Picking Dahlias

“You’ll be patrolling campus tonight by yourself. As an FOT it’ll be a easy one.”  Officer Brink reassures me. “So deal with whatever shenanigans my sister starts?” I cringe, Every noise complaint seems to lead me towards Cici’s dorm. “Exactly Officer Martin.” Brink stares at the pile of papers on his desk looks up at me and says “You’ll be fine Mike. Campus is never anything more then noise complaints. Get to campus a little before 10 and enjoy the stroll.”  “Are you sure that's the best idea? I feel like that may be inappropriate.” I really don’t want to be the person to arrest my older sister. Brinks looks down at his papers then back at me “Do you think I became the first black sergeant in Bethton grove by having bad ideas? I could only move past the prejudice by having f*****g good ideas officer Martin. I’m sending you so we have no incident. Your sister loves to pick fights with officers. She will do her best to get arrested and have a new article to write about how bad our treatment is of prisoners or how gross our holding cells are. None of which is true but she loves to write horrible articles about us in the college paper. I send you, and she will back down. She’s not dumb, but she won’t mess with her brother. Now get to work and stop questioning me.” “Yes sir.” I know it’ll be easy, it’s Friday night at the smallest college in Indiana. Brinks takes his massive black hands and shoos me out of his office.  The smell of 3rd shift coffee hits me reminding me I need a sip of the jet fuel to make it through tonight. I approach the break room and there stands Peggy. Her slim figure elegantly reaching for the creamer on the top shelf. Her blonde hair tied up in a perfect ponytail, it reminds me of the New Years party and how good she looks without the uniform on, I can’t help but stare. My mind wonders thinking of how good her lips felt on mine the softness and how it tasted of champagne. She pushes me into a utility closet.  “I want you now. I need you.” She whispers in my ear. She nibbles my ear lobe, sliding her hand between my legs. “I don’t know Pegs I’ve never been this kind of guys. Can I take you to dinner first.” I stumble over myself as I feel my knees weaken.  “Shut up, you aren’t here to be my boyfriend you’re here to be my play thing.” She starts to rub my hard d**k. I can’t help but feel relief of someone else being in control. I don’t have to think I just have to give in. “I just, I don’t know pegs.” I want to but it feels so wrong. She bites my neck “It’s Madam and don’t think just do.” I shake the memories away. “Wassup Pegs?” I try to lay on the moves. “Evening, Officer Martin” it clearly doesn’t work, she turns around and glares.  As cold as ever, but that doesn’t stop the heat of my memories creeping up. “Uhm, I have campus duty tonight. So I’ll be back pretty late, and there probably won’t have a lot of people around.” “I don’t know if I will be, I have my own things to do.” She says curtly. I try to lean in a little more “I just was thinking maybe we could catch up on….Paperwork together.” She smirks “I think you can do… Paperwork on your own. I think its very hot to do your own Paperwork. I might watch you do Paperwork.” She stares intently with her emerald green eyes. They are intimidating, like she’s a tiger and I’m her prey. I run my hand down her arm “Yeah, you into me doing my own paperwork.” She grabs my hand with hers pulls me in and whispers in my ear “I might help you finish it, but I don’t want ink all over me.” We both laugh at the ridiculousness of our innuendos. “Creamer.” She points to the top shelf.  “What?” Peggys face scrunches at the inconvenience of speaking to me more then she has too. “I said get me the creamer. Are you so dense you can’t even get that.” She growls at me.  “Yes mam!” I scurry to the cabinet. I go to reach and feel her tiny hand grope my ass.  “Good boy, it makes me so hot when you do whatever I want.” She says slightly, she is 10 years my senior, yet her hot/cold flirting makes me feel like we’re both in high school. We hear a cough, her hand leaps off my ass. I hand the creamer to her and there stand Officer Brinks standing in the archway of the break room. His massive body takes up most of it. The first black Sergeant on Bethton Grove police department doesn’t look happy.  “Roberts, Martin. I highly suggest you head to campus Martin.” He calmly walks to the coffee pot. I start to scurry past him and as I do he smirks “See you later Goood boy.” My face flushes, I couldn’t be more mortified if I tried. I hurry my ass up to the squad car and get going. I hop into the seat and roll down the window. Maybe cold air will work like a cold shower. I arrive at the quiet campus hop out of the squad car and get going. The silence fills me as I start on the path Brinks leads me on, start at the library circle back and end back at the library repeat as needed. The sweet night air fills my lungs with each step. My uniform makes me sweat from an oddly warm night for May. I pass by a few students leaving night classes in shorts and Tshirts. I wonder if I should’ve gone to college instead of just training. When I set out to be an officer I was shocked at how easy the process was. I walk past the administration office and it was recently updated. It looks so modern with the window front. My mind is busy tracing the area as my radio goes off “We have noise complaint for dorm rooms, room seven Martin report to room seven.” My older sister room, she is going to be the death of me, growing up she always was the one who had her s**t together. She took a few years off before school to travel the country in her beat up VW bus and came back very weird. I start toward her building. Luckily it’s the closest to the library. Cecilia has had 4 noise complaints and I’m shocked they haven’t kicked her from school. I can only assume the dean knows she only has a few weeks left and doesn’t see the point in kicking her out. As I approach the old brick building I can see her room window lit up colors flashing. A few other windows are lit up probably by some poor kids trying to study. I walk up to the front door of the old apartment building that was converted to dorms when the college upgraded. I can hear Nirvana blasting all the way from out here, she has been bent outta shape since Cobain died a month ago. I never got the celebrity obsession. I’d be bummed if Trace Adkins died but I don’t make it my whole personal. “Come as you are As you were as you want me to beeee” hits me in the face and makes my ears vibrate as I get closer. How has her R.A. not killed her yet?  I open the dorm's door and there stands the R.A. she does not look happy. “Explain to me how the f**k am I suppose to let people sleep and study for exams when your sister is totally blasting Nirvana through the building?” I can’t ever remember the R.A. 's name, she's plain jane as they come. Her red hair is braided into two flowing down her shoulders, she's wearing a light blue long sleeved pj set with pink slippers. “Sorry mam, I will get it under control.” I say walking past her to head up the flight of stairs. It’s almost mortifying to be called out as an officer of the law because your sister has a partying problem. She flips her hair and heads back to her room mumbling under her breath “Well I’m hella pissed, I can’t wait for her to be outta here.”  I’m halfway up the first flight to Cecilia’s door when I hear a door slam. It must be the R.A. I feel so bad. Cici why must you piss everyone off? The walls on the way up have fliers for different clubs and frats to join. Including a fliers for Cicis party, which is just a piece of paper that says CICI”S PLACE 10PM. I get to the top of the stairs opening the door to the hall. The walls are stark white with D.A.R.E posters and paper flowers and streamers. I walk past the plain doors and a few have posters that hang on them. Then I reach my sister's door, she has tape construction paper to make the whole door purple, the paper is covered with stickers, peoples signatures and the same flowers that adorn the hallway. I knock a few times. My sister swings the door open, Cecilia has her curly brown mop up in a ponytail and a beer in her hand. She has a Nirvana shirt that has a swimming naked baby on it and ripped JNCO jeans. She has added a new nose piercing since I last saw her and big silver hoop earrings. Her black eyeliner makes her normally big hopeful brown eyes look like tiny pinpoints. Cecilia looks like a hot mess but that seems to be her style nowadays. “What's the 411 little bro, you seem to be in your big boy pants today, someone call on me?” Cecelia smirks like she's proud she's loud enough to have the cops called on her again. “Officer Martin, while I’m on duty please.” I can hear someone puking behind her. Cecelia crosses hers and puts on a mocking tone “Officer Martin, while I’m on duty pleeease.” She laughs “Whatever, dude, I have a month left don’t make a biggie.”  I’m so frustrated, she went to college and has no respect for it or anyone. “Enough Cecilia. Turn the music down, your R.A. is pissed, this is ridiculous. People have futures that they are actually trying to make happen while your here f*****g around. I am exhausted that everytime I have campus duty I get called here! You take advantage, I'm your brother and a officer. You have alcohol which is against dorm rules, this is your 4th noise complaint in only a month. I don’t want to have to do any arrests on you or write a ticket on you and you know that.” I feel my fist clench, she is too smart to continue with this. She rolls her eyes “Take a chill pill, I’ll turn it down.” She turns “Yo, dawgs hush, Kirk wouldn’t want us kicked out!” The music turns from a roar to a tolerable level. “You're almost twenty five and act like you’re five Cecilia.” I shouldn’t have to be lecturing my older sister. “One don’t call me Cecilia that’s grandma just cause you’re a big boy cop doesn’t mean you stop calling your sister Cici. Two five year old's can’t drink.” She takes a big chug of her beer. “I just don’t get you Cici, why do you even need to have a party today?” My annoyance is palpable. She gasps “Because it's not a party it's a wake. For our late and great savior Kirk Cobain!” I can not stand her sometimes, it’s exhausting. “His musical genius ended, what a troubled soul. I really connect to him, his music sees my soul.” She holds her heart. “I’m lost spirit just like him, wading the seas of this social construct we call humanity.” It’s my turn to roll my eyes “It disturbs me we come from the same parents.” A girl walks to my sisters side “What's going on Cici?” I’ve never seen someone as beautiful as her. Her long chestnut locks fall just below her collarbone, which is exposed due to her red spaghetti strap tank top. She has a leather jacket hanging off her shoulders, I can’t help it but my eyes travel down her figure. Her jeans fit her tightly and she's barefoot with red nail polish. Her waist is slightly exposed from the short tank top revealing a star tattoo on her hip. “This is my lame ass little brother Mikey. He’s trying to crash our wake”  She jabs at me. I go to shake her hand and I’m caught off guard by her deep blue eyes. Her eyes look like the calm before the storm. Her eyelashes flutter and Her sapphire eyes cut into me; they feel like they are seeing me too closely. I could look into them forever.