Look but Don't Choke

Chapter 19

"So we caught her right on top of her boyfriend's other girlfriend trying to choke the shit out of her."

I laughed. "That's fucked up!"

"Oh, it was! I got calls like that all the time back when I was a beat cop."

Manny and I stood outside on a busy sidewalk in front of an Italian restaurant where we'd dined on cheese-stuffed tortellini, fried calamari and drank glasses of imported wine. The Sunday evening had grown brisk and chilly but I barely noticed as we stood face to face in the busy downtown crowd wallowing in each other's easy company.

"Did you like being a beat cop?" I said with an unusually supple voice.

"Not really. The job ranged from crazy boring to horrifically dangerous. I don't even have to shoot my gun too often as a detective. That's a plus."

"So you like being a detective then?"

"I love it." The effortless smile he gave me sent a shot of heat straight through me. "What about you? Do you enjoy Taste Teas?"

"I do. I love waking up every morning and knowing there's something on this Earth that I own. It's mine, you know? Well, mine and the bank's but it's the same thing really-and as a plus I get to boss people around, and that's a huge ego boost."

My heart leaped when he laughed at my joke. "There are a few people I get to boss around too so I know what you're talking about. And I know what it's like to own a little piece of Earth too."

"That's right you have a house on the east side."

"Yeah, nothing that spectacular. Two stories, three bedrooms and a yard."

"Better than what I got," A stronger wind blew over and I shivered.

He smiled as he reached out to pull my sweater closer together and let his thumbs linger for a moment just below my breasts. He's getting brazen but I like it. "You thinking about buying a house anytime soon?" He made no move to step back out of my space.

"You sound just like my accountant. I've been so busy the last few years building up Taste Teas that I haven't had the time to build my life up in the same way. But you gotta let me see the house sometimes. It sounds nice."

"You can see it tonight if you want."

Whoa. "Oh. I, uh-well..."

"I-no, I didn't mean to imply, it was just an ill timed joke." He played it off but I'd already seen the spark of intent in his eye.

"It's okay. The sentiment is welcomed."

"Evie, you're beautiful." His eyes darkened as he inched closer, heating the air between us. "Can I kiss you?"

"You're asking my permission?"

"I am."

"Then yeah. Kiss me."

By the time the word 'yes' came out of my mouth he'd circled his arms around my waist and pulled me firmly against him. He didn't hesitate to crush his mouth over mine as his hands pressed into my lower sides trying to feel through the fabric of my cotton skirt and squeezing when he felt something he especially liked. Instinctively my arms crept up his shoulders and wrapped around his neck, deepening our kiss.

Maybe I could see his house. Just for an hour, you know?

But before I could decide his phone went off. "Shit." He was quick to let me go and dig around in his coat pocket for the offending object. "Juarez."