Page 62 of Then Came You

“No, but you drove up wearing a shit-eating grin. What happened, did you get laid last night?”

It was commonplace for cops to rib each other, and no topic was off limits. However, Dax had been close friends with Owen, so there was no way Sam was going to divulge where he’d been last night.

“Why? Your wife not putting out again?”

“Shut up, man. That’s a real thing, and it’s not funny.”

Sam laughed anyway since he knew Dax could take it. Dax was notorious for spewing information about his sex life, good and bad. The entire force knew when he’d gotten lucky and when he’d been relegated to the couch, and the latter seemed to happen with some regularity. Despite all his complaining, everyone knew how much he adored his wife, and they just liked to give him a hard time.

“I’m serious. PMS weeks are the worst. Be lucky you don’t have to deal with that shit.”

“I’m familiar with PMS. I grew up with a sister, remember? In fact, that’s who I was talking to when I pulled in.”

“Oh. Well, there’s just something different about you.” Dax leaned back, rubbed his hand over his beard, and studied Sam. “You look like you’re glowing.”

Sam laughed, but there was a nervous edge to it. Hopefully, Dax wouldn’t notice. “Even if I did get laid, I wouldn’t be sharing any details with the likes of you.”

“What’s that I heard? Sam got laid?”

Great. Another officer, Brendon, stuck his head out from behind his cubicle wall. Sam ignored him and walked toward his desk, but Dax and Brendon wouldn’t let it go.

“It’s about time, man. You’ve been strung tighter than a drum around here these past few weeks. Who was she? Was she good?” Brendon called after him.

Sam glanced at his watch and hoped Brendon was getting ready to leave. He’d also been buddies with Owen, and this line of questioning was making Sam extremely uncomfortable. He had no doubt that Gillian would have felt the same if she’d heard the men talking.

“It must have been good. You should have seen the grin he was wearing when he first got here,” Dax said.

Sam disappeared into his cubicle, hoping that they’d give up since he was ignoring them. Then Dax’s head appeared over the top of the cubicle wall. He must have stood on his chair so he could see into Sam’s space.

“Just answer one question, and then I’ll leave you alone.”

Sam sighed. “Fine, one question.”

“Blonde or brunette?”

No doubt Brendon was listening too, and Sam decided to throw them a crumb to get them off his back. “Brunette.”

“Alright! You just admitted you got laid.” Dax held his hand over the wall for a high five, but Sam turned his back on him.

“I gave you an answer. Now, get out of here.”

Sam heard Dax plop down in his chair, but he should have known it wasn’t over yet.

“Sorry, dude, but I have to live vicariously through you single guys.”

“Being single isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Sam replied over the wall. “I wouldn’t mind going home to the same woman every night.” An image of Gillian came to mind, and he swallowed hard. Why was he thinking of her in that context? He was getting way ahead of himself.

“Yeah, you’re right. I guess I shouldn’t complain.”

The conversation died out after that, but Sam couldn’t stop thinking about Gillian. He’d planned on calling her during his first break but decided to stop by the bookstore instead. He couldn’t remember her schedule, but chances were pretty good she’d be there.

Later, when he went into the coffee shop, Savannah was standing behind the counter instead.

“Hey, Sam. Long time, no see.”

She smiled at him like usual, but he wondered how much she knew. He decided to play it cool.

“Yeah. I’ve been trying to cut back on the pastries.” He patted his gut for good measure.