Chapter 6

Vinny placed his last report in his CO's inbox and followed his partner to the locker room. "So a couple of the guys are getting a basketball game together. You in?" he asked.

Jamie was reaching up to loosen his tie as he stepped over the threshold into the locker room. "Nah, not tonight," he answered over his shoulder.

"Why not? You got plans?" Vinny inquired and copied his partner as he began to remove his duty belt.

"Yeah, I told Eddie I'd help her study for one of her courses," he explained.

Vinny smiled to himself as he reached to open his locker. "Really?" he asked with a short laugh.

"Yeah," Jamie replied and narrowed his eyes at his partner. "What's with the face?"

Vinny turned serious. "What face?" he asked, trying to feign innocence.

Jamie took a seat on the bench in front of their lockers as he unbuttoned his uniform shirt. "The creepy, know-it-all, smug smile you had plastered on your face a second ago."

Vinny shook his head and went about removing his own uniform. "Nothing."

"Uhuh," Jamie replied with a shake of his own head.

"But I told you so," Vinny sing-songed.

"Told me what?" Jamie asked. He knew what was coming but really didn't want to hear it.

"You and Eddie. I knew you liked her. She's cute," Vinny said.

Jamie sighed heavily. "So you've said. Multiple times. And there is no me and Eddie. I just met her a minute ago, man," he said with bit of annoyance.

"Yeah. So studying, huh?" Vinny answered, wiggling his brows and laughing at the expression he got back from Jamie.

Jamie frowned, wondering how studying warranted the response he was getting from his partner. "It's not like that," he retorted as he proceeded to remove his boots.

"Sure it's not," Vinny replied.

"Oh, for Christ's sake. You're as bad as my family. She's a friend, that's all," he declared.

Vinny stopped and turned to Jamie, leaning against the open locker door. "A friend? That's how it starts," he said.

"What starts?"

"Don't play dumb, Reagan," Vinny chided.

Jamie sat up. "She's busy with the academy. And she's not interested," Jamie explained.

Vinny raised an eyebrow at him. "How do you know?" he asked.

"I know. I can tell. We've talked about work and the academy," he offered, but didn't admit to Vinny that he'd also told her a little bit about Sydney.

"Get your head out of the sand, Reagan. She's seems pretty cool - so she's not gonna play all her cards right away, but she's definitely interested," he said as a matter-of-factly and went back to changing his clothes.

Jamie shook his head and rolled his eyes, dismissing him, but his partner's words echoed in his head. Eddie had been very friendly so far, but he tried not to read too much into that out of fear that he'd make something out of nothing. As for whether there was any interest on his part? Well, the fact that he didn't negate Vinny's declaration that he did like her probably spoke volumes. For now, he was just glad that Vinny had let the matter drop.

Jamie smirked as he took in his surroundings, silently questioning Eddie's choice of study venue. They were sitting in the middle of Anton's BBQ in Hell's Kitchen on a busy Tuesday night. It was your typical barbecue joint, playing up the rustic, southern vibe with its exposed brick walls and reclaimed hardwood floors. Aside from the white noise coming from the crowds filling the other tables, the restaurant had country music blasting in the background as further proof of its southern roots. And he couldn't get over the number of neon signs decorating the place that gave everything and everyone an unflattering orangey-red hue.

Jamie looked back at his companion with some amusement on his face. "When I agreed to help you study, I didn't think it would be in the middle of a barbecue joint," he commented as he stowed the plastic-covered menu at the end of the table.

"What's the big deal?" Eddie shot back as she dropped her own menu. The waitress had already come and gone, rushing off to another table as soon as they gave her their orders.

Jamie folded his hands on the table and leaned forward to make sure she could hear him over the music. "Usually, when people study, they want some peace and quiet. You know, so you can hear yourself think?" he pointed out.

Eddie gave him knowing look. "First of all, quiet is overrated. And second, I can't study on an empty stomach," she stated. "I had a long day at the academy."

A slow smile spread across Jamie's face. "So ribs are study food?"

Eddie smiled back and nodded enthusiastically. "Sure. What better food group is there? The grease helps everything stick," she claimed.

Jamie couldn't help but laugh. "Figured it would have the opposite effect, but all right," he said. "What are we studying, anyway?"

Eddie rummaged inside of her large messenger bag and pulled out a book, letting it fall onto the table with a loud thump that was easily felt and clearly audible over the raucous that surrounded them. "Something you should have no trouble with after three years of law school and three years on the force: New York Penal Code," she said as she pointed at the soft cover.

"That's easy," Jamie replied as he grabbed the book and began leafing through it.

"For you, maybe. You did something before the academy that actually came in handy for your career in law enforcement," she pointed out.

"Trust me, it's a piece of cake," he assured her. "You just have to get them sorted in your head. And when you get out on the beat, you'll usually be using the same ones over and over."

"Can't wait. Then I'll really have the books behind me," she said.

Jamie closed the book and looked at Eddie curiously. "What were you up to before you joined the academy?"

"Floundering?" she offered with a slight look of embarrassment. "And bartending," she added. "I took a few years off after college."

"That's why Rick roped you into helping out the other night?" Jamie asked.

"He was desperate. Plus, I got mad skills behind the bar, Reagan," she bragged.

Jamie smiled in return. "I'm sure. Master mixologist to cop? How'd that happen?" he asked.

"The truth?" she offered.

"Yeah, of course," he answered, his curiosity now piqued.

"I got daddy issues," she quipped.

Jamie's face scrunched up in confusion. It was obvious that she was trying to use humor to mask something far more serious. "Come again?"

Eddie took a deep breath and began to fidget. Feeling the need to occupy her hands, she pulled the book from Jamie and thumbed through the pages. "My dad's doing time at Lincoln Correctional," she revealed with some hesitation.

"Oh, sorry to hear that," Jamie replied. It seemed that the tables were turned from the other night - this wasn't what he expected to hear and he could immediately tell that it was a sore subject.

Eddie nodded, her eyes dropping to the table as she explained. "He got caught running a Ponzi scheme. Ruined a lot of people," she said sadly.

"I'm sorry, Eddie," Jamie said.

Eddie didn't know how to respond to the sympathy she saw in Jamie's eyes and was grateful for the waitress's sudden appearance to break the awkward silence. But much to Eddie's displeasure, the waitress simply placed their drinks on the table and scurried off again. So Eddie said what flashed across her mind when she considered why she wanted to be a cop. "I don't know if this makes any sense, but I wanted to be the complete opposite of him," she explained. Eddie shrugged as she took a long pull from her bottle.

Jamie nodded. "I get it," he replied. "So you don't see him?"

Eddie frowned at his question. "Hell, no. He ruined my family and betrayed our trust. Although, even that doesn't stop him from sending me letters, but I have no interest," she confessed.

"He's your father, Eddie," Jamie reminded her.

"Yeah, unfortunately," Eddie scoffed. She gazed at Jamie and thought that there was no way he would understand. "He broke-up my family, Reagan. We can't all have the perfect family like you," she argued.

"Believe me, we're far from perfect," he countered.

Eddie raised a brow in his direction. "Really? Police commissioner father and grandfather. Cop brothers and an ADA sister? How much more perfect could a family get?"

"Everything looks perfect from the outside looking in, but we have our moments, too."

"Sure you do," Eddie said, looking eager to change the subject. "So, you gonna help me with this or not? 'Cause I have a hard ass instructor and if I don't pass this course, I'll end up at Rick's tending bar full time."

"And you'll probably blame me and throw something extra in my drinks every time I show up there," he joked.

"Only until I got over it," she joked back.

Jamie narrowed his eyes at his companion. "For some reason, I have a feeling that would take a while," he grumbled.

Eddie smiled back at him brightly, causing Jamie's stomach to flutter slightly. He blinked quickly at the strangely familiar sensation and nervously busied himself with Eddie's book.

"Okay, so how about we start with Class A Misdemeanors," he proposed.

"Sounds great."

Jamie looked up to see Eddie, still smiling widely at him and the fluttering continued. Yeah, he definitely felt something. The question was whether there was any interest in return.