“That’s your understanding of the agreement, Ms. Ginsberg?”

“It is, Your Honor,” I answered quickly.

“Tammy Sue Luchinsky I accept your plea of guilty to criminal trespass and disorderly conduct and I hereby sentence you to complete your alcohol counseling program and serve two years’ probation subject to random urinalysis, and to pay fines and costs.” He banged his gavel “Court is in recess for five minutes! Wayne get me some Pepto!” With that he left the bench.

A female probation officer escorted Tammy Sue off to pee into a cup. I knew what was coming. I turned toward the prosecution table and prepared myself.

“Gabrielle, would you scale a prison wall for Braden’s lovin’?” Adam asked with a smile. I knew he had been waiting so patiently to ask me that.

“She might knock it down,” Braden teased, his voice cracking with suppressed laughter. “She can be very demanding.”

“You’d probably tunnel in one spoonful at a time to get to her junk, honey,” Jess answered tartly from the defense table. Jess always had my back.

“You know, I think I would!” Braden agreed and finally let go and cracked up.

“I’d like to talk to that guy,” Adam said. “I want to find out what he’s giving Tammy Sue there that would make her willing to break into a prison to get some.”

“The poor woman probably doesn’t have many opportunities,” Jess chided. “She looks like she could kill a man.”

“You should set her up with that old guy who was willing to risk his life to make a booty call.” Braden joked. “He’d give her some lovin’.” He pulled himself together and looked at me in such a boyishly cute way that I wanted to scale him.

“So, Gabrielle’s demanding, huh?” Adam asked suggestively. “All the time or just when she’s been drinkin’?”

“I think I’ve only ever seen her drunk once, that night at O’Malley’s,” Braden replied, calming down and wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

“I wasn’t drunk!” I protested, sorting through my files for my next wonderful case.

“You walked face first into a door,” Adam pointed out.

“I’ve done that before. I’ve been known to enter a party with a screen door stuck to my face before I’ve had a single drink.”

Having finished teasing me, Adam let Jess know that he had an offer on a case and she got up and went over to the prosecution table to discuss it. Braden, in turn, came over to the defense table to talk to me. When they were out of earshot, I turned to him.

“Do you really think I’m demanding?” I asked, sorting out some files.

“Hmm, let’s see, f**k me right now, Braden, I’m going to make you my f**k toy, Braden…” I felt my face get hot.

“Am I too demanding?” I put the files down and looked at him almost shyly.

“Are you serious? Just thinking about it makes me want to go negotiate a deal in one of the interview rooms with you,” he said, giving me a flirtatious look.

“We can’t keep doing that. We’re going to get caught if we continue using the interview rooms to satisfy our lustful urges.” I sighed and looked at my sexy boyfriend, indulging myself for a moment in some hot fantasies. “I think on Friday night I’ll dress up for you and we can do some of those naughty things we talked about. Maybe we can find some nice silk scarves and you can tie me to the bed and have your way with me.”

“You had to put that image in my head, didn’t you?” He groaned quietly and raked his fingers through his hair, giving me a seductive look.

“I have a feeling Harvard will bring Yale to her knees that night and you’ll get to handle my saucy mouth and my sharp tongue up close.”

“Stop! Please! I’m begging you. I can’t picture that now too.” His eyes went to my lips. “Oh shit. I’m picturing it. You’re such a tease sometimes.” He laughed.

“Am I teasing you too much?”

“No! I love it. You’re so f**king hot, Gabrielle. I’d love to bend you over that table right now and make you scream my name.”

“Are you two finished whispering sweet nothings to each other?” Adam called out. “I want to get out of here.”

“Leave them alone. They’re in love,” Jess answered him.

“They’re in court!” Adam shot back. “Let them be in love after work.”

Wednesday

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF PHILADELPHIA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Commonwealth v. Stemple

“Ms. Stemple,” Judge Channing began, looking like he would have rather been anywhere else at the moment. “You wish to enter a guilty plea to driving under the influence of alcohol, fleeing and eluding police, and reckless endangerment?”

“Yes sir,” she answered. I strongly suspected that she would have rather been back at the bar that she was probably at until last call the night before. Either that or her perfume was called Eau d’ beer.

“You understand that you have a right to a trial and you’re waiving that right?” Judge Channing was looking at her suspiciously. He probably smelled the barroom too.

“Yes judge.”

“Mr. Pierce, please recite the facts of the case.”

“Your Honor, in the afternoon hours of May twenty-fifth in the County of Philadelphia, police responded to reports of a vehicle being operated in an erratic matter. Officer Luke McClusky got behind the vehicle, a white Hyundai Accent operated by the Defendant, Lucy Stemple, in his patrol unit, activated his lights and siren and motioned for the driver to pull over. In response, Ms. Stemple instead increased her speed and began veering in and out of traffic. Officer McClusky called for assistance and two other patrol units responded. After a chase lasting approximately ten minutes Ms. Stemple pulled into the parking lot of a liquor store and exited the vehicle as if she intended to enter the establishment. When officers ordered her to freeze and put her hands on her vehicle, she responded, and I quote, ‘just give me a second to grab some Jack Daniels, baby.’ At the time she was wearing cowboy boots.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Judge Channing broke in irritably.

“That’s all she was wearing, Your Honor,” Braden replied and the judge rolled his eyes.

“Ms. Ginsberg?” He glared at me and he sounded like he thought that I’d put her up to it! Jesus. I was doing my job here, you know? So much hostility.

“Your Honor, my client has been going through a difficult divorce. On the day in question she had just received word that her estranged husband would be getting remarried. She was feeling very emotional and not thinking clearly. She’s employed as a waitress at Denny’s and this is her first offense. She’s willing to seek drug and alcohol counseling.”

“Do you have anything to say, Ms. Stemple?” the judge asked.

“That as**ole took the best years of my life!” she slurred. “And now he’s marrying some little slut he met at his gym! You know, I may be thirty-eight but I still look good! I’m the same size I was in high school and my tits hardly sag! Ask that cop!” Well, at least she was dressed. I hoped she hadn’t driven there.

“About the case, Ms. Stemple,” I prodded, glancing at the judge nervously.

“Oh, sorry. It probably won’t ever happen again.”

“Well, I certainly hope not!” Judge Channing retorted, looking at her dubiously. “Is there an agreement?”

“Defendant served twenty-four hours, Your Honor. The Commonwealth will agree to a sentence of time served plus six months probation, mandatory drug and alcohol counseling and random urinalysis.”

“That’s your understanding Ms. Ginsberg?”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Ms. Stemple, I accept your plea of guilty and I hereby sentence you to serve twenty-four hours with credit for time served, six months probation, and you’ll need to complete drug and alcohol counseling with random urinalysis. Fines and costs. Off the record.” The stenographer stopped typing. “No more driving drunk. That’s not safe. Or na**d. That’s not hygienic.”

“Yes judge,” she answered with a big smile.

“Court’s in recess. Ten minutes.” He banged his gavel and left without a backward glance. I grabbed the court order and went over to the defense table to wait for the comments. Braden decided to go first this time. At least he didn’t let our relationship stand in the way of teasing me.

“Yee haw!” he said with a laugh, leaning up against the prosecution table and looking far sexier than anyone had a right to.

“And I thought you dressed funny,” Adam added with a smile, leaning back in his chair and looking highly amused. Despite the seriousness and stress of the criminal justice system, there were plenty of moments for levity and this was clearly one. I wasn’t going to deny it.

“Just ignore them, honey,” Jess said patting me on the back as I sat down next to her at the defense table. Jess never let it get to her. I admired her for that.

“I loved how she wanted to go buy her Jack first before they arrested her,” Braden continued, obviously on a roll.

“It probably won’t happen again!” Adam laughed. “She’s not quite sure, but probably.”

“Hey, that as**ole took the best years of her life. Obviously the answer was to drive to the liquor store na**d,” I noted dryly.

“She’s right, though,” Jess noted. “Her tits really don’t sag. She must not have any kids, thank God. What did he mean, that’s not hygienic?” She laughed.

“Who knows? I wish he wouldn’t look at me like I helped her plan it. It’s not like I was riding shotgun with her,” I added.

“He’s just ready to retire, Gab,” she consoled. “Ignore him, too.”

“So, Gabrielle, when you were in law school dreaming about providing the poor with access to justice, is this what you had in mind?” Adam asked. “Representing na**d drunk drivers, eighty-five-year-old potheads, people who use their underwear as a shopping cart…”

“Yeah, okay. Maybe I should go back to the office and tell them that I’d like to represent a better class of criminals. It’s not like Cam’s private clients are wandering into the public defender’s office for financial planning advice.”

“Where’s he been anyway?” Adam asked.

“With Mark,” Jess answered. “His courtroom partner took a spot in child advocacy and so Cam’s been filling in this week.”

“No kidding!” Braden said. “He’s turning into a regular little public defender!”

“He’ll need to go out by the end of week,” Jess said.

“You know, if we’re all going out together Friday night and we’re spending Saturday night at your parents’ place, Mark and I aren’t going to unwind this weekend,” Adam said significantly to Braden. It wasn’t too hard to figure out what he meant by “unwind.”

“So, go out beforehand to unwind,” Braden answered. “You’re not looking for a long-term relationship.” Jess got up and ran out to the ladies room then and a deputy called Adam over so Braden and I were left alone.

“What a great lifestyle, working in a quick blowjob before going out with friends,” I joked, rolling my eyes. “Didn’t Norman Rockwell paint that once?”

“Personally, I would much rather unwind with you. Speaking of, I think I would like to see you in an outfit like that,” he said. He was giving me the hot Braden sex look right here in the courtroom which made me feel rather flirty.

“Cowboy boots? Wouldn’t you prefer my high heels?” By the way his eyes got even darker and his smile even cockier I could see that he most certainly would. Hmm. I think Braden had a thing for high heels. He wasn’t just a boob man after all.

“How high?” His voice sounded a little husky.

“I have a couple of pairs that are six inches. I’m not a material person but I do have a weakness for pretty shoes and clothes.” His eyes dropped to my body and traveled down. I saw him swallow and start to breathe a little faster. He tore his gaze away and raked his fingers through his hair. He did that when he was stressed, especially when he was stressed because he wanted me but couldn’t have me at the moment.

“I’m not thinking about it. I’m not thinking about it. I am absolutely not thinking about what you would look like in just a pair of six inch heels.” His eyes returned to my body. “Okay, I’m thinking about it. Oh shit, Gabrielle. They don’t have cold showers here, baby.”

“You started it,” I reminded him. “Picture the cute little black dress I’m going to wear for you on Friday instead. That will take your mind off of it.”

“What does it look like?” He looked back to me and I could see he was torn between wanting me to describe something really sexy and something that looked like a nun’s habit.

“Well, it’s got like a halter top and it comes down in a V. It wraps around me so if you just untied it, it would come off. It comes to about two inches above my knees. It’s padded and more structured on top, so I don’t have to wear a bra under it. The material is jersey knit, which is smooth and stretchy so I was thinking about maybe not wearing anything under it on the bottom either. I hate panty lines. Did I mention that the heels are Louboutins by the way? They buckle at the ankle and I’m so tall when I wear them. We could probably have sex against the wall without you even picking me up or bending your knees!”