I drove off, muttering under my breath. Damn the man. I had told Grayson I wasn't interested in dating a cop. Hell, he had made it clear he wasn't really interested in relationships. We were not right for each other, so why interfere with my date? It didn't make any sense at all.

Grayson's behavior at the coffee shop had been an alpha male marking his territory. I didn't know if Charlie would call me after all of that. I wouldn't blame him if he didn't.

I pulled up to the drive-thru of a substandard taco restaurant and ordered something for my dinner. It was early, and the food wasn't great, but I needed to eat and get some homework done before meeting Grayson at the police station for our ride along.

Mexican food was my favorite comfort food. I had enough drama in my life right now that I deserved more than a little comfort.

After getting my food, I drove to a little park with a duck pond. I found a picnic table and spread out my books and food in front of me. Nearby, ducks were busy quacking and splashing water, having a good time. As I ate, I thought back to the times my dad had brought me here. I loved feeding the ducks bread, and then he would usually push me on the swings for a while, or watch me on the slide. They were such happy memories for me. Maybe one day I would have a family of my own and could bring my children to this same park. Make some new memories that were just as sweet as the old ones.

My cell phone buzzed, interrupting my reverie. I recognized the number as Charlie's, so I swiped to answer his call.

"Hello." I swallowed the last bit of taco as I waited for his reply.

"Lucy? Hey, it's Charlie. I wanted to tell you I enjoyed talking to you today at Witches' Brew." He had such a comfortable, breezy way of talking. It made me relax.

The phone was hot against my ear, so I put it on speakerphone, and rested it on the table. "Hey, Charlie. I enjoyed it, too. Sorry that we were interrupted like that."

"No problem. I'm calling to see if you would like to go to dinner tomorrow night." His voice was chill, and I relaxed even further.

"Sure! That would be great." I hadn’t been sure I wanted to date him, but if I could just keep my mind off of Grayson, surely I would see how great Charlie was. And I needed a chance to use my Manlist to test Charlie’s suitability.

"Okay. Why don't I pick you up at your dorm around six?" Charlie waited for my reply.

I agreed and gave him the necessary information about which dorm I lived in, and we ended the call. I put both Charlie and Grayson out of mind and concentrated on homework.

***

I CLIMBED INTO GRAYSON's patrol car, ready for my next ride along. I had taken the time to pick up a second camera from the journalism department, and I took a moment to mount it on the dash.

Grayson slid into the car and cranked it up. The blast of air conditioning brought welcome relief on such a hot day.

"Ready to go?" He put on his seatbelt and looked at me.

"Yep. All set. Let's get some action." I cringed. Why did every innocent thing I said to him sound so sexual?

He smirked, of course. Caveman.

"Yes, Lucy. Let's get some action. Together." He drove away from the station, still grinning.

Grayson made several traffic stops in a row, but he didn't write a lot of tickets. He seemed more interested in reminding people to slow down. The tickets he did write were to a jerk who smarted off to him, and to a woman with an expired tag.

As the hours passed, Grayson drove us around town, and he showed me what routine patrol was like.

"It's usually boring doing this part, but it is important." He spun the steering wheel and headed in the opposite direction.

"This isn't boring. It's interesting." It really was. I enjoyed watching him work, and I was learning a lot about police work.

"It's not boring with you here to talk to." He shot a grin my way. "But usually, it's just me by myself, going business to business, looking for any suspicious activity. After I check all the businesses, then I head into residential areas, and look for anything that seems out of place."

I caught all of this on camera. Not that it mattered, but I knew Grayson was going to look good on the finished video. Not just because he was so hot, but also because he was an excellent police officer. I could see why Chief Kane had wanted me to ride along with Grayson as the department’s representative.

At that moment the radio flared to life. As usual, I didn't understand all the police jargon, but Grayson turned the car around and headed to a small neighborhood outside of town.

"What's going on?" I aimed the camera and waited for his reply.

"A citizen has called in saying her husband is drunk and trying to start a fight with the neighbor. Hopefully, we can get him calmed down, and safe in his own house before things escalate further." He replied to the radio call as he drove.

When we arrived on the scene, I did my usual trick of scanning the area with my camera. I wanted the viewer to see what the police officers saw as they arrived.

Grayson parked, and we exited the vehicle. A shirtless man was standing in the driveway, yelling. I couldn't quite understand what he was saying. A small crowd had formed around him.

Grayson immediately took charge. "Sir, come over here and talk to me for a minute."

The man followed Grayson to the front of the patrol car, and they stood in the glare of headlights.

"Tell me what's going on." Grayson used his cop voice, and I got wet hearing that ring of authority.

What about Grayson didn’t make me wet?

“It’s hot out here, and she won’t give me my beer back.” The man talked like he’d had plenty of beer tonight already. His words were slurred, and he seemed unsteady on his feet.

“Seems like you’ve been drinking some tonight already. Why don’t you go on in the house and drink a glass of water? It’s probably cooler inside.” Grayson was calm, but I knew he was watching everything that was happening around us.

Without warning, the shirtless drunk dropped his shorts to the ground, and then kicked them away from him. Now he was standing in front of us wearing nothing but a saggy pair of tighty whities.

Ugh. There were some interesting stains on his underwear. So nasty.

“Sir, put your clothes back on and head on into the house.” Grayson’s voice was a little sharper this time. He was losing patience with the man.

“No.” The drunk man was as petulant as a pouting toddler. “It’s hot. I want my beer back.” He looked around at the crowd that had gathered.

Then the drunk man hooked his fingers into the waistband of his underwear.

He wouldn’t...would he?

He would.

Quick as a flash the underwear was pooled around his feet. I heard Grayson mutter some profanity before he stepped toward the drunk man.

The drunk guy stepped out of his underwear and started dancing around the yard. He was still yelling for his beer, but his big smile let everyone know he enjoyed putting on a show.

Grayson turned to me and raised one eyebrow. He let out a deep sigh and reached into his pocket for his disposable gloves. I giggled while he put them on.

“Sir, put your clothes back on. Now.” Grayson had raised his voice to be heard over the drunk’s cries about his missing beer.

The drunk guy stopped and then turned in our direction. He lowered his head like a bull and charged at Grayson. Grayson sidestepped him, and I jumped out of the way, trying to hold the camera steady. I didn’t want to mess up this shot.

I wondered for a moment if my editing software had a black bar option, or if I would be able to blur out the nudity. After getting a full look at what the drunk guy had to offer, I realized I wouldn’t need a very big black bar.

Grayson gave him another order to put his clothes on, but the drunk turned back around and charged Grayson again. This time Grayson calmly pulled out his Taser and fired it at him.

A crackling noise filled the air as the probes made contact with the drunk guy’s stomach. He dropped like a rock to the ground and began screaming.

I winced but kept videoing.

“Turn over on your stomach and put your hands behind your back.” Grayson approached him with his Taser still in his hand.

Please turn over. Watching the drunk’s naked body flopping around on the ground was too much.

The drunk guy turned over, still groaning in pain. Grayson put a knee in his back and cuffed him. He was quick and efficient in his movements. I suspected he wanted to get away from the man’s nasty, naked body.

Grayson radioed dispatch asking for a paramedic.

He turned to me. “The paramedics will make sure there’s no lasting damage, and they will pull the probes from his body.”

I made sure I got that on camera.

After the paramedics arrived, the drunk was transported by ambulance to a local hospital for a routine exam. He would leave from there to go straight to jail to answer for his charges.

Grayson and I went back on patrol. The rest of the night was quiet and uneventful. We passed the time riding around looking for suspicious activity and talking about various topics. About six in the morning, Grayson parked on a hill behind some tall trees where he could watch the flow of traffic without being easily seen himself. He had one hour left on his shift.

We were tucked away from the world and had complete privacy.

I was exhausted. Two days in a row without enough sleep had finally caught up with me. I yawned and leaned back against the leather seat.

“Just go ahead and rest your eyes, sweetheart.” Grayson’s words came slowly, like the dripping of molasses.

My breathing deepened. Soon, I was sound asleep.