It was a slow night at the club. Even Trey looked bored as he sipped a red wine, doing his best to look like a moody vampire while hovering near the DJ booth rather than dancing. No matter how much I tried to get him talking, he answered every question with one or two words.

I tried a Hail Mary that had never failed me before. “I’ve got a fifty-dollar gift card for the MAC website.” It was a lie, but fuck it, I needed some kind of entertainment. “You keep saying I need to start wearing some lipstick. Any recommendations?”

“Black,” he grumbled before taking another sip.

I was just about to ask him if he was sick when the door opened and the night went from zero to eleven.

James.

In the fucking club.

Wearing his police uniform.

It still had all the tight creases from the dry cleaner. Those creases were strangely hot. There were plenty of ugly cops in Augusta, but James was exactly why people loved a man in uniform. The blue shirt stretched nicely across his broad shoulders and tapered down snugly over his tight abs before diving into his pants.

I wanted to dive in after it.

I had to play it cool, though. I wasn’t going to turn into putty just because one glance from him made my legs go weak. It would have, at least, if he’d actually looked at me. Instead he made a beeline for the bar and started chatting with Sean.

Whatever. I have work to do.

I wasn’t jealous. It just happened to be the right time of night to play the song that Sean hated and always told me that I should delete from my computer.

I was turning back to talk to Trey to show just how little I cared about what James was doing at the club when he turned, looked at me, and waved. His smile lit the dark room and made me glad I hadn’t used my dead car as an excuse to avoid coming to work.

Trey, suddenly chatty, had to tug on my sleeve to get my attention. “You already wrapped around his little finger? Nah, I know that look. You’re wrapped around a nice, fat cock.” He threw back his head and laughed. “Shit, I didn’t expect to see any man make you his little bitch.”

When I glared at him, he frowned, as if realizing that being catty wasn’t making him feel better, and went back to sipping his drink. I once again wondered if he was sick, but didn’t have time to dwell on it because James’ presence demanded my careful attention.

Rather than addressing me, though, James asked Trey, “You feeling okay, Trey?” He spent entirely too much time looking up and down Trey’s body. “You don’t look as glammed up as usual.”

Once James said it, it was obvious, but I’d been too distracted making plans to notice that Trey was wearing jeans and a black sweater. That’s why he looked so bizarre. He was dressed like some straight guy on business-casual Friday.

Trey nodded, but while answering his eyes danced nervously around the open dance floor. Something was wrong. “Yeah, baby, I’m perfect. I’m always perfect. Don’t you forget it.”

James squinted, obviously noticing the lie and trying to figure out what Trey was hiding, and what he could do to help. Despite looking like he wanted to push Trey on the topic, though, he simply said, “Sure. Must’ve just been the lighting. I can see it now.”

Finally after what seemed a million years, James finally turned his attention to me and said, “And there you are.”

“Couldn’t get me out of your head?” I asked.

Trey rolled his eyes at my corny bravado and turned his back to us, still not making a move toward the dance floor.

“What?” James asked “Oh. Yeah, sorry. I meant that I heard you had my credit card.”

At least he looked embarrassed at how his words were crushing my spirit.

“Shit. Right.” Reaching into the back pocket where I’d been carrying the card, I realized that I’d, of course, forgotten it. “Damn it. I left it at home. I can drop it off after work, if you’ll be there.” I wasn’t about to apologize. It wasn’t my fault I had the stupid card in the first place.

Just as I was about to snarkily ask if that was all he wanted from me, James surprised me. “Perfect. I’ll be there. I’ve been hoping to get a chance to talk.” With a wink, he added, “I’ll crank up the country tunes, and you can start off by yelling at me, if you’re still into that.”

His words dizzied me. I’d already started to put up my defenses, expecting a gentle rejection at best. Instead, he crossed the line I’d drawn in the sand, stating pretty fucking clearly that he wasn’t going to give up on me easily.

Someone fighting for me was exactly what I needed.

But I knew I’d have to make some kind of move to show him that I was interested in being pursued. The words didn’t come right away, though. I thought back to the relationships I’d been in before implementing the one-date rule. They’d never ended well, and I wasn’t interested in ending up in the hospital again.

When I didn’t even bother to look up from the stain on the carpet next to my feet, James knocked his knuckles on the counter and said, “Loud and clear, man. No sweat. However you want to drop it off is fine.”

He stared at me expectantly, waiting for me to stop being a coward.

I took a chance, hoping I wasn’t jumping off the wrong cliff. “I’m going to yell at you so hard when I come over.”

Risking a look at his face, I was rewarded with a glowing smile. “Yeah, you are. And I’m going to tell you that you techno DJs could learn a thing or two from that big country groove.”

I was scrambling for a line to continue our playful banter when Trey groaned. “Oh my God, you two are so lame you might as well buy minivans and go straight. Hold my wine.” He handed the glass to James. “I’m going to go piss. Please be done with whatever this shit is by the time I get back.”

He didn’t leave right away, though. He just looked around the mostly empty club. I wasn’t sure if he was looking for an apology, or for me to tell James I wasn’t interested, or what.

James wasted no time worrying about it. With his free hand, he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me tight against his body. My eyes sprung open feeling his hardness, but my surprise turned to a laugh when I realized it was his gun.

“I thought you were just happy to see me,” I managed to say when he looked at me questioningly.

He didn’t bother with any more flirty lines. Towering over me, he leaned down for a kiss. I tilted my head and closed my eyes, ready to throw myself at my very own policeman. The song stopped, but the couple dancers could just hold on a few seconds. I wasn’t going to miss the moment.

Just as our lips touched, the squawk of a walkie-talkie interrupted us. James’ head snapped toward the sound as he pushed me behind him. I tried to convince myself that it was protectively, but it certainly felt like I was being hidden.

“O’Brian, what the hell are you doing here? Walker’s going to ream your ass if you don’t get moving.” James’ body relaxed. He set Trey’s glass on the counter and let me go.

Frustrated that I’d been cheated out of a full kiss, I started one of the playlists that I used when I needed a break, and grabbed my lighter and cigarettes. “I’m going out back. I’ll see you tonight still?”

“You better.”

Doubt crept back in about whether he was looking forward to seeing me or the credit card. “I will. You’ll need that credit card, I’m sure.”

“Oh yeah. I forgot about that.”

James was killing me.

Fuck it. Just believe that he wants you. You’re not going to let him go at this point anyway.

James followed me toward the back door. I thought he was planning to join me in the alley until he asked, “So what’s up, O’Brian? Need me to set you up with one of the guys? What’s your type?”

“Big tits and a wet vagina. You know I’m not into the dudes. I was headed back to the car earlier and heard a fight. Chased a couple guys down the alley out back. Well, I thought they came in here, but I must have lost them. Bastards are lucky it’s the end of my shift.”

James patted the cop on the shoulder. “You sure you didn’t let them go just so you wouldn’t have more paperwork to fill out?”

“Shit. Forgot about that. All right, I’m outta here. You’ll have to do introductions later,” he said, nodding at me.

“Sure,” James said. “Bagels tomorrow?”

“Yep. You’re paying.”

“Then we’re getting donuts for once.”

I was feeling completely like a third wheel when the other cop’s walkie-talkie squawked again and a voice yelled, “O’Brian. Get over here. I need to watch How to Get Away with Murder before I go to bed tonight but I can’t leave until you give me that form.”

“Coming, coming,” O’Brian growled, walking to the front door without another word.

“Where you going?” James asked me when I started toward the back door.

“Smoke break.” I shook my hand carrying the cigarettes and lighter at him.

“Hold on. I’ll come with you. Whoever he was chasing might be out there still. They clearly didn’t come through here. It’s a ghost town. We’d have noticed them.”

He pushed his way through the door first. His hand dropped down toward his hip, inches from his gun. Every muscle on his body looked ready to pounce if anyone so much as said boo.

All to protect me.

No one ever protects me.

He tugged on the only other door in the alley. It belonged to one of the seven strip clubs on the block. The door didn’t open.

“They always keep that door locked,” I said. “The dressing room for the dancers is right on the other side of it. None of them ever come out this way. It’s safer for them to smoke out front with the bouncer to watch over them and just make sure this door never gets left open.”

“It’s always dangerous around here? Outside of this new mess?”

“Not really. This alley is normally pretty quiet.” I was about to tell him about the one time I’d seen a momma cat teaching her two kittens how to catch a mouse, but the serious expression on his face halted me.

James nodded. “Well, I don’t know where they hell they went, but this alley’s clear. Whoever O’Brian was chasing must have gotten away or he’s just losing his mind.. I’ll make sure we increase our patrol around here.”

He pulled me back against his body again.

“That gun keeps getting in my way, Officer,” I said.

“That’s not my gun, but if you keep rubbing against it like that, it might go off.”

“Well, we certainly wouldn’t want to—”

James interrupted me with the kiss we’d had stolen from us earlier. His lips pressed roughly against mine. There was no hesitation, awkwardness, or shyness. He knew what he wanted, and it was exactly what I wanted, too. I melted into him.

Any thought that I’d had of pushing him away, both in the kiss and the relationship, evaporated as our lips danced together. My hands were pressed against his chest, but I couldn’t squeeze anything because of his bulletproof vest.

Before I could lower my hands and squeeze his ass, a bang of metal interrupted us. Once again I was pushed behind James’ body. This time it was definitely so he could protect me while confronting the intruder. James shouted, “Hold up your hands!”

Peeking around him, I saw the crazy old man that frequented our alley, looking for food or a place to sleep in the dumpsters. He was leaning with his chest against the wall on the other side of the alley. “Relax, James. He’s a regular here.”

“You know him?” James asked, looking at the man skeptically.

“Well, not really know, but like I said, he’s here a couple nights a week. He’s completely harmless.”

James nodded, but still turned to the old man. “You see a couple guys run by here? A cop was chasing them?”

The man didn’t answer, but the sound of his piss splashing against the wall soon filled the alley.

“You can’t just piss out in public, man,” James said, pulling away from me. “I can give you a ticket for that.”

“James, don’t. He doesn’t have anywhere to go. He’s fine. Let him be. Please?”

I’d spent some time on the streets before getting my shit together, so I knew what it was like for the poor guy. I always tried to do what little I could to help him which normally meant just giving him a cigarette.

When he finished peeing, he started walking toward the street.

“Hey, guy,” I called out. When he turned to me, I tossed the entire pack at him. “Keep the pack. I’ve got more at home.”

“Thanks.” His raspy voice was like nails on a chalkboard. “No cops.”

“Yeah, man,” James said. “I got it. You’re cool.”

“No. No cops were here. No one was. It was just me until you guys. No one else.”

When he turned again, neither of us bothered to call him back.

James spoke first. “Man, that guy must be blitzed out of his mind to not have heard O’Brian chasing a couple of punks down the alley. Hey, see you after you’re done in there.”

With a quick peck on my lips, James walked away to do whatever cops like him did during their shift. I actually found myself looking forward to spending time talking to him about the mundane details of his job.

If I wasn’t going to follow my one-date rule, I might as well jump in with both feet.

As I headed back into the club, I took a moment to look around the alley and wonder where two guys could disappear to. It seemed like a dead end to me, but I figured guys like James and O’Brian knew how easy it was for bad guys to disappear into the night. And criminals probably knew every secret passage in the city.

Deciding it wasn’t worth worrying about, I opened the door and returned to work.