Page 17 of His Virgin Romance Series

“Pulled a car off an old lady,” Jared replied proudly.

“Wow, really?”

“Well…me and seven other guys,” he laughed. “But it’s still worth mentioning, I think.”

“For sure,” I agreed. “How’s the old lady?”

“She was fine. She just needed some oxygen once we managed to clear her from the car,” he said.

“Was that because of the car…or because of you?” I asked teasingly.

“Huh?”

“She probably saw you and felt a little light-headed,” I told him. “Good-looking men have that effect on women.”

“It was a pretty massive car…it could have nearly crushed her to death. She was very lucky.”

I didn’t know if he was completely obtuse, just disinterested, or if I was just horrible at flirting, but Jared was giving me nothing in return. He deftly changed the subject, and I listened without really hearing him. My mind was tired and frustrated, and it was just one of those days when nothing seemed to go right. Halfway through the conversation, I zoned back in and listened to the last half of one of Jared’s fireman stories.

“You’re lucky to have found a job you love so much,” I said.

“It gives me purpose,” he replied. “I suppose that’s what I was searching for this whole time. I just didn’t realize it until firefighting found me.”

“Purpose,” I repeated. “What does it feel like to have it?”

“It feels like…you’re complete,” he replied.

I smiled for a moment. “Jared…”

“Yes?”

“I have to go now.”

“Now?” He sounded surprised. We had only been talking for about half an hour, and that was a short conversation for us.

“Brent wants his room back, and I’m tired, so I wanna get to bed early today,” I lied.

“Oh…okay, sure.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Jared replied.

I wondered if it was disappointment I was hearing in his voice or if that was simply wishful thinking on my part. Either way, I needed to do some soul-searching. Because I was missing something in my life, and apparently, that something was purpose.

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