Page 52 of Red Snow
“So what about you, Detective?” Brandi goes on, drinking and eating more. “How was your day on the job, protecting the icy cold streets of Anchorage?”
“My day was great. Went to a suspect’s house and got to ask all about his involvement in the case we’re investigating, which I can’t talk about, obviously. By the end of the conversation, Marcus and I were convinced we may have found what we’re looking for. The boss agreed with us, and we’re moving forward. It was a good day.”
“Well, I wish my life was good and easy like yours.”
“Easy? Please. We’ve had some rough cases.”
“Oh I know. I remember hearing all about the Tongue Snatcher case a few years back.”
I’m suddenly shocked into thinking about my first big case—the case that brought Stacey Alexander into my life.
“Oh, you heard about that, huh?” I ask, trying to push thoughts of the case and Stacey aside.
“Everybody did,” she replies. “Some psycho running around cutting out people’s tongues? Yeah, everybody wants to know about that kind of thing. When I met you, I had to go look the story up, because I wasn’t sure if it was you.”
“Oh, I’m sure the internet had lots of awesome stuff to say about me and that case.”
“It was interesting, but it didn’t make you look bad or anything. They just said you were a bit of a hothead because of some of the stuff you did during the investigation.”
“Yeah? Well, I did what I had to do, and it all worked out in the end,” I answer, feeling defensive as details of that time in my life float back into my mind, the main detail being Stacey.
“Aww, look at you being defensive. You caught the killer, and in the end that’s all that mattered to anybody. Personally, I thought you were sexy, even back then.”
“Bullshit.”
“What? I did. I remember seeing your picture on the news, and I was like ‘Damn! Mr. Detective is fine!’ I remember it like it was yesterday.”
“Oh whatever,” I reply behind a laugh. “I was so stressed out from all that shit, I’m sure I looked horrible.”
“Please. You know you’re hot, Jarrod,” Brandi says as she finishes off another glass of Moet and puts her hand on my knee, rubbing it softly.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but for some reason, I have to fight back the urge to pull my leg away. What the hell? Brandi is a gorgeous girl, and I’ve already fucked her twice in this very spot, as well as my guest room, so what’s wrong with me now?
I hate to admit it, but I know what it is. Her mentioning the Tongue Snatcher case mixed with the thoughts of Stacey I was already having, just seemed to throw me off a little. As much as I wish I could fuck and drink away my feelings about Stacey, I really can’t. I fucking hate it, but it’s true. Usually, alcohol fuels me in my attempts to push away thoughts of her, but I’m dead sober right now. So even though Brandi is sitting here next to me, I’m only thinking of Stacey.
“You look sad,” Brandi acknowledges, catching me off guard. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just tired I guess,” I lie. “Even though it was a good day, it was a long day after an even longer night. Big cases like this one can take it out of you. They’re stressful.”
“Yeah, I bet,” she agrees as she pours her third glass of Moet just as the first episode of The Walking Dead comes to an end. “There’s lots of details, and you work a lot of late nights trying to catch a killer. I couldn’t do it. I’ll settle for the naked secretaries in the conference room and the subtle sexism around the office.”
I let out a small chuckle but don’t say anything else. I know Brandi can sense that I’m not being my usual horny self, and she takes her hand off my knee.
“Well, I understand if you’re exhausted. I can go if you want.”
There’s the test phrase. “I can go if you want.” If I let her go, I’m as asshole. If I let her stay, I’m going to be expected to instantly cheer up and fuck her brains out. Lose-lose for me.
“You don’t have to leave,” I answer carefully. “You’ve already killed three glasses of that champagne, and I am in law enforcement, so I can’t let you drive. Let’s just keep doing what we’re doing and watch some more episodes of this awesome show, because now that you’ve started it, you have to catch all the way up, or I can’t talk to you anymore.”
Brandi smiles, so I know I must’ve answered correctly.
The night doesn’t go the way I thought it was going to. We spend the rest of the night watching Rick, Carl, Shane, and the rest of the awesome characters getting into all kinds of zombie mayhem. Brandi polishes off the rest of the Moet after I finished one glass and half of another, so after a little while, she starts to feel sleepy, and ends up falling asleep on my couch.
As for me, I place a blanket over Brandi’s body and spend the next hour sitting in my favorite chair thinking about how the woman on my couch isn’t the woman I wish it was. I go back and forth, debating whether or not I should call or text Stacey, before finally deciding against it and making my way to my bedroom. Alone.
