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“Where do we start?” she asked.
He picked up a slice of pizza and immediately dropped it. “I usually start with my fingers, but it’s too hot.”
“You know what I’m talking about.” She scooted her chair out and went to a drawer for two forks. Instead of returning to the chair across the table, she sat beside him.
They each used their forks to cut a bite of pizza.
“Why did they fire you?” he asked.
“Sleeping with the enemy, for openers, which I didn’t.”
“And?”
“Child endangerment.”
“Well, that’s true, if you thought I might be a killer.”
“Ha, you don’t know how close you were to a bullet.”
Rigger stopped chewing to stare at her.
“Remember that first day, when you bought us hot chocolate?”
He nodded.
“Did you ever see my right hand? No, you didn’t, because it was in my coat pocket, right next to my service revolver–which, by the way, I had to turn in today.”
“You had a gun on me?”
“Not actually on you, but I could have had it in my hand in an instant if you made a move on us. Same thing when you thought I was cleaning your kitchen. I had my eye on you the whole time while you were playing with Rachel.”
“Well…” He went back to his food. “I thought you were a pretty poor house cleaner.”
“I wanted to arrest you so bad, but I had no evidence, nothing I could take to court.”
“When did you go soft on me?”
“It was the second time Rachel and I went to your apartment. I began to see you were an okay guy.” Katrina twisted the caps off two wine coolers and set one in front of Rigger.
He took a drink. “And I guess you reported back to your chief that I wasn’t a suspect any longer?”
“I did, but Captain Billingsley didn’t buy it. Said I was getting cozy with you and I should back away for a while, maybe do paperwork or write parking tickets.”
“But you didn’t.”
“How could I?”
“He the one who fired you?”
“Yes. Not actually fired, but suspended until internal affairs completes their investigation. I think it was the third item on his list that really ticked him off.”
“What’s that?”
“Insubordination and not following department procedures.”
“That’s two items.”
“And the term ‘loose cannon’ came up more than a couple of times.”
“Sounds like you really pissed him off, but I can’t imagine you being insubordinate to anyone.” Rigger glanced around the kitchen, then got up to pull two paper towels from a roll lying beside the sink. He handed one to her and wiped his mouth with the other.
“Oh, I was insubordinate all right, and I also refused to stop seeing you.”
He turned to face her. “Was it worth it?”
She studied her slice of pizza for a moment. “Not yet.” She took a bite.
“You’re cute. Are we going to get drunk or what?”
“What.”
Rigger put down his bottle and took her in his arms. He kissed her lips, cheek, ear, then neck. When he nibbled on the top button of her blouse, she dropped her wine cooler. The bottle hit the table and tipped over, spilling the pink beverage. Neither of them seemed to notice.
He pushed aside his pizza and picked her up to sit her on the table before him. She spread apart her knees, and he pressed the side of his face to her breast. When he wrapped his arms around her, she hugged his neck and laid her cheek on his head.
“Rigger,” she whispered.
“Hmm?”
“Why is my butt wet?”
He dropped his hand to her butt, then to the tabletop. “Wine cooler,” he said, without shifting his position.
“Oh. Good.”
“Don’t you think you should change out of those wet jeans?”
“Not here.”
“Where?”
“Bedroom.”
“You have one?”
She eased forward, off the table and into his lap, straddling him.
When she kissed him, he felt her tongue brush his lips. He parted his lips, and their tongues met.
“Kat,” he whispered.
“Hmm?”
“Now my pants are wet.”
She threw back her head, laughing. “Did you bring a change?”
He shook his head.
“See that door?” she asked.
“No.”
“Open your eyes.”
“Oh, you mean the door with the flashing neon sign saying, ‘bedroom, bedroom, bedroom?’”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
Rigger carried her into the room, then sat on the bed, watching her unzip her jeans.
Katrina didn’t take off her jeans. Instead, she unbuttoned her blouse, keeping her eyes on him. When she reached the last button, she said, “You want to meet Thelma and Louise?”
Rigger’s eyes widened when he saw her pink see-through bra. He nodded without taking his eyes from her.
She slipped off the blouse and tossed it aside, then reached to unhook her bra.
“I never…” He stopped, swallowed, and blinked. He tried his voice again. “I never knew a woman who named her breasts.”
“Those aren’t Thelma and Louise, silly. These are.” Her bra fell to the floor as she crossed her arms over her breasts and slipped two tiny pistols from leather holsters taped to her lower back.
“Wow!”
She twirled the nickel-plated automatics on her trigger fingers while keeping her eyes on him. “Captain Billingsley didn’t know about these babies.” She flipped her right pistol in the air and caught it behind her back. “Where’s Thelma?”
Rigger glanced at her left hand, which she held out to him, palm up. “She’s gone.”
“Where’s Louise?”
Now her right hand was empty. She placed her hands together high over her head and wiggled her body.
Rigger couldn’t keep from smiling. He watched her hips sway and beautiful breasts jiggle.
She danced before him, then slowly turned her body until she faced away from him. She bent forward.
“Thelma and Louise!” he cried when he saw the two guns sticking halfway out of her hip pockets.
“You can touch them if you want.”
He reached for the swaying pistols, but she spun around, grabbing his hands.
He stood to face her.
“We better get out of these wet clothes,” she said.
“Here, let me help.”
* * * * *
Late the next morning, Rigger and Katrina stood in the hallway outside his apartment. He took her in his arms and kissed her. She leaned back, slipping her hands around his waist.
“You hungry?” he whispered near her ear.
“Uh-huh.” She glanced up at him. “Do you smell donuts?”
He sniffed the air. “No, do you?”
He reached into his pocket for his keys, but Katrina tried the door—it opened.
They stepped inside to find Pug and Autumn sitting close together on the couch. A box of Krispy Kreme donuts was on the coffee table.
“Rig!” Pug jumped to his feet. “We were worried about you.”
“Yes, I can see that.”
“Where have you guys been?” Autumn asked.
“Um…” Katrina said, “around.” She glanced at Rigger and grinned.
“Ah,” Autumn said with a smile, “is that the ‘around’ I think it is?”
“Never mind,” Rigger said. “I hope you two have enjoyed my apartment.”
He took a cream-filled donut and handed it to Katrina, then took another for himself. The two of them then sat together on the loveseat.
“Actually,” Autumn said, “we have been having a little fun.” She glanced at Pug.
“Is that the same ‘fun’ I think it is?” Katrina reached for a napkin to wipe her lips.
“Ha,” Pug laughed, “even better.”
Autumn elbowed Pug in the ribs as she spoke to Rigger. “Rig, do you Twitter?”
Rigger chewed and swallowed. “I Twitter and tweet.”
“Good.” Autumn picked up her phone from the table. “Check this out.” She touched a button on her new Galaxy phone, then keyed in a number with her thumbs.
Rigger wiped his hands on a napkin and took his phone from a hip pocket. He glanced at the display. “Should we be Twittering now?”
