“I’m such an idiot…” I groaned as I walked down the dark streets.
I looked to my left and saw dilapidated houses with boards covering the windows. Rusty chain link fences separated each property and added an eerie effect to the already scary neighborhood. On my right were more of the same worn down houses with small, overgrown lawns.
The orange glow provided by the few working streetlamps was the only source of light on the street. A rat ran out in front of me and I nearly screamed, but I covered my own mouth before it could happen. I didn’t want to draw any unwanted attention to myself.
One of the lights ahead of me flickered as a strong gust of cold wind blew. I wrapped my small leather jacket around myself tighter. Goosebumps scattered my arms and legs.
I wished I had worn something warmer to the party. Yeah, I looked sexy, but now I had to walk home in the cold. If I had just left a half an hour earlier, I would have gotten on the last bus of the night. But no, I had to stay to watch a few games of beer pong.
What was I thinking?
Now I was walking through the neighborhoods of Englewood, Chicago by myself. Englewood is easily the most dangerous part of the Chicago, if not the entire country. It had gang violence and murders nearly every day. And now I was walking through it wear a short dress and high heels all by myself.
What the hell can I do? I sighed and looked at my phone.
Shit.
It was nearly 12:30 and I had to be home by 1. The only problem is that I have to walk all the way home, so it would probably take me three hours.
I googled a name for a taxi company and called them. Maybe they would come pick me up. I thought about calling my number as the ringing started, but she would probably murder me and it would take an hour for her to get here.
“Hello, this is the Yellow Cab Company.” A man with a middle eastern accent spoke.
“Hi,” I sighed in relief. A puff of hot air escaped from my lips in a cloud of mist. “I was wondering if someone could come pick me up…”
“Where are you?” The man asked.
“Englewood…” I said as I paced around under one of the streetlamps. I looked up and saw bugs flying around the light. Ew.
“We do not service that area. I’m sorry,” The man said and then the line went dead.
“Hello?” I said to the receiver but a beeping tone started. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
I felt like throwing my phone on the ground or kicking something. Why the fuck would the cab company not pick me up? I hate everything.
I ran my fingers through my hair and thought of a place that I could call. I could call another cab company, but I might just get rejected the same way and I don’t even think I had money on me. I could call my friends but they are an hour away, same as my parents.
Think. Think.
I racked my brain for ideas. I had better come up with something soon because it was getting even later and I didn’t want to be out here any longer.
Then I got the genius idea of calling the police station. Perfect. I dialed 911 and a woman answered.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“This isn’t really an emergency,” I said quietly as cold air whipped around me. “There are no more buses and I’m an hour away from home and I’m in Englewood…”
“Would you like an officer to come pick you up and drive you home?” The woman answered.
“Please. I really don’t feel safe at all,” I gulped as I looked around.
“Okay, I’m sending an officer out right now. What’s the address?” She asked me and I gave it to her. It took me a few minutes, but after looking around I finally got the street name. “An officer will be there in two minutes.”
“Thank you so much,” I sighed and sat down on the curb under the light. We both hung up and I held my phone in my lap. More wind whipped around and it blew my hair around my face. I was surprised that it was so cold for an October night.
I looked up at the sky to see if I could see stars, but there were none visible. Suddenly I heard some rattling.
Shit.
Shit.
My mind raced as I tried to remember any self-defense things that I had learned on TV or on Tumblr videos. My heart was racing as I looked behind me and one of the doors of the house opened.
This was like what happened at the beginning of thrillers. I grabbed my phone and stood up. I slowly walked backwards away from the house. “Stay away.” My voice shook. I needed to make myself seem more confident even though I felt as if I was going to faint.
I felt a surge of relief as a scraggly looking dog came out of the house with its tail wagging behind him. He looked at me and then ran in the backyard of one of the houses.
“Thank god…” I sighed and sat back down on the curb with my phone in my lap. I looked up when I heard a car engine coming down the street. I saw a car racing down the street and as it went under a streetlamp I saw that it was the cop car.
I stood up and straightened my dress out as the car pulled up. My mouth dropped as the door opened and a stunning officer stepped out of the car.
“Did you call for help?” He smirked at me as he shut the car door. He stood taller than me, even though I was in heels. His black hair was spiked forward and he was clean shaven. His dark chocolate eyes melted mine.
“Yes,” I smiled as I looked up at him. The uniform he was wearing clung to his body and showed off his muscles. I stared in awe at him.
“Okay, well let’s get you home,” He smiled and opened the passenger door for me.
“I get to sit in the front?” I questioned as I sat down in the seat.
“Unless you would like me to arrest you,” He chuckled.
“I wouldn’t mind if you arrested me,” I winked and shut the door. Damn, he was hot. He walked around to the other side of the car and got in quickly.
I was enveloped in his smell. He smelled musky and absolutely amazing. I could feel myself getting wet already. He started up the car and heat started pumping from the vents.
“Can I take my heels off?” I asked him. My feet were incredibly uncomfortable from walking in three inch heels. I would probably have blisters in the morning.
“Do whatever you want,” He smiled at me as I ripped my heels off. Thank god I had called the police. My aching feet would be thanking me in the morning. I rubbed my feet and sighed. “So where do you live?”
“Barrington,” I smiled as he started driving.
“Put your address in the GPS,” He smiled and pointed to the GPS on the dashboard. I typed in the address and a route came up. “So what were you doing in Englewood anyways? You don’t seem like the kind of girl to be here…”
“And what makes you so sure that you know what kind of girl I am?” I smiled at him as I rested my feet on the dashboard so that the heat was blowing on them. I made sure that my dress was higher than normal so he would see my toned legs.
“Well…unless you’re a prostitute…” He smiled.
“I’m not paid for the sex I have…” I shrugged and looked over at him. His eyes widened a little bit and he adjusted in his seat.
“How old are you?” He said, clearing his throat. I could feel that he was tense. Perfect. Hopefully he wasn’t one of those really strict officers…
“18,” I smiled. “How old are you?” I used to have to lie about my age to get older men to sleep with me, now I could be honest. There were some benefits to being one of the oldest in your grade.
“23,” He said as he followed the GPS directions. I heard my phone ringing under my leg and I picked it up. My mom was calling me.
I answered it, “Hi, mom.”
“Honey, where are you? Curfew is in 15 minutes,” She seemed worried. I was surprised that she actually called. Normally she didn’t care at all.
“It’s a long story, mom. But the buses aren’t running anymore and I’m an hour away from home, so I have an officer driving me home.” I blurt out suddenly, hoping she won’t be mad at me. Even though I was 18, I still had to abide by my parents rules, according to my father.
“Like a police officer?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“You could have called us,” My mom sighed.
“You’re an hour away, mom.” I sighed.
“Fine.” She stated. “What time will you be home?”
“Maybe 2:15?” I questioned.
“As long as you’re safe.” My mom sighed. We said goodbye and hung up.
“Why’d you lie to your mom?” The officer asked as he drove. “The arrival time is clearly 1:45…”
“If I had told my mom 1:45, she would have expected me there at 1:45 on the dot.” I explain and run my fingers through my hair. I looked over at him as he drove. He had nice cheekbones and a defined jawline. “So by telling her a half an hour later, I’m not gonna get yelled at as much.”
“Smart thinking,” He chuckled.
“So what’s your name, officer?” I looked over at him with a smile.
“You first,” He said quietly.
“Ava,” I ran my fingers through my hair and looked out at the road.
“Zayn,” He said as he turned onto the highway.
“I’ve never heard that name before,” I smiled. “But it suits you.”
“How does it suit me?” He looked over at me with a twinkle in his eye.
“It’s mysterious and sexy,” I commented. He looked over at me and then shook his head. “Officer Zayn…” I smirked.
“What?”
“That’s even sexier,” I looked out the window and saw the highway in front of us. There was nobody else on the road. I mean nobody. It was completely desolate.
“So what were you doing in Englewood?” He asked casually.
“I was at a party,” I smiled, thinking about the awesome time I had.
“Drinking?”
“Why would I tell you? You’re a cop,” I raised my eyebrow. “But no, I wasn’t.”
It was getting hot, so I took off my jacket and saw him staring at my shoulders. I put my legs down and curled them under me. I leaned on the median between us and smiled at him, making sure I was showing cleavage. I knew exactly how to make him want me.
I looked down and saw that he had tattoos covering his arms, “I like your tattoos…”
“Thanks,” He said and I started tracing them gently with my finger. “I have a bunch more.”
“Where are they?”
“Mainly my chest and arms,” He shrugged.
“You should show me them.”
“Maybe,” He winked at me and I was instantly dripping. The thought of Zayn in his uniform slowly stripping his clothes off for me got me very, very excited.
“Maybe you could show them to me, now?” I whispered in his ear before kissing his neck softly.
The cop car swerved and we were suddenly parked on the side of the highway. “Get out.” He demanded. I gave him a shocked look and I opened the car door.
“Why?”
“I’m arresting you for sexual harassment of an officer.” He said and got out of the car. I got out of the car as well and I was nearly about to puke.
I took it too far this time. Shit. Shit. Shit.