Light up the night
Let it shine,
Never burning out
I wanna make you famous
"How was work?"
At the lack of response, Cassie glanced up at her sister who had just entered the apartment the two girls shared. Amanda looked drained; the circles under her eyes appeared darker than usual and the lines on her face showed exhaustion. The detective looked much older than her thirty two years. Whatever case she had been working on for the day must've hit her hard. Cassie gave her a sympathetic smile as the older blonde fell into a chair beside her.
"Wanna talk about it?" Cassie asked as she set aside the papers she had been looking at.
"The judge overturned the jury's verdict on that rapist we caught," Amanda finally said after a few moments. A scoff left her lips. "He told her there was no way to conclude that her 'no' truly meant 'no'."
Cassie's eyes widened in surprise. "You're kidding." She shook her head. "How's Evie holding up?"
Amanda glanced down at her sister's question. "She dropped outta school, and-" a sigh escaped her lips. "-is returning to the adult entertainment industry."
"Did you talk to her?"
Her sister nodded. "Carisi and I found her on the set of her new movie. I tried to help and offer suggestions, but she didn't really wanna listen. You wanna know what she said to me? She said 'at least here, when I say 'stop' they stop'." The older blonde shook her head. "We put our trust in this justice system, hope they do the right thing. And then they don't. What's the point of catching the bad guys if the judge is just gonna let them walk?"
"I'm sorry," Cassie said quietly. She could tell this case really bothered her sister. "Hey, it's still early. Why don't we head out and grab a drink?"
Amanda gave her little sister a smile. "Yeah. Lemme change first then we can leave."
The younger blonde packed away the lesson plans she had been working on for her kindergarten class before grabbing a pair of shoes. Cassie had just slipped on her black ankle boots when Amanda emerged out of her room. The younger girl could only shake her head.
"Even your casual clothes look like your work clothes."
"I'm sorry I don't have a high sense of fashion," Amanda retorted.
"What do you wear when you go out on dates?"
"I don't go on dates."
"Now that's just sad," Cassie said with a laugh as she grabbed a black sweater from off the back of a chair. "We need to find you a guy."
"Yeah, no thanks." Amanda shook her head as the sisters exited the apartment. "I barely have time to breathe, let alone navigate my way through a relationship."
"Suit yourself," Cassie said as she waited for her sister to lock the door behind them.
As they descended the stairs, Cassie slipped on her black sweater over the floral print skirt and gray shirt she was wearing. While not freezing in September, New York could get pretty chilly at night. The two sisters strolled down the street towards a bar not far from their apartment. Small talk filled the air; Amanda asked Cassie about the five and six year olds she taught, and Cassie questioned Amanda's lack of social life and vowed to find her a date. Amanda simply wished her good luck on her task.
Though six years apart, the two sisters were exceptionally close. Amanda had always been protective of Cassandra after witnessing the road their middle sister was going down. She didn't want Cass to follow Kim's terrible example, and tried to take the youngest one under her wing. Though Cassie had fought with Amanda about a lot of different things, she stayed on the straight and narrow because of her oldest sister looking after her. Despite Amanda's constant smothering, Cassandra was thankful for all that she had done for her in their younger years. But with Amanda's job often leaning towards the darker side, it was Cassie's turn to help out her sister.
"Okay. You grab us a table," the younger blonde said as she motioned towards a few high tops against the wall. "And I'll head to the bar and grab us our drinks."
Amanda rolled her eyes but did as instructed. By 'grab drinks', she knew her sister simply meant find some poor guy and flirt long enough until he offered to buy her drink for her. While Amanda didn't disapprove of her sister's tactics, she definitely would've rather just pay for her own drinks rather than have someone else do it for her. It was that independent streak in her that made her want to do things all on her own. Sure, she knew when she needed others' help. But that wasn't without her trying to fix it herself first.
As Amanda took a seat somewhere in the corner, Cassie made her way towards the back. It was a Friday night in New York, and the nightlife was always active. Cassie smiled; she thrived off the buzzing energy in the room. Upon reaching the crowded bar, she squeezed past a young male who appeared to be sitting by himself. After she apologized to him for jostling him aside, he scooted over to allow her some more space. She smiled her gratitude to him, and he couldn't help but return it as he took a swig of his beer.
"So what brings you to a crowded bar on a Friday night?"
Cassie glanced at the male as he spoke before leaning a little closer to respond. "My sister had a rough day at work. I thought it'd be a good idea to get her out of the house."
The male nodded. "I had a pretty rough day at work, too. Needed to let off a little steam."
Cassie gave the male a small, sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry."
The male shrugged. "It's better now," He said with a flirty smile, which Cassie returned. "So, do you have a name?"
"I actually don't. My parents have been calling me 'No-Name' my whole life. It's actually quite tragic, really." The blonde's blue eyes held a twinkle of mischief in them as she spoke.
A hearty laugh escaped the male's lips. "That sounds boring. Did you have any nicknames growing up?"
"My sisters usually just called me 'Cassie'." She smiled.
"Cassie," He repeated then motioned towards himself. "Sonny. It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Cassie said just as the bartender came over to take her order.
As he placed the two drinks she asked for in front of her, he questioned whether she wanted to pay as she went or open up a tab. But Sonny interjected before Cassie could answer.
"Put them on my tab," He said as he took a sip of his own beer.
Cassie flashed him a smile in thanks as she sipped on her own drink. While her goal had been to find someone to buy her drinks for her, she found herself not really wanting to leave Sonny's company. Oddly enough, she felt comfortable around the stranger and had enjoyed their little banter. But unfortunately, she knew she needed to get back to Amanda as the whole reason they were even out was for her. She sighed quietly to herself.
"Thank you for the drinks, but I should be getting back to my sister."
Sonny nodded in understanding. "I hope her day gets better. Mine definitely did."
Cassie smiled flirtatiously before nodding. "I'll tell her your best wishes." She turned to go with the drinks in hand before pausing and looking back at him. "If you get bored of sitting here by yourself, come find me. Maybe I'll even give you my phone number."
"I'll hold you to that," Sonny said with a smile before Cassie walked away.
"And I come bearing gifts," Cassie commented as she set Amanda's drink down in front of her before taking the seat across from the blonde detective.
"You're an angel," Amanda said with a smile as she took a large sip of the alcoholic drink, the burn of the liquor helping her forget for a few brief seconds about her job. "So, who was the unfortunate guy who bought these?"
"Some guy sitting by himself at the bar." Cassie shrugged before taking a drink. "He was really cute."
"Why don't you get his number?"
"How do you know I didn't already?" Cassie asked slyly causing Amanda to roll her eyes.
"Did you?" Amanda questioned.
Cassie shook her head. "No. But the night is still young. I'm more preoccupied with finding you a guy's number. Maybe that's why you've been so snappy lately; you're all pent up. You need to get laid."
"How do you know I haven't?
"Cause you haven't," Cassie said matter-of-factly causing Amanda to scrunch her nose up in an annoyed fashion at her younger sister.
"I hate you."
"You don't. Not even a little bit," the younger blonde said with a cheeky grin to Amanda, who could only smile in return.
The sisters couldn't remember the last time they had enjoyed themselves this much. As the night continued on, laughs were shared and drinks were consumed. Time had flown by, and it was much later than either blonde had thought they'd be out. Cassie had school the next morning at 8:20 am, and being a teacher meant she had to be their much earlier. Glancing at the time on her cellphone, the younger girl let out an audible sigh. It was nearing 1:00 in the morning, and she would have to be up in less than five hours. She quickly downed the last of her beverage before standing up.
"I gotta go to the bathroom. Can you grab the tab?" The blonde pulled out her wallet and handed Amanda her debit card. "Tonight's on me."
And with that she disappeared into the back where the restrooms were located. Amanda nodded before she too finished her drink. As she started to stand up and head to the bar, she was stopped by a familiar face in the crowd. His eyes glanced over the room, surveying the people in attendance. He might've been looking for someone. Caught off guard at seeing his fellow detective just a few yards away from him, he stopped in his search. He began to approach, and a smile slid onto his lips at her surprised reaction as well.
"Carisi," Amanda greeted. "Not used to running into you outside of work."
The male nodded. "Yeah, I tend to avoid overcrowded bars. But, uh, today with Evie…" He trailed off, but Amanda had understood him completely.
"Me too."
"Don't tell me you're leaving already?" He asked with a motion towards the two empty glasses on the table behind her, a good indication she was getting ready to head out. "The night is still young."
Amanda nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I'm leaving. My sister's got work early in the morning. I'm actually just waiting for her to get out of the bathroom."
"Kim's in town?" He asked, his brow scrunching up in confusion.
Amanda shook her head. "No. I've got another one, the youngest. She's a kindergarten teacher; gotta get to the school super early."
The male noticed his coworker smile at someone behind him before a young, blonde female sidled up to Amanda, hardly even noticing or acknowledging his presence.
"You ready to go?" Cassie asked her sister, who nodded her head before gesturing towards the male before her.
"I wanna introduce you to one of my coworkers," Amanda began before noticing Cassie's blue eyes light up in what appeared to be recognition at the man. Confused by the teasing smile that appeared on her sister's lips, she continued. "This is Detective Carisi-"
"Sonny," Cassie greeted, smile still in place. "I was beginning to grow disappointed you hadn't tried to find me."
"Do I get that number you promised?" He asked, a twinkle in his own blue eyes.
"Wait, I'm sorry." Amanda shook her head, utterly confused. "How do you two know each other?"
Cassie's eyes never left the male in front of her. "This is the cute guy at the bar I was telling you about, the one who bought our first round."
"Oh, so you think I'm cute?" Sonny interjected; Cassie simply shrugged.
Amanda grinned as she turned to her coworker. "So you bought me a drink, detective? Can't wait till everyone back at the precinct hears about that."
Sonny shook his head, a slight laugh escaping his lips. "It wasn't like that."
"So, you don't wanna buy me a drink?"
"I don't like this interrogation thing you got going on," he commented causing Cassie to laugh. "Save it for the suspects."
"Mandy's harmless," Cassie said with a smile to her sister before glancing at her phone. "As much as I'd love to stand here chit chatting, I really do need to be getting home."
"I'll go pay the tab." And with that, Amanda disappeared to the bar.
"This is a little awkward," Sonny said as he glanced down at the blonde before him.
"It's only awkward if you make it awkward," Cassie commented with a smile. "So, what's it like working with my sister?"
"She's really good at her job, taught me a lot my first few weeks there."
"How long have you been an officer?" The young female asked.
"A couple years? I transferred around a lot. Worked in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, wasn't really able to find a fit, y'know?"
"Well, hopefully you'll stick around here for a little while," Cassie said with a flirtatious smile. Sonny grinned in return just as Amanda walked back up and handed her sister the debit card.
"Okay, we are all good to go," she announced. "Carisi, it was good to see ya. But we'll catch up more tomorrow," she said as the girls slipped on their sweaters. Cassie hesitated a split second, her blue eyes staying on Sonny, before following after her sister towards the exit.
"Wait," Sonny called after them as he followed. The girls stopped and he focused his gaze on Cassie. "I believe you promised me something," he said as he pulled out his phone.
Cassie grinned before holding out her hand for the item. Once in her possession, she input her cell number into his own device then handed it back.
"Hopefully we'll meet again, detective.
Sonny was left standing there, a smile upon his face as he watched the two sisters leave.