Cops & Robbers

Chapter Five

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Alex was already up and about when I woke up the next morning feeling chipper as I ever was. I went straight for the bathroom so I could brush away my morning breath and splash my face with some ice cold water. My shoulders felt stiff, most likely from the awkward way I had slept. While I was a restless sleeper, Alex was an immovable rock. How he went to sleep was exactly how he would wake up. Upside was I didn’t have to worry about getting hit in my sleep; downside was I walked like Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame, because one shoulder was always stiffer than the other.

Rolling my shoulders in an attempt to release some of the tension, I recalled how I had thrown away my opportunity for a full body relaxer with Daniel. I’d never passed him up before, because I could never accuse him of not being anything less than an attentive lover. For a fleeting moment I had lusted after my best friend and in comparison Daniel just didn’t cut it. I didn’t even have a basis of comparison to begin with so why I should feel the way I did about him was inconceivable.

Shaking the thought from my head, I strolled into the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of Raisin Bran Crunch.

“Morning to you too Midget,” Alex greeted sarcastically.

I glanced up from my bowl of cereal to find Alex wearing his jogging suit which consisted only of a pair of white basketball shorts and a thin white cotton jacket that hung unzipped. He sent me a boyish grin when he caught me checking out his well-defined abs.

“Like what you see there, Adrienne?”

“We may be best friends, but I’m not blind,” I scoffed turning back to my cereal.

“That looks good,” he said pointing to my cereal. “Gimme a bite.” His finger swiveled to point to his open mouth and I moved my bowl away from him.

“If you’re hungry, pour yourself a bowl. I’m not giving you mine.”

He pouted, but didn’t argue as he swiped the cereal and poured some more into my bowl.

“There!” he announced proudly, “Now you won’t be giving me yours. Feed me!”

“You are incorrigible, you know that?”

“Whatever that means.”

“I’m finished anyway,” I replied purposely taking the wind from his sails. “When you’re done eating, wash the bowl out.”

“But Adrienne,” he whined, “that’s the whole reason I wanted you to feed me. I hate doing dishes.”

“Which is why I only asked you to wash the one. If it’s not plural, it doesn’t count right?” I stifled my laughter as I walked back toward my room to get dressed for the day. Since it was the big night and Alex had instructed me to “dress to impress,” I turned my closet inside out in search for the perfect outfit. It almost felt like I was a teenager getting ready for a date, because putting my ideal ensemble together was a practice in patience.

Alex came in a few times during my closet exploration, but I shooed him out saying I needed peace and quiet. To prove to myself that yesterday was a one-time overreaction, I advised him to visit Natasha so I wouldn’t feel rushed. He rolled his eyes, but took my advice, my mood elevating to even greater heights as I realized the green eyed monster had not dared to show her face.

Three hours and an extensive period of time spent in the bathroom later, I walked out feeling like a million bucks. My long chestnut hair fell in loose, soft waves and my makeup was applied with precision. The outfit that had taken me forever to choose was a black sheer lace dress that stopped mid-thigh over a pair of matching lace undergarments. My black stilettos sealed the deal and the thought of Ben’s reaction never failed to make me smile. Tonight was going to be a blast.