Stories of Our Life: The Second Volume

4: Lay All Your Love On Me...or Not

It was a rather peaceful, but also boring, day at the station for Officer Tina Goldstein.

It was 20 minutes till five, the time she and her boyfriend agreed to meet after work. Currently, she sat in her desk, reading and organizing files and other paperwork.

It was quiet in the office, with Tina and her co-workers doing their own things at their respective desks.

That is, until he entered the room.

God, it's Tolliver again.

Tina ignored him first, continuing to read the file she held in her hand when suddenly, a familiar tune entered her ears. Unlike the other in the room who looked up as soon as the song started, Tina kept her head down and focused on her work.

I wasn't jealous before we met

Now every man that I see is a potential threat

She scoffed under her breath, rolling her eyes. There he goes again, she groaned. This is the third time he's done that this week!

(The last time he did that, he played Take A Chance On Me by ABBA. Gosh, how Tina wanted to kill him right there and then.)

Tina finished the file in her hand and placed it on the pile on her left, along with the ones she finished reading. She then picked up the next from the pile on her right and began leafing through it, taking down notes as she went.

And as she was doing that, the song only went on...

...a bit louder this time.

Don't go wasting your emotion

Lay all your love on me

Tina gritted her teeth. Ignore him, Goldstein, she told herself. Just ignore the prick. She cast a glance at her watch. Just a few minutes more before you can leave.

The song continued to grow louder as she ignored it and Achilles, who, in the corner of her eye, was casually standing by the radio drinking a mug of coffee. Tina rolled her eyes again.

Dammit, make him stop! She silently pleaded, her hands tightening on the file.

Then, as if her prayers were heard, the door to the office opened. Tina looked up and relief surged through her when she saw who stood by the door. She quickly dropped the file on her desk to run towards him.

She threw her arms around him. The man chuckled. "Hello, Tina," Newt greeted with a wide smile.

"Newt!" Tina beamed, kissing his cheek. Thank God.

Behind them, the music became louder than before, and Tina could feel Tolliver's eyes burning holes on her back. She dropped her arms from his neck.

She glanced at her watch again. Newt was early. "You're early," she stated, eyeing him curiously.

Newt shrugged. "Just wanted to see you as soon as possible. New puppies just came in this morning!" he told her excitedly. He looked around the room, nodding at her co-workers. They, in turn, greeted him politely.

Newt returned his eyes onto Tina. He tilted his head slightly." Do you hear that? " he wondered.

Tina blinked. Hear what? She thought. Then, she realized that the music was still playing in the background. She rolled her eyes and whispered to Newt, "Yeah, that's Tolliver being an idiot again."

Her boyfriend laughed, nodding. "Ah, I see. Well," he offered his arm to her. "Shall we?"

"Sure, just let me fix my desk." Tina sauntered back to her desk and organized the items on top of it. Once done, she grabbed her bag and coat from the stand by the door. Hooking her arm with Newt's, she turned to the rest of the office and waved.

"I'm gonna clock off now," she announced to the room. "See you, guys."

"See ya, Goldstein," they all replied with nods and small smiles.

Tina turned to Newt. "Let's go?"

"Let's," said Newt, leading Tina away from the office, closing the door behind them.

When they reached the front steps outside the station, Tina stopped and wrapped her arms around Newt's neck again, pulling him to her. She pressed her lips to his in a sweet kiss, to which he kissed back, hands placed gently on the small of her back.

She broke the kiss a short while later. "Thanks for rescuing me back there," she smiled.

"Always my pleasure, love," Newt smiled back, nuzzling his nose to hers.

Together, they walked to Newt's veterinary clinic a few blocks from the police station, hand in hand. As they went, Tina looked at Newt with curious eyes.

"Why'd you come so early anyway?" she inquired. "Besides the puppies, I mean."

Newt hummed in response. "Hmm. Maybe I just somehow knew you needed rescuing from that Tolliver guy again," he shrugged, turning to look at her, a playful grin on his face.

"Really?" Tina giggled, raising a brow. "Your Spidey-senses tingling whenever I need you?"

"Hmm, more like Tina-senses, my darling." Newt kissed her cheek as she laughed.

"You could've just called me, y'know."

"Nah. I wanted to the look on his face," Newt laughed. "And it was priceless!"

Tina shook her head fondly. "Well, my hero, then," she giggled and pecked his cheek.

--

Back in the station, Achilles Tolliver angrily turned the radio off as soon as the door closed behind Tina and Scamander.

Tobias Wilson, one of his co-workers, laughed. He glared at him. "What're you laughing at?" he seethed.

"Nothing, Tolliver," replied his co-worker laughingly. "Just yet another failed attempt of yours to get Goldstein to notice you."

"When will you quit that, anyway?" asked another, Danielle Archer, smirking at him. "You know she has a boyfriend."

"And I think you wouldn't stand a chance against Scamander," Eric Ramirez added, writing something down in his notepad. "They're literally all over each other earlier. Can't compete with that."

"Shut up!" Tolliver hollered.

Then, the door to the Chief's office adjacent to theirs opened. Percival Graves peered out the door, eyes locking on Tolliver. The entire room fell silent.

"Another stunt like that, Tolliver and you're out," he simply warned him. "And stay away from taken women, especially if it's Goldstein."

Tolliver gulped. Everyone in the station knew Officer Graves treated Goldstein like his very own daughter, with him being the cousin of Goldstein's father, a former police officer, and a renowned one too. He nodded fearfully.

"Y-yes, sir," he stammered.

Graves gave him one last glare before retreating to his office.

[Edited and Re-uploaded: August 8, 2020]