Flames of Passion

“Hey, Nya. It’s Tyler.”

Nya felt a tingle in her belly, which she instantly hated. Why couldn’t she turn off her attraction to him?

“Oh, hi,” she said, keeping her voice flat. “How are you?”

“I’m great. It’s Thursday, so I’m calling to finalize the details for tomorrow as planned.”

As planned... He was obviously forgetting that she had tried to cancel the date. But she didn’t bother to mention that, saying only, “Right.”

“Mason told me that you were able to get two more tickets for him and Sabrina.”

“Yep. The more, the merrier, I guess.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Tyler said. “I have been all week.”

Nya’s skin flushed, but she told herself not to read into Tyler’s words. First and foremost, tomorrow night was about making it clear to Russell that he hadn’t ruined her life forever. Even if Tyler was looking forward to spending more time with her for other reasons, Nya was determined to ignore her attraction to him. She had to change her ways, and not be the same woman she had been for so long.

“If nothing else, it will be an interesting evening,” Nya said. “I hope the film is good.”

“Mason was saying that we could all maybe meet for a quick bite—if your schedule allows.”

“Actually,” Nya began, “there’s a four forty-five appointment coming in, and I’m not sure when Sabrina and I will get out of here. Might be closer to five thirty, which means dinner will likely not be doable. If the film starts at seven, we’ve got to be getting there by six thirty to park, get good seats. So we’ll have to pass on dinner.”

“Good point,” Tyler said. “There’ll probably be food at the after party, anyway.”

“Knowing Russell, he’ll have the works.”

“Can I pick you up?” Tyler asked. “I think that makes the most sense.”

Nya wanted to object, but then she realized she would be protesting too much. What was she going to do—drive to the theater and fight for parking just to make a point? “Sure,” she said. “That’ll be fine.”

“What’s your address?”

Nya hesitated, not because she didn’t want to give him her address, but because she was suddenly remembering how this story had played out in her past relationships. The guy would pick her up for their date then take her home. Head upstairs with her. It all led to moving too far too fast.

Was she setting herself up for that exact scenario right now?

But she told him her address nonetheless. “I can be downstairs at six fifteen, if that works for you.”

“That’ll work.” Tyler told her. “See you then.”

* * *

Later that day, Nya had the firefighters’ calendar open to November and the picture of Tyler. Wearing only his turnout pants and suspenders, Tyler was standing in front of the engine truck. One arm was extended above his head and resting on the truck. His magnificent chest was exposed, showing off his muscular pecs and washboard abs. He was one helluva sexy man.

Nya lifted her smartphone and took a picture of the picture.

“Is that the calendar?”

Nya quickly closed the calendar. Then she whirled around to face her friend. “Sabrina. I didn’t hear you.”

“That’s a sexy picture of Tyler,” Sabrina said, coming to stand around the front of the reception counter, where she placed her Canon 5D camera. “I thought you weren’t interested.”

“I—I’m not,” Nya stuttered. “I—I was just looking at the calendar again. Checking out your amazing work.”

“And you took a picture of Tyler’s photo because...?”

“Because...because I told a friend in Texas about him, said he’s exactly her type. And she wanted to see a picture.”

Sabrina gave her a doubtful look, but didn’t press the issue. “Can you please call Dan Silver? Tell him we’re going to have to rebook his appointment because I have another appointment in fifteen minutes?”

“Of course.”

Sabrina took a moment to stretch her body, leaning backward, then letting her body fall forward. Nya stood and picked up Sabrina’s camera. By the time Sabrina was rising and pushing her hair out of her face, Nya snapped a photo of her.

Sabrina threw her a curious gaze. “Hey.”

“You’re always taking everyone else’s picture,” Nya said. “It’s about time someone took yours.”

As Sabrina approached her, Nya checked out the photo on the screen. She’d caught Sabrina in a completely candid moment, and she looked beautiful. Sabrina’s hands were in her hair, her eyes gazing ahead. The photo was gorgeous in its simplicity.

“Let me see that,” Sabrina said, extending her hand.

“Don’t delete the picture,” Nya pleaded. “I think you look beautiful.”

Sabrina’s lips were twisted in doubt as she took the camera. But her eyes quickly filled with wonder, and she actually smiled. “That’s a great picture.”

Nya smiled proudly. “I told you.”

Just as the door chimes sang and a harried-looking man came rushing in, the telephone rang. Nya answered it, and Sabrina tended to the customer.

Once Nya was off the phone, she emailed the photo of Tyler to herself, then accessed it on the computer. Knowing that Sabrina would be busy with the customer for a while, Nya quickly punched in a web address Sabrina knew nothing about.

Within seconds, the pale blue-and-pink swirls on the background of the page loaded, along with the page’s logo.

No More Casual Hookups!

Support From Friends Who Care.

Nya had found this site accidentally while on a lark searching the web for support groups for people who were swearing off sex. One night, after a few glasses of wine, she had decided to see whether there were other people out there like her.

Lo and behold, there were. She’d found this support group for people who were renewing vows of celibacy in an effort to find love.

Some were born-again virgins, which of course Nya didn’t completely understand. You were either a virgin or you weren’t. But she did get the sentiment. Psychologically, they were refreshing their spirits and their sexual beings, saving themselves for marriage.

Nya wasn’t saving herself for marriage. Her self-imposed celibacy was about reconnecting with herself, finding joy in her own skin, and escaping from the feeling that she needed to be with a man in order to be happy.

Nya hadn’t told Sabrina about this site, because she felt silly about it. There were live chat forums, and there were private messaging options. She’d read some of the forum discussions and had found other people who’d gone through similar experiences. Women and men who had jumped into relationships with hope, only to be hurt. People who wanted to forgo relationships and concentrate on being happy with themselves.