Chapter 5
1228 Words
Finally, Friday came and went and I had the weekend off. My best friend, Lainey, and I had decided to go to a new club that had opened and apparently wasn’t crowded with 18-year-olds. It was more of a lounge, I suppose. Not somewhere kids would be hanging out anyway.
They had a pretty strict dress code and Lainey had demanded that I wear heels. Standing at 5 foot 8, I had never bothered with them. I wasn’t model tall but I stood out – and she wasn’t having it.
“Ok, so that black lace dress of yours is perfect. We just need some nice shoes and you’re set.” She sat on the couch, painting her toes. She was the most beautiful woman I knew. She had long, thick, curly auburn hair, bright green eyes and a body that others would kill for, including me. I was built pretty well, but I was more athletic whereas she was far more feminine.
“Are you sure it’s not too short? I mean I bend over slightly and it’s going to be a full moon for everyone.” I sat down with two cups of tea and picked up the polish she was using. “‘Midnight Vixen.’ Sounds lush.” I tucked my legs under me and looked expectantly at Lainey.
“Don’t start again with me. It literally sits 3 inches above your knees, low enough to be respectful but high enough to cause some trouble. You have amazing legs, why hide them?” She admired her feet and propped them on the table to dry.
My legs had always been an insecurity of mine. It had gotten better over the years when I accepted that they would always be muscular, but still. “I don’t know. I still feel like they look three times bigger than what they are.”
“Oh my God, Jodi, stop. They’re gorgeous and toned. I wish I could get that kind of definition.” She took a sip of her tea and pursed her lips. “But if you’re really that worried, black stockings will look good, too. You could then go with those heeled boots of yours.”
“That’s not a bad idea, actually. Although, maybe I should challenge myself and go with actual heels.” We debated the topic for about 20 minutes before I plucked up the courage to tell her what happened with Gabe.
“So, you know what happened this week, after the bomb incident.”
“How could I forget that my best friend is a literal superhero?” she smiled and held up her tea in a mock salute.
I huffed and made myself more comfortable. “I mean there was something that happened after that.”
“What?” she asked casually. She really had no idea what she was about to hear.
“Well, after I spoke to the Captain, Gabe and I went to the roof just to get fresh air, I suppose. I was just so overwhelmed with emotions and thoughts and adrenaline that I...” I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I was still mulling it over about what it meant for us if there was an ‘us’, that I wasn’t sure what to tell her.
“You did what?” I had her full attention now.
I kept silent for a few seconds and thought it best to just rip the band-aid off. “I kissed him. And he kissed me back. We were really going at it, actually.”
I nervously bit the inside of my cheek and waited. Lainey was just staring at me and I had no idea how she would react.
“Holy. Mother. Of God. You and Gabe made out?” she half shrieked. She suddenly got up, readjusted herself and sat down so that she was facing me completely. “Tell me everything. I knew it, when I met him I knew something would happen. There was no mistaking that look he gave you.”
“Lainey, just calm down for a few seconds, let me actually tell you,” I laughed. “I think we were both just a bit high from a rush. He basically told the Captain off in the friendliest way possible, I got really high praise and he was going to phone the mayor to tell him and we were both just...” A sudden wave of sadness came over. Maybe it was just the adrenaline?
“What’s wrong? Isn’t it a good thing? I mean you’ve liked him for a while.” She held her hand up when I was about to interject and I stayed silent. She had a thoughtful look in her eyes and understanding crossed her face. “Jo, listen to me. Gabe really likes you.”
“You met him once.”
“Twice, and those hours were enough to know that his feelings go beyond physical.”
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, a headache starting behind my eyes. “He’s always been so aloof and cold, sometimes he’s friendly but it’s like he never drops his guard. How can that be someone who has feelings for me?”
“Maybe he’s been denying himself of those feelings. You’re both in a dangerous line of work. Sometimes you’re not home for 14 hours, he’s out in the field with guns and all that. It’s tricky.”
I had never thought of it that way. Those times that I had done long shifts, he was there, too. When there were hostage situations or there were reports of gunfire, I stressed about it but he always came back. “I’m not really on the dangerous side of things. I deal with online crime.”
“You’re busy with a child pornography case. How does that not affect you?”
When I was about to tell her it doesn’t, I realised I would be lying. Some of the cases we did were terrible. I had nightmares about my current case where I was the child and had even woken up with scratches on myself. I sighed in defeat.
“Your danger might not be physical like his, but it’s emotional. And at times, that can be even more dangerous.” I pondered on her words for a minute, finding the truth in them.
“Since when were you so insightful about these things?” I threw a pillow at her, trying to lighten the mood. I didn’t want to walk into the club later all depressed.
She smiled and threw the pillow back. “I’m more than just a piece of ass, my friend.”
We both laughed and started getting ready for the night. I had decided to go stocking free and luckily Lainey was the same shoe size as me so I could just borrow a pair of hers.
All the while getting ready, doubt clouded my mind. Did Gabe react out of impulse? There was no denying he was attracted to me. But I wasn’t the kind to hook up and leave it. I did relationships. From what I heard, he didn’t.
Lainey smacked my head lightly with a makeup brush. “Stop it.”
When we were finished, we caught a taxi and headed out. I am not thinking about Gabe tonight.
- Writer
