Tasha picked up her beer and settled back onto the couch. “I don’t either.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you’re actually just as judgmental as you assume that they are.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Alice huffed.

Tasha didn’t respond, and instead turned up the volume on the tv. Alice grabbed the remote and shut the tv off.

Tasha sighed and looked Alice in the eye. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to go. Okay?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to go,” Alice said, hedging.

“Not in so many words, but you made it pretty clear that you didn’t want to. So. We won’t go.”

“No, we can go.”

“Now why would you want to do that? Spend your Independence Day, a day we’re supposed to be celebrating freedom, with a bunch of racist, misogynistic homophobic cops?”

“I just don’t want you to get hurt, okay?” Alice’s exasperation bled out in her tone. She threw her hands up. “I want to be supportive but it didn’t sound like the most welcoming situation I ever heard of, okay? Especially on a night that’s supposed to be all about fun.”

Tasha studied Alice for a long moment. “Fair enough. But I think it’s going to be cool.”

“How do you know?”

Tasha smiled a little bit. “I know, because Mike knows all about you. A lot of the other guys do, too. I’m not hiding anything at work, Alice. I’m done with that. Mike invited us both. And I did tell you about it.”

“He knows about me?” Alice looked as though her curiosity was piqued. “What all does he know?”

Tasha shrugged. “I talk about you all the time. Just stuff, I guess.”

Alice was smiling now. “Well. If you think it will be alright.”

“It’ll be fun. Cops can get down just like anybody else. You should know that, living with me,” Tasha said.

“Ha! We’ll see about that. Okay we’ll go, but on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“When we get home, you’ll let me wear your uniform.” Alice picked up Tasha’s handcuffs from her belt that was lying on the coffee table and swung them back and forth on one finger.

Tasha grinned. “Consider it done.”