Operation Date Escape

her favorite heels hostage. And she had been through a traumatic experience. And...
    Who was she kidding? She had accepted because she wanted to go out with Cole Maxwell. She doubted there was a woman alive who was completely immune to that sexy smile of his. She’d tried.
    Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed her apartment. When the answering machine kicked on, she punched in her code and listened to her messages.
    The first two were from phone solicitors. The last from the strip club gigolo she’d ditched that night. He wanted to tell her that he couldn’t see her again. That, despite her being a hot redhead, he didn’t date crazy women. Apparently, he’d found out she’d been the one the fire department had come to the club to rescue from the tree.
    Maybe he had a point. Maybe she was crazy. If she was, her ex was at least partly to blame for it. He’d messed up their ‘perfect’ life. Messed her up. After the initial shock and hurt, she’d finally come to the conclusion that her life was better off both emotionally and physically if she remained man-free. Then Cole Maxwell had to go and show up in her life and make her start wanting things again. To be held close again by a man. By him. And kissed passionately. By him. To...
    She pushed any further thought of what the hunky firefighter made her want from her mind with a groan as she pulled into the gas station on the corner. Nanci had wine, but after a night like she’d had one bottle was not going to be enough.
    A few minutes later, she was standing at her friend’s door. When Nanci didn’t answer the knock, she opened the door and stepped inside, calling out, “I hear there’s a chick flick party going on in here.”
    Nanci popped her head out of the living room a second later. “You came!”
    “You invited me , remember?”
    “ Seeing as how I’m numero uno on your current shit-list, I wasn’t sure you’d show up.”
    “And miss a night of cheap wine and movies with my best friend?” she said, tossing her purse onto the end table by the sofa. “Not a chance. I even brought another bottle of wine.”
    Nanci laughed. “Good. After the tree incident tonight, we’re going to need it.”
    Kelsie laughed. “My thoughts exactly.”
    “I’ll grab some glasses from the kitchen. You want some popcorn?”
    “ Do you even have to ask? What good’s a movie without popcorn? I just hope you bought the really bad kind with extra salt and butter.”
    Her friend smiled. “Boy, are you living on the edge tonight or what? First, you attempt to play jungle girl and climb down a huge, sprawling tree. And now this. Who are you and what have you done with my friend?”
    “Ha ha.” Kelsie followed her into the kitchen, ignoring her playful taunts. “Tell you what, I’ll make the popcorn and you pour the wine.”
    “Sounds like a plan to me. Popcorn’s in the cupboard above the sink.”
    “As if I don’t already know that.” She’d spent enough time there over the years to know where Nanci kept everything.
    A couple minutes later, she pulled a steaming bag of buttered popcorn from the microwave and emptied it into the plastic bowl Nanci had handed her. “I’m still mad at you, you know.”
    “I’ll survive,” her friend replied with a grin.
    “I can’t believe you actually called 9-1-1.”
    “You certainly didn’t expect me to climb up into that big ass tree myself to rescue you.” She opened the fridge door. “You know how much I hate heights.” Reaching in, she grabbed for the bottle of strawberry wine chilling on the door shelf between a carton of pulp-free orange juice and a squeeze bottle of ketchup.
    Kelsie reached past her for the spray butter. “You could have brought a ladder with you and propped it up against the tree limb. I could have gotten down myself.”
    “ Not safe. Besides, I did bring you a ladder. It just happened to be hooked onto the back of a fire truck. And let’s not forget the hunk that came along with it to help you down. If anything, you should be thanking me.”
    Kelsie sprayed the liquid butter onto the mound of steaming popcorn. “I guess that means I should be thanking you for the news crew, too.”
    “No need. I didn’t bring them .” She pulled two wine glasses from the cupboard above the sink. “News crews have scanners in their vans that tell them where all the action is. And you, my little money friend, were the action tonight.”
    She rolled her eyes.