The Game

Avery's POV I mentally groaned as I looked at the empty wine glass before me. Here I sat in a fine upscale restaurant listening as a guy I thought I was interested in, rant about his childhood.  He chuckled. "I couldn't believe the coach chose me." I lightly laughed to make it seem like I was actually listening but what I really wanted was to dart out and not look back. Drifting off, I noticed a piece of string hanging from my skirt. I hated wearing anything dressy and decided to give my usual T-shirt and sweatpants a break for the sake of this date. I didn't even bother to wear panties! So much for getting lucky tonight.  "Uh-Sorry, James," I said interrupting him. His eyes twinkled as he looked at me.  "No, I'm sorry. You asked me about myself and I started a rant. My apologies." I laughed it off but saw he was being sincere. "I just noticed that the bottle is empty." He lifts his glass and intently stared at it. "I guess I hadn't noticed. Should we have another?" Because your ass was rambling. I thought to myself but instead smiled. "No, I think we should get out of here." His eyebrows lifted and a huge grin formed at his lips. "Back to your place?"  Wasn't exactly what I was thinking but if he was willing to show me what he was working with I was all for it.  He thirstily kissed me as we crossed the threshold of my apartment. His hands clawed at my bottom while my fingers worked at the buttons on his shirt. Finding the counter in the kitchen, he knocked everything to the floor before perching me on top of it.  I liked his toughness and I liked him better with his mouth full. I pulled my skirt up and he hungrily dived into my sweet spot, working his tongue. One of the perks of going commando. Easy access. As I reached my climax I couldn't believe how great he was. The complete opposite of what he was during dinner. He stood before me stroking himself and I was ready to take things into the bedroom. Once again he followed as if he was a puppy on a leash.  In the morning, a husky voice woke me from my sleeping slumber. Adjusting my eyes, they landed on a shirtless James standing over me.  "Good morning, beautiful." He cheesed. "I hope you don't mind. I made coffee." The coffee lacked creamer but he got an A for effort. "Thank you but what are you still doing here?" He stared at me confused. "Didn't we just have a great night?" I placed the hot cup onto the nightstand and stood. Perhaps I wasn't making myself clear. "James, I'm not looking for a relationship." He cracked his lips to speak but decided against it and instead began gathering his things. I slipped into my robe and followed him to the door. "I'm sorry."  I wasn't really sorry but I felt bad for leading him on. "It's fine. Take care, Avery."  I exhaled a deep breath once he left. It felt great to have my space to myself again, too bad I had less than an hour to get to work and would be seeing him again.  I twirled around in the chair at my desk clicking a pen. I hated Tuesday mornings and after the night I had I couldn't wait for my shift to be over.  "Good morning, Patton." Officer Jones greeted as he walked passed. I returned the gesture with a head nod. Paperwork as high as the ceiling filled my desk and the last thing I wanted was to go through everything. "Patton!" The Lieutenant called from his office. His loud voice startled me and I quickly stood to my feet. "Sir?" His pale face flushed in red. "My office." I dropped my head and my stomach turned with nervousness. Other officers snickered and stared as I made my way to his office. "You—you wanted to see me, Sir?" I stuttered. "Close the door and have a seat." I took a seat at his desk and the space filled with silence as he studied the file on his desk. "I'm assigning you to the Lennon case." "Excuse me?" My heart skipped a beat at his words. After being assigned to desk duty two months ago for a minor incident, I never thought I would get the opportunity to work outside again.  "I think you have what it takes to make this bust for us. Plus, it will help your career in law enforcement." I stammered. "Sir, this is an honor." "I have faith in you." He slipped me the file. "These are the players in the game. Lorenzo Brown goes by Zo and Maurice Lennon, also known as Ace. The two biggest drug dealers on the Southside." I flipped through the pages and followed as he spoke.  He continued. "Do whatever it takes to get close to him. Word is him and his crew are having a party at the club. This would be the perfect way to reel him in." "Will I have to wear a wire?" He shook his head from side to side. "In the beginning, you will be required to meet up with Sergeant Daniels once a week with a progress report. You will also be under heavy surveillance to make sure things are going smoothly." I mentally groaned. After the night he and I had I was sure he didn't want to see, let alone work with me again.  "Get whatever information you can on him but don't go against your morals." I stood from my seat. "I won't let you down, Sir. You picked the right person for the job." He hesitantly smiled. "Good luck." I left his office with my head held high. "How did it go?" A rookie officer asked as he approached me.  Everyone knew the Lieutenant was a hard ass. So anyone was lucky to walk out of his office with good news.  "I was given the Lennon case." The rookie tried to hold back his laughter and so did a few other officers.  "What's so funny?" I frowned. "We all passed on the case." "What? You mean I was the last to know about it?" He laughed and walked away. Furious wasn't the word to describe how I felt.  "Patton!" The Lieutenant yelled as he stepped out of his office. "I failed to mention, from now on your name is Ali Carter your "job" is a wash girl at the beauty salon on Lenox." He handed me a sheet of paper with two addresses. "And this is where you will be living." He pointed to the second address.  Confusion filled my face. The thought hadn't set in that I was going to be taking on a new identity.  "You are no longer allowed to have any contact, whatsoever with anyone from your real-life until the end of your assignment. This is now who you are." "I can't speak to my mother?" "No contact whatsoever. Tell her you enlisted into the Army. I honestly don't give a rats ass what you tell her. Good luck." He reiterated before returning back to his office.  My mind was boggled. What was I getting myself into? I placed a few spoonfuls of peas onto my plate and passed the bowl to my Mother. "I can't remember the last time you joined me for dinner. What's the occasion?" I lightly laughed. "I was— I was cut off as my mother's girlfriend walked into the dining room with a dish filled with baked chicken. "I'm so glad you could join us, Avery." I smirked.  "I'm working on a case that's going to work wonders for my career." "That's great!" They both cheered. "Especially after the last year, you had," Joanna added.  I continued. "I'm working on something that's going to cause me to go away for a while." "Undercover?" "I can't go into detail but I won't be able to communicate with y'all for a few months." I had to prove everyone wrong and complete the job.