Courageous Love

by KC Richardson

  A chorus of “Hey, Sarge,” “Welcome back, Sarge,” and “How ya feeling, Sarge?” came her way with most every officer she passed. God, she missed this place. She loved being a cop and really couldn’t imagine what it would be like to do anything else. She turned the corner, and at the end of the hall, the door to her lieutenant’s office was open. Frank couldn’t imagine having a better supervisor. Lieutenant James was a cop’s cop with a reputation for being more than fair and having an open-door policy. Frank knocked on the doorjamb and waited for him to invite her in. She smiled when he stood and offered his hand.

  “Greco, how are you?”

  “Feeling better, Lieutenant. Doc says I can return to modified duty. He gave me this paper to give to you.” She handed the report to Lieutenant James and he slipped his reading glasses on as he sat down.

  “Have a seat,” he said as he pointed to a chair in front of his desk. It didn’t take him long to read the report. He took his glasses off and stared at her, making her feel a little uncomfortable with the scrutiny. “You took a pretty hard hit from Robbins. How are you really feeling?”

  “Honestly, Loo, he knocked the crap out of me.” He joined her in laughter. “The first few days were difficult, but I’m able to breathe easier and sleep better. I’m bored out of my mind at home, and I want to come back to work.”

  “Okay, start back tomorrow at thirteen hundred hours. You’ll be at watch commander’s desk until you’re released back to full duty. Take this form over to human resources before you leave.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Frank left her supervisor’s office and stopped in at human resources to drop off her release form. She left the building with a little bounce in her step. She wanted to celebrate, but the only one she wanted to celebrate with was a certain ER nurse who was currently on duty. She should just go home and get ready for work tomorrow, but ten minutes later, she pulled her truck into the parking lot of the hospital. It couldn’t hurt to see if Alex had a few free minutes to grab a cup of coffee.

  Frank waved to the clerk behind the safety glass and smiled at her. “Hey, Marie, I was wondering if Alex Taylor was busy.”

  Marie shook her head. “You know better than to ask that, Frank. It’s an ER, for Christ’s sake. There aren’t any traumas going on, so let me see if I can find her. You can come on back.”

  Frank pushed through the door and waited only a few minutes before Marie came back. “She’s in with a patient, but she wanted me to tell you to wait for her at the nurses’ station.”

  Frank nodded. “Thanks, Marie.” She made small talk with a few of the nurses at the nurses’ station until Alex arrived five minutes later. Frank’s heart did a little flutter when she saw Alex make her way toward her. She looked so sexy in her scrubs with her chestnut hair pulled back in a ponytail, exposing her slender neck. Frank’s mouth watered as she recalled the taste of Alex’s skin. Alex looked at her and raised an eyebrow as if she knew what Frank had been thinking.

  “Hey, Sarge. What are you doing here?” Alex stood close but didn’t touch Frank.

  “I just came from the station and wanted to see you. Can you take a break and grab some coffee?”

  Alex looked at the intake board, then asked the charge nurse, “You mind if I take a quick break?”

  “We’re fine here for now. You go ahead. Good to see you again, Frank.”

  Frank waved and followed Alex to the stairwell. They made it down to the next landing when Frank pinned Alex against the wall and kissed her hard. Alex pulled Frank closer and Frank insinuated her leg between Alex’s. Alex opened her mouth, and Frank took full advantage, sliding her tongue in and exploring Alex’s hot, sexy mouth. Alex began thrusting her pelvis against Frank’s leg, the heat from her center easily felt through Frank’s jeans. She reluctantly broke the kiss and wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist and nuzzled her neck. “You feel so good. God, you taste so good.” She licked the neck that had taunted her earlier. What she really wanted to do was take Alex home and make love to her all night long, but her senses came back to her. “What time do you get off?”

  Alex laughed shakily. “I could get off with just one more minute with you.” She looked at her watch. “I have another four hours.”

  “How about you come over after and I’ll make you dinner?”

  Alex kissed Frank again and Frank felt it all the way to her toes. “Dinner sounds great, but what I’m really looking forward to is dessert.”

  “I promise, dessert can and will be served tonight.”

  *

  Alex couldn’t remember the last time when four hours felt like four days. After her shift ended, she went home to shower and wash the day off her. She arrived at Frank’s two hours later and was greeted at the door by Frank and Bella. It might have been a tie as to who was more excited to see her. Bella whined and wagged her tail as she bathed Alex’s hand, making her laugh. She discreetly wiped her hand on her jeans before wrapping her arms around Frank’s neck and kissing her hello.

  “Mm, you smell good,” Alex said as she nuzzled Frank’s neck.

  “Are you sure that’s not the lasagna you smell?”

  Alex laughed. “Now that you mention it—” Her words were cut off by Frank’s lips pressing against hers. Alex had kissed more than a few women in her life, but none of those kisses elicited the type of thrill she felt when Frank kissed her. She felt Frank’s kisses surge through her entire body like an electrical shock. “Maybe we can have dessert first?”

  Frank laughed at the hopeful look on Alex’s face. “Are you sure you don’t want to start with my homemade lasagna? I’ve been slaving away in the kitchen since I got home.”

  “Oh, okay. I guess I can be patient a little while longer,” Alex teased her.

  As they wandered into the kitchen, the smell of the sauce, cheese blends, and garlic made Alex’s stomach growl. She noted two glasses of red wine sitting on the dining table and looked at Frank questioningly.

  “Tonight is a special occasion and I wanted to celebrate.”

  Alex wrapped her arms around Frank’s waist and looked into her eyes. “What’s the special occasion?”

  “Well, I was released back to light duty today, and I’m spending the evening with a wonderful woman.” Frank kissed the tip of Alex’s nose.

  “Do you want to tell me the reason why you don’t normally keep alcohol in the house? I mean, you don’t have to, but I really want to know you better.”

  Frank rubbed her hands up and down Alex’s back. “Tell you what. When we sit down to eat, I’ll tell you the reason, and about my sister.”

  “All right. What can I do to help?”

  Frank extracted herself from Alex’s arms and took the pan of lasagna out of the oven. “Not a thing. Just take a seat and I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Alex sat at the table and watched Frank plate their food. In addition to the mouthwatering lasagna, there was also Caesar salad. Frank placed the plate in front of Alex and took her seat. She lifted her glass to Alex’s. “To getting to know each other.” Alex clinked her glass and took a sip of the deep, red wine.

  She took a bite of the lasagna and moaned in appreciation. “God, Frank, this is delicious.”

  Frank smiled. “Thank you. It’s Nonna Greco’s recipe from the old country. She and Nonno came over to America in the early fifties. My mom wasn’t exactly a whiz in the kitchen, so Nonna taught Toni and me how to cook whenever we spent the weekend with her and Nonno.”

  “Is ‘nonna’ and ‘nonno’ Italian for ‘grandma’ and ‘grandpa’?”

  “Yep.”

  “And is Toni your sister?”

  “Yes.” Frank took a bite of her lasagna and took her time swallowing. Alex thought that was all she would get as an answer until Frank cleared her throat and took a sip of her wine. Alex noticed Frank’s hand tremble as she placed the glass down.

  “Toni was my twin, fraternal, but we looked almost exactly alike. Even though I was older by four minutes,
she acted like she was the big sister. She always acted as my protector even though I was physically stronger than her.”

  Tears started to well in Frank’s eyes, and Alex felt her heart break. She placed her hand over Frank’s. “Baby, you don’t have to…”

  Frank turned her palm up and laced her fingers with Alex’s. “I want to tell you about her. I want you to know how amazing she was.”

  Alex squeezed Frank’s hand and nodded for her to continue.

  “Our parents never paid much attention to us. The little attention they did shell out went mostly to Toni. I guess they thought more of her since she acted like a girl. You know, dresses, makeup, cheerleader. I think they were ashamed of me because I was a tomboy. I only wore jeans and T-shirts. I never wore makeup. I cut my hair short when I started playing basketball. Anyways, Toni was always my greatest supporter. I think the way our parents treated me angered her more than it did me. She always protected me, and when she got sick, I couldn’t protect her.”

  Dinner was forgotten when tears started falling. Alex stood, grabbed Frank’s hand, and led her to the living room. She sat next to Frank and cradled her head to her chest. She would do anything to take away the pain Frank had experienced, to bring her sister back to her, alive and well.

  After Frank regained her composure, she continued. “Breast cancer didn’t run in our family, so Toni thought she had no reason to be concerned. She occasionally performed self-exams, but wasn’t consistent about it. By the time she felt the lump and had it diagnosed, the cancer had spread. She fought hard, had chemotherapy and radiation, but it was too advanced. She was only twenty-nine when she died. She never got married, never had children, and hardly traveled because she was so busy with school then with work. We thought we had time to do all of those things. One of our dreams was to travel to Italy, but she was too sick by the time she was diagnosed.” Frank wiped her eyes and took a shuddering breath.

  “Anyways, our parents were always drinkers, but after Toni was diagnosed, they hit the bottle harder, probably to numb their pain. The night of Toni’s funeral, we were all at my parents’ house for the wake and it didn’t take them long to get hammered. My mom started freaking out, yelling and screaming. Then she came over to me and started beating her fists against my chest, screaming she’d wished it had been me who died and not Toni. When I tried to protect myself and pushed my mom away, my dad grabbed me by the shirt, shoved me to the floor, and yelled, ‘Get out of my house, you dyke! You’re not welcome here. It should’ve been you. You’re the one who lived a life of sin!’”

  Alex hugged Frank tighter and clinched her fists. The fury that consumed her was something she’d never experienced before. How dared Frank’s parents treat their own child like that? She began to rock Frank back and forth, as much to calm herself as to comfort Frank. She sat there and continued to hold Frank, afraid to speak, not knowing what to say. What could she say? That she was sorry her parents were such assholes? The type of person Frank turned out to be despite her parents amazed Alex.

  Frank sat up and scrubbed her face with her hands before giving Alex a watery smile. “So, I had to tell you that long story to get to the reason why I don’t keep alcohol in the house. I spend a lot of time alone, and in that time, I think of Toni and how I failed to keep her safe.”

  Alex opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it when Frank held up her hand.

  “I know I didn’t make her sick and there was nothing I could really do, but it’s that whole survivor’s guilt thing my therapist warned me about. Anyways, it would be very easy to numb my feelings with alcohol, to drink myself into a stupor whenever I started feeling sorry for myself, but it’s impossible to do that if I don’t have alcohol here. Toni would come back to haunt me if I allowed myself to behave like our parents.” Frank looked down to her lap. “So, there you have it.”

  Alex gently grabbed Frank’s chin and forced her to look in her eyes. “You are an amazing woman.” When Frank tried to look away, Alex held firm. “My regrets are that I never got to meet Toni. I’m sure she and I would have become great friends.”

  Frank looked at her questioningly. “You said regrets. Plural.”

  Alex squinted her eyes in her best outraged look. “That I never met your parents just to tell them where they could go.”

  Frank hugged Alex. “Believe me, they’re not worth the breath you’d waste. They’re no longer in my life, so it’s not an issue anymore.”

  “What about your grandparents? How did they react?”

  “They both passed away when Toni and I were in our early twenties. Nonna died of a heart attack, and Nonno died only a couple of months later, probably from a broken heart. They had been together since they were kids. It gave me a little comfort knowing they were there to welcome Toni to heaven.”

  “You unloaded a lot tonight, honey. How are you feeling?”

  Frank ran her fingers through her hair and expelled a deep breath. “Honestly? Like a ton of weight was lifted off my shoulders. I actually feel pretty good. It’s good for me to purge like that every once in a while. Sometimes I keep it in too long and I begin to feel overwhelmed.”

  Alex cupped Frank’s cheek and gently kissed her. “Thank you for telling me.”

  Frank gave her a sheepish smile. “We didn’t finish dinner and now I’m starving. Let’s go eat.”

  Frank placed their uneaten lasagna on a separate plate and warmed it up in the microwave. When they resumed eating, Alex asked, “Can you show me a picture of Toni?”

  Frank nodded. “Of course. I’ll show you after dinner.”

  Once they finished their meal and cleaned the kitchen, Frank led Alex to her bedroom and stopped in front of the dresser where many framed photos were displayed. “This was the last picture taken of us before Toni got sick.”

  Alex held the photo and studied it intently. Toni and Frank did look a lot alike, but there were a few subtle differences Alex noticed. Frank’s face was a little thinner, and there was what Alex would describe as a serious innocence in her eyes whereas Toni’s eyes held a hint of playful mischief. Toni’s arm was slung around Frank’s shoulders and she did look like she was protecting Frank as Frank had described. She set the photo down and picked up another of them as babies. There were more pictures of them throughout their childhood and young adulthood. She came to another photo of an older couple. “Are these your grandparents?”

  Frank looked at the photo with fondness in her eyes. “Yep. Antonia and Francesco Greco.”

  “You and Toni were named after them?”

  “Yeah. Our dad wanted to honor his parents, so they named us Antonia and Francesca.”

  Alex noticed the blush that tinted Frank’s cheeks when she said her given name. “Francesca?” Alex kissed Frank, a slow, sensuous kiss. “That’s sexy.” Alex kissed her again and felt Frank’s hands on her backside, pulling her closer. Alex pulled Frank’s black polo shirt over her head and tossed it on the floor. Alex cupped Frank’s small breasts that were covered with a black satin bra. The black against Frank’s olive-toned skin looked fabulous. Alex’s breathing hitched when she ran her fingers down Frank’s muscular abs and felt the muscles quiver under her touch.

  Frank slowly unbuttoned Alex’s blouse and tossed it next to her own discarded top. Alex felt her body catch fire as Frank’s eyes landed on her white lacy bra. Alex felt her nipples harden against the lace and closed her eyes to the sensation.

  “Alex, you’re so beautiful.” Frank stepped closer, and as she unhooked Alex’s bra, Alex did the same to Frank. The feel of their breasts and nipples against each other was almost more than Alex could handle.

  She’d wanted to have sex with Frank since the day Frank pulled her over. She’d envisioned the harried removal of clothes and frantic pawing of each other, bringing each other off in a series of screaming climaxes, but now that the time was here, after the emotional evening they’d had, Alex wanted a slow exploration of Frank’s body. She wanted to worship every glorious inch of
Frank. She wanted Frank to methodically learn every erogenous zone over hours of lovemaking. She wanted to make Frank moan with pleasure as she licked her, tasted her, filled her up. And after, she wanted to curl up behind Frank and hold her all night long.

  Alex noticed a tattoo that ran down the side of Frank’s ribs—four interlocking hearts with the words Hope, Courage, Strength, and Love written in cursive, one in each heart. She traced the pattern with her finger, admiring the bold ink that was both powerful and beautiful.

  “I got this done in memory of Toni. The strength and courage she showed while trying to fight that horrible disease made me so proud of her. I had always loved her and admired her, but seeing her fight the way she did, well…”

  Alex wiped an errant tear from Frank’s cheek. “She sounds like a remarkable woman. I’m glad you had each other.” Alex unbuttoned her pants and pushed them off along with her underwear before doing the same to Frank. She led her to the bed, pulled back the sheets, and invited Frank to join her. “I just want to hold you tonight and comfort you. Will you allow me to do that?”

  Frank nodded and slid into Alex’s arms and rested her head on Alex’s chest. Alex slowly ran her fingers over Frank’s shoulders and arms as she kissed the crown of her head. As Frank’s breathing evened out and her body relaxed, Alex replayed the evening in her mind. She had every intention of coming over and having sex all night long, but the way it ended was even more special. Frank had let her in, told her about her sister and her failed relationship with her parents. Alex had a strong feeling Frank didn’t let many people see that side of her, that vulnerability. The fact she trusted Alex enough to let her see that side of her made her heart swell. The more time she spent with Frank, the more she began to feel for her.