by Siren, Tia
"Get outta my bed," Casey said. "I need to shower and change for work."
"Ugh," I replied. I wasn't the most chatty person upon waking.
"And there better be a good breakfast, considering that I let you have my bed."
I thought about telling him that his bed sucked. My whole body felt sore from a night spent tossing and turning, but I figured it was adding insult to injury.
"Bacon omelettes," I managed.
"Good. Have 'em ready when I get out of the shower."
"Aye, aye, captain!" At least I could dig up some snark even though it felt like the crack of dawn.
When I shambled into the kitchen, I tried to focus on the microwave clock. I swore. Damn. It was later than I thought. It wasn't like I had anywhere to go at the moment, but I had no idea that it was that late. That dumb bed kept me up way past my bedtime.
After washing my hands, I cut up thin slices of bacon. Then I fried the pieces of bacon in a pan and waited for them to cook most of the way through. I started mixing together omelettes. The key ingredient was whole milk. None of the watery skim stuff. Whole milk made omelettes fluffy and delicious. One of my weird idiosyncrasies was pouring soy sauce into omelettes. The bacon provided plenty of saltiness, but I mixed some in anyway. I went to the fridge to get out the cheddar that I'd bought when we did that grocery run. I hadn't remembered to talk to him about getting more food yet, but I'd need to unless he wanted to eat omelettes for the next few days. I set the table and poured orange juice for both of us. I drained my glass before pouring out more. If I drank orange juice after brushing my teeth, it tasted gross. I also put a mystery ingredient in the omelette that balanced out the unhealthy bacon.
By the time that he came out of the shower with a towel around his hips and wet hair, he was licking his lips. "It smells really good."
"Sit down," I said. "Bacon and cheese omelettes coming right up."
He sat down and inhaled. "Oh man, I'm hungry enough to eat a horse."
I put the plate down in front of him. "Eat up."
He attacked the omelette with his knife and fork, putting a huge bite of it into his mouth. His eyes closed in bliss as he savored the bacon and cheese. "So good," he started to say before he spat it back out. "What the fuck is in that?"
"Baby spinach," I said in an unrepentant tone. I smiled at him. "That's for stealing the couch."
He shook his head at me, opened up his omelette, and took out the few leaves of spinach I'd put inside. "You trying to kill me, Alicia?"
"Just the opposite. Spinach will help you live a longer and healthier life."
"No point living until age 80 if you have to eat rabbit food." It was an old argument.
I sat down and shoveled my own omelette into my mouth.
When he was done, he pushed his empty plate away with the spinach leaves safely at the furthest point of his plate. "That was great, minus the spinach. What are you up to today?"
"Trying to get my insurance company to talk to me about my truck. I sent them the police report yesterday, but I have to make sure that they pay out."
'I don't envy you," Casey said, rubbing his full stomach. "I wish you the best of luck."
I shook my head. "I'm going to need it. Oh, and I need to get a bunch of stuff from the grocery store. I made a list."
"I'll just tell Walmart to bring whatever it is. I can order online and have a free delivery."
"Don't you need to tip?"
"How much cash do you have?"
I dug into my wallet. "Not much."
"I'll include the tip in the order." He shook his head. "You need to get out of the house today, though. Don't mope in here."
I laughed. "I won't. Maybe I'll walk to the park and get some fresh air."
"Don't die in the heat, either."
"I'll take a water bottle. I've lived in Texas my whole life, idiot."
"Love ya," he said, grinning at me and adjusting his towel. "Don't be here when I get home. We can have dinner at 8. I'm supposed to grab a drink with the guys."
"So you'll be home at 8?"
"No, we're meeting in a tavern."
"Like a Renaissance thing?"
"Online."
I shook my head. "You're such a nerd."
Casey just turned and gave me the finger over his shoulder.
7
Asking
I was sweaty but happy. I'd been in this park for a few hours at this point, grateful for the giant Nalgene bottle of water that I kept refilling at the water purifying station. My hands were still a little greasy from the burrito I'd gotten from the tiny Mexican hole-in-the-wall that served some of the spiciest food I'd ever eaten. Considering that I rated food based on whether or not it made me cry, that Mexican restaurant was a 10 out of 10. I'd come out of there looking like I'd just watched a sad movie where they killed the dog.
I was getting low on cash, which meant that I'd need to pick up some kind of job soon. With my truck gone, I didn't have any method of transportation to do odd jobs around the library and taking cabs for real interviews would eat up my remaining money. It was a conundrum. Maybe I’d put out a call for web design work. I wished that asshole hadn't gotten away with my truck, but there hadn't been any kind of call from the police and my truck was probably gone for good.
I walked home from the park, resolving to take a good shower. When I turned the corner on the street where Casey's house was, the hot cop Luis was standing the front of the house, leaning against his cruiser like he was posing for a calendar. I'd buy it.
"Hello," I called, raising my hand.
He took his hat off and tucked it under his arm. "Hi." He shifted his weight. "I wanted to come by and see how you were doing."
"I'm fine. Walked around a lot today. Any progress?"
"Not a lot." He swallowed and looked me in the eye. "I'm actually here to ask you on a date."
I shook my head. "Bad idea." It didn't matter that he was hotter than a sweltering Texas summer day.
"I'm not on your case," he argued. "It's not a professional conflict of interest."
"Sounds messy," I said. "What if you suck in bed? It'd make it uncomfortable every time that I went into the police station."
"You planning on making a lot more trips there?" Luis asked.
"I don't know. Maybe." I shrugged. "I don't want things to be complicated."
"Give me a shot." He moved a little closer to me. My heart started doing funny things as I gazed up into his dark eyes. They appeared fathomless.
"Yes," I said before I had a chance to tell myself why I shouldn't.
"I'll see you tonight, then. I can pick you up at 8 and we'll go to this place you'll like."
"What should I wear?"
His eyes went up and down. He gave me a slow smile. "Whatever you like."
Men! So unhelpful. Still, I was sweating as he got into his police cruiser and drove away. It wasn't just the Texas summer. Phew. I let myself into the house and headed straight for the shower, shedding my clothes as I went.
"What was with that sexy hunk?"
I jumped a foot in the air and turned to see Casey wearing boxers and nothing else.
8
Makeup
“You dickhead," I yelped. "You really scared me."
"I told you not to be home when I got home." He checked his Apple Watch by tapping on it. "It's still an hour before I normally get home."
"Do you have someone over?" I asked. "Because the sock on the door thing still applies."
His cheeks flushed bright red. "Uh..."
"Is the tavern thing some kind of date?"
"I plead the Fifth."
"That only applies in criminal cases. Are you engaging in activities that are illegal in the great state of Texas?"
Casey only blushed harder. "Maybe."
"Online?"
"Can we talk about something else, please? Like the policeman who was giving you the eye?"
"He asked me out on a date. Kinda persistent. We'll see what happen
s."
"Cool. Where are you going?"
"Don't know. But I can tell you his name: Luis Martinez. If he sells me into a human trafficking ring, you should probably tell his superiors."
"Harhar," Casey said. "Where are you going, seriously?"
"It's a surprise," I replied.
"Just make sure it's one that you like."
I shrugged. "Whatever. Have fun cyber-sexing some guy on the Internet, you horny bastard."
"It's not cyber-sex." Casey was so red that I thought he'd spontaneously combust. "It's just a drink. In a tavern."
"Mhm," I said while waggling my eyebrows. I escaped into the guest bedroom and looked at my meager collection of clothing. It wasn't as if I had a bunch anyway, but I had a dress that was vaguely appropriate for a date with medium to heavy makeup. At Casey's house, I had the reject stuff. I saw a deep red leather jacket that I'd loved when I bought it and then never worn. It was why it was at Casey's place. I put it on. It kinda made me look like a badass. I winked at my reflection. It put a smile on my face, so I decided that it was going to be the extent of dressing up for my date. He said I could wear whatever. We'd see how that went.
I had to solve the makeup problem. He'd seen me fresh-faced, which meant that I needed to turn up the heat tonight. Without makeup, I didn't look like a troll demon but that was the best that could be said. With makeup, I looked something like a girl.
"Casey, when was the last time your sister stayed with you?"
"Last month. Why?"
"How long did she stay?"
"Like three weeks. Forever. It was awful."
"Did she do one of those big mall runs where she terrorized the department store into giving her as much as stuff as she could get into one of their free tote bags?"
"I think she made three of them cry. Maybe four."
"Perfect. Did she stow it where it normally is?"
"Yeah in the garage where the heat hits half of it."
I made a face. "I'll do the best I can." I made my way into his garage. I knew the corner where she normally kept the free totes. She threw a giant tantrum every time that she went into a department store, which meant that the customer service reps always tried to appease her temper. She had more free things than she knew what to do with. I rummaged around. Most of the foundation and stuff wouldn't match my skin tone, but stuff like the right kind of lip liner and some eyeshadow wouldn't go wrong. I'd go with some basic black eyeliner. I lugged the top tote into the bathroom and sorted through all the samples to find things that wouldn't look hideous at the end.
By the time that I put everything I could possibly use on the counter, I was already exhausted. I thought about calling him and cancelling before I realized that he hadn't given me a phone number. I scrunched my nose at myself before settling in and beginning to use what I could from his sister's samples.
An hour later, Casey said, "Are you going to spend the rest of the day in the bathroom?"
I turned to check what I could see. "I might be the best I can get. It's not like she left any brushes."
"Lemme see the disaster."
I opened the door and he wolf-whistled. "Wow, you look great. If I were straight, I'd be asking for your number."
I'd used three layers of eyeshadow to add something interesting to my look. I'd used some kind of brown-red lipstick to go heavy on the eyes and a little more subtle on the lips.
"I don't have my actual stuff, but thank goodness that your sister is a hoarder."
"She'd kick your ass if she heard you say that."
"Hey, it's the truth." I shrugged. "I can't help who she is."
Casey frowned and said, "I hope she doesn't take it out on me."
"What, are you going to throw me under the bus?"
"Maybe." Casey looked at me a little harder. "I think you used a bunch of it, so definitely."
"Some best friend you are."
"Hey!" Casey yelped. "You know what it's like to be subjected to her wrath. I'm not signing up for it."
"If she didn't want you or your guests using her stuff, she wouldn't leave it here. You should tell her that you put all of it in the dumpster. Then when she freaks out, you can tell her that she still has 90% of it."
"I don't want to," Casey said, biting a hangnail on his thumb. "You're freaking me out. Chill and get ready for your date. I have to get ready for mine."
"What are you going to do?" I asked. "Slick back your hair with gel and spray on a bunch of cologne?"
"I'm going to listen to chanting to calm myself down," Casey said, wincing as a little bit of blood showed up on his thumb. "And I’d appreciate some silence." He left me alone, staring into the mirror. I messed with my hair. There was a tiny sample of hair mousse in there, so I could go for very loose curls if I started right now. I pinned up my hair the way that worked in a YouTube video I saw once.
9
Restaurant
By the time that he rang the doorbell, I was a nervous wreck. My no-heat curls were not staying in so my hair kind of had beach waves but I hadn't had time to wash out the mousse so I was freaking out. I didn't want to mess up my makeup since I only had tiny sample sizes and his sister's colors didn't match what I needed. I was lucky the first time, but going through and re-doing my face would've been way worse.
My stomach was full of diseased butterflies when I opened the door. Something inside of me released when I saw his handsome face.
"Hi," he said. "These are for you." He was carrying a bouquet of lilies.
I picked them up and shoved them, plastic wrapper and all, into a vase that Casey's mom had given him when he moved into this apartment. "They're so beautiful. Let's go." I could hear Casey's date starting as he talked into his headset.
Luis opened the door to his car. "This isn't a cruiser," I remarked.
"No. It's my truck." It was beautiful and well-maintained. When he started it up, a little thrill went through me. Other girls liked riding on motorcycles with their arms wrapped around their boyfriends. I loved sitting in his truck as he drove me to a mystery location. As we went into the bad part of town, I frowned. I could see a lot of pawn shops and liquor stores, a lot more than in the neighborhood where I lived.
"Where are we?"
"There's this little Mexican place that makes huevos rancheros that'll blow your mind."
"I'll believe you," I said, although I was beginning to worry about being in this part of town after dark. There were some men loitering on street corners wearing puffy coats in the Texas heat. I was surprised that they hadn't dropped from heat exhaustion already. People didn't wear coats like that here.
When we finally stopped, we were in front of a restaurant that didn't even have a sign. I could smell the scent of cooking meat, though, so I was hungry enough to try it out. Luis came around and helped me out of the truck. I landed uneasily on the ground, feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Something was off about this place, but I guessed if my date wanted to take me here, then I'd go. I texted my location to Casey, although that I was sure he'd be ignoring it since he was on a date of his own.
I followed Luis into the restaurant, which was packed. It smelled really good in there. Luis didn't wait for anybody to seat us. He just sat down at a mysteriously empty table marked JEFE which nobody touched even though there were people waiting for seats at the entrance.
"Are you sure it's okay for us to be her?" I asked him. "Because we just cut in line."
He smiled as if common courtesy were funny or there was some kind of inside joke. "Don't worry. They won't mind."
I looked around. Nobody was giving us death glares. They all seemed to be keeping their eyes to themselves. I relaxed a tiny fraction before looking at the menu that was on the side of the table.
"You said the huevos rancheros were really good here? I normally get carne asada or pollo con arroz."
"Get whatever you want. All of it is good, just like Mother makes it."
I looked at him. "Sure." There was a smile in h
is voice that made me very confused. A waitress came by and took our food and drink orders. He got the huevos rancheros and two cold beers for us. I ordered pollo con arroz.
After that was done, I put the menu down. I could feel the weight of his gaze on me. He was sleepy and satisfied here, kind of like a dragon sitting on its hoard or a cat that had just eaten a canary.
"Why are you so happy?"
"The ambiance of the restaurant is really good."
"I guess." There were families here. Everyone had brown skin and dark hair, like me. But they weren't paying any attention to me, which I thought was kind of weird. In any restaurant, you'd catch someone's eyes glancing at you for a few moments. Nobody was looking at us. I could feel my hackles rising.
"So you just became a policeman?"
"Yes." His eyes glittered. "I went through the academy and everything. New."
"I think that you don't really look like a newbie, even if they call you one. You look like you've been around the block."
"Once or twice." He spread his arms out on the top of the booth. "I enjoy my job."
"What do you do?"
"I'm on the vice team. We hunt down drug dealers and that kind of thing."
"Sounds dangerous."
"Danger is my middle name."
I shook my head. "I stay away from anything like that. I know that there's dangerous stuff in Texas, but I just bury my head in the sand and don't pay attention to it. Otherwise, I'd never leave my house."
"You're brave, then, every time you open your front door. Because you know what's outside."
"It's not really safe inside, either. We just like to tell ourselves that. But there's a distance between what we wish were true and what is really true."
I saw something flash across his face—respect, maybe—before it went back to the smug expression he'd been wearing before. Before I had time to dig into it, we were being served our food. I dug into it. Chicken and rice weren't exactly fancy, but whatever spices they'd put into it elevated one of the simplest dishes imaginable into something absolutely delicious. My stomach grumbled when I smelled it. Before Luis even shook out his napkin, I had inhaled half of the plate.