(This story is posted on the Literotica website. Do not repost anywhere else without the author's consent. This story is a bit different from my usual fare. To be clear, this is a story where the woman cheats on her man. But a lot of my usual themes are present. There is betrayal, seduction, and heartbreak. It features huge tits and big cocks. And don't expect a happy ending. This is a story about cops and criminals... such stories aren't always pretty. The good characters have shades of darkness, and the bad have shades of appeal. One other thing to point out, as it has come up from time to time, the villain of this story is quite arrogant. Over the years, I've noticed some readers bristle at characters like that, so be warned. If you don't enjoy stories featuring arrogant antagonists, this story won't be for you. So, for those who think they can handle a story like this, go forward.
Additionally, this story is a LONG one, even for me. You have my permission to skip around if you don't want to get too in the weeds. This story is a slow-burn over multiple chapters that ratchets up the tension until it explodes. Not every chapter features sex, but there are heated moments throughout that build up to the main event. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, just don't say you weren't warned.)
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Joel sat at his desk, already hard at work before his partner arrived. He had been re-interviewing some of the witnesses from the hotel over the last few days, trying desperately to turn up some new information. But the Delvecchios did a good job keeping everyone there on a leash... no one was talking. He flipped through his notebook and found nothing new, nothing he could use. The case felt like it had reached a dead end.
It was disheartening.
He looked up just in time to see Monica entering the office, and he immediately noted that she seemed to be in an equally rotten mood. By her own admission, Monica had a resting bitch face, but this morning it seemed especially pronounced. Slamming herself into her seat roughly, she got to work without a word.
Joel couldn't deny that things had been slightly awkward between them since their kiss in the interrogation room. While both he and Monica stated they didn't regret that moment of intimacy, neither of the two cops were exactly the most emotionally available people in the world. That, in combination with their busy work schedule, meant they hadn't taken the time to really address the elephant in the room in any real way since that day.
Joel resolved to change that.
Knowing not to pick this moment when Monica was in a bad mood, he waited until later in the morning before addressing her for the first time about a non-work thing.
"Do you want to get lunch today?" he asked in a quiet moment. She'd been frosty and withdrawn all morning, and as she heard this question, she had to visibly check herself from responding on reflex with a biting comment.
"Uh... yeah, that'd be good," she responded, giving him a slight smile, the first time he'd seen her face light up all morning.
"Maybe we can go out to that place you wanted to try on the north side," Joel offered. It was some fancy new, all-green, all-healthy place, all things that were up Monica's alley. Her face flashed with recognition, but her response was odd. She almost winced, as if he'd said something wrong.
"You know... you don't always have to take me to the places you think I want to go to," she said, gently. "I don't mind going to places you want to go."
"Oh..." Joel said, surprised that she was making a big deal over the choice of restaurant. "That's okay. You have guidelines for what you'll eat, so it's usually easier to aim toward your preferences."
"I can usually figure something out," Monica replied quickly, with a slightly impatient tone. While Joel momentarily panicked, feeling she was chiding him somehow, he was able to quickly regather himself. He wasn't above learning from his mistakes and course-correcting. So, he did just that.
"Understood, partner," he responded with a nod and an easy smile. The respect he showed her erased the slightly pained response she gave him, replacing it with a warm feeling in her heart and a grin on her face. But as Joel got back to work feeling good about how things were going, the affectionate smile of hers faded ever so slightly. Her gaze lingered on Joel as he resumed reviewing interview notes, her mind drifting back to the facts about her partner that David had highlighted.
With Monica's naturally intimidating demeanor, she was used to men ceding ground to her, so as to not risk upsetting her. In cases like Joel, she appreciated his consideration, though most of the time she found it rather unappealing to have men she was attempting to date just back down like that when challenged. It just happened ALL the time, and it had gotten rather old. She just wanted someone with a little spine. As much as she hated to admit it, someone like David would definitely not crumble in front of her like so many others had. He would be decisive. If his offered dinner ever happened, David would unquestionably call the shots with little consideration of Monica's tastes. He would choose the time. He would choose the place. Hell, he might even choose Monica's meal. While this type of thing seemed old-fashioned and brash, the kind of behavior someone like Monica would normally reject... after years of men being timid around her, she could almost see the appeal of it.
But Joel was different than those other guys. His deference to her came not from timidity, but from a genuine care for her as a person. Yes... it was obvious he'd had feelings for her for years, feelings that had long gone unaddressed. But she had felt the same way, so she was no better. What they had, while remaining unspoken over many years, was something deeper. A bond. A friendship. A real love. Even when she was dating other guys, it was there. Even when he was married to Dana, it was there. So, it was understandable that he would feel a certain... deference to her. With other men, it was shameless intimidation, which she didn't enjoy. With Joel, it came from a place of love, which she didn't mind.
It wasn't like what David claimed. It wasn't like Joel was a 'simp'... a 'beta'... a 'cuck'. Those were terms that only a macho, fratty, alpha douchebag like David would use.
But if that was the case, why did those words insulting Joel echo so much louder in her mind than her own defenses of him? And after this discussion, those alarm bells in her head that kept repeating those terms were only getting louder. Why didn't Joel just suggest a place he wanted to go? And when she called him out on it, why did he immediately back down instead of insisting on the vegan place? It was a little frustrating. David's voice was only getting more prominent in her mind...
She tried to silence all that and enjoy their lunch later that day. Joel wound up choosing a Thai place near the precinct. Both she and Joel seemed to share an unspoken deal to not bring up the floundering Chapin case, trying to talk more about their personal lives. That being said, both were so devoted to their work that neither had that much going on beyond it. Usually, Joel tried to avoid rambling about himself and bulldozing their conversations with talk of his ex-wife Dana and his son, but Monica was happy to let him talk considering the state of her personal life of late. He said he'd talked with Dana recently, and that there was some issue with their son at his elementary school. Nothing major, but something that Joel had to take care of. Monica was always filled with a warmth and affection for Joel when he talked about his son. He clearly loved the boy with all his heart and took pride in being a father, even when he was always so busy with his job.
Monica's reaction to his talk about his ex-wife was another matter. While Dana was ostensibly quite nice and accomplished in her own right, she and Monica always had a frosty relationship. On paper, they should be friendly, as they had a lot in common. They each possessed a certain toughness, as well as a no-nonsense demeanor that rendered them immune to most bullshit. But she suspected Dana had always found herself threatened by Monica's presence, which was something the busty detective was used to. Given her gorgeous looks and insane body, most women ended up harboring a level of jealousy towards her. That, on top of her tough-as-nails demeanor, left her with very few female friends. Dana saw her husband's feelings for Monica before he did, and Monica's continued presence in their lives all but guaranteed that a divorce was inevitable.
Joel had never once said anything to support this view, always citing his attachment to his work being the real reason for his split from Dana, but Monica suspected that it was indeed his feelings for his partner than put the irreconcilable strain on their marriage that eventually ended it. She didn't know how to feel about this. On one hand, she reciprocated those feelings, so she felt affirmed by him feeling the same way, but on the other hand... nothing major had happened between them in the time since the split from Dana. She felt a bit bad that Joel might have thrown away his marriage for something... as yet unofficial. She almost wished that making such a major life-decision would have given him the boldness to make a move, but the fact that things had moved so slowly between them left her with an odd conflict within her that almost made her feel like he'd made a mistake. Had Joel ended his marriage for an uncertainty, despite their shared feelings? She felt guilty if he had, which is why she'd always been hesitant to make a move since his divorce. It felt slightly gauche to swoop in the moment he was single, and plus... given the major life changes he was going through, she felt like it was on him to take that step when the time was right. But he never had. And now, with all the inner conflict raised by her encounters with David, she found those words of his bouncing around in her mind again and again and again...
But Monica supposed she shared some of the blame for their romance's glacial pace. She wasn't exactly the most emotionally available person in the world, so it was no surprise Joel might find instigating a relationship with her a difficult path to navigate. She could have been more open... they both could have, quite frankly. They'd spent more time around each other than they did with anyone else of the opposite sex... things should have progressed further by now, and that was on both of them for not making a move earlier. How many nights had she spent at Joel's apartment? How many times had she passed out beside him on his couch, watching some dumb movie, when they could have been...?
That question stung and she winced at the painful thoughts cycling in her mind. She often had to remind herself to be more present in social situations, having to make sure to adjust her expression to ensure she didn't have a resting bitch face. Softening her outward look, she refocused on the moment, willing herself to chill out and get out of her head. Focusing on her partner, she put on a small affectionate smile as she listened to him talking about his son.
She had zoned out a bit, falling silent, and Joel fell into an easy groove, rambling a bit, maybe even oversharing slightly, mentioning that he had to rearrange his schedule at the end of the week, as his ex-wife Dana was going on a date, and he needed to watch his kid for the night.
"Is this the first date she's gone on since the divorce?" Monica asked. Joel shrugged.
"As far as I know," he responded. "She doesn't keep me up on every detail of her life, but that's the impression I got."
"Who is he?" Monica queried.
"I don't know him... thank God," Joel replied. "Some guy she met at the store, I think. I'm not sure."
Monica's mind flashed to her own similar run-in with a man in public, specifically her ongoing encounters with David at the gym. With the nature of those encounters, plus the way she watched him easily charm the other women there, she could only hope that the man Dana was going out with was less manipulative than David.
