Love Times Four

by Jeanne Mccann

  "Thank you." The cheers and applause that filled the room would have drowned out any other statement Melinda might have made.

  The crowd surrounded Melinda, shaking her hand, and offering support. It was quite awhile before Melinda and Emma reached each other.

  "Hi." Melinda's smile was blinding.

  "Hi." Emma's eyes still glistened with tears.

  "Are you ready to go home?"

  "Yes."

  "Good, we're officially on vacation." Melinda grinned at her overwhelmed and happy girlfriend.

  Melinda and Emma headed for the door with their friends. It took them quite awhile to get to their cars. So many people approached them offering their best wishes.

  "Thank you so much for your support." Melinda hugged the women who had banded together to show their support.

  "We're family." Tia reminded her.

  "I love all of you." Melinda's eyes filled with tears again.

  "We love you. Now take your girlfriend home."

  "I will. Van, I heard you have a date with a police woman."

  Van colored with embarrassment as the rest of the group grinned. "She's a detective."

  "She's a gorgeous detective." Tia reminded her as they headed for Tia's car.

  Chapter Nine

  Van

  Van pulled the sweater off of her head and glanced into the mirror. "No."

  She quickly slipped out of the current pants and sweater and threw them on the rapidly growing pile of clothes on her bed. Normally her bedroom was spotless, the designer comforter pulled neatly over the bed along with the matching pillows. Van's bed had a modern brass headboard and coordinated well with her brass lamps on either side of the bed. The black lacquered chest of drawers and armoire gleamed stylishly against the deep red walls. Van's sense of design and color were evident throughout the room except for the jumble of clothes on the bed.

  "Come on, Van. What's wrong with you? This is just a date. What's the problem?"

  Rummaging through her closet, Van passed outfit after outfit before settling on a deep purple pants suit. Grumbling to herself, Van finished dressing and checked her makeup one last time. She couldn't ever remember being this nervous before a date.

  The security buzzer for her condominium rang as she contemplated changing clothes once more. She buzzed Cara up and waited impatiently for her to knock on her door. The knock was quick and Van took a deep breath, straightened her clothes, and opened the door.

  "Hi."

  "Hello." Cara's smile helped reduce some of Van's nervousness.

  "Come on in while I get my jacket and purse."

  "You have a beautiful place." Cara remarked, glancing around Van's stylish home. It looked like a professional had decorated it, with lots of chrome and leather, colorful pillows on the couch, and matching chairs.

  Van grinned as she grabbed her long leather coat. "Thanks, I am in the middle of another remodel. I change it about every six months."

  "Why?"

  "I don't know. I guess it's the artist in me. My tastes change and so does my place."

  Cara chuckled. "I'm lucky my place has furniture."

  "I have access to lots of designer's items through work, so I have many things to choose from," Van explained nervously as she looked at Cara.

  "Well, your place is very elegant, unlike my apartment that's currently full of dirty clothes and dubious furnishings." Cara responded with an appealing grin.

  "I'm sure it's not that bad."

  "Maybe you should see it before you make that call." Cara grinned again. "Are you ready? You look very nice, by the way."

  "So do you, and yes, I am ready." Van couldn't help but admire Cara's stylish outfit. She was wearing dark brown slacks and a matching short jacket. Her black hair was glossy and fell in full curls around her face. She was wearing very little makeup, but her dark eyes were large, and surrounded by thick black eyelashes. She had a beautiful, full mouth, her lips shiny with gloss. Van was impressed with her slender figure, and her very fashionable clothes. She was darling. She was a tiny bit shorter then Van, who stood a little under five-ten, and slim herself. Van breathed deeply trying to settle her nerves.

  "Our reservations are for seven so we should get going."

  Van followed Cara out to car and they were on their way. After a few awkward silent moments Cara chuckled and then spoke. "Are you as nervous as I am?

  "Yes." Van sighed, glancing at her.

  "This dating thing is difficult."

  "Have you been dating long?"

  "Let's see, about twenty minutes." Cara grinned as she drove to the restaurant, her eyes glancing periodically at Van. Cara thought she looked gorgeous.

  "Cute." Van chuckled. "How long have you been single?"

  "About four years, how about you?"

  "I haven't had a serious relationship in a long time, just terminal dating."

  "Why?"

  "Why no relationship? Probably because I want too much out of one."

  "What do you want?"

  "I want what Melinda and Emma have. I want love, passion, and unfailing support."

  "I don't think that's asking too much."

  "What do you want?"

  "Unconditional love, a partner," Cara parked the car and turned it off before turning to Van, "and a sex slave."

  "Excuse me?" Van laughed with surprise.

  "You heard me." Cara grinned. "Let's go eat."

  Van was still grinning as she followed Cara in to the restaurant. Cara was pretty damn cute.

  Their dinner was very enjoyable as they talked about their jobs and their lives, while listening to soft jazz. It was a perfect atmosphere for quiet sharing.

  "I find it amazing that you're a detective at your age. Aren't you awfully young?"

  "Not particularly, most of the men in my unit were detectives by my age. The sexual crimes unit tends to be a short stay for most detectives, though."

  "Why?"

  "Because it's so tough, the cases can be heartbreaking. The department doesn't think it's healthy for us to stay for more then three or four years."

  "How long have you been in the department?"

  "A little over a year."

  "You love your job." It was a statement, not a question. Van could tell by the way that Cara described her work. Her eyes lit up when she talked about it.

  "Most of the time I do. Some days I hate it. But I wouldn't want to do anything else."

  "I think the city's lucky to have someone like you working as a police officer."

  "You do? Enough to want to keep seeing me, even though I work crazy hours, and carry a gun?"

  Van's heart tripped as she stared at the very beautiful woman across the table from her, who had asked such a serious question, vulnerability in her voice. "I would love to keep seeing you, and we'll deal with the crazy hours. As for wearing your gun, do you wear it to bed?" Van couldn't help but tease her, her eyes flashing with humor.

  "No, I wear socks to bed." Cara grinned. Van couldn't help but laugh out loud. She was not only attracted to Cara, but actually liked her sense of humor, and her down to earth attitude. The people Van worked for, at times, were so removed from the realities of life, that it frustrated her.

  "Do you wear a weapon to bed?" Cara's eyes traveled over Van's body.

  Van's body reacted to Cara's gaze like she had been touched, heat swelling from her head to her toes. "Hardly, I don't own a weapon. I sleep in a football jersey most of the time, no socks."

  "A football jersey?"

  "Yep, a Dallas Cowboy's jersey."

  "Dallas Cowboy's why not the New York Giants? They're a much better team."

  "I don't think so." Van grunted with disgust. She was serious about her football. It didn't matter that they were in an elegant restaurant with soft jazz playing in the background, football was football.

  The next twenty minutes they spent arguing good-naturedly about sports, primarily football. After that, it was politics and religion. It was after one in the mor
ning before they left the restaurant. The time had just flown by.

  "Well, we don't agree about anything." Van observed as they made the drive back to her home.

  "I know, isn't that wonderful." Cara chuckled, gathering Van's hand in her own. "I love to argue."

  "So do I." Van grinned as she squeezed Cara's hand. "I had a great time tonight."

  "I did too. Do you want to see me again?"

  "Yes and soon."

  "Is tomorrow too soon?"

  "No, tomorrow would be perfect." Van smiled happily. She really liked Cara.

  "How are you at touch football?"

  "I'm awful, why?"

  "I'm a member of the SWAT team, and we're getting together for a pot luck and a game of touch football. Would you come with me?"

  "You're a member of SWAT?" Van was more then a little surprised.

  "Yes, will you go?"

  "I would love to."

  "Good. How bad are you at touch football? I have to know whether we should pick you for our team." Cara teased her as she pulled up in front of the condominium.

  "You'll just have to wait and see." Van smirked. Actually, she was pretty good at sports.

  "Will you wear your Dallas jersey?" Cara's eyes gleamed at Van.

  "I can." The ripple of attraction spread through Van's body.

  "Good, it will create all sorts of wonderful mental images of you in my head."

  Van almost moaned out loud at the heated reaction she had to Cara's words and her gaze. She found it hard to speak normally. "Should I meet you somewhere?"

  "No, I'll pick you up. How's ten-thirty?"

  "I'll be ready."

  Cara pulled up in front of Van's place and parked. "I really had a great time to night."

  "So did I, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

  "Good." Cara squeezed Van's fingers and then leaned over to her to kiss her.

  Van met Cara halfway as their lips met softly with their first kiss. It was gentle and full, and infinitely sexy to Van. Her other hand reached up and lay against Cara's cheek as the kiss deepened. It was several minutes before they pulled apart.

  "Goodnight." Van kissed Cara quickly once more and opened her door.

  "Goodnight, I'll see you in the morning." Cara smiled softly as she spoke, her eyes full of humor and attraction.

  Van headed for her condominium and Cara drove home. Van smiled happily as she changed her clothes and got ready for bed. Within minutes she was out like a light, dreaming of Cara and how she made Van feel. It had been a very long time that Van had felt such an overwhelming attraction for a woman.

  Cara was having similar thoughts as she drove home, but she also worried. It was evident by her home, that Van was very well off and classy. Cara was feeling a little out of her element. She was a cop. She didn't make a lot of money, and her idea of style was simple, not elegant. And Van was so sexy, the way she dressed, and the way she walked. Even going into the restaurant she had turned heads. What could she see in Cara? Cara slid into disturbed sleep as images of Van disturbed her sleep. She knew that Van would quickly figure out how different they were.

  Chapter Ten

  Van frantically searched her elegant bedroom, riffling through drawer after drawer, the door of her armoire open as she dragged piles of clothes out looking for her football jersey. Any other day it would be folded in her drawer. This particular day, it was waiting with a pile of clothes in her dryer, begging to be folded and put away. Her bedroom was always put together as was her condo. Van prided herself on her sense of design, and it showed in her home. It was one of her forms of artistic expression as she routinely changed her home to match her mercurial moods. She was nervous and she couldn't wait to see Cara as she fidgeted in the kitchen. She still buzzed with feeling from the night before. She had chosen to wear her old jeans, a pair of tennis shoes, her jersey, and a sweatshirt, taking an hour to decide. She had about five minutes to spare. She threw a bottle of water, her wallet, and a fleece jacket into a duffle bag, along with her cell phone. This was so not like Van's usual organized behavior. The buzzer again announced Cara's arrival and Van let her up. She opened the door to greet her. Cara was heading down the hall and smiled when she saw Van. She was wearing a pair of old ripped jeans and a hooded sweatshirt that had the initials SWAT on the front of it. Van though she looked adorable and sexy as her stomach flipped at the sight of her.

  "Good morning." Cara spoke as she met Van at the door. Van was grinning at her.

  "Good morning." Before Van could get much more out of her mouth, Cara covered her lips with a kiss, her arms gathering Van against her tightly. Van arms locked around Cara's neck as she returned the kiss. Cara's lips devoured Van's, as her tongue danced and teased against hers.

  "God, I have been thinking about you all morning." Cara gasped for breath as she held Van tightly.

  "I couldn't think of anything but you." Van admitted and kissed Cara again. Cara kicked the door closed as they stood in Van's front entryway. They were both breathing heavily by the time they finished kissing. It was several minutes before either one of them spoke.

  "Are you ready to kick some football butt?"

  "I am." Van grinned as Cara hugged her.

  "I'll warn you, this group can be pretty obnoxious, but they're really good people."

  "I want to meet them. How long have you been a member of SWAT?"

  "A little over two years. I'm only called out on the active team if they need my skills."

  "Which are?"

  "Sharpshooter."

  "Wow, are you good?"

  "Well, I practice a lot, and yes, I am good." Cara's pride in her work was evident in her response and her face.

  "Do you get called out a lot?"

  "Not too often. Are you ready?"

  "I am. Let me grab my bag." Van slung her duffel on her shoulder. "I guess we shouldn't kiss in front of your team members." Van teased as they headed for the door.

  "Well, they know I am gay, and since you announced that you were at work, I think they might figure out that we might be kissing each other. But, if you want to kiss me in front of them, I wouldn't object." Cara grinned as she hugged Van.

  Van groaned. "I'm sorry I did that in front of the guys you work with."

  "It was okay with me. I didn't know you were gay until you announced it."

  "But, won't that cause you problems at work?"

  "Hardly, after you left they suggested that I ask you out on a date. They're always trying to fix me up." Cara chuckled at the look of disbelief on Van's face. She'd taken a lot of ribbing after Van had left the building.

  "You're kidding?"

  "No, and I appreciated their suggestion. I'd already decided to figure a way to ask you out."

  "You had?"

  "I had. I'd have been nuts not to. You're one gorgeous woman. Besides, I liked the way you put Archie in his place."

  "Who's Archie?"

  "The guy who hit on you at the precinct, he's my partner."

  "Oh great!" Van groaned, her usual tactfulness had done the trick.

  "Hey, Archie deserved it. Besides, he liked you for telling him off." Cara kissed her gently. "He'll tease you about it today."

  "He's going to be there?"

  "Yep, and he doesn't know we went out yet."

  "Do you want him to know?"

  "I want everyone to know you're seeing me." Cara grinned, holding tightly to Van's hand. Van's heart pounded as she smiled at Cara. She was falling very hard, and very fast.

  "Well, then let's go kick some SWAT butt." She suggested, hugging Cara as they headed out her condominium.

  The afternoon couldn't have been more fun. Not only had the friendly group welcomed Van, but after a little ribbing from Archie, Van found herself liking him very much. It was obvious he and Cara were very close by the way they teased each other. She appreciated their mutual respect and feelings for one another. Along with meeting Cara's friends and fellow team members, she and Cara flirted shamelessly with each ot
her. The football game was loud and competitive, and Van held her own with the aggressive group. The game was serious and physical just like Van liked her sports. She had pleasantly surprised Cara when she had dug right in with everyone else. Cara had been worried that Van might not enjoy the rough and tumble group. But Cara had worried for nothing. She knew Van was very much at home when Van took Archie out while going up for a pass. She didn't hesitate when they tumbled to a heap on the ground and was the first to leap up, the football in her arms. She celebrated beating him to the ball with a little in your face dance. Archie grinned at her and Cara's heart fell in love.