’t have to play the blushing innocent with us. Go on, admit it. I bet you two are going at it like bunnies behind every tree on those ‘hikes,’ right?”
“No!” How could they thing she would be so unprofessional? Okay, so she might have had the occasional fantasy… “I swear, he’s never touched me!”
Ed made a rude, disbelieving noise. “Yeah, right.”
“Hold on.” Seth gave her a long, considering look that made her skin crawl. “I think she’s actually telling the truth.”
“I am.” She wished they would go away, or that her own crewmates would come. She let her hair fall forward, hiding her face. “You can believe me or not.”
“Huh. That would explain why Boy Scout’s been stalking around like a bear with a hangover,” Ernie said. “The guy’s nuts must be about to explode.”
“No kidding.” Seth propped one elbow on the table, angling his body toward her. “So why are you teasing your boss, princess? Not that I’m complaining. You frigid or something?”
She had to do something to distract herself from how close he was. Her hands wanted to flap, but that would have been a dead giveaway. In desperation, she wound a lock of her hair around her finger, concentrating on the silky texture.
“I’m not teasing him.” Her voice had gone high and breathless. She always hated the way she sounded like a little girl when she was mad, but she couldn’t help it. “And I’m not frigid. I like sex just fine.”
The slight tug against her scalp calmed her a little. It was an old stim, one of the few she’d been able to get away with in front of school teachers who insisted on ‘quiet hands’ in their classrooms. It gave her space to think again.
“Let’s not talk about Rory.” She’d gone too long without initiating eye contact. She made herself peep up at him through lowered eyelashes, just to be polite. “I’d rather talk about you.”
It was her last-ditch secret weapon, the one that she only pulled out when a conversation was becoming unbearable. Most people loved to talk about themselves. Especially men.
“Me?” Seth said. He looked more startled than flattered. “What about me?”