Shaw and Baz waited for the gate to slide open at headquarters. It was their first day back to the grind from their short weekend. Baz noticed his partner massage the back of his own neck as he sat in the passenger seat looking more tired than usual.�

“You alright over there, fam?” Baz shook his head. “Please tell me you didn’t try out your nephew’s hoverboard again and end up on your ass.”�

“Only needed to learn my lesson once on that one,” Shaw reassured him with a smile. “I’m straight. Just a kink or something.”�

“You won’t ever catch my big ass on some damn hoverboard.” Baz laughed at the thought.�

“I’ve seen your big ass pussy out on a Razor scooter.” Shaw chuckled. “So, I can’t imagine you on a hoverboard.”�

Baz flipped him off and turned onto the mainroad to start their patrol route.�

Many who knew them throughout Tacoma’s Police Department often referred to Shaw and Baz as Chip and Dale—their dumbass spin on a Chippendales reference. And when a refresh was needed in the rotation, they used Ebony and Ivory. �

There was no denying that the duo was hands-down the best looking in the department. Sure, there were other handsome officers, but not ones partnered together like Shaw and Baz. They had been the cause of countless false reports by local women who simply wanted to shoot their shot after catching a glimpse of the duo. Many times when the department had to select officers for any kind of marketing campaign or when there were community events of a high-profile nature, they would send Baz and Shaw. Baz’s uncle happened to be Tacoma’s Police Chief, which created even more pressure for his partnership to always be seen in a good light across the public.�

Hunter Shaw had celebrated his thirtieth birthday a couple months prior. He stood at precisely six feet and never missed a workout. His light brunette hair was always cut into a perfectly clean cop fade. He chose to style it with pomade almost every morning and sent most women over the edge with his mesmerizing green eyes that popped against his skin tone. He went through phases of facial hair but lately had settled on a smooth face to show off his flawless light olive complexion and strong jawline.�

Bastian ‘Baz’ Haywood, on the other hand, was what a perp the previous week had described as “one huge-ass brotha” while Baz had him on the ground after he’d tried to flee. Baz was a solid 6’6” with darker skin than his bi-racial parents may suggest. He wasn’t ripped, but the man had the build of a refrigerator. He maintained a curly top fade that was meticulously barbered like clockwork and had a matching well-groomed beard. His caramel colored eyes and lush lashes had broken countless hearts.�

“You do anything exciting this weekend?” Shaw asked as he observed the traffic around them.

Baz shrugged. “Fucking slept for a good fourteen hours after that last damn shift we had.” He continued by disclosing details about the date he’d gone on. “I did actually end up going out with Tickle-Me Tinsley on Sunday night.”�

Shaw laughed, he thoroughly enjoyed the luxury of living vicariously through his partner when it came to dating. Although Shaw was only a few months younger than Baz, he hadn’t quite made his way back into the dating scene. He never deprived himself of the stories Baz entertained him with though, and he would hop in the chats for Baz on occasion because Baz didn’t have the respectful finesse that Shaw did.�

Tickle-Me Tinsley was actually the name Shaw had come up with for this new gal. Based on looks alone, Tickle-Me Tinsley’s profile was similar to the types of girls Baz would always swipe yes on. With a more in-depth review, however, she appeared to be so much more than most of the girls he’d actually met up with. Baz had a rule that any woman he swiped on had to pass the ten second scroll effort to even get that extended look. She had to be under 5’8” and 160 pounds, include at least two full-face photos with no obstructions like sunglasses or a hat, and have at least two full-body pics. If they passed that test, he would only give their profile a true read if she was his definition of ‘fuckable’ at first glance.�

Tickle-Me Tinsley passed the philandering Baz assessment with flying colors because she was a knockout. Her profile name was Tinsley, but she introduced herself in her bio as ‘Tins.’ Tinsley’s first photo showed her full body and she didn’t have anything obstructing her gorgeous face. Baz especially liked that her hair was slightly different in almost every photo. Her occupation was listed as salon owner on her profile, so the guys assumed her change in hair color was due to that fact. She wasn’t outrageous with her color choices by any means. Based on her eyebrows it appeared she was a natural brunette to some degree, her photos showcased blonde, darker brunette, or sometimes auburn highlights. The answers to prompts in her profile, along with pictures and their captions, provided the inspiration for Shaw’s nickname. He’d determined she was a sweet, girl-next-door type who wouldn’t be all that open for a Netflix and Chill situation as a first date; so he told Baz he would happily settle on a good tickling from the beauty and her manicured nails.�

“Oh yeah? Did she provide you with a nice little tickling?” Shaw smirked. His friend wasn’t shy when it came to sharing conversations with his current roster picks or date details—when he managed to follow through on those.�

“No.” Baz shook his head with a smile. “She is fucking sweet, I’ll give her that. I felt like a damn lost puppy for the first half of that date.”�

“Really?” Shaw was skeptical because his best friend had never gone for a good girl type. It was difficult for him to believe he’d been a lost puppy like he claimed. “Where’d you guys go?”�

“I met her at Indita Mia down on the water.”�

Shaw quickly sat up straighter in the passenger’s seat. “You didn’t pick that sweet little thing up?! Damn Baz, didn’t realize you were slippin’ like that these days.”�

Baz chuckled and wiped his beard. “I tried. She asked to meet me there because she wasn’t comfortable giving out her number or her address quite yet.” He shrugged. “For real, I almost canceled on her and then I was like, you know what? She’s just out here tryna be safe… And also Big-Tittie Tilly was out of town this weekend, so it wasn’t like I had a good back up lined up right away.”�

“Big-Tittie Tilly doesn’t deserve a waterfront date—that girl’s just a fucking booty call and you know it.” Shaw shook his head remembering not only the woman’s profile that looked like an ad for OnlyFans, but also how conceited her messages sounded. “She’s a bitch, honestly. She must be good in bed because her conversation skills suck ass.”�

“She’s left me with no complaints multiple times and she doesn’t seem to be too worried about commitment or monogamy.” Baz smirked. “So, kinda suits me while I’m looking for wifey.”�

“So, what happened with sweet little Tickle-Me? You said you were a lost puppy?”�

Baz let his entire chest deflate when he exhaled. “I was genuinely enjoying the date. She looks exactly like her pictures, so not the filtered mess some of these catfishing bitches be using on their shit—which was a pleasant surprise. She showed up looking like a goddamn angel and she wasn’t even showing a lot of her body off. She’s funny—her laugh is damn adorable and contagious as fuck. We didn’t even have any dead air either through the first set of drinks. I thought things were going really well.” Baz shrugged his broad shoulders and held out one of his mammoth-sized hands. “I went to the bathroom shortly after our  dinner got set down and then like ten minutes after that she’s getting a damn phone call.” He rolled his eyes. “She’s a great actress on top of all the rest of her wonderful attributes, I’ll say that much.”�

“Did she give you the whole ‘my friend has an emergency’ excuse?” Shaw listened but watched as two seemingly homeless men pushed an overflowing cart across the main road.�

“Better than that.” Baz pulled into the parking lot of their favorite coffee shop. “She said her dog was having an emergency.”�

The men got out of the car and walked toward the shop.�

“Apparently, her friend who was watching him called and she had to go right then and there. She had the audacity to put down cash on the table, told me she’d message me, apologized, and just straight up left. She didn’t even look back.”�

“Did she message you?” Shaw opened the door for them.�

“Fuck if I know. I unmatched with her the second she took off.”�

“Baz! Bro, what?!” Shaw smacked his partner’s shoulder. “You were genuinely enjoying your time and you didn’t even want to see if she was going to message you?! How do you know she wasn’t telling the truth? She did have a dog in one of her photos, you know.” Shaw remembered the bully breed looking dog that they only got a profile view of in one of Tinsley’s photos. He was shocked his best friend didn’t give this one a better chance. Shaw had thoroughly enjoyed her profile, and the conversation he’d had with her. As was usual for them, Baz had given Shaw his phone for some help when he didn’t have the right words to keep the conversation going, and to him this girl seemed to be the type of perfect that was too good to be true.�

“Good morning, Bronwyn.” Baz winked at his favorite barista who had their drinks ready for them even before they ordered.�

“Hey, Baz.” She returned his gesture. “Shaw.” She nodded. “You guys be safe today.”�

“We always try.” Baz grabbed both coffees and handed one to Shaw.�

They were walking back out of the coffee shop when Baz started again. “Look, the timing of the bathroom and her phone call were suspicious enough. But a call about her dog needing help? What—like she has a dog sitter or something when she leaves for a two hour fucking  date? And leaving cash is like a slap in the face—some kind of guilty conscience move for bailing on me is kinda how I took it.”�

“Damn, bro!” Shaw was in a full on belly roar. “I had no idea you were so damn sensitive! Or that your ego is so fucking fragile anyway.”�

“Fuck off, Shaw.” Baz gave him a friendly jab to the bicep. “I don’t need to end up catching feelings for some flighty chick who doesn’t know what she wants.”�

“You don’t know what you want!” Shaw couldn’t help but continue laughing at him. “You’re out here building a damn football size roster and still don’t know what you want, bro!”�

“Baz, Shaw, what’s your location?” Dispatch interrupted their conversation as they opened the car doors.�

Shaw reached for his radio. “We’re near the 3800 block of Cedar Street.”�

“We have a reported vandalism and robbery near the 5400 block of South Tacoma Way and the caller is requesting a police response. Suspect just fled the scene.”�

“We’re on it,” Shaw confirmed. “Send the address.” Shaw took a drink of his coffee before looking at his partner again.�

“I’m just trying to point out that you’ve never talked so highly about a date that you didn’t sleep with. Let’s hope that unmatching bullshit doesn’t end up haunting  you.”�

“Thanks.” Baz rolled his eyes. He wasn’t mad at Shaw, he’d already wondered if his reaction was too quick. Unfortunately for him, he’d never know.