Page 5 of Salvation

Ifind myself humming as I separate the much-needed supplies that were delivered to the shelter this morning. My office is completely overrun, and the neat piles are spilling into the hallway, since my office is small and cramped on a normal day. Delivery days make it that much more hectic, but we rely on the donations from the local churches and organizations to stay stocked and ready for everyone in need of our assistance. The sheer number of women and children in need is overwhelming if I stop to think about it, so instead, I prefer to help those I can and show them that they do not have to be with a man who uses his fists to control them.

I’m sorting one of the last boxes of diapers, and swaying my hips as if I’m Beyoncé to the music coming from the portable boom box on my desk, when I hear a laugh at my office door. As I whip around, I drop the package of diapers onto the worn linoleum on my office floor. My hand is over my heart and I can feel it wildly galloping both from my dancing and the jumpstart of the intrusion. My gaze takes in the boot-tipped toes under the hem of well-fitting denim before traveling up over the gun and holster sitting at trim hips and the muscled chest encased in a well-fitted navy t-shirt with his badge hanging over his chest. Eventually, I look over the chiseled face covered in a smirk before settling on the twinkling blue eyes focused on me.

My heart flips and my stomach twists with awareness as I smirk back. I can’t help it. It’s not a reaction I have control over. “Something funny, Detective?”

Luke throws his head back and laughs heartily, the sound filling the room, and making my pulse raise. I laugh with him as I imagine what he might have seen as he walked up on the chaos of my office. Nodding, he gestures around the tight space. “Oh, yes. You still can’t dance, Hope. But you certainly give it your all. You’re such a white girl.” He chuckles and looks at the pack of diapers lying at my feet. “Those diapers were in need of a dance partner?”

My cheeks flush and I quickly grab another pack of diapers from my desktop and toss them at him. They bounce off his muscled legs and land on the floor. He laughs again, the dimples in his cheeks deepening, and uses his foot to gently kick them back toward me. “Now see... I bring you food and you throw diapers at me? I think I’ll take this crispy buffalo chicken wrap back to the precinct with me. I’m certain someone there would appreciate it.”

My mouth waters at the sound of the treat he’s brought. It’s my damn favorite. Quickly glancing at his hands, I see he’s holding a Mother’s Love Deli bag in one hand and a CC’s Coffeehouse tray in the other. I know he’s joking about withholding it from me, but I lunge at him anyway.

Still laughing, he counters by holding his arms over his head and out of my reach. Damn him. He’s six feet tall and I’m only five-foot-four. With him holding the bag up like that, the only way I can get it is to climb on a chair... climb him like a monkey on a banana tree… or knock him down.

Poking my lip out, I pout. “Now, Luke, that’s just mean. I thought you cared about me.” Shaking his head, he chuckles as I point to the bag. “You know that’s my absolute favorite place to eat on the entire planet. Is that extra crispy buffalo chicken with double the bleu cheese by any chance?”

I already know it is.

The smell is wafting down to me, and I can make out the sharp smell of the blue cheese and the tangy scent of the buffalo sauce along with perfectly fried French fries and coffee. Luke has just literally brought me heaven in a bag and a tray.

Nodding, he gestures to my desk with his chiseled chin. “Of course it is. Now, do you think you can wrangle us a spot so you can eat this artery clogging food? I don’t want to have to sit on the damn floor. I figured you’d probably forgotten to eat since it’s delivery day.”

He knows me so well. I did forget to eat. I get so wrapped up in everything here that I often forget to do things like eat, drink… and pee. Which alerts me to the fact that my bladder is screaming.

Sticking my tongue out at him, I laugh. “You figured right.” I clear the corner top of my desk off by setting the boxes on the floor and then point at the chair in front of my desk that is covered with several boxes of blankets. “Just shove that to the floor and take a seat. I’ll be right back to eat with you. I just have to pee first.”

Rolling his eyes, he mutters, “Jesus, Hope. I don’t need to know that you need to pee. Go… before you get a damn bladder infection.”

Glancing behind me, I see that my chair is, of course, full of boxes as well, so shrugging, I head to the door and call over my shoulder. “Be right back. Just start without me so yours is still hot.”

After relieving my bladder and washing my hands, I glance in the mirror and cringe at my appearance. My hair is a mess with pieces falling in my face and down around my shoulders from the bun I threw on top of my head much earlier. Yanking out the elastic, I try to finger brush my waves and bring a small semblance of order to my unruly mane.

Once I rewash my hands and straighten my baggy sweatshirt, I figure that’s the best it’s going to get, and laugh at myself. Luke is used to seeing me look like a hot ass mess anyway.

Crossing back to my office, I hop onto the top of the desk in the small area I just cleared and swing my legs as I reach for the bag full of deliciousness he’s set there.

Luke chuckles and says, “You can have the chair, Hope. I swear if I ever walk in here and it doesn’t look like a tornado just came through, I’m going to have a heart attack.”

Shaking my head in disagreement, since I can’t talk around the food in my mouth, I grunt to indicate he should stay seated. He chuckles again and unwraps his own meal. His is a lean grilled, chicken lettuce wrap full of vegetables with no sign of fried anything. I frown at him as I swallow the first divine bite of my fried, sauced, and cheesed artery clogging meal and then mutter, “That looks so unappetizing, Luke.”

He grins as he chews. When he swallows, he wipes his mouth with a small napkin and smirks at me. “Yeah, well at least I won’t have a heart attack before I’m thirty-five.” He pats his chiseled abs, visible beneath his tight shirt, and I feel my cheeks heat. “This takes work. I have no idea how you stay so small with all the shit you put into your body, Hope.”

Rolling my eyes, I look away from him to attempt to cover my unwavering appreciation for his physique. Luke is a gorgeous man with an incredible body. Then again, his job as a detective with “Guns and Gangs” means he needs to stay in shape. And good lord, is he ever in shape.

He notices my sudden quiet and asks to fill the suddenly awkward silence, “So, what are you doing tonight? Want to come with me to catch the game?”

Wiping my mouth with the side of my hand, I shake my head at him. He’s not going to like what I’m about to say. “I can’t tonight. I have dinner plans… with Gabrial.”

His face tightens and his eyes crease. I can sense his disapproval. I knew it was coming, but it still hurts. He sighs deeply and looks at the wall. I can see the muscles in his jaw tighten before he exhales and looks back at me. “Hope…”

I know what he’s going to say…

I don’t want to hear it. Not that he’s wrong. He’s not. I just can’t have this discussion again.

“Luke, stop. I know your opinion. I know….” I sigh, playing with the strings on my hoodie as I stare at him. He stares back and I can see the war in his beautiful blue eyes. They’re dark and stormy… full of things he wants to say, but he’s holding back. “I know. But… he’s Gabrial… He’s Gabrial.”

He says nothing as he continues to stare at me before he sighs again. I see his hands clench into tight fists on his thighs. “Yeah, I know. He’s Gabrial.” He crumples the last of his food up before harshly shoving it into the bag at his feet, his appetite gone.

My heart is racing as I try to breathe.

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