Page 11 of The System

“And I did that. Now, I’m starving,” Ada retorted.

Carina just laughed at the whole exchange. She didn’t understand their relationship, but these two were somehow perfect for each other and had been together for quite a while now. Carina had met Dylan through one of the cold cases she’d prosecuted. Dylan had solved it, too, like she’d solved so many others. The detective just had a knack for looking at old evidence and finding meaning in it somehow.

“Anyway, we’re going for pizza. Want to join?” Dylan asked her.

“Is this just a friendly invitation or because you need something?” Carina asked back and opened her office door.

“The latter,” Ada replied for Dylan.

“It’s not what I need. It’s more that I might have gotten a new case dropped on your desk, so I wanted to buy you pizza to help ease the burden.”

“I’m full up, Dylan. Sorry. You’ll have to take your case elsewhere.”

“It wasn’t my call; it was your boss’s,” Dylan explained as they walked into Carina’s office. “My boss talked to him, and now, it’s on your plate. So, pizza?”

Dylan and Ada were two people Carina considered friends. She’d worked with Dylan a few times now since that first case, and they’d gone to a few work parties as well. The woman was serious about her work, even more so than the other cops Carina had worked with. And Ada was a child advocate attorney, which was an important job to her. The two of them made an interesting and usually entertaining couple to be around. When Carina had been with Tinley, they hadn’t spent much time together. Tinley was younger than all of them, despite the fact that Ada was actually ten years younger than Dylan, and Tinley hadn’t liked Carina’s older friends. Now that that was over, though, Carina could get back to spending time with the people she liked and let Tinley do the same.

“I have plans, actually,” she replied after moving behind her desk.

“The bar owner,” Ada guessed as she walked into the office and closed the door behind all of them. “You won your case, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Carina said with a lifted eyebrow. “I got that last juror I thought I hadn’t won over.”

“I bet she’s gay and thinks you’re hot, not that you actually won your argument,” Ada teased.

“Well, I hope not. She just sent a man to jail.”

“Can you put the bar owner on hold for, like, an hour?” Dylan asked.

“She gets sex from that bar owner, babe. I don’t think she’s going to choose pizza with us over sex with hot Jessa.”

“How do you know Jessa is hot?” Dylan asked.

“I went with Carina that one time, remember?”

“And you saw her?”

“Yes. They have a whole ritual thing.” Ada motioned with her hand for Carina to explain better. “It’s weird, but it’s whatever.”

“It’s not really a ritual. She just sees me and gives me a nod, indicating that she’s… ready for me, and we go back to her office.”

“We’ve had office sex. There’s just something about it that–”

“Ada!”

“What?” Ada said. “Remember our–”

“A-n-y-w-a-y,” Dylan said, lengthening the word and shaking her head at her wife. “It’s an interesting case.”

“Can you tell me about it tomorrow? Or can I hear all about it from that boss I’m trying to replace? I need to get home to change and leave before Tinley gets home.”

“How much longer is she going to be living with you?” Ada asked. “You broke up.”

“I know… But we moved in together, so she needs to find an apartment first. It’s just taking a little longer than I thought.”

“Yeah, three months too long,” Ada noted.

“She’ll get home from work in a couple of hours, and she’ll wonder where I’m going. It’ll be a big deal, and I don’t want to have to worry about that tonight. I just want my hot victory sex from Jessa and a good night’s sleep.”

---