Page 26 of Burn Protocol

The ride back to the station is a lot more pleasant than the one of this morning, even if traffic is horrible. Elena seems to take some joy in teasing me and I enjoy trying to keep up with her. I steal glances at her when I can—at the way her lip twitches when she tries not to laugh at one of my jokes, how her eyes sparkle with mischief, and how she chews the corner of her bottom lip when she is thinking about something. If only you could take that lip into your own mouth… wow. No. Stop right there. I am here for work.

“Maya?”

“Huh?”

I blink hard and the world comes back into focus. My cheeks start to burn instantly as I realize I have been staring at her lips and I completely missed what she just said. I try to chuckle and quickly turn my head to look out the window.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” I ask, my voice surprisingly steady.

“I asked if you enjoyed yourself today?” Her voice suddenly wavers.

When I turn to face her, I see her brown eyes dart to me with anticipation. My grin replaces the blush and I nod. God, it was fantastic to see Elena in her element like that. It was as if those children touched a part of her that she normally shelters from the world—something gentle and caring. It was incredible. As if the softness carved out her strength even more. The kids felt safe with her. I felt safe with her. No. I feel safe with her.

“Maya?” she asks again, worry slipping into her voice.

“Yes, yes. Sorry. I was actually just thinking about it. Elena, it was wonderful,” I rush out. “You really have a way with kids. Just how you explained everything and then made them do the stop-drop-and-roll thing.”

Elena chuckles. “I didn’t make them do anything, that was all them, babe.”

I giggle and nod. It was all them, but she had definitely encouraged them. Did she just call you babe? I wouldn’t have gotten that response from them. Only El seems to hold that kind of magical power. Oh my god, she totally called you babe. Don’t read anything into it now, Maya. She was just friendly. Does Elena even do friendly? Shut up!

***

By the time I drop my bag near the shoe rack, I am so exhausted that I can only stumble to my couch before collapsing. The presentation at the school was a nice calm way to start our day, but that was about all the peace we got.

As soon as we arrived at the station, Elena made me change into some sports clothing so that I could join in on drills. She had tossed me a pair of sweatpants and one of her old station T-shirts and now her smell lingers on my skin. I don’t want to admit it to myself, don’t dare to admit it, but it is intoxicating. Coward. I shake my head and take a few moments to gather my thoughts. The question of what is happening is still at the forefront of my mind, but I also know the answer. I can ignore it, or I can be a grown-up and analyze it. You are attracted to Elena Gonzales, your subject. Fine. I am attracted to her. Is that really such a bad thing? Not unless you want to be accused of being a biased reporter, not to mention have a full-blown ethics discussion with Helen.

God I can’t do that again. It already cost me my job once, and I am so close to getting it back. To get back to the position I want to be at. But Helen wouldn’t think twice about pulling the rug out from under me. Especially if she thinks I became biased. I push the thoughts away. It’s nonsense. First of all, I am perfectly capable of remaining unbiased, and second, this so-called attraction is just a trick of the mind. I’ve seen Elena run into a burning building, I felt the thrill of that call myself, and we have been spending three 24-hour shifts together in close proximity. I still can’t believe I did that. But yeah, of course we’ve grown closer. It’s the combination of adrenaline and close proximity. I should not confuse that with other emotions. I run my hand over my face and stop halfway. This is something Elena does. Am I starting to mimic her behavior unconsciously? I let out a grunt. So, what are you going to do? Before I can answer that, my phone buzzes. I frown and fish it out of my pocket.

21:02 E. Gonzales –

Hey there, superhero. Shall I pick you up around 19:00 tomorrow?

Tomorrow? I blink rapidly until the memory of our café meeting returns to me. We agreed to have dinner at Prado de Flores. I grin, already excited to win this so-called bet of ours. And even if I lose, I get to have dinner in two great places with Elena. I win either way. Wait. Elena wants to pick me up? That sounds an awful lot like a date. My mouth runs dry. I know I shouldn’t risk it but before I can stop myself, I type out a reply.

21:04 Maya Carter –

Ha! The superhero would be you, just ask the kids. They all agree. The only thing missing is your cape.

Seven sounds good, let me send you a pin with my address.

My thumb hovers over the send button for a brief moment. Then I close my eyes and press it. No going back now. I send her a pin with my location right after, and almost immediately my phone buzzes again.

21:06 E. Gonzales –

Real heroes don’t wear capes.

21:06 Maya Carter –

Oh, I know. They wear turnout coats and helmets. Does that sound like anyone you might know?

I add a smug-looking emoji at the end, mirroring the look I must have on my face right now. Over the past few days Elena and I have grown into this comfortable bantering style of communication and by the looks of it that works perfectly well for texting too.

21:10 E. Gonzales –

Sounds like Rodriques, really. Want his number too?

I snort as I can almost hear Elena’s low voice deadpan the line. With another laugh I fall back into the cushions again and type out a reply. For a moment I am tempted to say that I already have my eye on another cutie, but I quickly banish the thought before I cross that line.