Buffy dozed on the subway back to her hotel. Perhaps it was not the smartest thing to do, but it wasn’t as if she couldn’t handle herself coming up against a mugger. In fact, she’d almost welcome a spot of violence. She wasn’t sound asleep, knew that someone was now standing next to her seat, and felt her phone vibrate in her front pocket easily enough. She was surprised it went off actually; she didn’t usually get reception on the train.

“Buffy Summers,” she said, answering her cell phone.

‘Well, hello, Miss Summers, this is Detective Logan calling.’

“It is, huh?”

‘It is. I’d say in the flesh but that would be a lie.’

“And you never tell a lie?”

‘Not to the pretty woman who agreed to have dinner with me.’

“Oh well, I believe you for sure then.”

‘So, we on schedule?’

“We are, in fact. I’m about fifteen minutes away from my stop.”

‘Waiting for me to call, huh?’

“What?”

‘No, I understand.’

“I don’t know what you mean.” She paused. “And we’re about to go underground again, which is the reason I didn’t call you first if that’s what you’re implying. So, I’ll be at the hotel in a little bit.”

‘Okay, see you then.’

She hung up, smiling, realizing that was a stupid thing to do so she put her phone back in her pocket and prepared to get off the train. That itch to get into a fight was still there, though, and she realized she should probably give Faith a call one of these nights to see about joining her on a patrol.

She hated that part of her, needing to slay. To kill something, but she’d learned to go with it. When she tried to stifle it was when bad things happened. Like she went all crazy on people. And that wasn’t good. So, she had to kill things once in a while to let off steam. Everybody had to have a hobby, right?

She glanced around the car as it slowed to a stop, wondering what other people did to let off steam. Sex. Working out. Walking. Any number of things. One woman was clearly a dancer, judging by her clothes. She knew dancing would be a great way to let off steam. So was ice skating, though she hadn’t done that since high school.

She walked to the doors with the others getting off at her stop and joined the crowd as they pushed their way through those wanting to board the train they were trying to disembark. Up the stairs and she was back on solid ground. She had a fairly crappy day and hoped that Mike was serious about going for a swim, which would have to do as far as letting off steam for her until she could get ahold of Faith. There was no way she could work out in front of him. He’d know something was up and she hoped to not have to cross that bridge with him.

She’d just gotten back to her room when he knocked so he must not have been too far behind her.

“Rough day?”

“Is it that obvious?” she asked.

“You just look stressed.”

“A little, yeah. One of those days when the expert is called on the carpet by someone who thinks they know more.”

“And you’re the expert?”

“Presumably.”

“I see,” he said, though she knew he didn’t. “Want me to arrest someone?”

She gave a soft chuckle at that. If only he knew!

“No, that’s all right. I’ll get over it. It’s not the first time and won’t be the last someone doesn’t want to accept what I’m teaching. I was wondering if you were serious about going for a swim.”

“Well, I didn’t bring my trunks, but you go right ahead if that’s what you need to do.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“But you were going to bring me dinner.”

“I was just going to order from this Italian place around the corner. I can wait a little while longer to eat.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

She grabbed her suit and went to the bathroom, closing the door partway.

“So, your day wasn’t stressful I take it?”

“Not too bad.”

“You know, I have to wonder just what detectives do in New York. You seem to have a lot of down time.”

“Knock on wood,” he said. “Believe me, there are days I wonder if I’ll get to sleep that night.”

“I suppose. Criminals never sleep.”

“That is true.”

“So, slow day then?”

“For the most part. My partner stayed at the precinct to put the finishing touches on a couple of reports.”

“For you?”

“Yeah, but it’s fine. Really. I’d do the same for him.”

“Well, that’s good,” she said, stepping out of the bathroom.

“You want company?”

“You’re going to watch me swim?”

“Why not? I could think of worse things to do with my time. And then I can head out to pick up the food once you’re done. That should give you enough time to shower and dress afterward.”

“Sure,” she said, handing him her cardkey.

“Wow, I’d be flattered except I realize it’s only because you have no pockets.”

“That’s right.”

The swim was great. The dinner was fantastic. Eating alone made it even better. And the lounging afterward with someone was a bonus. The sex was like a cherry on top of her good evening sundae.

It was her turn to get woken up by his cell phone. And it was early.

“Mike,” she whispered.

“Hmm.”

“Your phone’s ringing.”

“Yeah, okay.”

She smiled a little, glad he was comfortable enough here to sleep so soundly. But the hotel supplied bedside alarm clock indicated it was just after three o’clock in the morning. Something told her it wasn’t a social call coming in for him at this time of the day.

She shook him, using some of her Slayer strength to put a little extra behind it.

“Wha?”

“Your phone,” she said just as it stopped ringing.

“Oh right,” he said, sitting up and reaching across her to grab it.

She sat up, too, turning the table lamp on so he could see.

“Logan,” he said into the phone.

“Yeah, sorry, didn’t hear the phone ring until it’d already stopped.”

“Sure, yeah, be there in a little bit.”

He disconnected the call and regarded her.

“Duty calls.”

“I guessed as much.”

“I could come back after the scene’s been cleared.”

“If you knew how long that would take I’d say fine, but I have to work today, too.”

“Right. Okay then,” he said, drawing the covers off of him so he could get out of bed.

She watched quietly as he gathered his things together.

“You can turn the light off if you want. It wouldn’t be the first time I dressed in the dark.”

She smiled a little with a shake of her head.

“I’m enjoying the view.”

“You are, huh?” He took a seat on the foot of the bed to slide his pants on. His shirt came next and the tie she’d removed a few hours ago he draped around his neck without making an effort to tie it properly.

“I’ll call you later,” he said, leaning down to kiss her. He switched the lamp off and drew the covers back up around her. “I hope you have a good day.”

“You, too,” she said, realizing that was stupid to say. “Well, I mean, I hope you catch the bad guy quickly and don’t get hurt in the process.”

“Thank you. Bad guys beware,” he said with a chuckle, kissing her again.

The last thing Mike expected to see at his precinct later that day was the blonde he’d been spending his downtime with recently.

His first thought went to how she'd found him, not that he'd lied about his name so finding him wouldn't have been that difficult. He’d never revealed which precinct he worked out of, though. What was more, he couldn't decide whether he was happy or angry to see her here. Parts of him were plenty happy, just the ones that mattered when he was at work weren't as sure. One of the things he liked about her was that being from out of town there was no question what they were doing. Not that he was just using her for sex, but there wasn’t going to be much more to it than that.

His second thought was more in-line with the happy parts of him, wondering where in the precinct he could take her to be alone for a few minutes. Clearly, it had been too long since he’d had regular sex if he was thinking like that. His lieutenant would have his ass if he even caught a whiff of Logan having sex with someone in an interrogation room.

"Isn't that," Lennie said, seeing where Mike's attention was currently focused.

"Yeah," Mike said. He wasn’t the only one looking either, Mike noticed. More than one cop had paused what they were doing to check out the attractive blonde. And she was attractive. And fit. He’d almost been ashamed at getting turned on watching her swim. It wasn’t an activity he really thought of as being sexy before, but she made it look that way. Graceful. Sleek. She was muscular. Not bulky or anything, but just watching her swim he could see the muscles flex as she extended her arms and legs for various strokes.

The muscles she used when he was inside of her. Holy crap. She’d gripped him so hard a time or two that he thought she just might cut off circulation to that part of his anatomy. It felt incredible, no complaints from him for sure. He’d never in all of his experience felt anything like her, not even the more inexperienced girls he’d been with in his younger days.

Thinking about her like that wasn’t helping him get his attention where it should be. He wondered if he should save her the trouble of searching for him by going to her. Only she didn't seem to be there for him. She spoke to the desk sergeant. Had something happened to her? She wasn't there long, but her visit to his precinct had made him curious enough to ask questions.

"That woman that was just here."

"Which one?"

"Blonde, petite."

"What about her?"

"What was she doing here?"

"Looking for an officer."

"Which officer?"

The desk sergeant regarded him for a minute and shrugged. "Robin Wood."

"You know her?"

"The blonde? Never seen her before in my life."

"No, the police officer."

"No, just the name. Rarely comes in here, out on special assignment or something."

"Oh," Mike said. "She have business with her?"

"Why don't you ask Officer Wood. I'm not his secretary."

"His secretary?"

"Yeah, his secretary. You going deaf or something, Logan?"

"Nah, just don't hear of too many men named Robin."

So she hadn't been there to see him. Instead, she'd been there to see another guy. He found himself oddly disappointed - and a little jealous - by that.

"So," Lennie said. “The rose off the bloom so fast, Mike?”

"Here to see an officer."

"Maybe she just has a thing for men in uniform."

"I wasn't wearing a uniform the night we met."

"That's my point; maybe she decided she wanted the whole package not just a cop."

Mike rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“She’s made no complaints about my package, Lennie.”

"Who's the officer?"

"Robin Wood. Know him?"

"Of him. New guy if I'm thinking of the right one. Came here from Los Angeles. Never met him, he got assigned right away to some special deal."

"He was an LA cop?"

"Don't think so. I don't know for sure. I've just heard rumors about the new guy a while back. Many were wondering how he came here new and got such a sweet assignment as to never have to set foot in the precinct."

"Huh," Mike said.

"Maybe she had business with him."

"Maybe."

He waited until after eight o’clock to call her. He’d left that morning without making plans to see her that night and he didn’t want to presume she was free. So, he’d gone home when his day was done, assuming she’d call him if she was free and wanted company.

His company.

He dialed her number, hovering over the disconnect button for a moment before the call went through.

‘Hello,’ she said.

“Hi, Buffy, it’s Mike. Mike Logan,” he said, realizing she may possibly know more than one Mike.

‘Well, hi Mike Logan. Did you catch the bad guy today?’

“No such luck, but tomorrow is another day.”

‘So I hear.’

“How about you? How did your day go?”

‘Fine. Nothing too exciting.’

“Well, that’s good, I guess.”

‘Yeah, believe me, no excitement is a welcome change of pace for me.’

What did that mean?

“So, are you in your room?”

‘No, actually, I’m out with a friend.’

“I see,” he said, walking to his window to look outside. “That’s good you know someone in New York.”

‘Yeah, it helps make the stay not quite so tedious.’

“I can imagine,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t sure why it left him feeling a little unsettled that perhaps he was nothing more than something to alleviate her time being tedious as well.

"So, I saw you at my precinct today," he offered without really thinking on whether he should speak up on that point or not just yet.

‘You did?’

"Yes."

‘I didn't know it was your precinct.’

"I get that."

She gave a soft laugh. ‘You probably thought I was a stalker or something.’

"The thought crossed my mind until I found out you were there looking for another guy."

‘He's just a friend.’

"Robin."

‘Right.’

"You in trouble for something?"

‘No, I know him from LA.’

“I see,” he said. “You’re with him tonight?”

‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘Hang on one second,’ she said, covering the mouthpiece. He could hear her voice, but whatever she said was muffled and unintelligible, which he realized was the point.

‘Listen, I have to go. I’m sorry.’

“No, it’s okay, no reason to be sorry.”

‘I’m glad you called.’

“Yeah?”

‘I was wondering how your day went, it started early. You must be tired.’

“Yeah,” he said. He was. He’d dozed on the couch watching the news before calling her, but he was beat. A few nights in a row of inconsistent sleep catching up with him, he imagined.

‘Well, get a good night’s sleep.’

“I could think of a way it’d be better,” he said.

‘Mm, me too. Maybe tomorrow?’

“Yeah, sure.” He wasn’t in the frame of mind to go out again tonight anyway. Not that she’d invited him to meet her back at her room.

‘Good night, Mike Logan.’

“Good night, Buffy Summers.”

He disconnected the call and set it back in its base. And then he did something he’d never thought to do on a date or a girlfriend or anyone else before. He sat down at his computer desk and decided to do a search on her name.

Story ©Susan Falk/APCKRFAN/PhantomRoses.com