Between the Lines

by KD Williamson

  A car pulled into one of the designated turnarounds to make a U-turn. Tang slammed on the brakes. The space was big enough to fit a whole car, but the driver had decided to stop with his ass end sticking out in traffic. He completely blocked the road.

  “Son of a bitch! How fuckin’ stupid do you have to be!” Tang slapped his hand against the steering wheel.

  She rolled her eyes. New Orleans was indeed the home of the worst drivers, and this was evidence. She was about to make a joke about it. When she glanced at Tang, his face was bright red and he was sucking wind. Before she could say a word, he put the car in park and jumped out.

  This was not good. Not good at all.

  “Do you see what you did? You can fit what? Three fuckin’ cars in this space, and all you got in it is your goddamn headlights! Are you stupid, or do you just want attention?” he yelled.

  Haley had to end this, quickly, before things really got out of control. She grabbed his cell phone and got out of the vehicle. Some cars drove around them. Others stopped and watched. One guy was recording the whole thing with his phone.

  “Don’t just sit there and fuckin’ look at me! Move your car up, or I’ll have the piece of shit towed!”

  The driver looked terrified, which was probably why he didn’t move.

  Haley approached Tang from behind. She got close enough to touch him but didn’t. It probably wouldn’t have been a good idea. Neither would berating him in front of a crowd. Tang must have sensed someone behind him, because he glanced over his shoulder. Haley hoped that seeing her would be enough to divert him, but no such luck. He turned back and continued to stare that poor guy down.

  “Tim?”

  “What?” He didn’t look back this time, but he answered her. That was good.

  “Your phone rang.”

  “So goddamned what. I’m workin’.”

  “Your caller ID said it was Uncle Milton.”

  Tang whipped his head around, and for the first time, he looked at what was going on around him. He rubbed a hand over his face and muttered as he deflated a bit. He started back toward the car.

  “Go on, sir. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  The man just sat there with his mouth open.

  “Sir,” Haley said firmly. That woke him up. He threw an angry glance toward Tim and made his turn when he was able. She ordered other bystanders along, and after everyone dispersed, Haley walked back to their car.

  Tang hadn’t gotten in. He leaned against the driver’s side door. His arms were crossed, and his head was down. The man could be a dick, especially during an arrest, but this was another thing entirely.

  “Give me the keys,” Haley said with authority.

  Tang glanced up, and he looked more haggard than he had earlier. He gave her the keys without argument. In return, Haley put his cell phone in his hands.

  “Nobody called, did they?”

  “No.”

  He nodded and moved around to the passenger side.

  Haley waited until they were farther up the street before she spoke. “I’m not gonna sit here and waste my time on tellin’ you what you did wrong and what coulda happened. You know that already. You got a lot of shit goin’ down. But if you go off the deep end tryin’ to shovel it all, who’s gonna be around to take care of Milt?”

  For a long time, Tang didn’t say anything. He sniffed a couple of times, and she hoped to God he wasn’t crying because, while that meant they had really established trust, it also scared her.

  “You’re right.” Tang’s voice wasn’t quivering or anything, so she figured she was wrong about the tears.

  “I know I am. You just better hope that man doesn’t file a complaint or that video doesn’t end up online.”

  Tang didn’t say anything to that. What was there to say?

  “I’m gonna call Nate and cancel lunch.”

  “No, don’t. I know what happened was shitty, but it took the wind outta me. You don’t have to worry about me showin’ my ass with your friends. I’ll be on my best behavior. Don’t have the energy for anythin’ else.”

  Haley was still hesitant. “What’s the big deal?”

  Tang shrugged. “You’re the only one who stuck around, and you want me to meet your people. That’s a big deal.”

  He just had to go and get sentimental on her. “Yeah, okay.” Jesus, was she going to have a story to tell Tonya tonight.

  * * *

  Haley sipped on her sweet tea and watched as her friends and Tang interacted. It had been touch and go there for a minute, but she’d expected that. Haley hadn’t exactly sung his praises at first, and Nate and Jen could be very protective. Hell, Jen was still watching him like a hawk, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest like she was going to get all Goodfellas any minute.

  It was almost comical, but it made her warm inside.

  Nate took a bite of his sandwich and wiped his mouth. He held up a hand to get everyone’s attention while he chewed.

  “Okay.” He grinned. “Pusstopia…is that an alternate reality you cooked up?”

  Haley and Jen groaned.

  “That’s not even a real question. Did you pull that out an alternate reality too, or out your ass?” Jen asked.

  Tang chuckled and glanced at Haley. “You told them about that?”

  Haley shrugged. She wasn’t sorry. “You were like some science experiment at first. I got help to figure you out.”

  “How ya doin’ so far?”

  Haley held up a hand and rocked it back and forth. “Meh.”

  “Bullshit. I think you’re gettin’ there.” He looked straight at her and grinned.

  Nate snorted. “Took you, what? A little over two months to work things through? Wonder how long it’s gonna take with Tonya?”

  Jen glared at Nate, but at least her body language was more open now. Her hands were on the table, and she leaned toward the conversation instead of away. “Like you understand anythin’ that’s goin’ on.”

  “What do you mean? Of course I do. I know romance! I do romance all the time,” Nate defended. His face was all screwed up. Haley couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him looking so disgruntled.

  Jen reached across the table and took his hand. “You try, baby. You try.”

  Haley laughed.

  Tang chimed in. “Wait. Who’s Tonya?”

  “What? She hasn’t said anythin’ about her? It’s all we hear. I swear, I’m best friends with her by proxy,” Jen said.

  Tang cut his eyes to Haley. “Haven’t heard a thing.”

  “They were there when I was tryin’ to lay the ground work, and I guess I just wanted to keep more of her to myself.” After all the stuff he’d told her about his uncle, his ex-wife, and failing the sergeant’s exam twice, she actually felt bad for not confiding in him.

  The table went quiet.

  “Awww, take notes, sweetie,” Jen said to Nate.

  “What? I say sweet shit all the time! Even when I don’t want to.”

  “Ohhhh,” Haley said. She was going to give him a few seconds to realize his mistake.

  Nate flushed red and as if on cue, “Uh, sorry. That came out wrong.”

  “Uh-huh,” Jen said.

  Tang just laughed. When he finally stopped, he asked, “When, where did you two meet?”

  Haley grinned. “Durin’ a shootout.”

  Tang stared at her. She saw the lightbulb come on.

  “No way. The woman at the gas station?”

  “Yep. You met her at the hospital. She was the doctor.”

  He looked impressed. “That right there makes you the king of Pusstopia far as I’m concerned.”

  “What an honor,” Haley deadpanned. “Don’t you mean queen?”

  Tang snorted. “No.”

  Nate, who’d been silent for the last couple minutes, let out a loud bark of laughter. They all looked at him. He shrugged. “What? It was funny.”

  Chapter 15

  “I’m surprised
you don’t feel like you’re too old to play tea party with Mama.”

  Tonya glanced up at her mother as she stirred in milk and sugar. “I’m seven, Mama, not twenty.”

  Nicole laughed. “Okay, baby, sorry.” She lifted a tiny plastic bowl. “Lemon?”

  Tonya held up her purple plastic cup embossed with pink flowers. “Won’t that taste nasty with the milk in it?”

  “Give it a try.” Her mother smiled.

  Tonya believed just about anything when she smiled like that.

  Nicole fanned at imaginary tendrils of heat coming from Tonya’s teacup and then squeezed lemon into it. “Go on.”

  Tonya brought the cup to her lips and took a dignified sip. Afterward, she made a slight gagging sound. “It’s not for me, Mama. Next time we should have the kind with ice. It’s hot outside.”

  Her mother smiled, laughed, and gazed at Tonya like she was the most precious thing ever. “You think Barbie or Ken might want some?”

  They both turned to look at the dolls propped up in chairs that were way too big for them but just right for Tonya. “I don’t know, but I think it’s only fair that they try it too.” She paused. “Wait, I have to fix Barbie’s hair again.” Tonya untied the bow around the doll’s blond hair and did her best to get every stray tendril perfect. When Tonya put her down, she and her mother worked together to pour the tea and put in the sugar, milk, and lemon.

  “Mama?”

  “Yes, baby?”

  “How come they don’t make Barbies with skin like mine or dark like Daddy’s?”

  “Oh, they have black Barbies and Kens, but they just haven’t gotten it right yet. When they do, I’ll buy you all you want, okay? I tell you what. Mama will call them and try to help out a little and tell them to speed up making Barbies that are light brown like you.” She wrapped her arm around Tonya and pulled her close.

  “And dark like Daddy?”

  “Yes, exactly.

  Nicole disappeared, and Tonya was no longer a seven-year-old sitting in her childhood bedroom. She recognized the upstairs area in her own home, but before she could get a grip on what was going on around her, Haley appeared in her police uniform.

  The fierceness in Haley’s gaze made Tonya’s stomach drop down to her knees. Her eyes were like blue crystal, translucent but still multifaceted. In them, Tonya saw hunger, intensity, and so much more. She reached for Tonya but instead of meeting her halfway, Tonya stepped back until the wall stopped her from going any farther.

  Haley grinned and moved forward.

  She pressed her body into Tonya’s.

  Tonya’s response was immediate. Her breathing hitched, and her heart skipped a beat before it started ramming against her chest.

  The heat between them was staggering.

  Haley placed her hands against the wall on either side of Tonya’s head.

  Tonya was floating, in need of something to anchor her. She grabbed hold of Haley’s biceps. Her muscles flexed and Haley trembled.

  Haley leaned in, ghosting her lips across Tonya’s cheeks and nipping at her chin.

  Tonya whimpered, and the arousal that was already singing in her blood set fire to her.

  Instead of finally kissing her, Haley stopped short and smiled.

  “He’s down there. You hear ’im?” Haley whispered, and each word spilled over Tonya’s lips like an actual caress.

  Tonya blinked. She was confused. Why were they talking?

  Then she heard it, banging in the kitchen.

  “You’re a bad girl for havin’ me up here.”

  Tonya’s hands slid upward over Haley’s shoulders, clutching at them. Her breathing was loud, ragged.

  Haley urged Tonya’s legs farther apart and pressed her thigh against Tonya’s sex with enough pressure to tantalize and promise.

  Need coiled so tightly within her that she broke. Tonya cried out. She didn’t care who heard.

  Haley groaned. The sound rumbled through Tonya’s entire body, making her vibrate.

  “You wanna be a bad girl. Don’tchu?”

  At this moment in time, she wanted so very many things, and that was definitely one of them. “Yesss.”

  Tonya moaned as Haley’s lips brushed against her own.

  Haley’s tongue slid into her open mouth and light exploded around them.

  Tonya woke up with another moan falling from her lips. She sat up and leaned against the headboard. Pressing a hand against her racing heart, she whispered, “Jesus.”

  She swallowed a couple of times and squeezed her thighs together. That was where all the moisture had gone. Even her nipples stood at attention, pressing almost painfully against her clothing. Tonya took a couple of deep breaths and turned on the lamp. She reached for her glasses and her journal, then documented that the dream was repeat of Tea Party with Mama. Just thinking about it made Tonya smile. Her pen hovered as she tried to decide if she needed to include the part about Haley. A shudder racked her, and she wiped away the sweat beading her forehead.

  “Jesus,” she said again.

  It was just a dream. Surely, it wouldn’t be that potent between them? Maybe because it had been a while for her? Who was she kidding? She couldn’t remember anybody who caused that kind of reaction.

  She smiled.

  There was no need to add anything else. She was satisfied with keeping it to herself. Tonya wanted to hold on to this feeling, and the thrill that came with it, for as long as she could.

  A few hours later, after the sun came up, Tonya made her way downstairs. The smell of coffee greeted her. When she got to the kitchen, she went straight for the pot, ignoring her father, just as he was ignoring her.

  She sipped from her cup, watching him. From his profile, he looked so much older than he had a couple weeks ago. Something fiery and painful gripped her heart before settling in her stomach. Tonya reminded herself he wasn’t immortal, even though there were times he seemed to be. Desperate to make the hurt go away, she decided to reach out with softer words and less anger. It wasn’t going to be easy. There was still a large part of her that wanted to scream that she refused to be invisible anymore.

  Tonya closed her eyes and tried to center herself. When she opened them again, her father was looking at her.

  He turned away quickly.

  Tonya set her cup on the counter. “Daddy?”

  His gaze stayed on his paper, but he had to be listening.

  “You and Tracy are all I have left. We’ve talked, and we’re trying to build something real between us.” She paused. “You’re my father. I wouldn’t exist without you.” Her voice was soft, reverent. “I don’t want to be like this anymore. I can’t go back. I know it’s a lot, but to be able to get through this, we have to acknowledge the truth. Mama said and tried to do terrible things to me. You knew. I told you. I showed you.”

  He stiffened and swallowed loud enough for Tonya to hear.

  “I should’ve been able to be a kid some of the time. There was too much on my shoulders. You could’ve helped more.” Tonya tried to breathe, but it hurt. Tears burned her eyes and she let them fall. “It only got worse after Brenda. It was like I didn’t even exist except to play nursemaid. I watched you with Tracy. I watched you hug her, kiss her, smile at her. I never knew anything could hurt like that. We should’ve tackled this a long time ago. We’d both be better for it. I love you, Daddy, but it’s hard to get to those feelings when there’s so much anger.”

  Finally, he met her gaze. Instead of his usual blank stare, there was a lightness in his eyes.

  “Da-ddy?” Tonya’s voice broke. She stepped forward and reached out to him. She was terrified of his rejection, but she couldn’t turn away.

  Then, just like that, the brightness in his gaze was gone.

  Tonya faltered. The brick wall she’d just slammed into had knocked the wind out of her.

  “I said it before. Don’t know why you keep bringing all this up. You turned out fine. Nice house, nice car, good job. You even taking care of your family.�
�� Robert pursed his lips. “Only thing you need to do is get some sense and find you a husband before I’m too old to enjoy my grandbabies.” He looked at her expectantly.

  Something broke open inside her. Tonya tensed her entire body to try to contain it. Exploding would get her nowhere. Regardless, fissures opened and emotions leaked through. Tonya wiped the tears away. “Are you that blind to think I’ve been celibate all these years?”

  He stared. His expression was furious.

  “Just because we didn’t talk about it, just because you didn’t see it, doesn’t mean a damn thing. There’ve been other women, Daddy. Deep down, you know that. I don’t want you to die living in this lie. There’ll never be a husband.”

  Her father stood, a defiant expression on his face. He was about to run.

  Some of her rage fizzled then, and that’s when she started to pity him. “Do you make up stories about me to tell your friends? Do you make me into this perfect daughter?”

  He tilted his chin up. “I do what I have to. They don’t need to know all my business.”

  Tonya shook her head. She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she didn’t. This time, she was the one to walk away.

  By the time Tonya got back upstairs, she felt like she didn’t belong in her own skin. It hurt too much to be there. For a moment, she wished she could go back to sleep and revisit her dreams, but she was done with running. She took slow, deep breaths to try to calm her thundering heartbeat and loosen the coils in her stomach. She wasn’t very successful. It took her a few minutes to realize that she needed to talk, to vent, and maybe get a little validation. Tonya paused as she reached for her cell phone, still plugged in on the nightstand. Talking meant she had to trust. It meant she had to reveal all the things she had been holding back. Right now, she was okay with that.

  After selecting the contact, Tonya brought the phone to her ear.

  “Hey! I was just about to call you. I actually slept in this mornin’.”

  Tonya closed her eyes. It was good to hear a friendly voice.

  “Tonya?”

  “I’m here. Can you just talk? I don’t care about what.”

  “What’s wrong?” Haley’s tone was urgent and concerned.

  It warmed Tonya and melted the ice encasing her where it mattered most.