HARD TO GET

As a subtle vibrating started against my leg, I looked up at my captain, wondering what he would do to me if I pulled out my phone and checked my incoming message. No doubt he would be seriously pissed if I got caught not listening to his briefing about the raid tomorrow. Unable to resist peeking to see if it was from Sarah, or Sasha, or whatever the girl’s name was I was supposed to be taking out tonight, I pulled my phone out and took a sneaky look beneath the desk. I already knew that even if I got caught I wouldn’t be taken off point for the operation tomorrow. I was the best sharp shooter he had, so that afforded me a little leniency. But instead of seeing a message from my date for the night, there were two picture messages from my best friend, Bryson Taylor. As I opened the first one, I was greeted by a cute little scrunched-up and messy-looking baby. My eyes widened as my breath caught in my throat. A moronic grin slipped onto my face as I scrolled to the next mess

As soon as we were outside of the door, I spotted Rick still sitting exactly where I'd left him earlier. “Hey man, still here?” I asked, frowning. “No, I left an hour ago.” “Hilarious. Go call the night guard and ask what the hold-up is,” I suggested. “You definitely sure you can’t come out Saturday night for Seth’s birthday?” He shook his head in answer. “Definitely. I have family over. Next time though, for sure.” I nodded absentmindedly as I glanced up at Ashley. She was frowning down into her purse. “I’ll catch you later, Rick.” I walked over to Ashley, glancing over her shoulder and seeing that she had just over four dollars in her purse. “Ready?”I smiled. As she jumped and looked up at me, her frown left her face and a teasing smile graced her lips. “Actually, I can’t. I’ve just remembered that I have to go and wash my hair. Sorry.” Brush off number four, why the hell do I like this? “Baby, I’m going to have sex with you tonight, so you might as well

We chatted easily the whole trip. She told me about the school she was going to be working at. How she had graduated college, but wasn’t able to find a teaching job in her home town, so she had to come to LA instead. Apparently, she didn’t like LA very much and was going to miss her mom who she would be leaving in Barstow. She was, however, excited to have her dream job and be closer to Anna and her younger sister. We talked a little about my job and where I lived. I continued to flirt, and she continued to reject me. Ashley was incredibly funny and smart, and I couldn't help but admire her putdowns. During the whole two-hour trip, there wasn’t a single awkward silence. Usually I ran out of things to say to a girl after a little while – which wouldn’t be a problem because I’d just shove my tongue down her throat – but Ashley just seemed to capture my attention. I also noticed little things about her that made me smile, like how she used her hands when she spoke of somethin

The week passed quickly. Kurt was placed on office duties for two weeks as punishment for his little stunt that he pulled, so that made me feel slightly better. There wasn’t really much they could do about him though; apparently, a warning had been put on his file this time and next time he messed up he’d be transferred to a team that was not as field based as us. Personally, I was now willing him to screw up again just so he’d be out of my hair. Today was Saturday, Seth’s birthday, so we were all heading out to celebrate. I was actually looking forward to it because I’d been working hard all week, so this was going to be the first chance I’d had to let off some steam. And Bryson was coming out, much to my surprise. He’d initially cancelled after Cameron was born, but later called back to say that Anna was making him go and had made secret arrangements for another guard to come and take over her guard duty for the night. He didn’t sound best pleased about it. As I stood ou

He sighed and closed his eyes in defeat. “Fine, give me a damn line,” he muttered. I smiled, thinking of a line he could use. I didn’t want to give him one that was too good; after all, I didn’t actually want her to fall for it. “Okay, how about you say; do you mind if I hang out here until it’s safe back where I farted?” I joked, knowing he wouldn’t ever say that to a girl. He looked at me in disbelief. Seth and Wayne both burst out laughing. I grinned and shook my head at his gullibility when he’d had a few drinks. “I was kidding. Okay here, say this; do you have sunburn or are you always this hot? That’s an oldie but a goodie.” I shrugged; believe it or not, that corny line had worked for me in the past. He groaned and looked back over to her nervously. “She’s going to shoot me down.” “That’s the point, I want her to shoot you down.” He rolled his eyes. “You owe me for this, Jace.” He turned and walked off, and we watched as she laughed and shook her he