Short Read (Officer Costa)

"Costa, you back in the dating game yet?" Officer Jimenez asks, leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on the scratched surface of the desk we share at the precinct.

I eye him warily, coffee mug halfway to my mouth. It's not like Jimenez to ask about my personal life. We sometimes patrol together and we work well together but keep our private lives separate.

"Why?"

He shrugs, a grin playing around the corners of his mouth. "Just curious. Seems like you've been happier recently."

Setting my mug down, I allow myself a smile as I think about the reason behind my elevated mood. A particular encounter from a couple of nights ago surfaces in my mind—an unexpected connection with someone whose warmth and humor have brightened up the mundane routine of my life.

"Yeah," I say after a pause, picking up a DUI report and leafing through it absently. "Met someone interesting."

Jimenez perks up at that, his curiosity piqued. He swings his feet off the desk and swivels in his chair to face me. "Oh? Do tell."

I chuckle at his eagerness but remain evasive about who it is for reasons of my own. "Not much to tell," I reply nonchalantly. "Just someone who caught my eye."

Jimenez's eyes twinkle with mischief as he pushes for more information. "Come on, Costa! You can't just leave it at that."

I conjure up an image of MC's face—spirited yet vulnerable when they are worried about the safety of their child. I can even hear their laugh and it warms me more than any sunshine could. But the fact that I don’t know where we stand after that hookup, holds me back from revealing their identity.

"In due time," I tease him, reaching for my cup to take another sip of my lukewarm coffee. "Let's just say they are unlike anyone I have ever met."

Jimenez gives a dramatic sigh of disappointment but drops the topic as I change the subject to our current assignment. As we discuss, my thoughts return to MC who has reignited a flame I thought was long extinguished.

My gaze falls on a picture frame on my desk—a photo of my late spouse, Sol. I still miss them terribly, but life has a way of moving forward. A promise of a new chapter seemingly presents itself, and for the first time in years, I feel ready to turn the page.

As the day goes by, Jimenez and I make our way out of the precinct, ready to part ways for our next patrol. He suddenly stops near my car and gives me a sidelong look. "Wait! You didn't use your car to..."

He doesn't finish, and the thought of me and MC tangled up in the backseat of the patrol car floods my mind.

"Can you just drop the subject?" I avoid his gaze. "I’m not telling you what I did or didn't do."

"Oh my god! You did, didn’t you?" he chuckles. "In the patrol car of all places! Damn, Costa, you're a beast. Did you also use the cuffs?"

I let out a sigh. Jimenez is one of the very few fellow officers I tolerate, but if he continues to be a pain, I'll be happy to add him to the list of undesirables.

"I'm not telling," I reply.

As I say that, a group of officers from my undesirables list walks over to where Jimenez and I are talking.

Musket, Gerald, and Tips—three assholes. "You two are having fun today," Musket grins.

"Yeah, we are also leaving," I reply.

"We were," Jimenez adds. "But I was also teasing Costa about a new boo. Costa is back on the dating scene."

"Huh!" Tips grunts, getting closer to where I stand. "You finally gave up on buying flowers for your dead spouse?"

I glare at him, doing my best to resist the urge to punch him in the face. "Fuck off!"

"Oh, feisty," Musket chuckles. "Did your new boo get a taste of that feistiness?"

"Whoever they are, I'm pretty sure they did," Jimenez responds with a grin. "In the backseat of the patrol car, no less."

A unified "Oohh" echoes through the air as the three officers burst into laughter.

"In the backseat?" Tips jeers. "Didn't know you had it in you, Costa. Look at you, making good use of government property to get your freak on."

"I'm leaving," I mutter, stepping toward my car, but Tips blocks my path. "So, you're not going to tell us who it was? Come on, maybe we know them."

I clench my jaw, trying to keep my temper in check. "None of your business," I say, pushing past him and opening my car door. "Now get out of my way."

Tips stands there, his eyes locked with mine.

"I said I'm leaving," I repeat firmly, staring down Tips and the other unwelcome officers, my patience wearing thin. They exchange smirks, clearly enjoying getting a rise out of me.

Finally, Tips breaks the silence. "Alright, boys," he says. "Let's get out of here."

As they walk away, I shoot one last icy glance at Jimenez. Then I get in my car, start the engine, and drive away from the precinct, grateful for the relative peace of the empty streets.

Arriving in Lemontown, I find a spot at the park where I can stay in my car and watch the citizens go about their day. I close my eyes for a brief moment, recalling my time with MC, and everything feels right. The thought of getting home to them at the end of the day and cuddling up on the sofa brings a smile to my face.

I open my eyes and sigh. I need to stop dreaming. "It was just a hookup Costa, stop reading too much into it," I tell myself.

However, I can't shake the image of MC's smile from my mind. The way they laughed at my terrible jokes and the genuine interest in their eyes when they talked about Nugget is everything I want in my next partner.

 Pulling out my phone, I hesitate for a moment before typing a message.

"Hey, it's Riley. Just wanted to say I had a great time the other night. Would you like to grab dinner sometime?"

I stare at the screen, my thumb hovering over the send button. A surge of nerves and excitement courses through me, and instead of pressing send… I delete the message and toss the phone onto the passenger seat.

"Yeah… stop dreaming, Riley. Stop dreaming."