by Anthology
Before I knew it I was standing in front of my house. I knew I should go in, but it’s almost like I couldn’t force my feet to move. I took a deep breath and walked up the steps to the modest townhouse and turned the doorknob. The second my sneakers hit the hardwood floor it started. “Zoe, get in here!”
A chill ran through me as I hung up my jacket and went to find him.
Dean
When I walked into the precinct I saw Crabby Carl, my partner. I didn’t know who I pissed off to get stuck with him, but I'd gladly make it up to them if it meant I could get reassigned.
“Ah, Thomas sleeping in today?” his voice barked at me.
I looked at my watch I was a couple minutes early for my shift. “What are you talking about? Shift hasn’t even started yet.” I hadn’t had a sufficient amount of caffeine today and right now I was in no mood for his shit. We had been working together for three weeks at this point and each day was worse than the one before.
“Yeah, see that’s the problem with you recruits today. I was always taught if you’re ten minutes early you’re on time. If you’re on time you’re late.” He pulled his aviators out of his pocket and slipped them on before walking past me.
I contemplated not following him for a minute.
Unfortunately, I was stuck with him so I walked outside to the car where he was already sitting in the driver's seat. He had refused to let me drive every single shift. That would have pissed me off normally, except he also drove like an old person too. We stopped for a full five seconds at every stop sign, he refused to compromise any traffic laws, and unlike everyone else, he was completely against flipping on the sirens to get us out of traffic.
As I climbed into the car I couldn’t help but think why the department was still keeping Carl on beat. There was no way if we had to chase someone down that he'd be able to keep up. His lung would most likely collapse halfway through the chase.
We had pretty easy days so far and honestly I thought that’s on purpose. They knew he couldn’t keep up and I was new. Once I’d like something exciting, the other guys talked about robberies, drug busts, raids.
I wanted to be in on that stuff.
Aside from the fact that he sucked, I barely knew anything about Carl. I knew he had a wife and three kids, two girls and a boy. If I asked for details or about any other aspect of his life he shut down. I tried to talk about myself and he made some sarcastic remark about us not needing to be friends, just partners.
My mind drifted to Zoe and how standoffish she was. She tried to hide the fact that she liked me coming around, but I could tell she did. I caught her smiling when she looked at me before she remembered she wasn’t supposed to. I felt like there could be so much more between us if she’d just let down her guard.
“Thomas!” I jumped when Carl yelled my name, pulling me from my own mind. “Get your head outta your own ass, or call in sick.”
Every part of me wanted to tell the old man where he could shove it, but I was raised better than that.
“We got a call of a robbery in progress.” He flipped on the lights and sirens.
Yes. This was what I'd been waiting for, finally writing parking tickets wouldn't be the highlight of my day.
When we pulled up to the convenience store I jumped out of the car ready for action.
"We need to think about how we are going in and come up with a plan," Carl said as he adjusted his belt. He'd have me writing a plan of attack while the suspect snuck out the back door.
"We need to go in now before anyone can get hurt." I pulled my gun from the holster. "I'll go in first, just watch my back."
“Who do you think you are? I’m the senior officer, you don’t give orders to me,” he grumbled back at me, but I was already a foot from the entrance.
At this point, he had to follow me because I was not giving him a choice. I nudged the door open about halfway and saw a person in an all-black outfit standing in front of the register. They were holding a gun and had it pointed directly at the cashier. I slowly pushed the door open a bit more and then the damn bell signaled my entrance. I always hated those things.
The suspect turned to me, but before he could react I shot, clipping him in the leg and sent him falling to the ground. His gun was knocked from his hand when he hit the floor. I made my way over to him quickly kicking the gun away and instructed him to roll onto his belly. He didn’t listen at first so I repeated myself while I kept my gun trained on him. He finally complied, I told him to put his hands behind his back. Carl finally came up behind me and it took everything I had not to turn around and thank him for having my back.
Carl cuffed him and I walked over to check on the cashier. She was a bit shaken but seemed to be calming down as she realized that the danger was controlled now. Another pair of officers showed up and they began to take statements. Carl walked the suspect to the car and I followed.
Once we were pulling away on our way back to the station he turned to me. “Don’t go pulling that hotshot shit again. We are a team and we work together.”
Yeah, right.
After the dozen forms I had to fill out, all I wanted to do was go home and shower. I had to stop at the grocery store first though, I had absolutely no food in my apartment. There was no way I wanted to cook tonight, so I ran to the store and grabbed a frozen pizza. It was like every single person’s essential food group.
As I walked up to my car I couldn’t believe my good luck. Zoe was parked a few spaces from me. She was sitting in her car smacking her hands on the steering wheel. I walked up to the window and knocked on it lightly.
When she glanced up she looked relieved and annoyed all at the same time. The door opened and she got out. “Are you following me outside of work now?”
“Nope, this time I was just getting some food.” I held up my bag of frozen food. “Car trouble?”
"Ugh, yes. I really need to get home and my stupid battery died somehow." She threw her hand in the air. "Sorry I snapped at you."
“Apology accepted. You want a jump?”
“Yes! I would definitely owe you.” Her hand ran through her hair and for a minute I wondered what it would feel like if I did it.
“Tell you what. I jump your car, you go on a date with me.” I raised an eyebrow at her.
"You can't be serious." She laughed but then saw my resilient expression. "Fine! One date and that's it. This is not going to turn into something more. In fact, it isn't even a date, more like a thank you.”
“Well, I can’t wait for you to thank me.” I winked at her and she rolled her eyes.
“You’re a piece of work, you know that, right?”
I nod. “You’ll learn to love me.”
I got her car started and then made plans to see her tomorrow night.
This was my one chance to make her mine.
Zoe
I could not believe that I agreed to go on a date with him tonight.
Each step I took toward the restaurant made me more nervous. I refused to let him pick me up. This was going to be the first date that I’d ever been on, which was pretty pathetic.
Once I stood in front of the restaurant I couldn’t force myself to walk into the building. There was something about this guy that made me feel at ease and that was the scariest thing ever. Being there was basically teasing myself, I was waving something in front of my face that I could never have. I turned around deciding that there was no way I could go through with this.
“Leaving so soon?” I heard his voice and knew that I was busted. “Somehow I knew you might make a run for it.”
He walked over to me and I had to keep my tongue from falling out of my mouth. He was wearing a navy t-shirt that looked like it fit him like a glove, dark wash jeans, and a black leather jacket. Yep, coming here was definitely the wrong thing.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I tried my best to hide the fact that I was lying out my ass right now.
“Sure, let’s go grab something to eat.” He p
laced his hand on my lower back and guided me into the restaurant. My skin heated under his touch, and I had to admit I liked the way that it felt.
I was so nervous that I had to try and keep my hands from shaking.
The host lead us to a table and I took a seat. My leg shook under the table as I tried to calm my nerves.
“So, I have to say I’m kind of glad your car died on you. It made this happen so much quicker than I thought it would.” He smiled at me.
I didn’t know what to say. I had no idea how to do this or how to act.
“So, we already established you like to impersonate firefighters in your spare time. Tell me something else about you.”
I laughed nervously. “Not much to tell really, you know where I work. I have a pretty boring life.”
He looked at me like he knew I was dodging the question on purpose. “I don’t buy it for a minute. What about your family? Your friends seem drastically different than you.”
“They aren’t. We’ve all been friends since high school, they are just more open about their craziness. I’m good at hiding mine.” I winked at him and he laughed.
We spent the next hour talking and having a few drinks. Dean ordered some chips for us to pick on and I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed being out with him.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out.
I need you home now.
My stomach dropped and I instantly felt sick. I had told my dad that I’d be at Marcie’s. He usually leaves me alone if I go over there, I wondered what happened that he needed me home.
“I’m sorry. I have to go.” I slipped my phone into my purse and stood up.
“What happened? I thought things were going good?” Dean stood and followed me as I started to walk outside.
“I actually had a really good time.” I turned to him once we were outside.
“Well don’t sound so surprised.” He smiled and I swore I got butterflies. “When can I see you again?”
I closed my eyes getting prepared to turn him down, but I didn’t want to.
I wanted to live my own life for once. I wanted to be happy and to be able to do something for me. Aside from nights with the girls, I hadn't had this much fun in a while. There was something so natural about the way I was able to relax around him.
“I have off on Thursday.”
He smiled. “I knew I’d find a crack in that wall of yours.”
The way he looked down at me made me feel hopeful that I might be making the right decision.
When he leaned down everything inside of me went on high alert. His lips touched mine and it was like a lightning bolt running through my entire body, my hands gripped his arms. When he pulled away he had the sexiest smirk on his face.
“Can I take you home?” he offered.
“No, I live close. I’ll be fine.” My voice was a weak whisper.
“I can walk with you.” His fingers dug into the flesh of my hip and all I wanted to do was rest my head against his chest. I wished I were normal and he could walk me home, but he couldn’t.
“No, take the small victory I’m giving you.” I winked at him hoping that he’d just drop it.
"Okay well, I guess I will see you on Thursday, beautiful." He leaned down and placed another soft kiss against my lips.
“Sounds good.” I took a step back breaking our connection.
I started to walk toward the corner, but turned around to see him. He was standing where I left him watching me walk away.
My heart was pounding from what I just did.
I just agreed to date him.
I was going to let him into my life.
A part of me was scared, but the rest of me couldn’t wait.
Rock N Roll
By Kacey Shea
This sucked.
I officially hated New Year’s Eve and all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the stupid holiday. I never really liked it before, but this year I loathed it.
The evening celebrated new beginnings and goodwill for humanity, so why did I hate it with the burning passion of a thousand suns? Simple answer. This was my first year on the force, and this many bodies voluntarily crammed together was insanity. People, droves of them, crowded between the makeshift barriers in an attempt to get closer to the stage.
I shivered despite the warm layers of city standard pants, shirt, and wool coat, wishing for once that I could break uniform and leave my hair down to protect against the chill of the dropping temperatures. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw snow tonight. It was surely cold enough.
“Damn, New York has everythin’. I wish we had us some hot lady cops back in Tennessee. How ya’ doin’, darlin’?” Some drunk belt-buckle cowboy hat-lovin’ jerk leered while he tried to squeeze himself and his buddies closer to the bandstand.
I kept my professional tight lip smile pressed in place as they passed.
Asshole. Six hours into my shift and I’d received more insulting comments than I had in ten months with the force. Either I was “too pretty” or they’d missed the fact that “girls” could choose to become police officers. Oh, and then there were the racial slurs. Those infuriated me just as much, but were something I’d been dealing with my entire life.
Before tonight, I thought I received the lesser of the evils when I was assigned the Times Square NYE block party over the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I was not a morning person, and I might be in the minority, but I would take a night shift over an early wakeup call any day. I’d always been a night owl. Even as a little girl, my mama said she’d catch me reading by the light shining through our apartment window when I should have been sleeping like my brothers.
But this—this was madness. Chaotic. Organized, but crazy all the same.
The crowd screamed, hollered, and chanted as another artist took the stage and began an overplayed pop number I grew tired of the first week it hit number one. Glancing around, I straightened my spine and suppressed the urge to mouth the redundant lyrics. Great! Now this song would be stuck in my head well past midnight.
My eyes skimmed the crowd and caught movement in my peripheral vision. Satisfied the mass of bodies were safe for the moment, I turned to meet the scowl of Lieutenant Francis Lawrence. He was a pain in the ass know-it-all with little man syndrome to the nth degree. I rarely worked under his supervision at the station, but lucky me, I was one of the officers on his assignment tonight.
“Martinez. I’m moving you backstage. They want another officer for the talent.”
“What? No way!” I whined like a petulant child, but seriously, he was not sticking me back there with no action or real need. At least out here I served a purpose—keeping the crowd safe—and I was ready to act at any sign of trouble. Trouble was most likely to come in the form of an alcohol induced argument, but nevertheless, it was an important task.
I heard backstage was basically guarding an already secure area with only the occasional whisking of the talent to and from the main stage. Nine times out of ten they hired their own personal security. Detective Foster had already warned me to steer clear of that assignment unless I wanted to be bored to tears as the minutes dragged to midnight. “Can’t you have Dean do it?” I nodded down to the next section over where Officer Thomas scanned his section of the crowd.
“Nah, they wanted someone pretty.” The Lieutenant responded with a poor joke and a twitch of a smile at his lips. Here was my chance. This man’s mood was forever sour, but maybe I could convince him not to stick me backstage.
“Dean’s pretty.” I batted my lashes.
“Officer Martinez.” Lawrence shook his head, the glum pull of his lips back in place. I guess we were done having a moment. “You will go where ordered. Are we clear?”
“Clear.” A sigh filled with disappointment left my lips along with the shard of hope I had left for this evening.
“Good. Someone from Precinct Seventeen will be by in fifteen to relieve you of your post.”
“Can’t wait!” I ca
lled to his already retreating form. He didn’t hear, or more likely didn’t care. Well, this NYE was getting suckier by the minute.
This was by far the worst assignment I’d been given to date. The cold seeped deeper into my bones by the hour. The tall buildings flanking each side of the road offered slight protection from the screaming fans and holiday partiers opposite the giant stage. I couldn’t see them through the large temporary structure, but I sure as hell knew they were there. Two officers were stationed on the street where the performers arrived backstage, in and out of black town cars with tint so dark it almost matched the paint. Another four cops were posted up where the sides of the stage met the fence that held back the crowds and dozens of men in blue while I was left to rove the space between. Besides one open alleyway that was barricaded off with a chain-link fence I found no real threat.
Basically, I served no real purpose other than to smile and walk with the entourage that accompanied each band. Had I been the type of woman who followed celebrity gossip, I might have enjoyed this more. I smiled a little knowing that my brother Mikey would flip when I told him I worked security detail for The Weekend and Lady Gaga. And it wasn’t even close to midnight; who knew who else would come my way.
The artist performing on stage, a girl I didn’t recognize and who barely looked legal when I accompanied her along with twenty other individuals behind the black curtain, now serenaded the crowd as another town car pulled to the curb. That was my cue.
I strolled to meet the next group of overindulged, overpaid circus monkeys that our society regarded with more respect than oh, let’s say, my fellow officers in blue. God. The lackluster events of the evening made me more bitter than usual. I shook my head against the negativity threatening to invade my psyche.
The sleek car door opened, and not one, or two, but four bad boy versions of Adonis stumbled onto the pavement in a jubilant mix of laughter, shouts, and conversation. My breath caught in my throat, their attractiveness and sexual energy almost palpable. I’d seen these faces before but couldn’t place them. I waited for another dozen people to appear, as seemed to be the case with each arrival. But this band traveled with no personal security. Just an older man dressed as if he’d walked off the set of Saturday Night Fever. He ushered the foursome past the check in table and slung a pass around his neck before he brushed by me on the way to the stage.
