Free Blissful Valentine: A Novella by Amy L. Gale

door, sending a gust of frigid air through the foyer. Dean adjusts his oversized sunglasses, which makes him look like Ponch from CHiPs, and slides them up onto his head. Well, a much hotter, sexier version. I stare at his muscles moving underneath his fitted T-shirt. He fidgets with the door lock and snaps the deadbolt shut.
    Dean rubs his hands together and joins me at the ‘arraignment table’. He grabs the megaphone from under the table and stands on his chair. “Rules are as follows: babes write their name on a pink slip of paper, dudes on a blue piece. Hand them over to Sheriff Brooke and we’ll get this party started.” He jumps down, tossing the megaphone to the side and pulls out a tote of handcuffs.
    A mob of people rush toward the table, setting their drinks aside to write their names on the small slips of paper. I lunge backward, pushing myself against the back of my chair to avoid being mauled to death in the struggle to grab a pen. Seriously? These people are like crazed lunatics. Don’t they realize they may be signing up for a night of hell? I mean, what if they’re tethered to someone they despise?
    I slide two large, empty industrial mayonnaise jugs Dean managed to snag from the cafeteria toward the edge of the table, placing one by the blue slips of paper and one by the pink slips. “Drop your papers in the jugs when you’re done.”
    Tanya Layton folds her pink slip of paper in half and sets her elbows on the table. She leans in front of Dean, holding her arms tight to her body to push her cleavage in his face. Her breasts are about to pop out of the scoop neck of her low cut red shirt.
    “Hope I get cuffed to you.” She blows Dean a kiss.
    I clench my fists and jump out of my chair. Who the hell does she think she is? I mean, hello, I’m right here. Maybe she can work her magic on Dr. Jenners but her little miss sultry routine isn’t going to work this time.
    I place my palms on the table and lean toward her. My nostrils flare as I speak. “The sheriff will do the pairing tonight.” I lean back and flash my badge toward her.
    She huffs and waves her hand. “Whatever.”
    Dean runs his tongue along his lips, muffling a smile. “The sheriff is pretty bad-ass.”
    I slide back into my chair and turn toward Dean. “Think of Fargo . You know, minus the pregnant.”
    “Nice…and a little scary. ” He winks.
    The crowd dissipates, leaving a few people who quickly pop their names in the jars. Looks like we’re ready to go. I grab a piece of blue paper and a piece of pink paper and scribble our names on them.
    I fold the papers in half and turn toward Dean. “Looks like we’ve got our first set of victims.”
    He places a finger on each piece of paper and slides them along the table in front of him. His lips upturn into a small smile as his eyes glance across the letters. “Awesome, my partner in crime.” He grabs a set of the novelty handcuffs and clips one cuff to his wrist.
    He reaches for my hand and slowly grazes his fingertips along my wrist. My heart pounds against my chest like a jackhammer. He clicks the cuff shut, making sure it’s not too tight. Perfect fit. He turns toward me and we stand face to face. His eyes lock onto mine and I’m lost in the sea of deep blue. The world fades away for split second and nothing else exists, it’s just me and Dean.
    “Who’s next?” a guy yells through the room.
    I jerk my head and blink repeatedly, pulling myself back into reality. Dean and I both reach for a bucket in opposite directions with our free hands. The handcuffs pull us back toward each other. I lose my balance from the force and slam into Dean’s arm.
    “You okay?”
    I nod. “Never better.”
    I hand Dean the two slips of paper I’ve confiscated and held in my pocket. He bends down and picks up the megaphone. “Tom Johnson and Lexie Waters.”
    I pull the tote of handcuffs onto the table with my free hand. Thank god the same key opens all the cuffs. If not, there’d