She lied to me. She flat out lied. I couldn't believe she did it again! I mean, she'd done it in the past about her cancer and it nearly ruined our friendship, and here she was, lying to me all over again. Wearing that damn FDNY shirt of Dorhety's.

A thousand things ran through my mind as I dodged the heavy torrents of rain to get to my car. I opened the door and jumped in, thinking that I'd rather be anywhere other than where I was. I sat there for a good five minutes brooding about my partner's betrayal. How could I ever trust her again?

I wiped off my face with the sleeve of my jacket and looked in the mirror. I don't know if it was the running that put the heat in my face or just the plain anger I was feeling. My chest was heaving in an out in an attempt to catch a good breath. I know I hadn't felt this mad in a long time and there was NO way I was gonna do my shift with her tonight. Nah, I'd call in sick so she'd have to ride with Gussler. That would fix her.

Images of Faith and Jimmy sped through my mind as I put the car into gear and headed for my apartment. It damn near killed me to think about what they'd done the night before. Ugh! I pounded the steering wheel with my fist, thinking I'd feel better. I was wrong.

I knew I was acting like a jealous boyfriend, when I shouldn't have been mad at all. But I couldn't help it. I felt betrayed and cheated on. And it was driving me nuts.

The ringing of my cell phone brought me out of my reverie. At first I wasn't gonna answer it but decided against that, cause if it was her I had plenty to say.

"YA?"

"Bos?"

"What"? I barked into the phone.

"Bosco? What's wrong with you?"

It was Sarah. Oh man. I'd forgotten all about bringing her coffee....that's why I'd gone into Denny's in the first place!

"Sorry. I thought you were fai...someone else." I said, apologetically.

"Oh. Are you bringing me my coffee now?" She teased, lightly.

"Ya. I'm on it right now. I'll be there in a few."

"Ok. Oh, and Bos? I'm done here in a little bit and I thought maybe you'd have time before work to...." Her voice trailed off in suggestion.

Any other time I would have driven over there as fast as a woman to a shoe sale, but not this time. I wasn't in the mood, and that was hardly something that I could ever say happened. The truth was that I couldn't get this whole Faith fiasco out of my head.

"Oh I can't. I got some stuff to do." I lied. "But I'll drop the coffee off in a few".

"Ya. Ok." She said, but I could tell she was disappointed. After all, this was me, not some inexperienced jerk. I had the goods and I aimed to please.

After I hung up, I drove on back towards Denny's and got her coffee. I called in sick after that, hoping to buy some time before I had to face Faith again. It began to dawn on me that maybe I just needed a new partner. I mean, we had been partners for over ten years and nothing had happened between us. It was time to move on. I had a new girlfriend. Maybe a new partner would cement it. I was determined to let go of my feelings for her and concentrate on Sarah.

It disappointed me, this new image of Faith. Like Pinocchio's nose: Hers just kept getting longer and longer. How many more lies would she tell me before we were through?

I parked my car and went up to my apartment. My plan was to watch a little tv, eat some junk and not answer my phone. When I reached the landing I saw that there was a note taped onto my door.

I rolled my eyes as I ripped it off. Did she really think that she could leave me a note and that would fix anything? I scoffed as I opened it.

It was short and sweet. "Meet me at the Tea Room at 8:00".

I looked up from the note, totally mystified. Why would Faith ask me to meet her at the Tea Room? Like I was going to go and meet her...and how was she gonna be there when she had to work too? AND what made her think that I'd even want to talk to her there? Sarah seemed to be a little cool towards Faith lately, now that I thought about it. It had just come out of the blue. But this note just didn't make sense. Why the Tea Room?

As mad as I was, I had to admit that I was more than a little curious. I had the afternoon to think about what I was gonna say to Faith when I saw her. I guess I'd have to wait and see.