Collision Course

by C. P. Rowlands

  As she walked out to wash her hands, a stall door at the far end opened. Jordan kept her head down but peeked at them in the mirror. Still embracing, the two women moved to the sink. The blonde straightened her dress and kissed the dark-haired woman passionately, letting her fingers linger over her face, then left, the door closing softly behind her.

  The remaining woman smiled at Jordan and peeled a condom off something in her pants, tossing it in the trash. Jordan froze, processing what she was seeing, and then she understood. The woman zipped her pants, washed her hands, and started toward the door but stopped.

  “Interested?” she asked.

  “No,” Jordan said, trying to shut up, but she was having too much fun. “It’s a little small.”

  “Small?”she said, all flirting gone.

  Jordan turned the water off and reached for a towel. The woman leaned against the wall, bracing herself with a leg.

  “Small? You show me yours, I’ll show you mine.”

  “I’d hate to embarrass you.” Jordan leaned against the sink, daring the woman. She crossed her arms, enjoying the adrenaline rush and recklessness.

  The door opened and Brie walked into the bathroom, looking at both of them.

  “Mary,” she said to the tall woman at the wall. “I see you’ve met my Jordan.”

  Mary’s head snapped up. “Your Jordan?” She looked from Jordan to Brie and suddenly was sociable. She held her hand out to Jordan. “Mary Kramer. Hey, girls, two for one. I’ll buy you both a drink.”

  “No, this one’s promised me a dance,” Brie said smoothly, a firm arm around Jordan’s waist, moving them to the door. Mary staggered a little against the wall.

  “I insist, Brieanna.”

  “You really ought to go home, Mary,” Brie said, moving quickly, almost pulling Jordan to the other side of the dance floor.

  Still riding high on adrenaline, Jordan grabbed Brie’s hips and brought her close. “My Jordan?” she teased, mouth close to Brie’s ear. Hands and arms snaked around her neck.

  “Umm” was all Jordan heard as the feeling of Brie’s body against hers registered. Jordan backed away. “Who was that woman?” she said.

  “Remember the woman I told you about, the day I met Niki?”

  “The woman in the bathroom at the Inlet? That’s her? She wears something in her pants.”

  “Oh yes, she packs,” Brie said with one of those cool, raised-eyebrow looks.

  “She and some woman were going at it in one of the stalls.”

  “And you said we all had the same equipment. I suppose she offered you the opportunity?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes.”

  “I told you someone would make a pass at you. You owe me twenty bucks, Carter,” Brie said but Jordan caught the twinkle in her eyes.

  “As you said, you’re worth a lot more than that.” Jordan pulled Brie close again. She caught her breath at the unexpected pleasure as their bodies connected, but this time she held her tight and didn’t step away. “You were right about Vet,” Jordan said. “She’s overprotective.”

  “The last time I was out with them, Vet even ordered my meal.” Brief misery slid across Brie’s face and Jordan immediately began to tease, trying for a smile.

  “That was a beautiful outfit you wore to the banquet. The top was a little revealing, but this one…” She leaned in, pretending to peek down Brie’s white camisole.

  “Hey, eyes here, Carter,” Brie said, pointing at her face.

  Jordan smiled when she saw the grin back on Brie’s face. “I can almost see your tattoo.”

  “What?” Brie burst out laughing. “You wish,” she said with a little snort. “Do you even have underwear on?”

  Jordan blushed but held Brie’s hand firmly as they sat down. She watched women look at Brie, then slide their eyes to her. Brie had what made men stand straighter. Women too. Whatever that was, Brie had it.

  “What went on over there, at the bathroom?” Vet asked.

  “Just the infamous Dr. Kramer, out in full force tonight,” Brie said, shaking her head.

  Peg looked at Brie and began to laugh. “She nailed Jordan, didn’t she?”

  Jordan lifted her chin. “I kind of provoked her.”

  “There’s something wrong with that woman,” Vet said, frowning. “One more dance, Peg? I’m ready to call it a night. How about you?”

  “Wouldn’t you know? I finally get back to a bar and Mary Kramer’s here too,” Brie said. She looked at Jordan. “First time with Niki and now you. Mary’s got some mojo.”

  “Mojo, like hell. She’s just a jerk. Let’s dance and forget it.” They had just begun when a strong hand grabbed Jordan’s right shoulder.

  “Cutting in,” Mary said, lurching into both of them.

  “No, you’re not,” Jordan said, turning Brie, talking over her shoulder. “The lady doesn’t want to dance with you.”

  “C’mon, Brie.” Mary stumbled, trying to push between them.

  Brie took a step away.

  “You know how good I am, and I taught Niki everything she ever knew. You should be thanking me,” Mary slurred, falling into them. Brie took another step backward and Mary fell to her knees, then tried to crawl up Brie’s leg.

  “Mary, stop. Go home,” Brie said, but Mary’s hand crawled higher.

  Brie was losing the battle. Jordan reached for Mary and stood her up. She gripped Mary’s wrist, hard. “Fuck,” she said hoarsely and increased her grip. Several women stopped dancing and tried to help, but suddenly Vet was there, hauling Mary backward.

  “She just pisses me off,” Jordan said, her hands on Brie’s shoulder, feeling her tremble. “Are you all right?”

  “No,” Brie mumbled, sinking into her. “Just embarrassed. I’m sorry.”

  She held Brie protectively, watching Vet escort Mary out the door. Jordan ran her fingers through Brie’s soft, thick hair and found herself aiming for the slightly open pink lips. At the last second, she kissed the forehead instead and wrapped her arms tightly around Brie.“Stick with me, we’ll make it,” she said softly, her lips resting against the soft ear. “Would you like to sit down?”

  “Don’t move. You have no idea how good this feels,” Brie whispered against her cheek. Jordan shivered as the warm breath slid down her face. “Do we have to go when Peg and Vet go?”

  “No,” Brie said, tightening her arms.

  Every single part of Jordan’s body moved toward Brie. Christ! She was more than just attracted or turned on. It thrilled her but it also frightened her, and she felt her hard-won control slipping away rapidly.

  Peg walked up with their beer and Brie’s purse. “That woman is despicable,” Peg said as Vet found them. She grinned and slapped Jordan on the back. “That was a hellava move, Jordan. Minimum effort, maximum damage. I’m not sure that you didn’t break her wrist. She whined all the way out the door and it’s for darned sure it’ll be sore. Let’s do this again,” she said, taking Brie out of Jordan’s arms for a hug. Jordan almost reached for Brie, trying to keep her arms around her.

  There was an empty booth right behind them and Jordan placed their drinks on the table. “Don’t tell anyone, but I almost slapped that woman. That would have been a real statement,” she said, trying to ease the moment. “Brie. That’s not acceptable anytime, anywhere.”

  Brie sank into the booth. “It was disgusting and Niki will…”

  “Niki…? What?”

  “Kill her,” Brie said and took a long drink of her beer.

  Jordan looked down at the table, quiet.

  “Did I say that?” Brie said, shaking her head slightly. “Sometimes my brain just goes on default. God, I am sorry.” She cleared her throat. “All right, do you want to tell me where you got the information about this bar?”

  “A woman at work that I’ve known forever.”

  Brie finally smiled. “I knew it.”

  “Can’t I just be good?” Jordan said, turning her bottle slowly. “I could have been better. That damned
doctor.”

  “You are good,” Brie said softly.

  Jordan stared at Brie’s mouth. I almost kissed her kept running through her mind. “Would you like to go?”

  “I’m ready. Damn, what a night!”

  Brie was quiet the entire trip home and Jordan walked her to the door. “Could we do this again?”

  The light September wind lifted Brie’s hair a bit with a brief scent of apples and fall leaves that seemed to linger around this house. “You’d go through…that? Again?”

  “It’s been years since I’ve danced. I don’t even recognize the music anymore and the food was good. I liked Peg and Vet. Anyway, we agreed, two dates.”

  “Okay. I love to dance.” She looked overwhelmed. Sad.

  Jordan reached for her. “Brie, it’ll be all right.”

  “Thanks. Most of the night was wonderful,” Brie said and leaned into her for a light hug before she went inside the house.

  *

  After Jordan had driven away, Brie collected her clothes from the hall closet and walked to the bedroom. She tossed the clothing in the bathroom hamper and braced herself against the wall, finally sliding to the floor, worn out with alcohol, dancing, and the evening. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Emma’s question unexpectedly slid across her tired mind. If I had died and Niki had survived—Brie rubbed her forehead, thinking—what would I have wanted for Niki?

  Her gaze trailed down the hand-painted tiles in the bathroom. When Niki’s family had been killed, she and Niki had discussed death…sudden death, but not their own, for God’s sake.

  It had been unthinkable.

  Brie stood and looked at herself in the mirror. She stripped down to her underwear and went into the bedroom. The jewelry box was still open on her dresser and she carefully replaced her earrings. Jordan had noticed them.

  She turned and looked at the closet. She walked across the room and slid the big door sideways. A blanket was still on the floor where she had slept. She picked it up and folded it. She began to look at the clothes in front of her, idly moving garments apart to look at each item. Who on earth could use these, she wondered. The only person she knew that was approximately the same size as Niki was her sister Val. Or girls at the university? These were really nice clothes and they might use them. She saw a deep burgundy dress that was familiar and thought of Jordan at the banquet. Jordan’s burgundy suit had fit perfectly, showcasing that riveting body. It had been about the same color as this. She held it up to see it better in the light. Brie remembered how the color had glowed against Jordan’s tan skin. Brie smiled. Tonight had been fun, despite Mary Kramer. Jordan, trying to act like she had been in that club a million times.

  “Wing it?” Brie said out loud, repeating Jordan’s words, laughing quietly. Maybe that’s what Jordan had been like, before. Before life had caught her and wrecked her, knocking her into the bars. “Bet you were something else,” she said. If tonight had been any hint, Jordan probably had been something else. Jordan was always saying that men were falling over in front of her. Brie was certain they looked at Jordan the same way.

  She missed Niki, but every part of her body had hardened against Jordan tonight. For the first time since the shooting, she’d felt a sliding touch of need for someone other than Niki. Did Jordan almost kiss me?

  Chapter Fourteen

  “No,” Jordan mumbled into her pillow as the phone rang. She pushed farther into the bed, searching for the phone.

  Uncle John’s deep voice rumbled in her ear. “Do you want to have breakfast with us when you pick up the kids?”

  “Yes,” she said, not even trying to open her eyes.

  “Don’t hurry,” he said.

  “Couldn’t if I wanted to,” she said, yawning through the words. “I need a shower. How are my little ones?”

  “We kept them up so late that they’re still asleep,” he said, chuckling.

  “Give me an hour, at least,” Jordan said, burrowing back into the warm bed, still on the edge of the dream, the fragile shift of Brie’s bone and warm muscle as she leaned in to kiss her and… Jordan’s eyes flew open and she sat up. Brie’s hips and breasts, pressed against her, that feeling of surrender and… “Damn,” she said, amazed at how wet and ready she was.

  Fully awake, she pulled off her T-shirt. Yes, she sure as hell had meant to kiss her.

  *

  Brie dragged the garbage through the empty space where Niki’s car should have been. Something bright and shiny caught her eyes and she recognized it immediately. It was one of the heavy-duty washers that Niki used for the new pipes in the bathroom. She slipped the washer into her jeans pocket. Why she hadn’t noticed it before?

  The big workbench made an L around two walls and Brie wandered down its length and hit the switch to open the garage door. The smell of possible rain blended into the fresh air that rushed at her and she took a deep breath. Niki’s car had been impounded by the police, but outside of that glaring space, the garage still looked just as it always had. The three big toolboxes on wheels gleamed in front of her. She should give them to someone who would use them. Maybe Dannie or Vet? She’d gotten up that morning with a peaceful, light feeling. Was it finally a good day to do Niki’s office? The closet? She took a cup of coffee and swiveled her office chair to look out at the garden. Despite Mary Kramer, they’d all had fun. Jordan could really dance and Brie had never seen her laugh that much. They’d do it again.

  “You owe me twenty dollars, Carter,” she said. She could have stayed in Jordan’s arms forever. Jordan was about the same height as herself, and her breasts…

  “Crap,” Brie said, standing quickly. “What am I doing?”

  She flipped on the bathroom lights and saw Jordan’s wallet propped between the soap dispenser and hand lotion. She turned the soft leather billfold in her hand. How weird. I find one of Niki’s special washers that I haven’t seen in years, and now Jordan’s wallet. It even smells like her. She grabbed her car keys, tapping the wallet against her fingers.

  *

  “Where did I leave my wallet?” Jordan said as they walked up the sidewalk to the house, then laughed. How would the kids know? The last time she’d seen it was last night at Brie’s. She dumped the contents of her purse onto the kitchen table and began to sort through it.

  Someone rang the doorbell and Tyler ran for the door. “Uncle Mac,” he yelled.

  Mac Flynn tousled Tyler’s hair and grabbed Jordan into a huge hug, finishing with a kiss, a real kiss. “Hey gorgeous,” he said. The kids giggled, watching him kiss her.

  “Hey.” Jordan pushed him away.

  Grinning, he closed the screen door and left the inside door open. “Let some air in, Jordan. It’s going to rain. You always loved that smell.”

  She looked at him for a moment. How on earth had he remembered that? Mac had been Pete’s partner and, after Pete’s death, much more to her. To begin with, Mac had been the only one, but as alcohol and the newly found space in her life widened, Jordan had gone on to others. He had followed for a while until it ended in a fairly violent argument one night in his bed. She had gotten up, dressed, and never gone back. After that, on the rare occasions when they ran into each other, they’d only nodded.

  He sat at the kitchen table, looking around. “I haven’t seen this place,” he said. “It took me a while to find you. I went to the old house, yours and Pete’s.” He took the coffee that she handed him.

  “How’d you find me?”

  “The bar. They told me that you’d moved in with your mother. I’ve been by a couple of times but you weren’t home.” He gestured at her purse. “What are you doing?”

  “I managed to lose Pete’s wallet last night.”

  “You’re still carrying that?”

  Jordan sat across from him and ignored the question. It was none of his business. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing. It’s been over three years.” He appraised her frankly. “You look good. Tasted like old times. Cute outfit. I always
liked you in skirts. Shows off your legs.”

  “Mac, the kids.”

  He ruffled Tyler’s hair again. “You’ve really grown, Ty, and, Jenna, you’re the picture of your daddy.”

  “Uncle Mac, you should see my games. Come on, I’ll show you,” Tyler said.

  “I need to talk to your mom a bit, but I warn you, I’d whip your rear, kid,” Mac said with a laugh and watched the kids leave for Tyler’s room. “They’ve really grown.”

  “So,” Jordan persisted, “what’s up?”

  “I’ve missed you, that’s all.”

  She said nothing, mildly irritated.

  “Still making the rounds?”

  She shook her head. “No. It was just a strange time.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “That was out of line.” He smiled apologetically. Jordan remembered one of the things that had made her give him a try in the beginning. That little-tease smile and warm green eyes. His curly brown hair looked a little shaggy, but he was wearing a clean dark blue Milwaukee FD T-shirt. “I’ve finally got a girl.” He paused and looked at her. “Jordan, you knew how I felt.”

  “Never going to happen, Mac. You were about the last thing I needed. I finally quit that kind of drinking and the bars.”

  “Are you still working for your uncle?”

  “Full partner, and I love it.”

  “Pete would have hated that.”

  “Pete isn’t here.”

  “Right. Job’s not the same either. My girl’s from Chicago. I may just move down there. They always need paramedics.” He stood. “I’ve got to go. Tell the kids I said good-bye. Maybe I’ll see you again.”

  “I’ll walk you down,” she said, holding the door for him, and walked outside just as it began to rain lightly. They stopped at his car and said the usual things. She turned to go but he grabbed her for one last unexpected kiss. Jordan jerked away and Mac laughed just as another car stopped behind his. Jordan turned and saw Brie’s surprised face. Brie backed her car away from Mac’s so he could get by and then pulled her car up to Jordan. Brie powered the window down and held out the wallet.