Cruzin Along
Stunned at her proposal and angry at myself for letting her get to me first thing in the morning, I stalked back into the locker-room to change back into my street clothes. Viciously, I pulled my locker open and started to undress, practically ripping the buttons off of my shirt. Faith, who had finished dressing and was just putting on her belt, stopped what she was doing and put her hands on her hips.
'What are you doing? We have roll-call in five minutes!' She exclaimed. 'I'm not being late on account of you...'
' Cruz wants me today in AC.' I cut in, not wanting to talk with her about it. Faith hated Maritza and made no bones about it.
Her eyes widened, then narrowed as she weighed this information. ' So Cruz calls and you run like a lap-dog with your tongue hanging out of your mouth?'
'I'm not a lap-dog! She's the boss around here and if I have a hope in hell of getting into Anti-Crime I have to work the shifts when she says so.' I snapped, pulling off my pants and sliding them down my legs.
'Whatever. Good to know that you're a dependable partner.' She said icily as she turned away from me and exited the room.
I looked at her back as she walked away from me, a small amount of guilt flooding through me. I wasn't being fair to her, I knew that. But this wasn't something I could talk about with her. She just wouldn't have understood. I pulled my green t-shirt on over my head and told myself it was better this way.
The door banged shut and I was left alone with nothing but my thoughts to aggravate me. On one hand, I was excited about working Anti-Crime again and not just because it meant that I'd get to spend the day with Maritza, however painful it would be, but because I loved the quickness of the job, the way my heart pounded when we had a call and the sense of adventure that was mine when I chased a jag-off perp and caught him. But on the other hand, I was not looking forward to her little comments that were meant to cut into my heart and tear it apart, nor was I looking forward to riding around with her all day just to make my heart bleed a little more by making me sit side by side with her, knowing that I'd never have her again.
But even though it hurt like hell, I was going to take what I could get and at least I would get to see her one way or the other. If I couldn't have her, then I could at least smell her beside me in the cruiser and remember the times that we had together.
To be honest, I didn't know which I preferred.
Dade stuck his head through the door and called me. ' Boscorelli...let's go. We don't have all day and Sarge wants you downstairs!'
'I'm comin'. I mumbled, struggling to pull my jeans up around my waist. I stuffed my feet into my black steel toed work boots and laced them up as fast as I could. I grabbed my NYPD jacket and ran down the stairs after my co-worker.
Cruz was already in our car looking very cranky and miffed that I hadn't made it out there in under four seconds. She had been at the end of the line when God had passed out patience and he'd probably taken one look at her and used her 'bit' on someone else, knowing that it wouldn't have been worth his time.
I opened the door and slid in beside her, taking great pains not to look at how attractive she was in her green shirt and vest ensemble. I slammed the door shut to emphasize that even though I might have had no choice in the matter about working with her unit today, I sure as hell didn't have to like it. I pursed my lips together and looked at her, annoyed by her blatant dislike for me. I crossed my arms over my chest and prepared for her speech.
'We coulda been halfway to Brooklyn by now, Boscorelli. Next time, get your ass movin faster.' She admonished as she put the car in gear and we took off.
'Whatever you say...nutbag.' I mumbled under my breath as I looked out the window. Suddenly, she swerved to the side and the car came to an abrupt stop, as she jammed both of her feet on the brakes. Me, not wearing my seatbelt, tumbled forward and wacked my head against the windshield. Hard. Then, bounced back into my seat. I grabbed my Yankees cap off of my head and ran my palm over my forehead, which was starting to swell.
'What the hell are you doin?' I yelped, stupidly aware that I was yelling at a Senior Officer.
'What did you say?' She shrilled, her eyes wide at my insolence. She was a Sargent...not another beat cop and I had no right to speak to her that way, I knew that. I just hadn't known that she had super-sonic hearing.
I widened my eyes for emphasis. 'I said, what the hell are you doin? Trying to kill...'
She thrust the car into park and turned in her seat and glared at me, steam just about coming out of her delicate ears, giving me a very good peek at her cleavage, which she had no qualms about displaying under her usually tight t-shirts. But the shirt she had on had three metal snaps and all three of those snaps were undone, revealing a light colored green lacy bra.
My eyes momentarily settled on her wares, remembering the way we connected, until her hand shot out and pushed my chest, thrusting me against the window. Her eyes were mean and sharp as she hissed at me.
'Listen up, Bosco and listen good...If you eva speak to me like that again I will personally take great pride in hand cuffing you to the back of this car and dragging your sorry ass all the way uptown...you got that!'
I blinked a couple of times and just stared at her, my head aching and trying to drive away the thought of grabbing her right back and kissing the hell out of her right there in the car. Her neck was so...kissable...as was her pouty lips, that right now at that very moment were calling to me even though they were twisted into a vicious sneer.
'You deaf? Did you hear me?' She demanded, narrowing her eyes as she looked at me to see if I was going to behave myself.
'Ya. I heard ya.' I said stubbornly, wishing that I had called in sick today. I tried to keep the hurt out of my face and eyes, already feeling stupid enough, I didn't need her thinking that I was missing any part of her, so I pasted my most condescending look on my face that I could muster and turned away again.
'Ya betta have. Cause I don't need your crap today.' She mumbled meanly, guiding the car back out onto the street.
'No crap here...not from me...you got it...Sarge.' I said lightly, my heart aching a bit.
'Do me a favor, Bosco, and don't talk. Is that too much to ask?' She asked me in an overly irritated voice, while her eyes watched the road.
I felt my face flush with anger and my stomach tighten into knots. Did she really expect that I was going to drop everything and just run to her when ever she wanted me to and think that I was gonna ride around with her all day and not be able to open my mouth? As always, when I was hurt, my pride came back full force and caused me to open my mouth when I shouldn't have.
"If havin me here is so much of a bother then why'ja ask me to come?' I barked at her childishly.
She didn't take her eyes off the road as she considered what I'd said. 'Because Yoshi's sick..that's why and we needed the extra help if we're gonna get Billy Barnes off the street today...jeez...Bosco..were you always this hung up on yourself?'
My mouth hung open as I struggled to come up with words to justify what she had said. 'Hung up- wait a minute–I am not hung up on myself...I...'
'Whatever. I don't care. Let's just get this day over with without any more lip from you and then you can go back to your regular shift with your precious partner Yokas.' She said stiffly, as she guided the car into an abandoned wear house where we found out from a informant that Billy Barnes used as a meth lab. 'I'm sure she'd love to stare at you all day long.' She added, almost in a jealous tone of voice.
She jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut and proceeded to talk to Dade on her walkie-talkie, leaving me to ponder what she had said and more importantly, how she said it.
