Fighting Dirty - Sidney Halston Page 0,53
the house.
A few times he contemplated going to her, but each time he decided against it. Maybe they both needed space. They had spent every second together for four days. They hadn’t made any plans, but she knew where he lived….
Doubt was a bitch.
He threw himself on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought, until his eyelids became heavy and regret for not making more permanent plans with Jamie Lynn set in.
—
So it was a fling.
JL had had flings before. Why did this one hurt so much? It was now midnight and he hadn’t called or texted her all day. How could she have misjudged something so much? Maybe her confession about Andy had changed things between them?
“G’night, Patsy!” JL hollered over her shoulder to the owner of the Pier as she walked outside to her car. It wasn’t as though she and Enzo had made any plans or spoke about anything more than the weekend, she told herself. She must’ve been caught up in the moment to have said as much as she had, and maybe that had scared him off. She had always had a problem with her bluntness. She should’ve just shut her mouth and kept things light and fluffy.
The phone rang in her purse, and she hurried to get it, hoping it was Enzo. “Hello?”
“Hey, you.”
She deflated. “Hey, Jonah. What’s up?”
“We’re going out tonight. There’s no signs of Officer Dick or his buddy Jerkoff. You wanna come? I can pick you up.”
She thought about it for a moment: go home alone, or go hang out with her friends and do something she loved to do. “Yeah, sure. Okay. Meet you there?”
“See ya soon.”
—
It was three-thirty in the morning by the time she got into her car to head home. She was bone tired. Four days of sex, a full shift on her feet serving drinks, and a night of painting her wall would surely ensure some sleep. JL stuck the key in the ignition, but before she pulled away from the curb she rested her forearms on the steering wheel and looked up at her wall through the windshield of her car. How would she get the courage she needed to climb that? She needed to work on the sky part of her painting but it seemed so high up. She closed her eyes and exhaled before opening them to look at it one last time. Flashing lights and a blare startled her. She looked into her rearview mirror to see a police car behind her.
“Shit,” she said out loud while rolling down the window.
“You know why I’m stopping you?” said the familiar officer—Officer Dick, as they’d nicknamed him.
“Well, I wasn’t speeding,” she joked nervously.
“Outta the car.”
Damn it. She unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out of the car. “Did you do this?” He pointed to her wall. She looked up, unsure what to say. But before she could decide whether to try to bluff her way out of it, he continued, “And before you lie, you still have paint on your face and hands.” JL cringed, but she knew her rights—or at least she knew enough to shut her mouth when questioned by the police.
“I’m waiting,” he said impatiently
JL just looked at him with a blank face and replied, “Suit yourself, honey.” The cop said something into the radio by his shoulder, then turned to JL. “License and registration.”
She blew a breath out and rummaged through her purse and glove compartment for the requested documents. As soon as she handed them to him he said, “Turn around, hands behind your back.”
“You’re arresting me?”
“What did you think this was, teatime? Yeah, I’m arresting you.” He motioned for her to turn around. “And I’m making sure that you people know how serious this is. Destruction of private property is a felony.”
“A felony?” She began to step back. “No. No. Please…”
“Resisting?”
She shook her head frantically, then turned around and did what he asked. “Don’t I get a call or something?”
“Quiet,” he said, and then he cuffed her and read her her rights. Once she was inside the police car he stepped out and spoke into his radio some more. She wasn’t sure what he was saying because the blood rushing through her ears was all she heard. She’d never been arrested before. Not even close. She’d seen her mother behind bars too many times to count, and she’d always sworn not to end up like her mother. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly. He