Up In Flames (Flirting with Fire Book 2)

by Jennifer Blackwood

  They made their way to the main entrance of the gym and got in line for the smoothie stand. Madison’s gym had a steep price tag and the amenities to go along with it. It wasn’t the type of place that Sloane could justify putting her hard-earned money toward, but she definitely appreciated it whenever she got a free pass. But right now, with her clothes soaked, Sloane couldn’t get home quick enough to take a shower.

  “Sure, I’m in,” she said to Erin.

  Sloane could never pass up Scrabble. It was one of her favorite games. For the sole reason that she could add an s onto most words and take the whole table. Plus, she wasn’t going to pass up Erin getting supercompetitive over a game. She took her English language seriously.

  “Hey, have you seen Jake at the hospital lately?” asked Erin.

  “Not since last week. Why, what’s up?” The last time she’d even really talked to him was at the firefighter auction. Their paths didn’t cross too often at work.

  Erin let out a long sigh and glanced at her phone. “Just haven’t seen much of him lately. Our schedules are so out of whack with him picking up extra shifts. Doesn’t help that I agreed to head the science club after school.”

  “You guys will get back in sync,” Sloane said. Although that was the one perk of being single. She didn’t have to worry about anyone else’s schedule.

  “Relationships go through cycles.” They moved up in line, Madison’s voice drowned out by the mixer. She waited for the blender to stop and then continued. “Yours is just in the spin cycle at the moment. It’ll all smooth out.”

  Erin shrugged. “You’re probably right. It just sucks that we live together, and I barely see him.” She shook her head. “I’m just being weird.”

  “Aren’t you always?” said Sloane.

  Madison nodded. “You’re totally weird, Erin. But that’s why we love you. Also, can I rant for a sec?” They moved up until there was only one person ahead of them. Sloane had already decided she was getting the peanut butter banana smoothie.

  “I thought you had found your inner chi back in there?” Sloane joked.

  “In there, I find peace. Out of the yoga studio, I’m ready to maim someone today.”

  Madison wasn’t usually one to go on rants very often. In fact, the last time she’d gone off, it was about a couple who had made complaints on Yelp about Madison because she hadn’t photoshopped them enough.

  “What’s up?” Erin asked.

  “Professional MeetCute got back to me.” They moved up until the three of them were at the front of the line. “Two strawberry smoothies and a peanut butter banana one,” Madison told the barista. The same smoothie orders every single time for the past few months. They each chipped in a few bucks and then waited on the other side of the counter for the drinks.

  “What did they say?” Sloane asked.

  “They said that I’m in the final round of possible casting, but they need to do an in-person interview.”

  “That’s great!” She noticed Madison’s frown. “Isn’t it?”

  Her lips pursed into a tight frown. “It would be if it wasn’t next weekend.”

  Erin’s eyes went wide. “Like, six days from now?”

  Madison sighed, and they all grabbed their smoothies from the counter. “Exactly . . . and I have two shoots scheduled. I can’t just cancel on my clients.”

  Erin took a sip of her smoothie. “Ugh. The worst. What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to have to tell them no, I guess. Not really much I can do.” She sighed and kept her drink at her side.

  Sloane wrapped her in a half hug, trying not to get all her almost-dried sweat on her best friend. “Sorry, babe. Wish there was something we could do.”

  Madison leaned her head on Sloane’s shoulder. “Ew, you really did sweat.”

  Sloane gave her a playful shove, and Madison smiled, finally taking a sip of her drink. “Oh well. It was a nice thought. But at least I know that I had a chance at making it onto the show. There’s something.”

  That was Madison. Always looking for the bright side. Sloane loved that about her best friend. She was always so positive. Something that Sloane had been lacking lately, she realized.

  She looked at her two best friends. These two women got her through all her hard times. And now since Erin was back permanently, she didn’t have to see her on a biannual basis.

  Sloane took a sip of her smoothie and nearly choked on a chunk of banana when she noticed a certain six-foot-three oaf walking in the door.

  “Well, if it isn’t my favorite sister and her friends.”

  “I didn’t think they let dogs into this place,” Sloane said. She ignored the quickened pace of her heart. And the fact that she had ten layers of sweat cooled onto her skin and had the sudden urge to bolt for the bathroom. No, this was Reece. She shouldn’t care what he thought.

  “Lucky for me, Hollywood has a membership. I’m just along for the ride. Speaking of dogs, how’s it going on your app?”

  “Sloane’s kicking ass on it, not that it’s any of your business,” Erin said. “Is there a reason you’ve taken such an interest in Sloane’s affairs?”

  Sloane smiled at the arched brow Erin sent Reece’s way.

  “I thought since Sloane and I are friends now, we’re supposed to ask each other about these types of things.” He smirked and shoved his hands in the pockets of his gym shorts.

  Sloane made an effort to keep her gaze at eye level, but it traveled down, down, down, to the muscles peeking out the sides of his tank top. To the tattoos covering his pecs and biceps. Scorpions, birds, script she couldn’t read from this distance. Her gaze traveled to the thick muscles of his thighs, the muscles outlined against the fabric of his shorts. She swallowed hard. Sure, he was sinfully delicious, but she’d also told herself she’d stay away from men like that. Especially this certain man. She’d been friends with him in the past, but she didn’t think that was possible now.

  “Oh, Reece. I have plenty of friends. I’ll take that third chore, though.”

  “Only need me for my services. I feel so used.”

  Oh, there were so many other things she could think about Reece doing. Things she’d never admit to Erin or Madison. “Just the cold, hard truth.”

  “I see you’re really trying to live up to that self-proclaimed ice-queen moniker.”

  This was a dangerous game. One Sloane had come to enjoy. She liked the verbal sparring, and Reece seemed to be the only guy who could dish it.

  Before Sloane could say anything, Cole stepped in.

  “Dude. You guys just have to get all weird and ruin it for the rest of us.” Cole smacked Reece on the back of his head. “Sloane, Erin, Madison, it’s a pleasure seeing you guys.” He turned to Reece. “Let’s go lift.”

  Reece nodded and said, “Well, nonfriend, I guess I’ll see you around.” He turned to Madison and Erin. “Nice seeing you ladies as well.” And with that, he and Cole disappeared into the gym.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I’m sorry, but we haven’t found an adopter for Peaches yet, Mr. Jenkins.”

  Reece stopped pacing the length of his apartment and sighed heavily into the phone. “No problem. Just keep me posted.” This was the second call he’d put in this week. Both unsuccessful.

  “Sure thing,” said Kurt, and then he hung up.

  “Looks like you live to terrorize me for another day, girl,” he said to Peaches. His fingers ran along her back, and a tuft of hair spilled to the floor. The dog shed more than Sloane’s shower drain, and there were tiny brown tumbleweeds rolling around on his hardwoods. Even with the foo-foo outfits. Today she’d picked an argyle sweater. Yes, picked. Pointed with her damn paw and everything. The dog clearly had no self-respect, but who was he to deprive the pooch of something that kept her warm? He’d have to find a decent replacement. Like a Seahawks jersey.

  He pulled the Roomba out of the storage closet and started it up.

  Peaches barked at it when the vacuum moved into the
kitchen and hit the Greenie she’d been gnawing on that he’d picked up from the store after he’d worked out with Hollywood. He’d been surprised to see Sloane there. It was impossible to ignore how sexy she looked, flushed from working out, her T-shirt see-through from exertion. That mouth of hers was enough to drive him mad. He’d always managed to put his foot in his own mouth when he was around her. Instead of his words coming off like a joke, they came off assy. Which seemed to be the usual with their interactions. He just couldn’t get it right, and damn it, he wanted her to not look at him like she was planning to throw him on a pyre and send him out to sea. At least he’d have a reprieve from her tonight.

  He made his way to the door and grabbed his coat from the hook. Peaches looked up at him, hope in her little eyes that he’d take her for another walk.

  “Sorry, you’re not coming this time. I’ll just be a few hours, girl.” Reece bent down and gave the dog a few pats on the head and closed the apartment door. Pitiful whimpers came from his apartment, and his heart clenched. It was just a few hours. The dog needed to be able to handle that if she was going to stay with him for an extended period. Any day now Kurt would call and say he found an adopter, so Reece didn’t want Peaches to get too used to the idea of going everywhere with him. Not that he was getting attached or anything.

  Plus, the dog would be entertained by the Roomba. He’d caught her riding on it earlier this morning. Yoranians weren’t supposed to shed that much. His wood floors begged to differ.

  He made his way to the Jeep and then drove the fifteen minutes to his mom’s house. Since Erin had moved back into town, their mother had insisted that they add on to their weekly dinner together and reinstate game night.

  Erin’s Prius was already in the driveway when he pulled in beside her. He assumed Jake was with her, since he usually came to their weekly dinners.

  Andie paced in the entryway and came to a skidding halt when Reece strode through the door.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “They’re all in there. Laughing.”

  Andie looked tired from her shift at the shelter earlier today, but he was proud of her. “At you again?” He ruffled her hair. His youngest sister was never one for large doses of family time. She still lived at home with their mother and had made it known several times that she’d rather have any other living arrangement if her budget allowed. It didn’t. He’d offer to let her crash at his place, but his brotherly love only extended so far. Alone time was much needed after his shifts, and he didn’t like sharing his space with anyone else. Back in the early days, he’d roomed with Jake. Even their childhood friendship became strained. Reece decided he was just meant to live by himself. He didn’t mind it.

  “Very funny. Erin’s doing that whole Jake’s-the-funniest-human-in-existence thing. She’s laughing at jokes that aren’t even funny.”

  Reece shrugged. “That’s what love does to you.”

  “Makes you stupid?”

  He didn’t know if he should be worried or impressed that his sister had come to this conclusion at such a young age. It’d taken him years, ever since he realized that he wasn’t going to find anyone that made him feel the way Amber had made him feel.

  “Some think it’s lucky to find someone that makes you like that,” he said.

  “Then they’re idiots.” Andie pressed a beer into his hand.

  He unscrewed the cap and pointed it at her. “I’ll drink to that.”

  Andie’s shoulders relaxed. She’d had a rough couple of months, but he had no clue why. Reece tried to press a couple of times, but Andie was locked down tighter than the Jaws of Life on a crushed car door.

  “Ready to go in there?” he asked.

  “Do we have to?”

  “If you don’t want Mom to have a conniption, then yes.”

  He put his arm around his sister and led her to the kitchen, where everyone had congregated. And stopped short to find Sloane there.

  Sloane was laughing at something, her head tilted back, her eyes crinkling in the corners. The tanned column of her throat was exposed, and he had the sudden urge to run his tongue along the golden-brown skin. Reece momentarily lost his breath as he watched how happy she looked. How her whole face lit up. The laugh died on her lips as soon as she spotted Reece. It was a shame things couldn’t go back to before, when they were actually amicable. Especially when she was an honorary sibling in the Jenkins clan.

  “Finally! What took you so long?” His mother strode over and wrapped him in a hug. His two sisters might give his mom a hard time, but Reece was never ashamed by his love for her. She’d been there for him when he first applied to be a firefighter. She’d told him to pick himself up and move on when Amber left him for another man. Sure, she had a never-ending to-do list, but he would gladly take care of it to make her life a little simpler.

  “Was making sure Peaches was okay to leave.”

  “You could have brought her. She loves her Grandma Jenkins.”

  She’d watched Peaches when Reece was on shift this week. He thought a couple of times that she would refuse to give the dog back, but she’d reluctantly handed over the leash. He hated the thought of inconveniencing her, though. Maybe he’d look into someone coming into his apartment to walk the dog a few times during his twenty-four-hour shift. Then again, she’d be adopted soon.

  “Trying to get her used to being by herself for a few hours at a time.” He sent a look to Sloane. Two more chores. He had this in the bag, as long as she didn’t have another trip to the Humane Society planned. Then he’d be done with her and her ridiculous demands.

  “I’m sure she’s celebrating having the house to herself,” Sloane said, smiling sweetly.

  “Now that everyone’s here, it’s game time,” his mom cut in. She grabbed the Scrabble box and shook it enthusiastically.

  Last week had been Pictionary, so Reece counted this as an upgrade.

  They all sat at the table, Andie taking the seat next to him, and Jake on the other side. Across from him sat Sloane. Black storm clouds practically hovered over her since he’d come into the room. He could feel it.

  “Sloane, sweetheart, how is work?” his mom asked.

  She turned her attention to Reece’s mom. “Fine. Been busy since I transferred into the ER.”

  “I’m sure we’ll be bumping into you more, then,” Jake said.

  “Oh, goodie.” Her smile tightened.

  “It wouldn’t be so bad. You know you enjoy seeing our mugs,” Reece said.

  She laughed and took a sip of her drink. “I don’t know. I can’t decide if I like seeing you or stitching you up better. It’s a toss-up, really.”

  “Always were a masochist. You know they have clubs for that?” he retorted.

  Erin cleared her throat. “On that note, I think I’m going to start.”

  “Hey now. We all know that it’s the oldest who starts. I’ve earned this privilege,” his mom chimed in.

  “It’s always the winner of the last round. And”—Erin shuffled through the score papers—“that’d clearly be me.”

  “That’s because you have your fancy teacher vocabulary,” Reece said.

  “Can’t help what gifts I was graced with, Reece. Sad some of us can’t be on the same level.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

  “Hello, I think we need to go with the youngest. Give the weakling a head start,” Andie started in.

  He bit back a laugh. As much as he grumbled about coming over sometimes, he enjoyed being with his family. To see them all so happy, even when they were bickering. Were they the most functional bunch? Probably not. But life wouldn’t be nearly as interesting without them.

  After another few minutes, they’d decided that Jake would start because no one in the family could be mad if he did. Reece’s mom had rolled out the red carpet like Jake was a guest, even though he was far from that since he’d been another fixture in the Jenkins household for decades.

  “Okay, Sloane, your turn,” Reece’s mom said.


  Sloane stared down at her letters, chewing on her bottom lip. Reece found himself staring. They were the lightest shade of red he’d ever seen, almost close to pink.

  She grabbed five letters and placed them on the board, spelling out the word annoy. Then she made a point to stare Reece down.

  “Well, that is quite an interesting word.” Reece’s mom lifted up the tiles. “You even got a double-word space. Sixteen points.” Reece’s mom marked it on the score sheet.

  Andie added an ing onto Sloane’s word. When it got to Reece, he put down the word pesky.

  Erin, of course, went for something science related.

  Reece liked a good challenge, and seeing Sloane’s eye twitch every single time Reece matched her points was more gratifying than he cared to admit.

  He’d been especially proud of his use of the word frigid.

  Sloane managed to fit in data onto the board.

  Reece stared at his letters. He saw the word forming and looked at the board, making sure he could find a spot to make it work. Sure enough, there was an opening for it. He placed every single one of his letters down, bracketing her word so that it now formed undatable. And then gave his smirk that he’d perfected just for Sloane.

  Did he think she was actually a miserable woman who was bound to be by herself for the rest of her life? No. Well, she was miserable to him, but that was a different story.

  Her nostrils flared.

  The whole table went quiet.

  Shit.

  “I think we need ice cream. Does anyone want mint chocolate chip?” his mom chimed in.

  “What is wrong with you?” Erin asked, staring him down.

  “Nothing’s wrong with me. It’s a word. I used it.” If she was going to get her panties in a twist, that was her issue.

  His sister glared up at him, unconvinced.

  “Fine. I’m sorry if my word insulted anyone.” His tone could have used some work. In fact, he’d sworn he’d seen something other than annoyance flash across Sloane’s face. He’d say that it looked like hurt, but the woman was made of steel and soul-sucking qualities. There was no room for sadness in that mind of hers.