"Good game," I said to Angelina as the people around us prepared for their exit.
"It was. Do you like sports or do you only like this sport because of this team?"
"I've always liked sports. Basketball and lacrosse interested me most, though," I said as Angelina gathered her purse. "Should we wait for her?"
"She said she'd see you after so yes." She chuckled at me, shaking her head. "Just as bad as Eve."
"I am not. Eve slept with everyone before she met Ciara."
"Because Ciara is her perfect match. In a relationship, Eve needs someone who is more directive and up front about things." She fished through her bag for her phone. "I boss Bentley around and he thrives on that. Different for everyone."
"Yeah. I guess it is."
"What type of relationships do you go for?"
"I'm not sure. Haven't been in a real relationship for years. I've dated on and off, but my focus was always split. It wasn't fair to them, and each ended differently." I propped my feet on the empty bench and rested my elbows on my knees.
"Well, your focus doesn't need to split now." Angelina looked up as Lewis headed our way. "At least make a new friend out of the deal."
"Yeah." I followed her gaze to the reason I was here to begin with. "I will."
Lewis gripped the top of the fence, then hopped over it like it was nothing. "What'd you think of this one?"
"So much violence," I said, smiling at her as she dropped to sit on the bleachers in front of us. "It was great."
"Yes." Lewis laughed, patting her bare knee. "There's a fat bruise forming under this sock from that takedown. But it was worth it."
"It was a really good game," I said, glancing to Angelina.
"How long have you been playing?" she asked.
"I've always played soccer on and off, but about three years on this team. After I began teaching at U.W., I needed something fun," she said. "Do you two have any plans tonight?"
"I, um—" I began, but Angelina cut me off.
"I'm meeting my husband for a late dinner after his shift, but Billie's free." Angelina's lip twitched with a smirk I knew she tried to hide.
Lewis' smile broadened under the disclosure. "After games, some of the girls go out for drinks and burgers. Would you like to come?" she asked, gesturing in my direction.
"I…wouldn't want to impose if it's just the team—"
"It's not. Friends and family sometimes go. Saoirse's sister is meeting us there tonight. Only a few of us are heading out." Lewis pointed behind us. "It's the restaurant right on the corner there. Cosmos."
"Oh." I followed her finger, then looked back to her. "Yeah. Okay."
"Great. I'm going for a quick shower in the locker room. Meet you back here in ten?"
"Sure." My word sounded slurred when my tongue thickened in my mouth. "I'll wait here."
"Awesome. Be right back." And just like that, she was up and leaping the fence before jogging back toward her teammates that gathered their gear from the field.
"You do not have dinner plans, asshole." I scowled at Angelina the second Lewis moved far enough away.
She laughed, clapping me on the back. "I'm not going to be your crutch for the rest of the night. Just go have fun."
"Fine. Go enjoy your fake date with your husband who is being a hero and fighting fires all night." I waved her off and she laughed before patting my shoulder.
"See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah. Bye."
Less than an hour later, I found myself seated around a table with seven other women. Everyone held a different drink in front of them, but all of us ordered gigantic burgers. Cosmos was one of my favorite burger joints, and it did not disappoint. Ciara and Saoirse carried most of the conversation and kept us entertained.
Lewis sat beside me, both of us amused by the sisters and their friends. We didn't speak directly to each other, but the shared camaraderie made the situation less tense. By the time dessert menus hit the table, we'd moved on to discussing our professions. To no one's surprise, Lewis was the only physicist in the group. The closest runner up medal, in my opinion, belonged to Heather who was a physician's assistant. Saoirse, I learned, worked as a realtor. Ciara and another woman, Jackie, both worked in marketing, while Akemi told us about her job as a photographer. I avoided sharing the details of my job, deciding to stick with law enforcement as a generic term.
The party broke up after a while, leaving the sisters and Lewis with me at the table as the clock rounded to nine in the evening.
"It's been nice having you here," Lewis said to me after taking a bite of chocolate ice cream. "It's been awhile since anyone new has been somewhat interested in our sport." She gestured between herself and Saoirse.
"You can blame Ciara for that. She invited me yesterday," I said, gripping the hot cup of coffee in my palms.
"I like showing off my baby sister." Ciara grabbed Saoirse around the neck and kissed her cheek.
"Speaking of, this baby sister is tired." Saoirse yawned as she leaned into Ciara. "Did you drive here?"
"I did," she answered.
"Good. You can drive me home." Saoirse bat her lashes at her sister and we all chuckled.
"I guess that means we're outta here because I need to drive her down the street." Ciara sighed dramatically. "G'night, ladies."
"Night," Lewis and I said in unison, as they rose to leave.
In their wake, Lewis and I fell quiet as we sat alone in the formerly filled booth. The cushion curved around the table, so we ended up seated awkwardly beside each other. Without skipping a beat, she turned in her seat, bending her jean-clad knee to face me. I scooted back and mirrored her position so that we faced each other while finishing our coffee. In a long-sleeve T-shirt with her hair down long and red lipstick returned to its home on her perfect lips, she appeared more like the confident professor I recognized.
"That leaves the two of us," she said, ending the lull. "Do you have to go?"
"Not imminently." I nearly cringed when I heard the way it came out of my mouth. "I've got nowhere special to be."
"Good. Me either." She smiled as she leaned her elbow on the table, her coffee held in her palms. "Tell me about you."
"About me?" I gulped after the question and she nodded. "Um…I'm a detective."
Lewis laughed, tilting her head to the side when she did so. "I know. Is it a difficult job?"
"Sometimes, yes." I sipped my coffee to buy myself a moment to find my words. "Angelina and I are homicide detectives so it's heavy at times. But I really like the investigative aspect of it. It's not as active as other positions because we're dealing with deceased victims."
"That makes sense. It still sounds hard." She ran her fingers through her hair, then sipped her coffee. I imagined that she did so for the same reason as me, but she was too well-spoken for that. "Am I allowed to ask you about Dinah?"
"Sort of." I smirked at the question. "The FBI took the case so I don't know much more."
"She was murdered, right?"
I nodded, and watched as her formerly content expression melted to sadness. "I'm sorry."
"I know." She reached across the space between us and gave my hand a squeeze. "I attended her services which, in hindsight, only served to perpetuate my sadness."
"I imagine it would. Angelina said her family was devastated, rightfully so."
"They were. It was a mess." She pulled her eyes away for a moment to gaze at something over my shoulder. "Dealing with loss isn't my strong point."
"That would be nuclear physics," I said, hoping to lighten her mood some.
"Yeah." She smiled and met my gaze again. "I'm glad you came to the games. It was nice to have someone new there."
"I had a fun time. Thanks for the ball, by the way. My little sister thought it was a great souvenir."
"You have a sister?" she asked, her brows lifting with her question.
"I do. And a brother. He knows you, by the way. Took two classes with you a few years ago."
&
nbsp; "Oh." A full smile parted her crimson lips. "Did he hate me?"
"No." I laughed, shaking my head as I thought about Robert's description. "Not at all."
"He must've been a good student then." She let out a soft laugh. "I have so many students, I probably wouldn't recognize him."
"He's definitely a good student. He's finishing up his Master's in Social Work this year. My sister is a freshman at U.W., but not in your classes."
"Your siblings are a lot younger?" Again, she sipped her coffee, though gazed at me from over the rim.
"Much. Eleanor is eighteen and Robert twenty-five. I'm old enough to be Ellie's mother, as Angelina so nicely pointed out," I told her, for no reason at all.
"Thirty-something moms of teenagers had the right idea anyway. Their kids are old enough to be on their own, and thirties is young enough to still enjoy life."
"Truth." I laughed at the notion and nodded my agreement. "Do you have siblings?"
"I do. Same as you; a sister and brother. We're all in our thirties though. Both of them married, one with kids," she said, a small shrug following. "Hard to live up to that sometimes."
"Not interested in marriage and kids?" I asked, though hid my wince with another swig of lukewarm coffee.
"I was at one point," she said, her voice trailing off as she fell into quiet. My question seemed prying at best so I side-stepped going down that path.
"How long have you been teaching?"
"About four years full-time. I was an adjunct for a while when I worked at the power plant," she said.
"Do you like teaching better?"
"I do. It's stable and predictable." Her cheeks lifted with her sudden grin. "Unlike a nuclear reactor."
A heavy laugh left me, and I shook my head. "You're very amusing, did you know?"
"A little." She gave my hand a swat and my cheeks heated at the gesture. Everything about her became a process of decoding the meaning at that point. Every touch. Every gesture. "And you're easy to talk to, for a cop."
"You're probably the only one who thinks so."
"I bet your siblings think so."
"Maybe. The two of them have been bonding more since Ellie moved out here with us, so they've mainly been spending time with each other."
"They live with you?" she asked, setting her mug down on the table.
"Yeah. I had both of them emancipated from our parents when they turned eighteen." I mimicked her gesture and set my cup down as well.
"Oh. That sounds serious." Her expression fell. "What happened? If you don't mind me asking."
"Our parents are religious fanatics. Raised us in a sheltered community, restricted activities and access to things. I ran off at eighteen to Seattle, leaving my very young siblings behind. I would sneak back to visit them when they were at school or with our grandparents. And when they were old enough and started to rebel, I fostered their rebellion." I shared the longest bit of information that I had in some time. Only Angelina knew that much about my family. And Dax Stocker before that, but she was long gone.
"Ouch." She scrunched up her face. "That sounds difficult."
"It was." I opened my mouth to tell her why, for both myself and Robert in particular, then decided against it. "What's your family like?"
"Statistically insignificant." A smirk tugged the corner of her mouth. "Mom's a marine biologist. Dad's an engineer. We grew up in Olympia and Grays Harbor."
"What do your siblings do?"
"Sedona is a marine biologist like Mom, and married to another marine biologist. Michael is an elementary school teacher. His wife is a nurse." Her lackluster delivery of the information struck a chord of wonder as to why speaking of her family brought an air of melancholy.
"Lots of education in your family," I said, shifting my position to sit cross-legged in the booth.
"Yes. We're nerds. Sounds like education is up and coming in yours, too."
I smiled at the thought of my siblings' future successes. "It is and I'm proud of that. Our parents weren't educated, which I think fueled the fanaticism."
"It usually does," she agreed. "So, when we first met, it seemed like you knew a little bit about physics. Why?"
"I took a few classes way back when. And over the years, I found an interest in how the universe works. At one point, I was fascinated by the idea of consciousness being everlasting. I picked up a few books about quantum consciousness and they all led you through basic theoretical frameworks before getting to the consciousness stuff."
"You enjoy all of that?" Her thick manicured brows lifted as if a spark of delight rallied inside her.
"I do. Yeah. After all I've heard and seen in my life, I just can't sit around believing we're the only intelligent beings in the entire universe. When I look up at the night sky, it always feels like someone or something is looking back." I dropped my gaze to my hands while I picked at the cuffs of my jacket. "It makes existence seem less lonely."
"It does." She leaned her head against the back of the seat while she watched me. "What intrigues you about quantum consciousness?"
"Biocentrism. Have you read that?"
"I have. A long time ago." She nodded, her smile everlasting at that point.
"The idea that perception is everything. That even with us talking right now, I'm perceiving something completely different than you are." I lifted my shoulders in a grand shrug. "It's just amazing to think about. That this table might not be really here. It's just how my atoms perceive its atoms." I poked at it. "I'm not explaining it well, but you know what I mean. The idea that life creates the universe and without an observer, we're all just blubbering probability waves."
"I do. I understand what you mean." A calmness settled around her, and she rested her chin on her hand. All the energy that buzzed around her faded into a soothing quell like the ocean after a storm. "You're the only non-physicist I've ever spoken to about this stuff. I've spent a lifetime training myself to fit in with general conversation."
"Technically, I'm speaking to you about it and you're listening. You're the only person who I've ever talked to about it who didn't think I was nuts."
"I mean, we're all a little nuts." She snickered, sitting upright again. "Especially scientists."
I laughed, shaking my head. "And cops."
"Totally," she said, grinning.
"Speaking of…" I glanced to my watch. "That waitress is about to kick us out and I've got work early on Mondays."
"Boo. Yeah, me too." We rose together, after the waitress collected the check from the table. "This was fun," she said, when we made it to the door of the restaurant. "Maybe we can do it again."
"I'm game. Text me when you're free?" I asked, fighting the urge to bite my lip.
"I will." She smiled then made to step toward me before pausing. "Are you a hugger?"
"Um, not usually, but if you are, I won't mind." I laughed as we embraced, and the fragrance of her shampoo brought a swell of enjoyment to my chest. "Thanks for a fun day."
"My pleasure," she said when she leaned back. That smile, that ruby-lipped smile, melted my insides to a puddle of mush. "Good night, Billie."
"Good night." I watched as she headed down the sidewalk away from the restaurant and back toward the field.
A sigh left me as I tucked my hands into my pockets. This wasn't going to end well. I could feel it in my bones.
With a dichotomous slump in my shoulders paired with a bounce in my step, I headed off toward my car parked a block away.
Chapter Four
Almost a full week passed and I hadn't heard from Mira. Part of me appreciated it because it set limits on my feelings. The other part wobbled through disappointment.
"Where'd you get this ball again?" Ellie asked as she dribbled the soccer ball around the living room while I set dinner plates on the table. Robert shifted around me as he carried the roast from the oven. Veggies and mashed potatoes preceded his journey.
"A friend of mine after her soccer game. Dinner's ready, El." I waved her ove
r and she kicked the ball up to catch it before joining me.
"Beej, can Finnley come over this weekend?" she asked, setting the ball by her feet.
"It's okay with me as long as she checks with her mother. She's underage, remember that." I poured all of us glasses of iced tea while Robert cut into the roast beef.
"We're just friends. I'm straight." Eleanor laughed while narrowing her eyes at me. "So is she."
"Still." I flicked her ear before sitting. "Be careful with everything."
"I will."
"Daniel will be over on Saturday. I've got the day off," Robert said while serving each of us a slice of meat. "This smells great."
"It does," agreed Eleanor. "So, Beej, who've you been hanging out with?"
"Robert's old physics teacher," I said before taking a bite. "She's nice."
"Oh, girl, get it. She's smokin'." He grinned as he tore into his bite of potato-covered meat.
"We're just friends, Rob. Calm your man jewels down." I scowled then took a bite of dinner.
"Man jewels." Eleanor cracked up, her fork clattering to her dish. He followed suit but glared at both of us.
"She's not that funny, sheesh."
"Ellie, how's school?"
"Good. I got an A on my first paper for Freshman Comp, and a B-plus on a calculus quiz. There's extra credit for that class, so I'm going to do it." She ate readily, not an ounce of hesitation in her conversation. Even though we'd only been living together for a few months, it began to feel like we were always this way.
"Calc is pretty tough. Do you have Hendrick for a professor?"
"Yup. He's like a turtle when he talks."
"Yeah, but he grades like a hawk."
"Truth." Ellie tapped her fork on her dish a few times before scooping up some potatoes. "I was thinking that maybe for sophomore year I could dorm on campus…"
"Would you want to do that?" I asked, keeping my tone unassuming.
"Kind of. I can do a work-study which reduces the housing cost. My friend Amy dorms. We hung out in her suite with her roommates and I think it would be a good experience."
"Well, think about it seriously. There's also the study abroad for a semester program as well. If you want to look into either option, we can," I told her in earnest. I wanted her to have all the experiences that I didn't have, and some that Robbie couldn't either.
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