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I agreed with a smile.
“I have Tourette’s, too,” I told her. “I don’t know if that’s something that y’all will need to know, but if I get nervous or something, sometimes it can flare up.”
Anxiety was a bitch.
I wasn’t too worried about coming here.
I mean, my father was a police officer. I knew basic protocols and standard operating procedures. My dad had instilled a lot of information in me over the course of my life. So, I hadn’t been nervous at all to come. At least not until I’d seen Sammy was there.
Then my anxiety had ratcheted up a notch.
I studiously kept my eyes on the ground or on Aurora as we put our nametags onto our chests and then went where Ashe, the beautiful pregnant lady, had sent us.
We were just sitting in our seats when a couple more women filed in.
Soon, the entire seating area was filled with giggling women and old men.
Seriously, those were the only two demographics. Old men that were way older than the officers that I could see in the room—one of which I’d seriously not looked at since he’d propped himself up against a stripper pole—and women my age.
There were about forty people in all, including the cops and other helpers that were there to offer assistance where needed.
“All right!” a booming voice called, momentarily distracting me from not looking at Sammy. “Everyone, all attention over here, please.”
I looked around the room until I spotted a large, blonde older man who was standing on the counter across the room.
He was gorgeous and exactly the type of older hero that I’d write into one of my stories.
As I watched him, I kept surreptitiously glancing at the man leaning on the pole just a few feet away from him.
Every time I’d look, I’d be quick to dart my eyes away again, convinced that if I lingered on the man too long he’d catch me staring.
“Today we’re going to start with some self-defense that should help you with everyday life,” the man said. “I’m Luke Roberts, the Chief of Police. These men dotted around the room in SWAT shirts and the police shirts are members of the police force. The man running the show today is standing right there.” Luke pointed to a man that was older than him, but in just as good of shape. “This is Patman. He’s the man that puts this event on every year and has for twenty years. He also teaches at our actual police academy. Patman, the floor is yours.”
Though the chief had said some flowery things about the man, Patman, it was obvious that there wasn’t much love for the man beyond his grudging respect for his tenure.
Patman came up and explained what we were going to be doing today, then told us to break up into groups of two and three.
I looked over at my sister and smiled.
She held up her finger and I crossed my pinky with hers.
“Partners for life,” she decreed.
I rolled my eyes and turned to survey the room, spotting a lone woman that was all by herself across the room.
She was beautiful and looked as if she’d rather be anywhere but where she was.
“Let’s go ask her if she wants to be on our supercool team,” I said to my sister.
Aurora looked up and spotted the woman.
“Let’s,” she said as she stood.
Seconds later we were both standing next to the woman’s chair.
“Would you like to be on our super cool team?” Aurora asked, batting her eyes.
The woman’s smile was blinding. “I would. My name is Regina, but everyone calls me Reggie.”
Reggie held out her hand and I shook it, followed by Aurora.
“Thank you for letting me on the cool team,” she sighed. “My dad suggested that I take this course after… something… something happened. So, he suggested it.” She scrunched up her nose. “Being here makes me incredibly nervous.”
I could imagine it did.
“If it makes you feel better,” I said softly. “I have Tourette’s, and it’s likely that I’ll be screaming ‘fuck’ at some point tonight.”
Reggie’s eyes went to mine.
“That’s interesting,” she said. “We learned about it in nursing school, of course, but I’ve never met anyone with it.” She paused. “I have to tell you, the only real experience I have with it is off of Boondock Saints where the bartender yells ‘fuck’ and ‘ass’ all the time.”
My lips turned up into a small smile.
“I do that, too,” I admitted. “Though, as long as I keep calm, things should stay hidden for the most part.”
Honestly, I was really fucking lucky.
Though I had Tourette’s, I had such a mild form of it that it was practically fully controlled with my meds that I took. Meds that, thank God, were okay to take during pregnancy.
“If you have your group, please separate and our helpers will find you,” Patman called out.
