Operation Date Escape

arm, nearly knocking the wine cooler from her hand. “Ooh, ooh! Let the Olympic bedroom games begin.”
    Somehow Kelsie managed to keep her drink from spilling. “What are you talking about?”
    Her friend leaned closer, saying in an urgent whisper, “I’ve just discovered the next Hunk of the Year centerfold.”
    “What?”
    Nanci pointed past her to the door.
    Twisting around on the bar stool, she discovered the cause of her best friend’s sudden need for a drool bib. There, in the open doorway of Casey’s Bar and Grill, was the closest thing she’d ever seen to a Greek god in Columbus, Ohio.
    Only instead of wearing a toga and a crown of gold leaves, he was dressed in tight-fitting jeans that hugged his muscular thighs and no doubt his butt. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see that side of him from where she sat. The Greek god stopped just inside the door to talk to a man and woman who were seated at a table near the entrance.
    She actually found herself craning her neck to stare at the sexy hunk of a man across the room. He wore a short sleeve, navy blue t-shirt with the words - Worthington Fire Department – written across the front of it in stark white letters. His dark hair was short with just a hint of sideburns that blended into the five o’clock shadow lining his jaw.
    “Mmm...mmm...mmm...,” Nanci mumbled appreciatively behind her. “I’m actually tempted to go outside and climb a tree , meow, and pretend I’m stuck so he’ll come to my rescue.”
    Nanci wasn’t the only one tempted to do something foolish to get his attention. Kelsie shifted in her seat, tearing her gaze away from her friend’s fantasy-man-of-the-moment. “I think it’s supposed to be cats they rescue from trees.”
    “Hey, I can purr with the best of them. Just let him take me home to bed and see.”
    “Honestly, Nanci, is sex all you ever think about?”
    “That and shoes,” she admitted. “Sometimes both together.”
    Kelsie wasn’t the least bit surprised by that. Her best friend might be a sweet, soft-spoken dental hygienist by day, but her nighttime behavior was a whole different story. Nanci was a self-proclaimed bad girl whose hobby was collecting, along with shoes and men, vibrators. Not that she ever needed to use her B.O.B.s (battery operated boyfriends). She had more men at her beck and call than she knew what to do with. She just thought vibrators were fun conversation pieces and displayed them in her curio as one would dolls or collectible glassware.
    “Better you than me,” Kelsie told her, meaning every word of it. Sex with Kyle had been about as exciting as a root canal. And the rebound sex she’d had a week after her divorce hadn’t been much better.
    “I’m warning you, Kelsie. The next time we go out, I’m bringing the laughing gas along with me from the office. Maybe it ’ll help you to relax and enjoy life.” Her friend’s gaze shifted back across the room, no doubt seeking out her version of Mr. Wonderful again.
    Kelsie grabbed her pen and quickly jotted LAUGHING GAS down in her notebook.
    “What are you doing?” her friend muttered as she tossed a handful of popcorn into her mouth.
    “Writing that down.”
    “Writing what down?” she asked, clearly distracted.
    “Nitrous Oxide. That’s a great way to ditch a date and still leave the guy happy.”
    Nanci arched a perfectly plucked brow. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
    She was, but it was fun to get Nanci going. “Hey, it’s an option.”
    Her friend looked at her as if she’d just gone off the deep end. “Think about it, Kelsie. If slipping people Mickey’s in a bar is illegal, imagine what the penalty would be for dragging a nitrous oxide unit into a bar and hooking some unsuspecting guy up to it.”
    Feigning disappointment, Kelsie crossed that one off of her list. “I suppose you’re right. I prefer to stay on the good side of the law.”
    “Smart girl,” a deep, very male voice said behind them.
    Both women whipped around.
    “Ladies,” the firefighter hunk greeted with a lone dimple grin that had Kelsie wishing bar stools came equipped with seat belts. Because she was just about to slide bonelessly off the one she was sitting on.
    Nanci straightened, effectively thrusting her breasts outward and upward in her usual man -hunting, take-me-to-bed pose. “Well, hello.”
    Not wanting to be rude, Kelsie looked up and returned his greeting with a lot less ‘enthusiasm’ than Nanci just had. Close up he was