Page 20 of Playing With My Fire

“No, I know that. What I mean is, sometimes as adults, we're no longer allowed to smack the ones we like, so some would rather avoid it. It’s called playing hard to get.”

I snort because that's a probability in some cases. In mine, it’s utterly ridiculous. I may not know Estrella that well, but I know she’s a confident, no holds barred lady, and if she liked me, she would no doubt just come out and say it.

“Whatever, Tiny. Can we go eat now?”

I try to shove past him. “Wait, wait!”

I cross my arms over my chest. “You have five seconds to spit it out.”

“Fine. Even if you don’t believe me, I still think you need everything laid bare. Estrella sort of has a double life. Here, she’s our badass boss, and firefighting biotch extraordinaire, but outside of this place, she has another name.”

“Ugh!” I throw my hands up. “Enough with the theatrics and just tell me!”

“Jeez, you’re no fun!” I narrow my eyes, and he holds his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay, fine. She’s a top known as Mistress La Luna.”

For the longest moment, I let that sink in before full-on confusion takes over. “What the heck does that mean?”

His smile grows, and instead of answering, he turns on his heel and walks away.

“Tiny! What does that mean?!”

He waves but doesn’t look back.

“God dammit. Tiny!” I growl, which only receives laughter in return until even that’s gone and I’m left alone, a seething mass of consternation.

Slowly, I follow him to the dining room that’s already surrounded by the entire crew. As luck would have it, the only available seat is between Beau and Estrella. It feels like my lucky day until I sit down and she tenses beside me. She’s subtle, but I’m keyed into her every movement, so I know exactly when she begins to scoot her chair away.

Nobody else notices until Tiny smiles around his mouthful of pasta. “You chilly, Captain, or are you flirting with me?”

I can feel my blush as it grows from the tips of my ears inward until I’m sure everyone can see how red I am. I’m expecting the same kind of reaction out of her, but instead, she only smirks back at the man.

“You know me, Tiny, always trying to get my thrills where I can.”

He laughs boisterously, it echoes around the room, and it’s contagious. The entire table joins in.

“Well, next time you get an itch, my door is always open.”

She gracefully pulls to her feet and pats him on the back.

While her following words are for him, she’s looking down at me. “If I ever break my rule not to eat where I shit, you’ll be the first to know.”

Then she’s walking away, leaving me with so many more questions.

Such as what does that mean?

Like literally eating?

Or does she mean something else?

Like sex?

Also, was she joking, or was she being serious?

My God, it’s all too much for me to comprehend.

For the rest of my shift, I keep my head down and count the minutes until I can go home and at least try to find a few answers to any one of my numerous questions.

???

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