Bleed Blue 69: Twenty-Five Authors…One Sexy Police Station

by Anthology

  “Hey, hey! Hello!”

  “Five, Four,” the crowd chanted louder.

  “Hey, hot cop!” a man shouted at my back.

  Fucking hell. Not again!

  I turned, hand at my baton, and scowl locked in place. The cumulative harassment of this shift along with how every frickin’ man in attendance found it inconceivable a woman could be both beautiful and a police officer was at my last nerve.

  “Hey!” I didn’t recognize him at first with the beanie pulled low over his forehead and the leather jacket hiding his telltale tattoos. But within seconds, that smile that teased the edges of his lips made it clear who had called out to me. It was Austin Banks, and he was weaving in and out of the crowd to reach me. In spite of the fact he was kind of a dick earlier, something about his approaching form stole the irritation and words from my mouth.

  “Hey, I—” He glanced up and his lips pulled into a wide smile as the masses shouted at the ball’s drop. His eyes darted to my lips and before I could move he dipped his chin and sealed his own over mine. They were warm and languid, just a taste of everything he offered, and gone too quickly.

  “Happy New Year,” he said and stepped back with a confident smile.

  I glanced around, embarrassment and shame knocking away any joy his kiss had brought. I was supposed to be working—professional—and yet here I was kissed at midnight by a famous man I just met. Once I was satisfied that the throng of people in my zone—as well as my surrounding officers—were all safe, I turned back to face Austin. Thousands of joyful, drunken citizens crooned the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne.

  “You found me.” I decided stating the obvious was my best way to handle the sexy rocker.

  “I didn’t get your name,” he said as if hunting down my whereabouts after our brief encounter was the only logical move.

  “You came back for my name?” I couldn’t help but give in to a roll of my eyes.

  “That, and a kiss. Though it wasn’t my best work. I’d love a chance to prove my badass kissing skills. That is, if you’ll let me. I’m Austin.” He held out his hand.

  “I know who you are.” Again with the eye roll, only this time I offered him a genuine smile as well. “Gabi.” I returned his handshake, but once my gloved hand grazed his, it took all my willpower as I resisted the urge to pull him in close for another kiss. God, what was wrong with me? I didn’t do this. I didn’t go gaga for men, I wasn’t stargazed, and I didn’t chase men or flirt. Especially not when I was at work. “Look, I’m on duty.” My spine straightened and I pulled my hand back.

  “Totally get it. I’ll get out of your way. I just needed your name. The extra kisses would have been icing on the cake.” His eyebrows lifted and I could almost discern a trace of hopefulness in his amber eyes.

  Noise makers, shouts, laughter, and music collided and created an intense backdrop to an already critical decision. A piece of me wanted to explore the attraction I had toward this man, but mostly I needed to get back to my job. “I have to go.” I glanced around. “All these people have to go home and I need to make sure they do so safely.” This was one hell of a party and clearing out upwards of two hundred thousand people in the next hour would be no easy task.

  “Yes. Sorry. Look.” He pulled a laminated rectangle, no bigger than a business card, from his back pocket and placed it in my palm. “We’re staying at the Crowne Plaza. We have a private event booked at the bar. Come by when you’re done being brave and protecting the public and shit. Please?”

  I studied his face. His lips twisted with a trace of teasing humor. His eyes, though, they were dark and almost dangerous—full of something I was certain I couldn’t handle. I shouldn’t tempt myself any more than I already had by spending another minute in his presence. Yet it was all I wanted. I didn’t give him an answer—instead my mind battled it out with my heart while my lips remained sealed.

  As if he sensed my indecision he piped up first. “I won’t even try to kiss you again. Just think about it.”

  “Martinez! We’re heading down in five!” Landers, my supervisor for the remainder of my shift called my name and nodded toward the subway entrance a block over.

  “I don’t know, Austin. I don’t think—”

  “Just keep the card. Stop by if you want. No pressure.” With his hands raised, he backed away into the sea of bodies that milled around. “See you later, Gabi!” he shouted.

  “Don’t be so sure of yourself!” I called back and turned away, catching up to Captain Landers before my legs betrayed my good intentions and followed Austin Banks back to his fancy hotel.

  My back ached, my feet were sore, and I yearned for the comfort and warmth of my bed. The streets we cleared of the thousands of partygoers, and teams of officers shuttled by the busload back to the station off Broadway that served as tonight’s temporary headquarters.

  “First time, right?” Captain Landers lifted his chin after we both clocked out and left the building. “You did good, Martinez. Maybe I’ll see you around. You ever in any trouble in Queens, look me up.”

  “Same if you’re in Brooklyn.”

  “Ha! I wouldn’t be caught dead in Brooklyn.” He barked out a laugh and stopped short at the city owned lot. “This is me, you taking the train?”

  “Yeah.” I only wished it wasn’t a forty-five minute ride.

  “I can walk you. Drop you off?” he offered politely but I shook my head. As friendly and kind as he was for offering, I couldn’t help but think he wouldn’t do the same if I were a man.

  “Nah, it’s just one block. I’m good.”

  “’Night.” He strode to his car and I turned back to the sidewalk. The gleam from the constant flash of billboards off Broadway painted the night in bright light. It always amazed me how the city felt so alive even at three in the morning. I allowed my gaze to study the buildings as I marched toward the closest tunnel entrance, almost tripping over my own feet when I noticed the Crowne Plaza doors at my left. And a certain leather jacket wearing man leaned up against the wall just past them. Well, damn.

  “Gabi.” Austin took a drag from his cigarette, flicked it to the concrete, and pushed off the wall. “You came!” He strode to where my feet were locked in place. My mind still reeled at another chance encounter.

  “I didn’t mean to,” I blurted.

  His deep laughter filled the air above the city symphony of passing cars, honking, chatter, and people moving about. The beat was a muted version of the daytime rush, but constant all the same. He stepped closer and his hands found my arms. “I’m glad you did. Want to go inside?”

  I shook my head. “I think that’s a bad idea.”

  “Bad? Why?” His brow pulled with what appeared to be concern.

  “Look, Austin. I’m not that woman. I don’t do one night stands.”

  “But remember, I promised I wouldn’t kiss you.” His eyes twinkled with amusement.

  “You won’t?” My lips pulled into a smirk and my eyebrows lifted. I shouldn’t have, though. He seemed to take it as a silent challenge, dipped his chin, and brushed his lips over mine, a feathered touch. His lips skimmed across the skin of my cheek and landed at my earlobe with another soft kiss.

  “You can’t do that anymore.” My hand wrapped around his arm and he stilled. “No kissing.”

  “Why not? Gabi, why can’t I kiss you all night? I promise you’ll like it.” He ghosted another brush of his lips over my ear and I shivered at his touch. That was why. I was scared of the power he held over my very being if I let myself be with him.

  “Probably, but I can’t be with you. I’m not that woman.” I released a sigh.

  “I’m not asking for a commitment. I’m not even asking for sex. I just want to kiss you.” My flesh warmed with need and my heart squeezed with the promise of feeling that fluttered when I met Austin’s heated glare.

  “No.” I stared back.

  The corners of his lips lifted with his brows. “No?”

  “No.” I rolled my eyes.
<
br />   He broke out into one of his giant grins and shrugged. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” I didn’t buy it.

  He slung an arm around my shoulder and walked us to the hotel doors, “It’s a begrudging okay, not an okay-okay. I want to kiss you but—” He stopped and made air quotes for his next words, “—apparently I don’t get everything I want.”

  I laughed. “This is a new concept for you, I take it.”

  “Yeah, and I don’t like it.” He dropped his arm as the doorman greeted us with an open entrance. The warmth inside the lobby was tempting, but I needed to be smart here.

  “Good.” I smiled. “I better go now.”

  “I can’t convince you to stay? Have a drink or just talk? You know, while we take a naked bubble bath together in the Jacuzzi tub in my suite, that kind of thing?” The playfulness in his delivery set me at ease, but I knew no good would come of spending more time with him.

  “No, I’m afraid not.”

  “Can’t blame a guy for trying. It was nice meeting you tonight, Gabi Martinez.” He held his hand out and I hesitated a moment before placing mine in his palm.

  “Nice to meet you, too. I think.” I tried to pull back my hand but he held it firmly inside his own.

  Humor left his features and his voice dropped so only I could hear. “Hey, I was serious earlier about fundraising and doing a self-defense demo. You could reach a lot of women using my social media platform.”

  “Sure, sure. Leverage me with other’s needs. Empowering women. Protecting the vulnerable. My weakness.” I joked it off because his gaze was too insightful, knowing.

  He released my hand and I immediately missed the contact. “I swear, only the best of intentions. Think of all the money we could raise. Women we could help.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Really, Austin?”

  “Only good intentions. Think about it. Here.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped across the screen. “Put your number in. I’ll call you and we can try to set something up.”

  “Okay, you win this time,” I took the device and programed in my number. “Thank you.”

  “No, thank you. I’ll walk you home?” His lips tugged back into that predatory smile.

  I just laughed. “Nice try.”

  He grinned. “You got me. Purely selfish intentions there. I’ll call you.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Goodnight, Austin Banks.” Because as much as he cared about protecting women, I doubted he would follow through. This night would be forgotten once he was back to his reality as a famous rocker and I was back to my daily grind on the beat.

  “I will. Goodnight, Gabi.” He smiled with so much candor I almost believed him. I wanted to, anyway. I backed away, the magnetic pull between us resisted my retreat but I stayed the course. I was strong because I had to be. Because life had molded me to be. But as I rushed down the subway steps and past the turnstile, I couldn’t help but hope I would meet Austin Banks again. That our chance encounter meant more than just a blip on the radar of my life. That our paths were destined to cross. That together we could make a difference in the lives of women.

  I shook my head, and a smile played at my lips. Damn. The New Year’s spirit along with a lack of sleep had hijacked my rational thoughts and reason.

  Still.

  It was nice to hope.

  Hungover

  By Katherine Rhodes

  The cool winter sun began its slow, protracted ascent over the distant horizon of the sea, shining down on a bright new year.

  Or, some such bullshit.

  I mean, for fuck’s sake, it was Coney Island the morning after New Year’s. I was working the cleanup shift with the damn rookie the captain tossed at me. I still hadn’t heard about my test results. And my landlord had just informed me he was selling the damn building.

  I crushed out a cigarette that one of the little shits still meandering home from a night of debauchery or whatever had flicked away. Who flicked a cigarette on the boards of a boardwalk? Drunken morons, that was who.

  Happy fucking New Year.

  That was kind of unfair. I was tired, and the damn rookie was walking on cloud nine. Shithead and his lovey-dovey crap.

  Still unfair. The guy fell hard and fast, and there was nothing wrong with that. He was a blast to rib, though.

  The sun finally crested the horizon, peering right into my eyes.

  Fucking sun.

  “End of shift, Sarge?”

  I looked at Hernandez. Bright-eyed, hopeful. Everything I’d been and lost at his age. I really hoped his career didn’t take even a quarter as long as mine was. “Just about, rookie. Dying to get home to your old lady?”

  He chuffed at that. “She’s not my old lady. She’s my girl, and I like going home to her.”

  “Get used to the ribbing, kid. You get all doe-eyed when you talk about her. Those iron assholes in the station are going to be on you about it.”

  “Whatever. She’s mine.”

  I clapped him on the back. “Good attitude. Stick with it.”

  “Long night.”

  “Not as bad as the suckers in Manhattan. I don’t mind cleanup duty, as long as it’s not there.” I looked at the sun again and flipped it the bird. “Here’s to a better year, you yellow bastard. Back to the house, rookie. I want to get breakfast and sleep until my next shift.”

  “There’s a great diner.”

  I laughed. “Oh, yeah, we know all about that fucking diner, Hernandez.”

  The kid cleared his throat, embarrassed.

  “Come on. This night’s over.”

  He nodded, and we headed off the boards at the beach. There was no one around. I had decided there was nowhere that was quite as deserted in the middle of a major city as the beach on New Year’s Day. I was pretty sure even the gulls weren’t interested in being there. Some of them even looked hungover.

  We made it about four blocks before my walkie went off. “Gianvittorio, Hernandez. We got a ten-sixty-six. Can you take?”

  I rolled my eyes. “We were heading for the end of shift, dispatch.”

  “Shouldn’t take long. Sounds like an assist, honestly. Taxi and done.”

  Hernandez looked upset. This kid was in over his head. “Dispatch, Gianvittorio will clear. Hernandez is clear for the end of shift.” I let go of the button. “Go home, rookie. I got this.” I spoke to the dispatch again. “Details?”

  “Got a sleeper at Cask and Barrel. Owner can’t rouse, but doesn’t want to call an ambulance.”

  “You sure you’re good with this?” Hernandez was raring to go.

  “Fine. I’ll call an ambulance if I really need it.”

  “Thanks, Sarge.”

  And before I could say, ‘you’re welcome’, he was gone. I shook my head and headed west to find the little bar that was so popular in the neighborhood. They were supposed to be closed by now, but since it was New Year’s, I guess we all hadn’t cared that the doors were only now being shut. I walked up, not briskly, but with purpose, and the door swung open, just as I went to knock.

  The owner, Tyler, stood there looking frazzled. “Morning, Gianvittorio, I’m glad it’s you.”

  “Morning, Ty. What’s up?”

  “I gotta sleeper. I don’t want to move her. She’s not waking up, and I have my own damn bed I need to visit. I don’t want to manhandle her. Some of these women are nuts.”

  “Most of them are.” I followed him inside the bar. The lights were up, and I was impressed, again, at how neat his bar was. “How long?”

  “No idea. I just realized she was there as I was trying to get everyone out at five.” A look of terror passed over his face. I waved him off; I wasn’t in the mood to write tickets or take disciplinary action. “She’s sleeping good.”

  “Let’s see if we need a taxi, but I got this. I’m out, and I can have my rookie close my shift at the station.”

  Ty nodded and headed for the telephone.

  I walked to the end and found the woman cheek down, covered by her
hair. “Ma’am? Ma’am, I need you to wake up. We can have a taxi on the way.”

  “Mrmph.”

  It was a start. I shook her shoulder again, and she moved a little.

  “Mrmph. Time to go, Celi?”

  “It’s seven in the morning, ma’am. Everyone is gone.”

  She raised her head off the counter and pushed her hair back—oh. Shit.

  I knew her.

  This woman was my best daydream and worst nightmare.

  I peeled my cheek off the sticky wood. Celina had let me fall asleep again. Again. She was ridiculous. I sat up as she prodded me to wake and flipped my hair out of the way, opening my eyes.

  I was staring into Irish ice blue eyes with Italian hair so black it nearly absorbed light.

  Not Celi.

  Worse.

  Michael Gianvittorio.

  “What the hell…”

  “Hello, Esmy. You fell asleep at the bar. Do you know where you are?”

  Jesus Christ, this year was already fucked up. I had to answer him, judging by the badge on his broad chest. “Crate and Barrel? Barrel and Wino? Shit, I can’t remember the name correctly.”

  “Cask and Barrel?”

  “That’s it. Brooklyn. Yes. We managed to wander over after Times Square.” I looked around and realized the lights were up and it was me, Mike, and one other guy. “Holy shit. Did Celina leave me here? What time is it?”

  “Seven in the morning.”

  “Fuck. Fucking fuckity fuck fuck!” And then the headache slammed into me so hard and so fast I almost tipped off the chair. “Fuck.”

  “Easy. Easy,” Mike said. “You’ve been stuck to the table top all night.”

  “Gross.”

  The guy behind the corner offered me a clean bar mop to wipe my face, and I took it gratefully.

  “What happened, Esmy?”

  Damn, he still called me that. It still did funny things to me. “I was here with some friends, and I didn’t want to be. Homebody. PJs and bed were my order of the night. Next thing I know, I’m standing in Midtown, half shitfaced.”