51. Chill Your Dick

       After the couple worked everything out, their lives quickly returned back to normal. They fully communicated now, no more bullshit where they said they were and didn’t. Nicole talked through her feelings, deciding that Waverly was the only therapy she needed. And if Waverly was bothered by something, she actually told her about it. Their relationship grew to the healthiest point it ever had been and they were happier than ever.

       But if Nicole was being completely honest, there was one thing that had been sliding around in the back of her head every so often that she didn’t talk about with her. 

       A few days after they cleared everything up, she popped by Shorty’s after her shift to grab a drink and hang with Waverly until she got off. She walked in the front doors, not surprised to find it almost empty on a Tuesday night. She was also not surprised to find Rosita standing unreasonably close as she talked with her girlfriend behind the bar. She walked up behind them, clearing her throat. Waverly turned quickly, eyes lighting up at the sight of her. “Baby! Just in time! I need to talk to you!” She leaned across the bar and gave her a kiss. Rosita shot the redhead a snarky grin. 

       Nicole took a seat on the stool, propping her arms up. “Yea, what’s up?” 

       “So, since I had to cancel our Girl’s Night from when we had it planned last time because . . . yea. We texted about it and decided to reschedule for tomorrow night . . . if that’s cool with you?” 

       She shrugged, sipping on the beer the brunette had set in front of her as she had been talking. “Fine with me. I get off at 8 so I’ll be home to bother all of you,” she smirked. 

       “Ooh, great!” Rosita exclaimed. “That means you can run for the store for us when we run out of booze!” The two bartenders laughed, Waverly lightly smacking her arm. 

       “Yea, the mixture of Girl’s Night and booze sounds like I’ll probably need to be more hammered than all of you, so looks like ya’ll are gonna have to make due,” she said with a pouty lip. 

.  .  .

       Nicole stepped out of her cruiser, walking up to the house, already hearing the loud screeching of 4 slightly tipsy women. She pushed the door open, slowly walking inside to see the girls laying on the floor watching some scary movie with takeout boxes scattered in front of them. Waverly pushed herself off the floor, dashing over and jumping into her arms. Nicole slid her hands under her butt and held her up as the brunette met her lips. She pulled back after a few seconds with a smile. “How was work?” Waverly asked, a slight slur creeping through her voice. 

       “Good. You?” 

       “There was a biker brawl, so I got some entertainment,” she smirked. 

       The redhead walked them over and sat her on the back of the couch in front of her. “Sounds . . . fun,” she said with wide eyes and a nod. “Why weren’t we called?” 

       “Shorty pulled out his shotgun and scared ‘em off,” she shrugged. 

       “Ah,” she exhaled, leaning in for another kiss. “Hey, be careful with that vodka, ok? I know you drink that shit like water.” She could taste the blueberry vodka on her lips when she kissed her coming in the door and could now see the bottle sitting on the floor next to where she was laying. 

       “I know, I will,” she promised.

       Nicole stepped back, letting her hop down. “Mk, thank you, Love.” She looked up to the other girls. “Ya’ll need anything?”

       Chrissy and Jessie shook their heads. “Get me another beer,” Rosita ordered. 

       The redhead ran her tongue along the inside of her bottom lip. “Get your own damn beer,” she huffed. Waverly looked towards her, wide-eyed. 

       “Did you not just ask if we needed anything?” The black-haired girl asked, raising her eyebrows. 

       “I wasn’t asking you.” 

       Rosita stood up with a scoff, heading to the kitchen herself. Waverly smacked Nicole’s arm with the back of her hand. “What’s your problem?” 

       She shrugged, sticking her thumbs in her belt. She wandered into the kitchen with a scowl on her face, standing in between the island and the fridge, blocking the girl from walking forward. “Move,” Rosita snapped after she grabbed a beer. 

       “Stop flirting with my girl and maybe I will,” she countered, tilting her head. 

       “Oh please,” she laughed. “You think she doesn’t flirt back?” 

       The Officer closed the distance between them, leaving their faces inches apart. “I don’t think. I know. You two can be friends, I don’t care. But let me see you try something, and I swear to God, I will knock the fuck out of you,” she growled. 

       Rosita chuckled with a smirk, reaching up and tugging the zipper of Nicole’s uniform down. “You’re cute when you're jealous.” 

       The redhead scoffed, shoving her back and zipping it up. “Touch me again ‘n see what happens.” 

       “Yea?” She slid her hand down her arm. “What’s gonna happen?” 

       Nicole balled her fist at her side, ready to knock her flat. But then she thought about how Waverly would feel about that. She wasn’t about to ruin her Girl’s Night just because she was jealous of this asshole who was obviously doing it just to get her riled up. She unclenched her fist, taking a breath to calm herself down. She swung open the fridge door and pulled a water out, walking away, bumping Rosita’s shoulder as she went. Waverly watched her with narrowed eyes as she disappeared down the hallway. 

       As Nicole changed out of her uniform, she contemplated staying out there for the night just to make sure Rosita didn’t step over the line. 

       No. 

       Waverly would tell her if Rosita tried something. And she wouldn’t let it happen either. She let out a breath as she pulled on some workout clothes before walking back out of the room to head upstairs. She knew some late night exercise would calm her down a little. 

       And maybe she had picked a sports bra that showed a little more cleavage than normal. And maybe she had picked a pair of shorts that were a little tight in all the right places. 

       But she was gonna be that bitch. 

       “I’ll be upstairs if you need me, Babe,” she informed, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. 

       Waverly turned to look at her, not having heard her walk back out. “Uh-huh,” she breathed as her eyes traced over her body, mouth drying. Nicole smirked at her, seeing Rosita’s pissed face from the corner of her eye. She walked upstairs with a pep in her step, plugging her earbuds into her ears. 

       “I’d tap that,” Chrissy mumbled from beside Waverly. 

       “Pssh, I do tap that . . . ‘n let me tell ya . . .” She held up an ok sign with her fingers with a pleased smirk on her face. The blonde snorted, Jessie even laughing. 

       But she couldn’t help but notice how Rosita rolled her eyes at them. 

.  .  .

       “Dude, didn’t you run Black Ops missions or some shit?” Nicole scoffed, shaking her head at the TV. An hour or so after she got done working out, Dolls wanted to play some Call of Duty, so she jumped on the Xbox. She hadn’t completely given up video games. She just played less, just about as much as she did before her depression episode, in which she had learned that Dolls also had a thing for video games. 

       “Yea, what’s it to ya?” 

       “Cause you are literally eatin’ my shit right now and Ima cop in Bumbfuck, Canada.” Dolls peaked out from the top window of a house and made an attempt to snipe her as she moved to change positions, but missed. “Pfft, I’m pretty sure Michael J Fox on a rollercoaster could aim better than you.”

       “Asshole,” he muttered under his breath as her laughter filled his headset. 

       “Oui! How my shit taste, Dollsy?” She asked after killing him again. 

       “Shut up, Haught.” 

       “Oh, c’mon. I ain’t hurtin’ you,” she justified. 

       “You sound really southern when you’re drunk,” the Marshal sighed. 

       “Probably cause I’m southern. Also, I’ve had two beers tonight, chill your dick.” 

       “Oh, I know you are, trust me. If your redneck ass was any more inbred, you’d be a fuckin’ sandwich.” 

       Nicole’s mouth fell open in offense, yet amused laughter filed out. “Now that was rude, Xavier,” she snorted. “Us Texans do not participate in that, for it is a sin. And you're a lizard baby, anyway, that’s some beastiality type shit right there.” 

       “Yet you are still the one they call Fire Crotch, how depressing,” he sighed dramatically. 

       She shook her head with a smile, taking a pull of her beer. “Hey, lemme ask you, does smoke come out your ass when you fart? Cause if so, I’ll give you a few cans of chili and you can come and be the fog machine at our Halloween party.” 

       Dolls cackled, “You realize how disgusting that sounds, right?” 

       “You didn’t answer my question,” she huffed. 

       “No! Smoke doesn’t come out of my ass! Jesus!” 

       Nicole pouted, “That’s sad. You should work on that. It could be your new party trick or somethin’.” 

       “Remind me to never go to a party with you . . . Gotcha, Pussy!” He exclaimed after sneaking up behind her, shooting her before she could react. 

       “Ya know what they say,” she sighed. “You are what you eat.” 

       Dolls groaned. “I just got some horrible images in my head, thank you.” 

       “Think about my girlfriend like that again and I’ll rip your dick off.” 

       “You made me,” he complained quietly. 

       “I did n-” She paused, hearing a knock on the door. She slid one side of the headset off of her ear. “Hold on.” She muted her mic. “Yea?” The door opened and Jessie walked in, plopping down onto the bed next to her. “What’s up?” 

       “I think I know why you hate Rosita now,” she sighed into the pillow. By the sound of her voice, she could tell that she wasn’t drunk, probably only a little more than the tiny buzz Nicole had. 

       “Uh . . . Why?” 

       She flipped over quickly. “All she does is flirt with Waverly, it’s so fucking annoying.” 

       The Officer let out a single laugh. “Tell me about it,” she grumbled. 

       “Anyway. I came in here to tell you that you might wanna just happen to wander out there cause Chrissy and Wave finished that bottle by themselves so Chrissy’s out cold. And Rosita’s only been drinking beers and a little whiskey every now and then. She’s starting to take that to her advantage and test her waters a little.” 

       Nicole clenched her jaw, flicking her headset back on. “Hey, Dolls, I gotta go, sorry.”

       “It’s cool. See you tomorrow, Fire Crotch.” 

       “Yea, Fart Flame, see you tomorrow.” She heard him begin to cuss her out as she turned off the Xbox. She turned back to Jessie, removing the headset completely. “What is she doing?” She asked, anger bubbling up in her voice now. 

       “She’s just being all touchy, more than usual. And they are sitting up on the couch while I’m on the floor, so Rosita thinks I can’t see or hear her for some reason.” 

       Nicole let out a low growl, chugging down the last of her third beer. “Well, it just so happens that I need another drink,” she sighed, standing up off the bed and grabbing all her empties. “Thanks, Jess, I appreciate it.”

       “No problem. I know Waverly would never do anything no matter how drunk she was, but that’s not going to stop Rosita from trying to.” 

       “Yea, I know,” she said quietly as they exited the room together, walking at a snail’s speed. “Bitch’s been pulling this shit for months now.” 

       “Months? Nicole, how come you haven’t talked to Waves about it?” 

       “Because . . . I don’t want to ruin their friendship.” 

       “Trust me, their friendship needs to be ruined before Waverly gets hurt.” 

       Nicole let out a sigh, knowing that it was true. They got to the end of the hallway and she looked over towards the couch to find Rosita basically sitting on top of Waverly with her hand resting on her upper thigh, other pushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she leaned in for a kiss. 

       But the brunette’s eyes were wide and her face was full of discomfort. She had her hand pressed stiffly against her shoulder to keep her from doing what she was about to do.

       Nicole dropped her bottles in the trash can, the sound of the glass clinking together alerting them of their presence. Rosita’s head snapped around, eyes going wide at the sight of the redhead. She jumped up from the couch, putting her hands up as Nicole’s bone-chilling glare transfixed on her face. “Nicole, I-I wasn’t gonna, I swear.” 

       “Oh, I think you were,” she responded gravelly, slowly starting to move closer to the woman. 

       Rosita began to back up. “No, I wa-wasn’t. I wasn’t, Nicole.”

       The redhead shook her head at her pathetic argument. “What were you doing then, huh?”

       “I-I-I’m sorry. I’m sor-”

       “What did I tell you I was going to do?” She asked, forcing it in the beginning, but bringing it back down to it's completely low and even state. She reached the end of the couch that Waverly was on and snapped her fingers behind her back, pointing to her to signal to Jessie to make sure she was ok. 

       “I’m sorry,” the black-haired girl whispered, fear written all over her face. 

       “What’d I say was going to do if I saw you try something with her, Rosita?” She asked again, her voice beginning to lose its flatness, more anger seeping through the seams. 

       “No, Haught, please. I promise, I won’t fuck with her anymore.”

       “That didn’t answer my question.” 

       “I don’t know what I was thi-” She let out a gasp, feeling her back hit the wall behind her.

       Nicole closed in on her, placing her hands on either side of the wall around her, preventing her from moving. “I know what you were thinking,” she seethed. “You were thinking that since Jessie left and Chrissy was passed out, you could finally make a move on her. And you know she’s drunk, so if there was the chance that she rejected you, which you should have known was inevitable, she probably wouldn’t have remembered it the next day, anyway. The only problem is . . . You got caught . . . Does that sound about right, Bustillos?” Rosita swallowed guiltily, looking anywhere but her face. “I thought I made myself clear earlier, did I not?” 

       “You did. You did, Nicole.” 

       “Then why did you just try and kiss my girlfriend?” She smacked the palm of her hand against the wall, Rosita almost jumping out of her skin. 

       “I don’t know! I’m sorry! Just don’t . . . don’t knock the fuck out of me,” she squeaked. 

       “Ooh,” she laughed. “You do remember, huh?” She leaned in closer to her face, lowering her voice to a growl. “You better be glad that I don’t feel like wiping blood off of my walls tonight. But if you make her uncomfortable in any way ever again, you better watch your fucking back.” She pushed herself back, dropping her arms to her sides. “Get out.” 

       Rosita sprung away from the wall, grabbed her shit, and slid out the front door, slamming it behind her. Nicole let out a heavy breath, staring at the door for a few seconds. She cooled herself down before looking over to the brunette. 

       She stood up, clutching her hands to her front as tears welled up in her eyes. “Nic, I promise, I wasn’t gonna-” 

       The Officer quickly shook her head, moving forward and pulling her into a hug. “Shh, I know you weren’t, it’s ok.”

       Waverly let out a relieved breath, resting her forehead against her collarbone. She pulled back after a few more seconds and Nicole wiped her fingers under her eyes before sitting them down next to Jessie. “Why'd she do that?” She cried, holding the other brunette’s hand in her lap.

       Jessie looked towards Nicole, tipping her head knowingly. She pursed her lips, turning her body and pulling her legs up on the couch to face her. “Look, Wave . . . She’s liked you since you started working at Shorty’s again,” she admitted. 

       Her brows furrowed. “What?” She asked confusedly. “How d’you know?- Wait, is that why you don’t like ‘er . . . and why she don’t like you?”

       “I mean, yea,” she said with a small laugh. “I know you’ve never realized it, but she hits on you all the time.” 

       “She’s never done that besides t’night.” 

       Jessie tutted. “You’re telling me she isn’t always right on top of you at work, giving you unnecessary compliments, and going out of her way to do nice things for you?”

       Waverly’s mouth came open to say something, but the gears turned in her head as she began to think of all of her words in actions in a totally different light. “Oh my God,” she breathed. She pushed her hands into her hair. “Why didn’t you tell me, Nic?! I feel like an idiot!” 

       “Stop it, you’re not an idiot,” Nicole asserted. “And . . . It’s not my place to tell you who you can and cannot be friends with, even if they are staring at your ass all day long.”

       “She stares at my ass?!” 

       “All the time,” Jessie and Nicole chorused annoyedly. 

       Waverly groaned, falling sideways and burying her face in Nicole’s lap. “I’m so stupid,” she muttered. 

       Nicole shook her head, rubbing her hand up and down her back. “Quit.” 

       Waverly rolled over, looking up at her. “No, I am. I had a small suspicion tha’ she liked me but I ignored it cause I found out she was sleepin’ with Doc and that apparently made 'er straight in my head.” 

       Both girls’ eyes widened. “Sorry, what?” Nicole asked. 

       “Yea, thassa thing, apparently,” she sighed, covering her forehead with her arm. 

       “Ooh boy,” the redhead muttered. A yawn crept up on her. “Ok, I’m going to bed. I have to be at work at 7 tomorrow morning.” 

       “Blech,” Waverly slurred at the thought of waking up early. The clock was already ticking past 2 am. She sat up from Nicole’s lap and the Deputy pushed herself up off the couch. 

       “I probably won’t see you in the morning,” she frowned. “I’m sorry, Love.” The brunette stuck her hands in the air, flapping her fingers at her with a pouted lip. Nicole let out a sigh, bending forward and lifting the smaller girl up off the couch, hugging her arms around her torso as she locked her ankles tightly behind her back. 

       “I love you,” she mumbled. 

       “I love you, too,” she said with an empathetic chuckle. 

       The brunette’s eyes filled with tears as she stared down into her soft, whiskey-colored eyes. “Ima miss you,” she sniffled, her bottom lip protruding again. 

       “Baby, you can come and see me at the station after you wake up, you know that,” she reminded gently. 

       “But Ima miss you.” She curled her arms around her neck, burying her face into her shoulder. 

       In Nicole’s opinion, clingy drunk Waverly was the cutest thing. She swayed them back in forth in an attempt to calm her down, which seemed to work after a minute. She loosened the grip around her neck, lifting her head. “I love you,” Nicole repeated in a whisper, giving her a sweet smile. Waverly gently met her lips, mumbling her response against them. She dropped her legs and Nicole set her down, giving her one last kiss. “Make sure to get some sleep, ok?” 

       “We will,” Waverly nodded. 

       “Mk, goodnight. Call me if you need anything tomorrow.” 

       She nodded again, letting go of her hand as she walked off to their room. Nicole threw her a smile over her shoulder before she disappeared down the hallway. 

       “Now what do you want to do?” Jessie asked, propping her chin up on her knee. 

       Waverly sat back down next to her. “I think you need to talk to me bout your wedding plans,” she smirked. A wide smile formed on the other brunette’s face as she quickly clapped her hands together, turning towards her. 

.  .  .

       Days ticked past Nicole’s father’s anniversary. It had been easier than expected for both of them. The hardest part had been the nightmares that usually crept around a few days before it. Waking up to the sound of her girlfriend screaming in her sleep right next to her was not pleasant. And trying to wake her up proved to be even less. 

       But they got past it. Together.

       Waverly had the first of September off so she decided to do some much-needed grocery shopping. She rolled her cart out of the store, heading towards the Jeep. She was just about done shoving all of the bags in the trunk when she happened to look up, seeing a head of fiery red hair sprinting down the sidewalk after a man with a 20-foot lead on her and a purse in his clutch. Her eyes widened, mouth dropping open. She always had the same reaction watching Nicole do her police stuff. She looked from the sidewalk down to her cart, an idea popping into her head. 

       This was the only time that she was glad the only parking spot available in the small store’s lot was the one right next to the exit. She spun her cart around and pushed it quickly towards the sidewalk, shielding herself behind some shrubbery that decorated the outskirts of the store. 

       Just as the man was about to pass, she shoved it forward. “Shit!” He cursed as he rammed right into the cart, tumbling over it and smacking his face into the ground as his legs stuck in the air, propped up by the cart. Waverly peeked her head out from behind the bush, looking at Nicole’s rather confused face as she skidded to a stop in order to not trip over it herself. The Officer moved the cart out of the way, pouncing on the guy’s back as he tried to get up. She yanked her cuffs out of the pouch, locking his hands behind his back and hauling him to his feet. 

       “Hi, yes, you’re welcome, Officer,” she smirked with her arms crossed.

       Nicole looked over, not noticing until then that she was standing there. She let out a laugh. “Thanks, Baby,” she said, still breathing heavy. “I owe you.” 

       “Mm, bring home some takeout after you get off and we’ll call it even.” 

       “That I can do,” she smiled. The man had been wiggling around in her grip the whole time. She jerked his arms down. “Knock it off.” He let out a grunt in response but stopped resisting. She looked back up at the smaller girl. “I’ll see you later. I need to get the lady’s purse back to her.” Another deputy rolled his cruiser up beside them and she shoved the man in the back. 

       “Alright, see you later. Be careful.” 

       “I will, Love,” she assured, stepping forward and giving her a quick kiss, smiling sweetly as she walked away in the direction she had come from. 

       Now that it was September, there was only one thought rolling around in Nicole’s head. 

       Waverly’s. Birthday. 

       It was only 7 days away.

       And moments like this reminded her that she had to make it the best birthday her girlfriend ever had.