Page 23 of Bazooka

Actions and Reactions

Bazooka

So, that happened.

I still had no idea how the entire thing unfolded or what to think about it, but think of it, I did. A lot. Why? Mostly because of the consequences that would undoubtedly follow.

I didn’t mean to kiss Luz. I didn’t want to kiss him.

It was the farthest thing from my mind, but he made me so mad that I saw red.

He touched my dick, and he made me lose it.

I would have stopped after the first slap, but it only made him hard, which made me even angrier.

The little fucker liked it, so I gave it to him.

After I came to his room and saw the imprint of my hand on his buttocks, I regretted the whole damn thing.

Yes, he was insolent, disobedient, and he didn’t respect my rules.

In fact, he was shitting all over my rules by constantly breaking them and laughing in my face.

Still, I shouldn’t have reacted that way, so when I saw his crushed expression, I only wanted to make him feel better.

So, I kissed him. It wasn’t supposed to last as long as it did, but I got lost in it.

I’d never kissed a dude before, and it felt so strange that I had to keep doing it to find out why it felt so strange.

And Luz was a good kisser. Passionate. A bit rough. Eager as a puppy.

But the road to hell, good intentions, and all that malarkey. Was I right to worry? I wasn’t sure until Luz showed up in the morning wearing his sunglasses. And no one wore sunglasses indoors unless they were hiding something.

“Hey,” I said, glancing at him before turning on the coffee machine. “Want some coffee?”

“Yeah,” he replied, his voice hoarse from sleep. I could feel his gaze on my bare chest, and I chided myself for forgetting to put on my T-shirt, but I was still half-asleep.

I brought two cups of coffee to the table and sat across from him. I put on my eyeglasses and scrolled through my phone, while Luz drank coffee in silence. There was an awkward tension between us that was almost palpable, but neither of us commented on it.

“So, what’s the story with Sister Mary?” he blurted out, startling me.

It wasn’t the question I expected, so I gave it some thought before I answered him.

“After my parents died, I ended up in foster care. Bad things happened, and then I met Sister Mary. She helped me, and we became close. End of story.”

Luz snorted. “That’s the worst-told life story I’ve ever heard.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“How did your parents die?”

“They were killed in the line of duty. They were both cops.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

I shrugged. “It’s a risk every cop is aware of.”

“Is that where your duffel bag philosophy comes from?” Luz said, sounding amused.

I looked at him solemnly. “Not every profession fits family life. That’s just the way it is.”

“I know a lot of married cops,” he countered.

“Yeah, and I know a lot of widows and fatherless children myself included.”

When Luz shifted in his chair, his knee grazed mine. Instantly, a deep flush made its way to his cheeks, and it was something his sunglasses couldn’t hide. And I was officially done beating around the bush.

“Luz, do we need to have the talk?”

He smirked without looking at me. “I know all about the birds and the bees, thank you.”

“You know what I mean.”

“If you have something to say to me, say it.”

“Do you have something to say to me?”

Finally, he looked at me. “You’re a serial kisser.”

I blinked in confusion. “Pardon?”

“No way you learned to kiss like that without kissing half of New Mesa.”

I burst out laughing.

“It’s amazing how I still can’t predict the next thing coming out of your mouth,” I admitted. “Then again, you were kind of speechless last night. I guess I finally found your shutdown button.”

Luz smiled too as I glanced at my phone.

“I have to go, or I’ll be late for work.”

Before I stood up, Luz finally took off his sunglasses, and my smile fell.

Why? Because what I could see in those aquamarine depths was something I’d never seen there before, and it was hope .

Not just that. Confusion, warmth, affection, intensity, yearning, arousal, but more than that, fucking hope.

And it was a bad, bad thing.

I stood up abruptly, feeling the need to run away. “Erm… I’ll go change.”

I hurried to the bathroom, cursing every bad decision I’d made lately, especially the one from last night. I quickly dressed, eager to leave as soon as possible. Luz was in the kitchen when I grabbed my car keys, shouting over my shoulder, “Bye”.

I was at the front door and tucking my gun into a holster when I felt a presence behind me. I turned and almost collided with Luz, who was right there . Hell, our heads almost bumped into each other; he was that close.

“Jesus,” I breathed. “You scared me.”

He smiled and handed me a food container. “There’s more apple pie left. Take it.”

“Oh,” I muttered, gulping. “Thanks.”

“What would you like for lunch, Baz?”

“No need,” I protested, clearing my throat. “It’s fine. Really. I’m not that hungry lately. Stomach acting up… or something.”

When did I turn into a mumbling idiot?

“Um,” Luz said, with his gaze on my lips. “Will you call me?”

I took a step back because it seemed as if he expected a kiss goodbye or something, and it wasn’t happening.

“Yeah, erm… sure… we’ll… erm… be in touch.”

Then I fled. I almost tripped over my own two feet in the hall and skipped stairs two at a time on my way down.

Only when I got to my car could I breathe normally again.

Was I panicking because I kissed a dude?

Partly. But kissing Luz? It was a disaster in the making.

What the hell was I thinking last night?

After that, I went to work and had a long, fucking day.

A messy day. Jordan punched Adam, which was unheard of.

I didn’t know why, and frankly, I didn’t want to know.

Chief Bibb threatened to fire them both, and now they were both sulking, each behind his desk.

John Smith dropped by only to… chat? That was kind of strange because he wasn’t a chatty guy.

The real reason for his arrival, I suspected, had a black eye and was sitting at the desk in the corner of the room.

Speaking of, Maddox was playing a five-finger fillet with a Bowie knife.

When my gaze fell on him, he looked up and nodded. “Whassup?”

It was the first thing he’d ever said to anyone. And why the fuck did it have to be me?

Then I got a text.

Pest: Hey.

Shit. Should I text back or not? Then again, I should probably act normally.

Me: Hey.

Pest: How are you?

Luz sounded surprisingly cordial. Too cordial?

Me: I’m fine. Is everything okay?

Pest: Yeah, I’m making lunch.

Okay, that sounded normal. Maybe it was all in my head.

I could see the dots appearing and disappearing.

Pest: When you said never again, did you mean until my next birthday?

At first, I didn’t know what he meant until I remembered the words I’d said to him last night.

Because this will never happen again .

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. What should I say to that? What?

Me: LOL. Don’t make me laugh. I know you know it didn’t mean anything.

The damn dots kept appearing and disappearing for an entire minute before I got a text.

Pest: I miss you.

Yeah, I needed to act on this. I had to do something that would undo my latest fuckup called, “I kissed a hot guy with a crush on me; it felt weird, but I kept doing it anyway because I’m an idiot”.

“Hey, Levi,” Patricia said, passing by me. “What a crazy day, huh?”

“Mhm,” I hummed, staring at my phone.

Then I got an idea. It was a potentially disastrous idea, but I didn’t know what else to do. I was stirring a hornet’s nest with this idea, but I didn’t see another option.

“Patricia,” I said, ignoring the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. “How about that drink?”

Jordan choked on his sandwich and looked at me wide-eyed. Maddox smirked. Adam burst into laughter, taking off the ice pack from his black eye to look at me.

“Oh, this is too good. This day is getting better and better.”

Even Chief Bibb was staring at me from his office, as if he wanted to tell me I was making a mistake.

“Sure,” Patricia said, clearing her throat. “After work?”

Which was officially in an hour.

“Yeah.”

“Works for me.”

I reached for my phone and texted Luz.

Me: I don’t know when I’ll be back.

Pest: Is everything okay?

Me: Yeah. I’m having a drink with Patricia after work, so I’ll be late.

I got no reply, and I didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

I tried to concentrate on my work, but the bad feeling in my gut kept getting worse.

Of course, since my day was already a shitshow, nothing changed after my shift was over.

Patricia and I arrived at Pete’s, which was so crowded that we had to sit in a tiny booth, and it brought us knee-to-knee.

I downed my tequila and told the server to bring us a bottle.

Five rounds later, I was buzzing. I was relaxed.

I started to wonder why I was so nervous in the first place.

Patricia was in a good mood, too. She told me about her time at the police academy as we reminisced about our beginnings in the police force.

It turned out she was newly divorced. She had a son, but he lived with his father.

From what I gathered, her chosen profession was a stumbling block in their family.

As I guessed, she was a former underwear model, but her father was a cop, so she decided to follow in his footsteps.

“What about you?” she said, nudging me with her shoulder. “Have you ever been married with kids?”

“Nope,” I replied, refilling our glasses. “Not my style.”

“Not even a girlfriend?”

“Honestly, I don’t have time for one. This job takes everything you’ve got, so it seems easier this way to me.”

“Aren’t you lonely?” She asked me the same thing that Luz had asked me the other day.

“Sometimes.”