Chapter 5

I step into my underwear, pulling it back up to cover the lower half of my bare body. I cover my breasts with my bra, reaching behind and attempting to re-clasp it. 

"Here, let me help you." 

I feel E's soft fingers against my back. He moves my long hair over one shoulder and lines up the hooks on my bra. 

"There you go." He steps back to admire his work. "Though I prefer you without that." He smirks. 

"Oh, I'm sure you do." I run my fingers through my hair, making an attempt to comb it out. 

"If you would like, you're more than welcome to join me for dinner. I was thinking of ordering something..." He rubs the back of his neck, waiting for my answer. 

"I appreciate the offer... But I really should be heading home." I finish redressing myself and hook my purse onto my arm, avoiding his gaze. My face flushes with warmth as it settles in my cheeks. Not wanting him to see his effect on me, I turn my head slightly away from him. 

E nods and walks me to the door. He opens it and I step out into the hallway. 

"Oh, don't forget..." He disappears back inside and returns with my bra and underwear from our previous night together. 

I blush and tuck them into my purse. 

"Ah, thank you." I laugh. "I'm sorry I left them behind." 

He smiles at me and leans against the door frame, crossing his arms. His eyes appear distant for a moment.His face is hard, and I can see he's biting the inside of his cheek before looking back at me. Something is on his mind, but his face won't give it away. 

"After two evenings like this, do you think you could share your name with me now?" he questions. "Because I won't tell you mine until I know yours." 

"Hm, see that sounds like a third date kind of thing," I tease as I begin walking down the hallway to the elevator doors. I press the button for the main floor. 

"So that means I'll see you again?" E raises an eyebrow. 

"It's definitely a possibility." I wink before entering the elevator. E smiles and watches me until the metal doors close. 

As the elevator descends, my lips pull into a smile. Who knew what I was missing out on all these years? Why had I held myself back from such experiences? I was enjoying the excitement in anonymity, the way he made my body feel. My face grows warmer and I press my hands against my cheeks. 

The elevator stops on the second floor, I see my flushed, wide-eyed reflection in the metal doors as they open. Another person enters the enclosed space with me. I give them a polite smile and nod, attempting to appear calm and collected. I grow increasingly aware of my wet hair against my back and quickly tie it into a bun at the base of my neck. I can't help but feel embarrassed for my disheveled appearance. We arrive on the main floor. I rush out of the elevator and through the front doors of the building. The evening breeze is cool against my wet hair, sending a shiver down my spine. 

Kate isn't going to believe this. 

I pull my phone out of my purse and dial her number. She answers after two rings. 

"Hey babe. What's up?" 

"Hey. Um, any chance are you able to give me a ride? I mean, if you're busy I can call and Uber-–" 

"Stop it, you know I'll come get you. Where are you?" I can hear her moving around and the soft jingling of her keys. 

I'm quiet for a moment. 

"Kris?" 

"...I'm outside of a guy's apartment." 

"Oh my god, Kris!" Kate laughs. "Send me the address, I'll be there soon." 

We end the call and I send Kate my location. I sit down on a bench toward the end of the sidewalk and wait for her to arrive. The evening is busy as people end their work days and I watch as people shuffle by me. Out of the corner of my eye I notice a young couple arm in arm as the man plants a soft kiss on the top of her head. I feel a twinge of jealousy. I remember when I had something like that, it's something I'm not sure if I'll have again 

I find myself scrolling through social media to keep myself busy, mindlessly tapping my foot against the concrete. 

Fifteen minutes later a rusty, black jeep pulls up to the curb. Kate opens the passenger window. 

"Get your ass in here!" she calls, a grin pulling across her face. 

I quickly hop into the car and drop my purse at my feet, turning my back to Kate to grab my seatbelt. She begins driving, we sit in silence for a moment, waiting to see who will say something first. 

"So, are you going to share or what?" Kate looks over at me. "Who is he?" 

"It was the guy from the bar the other night,." I say, looking straight ahead, not wanting to make eye contact. 

"You've hooked up with him twice now?" Her surprise is obvious. 

"It was impulsive, I know.." I groan, dropping my head into my hands. 

"It was ballsy! I love it!" She beams. 

I lift my head up. I meet Kate's eyes and smile. 

"What's his name?" she asks, her eyes darting to her rear-view mirror and back onto the road ahead of her. 

"Ah, see, that's the thing. I still have no clue." I laugh nervously. 

"You're kidding." 

"I don't think I even want to know his name. I just want more of–of–that!" I wave my hands in the air, trying to find the right expression to describe how he's made my body feel. 

Kate laughs. "From the way you're acting, I think I might want some of that." 

"You know this is your fault, right?" I jest. 

"How?" Protests Kate. 

"You're the one that encouraged me to go out this weekend, to let loose and have fun..." 

"Because, clearly, you needed it," she shoots back. 

I don't disagree. 

"I like this version of you, the new Kristine. Confident and sexy." Kate smirks. 

"I kind of do too." I sigh. I reach my hand out and place it on Kate's arm. 

"Thank you," I tell her. "I appreciate you picking me up." 

"You know it's not a problem... Just make sure you plan accordingly next time." She elbows me. 

"Love you." 

"I know." 

**** 

My hand blindly searches for my phone, frantically trying to turn off my alarm. I roll over and yawn, though I'm still tired, I feel better rested than the day before. Rubbing my eyes, I roll out of bed and drop my pajamas to the floor, stumbling into the bathroom. I begin combing through my tangled hair, realizing I had done nothing with it when I returned home from E's apartment last night. As I'm brushing, I notice small red marks trailing down my neck. 

No way... 

I rub at them, as if that would make them go away, but when I pull my hand back, they still remain. 

Goddamn hickies? Really? 

I snatch my phone off of my nightstand and take a picture of my marked skin. I send it to E. I throw my phone onto my bed and begin getting dressed for work. Halfway through applying concealer to the red spots on my neck, I hear a soft buzz against my blankets. 

E: Oops. I'm not sorry for that. 

I press my lips together and respond. I can't tell if I'm frustrated or amused. 

K: I'm sure you're not, but how am I supposed to cover this up for work. I haven't had a hickey since I was 16. 

E: A scarf? 

I roll my eyes. 

Not everything can be a simple fix, but I suppose that's just male logic. 

K: It's spring. A scarf this time of year would raise some questions. 

I finish dressing myself, hoping a slightly collared shirt would help hide the marks. I return to the bathroom and dab some concealer onto my neck. 

This will have to do. 

I apply the rest of my makeup, drawing thin streaks of eyeliner across my eyelids and drag mascara through my long lashes. I quickly brush my teeth, and fluff up my hair. I check my phone before exiting my apartment. No new messages. I feel a slight pang of disappointment to find my phone screen empty but quickly shake it off. 

I make my way out of my building, not ready for a long day of work. I knew we had a big case to work on and I couldn't leave the rest of my team hanging. I stop at the coffee stop at the corner of the street to pick up an iced coffee and bagel before arriving at the train station. I had spent enough on Uber in the last few days. 

The train arrives and I find a quiet, secluded seat in the back of the car. I sip my coffee and tear off small bites of my bagel while watching the sun shine off of the tall city buildings. I start to think of E again. 

Shower sex? Check. 

It was exactly how he had described it in his texts. "Warm water running down our bodies, rubbing soap all over each other while you're pressed against the wall of the shower" 

Minus the soap. 

I let out a quiet laugh, and cough, briefly choking on the piece of bagel in my mouth. I look around the train car, hoping no one nearby had noticed. 

I wonder what we'll cross off next... 

My stop is announced and I exit the train. I walk the last couple of blocks to my office. I finish my bagel before entering the building. 

"Good morning!" I greet my coworkers, as I make my way to my desk. 

"Where's mine?" Julia pops her head out of her office and motions to the coffee in my hands. 

"Drank yours on the way here," I tease. 

I place my bags down on my desk and turn on my computer. I collect some of the files that I had organized yesterday. I enter Julia's office and sit on the edge of her desk. Similar to mine, the walls of her office are lined with pictures. Her bachelor's and master's degrees are proudly displayed on her bookshelf above the textbooks she had deemed necessary to keep. Pictures of her husband and the two of them on their wedding day are propped along the window sill, the sunlight reflects off of the frames. 

"How's the Harris case coming along?" she asks me, not looking up from her mountain of paperwork. 

"I think I'm nearly finished collecting the evidence and case notes we need for the lawyers." 

"Good, they'll be here on Friday to touch base." Julia sighs. "I'm not sure how I feel about this one Kristine, there's so much riding on this case." 

She's not wrong. This case is one of our biggest yet. Not only is Johnathan Harris being investigated through our child and family welfare division, but also charged as being party to multiple other crimes. Our task now is to build a strong case, proving how all of his acts may be connected to one another before he's brought before the court. 

"That's what you've got me for Julia. To keep you sane while you do all the heavy lifting." I wink and tap her arm with the files. 

"Ha. You're funny," she says blandly. Julia hands me a list of names. 

"This is the team we'll be working with. We've matched up two case managers with the two lawyers." 

"The case managers being...?" 

"The two of us, obviously." Julia finally looks up from her papers, unamused with my question. "Like I said, we'll be meeting with them on Friday. Everything needs to be finished by Thursday." 

I nod. "That won't be a problem. Stop worrying, we can handle this." 

Julia gives me a weak smile before averting her eyes back down to her desk. 

I return to my office and begin flipping through the color coded tabs of each section of the case file. I place my elbows against the surface of my desk and lace my fingers together, resting my chin on top of them. For the first time, in both mine and Julia's career, we're working closely with a legal team. More often than not, our files are sent through multiple different channels, eventually finding their way to court. But this time, we're front and center, providing every piece of information we have collected for this case and neither Julia or I are ready to accept defeat.

I check the list Julia had provided me, tracing my fingers across the printed names. 

Lead: Brian Cooper & Julia Martin 

Secondary: Elliot Andrews & Kristine Chase