Page 13 of Raging Inferno

“You must think I’m a real idiot. I’m not telling you his name,” I hiss, knowing very well the moment I tell her his name, she’s going to march her ass over there and do something stupid.

“Stop,” she replies, rolling her eyes. “I didn’t ask you for his girth.”

Sweet mother of God!

“Amber!”

“I bet he’s huge. We’re going to have to get you lube.”

“Jimmy! His name is fucking Jimmy,” I cry out, hoping she’ll shut up.

I catch a glimpse of her smile before I cover my face with my hands and groan.

“I want to go home,” I mumble against my palms.

Amber pulls my hands away from my face and sighs.

“Too much?” she asks, cocking her head to the side.

“A little bit,” I reply sarcastically.

“I’m sorry,” she says, giving my hand a squeeze. “I’m just worried about you. I don’t want you to live life stuck on pause. You’re young, beautiful and have so many years ahead of you. I’d hate for those years to pass and for you to look back wishing you had done things differently.”

The humor and good natured teasing leaves her, causing her features to soften and I see the genuine concern reflected in her eyes.

“I know I need to move on,” I rasp with emotion lodged deep in my throat. “I just need to find the guts to do it.”

“Well, that’s a start,” Amber says softly.

“It’s something,” I mutter. She squeezes my hand reassuringly and I sigh, willing the tears not to fall. It’s the first time I’ve said those words aloud and I’m not sure how I feel about that.

“Does that mean the fireman is up for grabs?”

“It means,” I start, diverting my eyes toward Jimmy. To my surprise, he’s no longer seated at the table and neither is his daughter. My eyes roam the room looking for them until I hear Gabby behind me.

“Hi, Ms. Moscato,” she greets.

Instantly my sister’s eyes become wide as saucers as I slowly turn and face Jimmy and his daughter.

“Gabriela,” I reply before clearing my throat and offering a tight smile. “Mr. Casale.”

“How you doing, Ms. Moscato?” Jimmy questions, flashing me his smile. For a moment, I wonder if he heard my sister but then he looks at his daughter. “We didn’t mean to disrupt you but, we were heading out and Gabby wanted to say hello.”

“I also wanted to tell you, I’m going to do whatever it takes to graduate,” she announces proudly. “Dad and I talked about it and he said you think I can pull it off.”

“I do,” I reply, lifting my gaze to Jimmy. He winks at me and I swear my chest tightens.

Maybe I do need to get laid.

Clearing my throat, I shake my head and dismiss the crazy notion.

“When you return to school, we’ll meet and devise a plan. Night school will be a must.”

“Whatever it takes,” Jimmy interjects. My eyes slice back to him and again he gives me his smile. “We won’t take up any more of your time,” he continues. “Like I said, Gab wanted to say hello.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you on Monday, Ms. Moscato.”

“I’ll be waiting,” I reply.

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