“Hey girl!!” a short, African-American woman smiled, and walked over to greet me.

Alex and I had just entered a small store called Crazy, the name giving away one of it’s attributes. Sure, it was just a clothing shop, but it had something for everyone, which was why I liked it. In the back there was a shoe section- nothing I thought Alex would ever wear- to the sides were racks of jeans, slacks, and shorts, and the middle was where the shirts were neatly displayed.

“Alicia!” I gave her a big grin followed by a big hug.

Alicia was an old friend, and the main sales-woman at Crazy. She had excellent taste, and I relied on her for most of my outfits.

“How you doin, Jesse?” she asked me as we pulled from our embrace.

“Good, good. And you?” I replied.

“Doin’ fine. But you never come in here anymore,” she complained.

“Yeah I’ve been busy. You know,” I shrugged.

“Busy with that boy you used to come in here with?” she eyed me suspiciously.

I smiled and nodded; impressed that she could read me so easily. She was of course talking about Vince, the guy who I spent nearly every waking hour with. He wasn’t exactly my boyfriend, but he was as close to it as you could get. It was more of a friends with benefits, no strings attached kind of thing

“Ok well we’re kind of in a hurry, this lady needs a blouse,” I pointed to Alex, who stuck out a hand and introduced herself to Alicia. “She’s a lawyer.”

“Prosecutor,” Alex corrected, and we exchanged a look.

Alicia shuffled towards the back to pick out a shirt, and Alex turned to me, brushing a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear.

“So who’s the guy she’s talking about?” Alex crossed her arms over her chest, and raised her eyebrows.

“Ah, there’s a quaint phrase that is oh so fitting to this situation. What was it,” I pretended to ponder it for a moment. “Oh yeah! None of your damn business!”

Alex chuckled, as did I.

“Do you talk to everyone like this? Or do you save it for lawyers that you ruthlessly run over in the street, destroying said person’s outfit?” Alex shot back.

“Prosecutors, Alex. Only prosecutors,” I shook my head and turned to Alicia, who had returned with an armful of colorful shirts.

She handed them to Alex, who took them, and headed toward the dressing room. I chatted with Alicia for a moment, before she had to get back to work, thus giving me time to ponder the situation.

Alex confused me. She had a quick wit, and generally great comebacks, so why did it seem she was uncomfortable? She seemed reserved, unwilling to say more than a few things at a time, unwilling to give more than a smile or a chuckle in response to any of my jokes. Maybe it was just me, and my generally social personality that was clouding my judgment, but she seemed just too tense. Maybe it’s just cause she’s a prosecutor, I laughed to myself.

Alex’s POV

“I’m not trying this on!” I yelled out to Jesse.

I was staring at a black, silky blouse that looked a bit tramp-ish.

“If it’s the black one, yes you are!” I heard Jesse call back.

The highest button I was sure would not reach above my chest, which in court, was unacceptable. I would look as if I was trying to seduce the judge, not win the damn case. As good as Jesse’s intentions might have been, there wasn’t anything she could do that could make me change my mind. I stepped out of the dressing room, and handed her the blouse.

“No,” I announced, as emphatically as I could.

And then that smile. She was certainly the little charmer, wasn’t she?

“Come on, Alex. It’s not trampish, I know that’s what your thinking. It’s just hot! Is there a rule against looking hot in court? You’re wasting time. You’ve only got 5 minutes, just try it on!” Jesse kept that smile graced upon her lips.

“I doubt that smile lets you down very often, huh Jesse?” I shook my head, and closed the door behind me.

I would try it on.

I buttoned it up to the top, closed my eyes for a moment, and looked in the mirror. Surprisingly, it didn’t look that bad. There was a bit of lace on the collar, and it accentuated my torso in a subtle, even classy manner. Jesse was right, it wasn’t trampish at all. It was actually, although it pained me to admit it, just my style.

Then it dawned upon me- I had three minutes to get to the courthouse. I burst through the dressing room door, and headed for the exit.

“Gonna pay for that, Alex, or are you gonna have to prosecute yourself?” Jesse called after me, amused.

I turned on my heel, embarrassed.

“Hey look. I’ll cover it; I ruined your shirt anyways. You go ahead,” Jesse nodded, and pulled out some cash from her back pocket.

I breathed a sigh of relief

“Or,” she began, “you could ditch, and come hang out with me. I know a great coffee place. I at least owe you that.”

She smiled that smile again, and I was a bit astonished as the word “ok” almost escaped my lips. Was I crazy?

“Sorry. My boss would have my ass. Look, thanks for everything, I really have to go,” the excuse sounded a bit lame.

“Come on! When’s the last time you did something crazy, eh?” that smile really was tempting.

I resisted, and thanked her again. I REALLY had to go. With that, I headed off to court. Almost sprinting now, the cold air pinched my cheeks, and I felt my fingers begin to numb. I shoved them in my pockets for warmth, but realized I had to first rip the tag off my blouse. I shook my head realizing I probably would have been more embarrassed had I had shown up like that than with the grotesque coffee stain splattered all over the front of my blouse. My ankle twisted a bit as I reached the courthouse steps- running in heels was no walk in the park. The slippery New York sidewalks were not at all forgiving to the poor women who get sidetracked by spur of the moment shopping errands, and charming 14 year olds.

Nearly out of breath, I raced through the crowded halls, just as the bailiff announced my case.

“Docket number 4275361, people vs. James Woodsen,” the bailiff looked up at the Judge.

“How does your client plead?” Petrovsky asked.

“Not guilty your honor,” his attorney smoothed his suit and nodded at his client.

“The people request remand your honor. It was an…” my voice trailed off, and I went through the all to familiar motions of arraigning a perp.

My thoughts were elsewhere though, particularly on Jesse, the wonderful young woman who had crept into my life. No. Crept wasn’t the right word. Every thing about her was exciting, extravagant; she had arrived with a kick and a bang.

She was confident-almost so confident it made me a bit insecure. She had chatted with me like we were old friends, never missing a beat, always quick with a retort. The girl certainly had a wit. There was something about her that made me a bit uncomfortable, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. In the back of my mind the devil pranced about though, whispering into my ears. As much as I tried to push him away, my inner conscience knew- I was a bit jelous of her.

She seemed to know exactly what she wanted; she was in control, which was something I longed for. I was still searching, and I felt I was getting anxious. Contentment was never anything familiar to me, I always wanted to be better, to be the best.

But there was something else too. I had really wanted to play hooky, and go off, gallivanting to who knows where with her. She was basically a complete stranger, and I had an important case, what was I thinking? And when I had said no, like any sane, responsible adult would, she had seemed disappointed. Like I was letting her down. What was that that she had said? When was the last time I did something crazy? I thought back, reaching, clawing for something that could put my mind to rest. I did plenty of wild things when I was young, but now I was an adult, now I had responsibilities. Like the prosecutor I was, I convinced myself I had no time, no reason, and no freedom to do such things anymore.

“Alex,” a familiar voice jarred me from my musings.

“Liz,” I greeted her curtly.

“We have some work to-,” she stopped, and looked at me, a bit surreptitiously. “Nice shirt, Alex.”

Thank you, Jesse, I mouthed.