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The warm summer rain pitter-pat-ed against Claire’s umbrella as she walked on the sidewalk to the police station. Her classes were over for the summer, and staying inside Chris’ apartment all day just made her feel cooped up and restless. She was grateful he let her stay with him when classes were out and the dorms were mostly empty, but he didn’t keep much that interested her around. And while the police station didn’t have a whole lot either, it at least had people and leftover architecture from when it was a museum.
Just as she was about to walk up the steps, fat drops splattering the sidewalk, she noticed someone standing underneath the overhang. It was that rookie cop she’d seen around a few times, and he was huddled against the concrete wall and looking up at the sky almost hopefully. She still remembered the first time she met him.
It had been last September, and she had been visiting Chris just after her second year at college had started. He had been on a mission when classes started, and even though he’d called her several times, she needed to see him in person to feel at ease. She had been sitting on the reception desk chatting with Mrs. Bennet—who had been growing increasingly annoyed with Claire for disturbing her work—when the door to her right opened and out popped a young officer with sandy-blond hair she had never seen before. His arms were full of files that immediately ended up on the floor when he caught sight of her looking at him.
Claire had hopped down to help him pick everything up as his face turned increasingly red. Don’t worry, she’d whispered with a smile, hoping to put him at ease, those folders look really slippery anyway. He mumbled a thank you and darted into the east wing with his eyes glued to the floor.
Who was that? she asked Mrs. Bennet once she had perched herself back on the desk. I haven’t seen him around here before.
Officer Kennedy, she said with an eye roll. Started a few weeks ago. Showed up late and hungover on his first day. I don’t think he’ll be around here long.
Claire always took everything Mrs. Bennet said with a grain of salt, knowing her to be prone to exaggeration and gossip, and made sure to ask Chris about him. He confirmed everything she said to be true, but added with a sympathetic look, He’s a good kid. His heart is in the right place, and I can tell he’s trying. Unluckiest guy I’ve ever met though. He then proceeded to ask Claire repeatedly, with a growing smile each time, why she was asking about him so much. She remembered throwing a pillow at him to finally get him to knock it off.
She had run into him a few more times over the following months, never getting in more than a few words, and she usually got even fewer out of him. Considering he was in a different department than her brother, there weren’t often many opportunities to talk, but she always at least tried to say hi when she could.
“Officer Kennedy,” she called out over the pouring rain. “Did you forget your umbrella?”
He jumped, face beginning to pinken as he raised a hand in a hesitant wave, the sheepish grin she usually ended up seeing him sport beginning to spread across his face. “Yeah.”
Claire climbed the first step. “Would you like me to walk you to your car?”
“Oh, no. No, I couldn’t ask you to do that.” He put his hands out in front of him, a very obvious blush now covering his cheeks.
She tilted her head to the side and shifted her weight to the other foot. “Isn’t there an employee entrance?”
“Um.” He scratched the back of his neck, spinning around to look at the front door of the police station. “I, uh… Um. Since I’m already out here…”
“Mrs. Bennet really isn’t as scary as she seems,” Claire said, lips pulling into a sympathetic smile.
“I don’t think she likes me very much,” he said, dropping his hand to his side.
Claire gave a little wave and let out a light laugh. “I don’t think she likes anyone. You’ve just got to give her back the same energy. That’s what I do anyway.” She took another step up and watched as he continued to stare at the door. “Why aren’t you using the employee entrance in the first place? Do you normally walk home?”
“No, I have a car.” He continued to avoid her gaze. Eventually he took in a deep breath and let it out. “I use the front entrance because there’s less of a chance of running into Chief Irons. But,” he added, finally swinging around to face her, “sometimes the bakery across the street has a discount on yesterday’s pastries, so it’s nice to be able to see if the sign is out.”
“You’d be able to see it from your car,” she pointed out. “But I totally understand. Irons is kind of a creep. Chris gets bad vibes from him too, so I don’t blame you. I’d hate having to work in the same building as him.”
He breathed out a sigh of relief. “I don’t think he likes me very much either, and yeah. Officer Branagh also has some—” He stiffened, eyes going wide.
Claire waved her hand again. “I’m not going to say anything, don’t worry. But you probably should be careful who you say things to.”
“I know!” He frowned down at her, jaw set and eyebrows furrowed. Then he returned a hand to the back of his neck and dropped his gaze. “But you’re Chris’ sister, so it’s different. And also I feel like I can—” His voice stopped abruptly and the color in his cheeks deepened.
A beat passed. “You can trust me,” she said, making a point to do her best to keep her own face from burning. “But you should still be careful what you say.”
“I will.”
She took the final step up so that she was standing directly next to him. “So,” she said, looking back out to the puddles in the street, “are you just going to stand here and wait until the rain stops?”
“Maybe,” he said, crossing his arms and looking back up a the sky. “Or I could just walk out in it. I’m not that sweet. I won’t melt.”
“Officer Kennedy,” she said, raising her umbrella up higher, “please let me walk you to your car.”
He glanced at her, the door, and then the sky again before ducking down under her umbrella and taking a step down with a small sigh. “It’s Leon, by the way. You can just call me Leon. I’m off the clock.”
“Claire,” she said, holding out her hand. “In case I hadn’t told you yet.”
Leon placed his gloved hand into hers, holding it gently in a small shake before quickly pulling it back. “I’m not sure if you have, but Chris talks about you enough that I think I knew that.”
“Oh, does he now?” She waited until Leon took another step down and followed him, ensuring she didn’t hit the top of his head with her umbrella. “Hopefully nothing bad.” A small heat rushed into her cheeks as she remembered the way he had teased her the day she had first met Leon.
“Of course not!” He remained hunched over a little once they were on even ground, huddled under the safety of the umbrella.. “He’s just really proud of everything you’re doing.”
Claire hummed a little in acknowledgment, making a mental note to ask Chris about it later. “He’s a good guy. Said some decent things about you too.”
“Oh?” Leon looked down at the sidewalk. “Well, that means a lot. I’ve consulted with him on a few things, even if I don’t get to talk to him much. And he’s a well respected member of the force.”
“Yeah, I asked him about you after that first time we met.”
“Oh…”
Claire touched his shoulder playfully—not quite a shove, so as not to knock him into the rain, but she made sure it was firm enough to not be mistaken as anything else. “I hadn’t seen you before. I was just curious who you were, that’s all. Relax.”
For a few moments, the only sound that could be heard was the raindrops that pelted the street next to them and the top of the umbrella. It really wasn’t a long walk to the employee parking lot, but they each took the smallest steps possible, and Claire wasn’t sure if it was just to avoid walking faster than the other in order to stay dry, or if they were both trying to make it last as long as possible.
“Did you want to hold the umbrella?” she finally said, breaking the silence. “You know, since you’re taller? That way you wouldn’t have to hunch over like that.”
“I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” he replied, arms crossed as he gave her a crooked grin.
“It’s really not a big deal.” Claire held out the handle to him.
Leon looked at the umbrella like it might bite him before he placed his hand on it, fingertips brushing hers for just a second and eliciting a small gasp Claire didn’t think she was supposed to hear. “Thank you.”
“Like I said, not a problem.” She put her hands in the pockets of her shorts, leisurely taking step after step on the wet pavement. When she thought he wasn’t looking, she chanced glancing up at him.
He apparently was looking, and once he realized she was too, he quickly averted his eyes. She couldn’t help but notice another light dusting of pink begin to cover his face. “So what are you majoring in?” he asked, voice just a pitch higher than it had been before.
“Criminology.” Claire stepped over a rather large puddle on the sidewalk. “I’ve thought about going into the research side of the field or maybe even detective work. But I’m really hoping to go into research. I feel like I’d be able to do more good for the world that way, you know?” After carefully maneuvering around another puddle, she looked up to him again and regretted doing so when she started feeling butterflies in her stomach.
Leon’s clear blue eyes looked at her with a level of admiration she honestly hadn’t been expecting.
But she could almost see the question forming in his head: What made you want to go into that field? And she was grateful he didn’t ask. After all, she had made a point not to ask him that similar question. Some things were just too personal to bring up right away, and it always bothered her that it was so often one of the first things asked when meeting new people in college.
Once they finally arrived at the parking lot, she asked, “So which one’s your car?”
Leon’s face fell for half a second before he gestured toward a slightly worse-for-wear car near the back. “It’s not much,” he said, “but it gets me to and from work.”
“That’s the important thing.” She took a step forward, raindrops hitting her leg before she realized Leon had slowed down even more.
“What about you? Did you drive?” He looked around the lot before turning back to her and saying hurriedly, “Not that I need to know which car is yours, I just thought it would be nice in the future to know if—”
“I took the subway.” Claire looked up at him, shaking her head a little as a small smile tugged at her lips. “But my bike is parked at Chris’ apartment, if that’s what you were wanting to know.”
“Bike, as in motorcycle?” he asked, eyes sparkling in awe.
She nodded, smile growing. “You ever ridden one before?”
Leon pulled out his car keys. “No, but I’d like to. You never know when it might come in handy.”
Feeling bold, Claire offered, “Well, I could teach you some other time when I’m in town, if you’d like.” She licked her lips nervously and avoided his eyes. “You know, as long as your girlfriend wouldn’t mind.”
“I don’t… Not…” He cleared his throat, fumbling with his keys. “I don’t actually have a girlfriend at the moment.” Trying to catch her gaze, he then slowly asked, “And I’m assuming your boyfriend wouldn’t care either?”
Claire crossed her arms and took a step closer to him, all too aware of how fast her heart was beating in her chest, and looked up. “I also happen to be in between boyfriends right now. So it shouldn’t be a problem for me.”
Leon’s eyes flickered down briefly before he took a sharp step back and bumped into his car. He tried to play it off like he had been intending to casually lean on it, despite his uniform now getting soaked. “So, I’ll see you next time you’re in town?”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” They stared at each other for a moment before Claire reached out for her umbrella back. She allowed her hand to linger on top of his for a moment longer than necessary when she grabbed it. “You can pay me for the lessons with some of those discount pastries you were talking about. And also maybe coffee depending on how long I’m here.”
“I can probably arrange that,” Leon said, lips pulling into the most relaxed smile she had seen on him yet. “And thank you for walking me to my car.”
Claire returned the smile. “Any time. But I think you should probably invest in an umbrella.”
He let out a small laugh before opening the door and getting into his car. “See you around,” he said before closing it.
Claire waved to him and watched as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street, headlights reflecting off the wet pavement. She started back toward the station entrance with a slight bounce in her step and a warmth in her chest, already planning her next visit.