Brothers in Blue: The First Love Match (5 page)

John-

Sorry I missed your calls.  I was still asleep.  I just woke up a few minu
tes ago.  I didn’t want to call you back while you were working and interrupt you while you were busy.  You can call back when you have a chance, if you want.

-Ariel

She hit the send button and decided to find herself something to eat for dinner.  Not a t
hing in the fridge was appealing and to be honest she was sick of eating left over chili.  Deciding that she would go out to Taco Bell and get something she threw on some sweats and a t-shirt and started out the front door.  Sean wasn’t home so he must have left for work already or be spending time at his girlfriends before work.  Saucy was staying at his parents for the weekend while he worked so she only had to worry about coaxing Bruno into his crate before she left.  As she walked out to her car her cell phone rang. John.

             
“Hello?”

             
“Hi Ariel.  So you just woke up?”

             
“Yeah, I’m about to get in my car and head out to get something for dinner, I’m tired of the leftovers in my fridge right now.”

             
“Do you want a ride?”

             
“Huh?”

             
“I’m on my meal break right now and I just had a call in your area, I could be there in just a sec and pick you up.  We could talk and eat.”

             
“Um, I just threw on some sweats, I wasn’t expecting to see anybody.”

             
“That’s ok, I just threw on this blue uniform this morning, and I knew I was going to see people all day.”

Ariel smiled to herself. 

              “Ok, come on over.  I’ll wait on the front porch.”

A few seconds later a patrol car came slowly up the street and parked along the curb in front of the house. Ariel approached from the passenger
side and heard the door lock click.  Opening the door she got inside.

             
“Well that was awful quick.  I guess I should be glad I get to sit in the front seat”

             
“I told you I was in the area, and I was hoping we could talk.  It’s always better to talk in person.”

Ariel felt her stomach flip and appetite disappear.  So he came in person to tell her he didn’t want to see her again.  This sucked.

              “Where were you going to get something to eat at?”

             
“Taco Bell, its right up at the corner.”

John
maneuvered the car down the street and headed to the light to turn onto the main road.  Pulling into the Taco Bell driveway they got in line at the drive-thru.  John’s radio crackled every now and then in the background and Ariel fidgeted nervously with her hands  John asked her how work had been the night before and why she had to stay so late.  Ariel explained the incident with the patient and soon they were ordering their meals. 

             
“Do you mind eating in the car or would you rather go to a park and get out to eat our lunch?”

             
“It’s so hot out right now, sitting in the car works for me.”

John drove to a nearby parking lot and stopped the car under a large oak.  He left the air on and opened the bag sorting out the food. 

              “So.” He began.

Ariel nodded, no
t moving to unwrap any of her food quite yet.

              “So, I’m sorry about the other day.  I was an ass. After finding out that you’re a virgin I felt like a complete jerk for the way I acted.”

Ariel was still staring down at the unopened food in her lap.

              “That’s ok, I’m sure it was really surprising considering the fact that I acted like a complete slut when I was at your house.  I was practically begging you to have sex with me, and that’s really out of character for me.  I felt really bad about the way that I acted.”

             
“Ariel, there was nothing wrong with the way you acted.  Hey, look at me.”

John reached over and tilted her head up gently.  He let his thumb softly caress her chin before letting her go. 

She looked up and finally met his eyes.

             
“Listen to me, I was wrong.  I kissed you.  You didn’t start that situation.  I’m very attracted to you and I would very much have liked to have sex with you the other day.  That makes me the slut in the situation.  I want to be honest with you though.  I just got out of a two year relationship a few months ago and I was in love with that person.  I don’t want to rush into something new right now and you deserve some sort of a commitment before we got into an intimate relationship.”

Ariel felt her entire face blushin
g bright red.

             
“Ok.” She mumbled out to him.

             
“So, now that we got that out of the way, how about a movie tonight?  I know your roommate is going to be working, so we can stay in and rent something to watch at my place.  You can bring Bruno and we can just hang out, maybe get a pizza or something?”

             
“That sounds good.”

             
“I get off shift at 11 and then we do a quick brief of the next shift, so I should be at my house around 11:30.  Do you want to pick up a movie from Redbox, and I’ll order the pizza on my way home?  I know we’re going to end up finishing the movie and stuff rather late and I’d rather not have you on the road in the middle of the night so if you want, bring something to sleep in and you can stay in my guest room.  I promise to keep myself in check.”

             
Alright, I think I’ll do that, I hate going home really late when Sean isn’t there, I’m always worried walking into a dark house.”

             
“Well you live in a pretty rough neighborhood as well.  Did you know that there was a murder just a few houses down from you less than a month ago?”

             
“Yes, how could I forget a double shooting on my own street?”

Mike laughed.  It felt like things were going to be back to normal between them soon enough and the thought of a sleep over, even though it was supposed to be p
latonic was pretty interesting. 

Soon dinner was over and John had to take Ariel home so he could take a call.  She walked into her house feeling like she was walking on air.  This was going to be a perfect night.  But first she had to get ready.  A quick call to the nail shop around the corner and she had an appointment to get her eyebrows waxed and a quick mani/ pedi in an hour.  Now, what to wear to a movie night that was going to turn into a full on spend the night sleepover?  Ariel went into her room wishing that she more clothes to choose from.  She usually just threw on jeans and a t-shirt on her days off to run errands and work around the house.  It had been so long since she had wanted to impress a guy that she wasn’t even sure she had clothes to get the job done.  Deciding that she could run to the Beall’s outlet before her date to look for a cute skirt or something she started on her overnight bag.  Toothbrush, deodorant, the basics went in first.  Then a pair of clean jeans and shirt to wear home the next day, now, what to sleep in?  She could probably find an excuse to go and change either before the movie started or if she got two movies, before they played the second one.  She finally decided on a pair of light purple flannel shorts and a white t-shirt, it looked sweet and sexy and comfortable. 

Next stop was the nail shop where she was waxed and painted in less than an hour.  Her toenails were a bright red, while she had gotten a more demure pink painted on her fingernails.  At the store she had a more difficult time figuring out what to buy, and if she should even get an outfit to wear.  Finally she found a long denim skirt with a very long slit that went up the front and back.  It matched her style but still was feminine and a bit daring for her.  She found a light cotton blouse with a low scooped neck that she thought would look very good with the skirt.  Purchasing those items she left and walked over to the grocery store to find a movie, or two, to rent.  Deciding on a comedy and horror flick she thought that would be sure to suit whatever John might prefer.  He had told her he would order a pizza, but Ariel was in the mood for something light and fresh.  She dug through her purse until she found her cell phone and dialed John’s number.  He answered on the 2
nd
ring. 

             
“Hi John, its Ariel.”

             
“I know who it is, is everything ok?”

             
“Yeah, everything’s fine, I was just at the grocery store getting the movies and I was thinking that maybe I could just whip up something quick and easy for dinner for us.  I know you said the other day that the only home cooked meal you get is your Sunday night dinner at your mom’s house. I thought you might prefer something home made.”

             
“My mouth is already watering.  Is it too much trouble to cook at your house and then bring hot food over, or , wait, better yet if you want I can meet you at my house before my shift ends and let you in, then you could cook and we could eat as soon as I get home?  That is if you want to.”

Time alone in his house, to go through his
kitchen and wherever else she wanted, that sounded good!

             
“That sounds perfect.  I’m going to pick the ingredients I need, I’m at the store now.  All I need to cook it is a skillet, and a sheet tray for the oven to bake some French bread.”

             
“I have everything you need at the house. Just give me a call before you head over there and I will meet you to open the door.”

They said good-bye and Ariel went through
the store humming while she picked up items to make dinner.  She planned on making a pancetta carbonara with fettuccine and fresh garlic bread.  It was one of her favorite things to eat and it was pretty easy to make. 

Ariel returned home to change her clothes and collect Bruno.  She called John to let him know she was on her way and got into the car checking her reflection in the mirror.  Today she had taken extra time to straighten her hair, and do her make up.  Combined with the skirt and blouse she felt pretty confident that Mike would be impressed.  Pulling into the driveway she saw Mike was already parked at the curb.  She waved towards the car and popped her trunk starting to unload the few groceries bags before heading inside. 

             
“Let me get that.” Came a deep voice behind her.  She whirled around and the there was a cop standing behind her, but it wasn’t Mike.  Almost dropping the bag with the eggs she jumped back.

             
“Oh gosh you scared me.”

             
“Sorry, I’m Jeff, Mike and I work together.  He wanted me to come by and let you in the house, he got dispatched on a call while he was on his way over here and asked me to bring this to you.”

             
“Thank you Jeff.”

             
“Anything for a beautiful lady.”

Ariel blushed and Jeff took the grocery bags from her hands and the remaining few in the trunk and headed for the front door.  Ariel scurried after him grabbing her ove
rnight bag and Bruno’s leash before going to the door.

             
“You moving in here?”

Ariel was a bit taken aback by the question but only had to take one look at Jeff’s face to know he was joking.

              “No, but I am going to cook dinner here and watch a few movies.”

             
“Well John’s a lucky guy.  He’s been happier the last couple of days than I’ve seen him in a long time.  I’ve been telling him that he needed to get out and meet someone new, that’s the easiest way to put a past relationship behind you. It also doesn’t hurt that you are ten times prettier than any of the women I’ve seen him with in the past ten years.”

Ariel blushed an even brighter shade of red.  It felt weird to get so many compliments from a man.  Normally it just made her feel unhappy or awkward, but t
onight she soaked it all in and smiled back at Jeff.

             
“Well thank you Jeff.  If there are any leftovers from tonight I’ll see if John can bring you a bowl.”

             
“That sounds perfect, I gotta run, it was nice meeting you.”

With that he was jogging down the dri
ve way to his car and Ariel was left to her own devices. 

First things first, groceries needed to be put into the fridge and glancing at the clock she saw that she had better get started to have dinner ready on time.  It was already a few minutes after 10.  Throwing her overnight bag in a chair by the kitchen table she let Bruno into the fenced backyard and turned on a radio that was in the living room.  Soon she was browning the pancetta and singing along to one of her favorite songs.  Johns’s kitchen wasn’t exactly what she would consider fully stocked with utensils and pots and pans, but he had the essentials.  She started a large pot to boil for the fresh linguine and set about to mix together a few spices and grate the cheese needed for her carbonara sauce.  Ariel was dancing around the kitchen and just getting ready to look for an oven mitt to pull the French bread from the oven when she felt a tap on her shoulder.  She let out a yelp and turned around to find John looking right at her, a strange look on his face.  While she caught her breath she watched him appraise her with his eyes, he looked up and down her body and she felt naked standing there in his kitchen while Beyonce sang loudly from the other room.  The kitchen timer started to buzz and that seemed to break the tension.