Animal Instincts

Chapter 8

Nick's POV

After work, I was thinking about taking Judy out for a romantic dinner. We've been working hard the last few weeks, even before Tessa came around and we could use a break.

As of now, we were cruising down the dark streets of Sahara Square so I could drop Judy off at her apartment. I had to figure out how I was going to do this. It was only 7 and the night was still young. Most restaurants would be full on Monday nights and it's impossible to get a seat just by showing up without a reservation. Well, I'll have to wing it.

"Hey, Carrots," I called, glancing over at Judy in the passenger seat, who was busy staring down at Tessa's perfume bottle in her lap.

"Yeah?" She replied, keeping her eyes on the bottle.

"How do you feel about having dinner somewhere tonight?" I questioned.

It didn't take her long to respond.

"That would be wonderful!" She squealed, finally looking over at me.

"I just think we deserve to spend some quality time together," I smirked, focusing on the road. "It's been awhile since we've been working so much."

"Yeah, you're right. What kind of restaurant did you have in mind?"

I thought about it for a moment then said, "Anywhere you wanna go."

Judy was silent for a moment with a contemplating look on her face. She seemed to be thinking really hard about this. I shouldn't have said she could pick 'any' restaurant. She might end up picking one that's super expensive or one I don't really want to go to. I'm a cop I only have so much money. I'm pretty sure Judy wouldn't mind helping me pay for the bill, but I want to be able to cover it. I want her to feel like she's being spoiled and highly appreciated.

"Well," Judy slurred with a sly tone. "It's been awhile since we've been to The Black Goose."

I felt my mouth water just thinking about the place. That was one of my favorite restaurants. The Black Goose was a fancy upscale restaurant in downtown Zootopia. They had fair prices. Perfect.

"Great choice, carrot cake I love that place!" I yipped.

She giggled cheerfully and said, "Alright, we can go there. I'll change and call you when I'm ready, okay?"

"Alright," I replied, pulling into the parking garage of her apartment building. "It's a date."

I pulled into a parking spot, trying to get as close to the elevator as I could. It was dark in this garage and anyone could be out here. The lights were dim as if they were about to blow out any moment.

"Whatever, Nick," she snorted, hopping out the car. She then turned back to me and said, "See you in about an hour, dumb fox!"

"Alright, sly bunny. Make sure you wear your best clothes!" I smirked, shooting her a wink.

"I will. Don't worry," she laughed, closing the car door.

I dreamily watched her hop off towards the elevator. Her little tail all fluffed up, ears erect with excitement and had a pep in her step. She was so adorable. Once she was in the elevator and the doors closed, I fired up the police cruiser again and started making my way back to my place to get ready.

My apartment wasn't too far from Judy's place. It was a handful of blocks away. I lived closer to the rainforest district, but I was still in Sahara Square. All the lit up stores and restaurants passed by the vehicle in a blur. I liked being out at night. Things just seem more 'interesting' in the dark.

Once I made it to my apartment I got out, locking the cruiser which I had parked next to my regular car. It was a red average sized car. Unfortunately, my apartment building's elevator was broken at the moment so I had to go up the staircase. That really sucked since I lived on the 50th floor. This is going to take a while.