I woke up on the floor, face down, with my arm outstretched hanging around Leo's headboard, feeling like it might pop off. I rubbed my eyes with my free hand and stood up, trying to gingerly place my arm back in a natural position, feeling the strain run under my armpit where it was stretched and around my wrist where the metal had dug into me, creating a sizable red mark.

"Leo!" I shouted immediately, having no patience to prolong this stupid situation. "Leo!?" I tried again, louder. Then came the sound of rustling, "Leo!" I finalized and heard the sound of creaking stairs. Soon after, Leo appeared on the other side of the door, with bloodshot eyes and no shirt on his body.

Despite myself, I stared. I stared at the tuft of hair across his chest and the way it made him seem even manlier which I had long since equated with sexiness. Darn you Spanish novelas and I'm so sorry Darcy.

Unlike the usual smirking boy I was used to seeing, this Leo was a lot grumpier.

"I'm sorry..." I started, but he raised a hand, cutting me off. He shook his head and went over to the dresser, grabbing the keys from his holster. He came over and undid the cuff from the bed and then the one on my wrist. I instinctively brought it to my other hand and rubbed at the indent it left.

He went to the door and held it open, the universal sign for get out. I grabbed my shirt, throwing it over my head and let him lead—or more like push—me out.

"I wasn't trying to get you in trouble."

"Just stop." Leo said. He pushed me all the way to the front door and opened it.

"I need my shoes and my purse." I told him and after an exhale, he moved aside so that I could go grab it. I came back to the doorway and stood in front of him. "Can we talk about last night?" I asked.

"No," He said and actually placed a palm on my shoulder and pushed me out.

Before I could even protest the door was being slammed behind me and the locks turned.

"Mierda, coño."

I stood outside of Leo's house for longer than I felt was socially acceptable. I wasn't sure what to do. First, I didn't realize drunk me used most of the remaining money I had on the Uber and I literally couldn't afford one back. Second, I wouldn't call Darcy because everything that happened was shitty and I'd probably cry telling her and I didn't want to go through any more shame or humiliation. And third, I was totally fine with walking as I could've used the time to clear my head, but it was a forty-eight minute walk back home and it was another chilly day where I didn't have a jacket and my max walking ability was just under the twenty-seven minute mark.

Now the whole, how-do-I-get-home predicament was fine and dandy on its own, but there was a sneak attack fourth situation that really kept coming to the surface, keeping me grounded at his front door. And of course, it all came back to one little thing Leo said to me. One thing that I really wanted to be angry about, but couldn't actually discredit. In my stubbornness, maybe, just maybe, I didn't like to take responsibility for the things I didn't like, and maybe there was a possibility that I chose to not be forthcoming when those situations arose.

I sighed. If I left now, I was allowing the bridges to burn once again, which is not what I wanted to do.

Finally, I turned around and banged on the door. Of course, he didn't open up so I also rang the doorbell a few times, knocked a few fun tunes and even reached over and knocked on his window.

The door eventually swung open to a disgruntled looking Leo. "You do know harassing a cop is a jailable offense, right?"

"I'm sorry, okay?" I said, "I didn't know you could get in trouble for me using the cuffs. I guess I just thought it would be sexy. I don't know I was drunk," I rambled, "but I do know that I like you and I haven't liked anyone in a really long time, so I guess the whole reason I came over was because I wanted to try and be more open. The alcohol gave me the courage to—"

I was cut off by Leo pulling me into a hug. "I'm glad you came back." He told me and I relaxed into his arms, breathing in his scent.

"Me too." I said and he released the hug, giving me the bright smile I was fond of seeing.

"I figure you also need a ride home?" He asked, reading my mind in the ways that were borderline freaky.

My face became red and he laughed, retreating back into his house. I followed him in and went to my favorite spot on his sofa.

"I'm just going to finish getting ready and we can head out."

"Sounds good. Am I making you late for anything?"

"Nope, I'm off today, but need to stop into the office to take care of some business. I'll just take you on the way."

"Sounds good," I smiled as he started up the stairs, "Do you want me to make some breakfast?"

Leo stopped, took a few steps back down and looked at me, "Oh man, that would be great, but good luck finding something in my kitchen."

"I'll take the challenge," I winked at him and his smile became even more radiant (like that was even possible) and he disappeared once again at the top of the stairs.

I stood up, smiling like a madwoman. I was so glad I decided to come back. Is this how easy my life could've been if I wasn't so stubborn?

I walked into his kitchen and saw the whisky bottle still on top of the counter. I wondered why he was drinking all alone last night and made a mental note to ask him about it later. I opened the fridge door and was shocked to find it almost completely empty. Did Leo actually live in this house? Why was everything so empty? The contents of his fridge included; six eggs, some slices of provolone cheese, ketchup, barbeque sauce, a jar of pickles and a jar of salsa, lunchmeat, milk, some premade salads and a large case of water bottles shoved in the bottom rack. In the freezer were wings with freezer burn, an empty ice tray, a few bags of frozen berries, and two containers of ice cream, one chocolate and the other chocolate chip cookie dough.

"How does this boy live?" I asked no one in particular. I grabbed the eggs, milk, cheese slices and salsa. I looked around his counters for any sign of potatoes, but found nothing. I sighed. Nevertheless, I would make some good omelets.

Although I didn't have nearly everything I would've needed, by the time I was finished, I was happy with what I created. It was pretty much a Mexican style omelet thanks to the salsa and I was able to get the cheese to melt very nicely over the top.

"Wow, it actually smells like food in here." Leo came through the kitchen, towering in the space like always. Or maybe more so with the police uniform on.

"How do you even survive on your own?" I asked.

"Dunkin Donuts has pretty good breakfast and protein shakes keeps the guns, gunning." He flexed his biceps and I rolled my eyes. "Oh wow, Cala. Leo looked at the decorated plates, "This looks amazing. How the heck did you even put this together?"

"I can be resourceful." I said. I grabbed the plates from the counter and brought them over to his dining room table.

He pulled out a seat for me and and then he quickly went to grab some ketchup and poured one of his water bottles into two glasses. Once he was settled into his own seat, I dug in.

"This is really good." Leo said with a full mouth, eating with the kind of gusto that made me feel proud for being a decent chef.

"I have a question," I spoke and sipped some of my water for dramatic effect, "Why were you drinking all alone last night?"

Leo, who was already mostly done with the eggs, set his fork down. He finished swallowing and took a long sip of his water.

"I've been in contact with Scott."

The atmosphere seemed to shift, almost instantaneously.

"There's a hearing coming up. A lot of the townspeople have been showing him support, but there is quite a bit of backlash coming from other parts of the country. More than that, Gregory isn't doing so well and the doctors are asking his family if they want to pull the plug."

I nearly choked on air.

"I know it's not the wisest, but I was drinking in hopes to clear my mind."

I'd pretty much ignored the situation with Gregory and let it sit in the very back of my subconscious. I wanted to pretend things were okay and the best way I could do that was to avoid any thoughts about the horrible situation that was happening so close to home. Which I was aware wasn't actually okay.

"So things have been taking a toll on you?" I asked.

Leo sighed, bringing on the somber appearance that I didn't like seeing on him, "Well, I did make that statement. And then, despite warnings from my team, I looked at people's comments. Let's just say it leaned on the negative side."

I felt like I was having an out of body experience. Like, whenever I bashed cops, I'd see the uniform and knew them as monsters. But here in front of me was a man dressed in a police uniform because he was indeed a cop, but he wasn't a monster. He was also human. A human who could feel upset when people like me bashed him for the uniform he upheld.

"It's good they are doing a hearing," I said, "Let's listen to all sides of the case and see what the truth is. Right now, all we can do is hope for justice." I grabbed his hand over the table and squeezed it gently, "For both sides."

Leo smiled at me and flipped his hand over to grab mine properly, squeezing it back. "You constantly surprise me."

We finished eating and I put the dishes away while Leo grabbed the rest of his stuff. We met at his front door and he gave me a quizzical look.

"What?" I asked. He hovered over me and we stood decently close together, right at the entryway of his home.

"This job has always been demanding, but with what's going on I'm about to be especially busy," He said and I nodded my head, pretending I knew where this was going. "I want you to know that I really do like you and I've been enjoying our many coincidental meetings, but right now I wouldn't be able to make you a priority and that wouldn't be fair to you."

And just like that, I was feeling even worse that when he kicked me out that morning.

"But," He emphasized and I met his eyes, not even realizing I broke contact in the first place, "After the chaos of this settles down, if you would allow me to and are still willing, I'd like to take you out on another date."

Despite feeling like he was in the process of breaking my heart, I smiled. "Maybe."

Leo laughed his deep, rich laugh.

"Anyways, I need to focus on my studies and finish the semester strong and you would just get in the way."

Leo laughed some more, ruffling my hair like I was a child, probably knotting it in the process and then he opened the door.

"Then maybe it's a date." He said and led me to his truck, opening my door as per usual.

He drove me home and we settled into a comfortable silence. I was trying to focus on being happy that he did eventually want to go on another date, all the while being sad that I'd probably go through another stint without seeing him. Which was made all the more sad considering we were finally in a good place.

It must've been hard being a cop. Having to be so busy with work, doing over time and even working on your off days. Was that the reason Leo was single? I looked over at him as the questions swarmed my mind and he looked back at me, flashing me a smirk. I blushed and looked back out my window.

We finally made it to my house and I opened my door and paused.

"You should know, I'm not a very patient girl and if things don't settle in a short enough amount of time, I'll be pissed."

Leo laughed and I couldn't help but smile, losing the seriousness I was trying to place on my words.

"You're killing me." He calmed down enough, biting his bottom lip and sending my heart into a tizzy. "Don't worry, the time will fly faster than you think. And I'll make sure to make it up to you."

"I'll count on it." I said and finally left his truck, walking up to the small house I shared with my best friend.

Behind me, I heard the whir of a window being rolled down, "Oh, and Miss Bonilla," Leo called. I turned around and looked at him with a smile on my lips, "Please remember that underage drinking is illegal. If I catch you doing it again, I'll have no choice, but to arrest you." He teased and I stuck my tongue out after him.

"Oh, like you've never drank when you were underaged!"

The smirk on Leo's face was wild. He winked at me and soon he was on his way, driving the speed limit like the old man he was.

I stood there until his truck was out of view and then the residual smile on my face relaxed into a prominent frown. I should've kissed him one last time. 

++++++

Author's Note: Ah, I remember when I stopped being so stubborn. I was surprised at how much quicker things went well. 

There's three chapters left! I'm hoping to finish the last chapter today and post the final three next week. As of now, I'm not thinking there will be any bonus chapters or epilogue,  just so you know.