The Detective and Her Bachelor

Chapter 6

"Ready to meet your future husband?" Decker asked, without offering me so much as a glance as I walked out the front door glammed up to a ridiculous level in my glitzy green dress, wild red curls, and blood-red lipstick. 

It had taken me twenty minutes to convince Cici that wearing heels was OUT of the question without more practice. I didn't need another reason to be embarrassed. The shocked look on Coffee Boy's face before he threw me out was going to be plenty of reason to want to die a little while being recorded for a reality tv show. 

"Hardy har har," I replied, holding the door open so Laurence, Cici, and Jay could walk out with far more clothes than any one human could EVER use in a six-week time period. 

They shuffled down the porch, Cici stopping at the bottom to stare at my choice of flats with an unhidden look of disappointment before they moved to a dark blue car parked across the street, and drove off with all of the clothes for the show.

"Hang in there Ms. Falls," Laurence said as he passed by. "Try to stay out of trouble," he offered with a grin. 

I snorted, crossing my arms. "Says the guy I busted out of jail."

Laurence laughed, pretending it was a joke and not an actual event he wished could be erased before reaching Decker and shaking his hand. Then Laurence disappeared into a slick black car parked on the side of the road, leaving me standing on the porch with a bored-looking Decker.

"You done standing there?" Decker asked, before walking to the passenger side of a black sportscar he had been leaning against. "If you are done posing, we should go." 

I bit back a sharp response, plucking up my duffle bag full of clothes that had been ruled as 'ew' by the fashionistas that had dressed me. Then I locked the front door and stomped down the stairs with zero grace whatsoever, using my free hand to hike up the dress to rediculous heights so I wouldn't trip on the way down.

Walking to the car, I ignored Decker as I yanked open the back door and chucked my bag inside. Turning, I found Decker holding the passenger door open, waiting for me to climb inside. 

"You trying to be chiverlrious now?" I asked, shoving my hands into my dress pockets. 

"Just here to offer help if you struggle with getting in," he replied, staring off at the cracks on my driveway. 

I eyed the door and realized what he meant. Getting inside a car with a low seat in a large dress had a high potential for disaster. "Turn around," I muttered. 

"What?" he asked finally glancing at me with a raised brow. 

I didn't want him watching me struggle. "Just do it."

He sighed and turned his back to the door, giving me a private moment to figure out the geometry and physics required to hoist myself inside the low riding car without ripping anything or falling on my face. I tried to climb in feet first, but nearly slammed my head on the top of the door. Gritting my teeth, I tried crawling in knees first, but tripped over the dress material and hit the seat devider square in the face. Scrambling back out, I bit back several swears as I glared at the car. 

"Did you pick a low riding car on purpose?" 

Decker's back was still to me, but I could hear the smile in his voice. "No. Just a happy coincidence." 

"Wonderful," I growled touching my chin gingerly, ignoring the brand new heartbeat in my face from my run in with the seat devider. Jay would probably have to add another layer of skin colored gunk to hide the bruise. 

"Would you like help?" Decker asked, tone amused. 

I closed my eyes, bracing myself. "Fine." Turning, Decker held out his hand, eyes unreadable. I stared at it with a suspicious expression. "What?"