Uncovering Officer Smith (The Discovering Trilogy #2) (2 page)

My mother always says, ‘Patience is a virtue, Becca.’

That may be true, but sometimes it’s worn pretty thin when you’re waiting for your college roommate to pick an outfit for the night. I’d say three hours of back and forth is enough.

“What about this shirt?” Meggie stands before me, her curvy frame accentuated by the corset she’s trying to stuff herself into.

How do I put this nicely?

“I think I liked the other one better,” I casually state from her bed, Meg’s PC in my lap as her jade-green eyes leer at me. She knows I’m growing annoyed, but that sure as hell won’t stop her from looking her best tonight. She’s planning on meeting up with some guy she met online… well technically they haven’t met yet. This will be the first night they meet, and I get to be the lucky third wheel along for the ride. Yippee.

“The black one with the ruffles?” Her hand falls to her hip before she spins to glance back at her closet again.

“God no, no ruffles! The red one like I told you two hours ago.” I turn back to the laptop. Lord, this is going to take a while. She hasn’t even started her hair or make-up. I begin reading over my assignment for school. The only reason I agreed to be her wingman is that I finished my paper this afternoon. I ran out of excuses to get out of it. The mouse must hover in the corner too long because a different window pops to the front.

Hey, baby can’t wait to see u tonight.

Me 2 boo

Wear somethin’ sexy for me

U know I will ;)

My roommate sleeps like a rock so we can –

“Meg!” I blush. “Are you sexting this guy already? You haven’t even met him yet.”

“What?” She peeks her head up from a pile of clothes on the floor. “Oh, God, Becca don’t read that!” Meggie climbs up and deletes the window, but not before flashing me a dirty look.

“Hey.” I throw my hands up. “Don’t look at me. Your sexcapades just popped up.”

“Hater.” She flips her hair over her shoulder slipping back to the floor.

“Ouch, that hurts.” I mock being stabbed in the heart.

“Yeah, that was a low blow. Sorry, Bee.”

Don’t get me wrong. I’m no virgin, but after a really bad break up at the end of last summer, I just haven’t been dating. Like at all. If it were possible, I think I’ve been re-virginized. At least, according to Meggie, who doesn’t understand not being able to have casual sex… or monogamy, in general.

“Okay, how’s this?”

I turn to see her in a lace flower shirt, words that should never go together. For the sake of my sanity, I nod in approval. “Yeah, looks great.”

Another hour later, Meggie has her curly, red hair straightened, make-up done to perfection, and she’s changed three more times. She decided on the red top (like I told her from the beginning), but she had to double check by ensuring every other top in her closet just wouldn’t do. Shoes… thank God, nothing else matched, or that would have taken another forty-five minutes.

I sigh. “Are we ready yet?”

“Just take a shot with me before we go. I’m so nervous.” Her fingers are beginning to twitch in front of her.

“Yeah, sure.” Truth is, I’ve already stolen a few drinks while she was running back and forth.

Her hands shake slightly as she grabs the bottle of vodka off the kitchen counter and pours two glasses. I pretend not to notice. If I’m good at anything, it’s keeping people comfortable, deflecting with humor and sarcasm. I reach for my glass and Meggie for hers, before she glances at me again.

“To a good night.”

“To a good night!” I agree, tossing the shot back and chasing it with the vodka seltzer in my other hand.

“Woo!” Her freckled face distorts before returning to normal. “Another?”

“Sure, why not.”

We have another shot before finally heading out of our room.

We descend the three flights of stairs to the first floor of the new luxury dormitories my mother insisted I live in. Walking across the foyer, we hear whistles. I turn to see we are attracting the attention of a few students in the game room to our left. One has his face up against the window, gazing longingly.

“Where are you ladies headed?” A guy I had calculus with last semester calls from the open door.

Another behind the pool table yells something I can’t quite hear.

Meggie basks in the attention, tossing her long auburn hair over her shoulder. “The Bar. You boys should meet us there.” She leaves them with a wink.

I awkwardly follow behind her. They call after us with a few more remarks, none of them worth responding to. Meggie glances back as she comes to the arched dorm entranceway. The automatic doors of the vestibule open and she loops her arm through mine. “Cab is here. Let’s go, wingman.” She leans into me.

“Let’s go.” I nod, walking through the open door.

The cab drops us off in the back parking lot. We pay before we hop up the back steps of the bar and onto the patio. It’s a gorgeous spring night. You can almost see the stars glistening overhead. I say
almost,
because they are a little blurry at the moment. The red brick is glaring against the cast iron lettering “The ___ Bar.” No one seems to remember what the missing letters once read. It’s simply known as ‘The Bar’, the hottest spot on ‘The Ave’—Which is another term no one knows the real name for.

I walk up to the bouncers by the door across the way and they look up when they see us approaching. I feel their eyes on me, only because the cute one is there. He’s the one with the tan skin, perfect hair, blue eyes, and big arms that make my skin melt. I don’t notice I’m biting my lip until Meggie elbows me in the arm. That’s when I realize the bouncer next to him is asking for my ID. I try to recover, slipping it out of my tiny wristlet and handing it to him. Bouncer McHot Pants glances to his left, acting like a couple of college girls aren’t on his radar.

Once we enter, Meg makes a beeline for the bar. She squeezes her curvaceous figure expertly through the crowd before leaning over the bar, pushing that red shirt to its limit. It works like a charm. The bartender with the shaggy, blonde hair comes to her within seconds. She pulls his face close before whispering in his ear. He nods, pulling away a little too slowly for my taste. The strobe lights could be playing with my vision or I think he might have just winked at her. I wonder what she said to him. Isn’t she here to meet someone else? I swear her appetite knows no limits. Someone bumps into my elbow, breaking my thoughts. Wow, the bar seems fuller than usual. We must have won the North Commons baseball game or something. Not like I pay attention to such frivolous things: my degree is the most important thing on my mind right now. I have no time for sports, boys, or any other distractions, for that matter.

“This is for you!” A drink is shoved into my hands before I hear Meg’s voice in my ear. “He just texted me that he’s here.”

“Okay… that’s a good thing, right?”

“No. I’m freaking out!”

“Meg, you need to relax. You’ve done this a million times.”

“Thanks a lot, jerk.” She looks offended and glances away.

“No, that’s not what I meant…” I sigh. “I just mean relax. You got this.” She doesn’t look convinced, so I continue. “Look at you. You’re hot. He’s going to love you and if he doesn’t, I’m sure the bartender will go home with you!”

The smile creeps back into her expression. “You think so? He’s super hot—Just enough hair to run my fingers through.”

“Yes, he’s totally cute.”

“Okay, thanks, Bee.” She nudges my arm.

I feel someone push me to the left before I hear a deep voice vaguely mutter, “There you are! Hey baby.”

My glare turns on a tall, familiar figure from the football team. This is whom she’s been talking to online? Troy Turner? Oh Lord. No wonder she was nervous. His muscles alone make my knees weak. He’s North Common’s star athlete, he’s the baseball team’s first baseman, the football team’s tight end – you name it, he excels at it. He’s super hot, and a total man-whore. He’s wearing a shirt that has an arrow pointing up, stating ‘The Man’ and another pointing down that says ‘The Legend.’ Need I say more? I don’t know what she expects to come of this. I think Meg sees these kinds of people as milestones. She needs them to validate herself, yet when they move on, it has the opposite effect until she finds someone hotter and more unattainable to focus on. I’m just fretting, envisioning how this new chapter could play out.

“Hey, Boo, how are you?” She has to pop onto her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

Just like that, I become invisible.

It’s been an hour of them making out while I dance off to the side by myself. Oh, college boys have asked to buy me a drink, but I’m not interested. If anything, my buzz has been killed. All I can seem to worry about is Meggie. I know this isn’t going to end well. They don’t notice my angry glares as their lip lock starts to draw nearby attention. I continue self-dancing, so I don’t look like such a complete stiff. When the song changes, my hips begin to move to the hip-hop. I throw my long platinum hair over my shoulder when my eyes lock with his—The hot bouncer. Maybe it’s the lighting or maybe I’m hallucinating, but I can swear he’s looking at me. I can just make out the slight scruff growing in across his jawline. His hand reaches up and runs through his hair once before he turns his gaze in the opposite direction. I sigh. God, that man is beautiful. But like Troy, I have a feeling he knows it.

“Hey, do you know someone from Oneonta College?”

“No.” I turn my cheek away from the pair approaching me.

“Well, now you do. I’m Pat and this is Brett.” The skinny kid offers his hand to me.

Even I have to admit that was pretty smooth, so I shake it. “That was a good one, I’ll give you that.”

“Thanks, it was the first time I’ve used it. I usually ask if it hurt falling from heaven.”

“Original. I’m surprised that doesn’t work anymore.”

“Right! Me, too! But you have to switch things up sometimes. Especially for—”

The music beat starts bumping louder. “What?”

“I said, especially for someone as hot as you. What are you doing alone?”

“I’m here for moral support.” I glance over at Meggie and Troy rolling around in a booth now.

“Oh, wow, I could use some of that support!” Pat is average, maybe even dorky looking. But his friend Brett is kind of a hunk. He’s much better dressed and has strong teal eyes that make me nervous.

“Can I buy you a drink?” Brett must catch my drift because he is the one to lean forward now. Oh Lord, he smells good.

“Sure, why not? Doesn’t look like I’m needed here anymore.” I glance back at Meg one more time. It looks like she’s in good… hands. Brett wraps his arm around my waist and guides me over to the bar.

Pat is beside me, attempting again to loop me into conversation. I’m polite, but when Brett hands me a drink, I use it as an excuse to turn around to him.

“Thank you for the drink.”

“No problem. You’re friend sure is friendly.” He points over to Meggie in the booth.

We share a laugh. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“So, what’s a pretty girl like you doing without a date?”

“A date? It’s a bar.”

“Yeah, I guess, but you should have guys falling all over you.”

“I don’t need that kind of attention.” I want to say I have more important
academic
things to worry about, but something in his eyes makes me want to continue talking to him.

“I see.” A smile plays across his lips. “I see, a confident woman. Those are so rare.”

I laugh. Is it just me or is this guy getting funnier? There’s nothing sexier than a funny guy.

He continues, “Would you like to dance?”

I didn’t notice my hips were swaying back and forth until he said something. “Sure.”

He guides me deeper through the crowd. They all appear to be a blur as I move through the bodies. Brett spins me around, pulling my hips to his. I’m a little dizzy, until I feel his face in my neck.
Oh!
Everything around me has become a little hazy. But, I feel good. Better than good; I feel like I can fly. I have not a care in the world. There is no such thing as school in this moment. No desire to control everything. This is me; finally free. The music is all color, all around me. It pulsates through my body, pulling me deeper and deeper into dancing.

When I glance up again, teal eyes meet mine. Perfect almond shaped eyes are the only solitary things as the rest of the room blurs around me.

I’m excited. My heart is beating out of my chest until I suddenly don’t feel so well. I slip out of Brett’s grasp and make my way to the stairs in the corner.

Amazingly, I make my way down them in one piece. Both hands are on the railing for support, but I make it.