Spark Of Desire by Christa Maurice

and we’ll walk down to Sears. What time do you have lunch?”
    “Ten.”
    “In the morning?”
    Jessica nodded. She had to go at ten or wait until two, but she didn’t feel like explaining that to him.
    “Fine.” He stood up and pulled out his wallet. “I’ll meet you tomorrow at ten.”
    “It’s not going to help,” Bobbie sang.
    Kevin dropped some bills on the table. “I’ll talk to you later.” He walked out.
    Jessica stared at the door long after he left, wondering who he was going to talk to later. Her or Bobbie? “He was really mad,” she said.
    “No, that wasn’t mad. Mad is much quieter. He was flustered, and it was funny. Kevin doesn’t get flustered. He’s pretty level. This is going to be a blast.” Bobbie grinned. “You can come to my station to play with the toys.”
    “Thanks.” Jessica stared out the door, wondering if Bobbie had read him right. He’d looked more angry than agitated. Or had she been too flustered to know what he felt?
    Bobbie sipped the last of her drink. She put down the empty glass and started turning it on its ring of condensation. “He’s never done this before.”
    “Done what?”
    “Helped anybody train to get into the department.” Bobbie didn’t look up from her careful glass spinning.
    “Is that unusual?”
    The waitress stopped by with the check and picked up Kevin’s empty glass.
    “It is for Kevin. He’s quiet. He keeps to himself. Doesn’t date. I tried.” Bobbie grinned, but Jessica thought she saw something odd in it. “For a while I thought there was something wrong with me, but it’s him. I’ve known him for four years and never heard of him seeing anyone. I have to wonder why he picked you out of the crowd.”
    Jessica shrugged. “I went to Ireland.” How could a smart, attractive guy like Kevin manage to stay home on a Saturday night? He should be beating women off with a stick, or a crowbar.
    “Really? He’d probably be into that. He’s into all the traditional music. He’s a classic firefighter. Irish Catholic, tough, stubborn. You know the type.”
    Irish Catholic, tough, stubborn. Why then did he keep changing his mind about her? Why did it matter? “How old is he?” she asked before she could stop herself.
    “Not sure. Sometimes he looks older than God and sometimes he’s a big kid. I know he’s been in the department for about sixteen years and the earliest you can join up is twenty-one.”
    “So the youngest he could be is thirty-seven.”
    “Something like that.” Bobbie stood up and flipped over the check. “That rat.”
    Jessica looked at the check and the bills Kevin had left on the table. “What?”
    “He paid for lunch. What a guy, huh?” Bobbie dropped a single on the table. “He’s cheap, too. You always have to watch his tips. Hey, are you free Monday?”
    “I’m off all day.” Jessica stood up and collected her purse.
    “Good. Meet me at the gym at nine. I can show you the machines and get you started. Time’s short, you know?”
    Jessica nodded and followed Bobbie out. As she walked home, she considered Kevin. Irish Catholic, tough and stubborn. Never trained anyone for the department exam before, but offered to help her out of the blue. “Pretty level”, but he’d been half crazed throughout the encounter, and he’d vanished to the men’s room forever, apparently to wash his face. She still wasn’t sure why she’d tried to provoke him. Had she just wanted him to look at her? Acknowledge her? Anything? Was she turning into a child, acting out to get attention?
    At her car, she stopped to collect the books she’d borrowed and walked up the rickety stairs to her apartment. She’d been trying to get the landlord to fix them since she moved in two years ago. As she unlocked the door, she heard the phone ring. Throwing open the door she dived for the phone before the machine picked it up.
    “Hello?”
    “Hi, honey. We got your message. What’s the big news?”
    Jessica sank onto the