Greeting Cards For Exes

Chapter Thirteen

P IPER

My heart hammered in my chest as I attempted to raise my arms above my head. Oh God. I’d never had a run in with the police before. Not even a speeding ticket.

Sal, whose arms had only moments ago held me in a headlock, straightened suddenly with his hands up, crying like a baby.

“What is going on in here?” One of the officers trailed their gaze over us, gun drawn.

“Are you the only officer who works in Chicago?” Kerrie asked from beside me.

I followed her gaze to a tall man with dark skin and a gaze that burned like a hot cup of coffee.

He seemed startled. “Ker—I mean, Ms. Holloway? What are you doing here?”

“Um, trying to have a drink with my friends until that man,” she nodded at Griff, but kept her hands over her head, “decided to grope our friend.”

“I didn’t grope her on purpose. I tripped and that’s where my hand landed, her breast.” He gave a shrug like it was no big deal. “The crazy woman came at me, striking me in the face with her luggage.”

“It was my purse, you fool. And don’t you tell me it was an accident. I saw you smile as soon as you did it.” Maude snarled, nearly launching herself at him again. “You’ve been trying for years to seduce me, you dirty old man.”

I reached out with one hand and caught her, keeping her in place, while I kept my other hand in the air. “Maude, now might not be the time for that.”

“She’s right. I need everyone to calm down so we can take statements.”

“Can this be my statement?” Sal pointed to his bloody nose, where I’d landed a punch. “First, that old broad attacks my dad, and I try to come to his aid, then this twit punches me.”

“You totally deserved it.” My voice rose several octaves in defense, but I quickly shut my mouth to keep from incriminating myself further.

“This is what I get for picking up an extra shift tonight,” the officer that seemed to know Kerrie said.

Then, it dawned on me. This must be Demarcus, the guy she’d made out with after the concert. Officer of the Dildo-Divorce-Gate as Kerrie had dubbed it.

“Please don’t tell Sophie about this. I’ve never been in trouble before,” Kerrie cried. Her brows furrowed, tears streaming down her face.

“I don’t generally discuss work with my kids.” His gaze softened momentarily, but then he went right back to work.

“I told them to knock it off,” the bartender said loud enough for us all to hear. “I didn’t want any trouble. But not a damn one of them listened. I can’t run a bar with people fighting and scaring off all my customers.”

My gaze narrowed. I had half a mind to design a ‘shut the hell up’ card line specifically for this guy. Not that we weren’t in the wrong, but shit, he acted like we were hardened criminals and had set out to ruin the joint.

After the officers took all our statements, they came over. “We’re going to have to bring you in,” Officer Walker said.

Then they read us our rights.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Wonderful. I’d seen this procedure several times on TV, but I never thought I’d be the one getting arrested.

“Wait, what are our charges?” I asked, mouth dry like I’d sucked on a bag of cotton balls. Not that it mattered at this point what our charges were. The fact was, we were being hauled off to jail.

Officer Walker peered over at me. “Disorderly conduct.”

I had no idea what that even meant. Was it a misdemeanor? A felony? How much time would I have to serve? Oh man, I didn’t want to wear an orange jumpsuit and get beat up in the showers or be forced to become someone’s lover. I’d seen this on TV, too.

Once we’d been patted down, Maude, Kerrie, and I were loaded into one patrol car while the guys were loaded into the other.

Kerrie sat between me and Maude, her mascara smeared on her cheeks. “He’s never going to want to see me again after this. D-do you think they’ll let us make a phone call? I need to let Sophie know I won’t be home tonight. Jesus, this is such a mess.”

“Shh, it’ll be alright. We’ll get it figured out.”

“That damn Griff. This is all his fault,” Maude snapped. “If it wasn’t for his wanton needs and boob grabbing, we never would’ve had to fight.”

It took us about twenty minutes to get to the jail, at which time we were brought through a heavy metal door and down a narrow hallway.

Already, the heat in the building overwhelmed me. The air was stale and smelled like various body odors. There were several cells we passed by, but they weren’t like the ones in movies with the metal bars. These were rooms with heavy metal doors, which had small slots where windows should be to see in and hear what was going on. There was also a slotted tiny door further down, where it looked like things could be handed in.

My legs nearly buckled beneath me. My heart skittered out of control. Crap. I felt like I might puke at any moment. This is where they housed criminals. Like actual hardened criminals, and I was stuck here.

We were brought over to booking where correction officers sat ready to log our information and double check what had been on our persons when we came in. Apparently, our belongings would be put in a locker, and we’d get them when and if we were released.

It took about forty-five minutes for everything—my mug shot, fingerprints, my personal data being uploaded onto their system. I’d now and forever have a record.

“Alright, ladies, follow me. You’re going to be in Tank One. There’s a phone in there, so if you need to make a call, now’s the time to do it.”

“Can we bond out?” I asked, not that I had any of my credit cards or debit cards on me at the moment, and even if I did, they were now tucked away with the rest of my belongings.

“I told you when we were processing you, your bond is twenty-five hundred dollars.” The officer seemed annoyed.

“Sorry, I must have missed that.” For shit’s sake, it wasn’t like I got arrested all the time. I’d been freaking out since the cops first stepped foot into the bar. My mind couldn’t keep up with everything around me.

Once we stepped into the “tank,” which consisted of a smallish room, a metal toilet against the back wall, a phone near the front, and a few mattresses on the floor, I nearly lost all the contents of my stomach.

A thin woman with long, greasy blonde hair glowered at us. “Stop looking at me, bitch.”

My head spun back to face the door that’d just slammed shut behind us. Crap.

“Do you know who I am?” the lady asked. She started howling and trying to climb up the wall.

“Sweet Jesus,” Maude said. “What the hell is wrong with her?”

“Don’t say it too loud. She might kill us,” I whispered.

“I’d like to see her try.”

“Well, I wouldn’t.” I leaned against the wall, the sudden urge to pee coming over me. But there’s no way I wanted to use the bathroom in front of everyone.

“Keep it down in there,” one of the officers yelled at the lady through the slotted window.

“Wolves can howl if they want,” the woman spat back.

“I’m going to try to call Sophie.” Kerrie hurried to the phone while trying to avoid the woman at the center of the cell. “Sophie, it’s Mom. Please pick up. Hey, yeah, I-I’m not going to make it home tonight. No, that recording was a joke. I’m not really in jail.” She gave a fake laugh, her eyes wide as she met my gaze. “Can you call Dad to tell him you guys will need a ride to school?”

Kerrie’s shoulders hunched. I felt bad for her. I knew her kids counted on her.

“No, I’m not with a guy, either. I’m with some friends from work. One of them had a really bad break up and needs me.” She paused again. “Even if I was spending the night with a man, I wouldn’t tell you.”

From where I stood, I heard Sophie laugh. “Whatever, Mom. Enjoy yourself.”

When Kerrie hung up, she came over to stand next to me. “H-how are we going to get out of here?”

“I’m trying to think of someone to call for bond. Whoever it is, I can pay them back tomorrow,” I said.

Getting ahold of my stepdad was out of the question. He’d probably call my mom, and I’d never hear the end of it. Shit. But on the other hand, I didn’t want to spend the night with werewolf girl howling in the cell.

“All our bonds are twenty-five hundred, right?” I glanced at the other two.

“Yes, but that’s triple someone would have to come up with. I don’t have anyone I can call. Damn Corny for leaving me.” Maude shook her head in dismay, tapping her heel on the floor.

“I-I have some money in my savings I could pay someone back with. It means I won’t be able to move out of the house for a while, but it’s better than being stuck in here.”

I groaned. Who could I call?

Wooyoung! Of course. He knew all three of us. But did he have that kind of money laying around? Damn it. When we’d gone on our first date, he’d talked about having to bail his ex out of jail. Would he think I was just like her? The only other option would be to sit overnight and wait to be arraigned in front of a judge, which I definitely didn’t want to do.

“Let me call Wooyoung.”

“Do you know his number?” Kerrie clutched my arm, hope filling her tear-filled eyes.

My face flushed. “Yes, I memorized it after our first date.”

Hopefully he picked up. It was getting super late. A recording came on for me to say my name. A second later, I heard Wooyoung’s voice.

“Piper? Why are you calling me collect from jail?”

“Oh, my God. It’s a long story, but I have a huge favor to ask. Maude, Kerrie, and I got arrested tonight for disorderly conduct when we went out for a drink. There was this guy who grabbed Maude, then all kinds of hell broke loose,” I said in a flurry of words. “Is there any way you can come bond us out? We can all pay you back tomorrow. I’ll even throw in interest.”

The howling lady stopped trying to climb the wall and fell to her knees on all fours and started to bark, a puddle beneath her.

She’d pissed on the floor.

“What is that noise? Are you guys okay?”

“It’s some crazy lady that’s in the cell with us. I know we’ve only been dating for a short time, but I swear, I’ll pay you back if you can do this.”

“How much?”

“For all three of us, it’s seventy-five hundred.”

I waited for him to say no, but he was quiet for a long moment instead.

“Okay. I’ll be down there as soon as I can.”

“I could kiss you right now. Thank you. I owe you big time.” My voice cracked with emotion. “I promise, I’ll make this up to you.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“I know.” But there weren’t too many people I knew who would drop that kind of money to bond three women out of jail.

“I’ll see you soon, Piper.”

When I hung up, tears fell from my lashes. “He’s going to come bond us out.”

“Thank goodness! You better hang on to him,” Maude said. “Not every man would do something like that.”

I smiled. “I know, but do you guys realize how embarrassing this is?”

“Tell me about it,” Kerrie said. “Demarcus was just starting to take an interest in me, but I doubt he’s going to ask me on a date after this charade. I wish the floor would swallow me up.”

“Well, who knows, maybe he likes a girl in handcuffs,” I teased.

She groaned. “Not helping.”

***

A S WE WERE BEING OUT -processed, Griff, Sal, and Tony also got bonded. We stood together, all of us waiting our turn.

Griff cleared his throat and faced Maude. “Look, I really didn’t mean to grope you. Believe me or not. However, I’d like to make a proposition that none of us file assault charges.”

Maude frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I know I accidentally grabbed you. But what about your friends? Sal wasn’t the first to throw a punch back at the bar.” He glanced at me.

My nose wrinkled. “He’s right, I did throw the first punch at him.”

“None of us need charges on our record.” Maude sighed. “Fine. I agree, but if you ever touch me like that I again, I will not hold back my wrath.”

It took us about two hours to get released. Wooyoung posted our bond, then we were given appearance dates for court.

“Do you guys just want to crash at my place tonight since it’s so late?” Wooyoung asked from the driver’s seat.

“If that’s what’s easiest,” Maude said with a yawn. “My old body can’t handle too many of these late nights.”

“Yeah, I already told Sophie I wouldn’t be home until tomorrow. I don’t want to scare everyone by walking in in the middle of the night,” Kerrie agreed.

My hand found Wooyoung’s, and I gave it a squeeze. “I’m fine with that. Do you have enough room for all of us?”

“If you’re fine sharing a room with me, then Maude and Kerrie can use the guest room which has two double beds.”

My pulse raced, even if I was fatigued. The idea of falling asleep next to Wooyoung still made me giddy.

“Okay.”

When we got to his apartment, Wooyoung showed everyone where things were at. I followed him upstairs, kicking my shoes off near his closet.

“Do you want something else to sleep in?” He gestured to my jeans.

“If you don’t mind. Also, I’m going to use the bathroom. I was too scared to use the toilet in the cell.”

He chuckled. “I never imagined hearing those words come from your mouth.”

I flushed. “Me, either. But thank you for being so understanding. I know your ex put you through a lot, so the fact that you came to our rescue, no questions asked, is amazing.”

He handed me one of his t-shirts and a pair of long flannel pajama pants with a string. “I like you, and I know you’re not the type of girl to get in trouble with the law. And if I ever meet this Griff guy or his son, I might sock them in the jaw myself. Why didn’t any of you press assault charges?”

“Er...because then we’d all have had that charge. I gave Sal a bloody nose, Maude hit Griff, so we all decided, collectively between the guys and girls, not to pursue that.”

He shook his head. “Go on and get changed. Do you want anything to eat or drink before bed?”

I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was already after three in the morning. “No, I’m good.”

I went into his bathroom and slid out of my clothes. After relieving myself, I washed my hands and tugged his t-shirt over my head. The flannel pants were super long, so I decided to forgo them and just wear the shirt.

When I came out, Wooyoung stood shirtless in a pair of jogging shorts. I swallowed hard. His six pack had me daydreaming of things I’d like to do him. For starters, running my hands along the contoured muscles and working their way down.

Crap. Sharing a bed with him tonight would definitely be difficult. My eyes trailed over him until our gazes clashed.

“You ready for bed now?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

“Yes.”

I set my things on top of his dresser, then climbed into bed. He situated himself next to me, then he flipped off the bedside lamp.

He scooted closer until his hand cupped my face. “Try and get some sleep, Piper.”

“I will.” My lips brushed against his. Heart thrashing, I snuggled against him as his arm wrapped around my waist.

“Goodnight,” I said.

“Goodnight. I know it’s kind of soon in our relationship, and I don’t expect you to say it back yet, but I’m falling for you, Piper. I just felt like you should know.”

The ‘L’ word. Something I didn’t think anyone would ever say to me again. Not that he actually said it yet. He was right, I wasn’t ready to say it back yet. But maybe soon.

I caressed his cheek, then closed my eyes. “Do you think Mr. Dancy would be mad if we all called to say we’re going to be late tomorrow?”

Wooyoung’s chest vibrated against me with a laugh. “Probably, but it’s fine. I’ll tell him you guys had an emergency and I had to help you. No worries.”

No worries. Was there any such thing? “Let’s just hope he doesn’t find out his greeting card staff went to jail.”

“I’m sure he won’t.” After a long silence and with hesitation in his voice, he spoke into my hair. “Also, I wondered if you might like to meet my parents someday soon?” This was followed by another bout of silence, and a slight shift in the bed. “I’ve told them a lot about you, and they’d like you to come to dinner so they can get to know you.”

Meeting parents was a big deal. Was it too soon? I mean, we’d only been dating about a month. Although, in that time, he’d already bailed me out of jail and saved me from my ex. Even if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure, I was ready.

“Sure, just let me know when.”