Scarred for Life

  Dane shrugged. "I'm out for the night."

  "Great. I know so many different places that you'd just love. The music just invades you. Some of the guitarists will just make you cry. Of course, they don't have shit on you. God, people aren't gonna believe you're with me. I can hardly believe you're here with me."

  Crow interlocked their arms and pulled Dane out of the club. Dane struggled to keep up with her overexcited friend, who obviously didn't notice Dane's limp. Dane noted the direction they were headed and knew where they were going after a couple of minutes. They turned onto another crowded street and disappeared down a hidden flight of stairs. They pushed past a line in a long, dark corridor and Crow's smile grew wider with every step they took. By the time they got to the door, she was grinning to the point where it looked like she might split her pale face open.

  "Ares, look who I have," Crow proclaimed, throwing her arms around Dane. Dane offered a half smile that bordered on shy as the mountain of a bouncer turned to them.

  "Dane," the bouncer declared with a scream that was so effeminate Crow and Dane felt shame for him, as always. How he got the name Ares they could only guess was due to his size. Going against his voice and manners but supporting his name was his outfit. He was dressed in pressed black slacks with a black and silver football jersey and cool sunglasses and appeared menacing.

  "Same ol' Ares." Dane groaned as she was engulfed in a hug that she was almost certain was meant to crush her ribs and deform her spine. He was so affectionate that she was almost ready to concede it was genuine because he always seemed happy to see her.

  "I was so sure you died. I mean, you don't come around for so long, what was I supposed to think? How could you just let me think you died." The bouncer sounded like he was on the verge of tears, and knowing him like she did, Dane thought he might cry.

  "Uh…Sorry…?" Dane offered. She was willing to say just about anything to keep Ares from snapping her in half.

  "It's okay. You're here now. Oh, god, you better not leave without saying bye to me." Ares ordered, his pearl white teeth showing with his bright smile.

  "I promise I won't," Dane vowed. She breathed a low sigh of relief when she was safely on the ground.

  Crow tugged her friend into the club, which was full. The scene was dark and smoky. Dane clicked onto autopilot, moving toward the stage where she knew there would be a live band. As she strolled off, she briefly noticed a pleased smile on Crow's face.

  In the past, Dane would've ignored everything around her as she listened to the music. But, after life on the streets she was now programmed to be aware of her surroundings and what was happening around her at all times. So, even as she pulled away from Crow, she was still aware of her.

  "Now, that's the Great Dane I know," Crow commented. Before she could catch up with her friend, she was yanked aside by someone.

  "Was that the Dane that just walked in?" a woman inquired in an eager tone. She bounced around like she was going to explode waiting for an answer. Her excitement got Crow started, who begin bouncing, too. Dane considered running because of their behavior, but the music beckoned her to stay.

  "That was Dane," Crow affirmed with a smile and a nod.

  The woman was off to spread the word. Dane barely observed the movement around her as she watched the band and nodded hard to the heavy metal. Suddenly, people were on her back, swarming her like busy bees, asking where she had been, wanting to know how she was doing, and demanding that she play a set.

  "You should play for us, Dane," a woman cooed, caressing Dane's shoulder and audaciously pressing herself into Dane's back.

  "Don't have a guitar," Dane answered while stepping out of the woman's grasp. She suppressed a shudder, making sure to stay out of range of the other women. Once upon a time, she relished this attention, but now it agitated her. It also reminded her that females were fickle. Well most females were, but she had been blessed enough to encounter some intelligent and deep women. Unfortunately, she had used and discarded them like she did everyone else, thinking they used her like everyone else.

  "We can get one for you." another woman volunteered with an eager grin.

  "Dane's not here for all of that. She's easing back into the scene, you scavengers." Crow came between Dane and the circling females. She made sure that Dane went untouched, but Dane didn't acknowledge the effort.

  The former musician didn't bother to correct her friend by saying that she wasn't coming back into any scene. She just wanted to enjoy the music and she was willing to put up quite a bit for that, including a plethora of questions and dozens of women. She didn't respond too much to them and Crow kept the more insistent women at bay.

  Crow chuckled as she watched Dane focus on the band. It was always the music first. She treated women like they didn't exist, which only seemed to attract more women. Crow once said Dane acted aloof on purpose just to get the attention of women. And if that were the case, it was a damn good plan because it worked everywhere they went all of the time.

  ***

  "Did you have a good night out?" Nicole asked as she walked into the kitchen the following morning.

  Grey eyes blinked hard in surprise. "You knew I went out?"

  "Of course. I heard you come in. You cursed out the den doorway when you stubbed your toe," Nicole said with a teasing smile as she went about setting the table since Dane was busy making breakfast.

  "Well, all the lights were out and I didn't want to wake you up. Guess I wrecked that." Dane sheepishly scratched the end of her nose before her fingers went through her hair.

  "It's fine. I'm glad you went out. I thought you would wait up for me or something crazy like that."

  "I thought about it for a long time." Part of her regretted that she didn't wait up for Nicole, but another part of her was pleased that she went out and experienced some music.

  "Well, I'm glad you went out. It's good for you to interact with the rest of us mortals every now and then," Nicole teased and bumped Dane with her hip.

  Dane snickered and a smile settled onto her face. "I guess. How was your night?"

  "It was pretty much what you would expect. We had the meeting, a long, dull meeting. I dined with some coworkers. It was pretty much a bunch of lady lawyers getting drunk and eating dinner. No Tyler."

  "I recall you saying as much before," Dane remarked flippantly.

  A rust-colored eyebrow arched. "Are you okay, Danny?" She reached out and rested her hand on Dane's bare arm.

  "Yeah, I'm fine. Maybe just a little tired. Got in pretty late." She wasn't sure what came over her, so maybe she was just tired. Briefly, she considered she was upset and jealous because she didn't get to have dinner with Nicole, but that seemed asinine, so she dismissed it.

  Nicole chuckled. "And didn't get your necessary twelve hours?"

  "Is that all I get? I thought it was more like fifteen," Dane countered with an amused smile.

  ***

  "Nicole, what's this shit Tyler's talking about you being a lesbian? What the hell gave him that idea?" Mina inquired, leaning forward on their table to make sure she didn't miss the answer. Her full lips were scrunched up to the right side of her face.

  "It's Tyler talking shit, that's what, Mina," Nicole answered, waving it off. She shared very little of her past, even with romantic partners, but she told Mina.

  She and her two good friends were dressed in business suits, but they had discarded the jackets as soon as the business day concluded. They were sitting at a table in a restaurant with drinks in front of them and relaxing as best they could after such a long meeting. They were waiting for food to arrive, but they were working on their second drinks of the night.

  "That's all Tyler does," Clara commented.

  "He's going around telling anybody that'll listen that you're being pimped by some rough-neck, butch dyke or something," Mina scoffed. "He's gotten really comfortable talking about you around the firm. Something about how he was the best thing to ever happen to you, but you weren'
t ready for his level of commitment and now you're a lesbian."

  Nicole threw her head back and laughed. It was a hearty, long laugh that her friends joined. "Why are you even entertaining Tyler by listening to the things coming out of his mouth? The sorry bastard is still upset that I broke up with him."

  "We figured that out when he started hitting on anything with tits. I can tell you that Howard down in family law was not amused when Tyler offered to buy him coffee," Clara remarked, earning more laughs from her comrades.

  "He's getting horrible. He doesn't know what he wants, either. He's hitting on girls one minute and then asking about you in the next breath. It's like he wants to hurt you, but he wants you back and wants to find out about you to do that," Mina informed Nicole. The redhead knew Mina made it a point not to tell him anything. Mina liked stringing him along and watching him squirm right before she dismissed him without giving him anything that he wanted.

  "Well, he needs to stop worrying about me. He showed up at my house a couple of weeks ago and tried to force his way in." Nicole shook her head before downing the rest of her drink. She wondered what Tyler was saying about her and Danny behind their backs.

  "He's such an ass. He's got all the clerks and shit fawning over him," Clara said, shaking her head in disgust.

  "He's been using that charm that he has. I have to say after watching him in action I can see how people would fall for him if they didn't know him. He's damn near suave when he wants to be, but I've seen him pull the same move with too many women around the office alone to understand how they keep falling for him. I can't quite comprehend how he can pick up a woman that actually knows him," Mina commented.

  "Can we change the subject? I get enough of that ass at work," Nicole stated. She avoided Tyler in the office, but she heard about him more than she liked.

  "So, are you getting pimped out by a drug dealing, drug-using bull dyke?" Mina asked with a laugh before sipping of her drink.

  Green eyes rolled. "Please, hardly anything that exciting. I have a roommate now."

  "Aw, that's the girl that calls you to make sure you eat lunch," Clara cooed and focused on Mina. "She calls her Nick. It's too cute."

  Nicole rolled her eyes again, even though she suppressed a blush. Danny called her almost daily to check that she had lunch. She didn't have the heart to tell Danny that she shouldn't be on personal calls at work, especially since she enjoyed hearing from her. Danny's voice helped keep away stress.

  "Yeah, that's her. She's a sweet girl. I thought she was a runaway at first, but all of her IDs match up," Nicole explained with a small, amused smile.

  Her coworkers laughed at that because they didn't know if she was joking or not. "Sounds interesting, especially if you take personal calls from her," Mina said. Her eyes shone as if she sensed intrigue with Nicole and Danny. Nicole knew it was because this was Mina's first time hearing about Danny.

  "It's rather nice. I enjoy living with her more than any other person I can think of. Maybe it's because we're just roommates and I don't feel any expectations from her. We take care of each other. She calls and makes sure I eat lunch and I nag her to make sure she goes outside," Nicole remarked, still smiling. Her face brightened, thinking about how she and Danny interacted. Her friends couldn't help smiling right along with her.

  "This is sad. It sounds like the most rewarding relationship you've had in the ten years I've known you comes from the one with your roommate." Mina shook her head.

  Nicole only tilted her head and absorbed the words, but she didn't reply. Their food arrived and as they turned their attention to their meals, they started discussing casework.

  "Nicole, don't you have to go out of state in a couple of weeks?" Clara asked.

  "Shit, I meant to check on that. That trip just keeps getting rescheduled. In a moment, I'm just going to quit the case. They're screwing around with me over the phone, through fax, in emails, and now this crap about going out to do it in person, but they keep changing the day." The only reason she was even on the case now was because her father decreed that she had it. Considering that, she wondered if it were even possible for her to quit.

  "I think that's why you got the case. Dwight was working it before and they were jerking him around with all of that crap, too. He couldn't take it. I think he ran out of a conference call screaming," Mina recalled with a light chuckle.

  "I remember that day. He just got in his car and said he was going to keep driving until he ran out of gas to get away from those people," Clara added in.

  Nicole groaned and her eyes sank to the table. "Damn it."

  "Yeah, that's the problem with being so good at what you do and having people in charge know you've never fucked up anything in your life," Mina teased, reaching over and grabbing Nicole around the shoulders. The gesture was meant to comfort, but a pout conquered Nicole's face.

  "Cheer up, Nick." Clara playfully smiled.

  "This trip will be worse than being stuck working with my mother." Nicole groaned again and slumped in her chair. She was the last stop on "the worst case ever" as it was known in the firm, and she couldn't do anything about it except work on it. She just hoped that when she finally went out there to settle everything in person that would be the end of it, because she couldn't take it anymore.

  "Look at it this way, at least you get a free trip…that you have to drive…only to meet with people we know are assholes…I will stop helping now," Mina decided.

  "Good plan," Nicole and Clara concurred.

  ***

  Dane stumbled into the house, making sure not to bang into anything to avoid waking up Nicole. A light coming from the living room made her guess that waking Nicole wouldn't be an issue. She strolled over to the light as if it were a beacon and saw the lawyer curled into a ball on the couch with a forgotten book in her hand. A soft smile worked its way onto Dane's face.

  "Who's waiting up for who now?" Dane snickered as she made her way over to Nicole.

  The former rocker gathered Nicole in her arms. She lifted Nicole with some difficulty; her knee screamed the whole time. She ignored her knee and leg, shifting Nicole in her arms. The sudden movement and shaky foundation caused Nicole to stir from her sleep.

  Nicole groaned and her face twisted as if she smelled something awful. Dane assumed it was because of the scent of sweat, smoke, alcohol, and an abundance of other odors that covered her. It wasn't the best wake up call, but for some reason a small smile was on Nicole's face when they locked eyes.

  "Danny?" Nicole yawned. "Did you just get in?"

  "Yup," Dane admitted.

  "Have you been smoking?"

  "No, around people that smoke."

  "What time is it?" Nicole blinked a few times, trying to wake up completely.

  "About five in the morning."

  "Wow, Danny, you are a party animal," Nicole teased, a drowsy smile tugged at her lips.

  A smooth, mellow chuckle floated through the room. "I am the Great Dane Wolfe. You definitely don't want me guarding the hen house."

  "I hope you had a good time."

  Dane rocked her head side to side and looked downward. It was so-so, but she could tell Nicole wasn't sure what to make of that response. It was the moment of silence between them that allowed Nicole to see that Danny was cradling her.

  "All right, superwoman, you can put me down now before you blow out your knee cap," Nicole quipped, but she was clearly serious. The command stemmed from Nicole watching her struggle with her limp and knowing Dane wasn't up to bearing the cargo in her arms.

  "I'm fine," Dane lied. I want so badly to be fine. She wished she could carry Nicole upstairs and place her in her bed as she planned on doing. Alas, that was just a fantasy.

  "Bullshit. Put me down, kid," Nicole commanded.

  Dane didn't put up an argument and her entire leg sighed in relief when Nicole was placed back on the sofa. Dane flopped down next to Nicole. They leaned back and stared off into the front of the room. Dane thought the silence was
golden.

  "I'm glad you're getting comfortable with going out more. If you want, I'll even lend you the keys to the car sometime."

  "That's not necessary. They're not that important," Dane replied in a dull tone. She'd go out when she couldn't be with Nick.

  "They're your friends."

  "You're my friend. They're not the same and they're not that important. I can take or leave them alone. Don't worry about it. How was your night?"

  Nicole chuckled. "Tyler's been talking about us at work, so my friends thought you were a drug dealing, pimp lesbian. I told them that we're just roommates. My friend Clara, you've spoken to her a couple of times when you called up there and she's answered my phone for me, said it was cute that you call me Nick. After that, they reminded me that I have this stupid business trip in a couple of weeks. I need to negotiate some hard terms into a contract and this meeting is the very last possible time to do it. You'll end up having the house to yourself for a couple of days."

  "Oh, maybe I'll make it through one of your gripping chemistry books, Chem," Dane joked.

  "Good luck with that, even though I bet you won't do it."

  "That's a bet you'll win. You'll call me while you're gone, right?" Dane asked. Where the hell did that question come from?

  "You can call me. My cell's always on. That way you can check on me and see if I'm eating right and going to bed on time. I'll call just to make sure you don't sleep the whole time away," Nicole remarked with a smile.

  Dane smiled and nodded, too. "Sounds like a good idea."

  CHAPTER 9

  Two weeks went by faster than expected. Dane watched Nicole drive off after they had dinner Wednesday night. Their demeanors were noticeably subdued, but neither of them mentioned it. Nicole dragged her feet to the car, but she eventually pulled out of the driveway. Dane eyed the car as it disappeared into the setting sun and Nicole watched Dane standing in front of the house until she was out of sight.