Free Culture Shock by Ginger Simpson Page B

flaccid penis back inside, closed her zipper and washed her hands. Alex's face stared back from the mirror, and despite her present traumatic situation, she almost laughed. Five o'clock shadow was nothing she ever expected to have, but fretting about such a minor thing seemed ridiculous. She had bigger worries to deal with. Much bigger!
    Back in the living room, she looked at Alex, sitting on the couch, and wrinkled her nose. "Boy, it hurts to see how awful I look in the morning from someone else's perspective, but then, I just looked in the mirror and you don't look so hot either."
    Alex glanced up at her and ran a hand through the disheveled hair atop his head. "Very funny. I'm not concerned about styles at the moment. Did any brilliant solutions come to you during the night?"
    She sighed. "I wish. I was hoping this was all just a terrible dream. What are we going to do?"
    "I don't have a clue," he said. "We can't even tell anyone. Can you image trying to explain this to someone else? We'd end up in an asylum somewhere."
    "Are you sure you don't want to try the shock thing again?" she asked.
    "I'm sure!" His brows knit into one. "There's got to be another way." Alex chewed his bottom lip. "We'd better come up with something because we both have to go to work tomorrow."
    "Oh, God. That's right! I can't ask for time off unless I'm on my death bed. I just started this job. Think! What are we going to do? "
    "I wish I knew. I can't miss work either. Asking for a vacation in the middle of an ongoing investigation would raise eyebrows." He shook his head. "This is horrible."
    "Well then, we'd better spend the rest of the day briefing one another," she suggested.
    His eyebrow arched. "About what?"
    "Oh, I don't know..." Her voice rose. "How can you be so clueless? Don't you think it might be nice for you to know how to find my office, which desk is mine and who my co-workers are? After all, they will most likely expect you to know them since you work with them." She stomped across the room, rubbing the back of her neck. "Oh, and it's probably a good idea for you to feed me some details about your job since I have no idea what to expect. Of all the things I wanted to do in this lifetime, being a cop was never one of them."
     
    ***
     
    Cynthia massaged her temples. "God, there's too much to remember. You can't expect me to store all that information in my brain. You went to an academy for months to learn all this stuff..." Suddenly her eyes widened. "I'm not going to have to shoot a gun am I?"
    "No! I've never even taken mine out of the holster. Don't worry. You'll do fine. Just remember the basics. You'll be surprised how things sink in even if you don't think they did. You'll remember what you need to know when you need it."
    "That's easy for you to say. I'm the one that has it the toughest."
    He scrunched up his face. "You? How can you say that? I haven't the first idea about how to be a woman, and we all know how complex they are."
    "We are not! Being feminine is very simple. Let me show you." She struck a pose that looked ridiculous and walked across the room. "The walk is the most important thing. Take small steps and lead with your hips. Let them be your guide."
    Alex's flinched at the sight of his masculine frame sashaying around the floor. Even more annoying was the way she made feminine gestures with his hands. He rolled his eyes. "There's no way I can walk like that, and I wish you'd stop. You're making me look ridiculous. Promise me you won't walk like that as long as you have my body."
    He jumped to his feet. "Real men walk heavy and hard ... and pull your shoulders back." He grabbed her forearms from behind, forcing her chest forward.
    She jerked out of his grasp, turned and glared at him. "Don't worry. I'll play up the macho thing, but I want to see you walk like I just did."
    He blew out a loud breath then reluctantly took one step, then another. The swivel didn't come naturally, but he tried following her example.