"Hey, Street!" called Luca from the driver's seat of their patrol car "You staying in on Friday?"
"No, but I'll probably make it back home early. Why?" he answered intrigued, fixing his uniform
Patrol Day. The day he hated the most. He couldn't stand the Polyester, neither the cramped cars nor the crazy cases. He didn't enjoy having to deal with nut jobs, especially during the night shift. The worst bet they have ever lost!
They bet the night shift against 50 Squad in the Drift and Breach drill, but lost by .001 second. Out of everyone, Luca was the most dissapointed one. He couldn't believe his time was below the normal speed! He was so angry he told everyone that he didn't want to hear about it, ever!
So, from 10pm until 6am, 20 Squad was ordered to sport the short sleeved uniform and protect the streets of LA.
"Hey listen! The app said I would get a package delivered by 8pm. So, if you're home by then, could you take care of it for me? It's super important Street!" he said desperately
"Yeah sure...can I ask what is it?" he asked curious
"Yeah it's part of the carburetor of my old man's 1975 Ford Thunderbird. Someone sold it to him cheap and he's fixing it up for an auto show next month."
"You mean the auto show in San Bernardino?"
"Yup. My pops is super excited, so he's driving me crazy to get the ride ready!"
"Well, if I'm home I'll take it in."
"Wait." he said as he frown on Street, "Why would you be home so early? You doing good with Chris?"
"Yeah. It's just that...you know? I hardly see her for long any more, bro. She finishes her stuff so late, and I'm pulling all nighters doing overtime. By the time we get together, we're exhausted! Most nights, we stay in and order delivery, watch some Netflix. But...by the time we finish dinner, the TV is watching us!"
Luca smirked and shook his head. "Why are you busting yourself with so much work?"
"Well, now that we're together, I gotta start thinking about getting a place for us... but, I still got a bunch of past debt I gotta take care of."
"You're breaking up with me now? ...and leaving?" Luca asked with a sad face, then turned the frown upside down with a huge smile, as he slapped his partner's arm, "I'm just playing. I'm happy for you, bro."
Street just smiled and shook his head.
"I'm glad you're taking this seriously, dude. But...u gotta ease off work a little. Have fun! She already up to her nose in work. If she sees that you do the same and don't take breaks, the relationship might go stale. You don't ever want a woman thinking you've settled."
"Yeah" he said taking a deep breath
"Listen, take her out on Friday. I got an idea."
"You already set us up, Luca! You gotta take a break, Cupid!"
"For you, bro? Maybe. But not for my sis!" Luca said giggling.
"That's cold, bro!" Street complained
"Listen, I got Tan and Bonnie tickets to Amour et Luxure, a restaurant and lounge downtown. I can get you in too. Y'all can double date. That way you don't fall asleep coz you will have company." Luca said excitingly
Street titled his head, thinking.
"Don't think about it too much, bro. You're going! Text Chris! My buddy Tommy is in charge of the kitchen there and he says they cook the bomb steak!"
...and so he did! Street knew Luca would continue to drill him if he didn't do as he said. He had a gift of getting under his skin!
Friday night came and Street was arm in arm with Chris. She wore a beautiful fashion top, dark glasses and silk tight bottoms. Street on the other hand, had just finished a long shift, that included getting shot in the vest twice. So, he didn't even bother to dress up! He wore a dark suit jacket over a regular white t shirt and black jeans.
"Good evening, do you have reservations?" said the lady in the front counter with a thick french accent
"Yes, name's James Street." Jim said, as he waited patiently
"Ah, yes! Chef's list!" she said when locating the name
They went inside and were impressed by the lightly colored ambiance. They didn't find the usual table and chair set up. Instead, the restaurant was packed with rounded booths in the middle and only four love seats to the side. Each set had small adherent tables, which could be folded and stored away. According to the smiling waiter, the idea was for the guest to enjoy a light dinner and then move to the lounging area to enjoy the rest of the evening.
Minutes later, Tan and Bonnie arrived and were brought over to the booth with Chris and Street. Tan wore a long buttoned shirt, while Bonnie wore a stunning long black dress. The couples greeted and soon ordered their food.
As the night rolled along, the couples enjoyed a nice conversation and a lovely dinner. The soups were delicious, the steaks were perfectly cooked, Chris' side of vegetables was divine and Bonnie's preference for dessert made everyone in the table happy. They ordered two desserts and each couple shared.
With stomachs full and after a long day of work, the young couples were ready for some fun. They headed to the back of the establishment. There, they found several small high tables with four chairs each, surrounding a wooden floor. To the far back, they could spot a man with a turn table, who they assumed was the DJ playing the soft tunes.
A young man with a black apron strapped to his waste came over with an empty tray. The couples had just settled in the chairs.
"Hi everyone! Name's Cory. What can I get you?"
"I'm stuffed." Bonnie said as she placed a hand over her tummy and giggled
Chris lifted up her glass and said, "I'm good for now."
"I'll have a beer." Street said
"Make that two." followed Tan
"Hey, bro! I got the first round." Street said as he handed a ten dollar bill to the waiter.
"Alright, I got the next one." Tan said nodding his head once
"Coming right up!" said the waiter just before turning to leave
As the waiter left, they noticed another man approaching. This one was well dressed, wearing a black blazer and shinning shoes.
"Hello everyone! Enjoying the evening?" he said cheerfully as he held some papers in one hand and four small pencils in the other.
"Yes!" agreed everyone with nods and smiles.
"Well, we will be having a show in a couple of minutes, with some contests and prizes. We're asking everyone to fill these surveys and turn them in. Would you like to participate?" he said offering the materials
Without even thinking about it, Bonnie grabbed the papers and the small pencils and distributed them across the table. The others stared at each other puzzled, surprised by such enthusiasm.
"C'mon, this could be fun!" she said smudging up with Tan
"Ok." he said shrugging
All four adults gathered around the table and dug themselves into the survey. Interesting how the ladies finished before the gentlemen!
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Swag Man, and I'll be your host for tonight's activities!" announced an animated tanned man in the middle of the dance floor.
The suited man returned and gathered the materials, as the table turned their attention to the man in the middle.
Turns out the man was an awesome host. Street couldn't even remember the last time he had laughed so hard! The man began with a stand up show, then moved to activities involving the crowd. The couples had a chance to participate in trivia games, cheered on others to form puzzles and play charades. Tan especially had a blast while trying to role play SLIPPER for his table!
After 90 minutes, the couples were still laughing and having a good time.
"Alright, so...for our last game we are going to play Couple's Trivia, to see how much you guys know about each other. Now!" the man announced as a sea of "oooooouuuu" was heard from the excited audience. "Before we continue, at the beginning of the night, each person that wanted to participate completed a simple individual survey. Now, we will be handing you playing cards with some of the questions featured in that survey for you to guess what your partner wrote!"
A round of applause followed as the man in the suit and two waiters went around placing a stack of small cards in the middle of each table.
"Now, here's the twist! Each partner will pair up with one member of the other couple and form teams! Two on two!"
"ooouuuu" was heard from the crowd as some even switched seating
"I am going to ask ONE table to be our premium table! Two couples that will volunteer and play to win a prize of a $100 dollar gift card for each member. However! Listen to this" he said having to pause because of the cheering and applause, "The loser will have to wear an apron and serve the winners their drinks for the rest of the evening...and these!" the man said gesturing to his side.
Now the crowd roared in excitement, as a waitress approached him with a platter of chocolate covered strawberries. The applause and cheers became very loud as now the adults became excited.
"You know? You would look cute in that apron!" Chris said to Street, grinning and raising one eyebrow to the sky
"Oh, yeah? Well, you would look even cutter putting that berry in my mouth!" he said imitating her facial expression
"You're on!" Chris said nodding
"Alright, so...do we have any takers?" the man asked and almost everyone in the room raised their hand. The host took a look around, and after thinking about it, he pointed directly at Street. "Alright! We got a premium!"
"You're gonna take that apron home and serve me breakfast, Chris! With nothing under it!" Street teased
"I don't think so, but you'll have huge menu to cook for me tomorrow morning! And...uh"
"Yeah?"
"I'm turning off the AC and closing all windows!" she said with a wide grin
"I'll watch you slave away sweating like Turkey on Thanksgiving!" he said with a frown
"Alright! Here are the rules! Each table will distribute the cards equally to each partner. Once everyone has their stack, I will start a timer. You have 1 minute to write down as many answers as you can. When time is up, our waiters will go by your tables and hand you the surveys back for you to check your answers. The couple with the most amount of correct guesses, wins the game. Ready?"
"Wooooo" was heard from the excited crowd
"Alright, take your cards." he said
Bonnie grabbed the stack and divided in to two and gave one half to Tan. Between the two of them they distributed 10 small cards for each member. Bonnie gestured for Tan to join Street in one side, as she moved her chair closer to Chris. They continued to trash talk during the entire process!
"Everybody ready?" asked the host
"Yeeeeaaah!" roared the crowd
"Ok. One minute" he lifted his arm to watch his watch closely, then yelled, "GO!" he said as everyone dug in.
Street was really sweating it out, as Tan was in deep thought. The two ladies in the table were in their own little world as well. The room went quite as the adults engaged in the game.
"TIME!" called the host
Groans and moans were heard as many in the crowd wanted more time. Some even giggled.
"Pencils down!" he ordered, "No, you know what? Waiters, let's remove the pencils all together!" he said as the two waiters went around collecting the utensils.
The man in the middle waited until every table was cleared to continue. "Alright, now! Contestants from the premium table will join me here! C'mon over folks" the man gestured as the two couples made their way to the center surrounding by a cheerful crowd.
They each said their names and greeted the host and the audience. Once formalities were done, it was time for the results.
"Alright, let's start with the ladies! Christina and Bonnie, step up. Gentlemen, I'll get to you in a sec!"
"Losers!" teased Street, as Chris shot a menacing look back
The host went question by question, as the crowd laughed at the incorrect answers and cheered at the correct ones. The ladies in the audience became more and more rowdy.
"Ok, so...this makes 13 correct answers between these two lovely women. Let's give them a round of applause!" the ladies applauded as the crowd cheered on, "Ok, gentlemen, step up!"
Chris and Bonnie were instructed by the waitress that was assisting the host to step to the man's left side, as he faced the men to the right.
"So...let me see who do we have here!" he said as the waitress handed him the surveys, "Victor and James." he announced as the men received a round of applause
The host went over the questions one by one, until... "Uh oh! Gentlemen, you have only two questions left, losing by one! If you don't get at least one you will lose the game. How do we feel?"
"Confident, we got this!" Tan said
"Yeah, we got this" Street cheered
"Alright, let's see. James had to answer: which is his lady's most priced possession?" he made a dramatic pause, "He answered: her eyeglass collection."
Everyone turned to Chris who immediately began giggling. The man moved closer to her, with microphone in hand and asked, "Is this correct, my lady?"
She suddenly began laughing as she shook her head. The audience joined her laughter.
"What?! You told me you love those!" Street complained over the crowd noise
"Woah woah!" called the announcer, "Ok, if it's not the collection, then what is?"
"Dog tags from when I was a cop." she said giggling, as the crowd cheered
"Thank you for your service, ma'am." the host said as she received a round of applause. She approached him and told him the men were also cops. "Oh, ok. Well thank you too, police officers, for keeping our city safe! Let's give a round of applause for LAPD!" he paused as Tan said something in his ear. "Oh, ok, LAPD SWAT in the house!" the crowd became louder as they cheered on.
When the excitement wore off, the man continued. "Uh ohhhh, gentlemen, it all comes down to this! Victor, you have the decisive move right here! No pressure, sir!"
Tan just shook his head confidently.
"Alright. Here it goes. The question reads: If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have one thing with you, what item would it be?"
He moved the microphone towards Tan, who immediately said, "Her diary!"
Everyone held their breath as the announcer moved the microphone towards Bonnie, who stood motionless, reflecting no emotions at all.
"Mrs. Tan?" the man asked
Without saying a word, she turned towards Tan and shook her head slowly, sporting a smiled.
"WHHAT? No way! You're lying!" he said as she approached him
He wrapped his arm around her waist and stared at her with his jaw to the floor. "No way!"
The audience was in shingles, as some laughed, others cheered, others applauded... chaos!
Street bowed his head and grabbed it with both hands, as he pretended to be desperately crying. All the while, Chris wrapped her arms around his waist and laughed her heart out!
"That's a nice view!" Chris said with her feet up on the kitchen table, arms crossed behind her titled head.
"I still can't believe Tan didn't get that question right! Like, seriously Bonnie? Her wedding ring? Use its shine if a rescue helicopter showed up? Really?" Street complained, feeling a cold breeze