CHiPs

"Put your Hands OUTSIDE the Vehicle!" Came the amplified sound of a woman's voice.

"Fuck... " I mumbled, pushing myself off of Nikki. Her expression of annoyance neatly matched mine as I grabbed at my shorts.

"NOW, pendejo..." Came the voice again, and I yanked up my shorts. Hell with it, I wasn't going to talk to a cop Bare ass naked at least. I yanked open the sliding door, and pushed my hands out.

"Stay Calm Ma'am, I'm here to help!" Came the voice again. "Out of the van and ON the Ground... FACE DOWN. Now."

Unwilling to get shot on that particular occasion, I decided it was probably a good Idea to play along, at least for now. Worst case scenario, I had a funny story to tell. I stepped out of the van, the cold of the concrete very palatable in the cold of the morning. I felt colder than I had in quite some time, and placed my hands on the ground. I lowered myself carefully, disliking the gritty feeling of the concrete as it pressed against me. At least it looked fairly clean.

"You all right, Ma'am?" Came the voice, unamplified now. I looked up, craning my face against the ground to see a tall Hispanic woman in a black police uniform approaching with a weapon drawn. Fuck. The sound of her boots against the concrete was loud in the nearly empty parking lot.

"Dispatch, Officer Lopez, Ten Ninety Seven, Can I get a Ten Twenty Nine on a blue piece of shit Volkswagen, California Plate, Tango Fowwer Romeo Delta One Sierra Two." The woman spoke rapidly into a small box at her shoulder.

"Ma'am? You all right?" The woman spoke sharply again.

"Yeah, I'm fine... can I put my clothes on?" Nikki spoke from the van. "And it's fine."

"Got a call that you were in distress." The cop addressed Nikki, not approaching me. Smart woman. Entire reason you have a gun is so you don't HAVE to get close to the big scary guy.

"No... I'm FINE... Can we go?" Nikki asked plainly.

"Not until I run this. License and Registration." She gestured to Nikki.

"It's... his van." Nikki remarked.

"He doesn't look like a Kaila," The officer commented dryly. I craned my neck up at her, not saying anything.

"I'm her husband..." I began.

"Nobody asked you to talk, dirtbag. You got any weapons in the car?"

"Maybe a cooking knife under the back seat..."

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to search this... I think I smell pot." I felt the cold metal of a pair of handcuffs on my wrist, digging into the skin. She yanked my other arm around rapidly, securing it with the other cuff. "Don't go anywhere, I'd hate to have to chase you."

It was a long few moments of muffled conversation while the woman moved past me. I don't know how long I lay there, listening to her make multiple calls into her little box and listening intently at an earpiece. She ran my ID, Nikki's ID, and the Van's Plate at least twice, repeating the numbers and rolling her eyes at the inaudible responses. I had been allowed to at least sit on the floor of the van now, and Nikki had thankfully helped by brushing some of the gunk off me while we waited. It was also very nice that the cop had put away her weapon.

"Ok... so... no warrants, but... Mrs. Corsini here has a couple unpaid parking tickets." The woman spoke calmly, making notes on a small cell phone. "I could run her in on it. But I really don't want to hook right now, since I JUST got on shift. So... Mrs. Corsini, huh? And you're not Mr. Corsini, I notice. Shouldn't have lied to me, buey."

"I wasn't lying. Kaila IS my wife."

"Now you're changing your story..." She mumbled, her brown eyes flashing fire.

"It's complicated. Look, this was totally consensual. I think that sums it up." I shrugged, trying not to concentrate on how the metal was digging into my wrist. She had snapped them shut a bit tighter than I would.

"Oh really. What do you say to that, Ma'am?" Officer Lopez commented, and I couldn't help but glance at her tight body. Damn. Definitely in shape, but totally not my type. I had now determined that as far as the handcuffs thing went, it was turning rapidly into a turn off. Especially when I was cold, still a little wet, and being scrutinized like a criminal.

"He wasn't **** me. If dat's what you're askin'." Nikki said flatly. "It was just really good, and I was loud."

The cop looked on with a raised eyebrow. Her hand went to her face and she shook her head softly, taking a deep breath.

"I should bust you two," She stated after another moment's reflection.