Progress, I suppose.
“What are you up to?” I should have called before dropping by but there was always the risk that Janey would pretend to be busy. Or uninterested.
“I was about to get ready for a hot date, so we should hurry up and eat.” She burst out laughing when I turned and gave her a look that said I wasn’t amused. “I was watching Netflix and trying to figure out what I wanted for dinner. So, thanks…wait, what did you bring?”
“Funny,” I told her and set the takeout bags on the kitchen counter.
Janey hip checked me out of the way and dug into the bags herself, moaning with the kind of delight that had my cock standing up to take notice, as she pulled the containers from the bag. “Burgers! Okay you can stay.” She beamed a satisfied smile at me and I leaned over, capturing her lips in a kiss that went on far longer than it should over a burger.
But I wasn’t complaining. “Gee, thanks.”
She laughed again, a sound I was quickly becoming addicted to because she was so unrestrained when she laughed. So free. So happy. So beautiful. “Oh come on, does your ego really need another stroke?”
“Not my ego.”
She snorted a laugh that was adorable as hell and bumped me with her hip again. “One track mind,” she mumbled and shook her head. “Are you staying for dinner?”
Hell yeah I was staying. I nodded and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “And dessert too.”
Janey tried hard to suppress the shiver but it was no use, I saw the goosebumps pebble her skin and the way her nipples beaded under that lightweight green t-shirt. “Okay lover boy, settle down. First we eat and then we’ll talk about…dessert.”
“Sounds good to me.” I flashed a grin and turned towards her cabinets, guessing correctly on the plates. Eventually I found everything else and turned to put it all on the counter. “What?”
“If I go sit down, will you serve me too?”
“If that’s what you want.” I had no problem serving her, especially in those yoga pants she favored when she was at home. “Want me to do it naked, like your own personal Hooters?”
Heat flared in her eyes and I took a step forward, smiling darkly when she took a wary step back. “No.”
“Liar,” I shot back with a wicked grin.
Janey grinned. “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”
“That’s okay. We both know the truth anyway.” Damn it was so much fun doing these verbal gymnastics with her, almost as fun as the actual gymnastics. And that was a damn scary thought, one I hadn’t had about a woman I was sleeping with in a long, long time.
The growl she let out was annoyed but still sexy so I focused on that. “Drink?”
“Got any beer?”
She rolled her eyes with an affectionate smile. “Two beers coming right up.”
“Trying to get me drunk?”
She snorted a laugh. “Like I need to. I’ll just take these to the living room.”
“You don’t want to talk while we eat?” Usually I’d be in favor of enjoying the peace and quiet but Janey didn’t nag and she didn’t complain. She was fun and straightforward, there was no guessing with her. Except for how she felt about me.
“Uh, sure. I guess. What do you want to talk about?”
I remembered what Reese said about not pushing too hard so I decided to pace myself. “How was your week?”
She frowned. “You saw me a couple of days ago Rafe. Why are you being weird?”
“Am I? And here I thought it was just a man asking a beautiful woman about her week.”
“My week was fine. Busy since the Hometown Heroes is done and I’m trying to put together the photos for my new series. Inspired by the heroes of Tulip. How was yours?”
I shrugged and brought the burgers to the table, returning for the chili cheese fries and onion rings. “Busy as always. Just got a bunch of new rookies to train, which ought to be fun.”
“By train you mean torture?”
I gave a fake affronted look with one hand over my heart. “Torture? I am the Fire Chief and I would never ever-,”
“All right, all right. Settle down, Montgomery. I didn’t mean to offend your delicate sensibilities.” Her lips twitched in a smirk as she dropped down in one of the cushion covered chairs around a square kitchen table. “So you broke in some rookies?”
“Yep.”
“Cool. What else?”
“Kicked Jase’s ass at basketball and taste tested a few of Reese’s new recipes.”
Her eyes grew wide and I took the seat across from her, waiting for the inevitable interrogation into the nature of my relationship with Reese. All women had them, even the platonic friends in Tulip but especially the women who tried to figure out why I didn’t want more from them. With them. “Really? What is she working on or is it a secret?”