Lydia
I GRAB A wine glass from the cabinet before slamming it shut. “Can you believe that asshole gave me a ticket?” I hold up the wine bottle to Charlotte to see if she wants some. She nods so I pour us both a glass of Cabernet.
“It’s a little funny when you think about it,” she says.
“How is this funny? I have to take off work for court, and who knows how much all of this is going to cost me?” With glasses in hand, I walk toward the couch she’s sitting on and have a seat next to her.
“I’m just saying it’s kind of genius on his part.” After a slow blink, I stare at her unamused. “You shot him down, so he ensured you had to see him again. Don’t you see the romance in that?”
“You read too many of those books or something. Giving me a speeding ticket is not my idea of romantic.”
She nudges me with her hand for making fun of her reading preferences. “Seriously, Lydia, what are the odds you’d run into him again? It’s like it’s meant to be.”
I roll my eyes since I know that crap doesn’t exist. There was a time I believed in happily ever afters and being destined for someone. The fairy tale was destroyed for me a year ago when reality showed its ugly head. Everything I thought I knew about love fell to the ground and was carried away like a dead leaf on a fall day.
“What kind of guy asks out a married woman?” I ask, trying to divert her train of thought.
“But you’re not married.”
“He thinks I am.”
“Did you bring up this fake husband of yours when he pulled you over?”
“Yep. See? He’s a dog with no respect for boundaries.”
“What was his response?”
My chipper tone from proving my point moments ago is gone. “He noticed I wasn’t wearing my ring,” I reply, explaining the whole exchange for her.
Honestly, I’ve thought about him a little since we met at the bar. Okay, a lot. Looks aside, his personality drew me in. It’s in his ability to make me laugh. With my walls constantly up when it comes to the opposite sex, this never happens. It was almost cathartic, like his corny jokes were somehow repairing the damaged parts of me.
“I don’t know why you don’t go out and have fun. No one says you have to marry the guy, just let him take you out. Maybe he can dust the cobwebs off your vag for you too.”
I start choking on the sip of wine I was swallowing, which causes her to laugh as she pats me on the back. When I’m confident I’m not dying anymore, I start to laugh. I can’t help it. Charlotte’s funny.
“Let’s get to the important stuff,” she says. I look at her expectantly when she doesn’t continue. “How’d he look in his uniform?” Her eyebrows move up and down suggestively, causing me to roll my eyes.
“I couldn’t tell you because I wasn’t paying attention.” Taking another gulp from my glass, I hope she can’t see the lie written all over my face. I didn’t only notice how he filled out his pants or how the cuff of his sleeves squeezed his biceps, I have the image burned into my mind. When I close my eyes, it’s him imprinted on the back of my eyelids.
“Liar. Your face is turning red, so I’d say you more than noticed.”
I let out a huff, hating that I’m so damn transparent right now. “Fine, he looked good. Are you happy?”
“No, I want details. What did his butt look like?” With wide eyes, she’s about to hang on to every word I say, every little detail I give her. I can’t help but laugh.
“You’ve got your own man at home. Go ogle his ass.”
Her entire posture deflates at the mention of her husband. “You know he’s never home.”
The thing about Charlotte is she thinks she’s good at masking her feelings. So while her features are relaxed, her eyes give off a different story. Her husband, Nate, works all the time, leaving her at home alone. I know his lack of attention and affection bothers her no matter how hard she tries to hide it.
“Have you talked to him about taking some time off?” I ask her.
She shakes her head. “I know he wouldn’t do it. He’s working toward his big promotion, so he has no time for anything else.” She shrugs as if it’s no big deal, but it’s got to be hard to come second to your husband’s career all the time. “So, when’s your court date?”
Taking the shift in topic as a hint, I let her off the hook and don’t press the issue any more. “The twenty-fourth,” I grumble.
“That’s next week!”
“Trust me, I know.” Draining the last bit of red liquid from my glass, I set it down on the coffee table in front of us.
Here I am thinking about Charlotte’s inability to be honest with herself, but I’m in the same boat. Because if I was being honest with myself, I’d admit that the thought of seeing him again sends butterflies to my stomach. My heart sank when he walked up to my window. At first, I thought I was imagining it. That my mind was playing tricks on me since he’s all I’ve been able to think about. But once the shock wore off, I realized he was real and that the universe hates me.
I shake my head a little and focus back on Charlotte, noticing I’ve been staring blankly at the wall ahead of me while all of this goes through my head. With one eyebrow raised, the corner of her mouth turns up in a lopsided smile.
“You’re in trouble, girl,” she says to me.
Don’t I know it?
This has been the longest week of my life. I’m not sure if it’s from dread or excitement.
Dread, I keep telling myself. There’s no reason to be excited.
But as I enter the courtroom at nine o’clock sharp, my eyes go in search of the man who’s been plaguing all of my thoughts and I know I’m only kidding myself. My feet take me to the closest empty seat while I discreetly look around. By the time I sit down, I haven’t found him yet. Maybe he won’t show up and I’ll be off the hook and won’t have to see him.
No such luck.
The courtroom doors open and in walks Marcus in his uniform, staring directly at me. The air is sucked out of the room, or maybe it’s just me. With all the noise and people moving in the club that night, I didn’t realize what a presence he commands. It’s like as soon as he walked in, all conversation stopped and all eyes were focused on him.
With a cocky grin on his face, he walks past me and has a seat a few rows back. I squirm in my seat, desperate to turn around and look at him.
It’s not long before the judge is calling each case up one by one. I guess Marcus has a whole stack of traffic violations he’s here for, as he has been standing before the judge for several minutes now.
When my case number is called, a new set of nerves hit me, and I remember why I’m here. It’s not to see Marcus, it’s to get out of this damn ticket.
After I’m sworn in and my violations are read, the judge says, “How do you plea?”
“Not guilty, Your Honor.”
Without looking up at me, the judge scribbles some things down on his notepad. “Okay, you are free to present your case now, and then I’ll make a ruling.”
“Thank you. While looking at my citation, it appears that the means used to measure my rate of speed are not listed. The officer has not indicated if a radar gun or pacing was used. This violates my right to due process, so I would like to ask the court to consider throwing the citation out, please.”
From the corner of my eye, I see Marcus’s head turn toward me at a snail’s pace. I’m sure he wasn’t expecting that. It takes everything in me not to turn around and smirk at him, so I settle for an internal high-five and the knowledge that I’m about to get out of this while making him look like an idiot.
“Officer Riley, it would seem the defendant is correct.”
“Yes, Your Honor. It was an oversight on my part.” Marcus’s deep voice rolls right through my body, momentarily distracting me. Focus, Lydia! This asshole is the reason you’re in here right now!
“How’s your driving record, Ms. Kelley?” the judge asks me.
“Perfect record so far, sir.”
“Okay, in light of Officer Riley’s failure to document the incident properly and your clean record, I’m going to dismiss the case.”
My eyes widen in surprise. I can’t believe how easy that was. “Thank you, Your Honor.”
Once I’m excused, I can’t stop myself from throwing a cocky grin Marcus’s way. His only response is to arch an amused brow.
I have a little pep in my step as I walk to my car, but before I can unlock it, I hear, “Lydia! Wait up!” Turning around, I see Marcus jogging toward me.
I let out a tired sigh when he reaches me. “What do you want?”
“Are you an attorney or something? You made me look like an ass back there,” he says. Even though there’s surprise in his voice, I can tell he’s joking with me.
“Nope, but you can find just about anything on the internet.”
“Wow, I’m impressed.”
“And I’m late. I’ve got to get back to work. Goodbye, Officer Riley.”
I spin around but am stopped by a large hand on my arm. “Can I have your number?”
My head falls back as I look up at the sky, frustrated with this conversation, knowing he’s wearing my resolve down. “We’ve been over this. Married. Remember?”
“I call bullshit. Or is your ring still being worked on?”
Dammit. I forgot to put it on before I left. Spinning around to face him, I say, “Look, I’m not interested. I’m sure that’s hard for someone who’s so sure of himself to hear, but I’m not. So, now that I’ve spelled it out for you, you can take your hand off me.” My lips press into a thin line while I drill holes into his face with my glare.
“Sorry.” His hands go up in surrender.
“Also, if you’re trying to take a girl out, you might want to start by letting her off on a warning.”
“Is that right?” I nod and try to hold back my smile, knowing there’s no way any cop would let me go when I was driving so fast above the speed limit. “What kind of officer would I be if I let you go on a violation like that? I’ve got to protect the public from the Dale Jr. wannabes of the world.” There’s a playful gleam in his eye and it’s hard not to get sucked into it. He makes it so easy to banter with him. It’s one of the things that drew me to him in the first place.
His playful demeanor pulls at the corners of my mouth, and I have to focus on not giving away how he gets under my skin. “Ah, well, rest assured I’m hanging up my race suit and learned my lesson.”
He rests his hand on the side of my car and leans a little. “Come on, I wasn’t imagining things at the bar that night. One date. That’s all I ask.” His eyes roam my face waiting for my answer. Taking in a deep breath, I hold it for a second before letting it out in a rush. Before I can reply, he adds, “I don’t want to have to pull you over just to see you again.” His gorgeous white teeth make an appearance behind his full lips, and I almost cave.
Almost.
“Have a great day, Officer Riley.” On that note, I turn around, get back in my car, and drive away. I’ve never had to force myself not to look in the rearview mirror so much in my life.