“Officer Heather.” And then I hope they don’t ask me for her last name.
The woman at the desk smiles at me, eyes me up and down, and says to take a seat.
I walk away from the desk, but I don’t sit down. I stand there, holding the flowers in my hand, trying not to get caught up in all the stares I’m getting.
“Yeah, Janice, what’s up?” My girl walks in from the back and goes straight to the desk. She’s changed from her uniform into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Her long red hair is in waves down her back. The woman gestures to me, and Heather looks at me, her mouth falling wide open.
She looks at the flowers in my hand and her face goes red. “What are you doing here?”
I clear my throat and walk over to her, not wanting to scream it across the room. “I thought maybe if you weren’t busy, we could get that meal tonight.”
She cocks her hip out. “And I thought I made it clear I don’t date players.”
“I’m not a play—” I start, but looking into her green eyes, I can’t lie to her. Because I have been a player, for some time now. I always made sure the women knew what they were getting from me, but not now, not like this. I don’t want to be a player. Not with her.
“Look.” I take a step toward her and hold the flowers out. I know that everyone is looking at me, but I don’t care. I feel like I only have one shot at this, and I’m not going to fuck it up. “You’re right. I am a player. But there’s something about you. I can’t get you off my mind… and honestly I don’t want to. I just want to get to know you.”
She starts to talk, and I’m afraid she’s going to say no, so I plead with her. “If not dinner, then let’s just go out for coffee. That’s it. Just to talk.”
She’s already shaking her head when her partner walks up to us. He looks at me for a second and then turns to Heather, “Give him a break. Half the squad’s watching. It’s just coffee.”
It’s then that she looks around the room, and discovers that it’s silent. No one is talking, heck, they’re not even answering the incessant ringing of the phone. They’re all staring at us. Her face turns even redder. She grabs the flowers out of my hand. “Let’s go.”
I nod thanks to her partner and follow Heather out the door. When I step up to her, she turns on me. “We don’t have to do this.”
I grab on to her and pull her gently. “C’mon, you already said yes. Just coffee. My truck’s right here.”
I expect her to argue, but instead she follows me. When I stop by the passenger door and look at her, she’s looking at our combined hands. We stand there, and I can’t take my eyes off her. I don’t want to let her go. Just her touch makes me feel something, makes me feel like I’m somebody.
She pulls her eyes away and drops my hand. Not wanting to push her, I stand there while she pulls herself up into my truck.
It’s only a few blocks to the coffee shop and when we pull in, the parking lot is almost empty.
I order her spiced apple cider after she tells me she doesn’t drink coffee and a sweet tea for me. We’re at a two seater table in the corner and I watch as she blows on the steamy drink. I can’t look away from her puckered lips.
She takes a small sip before setting it down on the table between us. “I bet you haven’t been on a lot of coffee dates.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I haven’t been on a lot of dates recently at all.”
She smirks. “Yeah, right.”
I put my hand flat on the table between us. I want to reach for her, but I don’t think she would like that. But somehow, I need to make her understand, to believe me. “I haven’t. I wouldn’t lie to you.”
She blinks, and her green eyes darken. “Why not?”
I reach for her then, because I can’t not reach for her. “Because you have a gun for one. But also because I don’t want to lie to you. I want you to know all the truth about me so we don’t have anything to hide from each other.”
She doesn’t pull