Tipsy (6 page)

I parked in my spot in front of my
house and walked past the pots of colorful fall mums lining my
steps and let myself inside.

The quiet of the home wrapped around me
and I sighed. The scent of vanilla cinnamon wafted through the air
from the wax melter that I always had on, and I dumped my bag and
keys on the little glass-topped table by the door.

I kicked off my shoes and walked
through the cozy living room and into the kitchen, which was in the
back of the house. The slate tiles were cool against my bare feet,
and I went straight toward the dark wood cabinet and pulled down my
favorite mug and filled it with water. Once it was heating in the
microwave, I rummaged around for a teabag and then leaned against
the counter (it wasn’t granite, but it was made to look like it)
and waited.

The kitchen was my favorite room in the
house, with slate floors, dark cabinets, and black appliances.
There was a small island in the center that had a butcher block top
and wheels on the bottom. The base of the island I painted a deep
plum color, and it had a shelf where I kept some pots and kitchen
items stacked neatly.

Against the wall was a single French
door that led out onto a private covered patio. Well, the realtor
called it private, but my neighbors had one just like it on either
side, so if they were out at the same time I was, there really
wasn’t any privacy.

The microwave dinged and I pulled out
the steaming mug, dunked the teabag inside, and added a generous
dollop of honey. The first sip of hot tea was always the
best.

I sighed as the warm sweetness traveled
down my throat. I took my mug and left the kitchen, going back out
into the living room, and headed to the stairs. Just as my foot hit
the bottom step, the doorbell rang frantically.

I laughed and pulled it open. “That was
fast,” I said as Dee pushed her way inside.

“
Are you kidding!? You said
the word date. I broke every speed law to get over
here.”

“
Don’t let Blue hear you say
that.”

Her jaw fell open. “Blue asked you
out.”

“
Yep.”

“
You said yes?”

I paused. Okay, I probably shouldn’t
have. But I couldn’t resist him.

“
Ohmigod,” Dee said, her
words running together as she dragged me upstairs and into my
bedroom.

I sat my mug on the white bedside table
and flopped down on the fluffy down comforter on my bed.

“
How did this happen?” Dee
said, pacing. Then she gasped. “Did you call him?”

“
No!” I shot out. This girl
has some pride, you know.

“
He came to you?”

I told her about his second visit to
the salon. She didn’t say anything but raced through my bathroom
and into the walk-in closet. “Girl, you need to look hot, as in
H-A-W-T. Make him eat his heart out.”

Sounded good to me. Giving him a taste
of what he does to me wasn’t a bad idea.

I fell back into my hundreds of pillows
(okay, it was more like ten) and thought about the first—and
last—date I had with Blue. North Carolina had been on the cusp of
summer. The weather was in that special in-between state that we
southerners never got enough of. It wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t
too cold. It was warm and when the breeze blew, there was just a
hint of chill in the air.

He picked me up and drove us to
Wilmington, which was about an hour south of Jacksonville. We ended
up at the Mayfaire Shops at Brixx, this totally delicious
wood-fired pizza place. We sat outside underneath their awning and
ate wood-fired pizza and sampled some of their brewed
beers.

We laughed a lot. I remembered thinking
about how laidback and relaxed he was, considering the profession
he worked in afforded so much authority. In fact, if I hadn’t known
he was a police officer, it would have been the last thing I would
have guessed about him.

After dinner, we walked around the
outdoor shops, not really paying attention to anything because we
were so wrapped up in each other. When it started to thunder, he
pulled me into the nearby movie theater and bought tickets to a
movie I barely remembered. Who could pay attention to the big
screen when someone that literally made my heart race was sitting
just beside me? During those blissful two hours, I practically
lived for those casual touches when his arm would brush against
mine or when our fingers would bump together when we both reached
for the popcorn at the same time.

My entire body had been hyper aware of
him the entire time. When the movie was almost over, he reached
over and threaded his fingers through mine. I’d never felt such a
nest of butterflies inside my body than I had right then. He left
our hands joined together, resting them in my lap until the credits
rolled onto the screen.

It was storming when we walked out of
the theater. Big, fat drops of rain that splashed in the huge
fountain on the sidewalk as it lit up in flashes of blue and pink.
We started to run for it, but then he pulled me back, keeping us in
the pounding rain as he pulled a penny out his pocket and told me
to make a wish.

I wished for him.

He tossed the penny in the fountain and
then pulled me close.

I prayed to God he would kiss
me.

I barely even noticed the rain at that
point. All I felt was the beating of both our hearts against our
chests. He lowered his head… but he didn’t kiss me. Instead, he
pressed his forehead against mine and started to dance.

We slow danced in the rain beside the
color-changing fountain until both of us were soaked
through.

Then he drove me home in his sexy car
and walked me to the door like a gentleman. I anticipated his kiss…
I craved it. I wanted it so desperately that when he left me on the
steps without so much as a peck, I thought I might die. I even
considered chasing him down and beating him with my
purse.

Even the sharp disappointment of no
kiss could fully erase the feeling, the giddiness of being in his
arms while we danced.

And then I waited for him to
call.

I stared at the phone. I checked it to
make sure it was working when it never rang. I watched the door of
the salon and my heart sped up when someone of his size and build
walked in. But he never came. He never called.

It hurt way more than I thought it
would.

It seemed stupid to get so twisted up
after only a single date. Even knowing how stupid I was didn’t stop
me. As the weeks wore on, the weather heated up. I knew he would
never call. It almost seemed impossible he hadn’t felt what I had
that night.

How one man could completely disregard
me and still make it impossible for me to want to date anyone else
I would never understand.

And now he was back.

Was he going to do this to me all over
again?

What was that saying?
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame
on me.

“
Earth to Julie,” Dee
yelled, cutting into my deep thoughts.

I lifted my head and looked at her.
“Yeah?”

“
Geez. You are completely
tipsy.”

“
No, I’m not.” I protested,
pushing up into a sitting position.

She snorted. “Uh, yeah. You are. The
only time you ever seem to stop listening is when you’ve had one
too many to drink.”

“
I’m drinking
tea.”

“
Apparently alcohol isn’t
the only thing that makes you tipsy. Blue does too.”

I rolled my eyes. You couldn’t get
tipsy on a person. “What did you pick out?” I asked, changing the
subject.

She held up a pair of dark skinny jeans
and a low-cut purple top.

“
With the tall black boots
and black leather jacket?” I asked, tilting my head.

She smiled. “Now you’re
talking.”

We chatted a little longer and then Dee
left after making me promise to call her when I got home, no matter
the time.

I took my time in the shower, shaving
my legs (hey, a girl never wants to get caught looking like
sasquatch) and doing my hair. I gave it a little extra mess because
I was feeling edgy and nervous.

I was downstairs waiting at
seven.

At seven fifteen, I checked my
phone.

At seven forty-five, I wondered if I
had imagined him asking me out.

At eight, I knew he wasn’t
coming.

There was surprise in Dee’s voice when
she answered the phone. “If you’re calling me from a date, then I
know it’s not going well.”

“
He didn’t show.”

There was a very long pause on the
other end of the line.

“
Dee?”

“
He’s a dog. I’m plotting
his murder. I need silence.”

I laughed. Some of the sickness in my
stomach loosened. I couldn’t believe I fell for his charm
again.

Shame on me.

I heard Dee’s muffled voice. She was
talking to someone in the background. Most likely it was Craig.
Then she came back on the line, loud and clear. “We’re going
out.”

“
I don’t think so,” I
protested. All I wanted to do was put on my ugly sweatpants and eat
ice cream.

“
Arguing is futile.” She
insisted. “We’re going. We’ll pick you up so you can
drink.”

“
Fine,” I muttered and hung
up the phone.

A drink sounded like a pretty good idea
right now.

6

Blue

This time I wasn’t going to screw this
up. With a woman like Julie, a guy didn’t get many chances. Hell, I
was surprised she gave me a second chance. But she had. And I
wasn’t going to waste it.

She didn’t seem like the kind of girl
who needed a lot to be impressed. Julie struck me as the kind of
girl who wanted to feel like she was all her man could see. All he
wanted. She was the kind of girl who would rather be lavished with
attention than money.

I could do that.

It might not always be easy, but I had
a feeling she was worth it.

I figured we’d drive out to Topsail
Island, have dinner at a place on the water, and then end up on the
beach. I was going to kiss her. Not kissing her the first time we
went out had been hard and it was a decision I regretted to this
day. Not knowing what she tasted like haunted me.

I locked my apartment and jogged down
the concrete steps when my phone went off in my pocket. I glanced
at the screen: Work.

I answered it with, “I’m
busy.”

“
Markson, this is Cramer. We
have a situation. We need you to come in,” said a gruff,
no-nonsense voice into my ear.

I winced. Cramer was like the boss of
my boss. When he called, I came. Damn. “I’m actually on my way
out,” I tried.

“
Good. I’ll see you in a
few.”

Clearly the guy didn’t know how to take
a hint. I pointed the Challenger in the direction of the JPD and
prayed this was some kind of situation that required five minutes.
I was early to pick up Julie so I had a little bit of time to get
this taken care of.

I strode into the station and swiftly
made my way back to the police chief’s office. I didn’t bother to
knock. They called. I came.

Chief Watson was bent over his desk
with Cramer, and I got my first inkling that something big was
up.

“
Have a seat, Markson,”
Chief Watson instructed when he noticed me hovering in the
door.

I sat down even though I felt like
pacing the room. This reminded me of the last time I got called
into his office. It ended with me falling off the face of the earth
for months.

“
We need you to go under
again,” Watson said, getting right to the point.

My stomach clenched. I sat there
stiffly for the span of two heartbeats. “Same case?”

“
Yes.”

I exhaled. I always knew there was a
possibility I would have to go back, but I really didn’t think it
would be so soon… if at all. “Was there a break in the
case?”

Cramer spoke up for the first time
since I walked in and sat down. “The department has learned some
new information. Apparently, the supply of drugs pumping into the
Myrtle Beach area has been followed back to this area.”

That was surprising. Months ago I was
called into the station unexpectedly and was told I was needed
undercover on the outskirts of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Because the area is such a hotspot for entertainment and clubs, the
drug scene was growing rapidly and new cocktails of dangerous drug
combinations were appearing and claiming lives.

I was pulled from the unit here and
sent deep undercover with a background story and a new ID to try to
ascertain where the drugs were coming from, who was funneling them
in, and to gain leads on how to stop the poisoning of a well-known
vacation hotspot.

I was gone for months. Months of living
in the ghetto. Months of no contact with my family. My friends. My
life. I literally walked in the station one night a cop living his
life and stepped out hours later with a new identity and strict
orders to speak to no one that could possibly identify who I really
was.