Chapter 10
Rated "M"
X - Half a Beer and a Bottle of Wine
All I could think about as I sat at the bar with a beer that was only half empty was Roxanne. Despite her being a bitch and refusing to go out for a drink with the rest of the precinct, I felt the need to apologize. I hated myself for that feeling, yet I hated myself whenever I thought back to Roxanne's blank, but sorrowful, expression."Hey, Alex!" I heard Zak yell as he walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. His slightly drunk expression reminded me of the college parties he through - the ones I never went to because I was too busy studying for important tests. Almost like Roxanne at that moment. Almost. "What are you sitting over here for? The party's over there!" He slurred, pointing to a few tables where the guys were hitting on some younger, drunker women.
I sighed. "That's good for you, buddy."
"What's with the long face? You look like some woman just turned you down for a-"
"Don't even go there. And it's not anything like that. I'm just tired, that's all."
"Ah. Right. You worked pretty hard these last few days. I can't believe it's only Wednesday!"
"And yet we are at a bar, drinking."
"Damn right. Tomorrow's a holiday, anyway. Half of these guys get the day off, including you and me."
I was hesitant. Sure not many of us had to go to work that Thursday - since most of the night workers were covering double shifts (it was... complicated) - but that didn't mean that wives and friends and family weren't going to be pissed off when half of them went home drunk.
"Hey," I spoke up, forming a question right on time before Zak went back to partying. "Do you know if Roxanne has the day off tomorrow?"
"Uh, hell yeah. I work on computers. You'd have to be crazy not to dig into that chick's files. She's off for the next two days. Four if you count the weekend."
"Wait, you saw Roxanne's files?" I asked, stunned.
"Yeah. Well, some of them. That chick's files are locked up harder than the Declaration of Independence. But I did find a few things."
"What are they?"
"Hey! I may be a computer geek, but I'm not stupid. None of us are supposed to see those files. You and me included."
"Come on. Just tell me what you know."
"Why are you so eager to know, anyway? Don't you hate Roxanne? Are you going to frame her for something?"
"No! Of course not! You get the stupidest ideas when you're drunk, I swear. No, I just want to know because she's my partner, and she doesn't speak a word of her personal life to me or anyone she works with."
"This is a hard decision, man. I mean, I'd love to but... it's not right."
"You broke through security to see an FBI agent's files. If you don't tell me what was in those files, I'm going to have to arrest you."
"Fine! Fine! Damn, police... The files that I was able to get into were sparse. But I did find out that she was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, her mother is a high-class socialite who supports almost every Southern charity and association known to man, and her father, Sterling Winston, is a General for the United States Army. He also get's paid over twenty thousands dollars a month just for assisting whoever with the training of men. That is when he isn't at war - which it's been a while since he's last been."
"So... Roxanne's a Southern Belle, huh? Did you fall for her before or after finding that out?"
"No. Don't go there, Alex. Why would I of all people be so... self-centered?"
"You have fun with that question. I think I'm going to go."
"Wait, why? The party's just started."
"I forgot a few things that I need to do."
"Whatever, man. You're gonna miss the highlight of the night..."
I looked around to see most of the precinct's men already drunk.
"Yep, I'm going to miss it alright..."
"What the hell are you doing here, Sempers?" Those were Roxanne's first words when she opened her front door to see me. She looked different - like every other time I had seen her out of her work clothes, but this was still different. Maybe it was long, silky black pajama pants she wore - the ones that hung low on her hips and showed a small strip of skin between the waistband and T-shirt, which showed off both her curves and a little of her cleavage. But who was I to complain?
Or maybe it was the fact that she was wearing glasses. Slightly oversized, black glasses, that drew more attention to her eyes than any other part of her body. For the slightest moment, that was.
"I... uh..." I couldn't find my words after looking at her. Why the hell did she have that affect on me? I could be as cold as she was at work, but once she got out of those too-professional clothes, I lost my God damn mind! What was wrong with me?
"You do know that you're apartment is not a crime scene anymore, right?"
"Yeah... I know, I just... I... Um..."
"And you've also been drinking. Great." Her last word was laced with sarcasm. No. Drenched in it. I looked down at my hands like a kid, feeling so intimidated, yet so... greedy at the same time. "Come on in." She suddenly said. I looked back up at her with disbelief. Was it sarcasm again? Was it- "Walk normally into the foyer. My neighbors are watching you very, very closely." Roxanne stated as she smiled and waved to the house diagonal. I didn't look back as I entered her house and followed her instructions.
The foyer was gorgeous. And I knew what that meant due to my own mother teaching me from an early age. The walls - like the rest of the house - was a tan, the furniture black and white with the same tan as accents. Everything matched, everything filled in the open space, everything made Roxanne's house beautiful. Just like her, which I hated to admit for my own selfish reasons.
"So. Tell me, what are you doing here, exactly?" Roxanne asked as she closed the curtains in the room. I sighed.
"I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier. It was... out of line."
"Who heard our conversation? The Captain? Is that why you're here?"
"Why do you think someone put me up to this?" I asked Roxanne. I felt something inside of me crush at her own questions. Can I not be sorry? Can I not feel bad myself for what I said?
Roxanne said nothing, instead she just looked away, pretending like I hadn't asked her something that she didn't feel like answering. "It's nothing." She finally said. There was an awkward pause as Cleopatra walked in and immediately came to me. She laid her head on my knee as I pet her.
Roxanne stood up. "Do whatever the hell you want, but I'm going to bed." She walked away and I looked back at Cleo, who just stared at the direction her owner had walked away in. To believe that I had been at her house that morning, and now that night was insane. It felt like forever ago that I was there, but it wasn't.
I stood up and shrugged off my suit jacket - which I hadn't gotten the time to change out of before meeting Zak and the rest of the precinct at the bar - and walked to the kitchen, Cleo following right behind me.
Roxanne had said specifically that she wasn't drinking any of her a hundred plus bottles of alcohol, so she wouldn't mind if I had a drink or two, did she?
Roxanne had a very interesting variety of liquor. From the expensive red and white wines to vodka and whiskey, it was all there. All there for consumption.
I picked up a bottle of classic wine - not caring for the brand or the year, but only that it had alcohol in it (enough alcohol to make me feel things I shouldn't, but not enough to get me drunk or make me loose my mind - more than I already had) - and picked up a glass. Pouring myself a glass as I sat down at the bar. I took another look at the female German Shepherd sitting on the floor next to me, eyes glued to me like if she'd let me out of her sight, I'd disappear.
"You must be Roxy's one and only, huh?" I spoke as if Cleo could understand me. "That's makes one of us."
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