"I do a lot of things." Dane mentally slapped herself. No flirting. A lot of bad things had happened to her the she couldn’t help, but it seemed that every time Nicole touched her a beautiful, warm feeling coursed through her. She loved the sensation, but it worried her, too. She wasn't sure what it was.
"Just a regular Renaissance woman." Nicole's eyes sparkled like the gems they were colored after.
A smile was the only answer that she received.
***
Dane rode to the park after teaching her lessons for the day. Her leg wasn't bothering her much and for some reason she felt a connection to the park. She had never been there, but there were parks in the city that she used to frequent when she wasn't sleeping her mornings and afternoons away. She was curious about the park around the area. It could end up being some place that she liked to go, maybe feed some ducks or something, and then she'd be able to get out more, which would please Nicole.
Rusty bike wheels groaned as the bicycle was pushed up a small hill and through a black iron gate to enter the grassy, vibrant park. The first thing that grey eyes took in was the playground area. It had swings, seesaws, slides, monkey bars, a jungle gym, a castle, and even a little maze. Young children were playing and their mothers, babysitters, and nannies were not too far off keeping a close eye on them.
Beyond the playground was a huge meadow area made for running around, playing with pets, and possibly flying kites since there were no trees there. A few dogs and their owners were currently using the space and Dane watched for a long moment before moving. A track, baseball diamonds, basketball courts, and tennis courts were just beyond that. And no park was ever complete without a pond. It had to be the bluest and cleanest pond that Dane had ever seen. And, yes, there were ducks. No parks like this downtown.
The musician parked herself on an empty bench by the pond. The ducks weren't too far away and a little girl went to feed them. The child couldn't have been more than three or four and each time she got close enough to a duck to give the bird the bread in her hand, she ran away when the ducks started coming to her. Dane laughed, watching and silently rooted for the girl to eventually feed the ducks.
"Is that a guitar you have in that case?" The question was asked by a curious voice from Dane's left side. Her eyebrows raised slightly as she laid eyes on a rather attractive woman dressed in jogging gear of skimpy shorts and a tank top; both of which were dark blue. Creamy, well-toned limbs were on display as well as the tops of pert breasts that were glistening from the light sweat coating the jogger. Dane greedily drank in the sight, believing that it was never wrong to appreciate the beauty of a woman as long as she didn't touch the woman without permission.
"Yes, it's a guitar," Dane answered with a nonchalant look in her eyes and a half smile tugging at her lip.
The woman glanced around the musician curiously, trying not to be too obvious with her appraisal. She appeared to be searching for something. She seemed disappointed after a few seconds.
"What were you looking for?"
"Well, I figured that you'd have a hat or a heavier case if you're going to play the guitar for money."
A light chuckle escaped Dane's throat. "That wasn't the plan, but if you want to give me a dollar, I'll do a little dance for you."
"And let me guess, you'll want me to stick it in your waistband?" The woman smirked.
Dane's grin was definitely wolfish in nature as was the glint in her eyes. "Only if you want to."
The woman laughed heartily, throwing her head back and allowing her long blond hair to flow behind her like a golden waterfall. She righted herself after a couple of seconds and focused interested blue eyes on Dane, who remained as cool as ice.
"I don't think I've ever seen you around here before. Do you live in a house around here?"
"Not too far from here," Dane answered in a mellow tone. She knew the question was asked just to make sure she wasn't a bum or as homeless as she appeared to be thanks to her usual unkempt style. She doubted it helped her case that her shorts and t-shirt both had a hole in them.
"So, you'll be coming to the park more often?"
Dane nodded. "Probably. It's a nice place. I think next time I'll leave the guitar and just ride my bike around."
"But, if you leave your guitar, you won't get to play for me," the woman pouted.
"Then I guess I'm bringing my guitar, but it'd be nice to know a few things if I have to lug this thing around again."
"And what's that?"
"Well, for one, who I’ll be playing for exactly and when you'll be around here again. It'd be a little creepy to just come here everyday, sit in the park, and hope you show up. Someone'd call the cops on me."
"I'm Gloria and I jog here everyday at this same time."
"Well, Gloria, I'm Dane and maybe I'll see you around."
Gloria smiled. "I'd like that."
Dane gave the blond a small smile and Gloria resumed her run. Dane made it obvious that she was checking Gloria out as the leggy woman disappeared back onto the track. Dane wondered what just happened, even though she knew what just happened. It seemed strange, but she figured it'd keep her from lusting after Nicole if it went anywhere.
Dane turned her attention back to the little girl and the ducks. She smiled when the child finally worked up the courage to give the birds her bits of bread.
***
"So, how was your day?" Dane asked Nicole as they made themselves comfortable on the sofa.
Nicole gazed at Dane with tired eyes. Dane didn't say anything further and got up from the couch. Nicole remained silent and rubbed her face with her hands before throwing her head back on the couch. Closing her eyes, she tossed her arm over her eyes to block out any and all light. She tried to will away the headache that was pounding between her eyes. Between the painful throbbing, she wondered if Danny was just going to leave her alone for the night.
"Here, take this," Dane quietly ordered, placing a pill to Nicole's lips.
Nicole didn't even bother to open her eyes or move her arm. She took whatever Dane was offering. A cool glass of water followed and she drank without opening her eyes. Dane caressed Nicole's forehead briefly before Nicole heard the sound of retreating footsteps.
"Okay, so I made hot chocolate, got you some cookies, and we're going to watch a marathon of your favorite cheesy romance movies," Dane announced as she sat down on the couch and put a tray on the coffee table.
"Chocolate chip?" Nicole asked in a childlike tone, peeping out from underneath her arm.
"Yup. And since you can't eat or drink anything through your arm, put it down," Dane gently ordered, lowering the limb for Nicole.
Nicole didn't put up a struggle as Dane adjusted her to a comfortable position on the sofa. Dane put Nicole's legs up, resting them across her own thighs. She passed Nicole her cup of cocoa and put on the first movie of the night. By the end of it, Nicole's head was feeling much better.
"You know, Danny, I never asked how your day was," Nicole realized with shame coloring her bright green eyes.
"Cool. Taught a couple of lessons. Went to the park up the street, just wanting to check it out. Watched this kid feed some ducks. She was cute. I gotta feed the ducks when I go back. Met this jogger, Gloria," Dane recounted her day with a nonchalant shrug.
"Gloria?" Nicole echoed, brow wrinkling. Some unnamed emotions rushed through her momentarily. She thought about Mina's theory. It was just as she argued; they had a domestic relationship as roommates. Danny was free to meet women. Of course, Danny meeting women meant that one day she'd move on with her life and leave. That scenario didn't sit well with Nicole, so she tried to push it out of her mind.
"Yeah, she was jogging around the park. Stopped to talk to me for a couple of minutes. I think she thought I was a bum or something, dirtying up your nice, clean park," Dane remarked with a small smile.
"If you were dressed how you're usually dress, I would think you're a bum, too. Where'd you get this style from, anyway?" Nicole te
ased.
Dane shrugged. "I really don't know. I've been dressing like this for like ten years. I guess when you're a nutty teen you just do things to be different. Now, I just do it because I'm used to it and it's kinda like my look. So, what movie are we going to watch next?"
"You don't have to sit through a bunch of movies if you don't want to…"
Dane gave Nicole a light swat to her calf. "I do want to watch them. That's why I asked which one do you want to see next. So, come on."
A smile brightened Nicole's face as she chose another movie. They remained on the couch; Dane didn't even move to make dinner. They ordered a pizza and continued to watch movies until they fell asleep on the couch.
***
Around midnight, Dane woke up and stared at Nicole's sleeping face as it was illuminated by the flickering television. Nicole looked practically ethereal.
She's so beautiful…inside and out. Not for this world, not of this world…Dane thought as a smile graced her features.
Danny wasn't sure when she made the decision, but she stood up and gathered Nicole in her arms. She bit her lip as her leg screamed at her. Ignoring the nerve endings' protests, she slowly lifted Nicole off her couch. She cradled the Nicole in her arms and started for the stairs. Each step made a grimace tear through her face, but she was determined to make it upstairs.
Sweat gathered on her forehead as she exited the living room. She grew more determined when Nicole snuggled against her and she pressed onward. She made it up two steps before she winced. Halfway up, she fell against the wall and a cry escaped her. The noise disturbed Nicole and the redhead groaned and shifted. She leaned her head into Dane's chest and rubbed her cheek into the warm space.
"Danny?" Nicole muttered as her eyes flickered open.
"You can go back to sleep, Nick," Dane said through gritted teeth. She tried her best to disguise the fact that she was hurting, but her knee was fiercely throbbing. Luckily for her, Nicole wasn't awake enough to notice the strain in her voice.
"Where are we?" Nicole glanced around as best she could in the dark. Dane knew the exact moment the redhead realized what was happening. "Danny, your leg," she gasped. She was wide-awake now.
"It's fine,"
"I think not. Put me down this instant before you hurt yourself."
"But—"
"This instant."
Dane sighed and didn't argue. She quietly slid Nicole down to the next step, gently placing the redhead on her feet. Dane's leg cried out in relief and she slumped against the wall to take even more pressure off of her sore limb. She forced out a smile when she noticed Nicole was glaring at her.
"Didn't wanna wake you up…" Dane offered as an explanation, glancing away like an admonished child.
"So you hurt your leg? It's sweet that you wanted to carry me to bed, but I don't want you to hurt yourself, Danny," Nicole replied tenderly and put her hand to a soft cheek. Grey eyes locked with green ones.
"I know, but you looked so peaceful…"
"Thank you for the thought, though. Let's both go to bed."
Dane nodded. "I hope you have a better day tomorrow. Make sure you look through more of those applications, too."
They bid each other goodnight and went to their respective bedrooms, their hands glided apart as they parted ways. Dane thought a spark passed between them, but she dismissed it as her imagination.
The next day, Dane didn't have any lessons and stayed home. She spent the day doing chores and preparing dinner. She called Nicole around noon to find out how her day was going. Nicole sounded tense, frustrated, and exhausted. Dane wished she could do something for Nicole, but it seemed just having someone to listen to what she was going through helped enough.
***
It took a few days before Nicole's work life seemed to be returning to normal. Normal meant that she didn't have to worry about getting a new case every hour or a client harassing her every hour, but her coworkers often interrupted her for assistance.
"I'm home." Nicole called into the house as she stepped inside and placed her briefcase by the door. She went on her usual hunt for Dane.
"I'm in the kitchen."
Nicole almost fell over. She couldn't remember the last time Dane was awake when she got home. She marched to the kitchen and discovered Danny moving about the place like a woman on a mission.
"What're you doing?" Nicole asked in shock.
"I went shopping today and just bought a bunch of junk," Dane answered with a smile as she dipped into a bag to pull out some items.
"How'd you carry all of this on your bike?" Nicole scanned the floor, seeing almost a dozen bags littering the area.
"I didn't carry it on my bike. I met Gloria in the park and she said that she needed to do some shopping. Since I did, too, I tagged along. We had like a shopping date, I guess."
"Shopping date? So…Gloria is your girlfriend?"
Dane shrugged. "Haven't said so out loud or nothing like that. I've seen her a couple of times. We'll see how it works. Should work out better than my last girlfriend."
Nicole gave an absent nod and moved mechanically as she went to help Danny put things away. She wasn't sure why, but she wasn't as elated now as she would've been a little while ago if Dane came in with news of a girlfriend. I shouldn't get too attached to this domestic bliss. Surely, eventually Danny's going to find the perfect woman and move in with her. That perfect woman may or may not be Gloria, but she'll come along eventually. Yes, what we have is nice and there's nothing wrong with it, but it's not going to last forever and I'll end up dating another asshole.
"So, you like Gloria, huh?"
"I suppose. She's hot and a nice woman. She's really into athletics and sports. Might have to ask you for some baseball pointers because she really likes baseball and since you do, too, I figured you'd help me. She's a trainer at a gym or something. She talks a lot, so I sorta tune her out after a while." Dane admitted with a shrug.
Nicole blinked in shock. "You tune her out?" That didn't sound anything like her Danny. One of the great qualities about Danny was that she was such a great listener.
"Yeah, sometimes I tune people out. It's really easy when a person likes to hear themselves talk."
A wave of nervousness washed over Nicole. "Have you ever…tuned me out?"
Dane paused and stared at Nicole as if the shorter woman had lost her mind. "Seriously, Chem, you shouldn't ask such crazy questions. You know I never tune you out."
A flash of white teeth came with the smile that spread across Nicole's face. Relief flooded her eyes like an overflowing river. "Well, it's good that you're going out more. I hope you make some better friends."
"I doubt I could. After all, friends don't come much better than you."
Right, friends. Nicole moved to help Danny put the groceries away.
***
"Hey, did you know your assistant is gone again?" Clara asked as she poked her head into Nicole's office.
"Again? I guess that explains the silence out there. This early she's usually making personal calls." Nicole frowned.
"I think it's time to fire her."
"Agreed. The only thing is that I'd have to see her to fire her. At this rate, I'd have to call her cell phone or send her an email. She comes in late and leaves whenever the hell she pleases." She also continuously referred to Danny as "Dash" whenever she called…which hadn't been in the past few days. The lack of calls dampened Nicole's mood, but she refused to accept that as the reason for why she felt melancholic lately.
"Well, you need to get around to it. The fact that you have to do your job and her job is why you've been worn out lately. You look worn out, too. The mystical Danny not working her magic anymore?" Clara asked with a teasing smile, unknowingly striking a nerve.
Nicole glared at her friend in a manner that would have made ice melt. The stare wiped the smile off Clara's face and filled the large office with tension like a balloon with air. Clara closed the door behind her as she stepped deeper into the
room and watched Nicole go back to pouring over her latest case.
"Is everything all right with you and your roommate?" Nicole thought the question and Clara's tone was odd. She asked it like a person would ask if there were problems between lovers.
"Everything's fine. That's not really something to talk about here," Nicole replied quickly. She wished Clara would just leave so she could get back to work and forget about the fact that Danny didn't seem to be quite as interested in her life as she had been before she had a girlfriend.
"Then come out to lunch with me and Mina and talk about it there."
"There's nothing to talk about and I have lunch with me, like always." Although Danny had ceased calling to check on her, she continued to send Nicole off with lunch everyday. She wondered how much longer that would last. She feared the homemade lunches were on borrowed time, as was her life with Danny. It took an abundance of willpower to keep from frowning.
"Come on out to lunch, Nicole. Don't make me have to bring Mina in here to change your mind," Clara threatened.
Nicole sighed. "Fine, I'll go to lunch with you." It was either agree now or agree when Mina showed up.
On the way out, Nicole left her assistant a memo, politely informing the woman that she was out of a job. It made her feel moderately better, not as much as eating her "Danny-made" lunch would, but it was a start. She'd get to the lunch after she got her friends off her back.
"Before you two start…" Nicole began as they sat down in the restaurant.
"We know, you're only roommates with Danny," Mina sighed.
"I am."
"But, you have to admit that you rely a lot on her to keep you centered, which is completely fine. Right now, it looks like she's not doing that job anymore," Clara pointed out.
"Why do you say that?" Nicole asked with her face scrunched up as if she were offended.
"You've been looking pretty worn out, sweetie. Now, we know a couple of weeks ago you were having a tough time, but you said that Danny kept you straight. Right now, it looks like she’s just abandoned you," Mina answered.
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