He backed off like I was on fire. I've been called a lot of things. Never a house fire.
I didn't examine the sting of that too closely, mostly because examining it meant admitting I'd wanted the kiss too, and admitting that felt like handing over a piece of leverage I couldn't afford to lose in a world where I still didn't fully understand the rules. So I did what I always did when a feeling got too big to look at directly: I buried it in work.
It was easier than it should have been. There was always another measurement to check, another delivery to sign for, another decision about roofing pitch or electrical layout that needed a human eye to catch what the wolf-fast building crew occasionally missed in their hurry. I told myself the extra hours were about the garage. I didn't examine th
