TINY, CUTE, AND A LITTLE FUSSY
14
Nate : Jack told me you still didn’t get your car back.
Nate : I’ll pick you up when you’re done at the precinct.
Prudence : You don’t have to drive me everywhere, I can take an Uber. It’s not raining anymore, there shouldn’t be any problem.
Nate : 5:30 p.m, right? I’ll wait for you down the steps.
Prudence : How the hell do you know what time I’m supposed to be off?
Nate : You are friends with my little spies.
Nate : By the way, I know you don’t like surprises, but I’m supposed to bring you to the bar to celebrate your first month.
Nate : Act surprised.
Prudence : I was actually hoping for some time with Jack.
Nate : He’ll be there.
Nate : 5:30. No Uber. I’ll wait outside.
PRUDENCE
I’m doodling angrily on my notepad. Something that looks strangely like Nate but with a mustache and devil’s horns.
He’s obviously doing all this to poke Jack. Even if it’s just picking me up and driving me somewhere for a whole month, the old Jack would have gone feral to the idea of Nate and I alone together for more than five minutes. I know he’s trying to get a reaction out of him. But he won’t. Because Jack has changed. He no longer cares who I date, and doesn’t freak out like he used to.
Nate is wasting his time.
And annoying me in the process.
For a whole month, he’s been playing with my sanity, driving me and picking me up to and from the precinct, standing really close to me every time we were in the same room—overwhelming me with his heavenly damned scent—sending little jabs at Jack who played it off as jokes but whose smiles were forced nonetheless.
We’ve been seeing each other everyday. At least twice, if not more when I count the moments he came to the house to take care of Jack.
And, in some way, some of the animosity I had towards him vanished, although the words I overheard back in college are still nagging at me in the back of my mind. But we talked. A lot. About everything and anything.
We even laughed sometimes. I know, shocker, right? Because even though we’re getting along, I’m still growing anxious every time I know I’m going to spend time with him alone. And I’m scared that the little crush I briefly had will come back with a vengeance now that I actually know him, on top of his good looks and heavenly smell.
“Hey, Prudence, right?” A man asks behind me, and I turn to face him.
He is one of the detectives. Matthew, maybe?
“That’s me,” I smile.
“I’m Matthew.” Nailed it. “It’s nice to formally meet you,” he says kindly as we shake hands. “Are you free by any chance? I need a sketch. I have a woman here because she saw her dog being taken from her by a man in the park. We actually have a few cases that might be linked but no suspect at the moment. There are only two of you on call today and Mitchel went to a crime scene. It should be quick though, she seems to remember a lot of details about the guy.”
“Sure,” I smile, standing up and taking my tablet on my little cubicle desk. I leave my phone and my bag hanging on the back of my chair and follow him towards the interrogation room.
Quick, my ass. That woman was completely over the place. She remembered the guy having veiny arms but not the color of his shirt—’ but it was silk, I’m certain of it’ . She was able to tell me he had flip-flops, but was not sure about the color of his hair— after all, who would wear flip-flops? That’s a crime against fashion —nor if he had a beard or any distinct features. We’re looking for a man between eighteen and seventy-five, who had either brown or ginger hair, really pale skin, with veiny arms, and a terrible sense of fashion.
And I’ve been stuck there for nearly three hours.
“I’m sorry, it was such a waste of time.” Matthew sighs.
I force a reassuring smile as we walk back together towards my desk. “I know it happens. I don’t understand how she could remember all those things, but nothing actually useful. If I had a dog and someone stole it from me in front of my eyes, I never would have focused on flip-flops.”
“I know, right? Flip-flops, of all things. Like he’s the only person in L.A wearing flip-flops. Just go to any beach, and you’ll find him among thousands of other suspects.”
I chuckle, picturing that woman walking on a beach with a detective and pointing to every flip-flops guy she sees swearing that it might be the thief.
“So, um, I was wondering… Me and a few other detectives are going out tonight to celebrate a case we closed yesterday. There will be a few of our sketch artists too. Do you want to join?”
We stop a couple of feet from my desk and we’re facing each other. He has an alliance. He’s not trying to flirt, but probably just being cordial with the new girl. Maybe it would be fun to join them, some other time—when I don’t have other surprise plans.
“Actually, I—”
“She has plans. And she’s late.”
We both turn abruptly towards my desk, where Nate is waiting, his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Matthew, a visitor’s pass hanging around his neck.
Matthew gives him a grin, and my eyes widen in surprise.
“Reed, what’s up man?”
Nate stays silent for a bit, while I try to process what’s happening. Do they know each other? Los Angeles is big, you can live for years next to someone and never learn their name. How would they know each other?
“How’s your back?” Nate asks, tilting his head once towards him.
“Better. I can’t ever thank you enough for that.” His smile broadens. “My wife too. She was getting a little tired of playing house nurse,” he chuckles, and Nate’s lips stretch slightly in what appears to be the beginning of a smile.
“Glad to hear that you finally got your head out of your ass.”
What the…
Matthew laughs openly now. What is happening? Did Nate treat him or something? For a back injury? But why is he talking to him like this?
“And I’m glad you’re still not scared of pulling our head out of it. Hard to find a physiotherapist who’s not scared shitless to put us in our place when we deserve to.”
Nate grins widely now. “And I’m happy to. You guys are just big babies playing with badges and guns. You need the occasional reality check.”
“Why are you here anyway? You know Prudence?” Matthew asks, sliding both hands in his pockets, his posture relaxed.
“I do. Her car still hasn’t been fixed?”
“It’s with the mechanics,” he nods. “I still can’t believe that shit happened. We were expecting the rain, that part of the parking lot should have been out of service for days.”
“Or maybe the underground parking should have been fixed,” Nate adds with a shrug, his arms crossed over his chest. “But yeah, I’m her ride while her car is—”
“Prudence?”
My whole body tenses.
Fuck. Either by luck or something else, I managed to avoid him for the whole month. I don’t notice Nate taking the few steps separating us until his arm is flush against mine.
“What are you still doing here? You should be done for today,” Raph says, stopping in front of us a little out of breath like he rushed here. “Can we talk for a minute?”
“Is it about her car?” Nate asks in a bored voice, not leaving time for me to answer and I hold a frown, more and more annoyed by his tendency to speak for me.
Raph finally turns his face towards him and his brows crease in confusion. “Nate? What are you—are you treating someone?”
He cocks a brow. “I saw Daniel for his shoulder. But now I’m waiting for Prue to be done chatting so we can get moving.”
His hand slides around my back towards my hip and pulls me flush against his side, making me gasp.
“ What? ” I hiss. “You were the one chatting!” You damn moron.
The bastard has the audacity to just shrug with a satisfied smile. And I know I said we were fine and I had no excuses to hate him, but right now, I feel like punching him in the face in front of all the officers and detectives, new job be damned.
“Can we go, baby ?” Nate asks, ignoring my little outburst. “They’re all waiting at the bar. Happy hour starts soon and they secured one of the sitting areas on the edge of the deck.”
My frown deepens. Did he just call me baby ?
“Oh, you going to Tipsy Turtle?” Matthew asks, cutting me from any retort, obviously oblivious to the weird mood change.
Nate only nods, glaring towards Raph.
I try to step away, but he holds me tight. That ass could have told me he knew him. He had the opportunity to when he picked me up after I signed my contract and asked me about him.
“So, I hear you’re back with the wife?” He says, arching an eyebrow at Raph, and my former lover tenses slightly but gives him a nod anyway. “Well I’d love to hear the whole story, but we have to get going.”
“We’ll probably see you there,” Matthew says cheerfully, interrupting Raph who was about to say something. “That’s where we’re going to celebrate all our closed cases.” He winks at me with a kind smile.
I think I like him. He’s nice. Without being flirty. Even though he’s absolutely clueless about the tension in our little group right now.
What an adorable innocent soul.
“Great,” Nate grumbles. “I guess we’ll see you later then.” He picks up my purse from the back of my chair and doesn’t move his hand from my hip, pulling me with him towards the elevator.
I don’t bother fighting, and even wait patiently when he gives his pass back and exchange niceties with the front desk officer.
But I finally snap the moment the doors of his car close.
“Let’s get things straight, here,” I say firmly and he turns a confused face towards me, halting his hand from putting the key in the ignition. “You don’t get to speak for me. What happened between Raph and I is none of your business, and you shut up about it unless I ask you to step in. You don’t get to act all controlling, because I’m just going to hate you and push you away. I thought we were fine and you were just trying to piss my brother off, but this is going too far.”
His brows crease slightly and he opens his mouth to talk but I stop him, holding up a finger. “Maybe in that weird brain of yours you feel like you’re helping, but you’re not. It’s not college anymore. I’m a grown ass woman, and I can stand up for myself. You want to meddle? I don’t want you to, but that’s fine. But don’t you fucking dare talk for me. I have a voice, and I can fucking use it. And why the hell did you call me baby ?
“Secondly, you should have told me you knew him when you picked me up that first time. Now, I just feel stupid. Or stupider than I was already feeling before. It’s bad enough that I have to work with a guy I hooked up with once a month ago, and finding out he’s a co-worker the day after I find out he’s actually back with his ex. Not that I actually care, because I knew that was a one night stand and it didn’t mean anything, but it makes me feel awkward at work. Anyway, I’m losing track here. The point is, I can speak for myself. And you should have told me. And I’m sorry I snapped, but I’m really mad at you right now. You’re—”
“Don’t apologize,” he says softly, his eyes lost on the unmoving road in front of him. “ I’m sorry. You’re right.”
My mouth opens slightly in surprise. “I’m—what?”
“You’re right. I overstepped. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken for you. With the scolding you’re giving me now, you’re obviously quite capable of standing your ground,” he chuckles softly and my body relaxes a bit. “You don’t have to apologize. I’m sorry. And I promise I won’t do that again. Well, after tonight.”
A frown comes back to my face and I fist my hands on my lap. “Nate, what—”
“Look, I know,” he interrupts, finally turning the key to start the car, shaking his head slightly. “But the guys from the precinct are going to be at Tipsy Turtle. Including Raphael and his… His wife. I don’t want him to try and talk to you there, it would only cause trouble. Meredith is a Lawyer, and you’ll see her at the precinct. If she knows Raphael and you had a thing, she’ll make your life a living hell.” He pauses and exits the parking spot carefully. “So I promise I’ll stop. After tonight. We’re getting the red wristbands, bonus points to poke Jack. Raph will leave you alone if he thinks you’re with me, and Meredith won’t consider you a threat.”
I groan in frustration and let the back of my head hit the headrest. “That’s a dumb idea.”
“It’s not. You’re obviously trying to avoid Raph and he clearly doesn’t get the message. If he thinks you’re with me, he’ll know you’ve moved on and want nothing to do with him. Meredith won’t think you’re out for her man. Jack will either finally get mad, or won’t do anything, and in that case, I’ll give up my little crusade.”
That peaks my interest. I don’t like Nate trying to make Jack angry on purpose. I think it doesn’t help Jack make things right. Well, I don’t think, I know. I’m sure. It’s an obvious obstacle to fixing their relationship.
I sigh and roll my eyes. “Just tonight? And we’re not pretending to do anything, just getting the red wristbands?”
There’s a bit of silence before he answers. “Right. Nothing. Just the red wristbands and we stick together.”
That actually seems like a harmless plan. If Jack asks, I’ll tell him it’s just to push Raph away. I don’t want him getting the wrong idea.
“And then you promise you’ll stop giving Jack shit and really let him try to fix things up?”
He gives me a quick glance and nods once before focusing back on the road.
Good. That’s good. He’s doing this to help me get rid of Raph and annoy Jack one last time . Then it all goes back to normal. Jack and Nate being friends again. Me being free to do whatever I want without them meddling. Jack—hopefully—giving Ikram a chance, Evie finding her person for the night, and all will be perfect. A happy and healthier Jack in a long awaited romantic relationship. Evie falling in love with a man or woman for a week before getting bored and falling in love all over again with another. Me, free of Nate and Jack’s meddling and able to do whatever I want without them lurking over my shoulder. And Nate… Well, he can do whatever and whoever he wants.
We park in front of the bar and he stops the car. He turns around, fumbles with stuff on the backseat and picks up a dark button down shirt that he brings upfront.
And then I gape, my eyes wide, as he takes off his tee-shirt.
Alright. My memories are not giving him justice. Or is he looking even better now? Are my eyes also betraying—
“You’re drooling, baby . You really gotta act like you’re used to seeing me like this.”
I want to wipe that stupid smirk off with a handful of sand.
“Don’t call me baby. That’s weird.”
“You’ve got to get used to it. Make it at least a little bit believable when Raph gets here.”
“Baby is a stupid pet name,” I mumble.
“I’ll try to come up with something better, then. But it suits you. You’re tiny, cute, and a little fussy.”
I gasp. “I am not fussy. Nor tiny, for that matter.”
He smirks, sliding his arms in his shirtsleeves. “Not complaining about the cute, that’s at least one out of three.”
I roll my eyes and exit the car just as he starts buttoning the shirt, and I’m sure I hear him laugh when I slam the door behind me.