“I know. But I also knew she was going to snoop. So, I figured that would fix her little wagon.”
Both men laughed.
Kendrick let a couple of moments pass before he said, “Man, I’m not sure what’s going on with me.”
Isaiah had a concerned look on his face as he sank into a chair. “What’s up?”
Kendrick took a seat on the couch. “It’s nothing serious. There isn’t anything wrong. I’m just… for some reason… I can’t get that girl from last night out of my mind.”
“You mean the waitress at the diner that you were clearly in love with?”
Kendrick laughed. “That’s an exaggeration.” He took a drink of coffee. “But was it that obvious?”
Isaiah nodded. “Couldn’t keep your eyes off her, man.”
“Did I seem creepy?”
“No. Not like that. But you were noticing her.”
“You think she realized it?”
He grinned. “She knew you were there. Noticed you, too.”
Kendrick felt foolish for being so excited to hear the news. Like he was some kid back in middle school or something,talking with his friends about the girl he liked over lunch in the cafeteria.
“So you’re still hung up on her this morning?”
“Yeah. But that doesn’t make sense. I’m a Daddy. Being a Little is a make-or-break thing for me,” Kendrick pointed out. “I’d be better off looking for my sweetie at Auntie Athena’s.”
Isaiah shrugged. “She could be a Little.”
Kendrick thought about it for a moment. “It’s possible. But the odds of me finding my cutie in the wild are pretty slim.”
Evidently, Isaiah couldn’t deny that, because he didn’t have a counter argument.
“Speaking of Auntie Athena’s,” Kendrick continued, "did the waitress seem familiar to you?”
Isaiah arched an eyebrow. “Oh? Like you think maybe she is a Little?”
“I’m not sure,” Kendrick told him. “But I swear I’ve met her before. I just can’t place where.”
Isaiah sighed.
“What?” Kendrick probed.
“Man, it might have been in our past line of work. You know we met a lot of people, day in and day out.”
Kendrick couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought about that. But his friend was right—as cops, they met countless people around Los Angeles every single day. And it was often on those people’s worst days.
Had he encountered the waitress while he was out on patrol?
A dreadful thought crossed his mind.
What if he’d arrested her?
There was no way he could remember everyone he’d met while serving Los Angeles. Or even everybody he’d arrested. But something told him he’d remember that woman.
At least, he thought he would.
