Lance Freeman's Story

Another day on the night shift. It was Lance's 2nd week on the job, and he was starting to get used to the routine. Working the night shift was always tough, (since you had to sleep during the day and spend the nights patrolling the streets) but Lance was willing to put up with the challenges. Sometimes to prove that you're a hardworking person, you have to do the things other people are scared of. You have to venture into the unknown.

As Lance roamed the streets in his police cruiser, he noticed a familiar name on the sign of a nearby building. He remembered the guys at work talking about the bakery on Newport Street, how delicious the food was. Working in the restaurant business for most of his life, Lance wanted to see it for himself. His mother was always up to making alliances with other local businesses in the city. There weren't too many, and specifically, there weren't too many good ones.

Lance decided to take a small break from patrolling since nothing was happening, and parallel parked on the side of the road. He slammed the car door behind him, and approached the building. He searched for the entryway, but he couldn't find it. Realizing he was at the back of the building, he looked to see if there was a way he could get to the front without driving all the way to the other side. There lay a narrow alleyway. He firmly walked his way through it, hearing the sound of what seemed like somebody walking down a flight of stairs. “H-hello?” a nervous voice rang out. It was a woman's voice. "Hello? Someone there?" Lance gently replied. Whoever it was, he didn't want to scare her. As he kept walking he could see the woman on the stairs. She was barefoot and had keys in her hands. Lance could tell that she had just awoken from sleep.

"Hey." Lance said as he politely smiled to her. The woman probably thought he was some creepy pedophile wandering the streets at night. Or maybe not, as he was wearing his uniform. "Sorry if i scared you. I just came to see this place, the bakery, i mean. Guys have told me all about it at work. Just wanted to check out the hours and come on my free time. You must live in the apartment upstairs, yeah? Just out of curiousity, are you the owner?" he asked, his hands in his pockets.


4:30. The sun should be rising in about a half hour. Quinn Dulaine, the daughter of the rich Dulaine family, sat at the dock of the river, the other side of the city in her view. One side of Quinn was apprehensive, while the other side was completely at peace. Her Canon camera was tightly gripped in her hands, as she was afraid she was going to drop it into the water. Her fingertips lay on the button that snapped the photos, eager to press it. She wore a light grey tee with jean capris, and sandals. Quinn didn't mind the cold morning air. There was a very spiritual sense about it.

It was moments like these that Quinn wanted to make time stop. She turned the camera around and snapped a picture of herself in the subtle moonlight, the gentle breeze blowing her chestnut hair away from her face. She wanted to remember this moment forever. She scanned the picture of herself, and although she admitted she looked naturally beautiful as always, she felt as though she wasn't herself. Of course nobody can completely change, but in a sense, she knew she had become someone else. Becoming a photographer behind her parents back was the most rebellious and probably the stupidest thing she had ever done, but for some reason, Quinn didn't feel guilty. She knew her heart was on the right track, just not her head. She continued to sit on the edge of the dock, humming the tune that she would be dancing to at the performance later. She didn't want to think about how stressful that time was going to be compared to now.

River stared for a moment, the alley was dark but under the dim street light, she could see a man in a uniform. For a moment, she was skeptical, quiet and refused to budge from that step. She wanted to go down the stairs, but the darkness scared her for a moment. She eyed him but nodded as he questioned her. She flipped the key into her hand and settled her gaze on his. She looked him over, her eyestracing over his features. He was rather attractive dressed in the uniform. She finally came to the realization that she was staring.

“Yeah.” She then realized she wasn’t being quite clear. “That’s the bakery down stairs, I am the co-owner.” She explained, nodding. “Um. If you want a sample, let me grab my robe and I can show you around the shop. I’m about to grab a pastry.” She explained.

She felt awkward standing there on the staircase, no shoes or pants. She just wore a pair of boxers. She was definitely cold. She wriggled her toes as she stood there, waiting for his answer. She was quiet for a moment before she stepped up toward the house. “It’s cold out here…”

This lady happened to be the co-owner of the bakery. Lance assumed that she lived in the apartment upstairs.
“Um. If you want a sample, let me grab my robe and I can show you around the shop. I’m about to grab a pastry.” the lady said. He noticed that the woman seemed to be locking her blue eyes on his. Lance didn't know how to take it, as he felt like he should be the one doing the staring. He wasn't intimidated, he was just....impressed.
With the whole bakery thing, he was slightly apprehensive, but tempted by the offer as well. He glanced back down the alley way, looking back at his car. He would be in the bakery quick, and then rush to the car. He reminded himself that he was still on duty before replying back, "Alright. I'll wait out here." Lance didn't mind that the lady was in boxers. He had seen MUCH worse.

He nonchalantly stood by the entrance, checking the hours in the window, and waited for the young woman's return.

River hurried up the stairs, unlocked the door and grabbed her robe. She didn't want him to look at her...so exposed. She tied it closed, grabbed some flats and headed back outside. She took a deep breath and slowly released it, locked her door and carefully walked down the stairs. She eyed Lance slightly, headed to the door and unlocked the bakery. Before she hoped the door, her eyes scanned his uniform. "Are you really part of the force?" She wondered, biting her lip softly. She opened the door and headed inside. River turned on the light, allowing the entire shop to light up. It was beautiful honestly, the bright silver kitchen, the red and white chairs and tables. There was bathrooms, carpeted floor and beautiful treats were displayed in the cases.

"My name is River, by the way." she explained, heading into the kitchen. She popped off her flats and walked barefoot across the floor. It was to keep from scruffing the kitchen floor. She grabbed the fridge and scanned its contents. She could feel him in the room and it made her uncomfortable. The last time she had that sense, being alone with a single person, it caused her to become nervous and queasy.

She grabbed one of the lemon custards and placed it on the counter. "I hope that tastes good.. Made it last night." She whispered. "Its not that old, its just cold and it tastes better that way." She was tired, that much was obvious. She put in a few scoops of coffee grounds into the filter, poured in the water and turned on the coffee pot.

Her eyes held shadows underneath them. Her hands were a little shaky but not too bad. She grabbed two coffee mugs and placed them on the counter.

The lady was back with a robe and ballet flats. It hadn't taken her long to return. He took a step back as she unlocked the door.
"Are you really part of the force?" she asked, biting her lip. The question slightly confused him, but he answered it anyway. "Yup," he simply replied, "second week on the job". Once the brunette opened the door, Lance followed her into the darkness. She turned the lights on, and he could make out the decor and atmosphere. The bakery had a sort of vintage style to it, like it was something from the 50's. He smiled as he scanned the room.
"Nice place ya got here", he said. It wasn't too different from his mom's place, except for the fact that this was much MUCH nicer.

"My name is River, by the way." River? That was new. "Nice to meetcha River," he responded, "I'm Lance."
He walked up to the counter and looked at all the goodies displayed in the cases. He wasn't a restaurant critic or anything, but so far he rated the place a 7/10. Presentation and atmosphere was good, but the product needed to be good as well.

River placed something on the counter. It was a lemon custard. "I hope that tastes good.. Made it last night." she whispered. "Its not that old, its just cold and it tastes better that way." Lance was a little skeptical, but he tried it anyway. He took a large bite, and as he absorbed the flavor, he nodded his head in agreement. "You're right. I have to admit, lemon custard isn't my favorite, but this is delicious." he added. As he kept eating, he could see her start to turn on the coffee machine. Although he could use coffee more than anything at the moment, he knew now wasn't the right time. He was expecting to be back at his car. But then again, it would be rude to refuse a cup of coffee. Especially if it was for free. He decided to make casual conversation while she placed two mugs on the counter. "So.....you get a lot of business?" he nonchalantly asked. It was then he noticed the unusually dark circles underneath her eyes.

River was pleased to hear that he enjoyed the lemon custard treats she baked the night before. She watched as he finished up the pastry as she tapped her fingers against the counter. She needed coffee, anything to keep her from sleeping. Sleep just didn't seem like the greatest idea out of the box at that moment. Her eyes were fixed on the coffee before he then spoke about buisness. Oh yeah, she got a lot of buisness. Everyone ate there, hung out there and spent afternoons drinking tea in the back garden. She got a lot of money from her cinnamon rolls to her special breakfast pie. Yet, she wasn't one to brag. It was rude in a lot of cases to just brag about one's worth, she didn't have a lot, but still, there wasn't a reason why she should. River shrugged lightly as the machine beeped.

She filled up the first mug, sat it down in front of the officer, with the sugar, creamer and cinnamon. She flled her glass with coffee, white creamer, a dash of sugar and sprinkled cinnamon. River sat down on top of one of the stools and blew at the top of her glass. "It pays the bills, so I suppose it's good buisness." She answered, taking a small drink from her coffee. She caught him looking at her. Not observing her, but, even the glance just struck her in an odd way. She felt her cheeks grow warm, but instead, she stood from her stool, reached into the fridge and pulled out a place of cinnamon rolls. She placed her hand against the plate. Yes, still warm.

"An hour ago, I made these.." she explained, placing a cinnamon roll on top of a small plate for him. "There."

"It pays the bills, so I suppose it's good buisness." Lance nodded. This lady seemed to have the proper mindset of business. She had great atmosphere, delicious food, and a good attitude. That's why he couldn't understand why she kept fattening him up with more food.

She now gave Lance a plate with a cinnamon roll on it. Knowing that he wasn't even done with his coffee, he knew he had to pick up the pace. The car was waiting for him. If he missed something on the radio, he was in deep trouble. By the way River was blushing back at him, he had a feeling why she was keeping him there. The only problem was that it wasn't the right time for him to be having an intimate conversation.

"Sorry to be a bother, but can i get a bag for this?" he asked, putting his hand on the plate with the pastry. " This was great and all and i wish I could stay....it's just.... i have to go, or else I'm most likely going to be jobless tomorrow." Lance took big sips of coffee before checking the time on his watch. The sips were big enough so he could hurry, but so big and exagerated that they were awkward. He looked around, and then faced River again. "This may or may not be a stupid question," he started, a smirk building up on his face, "but am i going to have to pay for all this? I know you told me you'd give me a free sample, but I had no idea you'd be giving me a free meal."



The girl was starting to get anxious. Sitting still for so long was making her think of her performance later, which was making her think of being nervous. Quinn never used to get nervous at performances until just recently. It's like her whole world had changed only a couple of months ago. Well, there was no arguing that it certainly did change, but Quinn didn't like to believe it. In fact, she hadn't completely proven it yet. But then again, there was no need to prove it. She was going to do what she wanted anyway. No, what her parents wanted. No, what she wanted. NO, SHE COULDN'T BE STUPID AND LET HER EMOTIONS RULE HER....

To get her mind off of the tough thinking, she stood up and from the ferry dock, and with her long legs, strode over to her black corvette. To be honest, she didn't hate the car, but she didn't love it either. She felt all the bumps in the road, a sensation she enjoyed but also disliked. She opened the car with her keys, and turned on the engine. She put in one of the disks that they gave her during rehearsal, and pushed the play button on the car's radio. She skipped to her favorite song on the cd, and checking to make sure nobody was by her, turned up the volume to max so that it blasted through the car. She took off her sneakers, and switched her camera for point shoes from the passenger's side.

Once her dancing shoes were on, she walked to the side of the dock with poise. Feeling the music within her, she danced underneath the lamplight. When Quinn danced, she blocked out the whole world around her. This time was no exception. It was quite beautiful; the moonlight, the ships passing behind her in the night. Well, at least it was beautiful from her perspective. From a stranger's perspective, it was probably very damn creepy.

(ooc: sorry i haven't been posting! i've been busy with other roleplays :( i should be able to post here more now.)

River nodded as she placed his coffee into a small to go cup and stuffed the rolls into a paper bag, locked the lid with a sticker. She smiled softly and nodded gently. Her eyes settled on his for a moment and then she inclined her head toward the door. "Thanks for stopping by." She whispered, sleepily. Her eyes held dark shadows, her breathing was soft and she felt as if her body was nervous. The last thing she wanted was to be alone. But, she was used to it. River slid the bag toward him slowly, finished the last of her coffee and rinsed out her cup.

"Have a safe drive, Officer Lance." She finally said. She leaned against the fridge, ran her hands against her neck to relax her nerves. "And a safe night."

There she was again, gripping her eyes on his. Her blue eyes; although there were bags underneath them, her irises crackeled with electricity. Somehow, Lance found this hypnotic, or maybe just alluring and mysterious. He felt as though there was more to this woman than met the eye. At that moment, he was determined to figure out just what kind of secret this girl held. The worse that could happen was that he would spend all his money on pastries.

This part seemed to go by in a flash, as things usually did. She thanked him for stopping by, and wished him a good night. He grabbed the to-go cup and the bag of rolls and headed towards the door. He opened it halfway, and looked back to her for the last time.
"Thank you so much for the look around and the food. I'll be sure to come back when I can. Have a good night," he said with a half smile. With that, he shut the door and headed down the long alley way towards his car. He walked quickly back to the cruiser, but he didn't seem to be worried like he was before.

Time passed in its quiet way, and Lance found himself patrolling the streets. Although he was obviously focused on the road and on the radio, he couldn't stop recollecting the events that had just unfolded to him. It definetely had been an interesting night.

River....

The name sounded more and more beautiful every time he repeated it in his head.