The weather was beautiful, with the sun shining brightly in a cloudless sky, a perfect backdrop for the annual Fireman’s Picnic and Silent Auction fundraiser for the Juvenile Burn Center. Practically the whole population of Oceanside, Mississippi, was at the downtown park to show their appreciation for their local firefighters and support a very worthy cause. It was also an opportunity to ogle the hot-looking firefighters, who always turned out en masse. Callie Ladner sat on an old ratty blanket, her legs stretched out indolently before her, and chewed appreciatively on a piece of fried chicken. Her eyes tracked Trey Williamson as he played quarterback in a game of tag football with some of his fellow firefighters. His blond hair was matted with sweat from exertion and his damp t-shirt stretched tightly across his chest. Loose sweatpants rode low on his slim hips. Damn, he looked good enough to eat. Callie licked her lips.

“Girl, you’ve got it bad.” Callie’s best friend Marianne reached over and snagged her own chicken leg. Callie’s eyes darted over to meet Marianne’s, and she flushed guiltily. Then she shrugged. She had no secrets from her friend. Marianne had known for years how crazy Callie was over Trey. She also knew that Trey had never thought of Callie as anything other than his sweet little next-door neighbor.

Unconsciously, her fingers played with the antique locket around her neck. It had been a gift from Trey on her twenty-seventh birthday two months earlier, and she had been hopeful at the time it signified a change in their relationship. After all, he’d never given her jewelry before. Usually it was something practical ... like a first aid kit or a fire extinguisher. So she had thought maybe, just maybe ... but nothing had changed.

“Come on, girl. Snap out of it. You need to either shit or get off the pot, as my granddaddy used to say.” Marianne emphasized her statement with a pointed finger jabbing in the direction of the necklace that now dangled between Callie’s breasts.

“Humph!” Callie covered the locket with her hand. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Marianne’s eyes rolled and she snorted. “Tell that to someone who hasn’t listened to you go on and on and on about Mr. Wonderful over there.” She cocked her head toward where Trey stood guzzling a bottle of water. Together the two watched as Tracy Cumbest, Trey’s current girlfriend, crossed over and handed him a towel. He dropped a kiss on her lips before he began wiping off.

“Ugh! Trey and Tracy. Could that be any cuter?” Marianne joked, and Callie knew her friend was trying to make her feel better as they watched the affectionate exchange.

Callie sighed and turned away as Trey drew Tracy closer for a deep kiss. How many more times would she have to watch this same scene acted out in front of her before she finally got the message, she wondered. Probably a million, she thought ruefully, trying not to give in to the depression she always felt whenever Trey was with another girl. She couldn’t stop the tears from brimming in her eyes, but she was determined they would not fall over.

“Dammit, Callie. Would you stop that! He’s not worth it.” Marianne’s angry tone brought her eyes around.

She shrugged at her friend’s words. “Well, what do you suggest I do? It’s not exactly as if I have any control over my feelings, Mar. I’ve tried to get over him. Really I have. I just can’t do it.”

What she had admitted to her friend was nothing less than the truth. When she had finally realized Trey was not interested in her and probably never would be, she’d started dating other guys. She had even seriously dated one for a while, Charles McGill. He had taken her virginity in a short and extremely forgettable tussle in the back seat of his ancient Ford Taurus. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out he wasn’t ever going to help her forget about Trey. She had finally abandoned what had become, to her, a useless pursuit. She loved one man, and he would never see her as anything but a good friend.

“Well, then, you need to do something so he’ll wake up and take notice. You have to make him see you as a woman, not a little girl or a pal he can hang out with when he has nothing better to do.”

Callie snorted. “Ya think? That has occurred to me before, Marianne. But how? I’ve tried and tried to get him to see me ... the me I am now ... instead of that kid with the skinned knees and ponytails, but no matter what I do, it doesn’t help.” She gestured down her body. “And look at me. Why on earth would he ever pick me when he can have the Tracys of the world?”

“You look fine.” Callie opened her mouth but Marianne threw her hand up. “Stop. Because if you say one word to me about how plain or boring or fat you are, I am going to scream. For the last time, you are not fat. You’re...” she strained for a word. “Voluptuous. That’s it. Like those stars in the fifties--Marilyn Monroe and Rita Hayworth. Just because you’re not some stick walking around on legs doesn’t make you fat. So you’ve got boobs and hips. That’s not a bad thing, hon.”

Callie laughed in disbelief. Marianne rolled her eyes. “Look, trust me on this. Men don’t mind a woman with a little meat on her bones. They like it when a woman looks like a woman instead of a toothpick. Trey simply can’t get past the fact you’re no longer the little girl who used to follow him around all the time.”

Callie didn’t believe her, but she quit arguing. It was a waste of time. There was no winning with Marianne when she was on a roll. The two girls sat there in silence for a few moments, before Marianne’s face got that look on it that always scared Callie. You never knew what plan she might be hatching behind those green eyes. What plot might be brewing beneath that short cap of brown hair? “It’s obvious. Damn, why didn’t we think of this before? He sees you as a kid. You have to make him see you differently--through another man’s eyes. You need to make him jealous!”

Callie laughed so hard that Mr. Hardiman, seated on the blanket next to them, turned to stare. When she could speak again, she sputtered out, “Yeah, like that’s gonna happen. He’s seen me with other guys before, Mar. He hasn’t been jealous yet. Face it, I’m not the kind of girl guys like Trey go for.”

Marianne started surveying the surrounding area, focusing on all the unattached males. “You’ve just got to find the right guy to make it work. After all, he’s not going to feel threatened by some wimp, which...” she slanted her eyes across to Callie, “is the kind of guy you usually date. And don’t even try to deny it. You and I both know it’s the truth.” She began ticking them off on her fingers. “Charlie McGill. Ugh! Rob Carmichael. Double ugh! Henry Hester.” She rolled her eyes. “Enough said.”

Callie shrugged. Marianne was right. The guys she dated, when she did date, were ones she considered nice and safe, but were absolutely nothing to write home about. But then, that’s the kind of guy she attracted. “What do you mean threatened? Why should he feel threatened when he doesn’t feel anything for me?”

Still concentrating on her scouting expedition, Marianne didn’t even look at Callie. “You know good and well he feels something for you. I’ve seen you two together. He might not know it, but he does feel protective toward you, girl. Always checking to make sure your car is okay and that your smoke detectors are working. And didn’t he come over last weekend to check when you thought you had a gas leak in your kitchen?”

“Well ... yeah. But so what? He is a firefighter, after all. And he considers me a good friend. That’s what friends do. They look out for each other. That doesn’t mean anything.” But Callie couldn’t keep the hopeful note out of her voice. He did go out of his way to make sure she was doing all right, now that her mother had passed away and she was alone. Her parents had divorced when she was young, and her father had remarried and moved away, so she was pretty much on her own.

When Trey’s own parents had decided to retire to Florida, Callie had been thrilled that he had bought the house from them. They were still next-door neighbors. And he did drop by a lot... Then she shook her head. “No, he wouldn’t be jealous ... maybe worried that the guy might hurt me or something.”

“You never know. What could it hurt to try it out? You could pick some guy and, you know, kinda play up to him. Just to see.”

“I don’t know, Mar. To start with, I don’t think I could ‘play up’ to a guy. I wouldn’t know where to start. And besides, that seems kind of cruel to whoever I picked, to use them like that.”

“Not if you picked the right guy. He’s gotta be hot! And a little bit dangerous. Somebody Trey knows you wouldn’t really be serious about but who would give you a really hot fling. And, of course, you’d have to let him know up front what’s going on. Someone who would agree to help you out.” She sat up straight, her eyes focusing on something in the distance. “And I think I know who to ask. Hell, yeah. Why didn’t I think of him before? He’s perfect!”

“What? Who?” Callie’s eyes followed the direction of Marianne’s gaze, and she froze in horror. Walking across the park towards the picnic area was a very familiar figure. Ben Riley, Marianne’s older brother, and a Lieutenant/EMT on the Oceanside Fire Department. If there was anyone on this planet she didn’t want to “play up to,” it would have to be Ben.

The town bad boy, Ben had been several grades ahead of them in school. But even though he was several years older than Marianne and Callie, she could easily recall the tales of his antics. And this was the guy Marianne wanted her to “play up to.” Hah! No way would she ever even think about using Ben to make Trey jealous.

He had always scared her a little bit, too, even back when he was in college and she in high school. She’d go over to visit Marianne on the weekends, and he would be there, working on his car or talking on the phone to some female or other he was interested in. Whenever he’d looked at her with those chocolate brown eyes of his, she’d felt like he knew things about her no one else did. Like he could somehow see into her most private thoughts and fantasies. He would smile and his eyes would travel over her body in a way that made her squirm, remembering all those crazy tales she had heard, the things he had done. And he had this wildly curling brown hair that always looked to Callie as if he’d rolled out of some woman’s bed. No, it was not going to happen. He made her feel strange and wanton and out of control. She knew better than to try to play any kind of game with a man like Ben.

*

Ben tugged his “Firefighters like it hot and dirty” t-shirt over his head. Damn, he was getting too old to play football with a bunch of twenty-somethings. He ran a careless hand through his unruly curls and had grabbed a beer from the cooler when he heard someone call his name. He turned to see his best friend, Ross Hawkins, strolling his way.

“I’ve been looking for you.” Ross called out, and Ben grinned.

“Can you believe the other guys on my shift talked me into playing a game? Hell, they almost killed me. I’m not as young as I once was, buddy.”

Ross laughed. “None of us are, man. Hey, why don’t you come on over and eat with us? Nina made her famous potato salad. And we’ve got plenty of po-boys left.”

“Sounds good, but I was gonna eat with the guys.”

“At least come and say hello. Nina will kill me if I don’t bring you over.” He looked a bit sheepish. “The truth is, she sent me over to get you as soon as she spotted you. You see ... she ... ah ... she has this friend she wants you to meet.”

Ben started shaking his head. “You’re shitting me, right? You know how much I hate it when she does this, Ross. I told you the last time not to let her do it again. Man, I am so outta here.” He turned to walk off, but his friend stopped him.

“No. Hell, man. You’ve gotta stay. I’ll be in the doghouse for sure if I let you get away before she at least gets a chance to introduce you. I mean, what can it hurt? And Shelley is really beautiful.”

“Ross, you know the kind of women I like. Hot and wild. I don’t think anyone your wife wants to fix me up with will fit that category.” Ben looked over to where Nina stood talking to a young blonde woman.

Ross grinned. “I know that. And you know that. But Nina doesn’t know that. She thinks its time you found a good woman to tame your wild and wicked ways. She said you’ve been playing fast and loose with all the hearts around here, and now you need to start getting serious about someone.”

Ben groaned. He loved Ross’s wife Nina like a sister, but good Lord almighty, she drove him crazy. “Like she tamed you, you mean?”

Ross laughed. “Exactly. And now that I’ve settled down into a boringly contented married man, she thinks its time you did the same. Besides, being married is great, buddy.”

“But how’s married sex?”

Ross shook his head. “I don’t think I should discuss my sex life with you, much as I love you, man. But let me say that I’ve got no complaints.”

Reluctantly, Ben decided to give in and followed Ross across the crowded park to where his wife sat at a picnic table with a pretty, petite blonde who looked like she was about twenty. He nailed Ross with a look that spoke volumes, but allowed Nina to gush over him and give him a hug, and then introduce him to her friend. Deciding to at least get a good meal out of it, he sat down and dug in to the food spread out on the table, slapping together a ham and cheese po-boy. Idly, he took a bite and chewed, letting the women’s chatter wash over him as his gaze traveled across the park. Suddenly, his eyes were captured by a bright, blue-eyed stare.

He grinned when he recognized Callie Ladner and gave her a quick wink. She blushed and turned back to speak furiously to his sister, Marianne. Even though Callie and Marianne had been best friends for years, Callie had always looked at him like he was the devil incarnate whenever she came over to their house to visit. Probably because of that time she’d walked in on him and one of his girlfriends fucking in his parent’s pool house. He’d come home from college for spring break and brought his current love interest with him. He’d had Becky bent over and handcuffed with a blindfold on. His hands had been tangled in her hair, pulling hard, and she’d been screeching like a damn banshee. As soon as he’d started coming he’d looked up and seen Callie, frozen, standing in the doorway and getting an eyeful. When she realized he’d seen her, she’d quickly vanished. Ever since, whenever saw him she made an excuse to leave. For some reason, that made him want to fluster her even more, and he couldn’t resist teasing her, enjoying the way her face would redden and her eyes would widen whenever he spoke to her.

For a moment he contemplated what she would look like with those eyes gazing up at him, her hands bound behind her back as she sucked his cock. How those heavy tits of hers would feel in his hands. Shit, where the hell had that thought come from? Marianne would skin him alive if he ever made a play for her friend. But he couldn’t help but wondering if cute little Callie was as hot as he thought she probably was underneath all that wholesome sweetness.

Hell, even if Marianne weren’t an issue, Callie would probably run kicking and screaming in the opposite direction if he ever made a serious move on her. Kinda like she was trying to do right now, he thought, as he watched Marianne pull her to her feet and head in his direction.

*

“No, Marianne. Let me go.” Her face turned hot as she saw people watching her struggle against Marianne’s tugging. Finally, she gave up. When her friend got an idea in her head, it was almost impossible to get it out. And now she had this crazy plan to make Trey jealous by using, of all people on God’s green earth, her sex maniac of a brother.

As they got closer to Ben and his friends, Ben stood up. He smiled at Marianne. “Hello, there, Sis.”

Marianne released her grip on Callie’s arm and reached up to hug Ben. “Hiya, handsome. Eww ... you’re all sweaty. Oh, well, I love you anyway.” She hugged him again, and he grinned down at her, and she nodded her head in Callie’s direction. “Callie saw you and wanted to come over and say hi.”

They all turned to look at Callie as she stood rubbing her arm where Marianne had been yanking on it. Her head jerked up, and her jaw dropped. Ben smiled, obviously trying not to laugh at the blatant lie his sister had told. “Well, hi yourself, Callie.” He stepped around Marianne to drop a brief kiss at the corner of Callie’s mouth.

She jerked back and looked up at him in startled dismay. Marianne jabbed her in the ribs, and she finally mumbled, “Um, hi.”

He gestured to his friends. “I think you know Ross and Nina Hawkins. And this is their friend ... ah...” He looked toward Ross who supplied, “Shelley Broadus.” Shelley stood and strolled over to link her arm through Ben’s, who stared down at her with what Callie thought was a look of surprise.

Callie mumbled her ‘hello’s,’ and stood uncomfortably as Marianne chatted with Ben and his friends. Finally Marianne turned to her brother, “Ben, can we talk to you for a few minutes?”

Callie saw the curiosity in his eyes as he nodded agreement. “Sure, sweetheart. Excuse me, guys?”

Callie fell in behind, feet dragging, as Ben and Marianne walked a short distance away. What could she do to stop the train wreck that was about to happen? Nervously her fingers played with her necklace, sliding the locket back and forth, back and forth on the chain. Surely, surely Marianne was not about to do what Callie feared she was. Why, in the name of all that was holy, could Marianne possibly think he would be willing to go along with such a stupid and humiliating plan? How could she stop her? Could she stop her? Obviously not, because Marianne had already launched into her plot.

As Marianne talked, Ben kept darting curious glances at Callie, and Callie wanted nothing more than to sink into the ground. She could feel her face turning redder and redder with embarrassment. Finally, Marianne shut up, and Callie could take it no longer.

She forced a laugh. “Ben, please ignore everything you heard. I know what you must be thinking, but Marianne has lost her mind. It’s sad, but true, I’m afraid. I didn’t want to say anything before, but she’s needs to see a psychiatrist--desperately. I was going to talk to your parents about it...”

He laughed, his teeth flashing white against his tanned face, drawing Callie’s attention to the dimple that creased his chin, and turned back to Marianne. “Just so I’m clear here about this, Sis. You want me to pretend to be all hot and heavy for Callie in hopes of making Trey see her as a woman and not a little girl?”

Marianne nodded firmly. “That’s right.”

Callie’s cheeks burned hotter--little girl? Omigod, had he really said little girl--and she stared at the ground. Jesus, how humiliating.

“And you think this will make him ask her out?” Callie could hear the amusement in his voice and prayed the earth would open up and swallow her on the spot.

“Of course it will. My plans never fail. And you owe me. You know you do, Benjy.”

Thank God there was no way he would agree to this crazy idea, thought Callie. She wished he’d hurry up and say no so she and Marianne could get the hell out of there and put this utterly mortifying episode behind them.

He looked over at Callie and stood there, staring at her without saying anything. Then he turned back to listen as Marianne spoke again, his finger tapping against his bottom lip. His full and sexy bottom lip, Callie couldn’t help but noticing. Her eyes widened as the thought crossed her mind, and she flushed even redder, licking her lips that had suddenly become dry. Then he reached down and tugged the hem of his shirt up to wipe across his sweaty face. Callie’s eyes were drawn like a magnet to his rock-hard abs. She shivered at the thought of touching that hot, sweaty skin. She looked up. He was watching her closely, and her eyes widened when she realized she’d been caught staring. He grinned, a wicked little grin she knew probably meant all kinds of trouble. A grin that made her stomach flip over and her mouth go even drier.

“First of all, don’t call me, Benjy, Squirt.” He reached over to yank on Marianne’s hair. “You’re only a girl, you know. I’m older, bigger, and stronger.”

“Ha, I noticed you didn’t say smarter, bro.”

He laughed and turned to Callie, his eyes narrowing as they ran up and down her body, traveling from the top of her head all the way down to her scuffed tennis shoes, lingering a bit too long on her breasts and the apex of her thighs. Callie squirmed beneath his scrutiny. And then, unbelievably, amazingly, he said, “And second... Sure, I’d be glad to do anything I can to help Callie out. Anything at all. After all, she’s practically one of the family.” He winked at Callie, and she gaped in return.

Marianne squealed with pleasure and jumped up to hug him. “Oh, thank you, thank you, Ben. I knew I could count on you. You’re the best!”

He laughed as he accepted her exuberant thanks. Then he looked over at Callie as if expecting her to thank him, too.

She shook her head in stunned disbelief. Had he said...oh, Lord, Lord, Lord. What had Marianne done? What had her friend gotten her into now?

She sputtered, “But... but... but...”

“Oh, no need to thank me, Callie. Really. I’m glad to help you out with your little problem.”

Callie stood there with her mouth open. She knew she must look like an idiot, but she couldn’t seem to string together a coherent sentence that would get her out of this mess.

“In fact, there’s no time like the present, don’t you think?”

“Huh?” Callie tried to speak. “But, I...”

“Absolutely,” Marianne cut Callie off, nodding her agreement. Ben reached out and, before Callie knew what was happening, he’d pulled her away from Marianne and over to a stand of nearby trees. It didn’t completely screen them from everyone, but it did offer a small measure of privacy. When he stopped, Callie snapped out of her stunned paralysis. She tried to break free of his grip, but his hold was firm and strong.

“Look, Ben...” she started to protest. But before she could complete the sentence, he tugged her against him, wrapping his arms around her waist. At the feel of his firmly muscled body, Callie froze.

“Relax, sweetheart. This won’t hurt a bit. I promise.” He grinned down at her.

She could see Marianne out of the corner of her eye as she observed them with a pleased expression on her face, and Callie wanted to scream at her. But she didn’t. She turned up her eyes and watched as Ben’s face came closer and closer to hers. Her hands clutched at his arms, and she gasped when his palm dropped lower to press over her buttocks, molding her hips against his.

“Ben!”

His head lowered, and he nuzzled against her neck. “Umm, you smell good, darlin’. Really good. Like flowers.” She shivered at the teasing sincerity in his tone.

He dropped some hot little kisses across her cheek. Startled, she pushed harder against his shoulders, but he tightened his grip. “Shh, Trey’s watching. You don’t want to make him suspicious, do you?” She froze. Then he covered her lips with a soft pressure that surprised Callie with its gentleness. Still, she kept her lips firmly closed, not trusting his intent. But Ben was apparently undeterred. His lips played with hers, pressing and lifting, stroking slowly. He used his teeth to tug gently on her bottom lip, and she began to relax slightly into his embrace. When she had lowered her guard, he bit down sharply on her tender flesh, and she gasped at the momentary sting. Taking advantage of parted mouth, his tongue pushed past the barrier of her teeth and into the warm depths.

He explored her mouth with an expertise Callie had never experienced before. She leaned into him, responding blindly to the slow glide of his tongue across hers, the minty taste of his mouthwash, the spicy scent of his aftershave. His hands slid up over her back, pushing beneath the cotton t-shirt to caress with knowing fingers the sensitive skin he found there. When he finally moved back, Callie could only stare at him in bemusement, her breathing a bit unsteady and her thoughts a happily muddled.

“There, he got an eyeful of that liplock, and he doesn’t look too happy about it.” Ben’s words recalled Callie back to the present, reminding her of the reason behind the kiss. Ben himself seemed unaffected. Turning her head away from him to hide her confusion, she glanced over in the direction he was indicating saw that Trey did indeed look a bit pissed off as he stared at them.

When she turned back, she saw Ben’s eyes were focused on her, and they held a knowing gleam. She had a sinking feeling that he knew how lost she had been in that kiss. Knew that making Trey jealous had been the last thing on her mind. She swallowed around the ball of tension that seemed to have lodged itself in her throat licking her lips nervously, and his eyes focused on the movement. Was he going to kiss her again? She had to stop this. Or heaven only knew what she’d end up doing, here in public in front of God and everybody. “Ben, I know you probably don’t really want to get involved in this convoluted scheme of Marianne’s. It’s okay. Honestly. It was a bad idea to begin with.”

“On the contrary, I think it’s a great idea.” He reached for her hand and began leading her back toward where Marianne stood talking to his friends, linking their fingers together as if they really were a couple. “Nothing like the old-fashioned, green-eyed monster to catch a guy’s attention. We males are simple creatures. We always want what someone else has.” She started to protest again, but he distracted her with his next statement. “We really need to go over some details, don’t you think? Get our plan all straight? Decide exactly how this is gonna work? I mean, we want this to be believable, right?” He stopped and looked down at her as if waiting for her agreement.

Marianne walked up to join them. “Right about what?” she queried. “By the way, great show you two put on. I think the fish took the bait.” She nodded toward where Trey stood, still watching them. Tracy looked disgruntled and kept tugging on his arm.

“I was telling Callie that we really need to talk about exactly how we’re going to go about making Trey jealous. That kiss was a good start, but it’s not enough. I think we need to have a planning session. Don’t you, Sis?”

Marianne shook her head. “Absolutely. You two need some privacy to figure out what you’re going to do. Why don’t you take off and talk things over. Fine tune my brilliant idea?”

Callie shook her head, stunned at how fast this was escalating out of her control. “I’m not sure...” She looked back towards Trey and saw that he and Tracy were talking heatedly to one another. Trey shrugged his shoulders and glanced over again toward where Callie and Ben stood. What were they talking about? Was it about her? Was Trey jealous? Could this crazy plan actually work?

*

“That’s a great idea,” Ben agreed and yanked Callie against him. Snugging his arm around her waist, he easily stilled her protesting struggle. “Let’s go say goodbye to my friends, and we’ll go somewhere we can be alone, sweetheart.” He grinned down at her, and his smile promised all sorts of wicked pleasures.

“But don’t you need to stay for the auction?” Callie protested.

“Nah. I worked with setup this morning, so I can leave any time.”

Before she could summon any other objections or ask any more questions, she found herself listening to Ben as he told his friends goodbye. She avoided the puzzled looks they cast her way, smiling weakly instead. She could tell they were confused as to why Ben was leaving so suddenly. And the lethal darts that were shooting from Shelley’s eyes didn’t help any. Most of them had probably witnessed that kiss and were wondering how long this had been going on. Did they think she was some cheap floozie Ben was banging? Or worse, wondering what on earth a hot, sexy guy like Ben could possibly see in someone plain and dull like her?

Her self-pitying thoughts were interrupted as she was ensconced on the back of his motorcycle, a helmet thrust onto her head and fastened snugly beneath her chin, and Ben was cranking the bike. They started off with a jerk, and she grabbed his waist, plastering herself up against him as he picked up speed. The last thing she saw when they passed the park was Trey’s jaw dropping as they whizzed away.