I sat down with Naomi at the local café, I was in love with her very much, but I really did like the thought of perhaps dating a man, it was so hard to determine why I felt this way, I felt so confused and lost about myself and yet, around Naomi, I felt as though I could breathe and that there was a sense of clarity when I was with her. I liked how she was tough and no nonsense and she was amazing at her job.
One day we were asked to do an undercover job, going deep undercover in a mafia family as a married couple and we were supposed to infiltrate the mafia, and it was scary beyond recognition, on my gauge of fright, I think I nearly collapsed and had a nervous breakdown when meeting the don and shaking his hand. His hands were calloused and the nails were cracked and his skin was wrinkled and veiny, his gaze was sharp and piercing, as if he already knew all of my secrets inside of me, as if he knew that I didn't belong in the family, as if he knew my true identity.
That day I was dressed in one of them suits you would imagine that a sleazebag lawyer would wear, with a vest and cufflinks, tie bar and the works. I looked like one of them mob boss lawyers and Naomi looked like a powerful politician with her purple glittery dress on, that was cut in just the right places and her body was just shaped perfectly like an hour glass and more than that, she was beautiful deep within and I admired that about her, every inch of her was beautiful and glamorous and she looked like a queen in her makeup and her hair all tied up and hanging down her shoulders in bouncy brown curls that glowed like silk in the dim ambiance lighting of the club that we were in.
The don smiled as he added "We want the money from you, five hundred thousand dollars in advance, we will not disappoint you, family and friends discount after all. But...you must compete for the shipment, It is nine hundred keys of cocaine, and...well...everybody wants the shipment and yet, in order for this to be fair, we shall arrange for a boat race. Everyone deposits five hundred thousand for the entry fee. Good luck."
I was nervous about the boat race and One Police Precinct had no confidence in my or Naomi's boating skills so we improvised by siphoning off of Jordan Meemark and Hayden August's drug bust off of a teenage drug trafficker from a local college and I then pleaded my case to Jordan
"C'mon, we need this to make a record breaking bust, please! We need this bust to happen!"
August groaned "You know that if you lose that boat race, we are on the damn financial hook for your mess Tucker?"
"Yea I know, but please do me this favor."
He sighed loudly and then handed the big suitcase full of cash over and I was able to put it in for our entrance fee and Naomi brought over her Wellcraft Scarab 38 KV boat. It was a sleek and beautiful boat and I was impressed by how civil asset forfeiture had brought in for us, it was stunning to see the snow white boat, painted with blue and purple and cyan tailings that grew darker towards the bow of the boat and on the sides of the boat. I glanced at the blue gradient striping that ran across the the boat and into the soft leather seating inside and I was pleasantly surprised by how fast and yet how luxurious the boat was despite its small size. The engine was small yet powerful and I loved its simplicity. I and Naomi put on our helmets and she sat at the pilot's seat and drove the boat skillfully to the start line, mafia families and drug traffickers lined the stands and smoked and drank, while bookies took bets from the spectators and I could see the tall buildings that lined the East river loom above us and it was frightening to see them stand so tall and so high. Seeing them so tall gave me anxiety and vertigo, I never liked heights as a young person, they terrified me so much.
When the race started, everybody's boats took off at the mark and we zoomed like bullets down the river, and we were significantly behind the pack of boats as I cursed. I knew that if we lost, our chances of making the bust would be lost forever if we didn't win. However I noticed something suspicious out of the corner of my eye when I saw one boat meander off into another part of the river and I pointed that out to Naomi, and she nodded as we drove the boat, at this point, Naomi decided to add more speed to the boat, pushing the engine to its limit as we passed the pack of boats and we started gaining the lead and then we suddenly won. It was victory night after we had made dozens of arrests and we drank as if the Giants won the super bowl. It was at Forlini's that night that I said to myself
"I am very much in love with Naomi. I love her more than anything in the whole entire world."
I blushed as she proudly raised her glass in a toast and toasted to my skills and my detective instincts and we all cheered and then drank. I then went up to her adding "Would you want me to take you home, you probably shouldn't drive home. I just want to make sure that you get home safe."
She nodded and then I dropped her off and gave her a big fat hug and thanked her for the toast and then I drove home thinking about her all night long and how I was deeply in love with her. I hoped that she felt the same way about me as I felt the way about her.