Chapter 3

"I'm a cop."

Those three little words echo in my head. Along with realizing how heavy those badges actually are.

At that moment I felt my heart skip a beat. It hurt feeling my body rebooting so fast my heart literally stopped for a second.

Seeing the pained look on my face Shane's gleeful smirk turns into concern.

"You alright?" His hand hovers about my shoulder.

I nod, rubbing my sternum, "Must of hit the steering wheel." He nods in agreement, one laced with a hint of suspicion. Darn his cop instincts.

"Must of." Shaking his head Shane sees a few vehicles climbing back onto the road. "Well I'm gonna head out once this clears a bit more, nothing worse than a pile up. You?"

"Same, don't wanna be caught in traffic twice. I'm off to Atlanta for a few weeks. What about you and Nora? You two going fishing?" I recall the fishing gear in the back of his truck.

Shane gives me a grin, "Already did, just heading home now. Got us enough fish for a fry tomorrow. Me and a few friends are having a party, feel like coming?" His voice lowers and one look in his eyes tells me he's used to getting his way.

"Hypothetically speaking, if I were to say 'yes', where is this party located?" I hook my fingers in my belt loops. Shane straightens up and putting his hands in his pockets as his shoulders hunch forwards.

"Well, by my calculations, Kings County is only less than an hour drive from big ol' Altanta. We got beer and a pool." He hints.

At the words beer and pool my New Mexican heart pounds and my eyes widen. "A pool?!" I squeak, I tip toe forwards almost loosing my balance when Shane grabs my shoulders setting my back in place.

With a laugh that crinkles his eyes, he teases, "A pool is all I need to entice ya, huh? Where're ya from?"

"New Mexico, tiny town in the desert. Ain't that big but Roswell is known for its share of aliens. Plus, pools are practically a callin card for us desert dwellers." I joke, which actually isn't that far from the truth. I can count the number of times I've been in an actual pool on one hand. Tarping up the back of a truck doesn't count.

That's pretty far from here. I'm a Georgia boy. Born and bred. What brings you all the way out here?" He asks.

"Headed up this way from Florida. Going to visit my brother to get this baby painted." I point to Susan. "After? I don't know yet. Probably get a place somewhere." Yeah right, I think, knowing what I know now I'm gonna get ready for when the shit hits the fan.

"Oh really? That sounds nice, where are you thinking about stayin?" As fun as a guy Shane is, I think he's lonely. One night stands can only get you so far. Not that he doesn't not seem like a ladies' man, but who am I to judge? He could be a saint or one of those weirdoes who has two families in different states.

I'm not going to marry the guy. But the curls, the breadth of the man's chest? OMG the genes this guy has.

I can certainly look that's for sure.

"Umm...not really sure yet. Somewhere in Georgia for sure. I love the greenery, the peaches, and Six-Flags! Though I could go without the humidity, my hair gets so wild." He points to his hair, "I gotcha."

We both crack up bonding over our wild hair. We're so lame.

When the laughter subsides, we turn to see Nora playing with her squeaky duck toy.

"Oh my Glob, she's so adorable!" I gush, my hands squishing my cheeks together. Shane looks back at me and snorts, "You're both adorable." I blush while he laughs.

"Oh, nothing is more adorable than animals, Shane. I mean if I had a kid I'd still find a puppy to be cuter. I'm biased like that." I reason, making him laugh even more.

"Man," he wheezes, "I ain't had a reason to laugh like that in a while." Holding his side, he tilts his head back inhaling deeply and returns his gaze to my face. "So I'm gonna give you my number in case you decide to come tomorrow. No pressure, just some food and a little fun." I nod, he gestures for my phone and I hand over my beat-up iphone which looks less like a brick and more like a lego in his hand.

"I added my address in the notes," he says, gazing around at the nearly empty road, "text me if you're coming so I can save you and Susan a space in the lot. Party's at five pm. If you want you can bring your brother." Whoa. Bring José? To a party? Does he want the cops, his bros, to show up even more? Not that he's a criminal, he's like Dionysus on speed. Heck a birthday party for a five-year-old can turn into a rave if José turns up.

"Sure I'll let you know in the morning, around nine?" He smiles in agreement, making me smile. Oh lord, I'm so easy that a nice smile, a deep voice, and that chest turn me into a brainless idiot. That cop spiel could be fake, the badge coulda been picked up in a Goodwill. Could the party be code for 'satanic worshippers hold massive orgy and sacrifice virgin idiot'? Guess I got some Google-ing to do once I hit Atlanta.

"Traffic's gone down, guess we'll head out. Night, Zia, drive safe! Hopefully we'll see you tomorrow!" Shane gives me a small 'bro-hug', you know the one where you both stand shoulder to shoulder and have the one-arm hug that lasts a millisecond. Nora lets out a small yip, so cute, and once the truck rumbles he signals for me to go ahead to make sure I make it safely on the road.

Shane honks his horn in goodbye. I sigh and let out an 'Aaahh!' because I got my first number from a gorgeous man. Who needs to be Googled immediately to verify his status of cop and not serial killer. Curse you Lifetime channel for my doubt.

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I pull into José's driveway of his two-story house at three in the morning. I would have dubbed him a studio apartment kind of guy but with his expanding family the suburbs suits them.

Walking up to the door with my duffle bag, I see a light still on through the frosted glass window of the door. Before I can knock the door swings open and I'm pulled into a bear hug that cracks my spine and squished my lungs. My nose is assaulted with the aroma of chili, masa, and meat, causing my stomach to growl. The faint scent of motor oil and lemongrass soap lets me relax in the grip of my brother.

I should have known that he was working in the garage, ever since we were small he always found something to build or fix when he was worried or stressed. My late appearance must have upped his older brother instincts into overdrive.

"You loser, you're finally here? What kept you?" He asked, slapping my shoulder.

I rub my shoulder, José doesn't know his own strength sometimes. Poor Ares.

"Well..."

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Thanks for the follows and favs! Hugs! I love reviews, so be a pal and pop one on the screen! I don't really want to cast Zia because I love imagining the character's look on my own. But José is played by Michael Pena because he is awesome!

Selfish promos: check out my other works especially my Avengers Fic because I'm hoping to update Thursday or Friday. My Hobbit Fic by Monday. I finally got a job but have to bike 8 miles to work and home. They totes are like 'get a DL and a car as soon as you can', like that's not realistic by any standards for a broke college grad who're only paying 10/hr and taking massive tax.

Read and Review!!! Thanks!