The Detective and the Rockstar

Chapter 5

          She looked at the braid one more time in the mirror. It was still difficult to believe that Rio had done it. She fixed her white shirt on the small frame of her body and smiled slightly. The girl staring back at her was not that bad. Tanned skin and big brown eyes. Eric always told her she had the most amazing eyes, but she never believed him. It was always tough to think anything on her body was perfect.

"Hey."

She turned and looked at Alice with a smile dilating on her face.

"Hey, Alice."

"What are you up to? Would you like to go grab some lunch with me?"

"I can't. I'm working. I'm not supposed to leave Rio at all."

"Rio will be fine. Oliver is here. Those officers are around. We'll be just ten minutes away if he needs you." She leaned against an oak table adjacent to the mirror. She smiled sweetly like she always would when she wanted Annika to surrender. "Come on. It would be fun."

"I can't, pretty girl. Matt will kill me if something happens and I'm not here."

She pouted and looked away in defeat. With a sigh, she thought of something else. "Fine. I'll order lunch, and we can eat out on the upstairs balcony. The view is breathtaking out there. You can see the trees and the lake. It is so nice."

"I can do that."

She grinned to showcase her satisfaction. She was always a good little sister. The sort who would lie to keep you from getting into trouble but lecture you herself about the errors of your ways. She always had Annika's back, no matter what trouble Annika got into.

She smiled, feeling grateful that she had a sister like Alice. Maybe it was time Annika did the same for her.

"Alice, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Don't get mad at me 'cause it's kinda personal. Do you still have feelings for Rio? I mean, do you want to be with him?"

Her eyes became blank for a moment. She was looking directly through Annika. The question had dumbfounded her. She pushed her hair behind an ear and dropped her gaze, the thick metal bracelets on her wrists clanging together as she moved her arm.

"Rio says he's not interested in having a relationship with anyone." The tone in her voice broke Annika's heart. She could feel her sister's pain even though she was trying to hide it. She failed miserably at her endeavor as tears flooded her eyes.

"Did you...ah..."

"Yes, but he shot me down."

"Want me to kick his skinny ass?"

"No, no, no!" She exclaimed, putting a hand up to stop her. "He wasn't mean or anything. He was sweet. He said he likes someone else."

"Who?"

She smiled nervously. "I don't know."

"Well, what kind of girls is he into?"

She shrugged. "Rio has never talked about that. Maybe he's gay. Who knows. He spends all that time grooming himself." She chuckled, but the pain had stained her face too deeply for Annika to be fooled by her display. "It would be kinda cute if he was gay. He could get a nice buff guy, and it would be like a BL romance..."

"Alice..." She held a hand up to stop her as she shook the thought of Rio flirting with another man out of her head. "Rio is not gay! Trust me." She bit her lower lip as she stared at her sister, pondering about her predicament. "Listen, I'll talk to Rio if you want. Rough him up a bit."