The song on the stereo changed then, and Devin noticed immediately that Skyler’s mood did as well, it was like she went into a trance, even as she reached over to turn the song up. Devin glanced at the display and noticed the song was called “Angels Fall”, she immediately recalled the odd toast that Skyler and Jams had done at the party, she wondered what the song had to do with that toast. Minutes later she was sure she knew.
Glancing at Skyler, Devin could see the faraway and devastated look on her face, even if her eyes were hidden by sunglasses. Devin listened to the words of the song looking for a clue as to what was causing the change in mood. The first lines of the song were grave, “I tried to face the fight within, but it’s over. I’m ready for the riot to begin, and surrender. I walked the path that led me to the end, remember. I’m caught beneath there’s nothing left to give, forever.” But the words to the chorus of the song that Skyler sang with feeling were crushing.
“When angels fall with broken wings, I can’t give up, I can’t give in. When all is lost and day light ends, I’ll carry you and we will live forever, forever.”
Devin glanced at Skyler’s hand on the stick shift, noticing that Skyler’s thumb was rubbing at the underside of the Army ring she wore in what looked like agitation. Devin knew this was somehow very important and it was taking everything she had not to ask anything the moment she could. When the song ended Skyler reached over and turned the radio back down as another song began. She glanced out the driver’s window, reaching up quickly to brush at the corner of her eyes, which Devin suspected was a tear. When Skyler placed her hand back on the stick shift, as they drew up to a red light Devin reached out taking Skyler’s hand in hers, her finger touching the ring. Taking the moment to look at the ring more closely she read the words on either side of the ring.
“Fifty-ninth Angels?” she asked softly, glancing over at Skyler, whose face could have been carved out of stone at that moment. Skyler’s hand closed in an instant reaction to the words Devin had just spoken.
Pulling her hand away, Skyler rubbed the bridge of her nose with her index finger, “It’s a unit thing,” she said simply.
Devin looked back at her for a long time, hoping she’d explain. She didn’t. Devin was sure she’d just seen the tip of the iceberg and it made her ache for this woman. She wasn’t sure if she was right about what she was guessing, but if she was right, Skyler had at the very least, lost someone in the war, and it looked like it might have been two members of her own crew. The idea was so sad to Devin that she had to force back the desire to cry.
Skyler could detect Devin’s empathy and she steeled herself against it, snapping her mind shut on the ache that went all the way through every fiber of her being. Not now! She told herself firmly. She’d been surprised to hear the song, it had been awhile, and she hadn’t had the heart to turn it off, she never could. She let the pain rip through her every time she heard the song, it was like a penance to her. However, she’d never meant to let Devin or anyone see that part of her self-punishment, she rarely even let Jams see it and he’d been there. Not now, not now, she chanted in her head, willing away the desire to scream and just veer into oncoming traffic to finally end the torture.
When they got to the restaurant, Skyler asked her to go get a table, and said she’d meet her inside. Devin nodded, knowing this wasn’t the time to push and went inside. Outside Skyler paced agitatedly, chain smoking three cigarettes before she could calm herself again. Somewhere in a smaller corner of her mind, she knew that things were getting worse, but it wasn’t a corner she was willing to look into at that moment.
When she finally joined Devin in the restaurant she was calm again.
“Sorry,” she apologized as she sat down, her eyes reflecting her apology.
“It’s okay,” Devin said, smiling, “Are you okay?” she asked gently.
Skyler took a deep breath and expelled it, nodding, “Yeah.”
Devin wasn’t convinced of that, but she’d already decided she needed to leave things alone for the moment. They weren’t even close to being on familiar enough footing for her to question Skyler about something she was sure was major. Devin knew that somehow what she’d just witnessed in the car had been part of what Jams had tried to warn her about. It also had something to do with the pictures on the mantle of their apartment. The part of her that loved to solve mysteries and fix things whenever she could was itching to know, to ask everything she could, but these were feelings, not machines and she knew she needed to take it slow.
A little while later, after they’d ordered, Skyler sat back in her chair looking over at her.
“So,” she said, her tone casual, “you know what I do for a living, but I don’t know what you do there at LAPD so.”
“Oh, I don’t work for LAPD,” Devin said, shaking her head, “I’m a consultant.”
Skyler looked back at her, grinning slightly, with a look in her eyes that Devin didn’t understand, “So what do you consult on?”
Devin hesitated, trying to figure out the look of amusement in those light blue green eyes, “I basically work with computers,” she said.
“What do you do with computers?” Skyler asked.
Devin narrowed her eyes, half grinning now, “I guess you could say I fix them.”
Skyler nodded, her look pinning her, “You fix them, is that the story you want to stick with?”
Devin knew she was walking into a trap here, but she nodded.
“So, do you use that PhD you have from MIT to do that?” Skyler asked then, widening her eyes like she was saying, ‘caught ya.’
Devin’s mouth dropped open in surprise, “How do you know that?” she asked, her tone reflecting the shock on her face.
“How did you know where I live?” Skyler shot back.
Devin pulled herself up short, her chin coming up slightly at being challenged, but then she started to grin as she inclined her head. “You got me there.”
Skyler chuckled, looking pleased with herself.
“So I have a degree, big deal,” Devin said shrugging, “I’d bet my life you have one too,” she said, her tone saying ‘so there’.
Skyler sat back, grinning indulgently, “What makes you think that?”
Devin gave her a sour look, even as her eyes danced with humor; she was thoroughly enjoying this banter, and was thrilled that Skyler was finally talking to her openly.
“Well, I know that to be a pilot in the military you have to be an officer, and officers have to have a degree.” She said her look triumphant.
Skyler looked back at her, the grin not leaving her lips, which told Devin she’d made a mistake somewhere in that statement.
“Except for the Army,” Skyler said then, “they don’t require helicopter pilots to be either officers or have a degree.”
“Seriously?” Devin asked, not sure if Skyler was just messing with her.
Skyler smiled now, nodding, “Yeah, it’s called high school to flight school.”
“Son of a…” Devin said, letting her voice trail off comically.
“I do, however have a degree,” Skyler said, chuckling now.
“You brat!” Devin exclaimed, tossing her napkin at Skyler.
Skyler laughed ducking the napkin, “I never said I didn’t, I just wanted to know what made you so sure I had one.”
Devin shook her head, holding up her hand in the classic “talk to the hand” gesture. Skyler laughed, enjoying their conversation and feeling more relaxed than she had in a long time.
“So what’s your degree in?” Devin asked.
“Aeronautics,” Skyler said.
“Wow,” Devin said, impressed, “What level?”
Skyler looked back at her, grinning again, “Well, it’s not a PhD.”
Devin narrowed her eyes, “Then what is it,” she said emphasizing each word slowly.
Skyler laughed, holding up her hands to ward off the threat she was seeing in the other woman’s eyes, “It’s a masters,” she said, “
but not from somewhere like MIT.”
“Oh, whatever!” Devin said, making a face, and shaking her head. “So what made you want to be a pilot?”
“I actually originally didn’t,” Skyler said, smiling at the waitress as she brought their food.
Devin thanked the waitress as she left, looking over at Skyler as she picked up her fork, “So what made you decide?”
“Well, both Jams and I scored high on our ASVABs,” Skyler said.
“What’s an ASVAB?” Devin asked.
“It’s the test they give you when you go into the military, it tells the military where your strengths lie. Basically if you want to be a pilot, you have to do well on the Flight Aptitude part of the tests. Jams and I both did, and when they told us we didn’t have to be officers, Jams told me we needed to do it. I just went along with it because of him.”
“Really?” Devin asked, surprised, “But you’re his boss, aren’t you?”
Skyler grinned, shrugging, “Yeah, I guess I’m just better at it than him.”
“Uh-huh,” Devin said, grinning and suspecting that Skyler was downplaying her skills. “You sure aren’t the cocky pilot type, are you?”
“Nah,” Skyler said, “I leave that to the guys.”
“You don’t use it to pick up women?” Devin asked.
“Did I use it to pick you up?” Skyler asked.
“You didn’t pick me up, I picked you up.” Devin countered.
Skyler laughed, nodding her head, “Yes you did,” she said, pinning her with a look, “I still haven’t figured out why.”
“Why I picked you up?” Devin asked surprised.
“Yeah, even when I did everything to keep you from doing just that,” Skyler said honestly.
“Why did you want to keep me from picking you up?” Devin asked, her tone casual, even as she hoped that Skyler would be honest.
Skyler looked back at her considering, “It’s easier not to get involved,” she answered.
“Why do you want easy?” Devin asked.
“Cause everything else is hard right now,” Skyler replied, her tone was even, but Devin saw a look in her eyes that told her that Skyler was testing her.
Devin wondered at that and she wasn’t sure, but she got the feeling that if she dove into asking questions about that statement at that point, Skyler would back up. Maybe that’s what she wanted at this point.
Little did Devin know how right she was at that moment. The direction of the conversation had strayed into dangerous territory and Skyler was hoping to have a reason to back up again. If Devin pushed, there would be push back.
Devin nodded, not asking any questions about the statement. Their dinner continued and they discussed other things, not going back to the topic of their first meeting.
Later on the way back to Skyler’s apartment they discussed how they would arrange the trip over to Devin’s house.
“I’ll just grab some stuff and head over,” Skyler said amiably.
Devin gave her a measuring look, “And you’ll come over tonight?”
Skyler looked over at her, recognizing the hesitation in Devin’s voice, “Do you want me to come over tonight?”
“Yes,” Devin answered immediately.
Skyler smiled, the girl didn’t seem to have much guile about her, “Then I’ll come over tonight,” Skyler said.
“Okay,” Devin said, nodding in satisfaction, “Then you can just drop me off at my car.”
They’d just pulled into the lot at the apartments, “Okay, which one is it?”
“That one there,” Devin said pointing, “the Hummer.”
Skyler burst out laughing, “Seriously?” she asked.
Devin smiled, recognizing the irony of someone of her small stature, only five foot, four inches, driving such a big vehicle, she’d heard it enough from others.
“Don’t start with me,” Devin said, her tone amused, “I didn’t give you a hard time about your own personal jet here,” she said gesturing to the interior of the car they sat in.
“True,” Skyler said, nodding, “You win this round.”
“Yay me,” Devin replied, grinning.
Skyler grinned too, then leaned over kissing her lips, “I’ll be there in a hour or so, okay?”
“You remember where it is?” Devin asked.
“Huge house in Malibu, the house that MIT built,” Skyler said, nodding.
“Stop it,” Devin said, detecting the teasing in Skyler’s tone.
Skyler laughed as Devin got out of the car.
True to her word, an hour later, Skyler rang the bell at Devin’s house.
CHAPTER 2
Devin and Skyler spent the next three days together at Devin’s house. They spent a lot of that time in bed together. In between times, Skyler spent time out in Devin’s backyard. On the third morning, Devin found her out in the backyard first thing in the morning. Skyler was smoking and had a cup of coffee next to her on the table. She was sitting with her legs extended in front of her, her bare feet on the chair across from her.
“Am I always going to find you out here?” she asked as she walked out the door.
Skyler glanced at her over her shoulder, grinning, “You ever going to allow me to smoke in your house?”
“Nope,” Devin said.
“Then you’re always going to find me out here.” Skyler replied with a nod, even as she moved her feet to let Devin sit down.
Devin sat in the chair, and took Skyler’s feet and pulled them back onto her lap, her hands caressing them. Skyler watched the action, her look soft. Devin had found that she really liked Skyler’s personality. She was sometimes very quiet and contemplative, and then other times she could be outgoing, funny and smart with a quick wit.
They sat in silence for a bit, enjoying the sound of the ocean far below, and the sounds of birds calling to each other. It was a nice morning with the slightest chill to it. Skyler liked that Devin was willing to just sit quietly at times. Too often, women felt like they needed to fill silence with something so they chattered, sometimes incessantly. It drove Skyler crazy. Devin was definitely high energy, but it was a relief to find that she could also contain that energy when the need arose.
After a while, Skyler leaned her head back on the chair she sat in, drawing in a deep breath, then looking over at Devin, “Have I mentioned how much I like your backyard?”
Devin smiled, “You did tell me that the first night we met,” she said smiling.
“Well, I’m telling you again, this backyard is awesome.”
“Well, it’s nothing like what I grew up with,” Devin said, “when I could afford it, I wanted something like this.”
Skyler nodded, “So where did you grow up?”
“Here in LA,” Devin replied, “definitely not in Malibu, though.”
“So where?”
“In Compton,” Devin said.
“Holy shit,” Skyler replied, looking shocked, “tough neighborhood.”
“You said it,” Devin said, “I was one of the few white girls in the apartments we lived in.”
“That was rough, I’m sure,” Skyler said, already reevaluating this woman.
Devin shrugged, “I’m nothing if not adaptable.”
“That’s pretty adaptable,” Skyler said, shaking her head.
“What about you?” Devin asked, “What was it like growing up in Baton Rouge?”
“It wasn’t LA that’s for sure,” Skyler said.
“What did your parents do?” Devin asked, leaned back, getting comfortable.
“Blue collar, both of them,” Skyler said, her tone matter of fact, “Dad worked at the chemical company, mom cleaned houses south of Florida Boulevard.”
“What does that mean?” Devin asked, “South of Florida Boulevard?”
Taking a long drag off her cigarette, Skyler grinned, “That’s where the rich people live in Baton Rouge.”
“Oh,” Devin said, nodding.
“So you left there when you were how old?”
“The minute I turned 18 and could join the Army,” Skyler said.
“Wow, really?”
“Hell yeah, I hated Baton Rouge, and it wasn’t fond of me either.”
“Why did you hate it?” Devin asked, curious.
“Well, they don’t cotton to gay people, real well there.” Skyler said sourly.
“You knew were gay then?” Devin asked, surprised.
“I pretty much always knew I was gay,” Skyler said, “I hung out with boys, I wasn’t interested in any of them. The girls that came around though…” she said, letting her voice trail off as she grinned.
“Oh, ho…” Devin laughed, “I see. I didn’t figure it out until I was college.”
“Late bloomer,” Skyler said, grinning.
“Wasn’t that hard for you, though? Being gay in the Army? That was during Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, wasn’t it?”
Skyler coughed, “Uh, before it, actually.”
“Oh, wow,” Devin said, shaking her head, “I’ve never understood that whole thing, it was just stupid and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell just made it worse.”
Skyler looked back at her for a long moment, “Dated a few military women, have we?”
“A couple,” Devin said, grinning slyly.
“Uh-huh,” Skyler said, giving her a mockingly suspicious look.
“I was usually safer for a lot of them, since I had a place far from the city, and I was a civilian and all.”
“Right,” Skyler said, nodding with a sarcastic roll of her eyes, “had nothing to do with you being hot and all.”
“You think I’m hot?” Devin said, smiling widely.
Skyler stared at her in disbelief, “You can’t tell that I think you’re hot?”
Devin gave her a sidelong look, “You’re not exactly an open book, Sky.”
Skyler wondered why the shortened version of her name sounded so good coming out of Devin’s mouth. Crushing out her cigarette, she moved to stand, reaching out and taking Devin’s hand pulling her up to her. Staring down into Devin’s emerald green eyes, she leaned down and kissed her deeply on the lips, pulling her closer.
When Angels Fall Page 3