Page 50 of Side Hustle
I went back to tossing the salad. “I could talk to Lenora and see if they have a male version with little bottles of Jack and titty calendars that fall out.”
Rip snorted and I grinned.
I’d never had so much fun in my life. If only I could make this sleepover thing permanent…
* * *
“These beet chips are so good!” I crunched another chip and nearly shivered with delight. Maybe I’d been doing it all wrong putting beets into baked goods when I should have just fried them up and sprinkled the sea salt liberally.
Rip smirked at me. “I can tell you’re enjoying them. You haven’t quit crunching since we got in the truck.”
“Hey!” I backhanded his arm, not hard enough to inflict any pain. “The best part of stakeouts is the food. Duh.”
He shook his head and scanned the dark parking lot outside the clinic. “Okay, Detective, whatever you say. So how long are we going to have to do this? It’s been two years since that sperm sample was stolen. What makes Lucy think the thief will strike again?”
I swallowed that last of the beet chip and took a swig of water from the huge canteen I’d packed for the night. All that sea salt was making me thirsty. “Lucy is such a genius. She suspects Nikki Quinnly of stealing the sample originally. She couldn’t prove it, so she let the matter drop. Well, Nikki was in recently to try for another baby with her husband. Lucy let it drop that Bain had just left another sample at the clinic, in case they ever wanted a third child and Lucy was too advanced in age to carry a baby. She thinks Nikki is going to come back and steal Bain’s sample again. And soon.”
Rip just sat there staring at me like I’d grown a second head.
“What?”
He screwed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead. “I have so many questions. Why didn’t Lucy call the authorities? Why would Nikki want Bain’s sperm? Is there really another sample of Bain’s in there because I really don’t want to see his spunk? Has she installed security cameras? Why would the thief wait two years for another chance? What’s so special about Bain’s swimmers?”
I blinked. “Whoa there, cowboy. You’re putting a lot of thought into this. I figured we could just help out Lucy for a night and have some fun playing cops in your huge truck.”
Rip’s expression—like he was tasting those lemons again and not my special lemonade—made me hand him the bag of chips. “Try a beet chip.”
He glanced at the chips and then back at me. “I’d rather get out those handcuffs you promised.”
“Oh!” I dropped the bag of chips to the floorboard and dug around under my seat. “Ta-da!” I bounced on the seat, holding them high in the air when I found them.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Rip muttered, pulling his T-shirt over his head.
“Do you want to be the bad guy or the cop?” I asked, eyeing his muscled abs. How come he didn’t get those rolls like I did when I sat down? That was so unfair.
He reached for me and paused. “Huh?”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s role play, silly. We’ll go with gender norms just this once and make you the big, bad cop and I’ll be the naughty girl getting arrested who keeps falling out of her clothes accidentally. Cool?”
Rip looked like he almost choked when he swallowed. Definitely a good sign. “Hell yeah.”
He lunged at me, pulling me down to the huge bench seat and grabbing the cuffs out of my hands. His face was mostly in the shadows, but even the darkness couldn’t hide the fire in his eyes. Mental note: more role play with Rip.
Rip found the button on my jeans and popped it open. The sound of the zipper lowering in the darkness made my breath come faster. He grabbed my arm and yanked me upright, slapping one of the cuffs on my wrist and looping the other end through the huge steering wheel.
“Ohhh…” I enthused, loving that I had no idea what he’d do next. I didn’t think Rip knew either and that made everything so much better.
He reached for my other hand, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on him. I batted my hand around, slapping him repeatedly as he flailed to gain control. Holy shit, this was fun.
“Hey!” He finally wrestled my arm down and got the second cuff around my wrist, subduing me quite easily now that I was attached to the steering wheel. His face was stern as he barked, “Don’t assault an officer or you won’t like the consequences.”
I couldn’t help myself. I had to break character for a second. A giggle burst out of my mouth with a loud flapping of the lips as I tried to contain it.
“There’s no giggling in my squad car, lady,” he said again, still with the deep voice.
Oh shit. I was going to pee myself. I tossed my head back and hooted with laughter.
“Quiet! I see someone.” Rip’s voice lost the deep baritone, but he still cracked me up. He was really getting into his cop role.
