A snarl tugged at her top lip and a vein in her temple started throbbing from frustration. "There is no 'us,' Tyler. There is a 'you' and a 'me.' Right now, I want you to give me my papers and leave. You'll notice that there wasn't an 'us' uttered in that statement at all."
A frown cut through Tyler's thin lips and his eyes hardened. "We should talk about this."
"There's nothing to talk about. Now, give me my papers and go."
Tyler leaned closer to her. "Has she done something to you? Threatened you? Touched you? You can tell me and I'll get the cops down here for you and arrest her fucking useless, dyke ass." His eyes glanced quickly to the left to let her know to whom he was referring.
It was Nicole's turn to frown; appearing so offended that a passerby might have assumed Tyler insulted her mother. She couldn't believe he'd say such things about Danny. Danny was one of the sweetest people that she had the pleasure of meeting.
"She hasn't done anything. Now, stop talking all of this nonsense and just give me my papers, or do I have to file a harassment complaint?" she snarled.
His expression was now a scowl so callous that he could've crumbled mountains with it. He stepped forward again, seemingly trying to back her up in order to get in the house. She didn't move, so they were now standing almost toe to toe. Rigid green eyes stared at him, waiting for his next move, challenging him. Seconds that felt like years ticked by with neither of them moving.
"Nikki, I was nothing but good to you for all the time we went out and before that. I deserve respect and you shouldn't have treated me the way that you did," he declared. "I was nothing but good to you, so you should've cherished me instead of attacking me like a crazy person."
Nicole scoffed. "Good? Are you serious? You define good as never listening to me when I talk, pretending to be interested in me, never taking into consideration what I want to do, and never helping out around the house?"
"That is not how it happened, Nikki, and you know it. I really do care about you and I listen to you all the time when you talk to me. I care about you so much," he insisted, sounding so broken up over things. She noticed the emotion didn't reach his eyes.
"Tyler, you can cut the act now. It will not work a second time. I know you never listen to me based on the fact that you used to always bother me while I was working, even though I explained to you that when we are at work, we should treat each other as coworkers and nothing more. I can tell you never listen based on your speech right now. I do not like anyone but my parents calling me 'Nikki.' I have explained that to you countless times and yet you continue."
"Are you going to let that one little thing come between all the good times we had? You're going to let one thing tear apart the best six months of our lives? Remember when I took you to that art show?" A gentle smile graced his face. At one time, it would have helped her give into his words.
"Oh, yes, I remember. You sighed painfully throughout the whole thing and we left early because you were bored. I also remember that anytime you ever took me to a show or a play, it was because you got free tickets to them through whatever contacts you had because you didn't think tickets were worth the money it would cost you to buy them. I have no desire to take a trip down memory lane with you. Yes, there were a few good times, but they were outweighed by the bad, which is also more recent. Let's stick to the business at hand. Give me my documents and leave," she commanded in a stone cold voice accompanied by a firm look in her eyes.
A deep grumble originating in Tyler's chest escaped his lips as he fumbled to open his briefcase. He yanked out the first couple of manila folders and shoved them into Nicole's chest, pushing her back a step. She glared at him and he wisely turned away to retreat back to his car. She slammed the door before he was even off the porch and a smile crept onto her face as she heard the familiar sound of rusted metal banging into bone. An agonized yelp from outside solidified the smile.
"Danny's bike will be the death of someone," Nicole mumbled as she entered the kitchen. She wasn't surprised to find Danny working on breakfast.
"You got rid of him pretty quick," Dane commented as Nicole stood next to her as she scrambled some eggs.
"Not quick enough. He brought the documents that I was trying to retrieve last night." Nicole wasn't sure why she told Danny that, but she felt glad that she did.
"I guess I should've let you go," Danny remarked with a light laugh.
"I'm actually glad you didn't. I had a good time slacking last night. I got to finish my book and went to bed at a decent hour. It was a good night," Nicole stated with a thankful smile.
"Well, that's what matters, Chem. Just to let you know, I'm not letting you waste your Saturday with those things, either. Work is for work and home is for relaxing. You shouldn't stress yourself in a place that's for relaxing."
Nicole smiled more and knew that Danny meant those words; she wasn't going to work on the weekend. Remarkably, she didn't go into a panic or struggle, instead, she just went with it, discovering that it was as rewarding as last night.
The auburn-haired lawyer was pleased that she went with Danny's flow. They ended up eating a good breakfast with light conversation. They retired to the living room and found a movie to watch. It was a foreign drama that Nicole had never seen before, but Dane swore was great. By the end of the movie, Nicole totally concurred. Around noon, Dane made some hot chocolate and they listened to music. The music was also new for Nicole, who generally just listened to classical music. It was smooth, modern jazz, which Nicole discovered she enjoyed. They accidentally took a nap; Nicole woke up to find herself lying in Dane's lap.
Who's taking advantage of whom? Nick thought with an amused smile. She was very comfortable against Danny, holding onto the younger woman almost like she'd hold onto a giant teddy bear, which only tickled her more. She wished she could stay where she was all day. She resisted the urge to cuddle into the musician. Glancing at the clock, she saw that they had lounged around for most of the day. The idea of doing that made her smile grow. She was close to giggling like a child that got away with doing something naughty.
Nicole sat up and yawned, stretching while doing so. She turned her attention to Dane, taking in the sight of the younger woman with her arms spread out on the back of the couch and her head reclined back as far as she could go without breaking her neck. Her mouth was closed, but there was a line of drool escaping out of the corner of her full lips.
I wonder if she even has a clue of how cute she is? Nicole pondered. While taking in her friend's sleeping form, Nicole tried to find some evidence of her being a drug addict. She recalled how thin Dane was when she first arrived, but now Dane was putting on weight, which wasn't a trait associated with drug use. She didn't have strange eating habits, except for the fact that she enjoyed those high sodium instant noodles, but she didn't eat to excess. There were no track marks on her arms or legs, which Dane was always showing because she never wore shirts with long sleeves or pants with long legs. She didn't seem to have paranoia nor did she stay up for days at a time; sometimes, it was hard getting her to stay up for hours at a time. She rarely seemed fidgety except for her sudden urges to "do something." She didn't experience any severe mood swings, only seeming detached or withdrawn a few times in her stay.
Nicole dismissed the whole notion. Tyler was probably being the jerk that she knew him to be. After all, he had quickly and callously outed Dane and then jumped to the conclusion that her sexuality would be a problem. Then there was his sharp, curt usage of the word "dyke" when describing his own cousin. What an ass!
"I'm sorry for even listening to that bastard," Nicole stated, as if she were apologizing to Dane.
***
"Huh?" the former musician mumbled and turned her head to face Nicole. "Nick?" Slate eyes opened, quickly scanning the area.
"I'm right here, Danny," Nicole answered, resting her hand on Dane's thigh. Dane calmed down instantly. It was now an automatic reaction for her to calm down when Nicole touched her. A yawn follow
ed by stretching and joints popping filled the silence. "I was having this weird dream."
"What was it about?"
"Dunno. I don't really remember. I just know we were cats and we were sleeping on the couch." Dane looked around and chuckled. "Guess I got one part right."
Nicole laughed. "You're too weird sometimes, Danny…hey, what do you say we go out for an early dinner this fine Saturday night?"
"Early dinner?"
"Yeah. I thought it would be nice for us to get out for a little while. Plus, I think I owe you dinner after all of the days you've cooked. So, will you get ready already so we can go out?"
"Oh, I suppose you're ready, then. You'll be going out in your pajamas."
"Of course." Nicole couldn't help laughing. "Let’s meet back here in a half hour."
"I guess." Dane didn't need that much time to take a shower and get dressed. "You sure you don't want me to just cook? We could have that pasta I bought a couple of days ago."
"No, Danny, I want to take you out. You're always doing so much around the house. I want to have dinner outside of the house with you. Are you going to make me tickle you out of this place?"
Dane snorted. "I'm not very ticklish. I won't push you to such undignified actions, though. As long as you promise not to take me out to someplace fancy. I don't have the clothes for it."
"Don't worry. I won't take you anywhere where you'd have to wear an evening gown." Nicole giggled.
"You'd be the one in the gown if we ever went out," Dane commented with a smile.
"Is that an offer?"
"Don't tempt me. If I pay for an expensive meal, you'll be the one out of the evening gown sooner or later." A wolfish grin followed her statement. She wiggled her eyebrows to make sure it came across as the joke it was intended to be.
"I think I need to watch out for you, Miss Wolfe. It's good to know that you'd at least take me to dinner first, though."
Dane was about to say something else, but thought it might be dragging the banter too far. She was pleased that she could joke around with Nick and not frighten the woman or anything. It seemed that Nicole truly was comfortable with her being gay.
The pair parted ways to freshen up for their night out. Dane was ready first, mostly because she didn't believe in brushing her hair. She threw on her usual torn-up, jean shorts; a chain dangled from her pocket to her knee. Her shirt was a plain blue jersey and a white, short sleeve shirt underneath.
"Chem, you dressed yet?" Dane called upstairs.
"I'll be down in a second."
The ebony-haired woman nodded and found that Nicole wasn't kidding. Moments later, she emerged and headed down the stairs. Dane looked up and laughed.
"You never wear jeans, do you?" Nicole was dressed in grey pinstripe pants that hugged her hips and a white, V-neck t-shirt that did a little more than hug her torso. Her stylish black boots put her at almost the same height as Dane.
"Not often," Nicole admitted with a shy smile as Dane gave her the once over. Dane nodded in approval and she could've sworn that a blush stained those olive-toned cheeks.
"I'm not complaining," Dane remarked with a smile.
"You keep looking at me like that you'll be buying me dinner, cowboy," Nicole said, laughter dancing in her eyes.
"If I get a nightcap, I'll buy you whatever the hell you want," Dane riposted with another predatory grin.
Nicole smiled brightly. "Really? So, I hear Paris is nice."
Dane burst out laughing. "Shit, you're an expensive date. I think you better just treat me to dinner like the original plan was."
"I thought as much."
***
Nicole drove them into the city. There wasn't much traffic since it was early evening.
"I know a spot we could hit," Dane offered. She was trying to get out of going to an expensive restaurant, as she had a feeling her driver was going to try to take her to one.
"The food's decent?"
"I wouldn't take you some place where the food sucked."
"Hey, for all I know you could try it so I never volunteer to take you out again and you never have to leave the house except to shop once a week."
"Got me there." Dane paused to smile. "No, I know a spot with some good food."
"All right. Just tell me how to get there."
Dane gave directions and it only took a few minutes to get to the restaurant. There were plenty of parking spaces and there was no wait to be seated.
"Lots of people come here in between club hopping and after clubbing."
"So, how do you know about this place?" Nicole perused the menu.
"Heard about it in a past life," Dane remarked with a playful smirk.
Nicole chuckled and continued to scan the menu. "So, what do you recommend, O-reincarnated-one?"
"They make a hell of a grilled chicken breast and serve it with some smoking Cajun rice. If I were going to have something for my first time here, it'd be that."
Nicole nodded. "That it is, then." She placed the menu down.
The pair ordered and made small talk. By the time they had dessert, they had been in engaged in an unending conversation. The flowing discussion was interrupted by a surprise.
"Dane, I thought that was you," a young woman said as she stepped over to the table. She was of average height with pale skin and dressed all in black. She had a hoop earring through the corner of her bottom lip, a nose stud, and two eyebrow rings like Dane's. Her short, black hair was spiked and her jeans held a chain much like Dane's shorts did. Her face lit up when she laid eyes on Dane and she instantly became giddy.
"Crow, what're you doing around here?" Dane inquired as she turned to the newcomer.
"I was heading over to Brimstone when I was passing here and saw you in the window. My god, it feels like it's been forever." Crow leaned down and engulfed Dane in a hug that was barely returned. Crow didn't seem put off by that as she pulled away from Dane. Her excitement and happiness was almost tangible and it managed to put a ghost of a smile on Dane's face.
"It's been a little while. Let me introduce you to my friend, Nick Cardell. Nick, this is a very old friend of mine, Crow," Dane introduced the pair, motioning between them with one hand.
"Nice to meet you," Nicole said politely. She offered a hand that Crow hardly shook, touching Nicole out of courtesy.
Crow kept her attention on Dane, not even looking at the redhead. Nicole wasn't offended by the slight. She thought that the rude behavior might have been because Crow was just so obviously overjoyed to see Dane.
"It's so good to see you, Dane. There were rumors going around that you died. They said you owed the mob money and shit like that and you were at the bottom of a fucking lake or something. I can't wait to tell everyone they can go to Hell. I know nobody can fucking kill Dane." Crow grinned all the way through her words and bounced like she was ready to explode.
"I just dropped off for a bit. Nothing serious," Dane replied offhandedly in a low tone that seemed to go right by Crow.
Nicole sensed something was amiss, but she couldn't discern what was wrong. Dane seemed discomfited by Crow's presence if her rigid posture meant anything, but the small smile on her face made it seem like she liked Crow. Plus, she introduced Crow as her friend, so the pale woman can't be totally insufferable, Nicole thought.
"Well, you need to drop back in. We miss you, especially Bryan. He was so hurt when you disappeared and you didn't even bother to tell him. God, he's your best friend. We couldn't cheer him up for weeks. He's playing down at Silversmith's a lot now. Actually, he plays there almost every Saturday. You should come see him, let him know you're not dead or something. You can bring Princess," Crow remarked with a rather naughty smile. She nodded toward Nicole, showing that she had noticed the attorney.
"Nah, she wouldn't be into it." Dane waved off the suggestion.
Crow scowled. "You haven't even asked her. Look, we never see you anymore. It's seriously been forever and, dammit, we miss you. Some people seriously thought
you were dead. The least you can do is come watch your best friend play and tell him you're fine," she argued heatedly. Her eyebrows were drawn in, creasing her forehead, and her eyes shimmered, suggesting tears might soon fall.
"He's not my best friend anymore," Dane practically growled. Her frown would've sent most people running, but not Crow.
Crow frowned right back and finally really looked at Nicole. "Oh, so, you move up to some elegant ass and now you're too good for us?" she demanded, her eyes washed with sorrow. Nicole was about to jump in, but Dane saved her the trouble.
"Nick and I aren't even like that. And you don't fucking know her to be talking about her like that. Why don't you just move your ass along and come back when you got some fucking manners."
Crow reeled back and a wounded look conquered her whole face. Nicole instantly felt sorry for the pale woman. She got the feeling that Crow was just upset that Dane wouldn't hang out with her, not that she was really rude. She noticed how Crow kept saying that Dane was missed, so it was obvious to her that Crow desired to spend some time—any time—with Dane. Crow's eyes implored Dane to acknowledge her feelings, her misery, her happiness, anything.
Dane looked utterly uninterested. Crow's lip quivered momentarily, like she was about to cry. She managed to pull herself together and took a deep breath.
"So, it's like that?" Crow asked in a quiet tone, body trembling.
"It's like that for right now."
Crow sucked her teeth. "You drop us, your real friends, for her? Sellout," she huffed and marched off.
Nicole watched Crow leave and also watched Danny as Crow left. There was a hint of sorrow in those grey eyes; Nicole suspected that Danny didn't mean to treat Crow so harshly. Nicole wasn't sure what to make of the exchange. On a small level, she enjoyed having Danny all to herself, but she felt like Danny needed more. Her companion's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"She's not usually like that. She's just pissed because it has been forever since I've seen her."
"How long is forever?" Nicole hoped Danny really hadn't been blowing her friends off to hang around her house. It wasn’t healthy behavior.
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