Flash Fiction Friday - Not again...
Happy Saturday, lovelies! Eek! This week went fast. But honestly, I swear each week has been flying by. We’re almost in October. How crazy is that? Hope you enjoy this week’s flash! Rory’s partner is fun! lol
Writing Prompt ~ Not again… (Provided by Deborah) Scene #8
Rory fiddled with the beer label on the bottle, trying to ignore Reese’s snickering. He should’ve never told him about Brooke and everything that occurred. Yeah, sure, he had to tell Reese about what she said about her boss, but everything else—should’ve kept it zipped up tightly. Reese was having way too much fun at his expense.
“How are your balls now? Should I get Tank to get you an ice pack?” Reese asked in a soft voice as if talking to a child—but of course with the snickering behind each word told him he wasn’t being serious.
Funny enough, Rory wouldn’t say no to an ice pack. His balls still had a lingering pain. Hello! Claws dug into his skin. That shit hurt.
“Are you done yet?”
Reese shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. But I’m definitely putting this in my mental box. Never going to forget it.”
“You are the worst best friend in the entire world.”
“Yet, you’d be lost without me.” Reese winked, then clinked bottles with his. “You going to drink that, or just keep playing with the damn label?”
He didn’t look at Reese. Any sort of eye contact would probably be his downfall. His partner—and yeah, his best friend of fifteen years—would see the truth.
He liked Brooke. Crazy cat lady, and although not a suspect, definitely a witness in a murder investigation.
“You could always feign some more questions and drop by her place. Get that kiss you didn’t manage to get the first time around. Just lock the cat in a dungeon or something. Far, far away from your balls.”
Rory couldn’t hold back chuckling along with Reese, even though it wouldn’t be funny if Willow sunk her claws into him again. No, thanks.
Just one more reason why Reese would always be his best friend no matter how much he wanted to hate him sometimes. Because he knew the heart of the problem without even needing to make eye contact. Damn him.
“It wouldn’t work. No, thanks.”
“Shit. Not again,” Reese muttered.
“What?” Rory looked around the small dingy bar they liked to venture to after a long day’s work. It was around the block from the precinct, sort of hidden from the main drag. One had to enter through the alleyway, so unless a person knew about the location, people passed by it. It didn’t make Rory sad because he liked it better when it wasn’t busy. Sometimes trouble did walk in, and Tank, who ran the bar, always appreciated it more when he and Reese stepped in to take care of the problem. Not that Tank couldn’t handle any problems his way—former military, he could handle anything. But he also liked to fly under the radar, so letting them step in was always on the top of Tank’s list.
Reese whacked him on the back of the head. “You’re being an idiot.”
He rubbed the back of his head, finally glancing at Reese with a menacing glare. “What the hell was that for?”
“To knock some sense into you. You always do this with women. You find a potential good one—one you really like—but instead of doing something about it, like asking her out like a man, you walk away creating issues in your head that it would never work out anyway.”
“Umm…murdered boss. Investigation. Witness. Need I say more?”
Although, Rory wouldn’t dispute anything Reese said. It was all true. But hell, he was sick of women putting him through the wringer. It was just easier to avoid them.
And she owned the demon cat from hell. That should be enough of a reason to stay as far away as possible.
“Excuses. But whatever, it’s your balls not getting tender loving care, not mine.” Then Reese took a sip of beer, looking away as if the conversation was over.
Rory laughed. Because Reese wasn’t getting any loving care to his balls either. Neither of them had dated in a while. Maybe Rory should twist the conversation around and focus on Reese’s dating life instead. See how he liked it.
Before he could snap back, his phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, he didn’t recognize the number, but that didn’t mean anything. He got calls all the time from people he didn’t know, usually pertaining to a case.
“This is Detective Walker.”
“I need you. I think. I don’t know actually. The doorbell went off and I checked it, but no one was there. Then Willow had the same weird feeling as me, so we went upstairs and now I’m afraid to go back down there.”
Well, it didn’t take a genius to figure out who was on the other line, even though she didn’t say hello or identify herself.
Brooke just had a way about her that made it easy to decipher who it was. Plus, he’d never forget her voice. Soft and smooth—with, unfortunately, a hint of fear.
“Is someone in the house? Did you hear anything?”
“No and no. At least, I think the first question is a no. Someone rang the doorbell, but nobody was there. That’s odd, isn’t it?”
“Yeah—”
“Okay, so you’ll come over and do a sweep of the house? Is that how you say it? Or check the perimeter? I don’t know the lingo.”
Rory had to suppress a laugh. This woman never failed to surprise him. And she loved to talk—or one could call it babbling. But she interrupted before he could say, “Yeah, but it could just be a bunch of teenagers having fun or something.”
He decided not to say it at all. She truly sounded scared.
And perhaps Reese was right—the bastard. He did want that kiss.
“Where are you upstairs? In your bedroom?”
“Yes, with the door locked.”
Perfect place to kiss.
“I’ll be right there.” He couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his lips. “To check the perimeter and make a sweep of the house.”
He hung up after reassuring Brooke a few more times he’d be right there.
“I actually thought there might be a problem with your lady love, but with the shit-eating grin on your face, now I think Brooke needs to think about what you said and read between the lines.”
Rory stood up, shoving his phone back in his pocket. “Shut up.”
“Have fun sweeping the house and checking that perimeter,” Reese said with a double wink.
“I will, asshole.” Then Rory whacked him on the back of the head and left.
He drove fast. For two reasons. One, just in case there was an actual problem. Two, because he was dying for that kiss.
When he got to her house, everything looked fine in the driveway and her yard. Although, as he neared her front door, his gut started to churn.
The door was slightly ajar.
Brooke didn’t mention that.
♥♥♥
If you’d like to start the story at the beginning, you can find the other scenes here:
Scene 1 | Scene 2 | Scene 3 | Scene 4 | Scene 5 | Scene 6 | Scene 7
Writing Prompt ~ Not again… (Provided by Deborah) Scene #8
Rory fiddled with the beer label on the bottle, trying to ignore Reese’s snickering. He should’ve never told him about Brooke and everything that occurred. Yeah, sure, he had to tell Reese about what she said about her boss, but everything else—should’ve kept it zipped up tightly. Reese was having way too much fun at his expense.
“How are your balls now? Should I get Tank to get you an ice pack?” Reese asked in a soft voice as if talking to a child—but of course with the snickering behind each word told him he wasn’t being serious.
Funny enough, Rory wouldn’t say no to an ice pack. His balls still had a lingering pain. Hello! Claws dug into his skin. That shit hurt.
“Are you done yet?”
Reese shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. But I’m definitely putting this in my mental box. Never going to forget it.”
“You are the worst best friend in the entire world.”
“Yet, you’d be lost without me.” Reese winked, then clinked bottles with his. “You going to drink that, or just keep playing with the damn label?”
He didn’t look at Reese. Any sort of eye contact would probably be his downfall. His partner—and yeah, his best friend of fifteen years—would see the truth.
He liked Brooke. Crazy cat lady, and although not a suspect, definitely a witness in a murder investigation.
“You could always feign some more questions and drop by her place. Get that kiss you didn’t manage to get the first time around. Just lock the cat in a dungeon or something. Far, far away from your balls.”
Rory couldn’t hold back chuckling along with Reese, even though it wouldn’t be funny if Willow sunk her claws into him again. No, thanks.
Just one more reason why Reese would always be his best friend no matter how much he wanted to hate him sometimes. Because he knew the heart of the problem without even needing to make eye contact. Damn him.
“It wouldn’t work. No, thanks.”
“Shit. Not again,” Reese muttered.
“What?” Rory looked around the small dingy bar they liked to venture to after a long day’s work. It was around the block from the precinct, sort of hidden from the main drag. One had to enter through the alleyway, so unless a person knew about the location, people passed by it. It didn’t make Rory sad because he liked it better when it wasn’t busy. Sometimes trouble did walk in, and Tank, who ran the bar, always appreciated it more when he and Reese stepped in to take care of the problem. Not that Tank couldn’t handle any problems his way—former military, he could handle anything. But he also liked to fly under the radar, so letting them step in was always on the top of Tank’s list.
Reese whacked him on the back of the head. “You’re being an idiot.”
He rubbed the back of his head, finally glancing at Reese with a menacing glare. “What the hell was that for?”
“To knock some sense into you. You always do this with women. You find a potential good one—one you really like—but instead of doing something about it, like asking her out like a man, you walk away creating issues in your head that it would never work out anyway.”
“Umm…murdered boss. Investigation. Witness. Need I say more?”
Although, Rory wouldn’t dispute anything Reese said. It was all true. But hell, he was sick of women putting him through the wringer. It was just easier to avoid them.
And she owned the demon cat from hell. That should be enough of a reason to stay as far away as possible.
“Excuses. But whatever, it’s your balls not getting tender loving care, not mine.” Then Reese took a sip of beer, looking away as if the conversation was over.
Rory laughed. Because Reese wasn’t getting any loving care to his balls either. Neither of them had dated in a while. Maybe Rory should twist the conversation around and focus on Reese’s dating life instead. See how he liked it.
Before he could snap back, his phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, he didn’t recognize the number, but that didn’t mean anything. He got calls all the time from people he didn’t know, usually pertaining to a case.
“This is Detective Walker.”
“I need you. I think. I don’t know actually. The doorbell went off and I checked it, but no one was there. Then Willow had the same weird feeling as me, so we went upstairs and now I’m afraid to go back down there.”
Well, it didn’t take a genius to figure out who was on the other line, even though she didn’t say hello or identify herself.
Brooke just had a way about her that made it easy to decipher who it was. Plus, he’d never forget her voice. Soft and smooth—with, unfortunately, a hint of fear.
“Is someone in the house? Did you hear anything?”
“No and no. At least, I think the first question is a no. Someone rang the doorbell, but nobody was there. That’s odd, isn’t it?”
“Yeah—”
“Okay, so you’ll come over and do a sweep of the house? Is that how you say it? Or check the perimeter? I don’t know the lingo.”
Rory had to suppress a laugh. This woman never failed to surprise him. And she loved to talk—or one could call it babbling. But she interrupted before he could say, “Yeah, but it could just be a bunch of teenagers having fun or something.”
He decided not to say it at all. She truly sounded scared.
And perhaps Reese was right—the bastard. He did want that kiss.
“Where are you upstairs? In your bedroom?”
“Yes, with the door locked.”
Perfect place to kiss.
“I’ll be right there.” He couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his lips. “To check the perimeter and make a sweep of the house.”
He hung up after reassuring Brooke a few more times he’d be right there.
“I actually thought there might be a problem with your lady love, but with the shit-eating grin on your face, now I think Brooke needs to think about what you said and read between the lines.”
Rory stood up, shoving his phone back in his pocket. “Shut up.”
“Have fun sweeping the house and checking that perimeter,” Reese said with a double wink.
“I will, asshole.” Then Rory whacked him on the back of the head and left.
He drove fast. For two reasons. One, just in case there was an actual problem. Two, because he was dying for that kiss.
When he got to her house, everything looked fine in the driveway and her yard. Although, as he neared her front door, his gut started to churn.
The door was slightly ajar.
Brooke didn’t mention that.
♥♥♥
If you’d like to start the story at the beginning, you can find the other scenes here:
Scene 1 | Scene 2 | Scene 3 | Scene 4 | Scene 5 | Scene 6 | Scene 7
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