Dakota's Way 1 - Dakota's Way

by Robin Hicks

  Chapter Five

  Koty would hear that husky voice every now and then throughout the evening, and would steal a glance in its direction. Every time that she did, she would catch Kasey's eyes just leaving her. 'Hmm.'

  This woman had definately caught Koty's attention, and for the life of her she couldn't figure out just why. Sure she was beautiful, and those gray eyes spooky, and sultry at the same time, but it wasn't that. 'I know that I have never met her before, but yet she seems so familiar.'

  Later that evening Koty asked Chris how long she had known Kasey. "We became fast friends when we met. We were in our second year as undergraduates, and we became study buddies for exams, and would go out to each other's clubs whenever we had a break. It was at one of my favorite clubs back then, when I met Monty. We had stayed close friends through out the years and Kasey we were both glad that she got back up with me when she moved back.

  "Just curious." Koty felt her face heat up from a powerful blush, so she turned away to go make another drink. Jamie and Trish walked up to her as Chris went to answer the door.

  "What's that shit eating grin on your face Jamie Jennings?"

  "Oh...nothing, what's up with you and Dr. Feelgood?"

  "Nothing is up with Dr. Feelgood and her name is Kasey, so get that smirk off of your face. Besides, she's straight, knuckle head."

  "Ok, ok... just asking. Don't go getting your panties pinched. She is pretty hot though if you ask me." Jamie said as she pinched Koty on the cheek.

  "Yeah well nobody asked you." Koty told her as she pinched Jamie back. Trish just laughed and patted her on the back. "She is pretty cute Koty, and she has been watching you tonight."

  'Yeah right.' Koty thought as her face heated up yet again.

  Later in the evening, Koty watched as Chris walked up to her with a perplexed look on her face. 'I bet I don't want to know what this is about.' "What's up Chris?"

  "Some guy in a monster truck has Kasey blocked in and he's nowhere to be found. Someone said that he left with some guy that was here earlier." Chris hesitated for a moment, "Um...Koty, Kasey is ready to go, and I normally wouldn't ask but can you give her a ride home? She only lives about ten minutes from you."

  Koty really wanted to say no, but didn't want to let Chris down. "Sure Chris but I'm gonna go ahead and say my goodnight's now then. I'm starting to get another headache." She gave Chris a hug. "Happy Birthday sis, I love you."

  ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

  "I'm sorry that you had to cut your evening short with your family, just to bring me home Koty."

  "It's ok, I was ready to leave anyways. Honest."

  Pulling into Kasey's driveway and putting her Jag in park, Koty turned in the seat. "You need a ride tomorrow morning to pick up your car?"

  "That's awfully sweet of you but no, Chris told me that she and Monty would drive it over here in the morning for me. Thank you though for asking. Remember, come see me at the clinic on Monday so I can check out that cut of yours. You really should have gone to the emergancy room though."

  Before Kasey reached for the door, she leaned over and gave Koty a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks again, I'll see you Monday." Then Kasey was out of the car and walking to her door, leaving Koty slack jawed and staring.

  'She would not get that close to these lips if she knew that I was a lesbian.'

  When Koty got home, she made herself a whiskey and seven, then sat in her recliner to listen to her answering machine. She had just taken a huge swallow of her drink and almost choked when she heard Tina's voice asking if they could get together sometime this week for some drinks and to talk. Koty reached over and slapped the answering machine right off of the table, not caring where it landed, or if it broke.

  Later, she had stopped counting how many drinks she had had, and woke up at four in the morning still sitting in her chair. Getting up to go to bed, she mumbled something about whiskey and ex'es.

  Chapter Six

  By the time that Koty made it in to see Kasey on Monday morning she had a huge black eye, and the cut was really swollen. Kasey made a small gasp when she saw it, and turned to her assistant.

  "Renee, please get an ex-ray of Miss. Silvers eye for me, and let me know as soon as you have it.

  Twenty minutes later, Kasey told Koty that she did indeed have a chipped bone, and there were some fragments that needed to be removed. "I'm going to have to make about a half inch incision where your cut is to remove those pieces. You will get about four stitches and I'll be done. Don't worry though, I only mess up once in awhile."

  Seeing the look on Koty's face, she laughed. "Joke Koty, that was a joke. I'm sorry. Look, you won't even be able to see the scar unless you really look close, I promise."

  Watching the needle come closer to her, Koty cringed a little and asked, "are you really gonna give me a shot right there in the cut?"

  "It's going to hurt like hell if I don't. Don't tell me a tough detective like you is afraid of a little needle?"

  Koty smiled, and closed her eyes, cringing again at the thought of it. "Here, put these headphones on, lay back and relax. Don't take them off until I say so. I will be done in no time."

  Koty's lip started to twitch when she felt Kasey's soft hands on her face. Finally she felt Kasey remove the headphones, and lift her chin to inspect her work.

  Koty gave a crooked smile and said, "I guess I will have to walk around looking like Mike Tyson for a while huh?"

  Still holding her chin, the doctor very slowly looked over Koty's face. In that low husky voice, she said, "Mike Tyson you are not Honey. It is going to hurt for a while, so I'm giving you a prescription for some painkillers, and an antibiotic for the infection. You need to let me know if the swelling doesn't go down."

  Turning to leave, Koty stopped and smiled. "Would you like to have dinner with me sometime this week Doc?" 'Oh my God, I did not just ask her out did I? Please, please let that have been just inside my mind!'

  The doctor hesitated a moment. "I would love to Koty, how about Wednesday night?"

  "Um...great, how about I pick you up around seven? Dress casual, it's not real fancy, but they have really good food."

  "That will be fine Koty, I'll see you Wednesday night then."

  Walking out of the building, Koty still couldn't believe that she had just asked a straight woman out to dinner. 'I guess she is straight anyway.' Koty mused. 'Oh well, what's a little innocent dinner anyway? We are going to eat, not to have sex for Christ sakes! God, she is one of the sexiest women I think I have met.

  Since Koty had taken the whole day off, and knowing that Monty was usually in the office on Mondays, she decided to ride to Chesapeake and see if he wanted to go have some lunch.

  The siblings hadn't had lunch together in almost a year, and she really missed that. Before Tina and she had gotten together they used to meet at least once a month for lunch. That started to slowly diminish until it was only around every five or six months. Actually, they used to do a lot of things together. When Chris and Monty got together it was the three of them.

  She knew then and there that she would have to start seeing them more often, and make up for the lost time. She would start spending more time with Jamie and Trish as well.

  Monty and she were born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, in the Edgewater area down by Old Dominion University. Back in thoughs days, kids could play outside even when it was dark outside, and they never had to worry about the sicko's that there seemed to be today. Today, you don't want your kids to play outside even in the daylight, for fear of something happening to them.

  They had lived on 48th Street at the time, and 49th on up, was all white families, and 47th on down, was where the black families lived. In thoughs days though they all played together. To those kids, there wasn't any seperation by color, or gender, or anything else for that matter. Whose ever yard you were in at the time darkness came, that was where the kids useally had dinner, and sometimes ended up spending the night there.

  Koty shook herse
lf out of her memories and pulled into the parking lot at Monty's office, just as he was just getting out of his truck. Spotting Koty's infamouse lavender jag, he walked up and leaned into the window.

  "What' up sis, and what brings you to my side of town? Anything wrong?"

  "No, nothing is wrong. Can't a girl come see if her brother has time for her, and maybe see if he wants to go have some lunch?" She got out of her car and gave him a hug.

  "As a matter of fact, I do have time for something to eat. I just need to do something in the office real quick, come on in."

  "Cindi, could you please get Paul Richardson on the phone for me, then put him through to my office?" He asked of his secretary as he passed by her desk.

  "Sure thing Boss Man. Hi Koty."

  "Hi."

  Puzzled, Koty asked why he was trying to reach the man who had been their family lawyer for over twenty-five years.

  "I'm not real sure yet, but I might be having a problem with my foreman. I got a call from the hardware company that we normaly do most of our bussiness with. They wanted to know if we were going to need to place a order for the supplies that had came in a week before. When I told them that Coleman should have already picked it up, they informed me that they haven't heard from him, or seen him in over a month.

  "He's getting the material from some place because the jobs are being done. When I confronted him on it, he told me that he wasn't sure if the supplies would come in soon enough for the deadline, so he went somewhere else.

  "While that seemed logical enough, something about the way he seemed to fidget during that conversation, and believe me, that man doesn't fidget, well it made me curious so I've been checking a little bit more into it. He's pocketing money somewhere, I just know it. I just haven't found out how, or where yet."

  Koty left his office when the call came through to let him talk, and to pass the time talking to with his secretary. Cindi had tried to date her for a long time. They went out several times, but nothing became of it, at least not for Koty. Now they were just good friends, and saw each other at Laces every once in awhile for drinks. Koty really enjoyed Cindi's company, but couldn't make her feelings become any stronger.

  The younger woman would rather have Koty for a friend than nothing at all, so she no longer pursued a relationship with her. If the detective ever changed her mind though, she would be right there.

  'That bitch of an ex girlfriend is crazy as shit for fucking around on a woman like Koty. If she were mine, I would treat her like the Goddess she is,' the secretary silently fumed.

  Monty came out of his office and told Koty that he was ready for her to buy him a really expensive lunch, that there was a new restaurant that just opened by Greenbriar Mall he'd been wanting to try.

  Koty and Monty both inherited a great deal of money when their parents passed away, leaving them the sole owners of a huge import, export bussiness. Niether Monty nor Koty knew very much about the bussiness, so they both agreed to sell it. When they both turned twenty-five, they inherited trust funds from thier deceased grandparents.

  Koty generously donated to just about any fundraisers that had to do with Aids, and people really loved it when she walked in the door to one. She was very well known in the gay community, though only for her generous contributions.

  Chapter Seven

  As Kasey drove home from work that evening, she thought about Koty and their dinner date on Wednesday night. 'There is something about that woman,' she thought as she pulled into her driveway. A strong attraction that she couldn't deny.

  Kasey knew that she would have to keep herself grounded where Koty was concerned though. Chris, worried about Koty, had filled her in on what Tina had done to her. She told her how devastated Koty was at the break-up 'That woman is a fool. Koty is not only gorgeous, she is downright sexy. She is on the rebound though, and I know all about women on the rebound.' This line of thinking brought to her mind, the memory of Samantha, that she had buried long ago. A memory that still brought uneasy feelings with it.

  Two years ago, Kasey had met Samantha, a beautiful therapist that was on the rebound from her lover Annie. She had let herself fall head over heals in love with Samantha, then eight short months later, Sam told her she was going back to Annie.

  Kasey still vividly remember Sam's explanation. "I need to do this Kasey. I need to show that I didn't give up on a five-year relationship. I love you. I'll always love you, but I have to give her another chance."

  That was the last time she had seen Sam, and was saddened by it because they were actually very close friends before they became lovers. Kasey moved back to Virginia Beach from Richmond, just at the begining of the year.

  Kasey had totally shocked herself when she accepted Koty's offer for dinner. She knew she needed to keep a safe distance but couldn't help herself. She had said yes before she even realized it.

  'What was the harm in having dinner with a friend?' Kasey mused. 'Koty seemed like a really nice woman. Besides, Chris believes the sun rises, and sets on Koty Silvers.'

  Chapter Eight

  Wednesday evening Koty pulled out of her driveway, dressed in a pair of denim dress pants, Justin cowboy boots, and a baby blue silk shirt. Her long black hair was falling loosely down her back.

  She wasn't quite sure why, but she wanted to look nice for Kasey and their date. 'It's not a date you ding-a-ling! It's just dinner, nothing more and nothing less. Besides, I like to look nice every now and then. Tonight is no different.'

  She knocked on Kasey's door, and when it opened, for the second time in less than a week, she found herself speechless. Kasey was wearing a black dress that hugged every curve imaginable and showed a generous amount of thigh. 'Oh sweet Jesus!'

  Mistaking the look on Koty's face, Kasey backed up a little. "My, I'm a little overdressed aren't I?"

  Composing herself and catching her breath, Koty whispered. "You are perfect. Um...you look great, please don't change. Are you ready to go?"

  "Yes, let me grab my jacket." Kasey turned quickly, so Koty would not see the blush on her face from her comment. "Shall we?"

  As they drove, Koty told her that she was taking her to one of her favorite places to eat. "It's small and quiet, but you'll love the food. I used to go there quite a bit, but it's been awhile. By the way, I wanted to thank you for taking care of the eye thingy for me."

  "You're welcome."

  ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

  Dinner was going quite nicely. Both women were relaxed, and conversation came easy. They were suprised at some of the things they had in common. They discovered that they both loved the same country artist's, snow skiing, and a secret passion for Walt Disney movies.

  "Are you up to another bottle of wine, or are you ready to leave?"

  "Actually Koty, I would like some more wine if you are up to it."

  They were waiting for the waiter, to come back to the table to take their wine order when a beautiful red headed woman walked up to Koty, and put her hand on her shoulder.

  "Koty, why haven't you returned my phone calls? I really need to talk to you. Please call me later, no matter what time it is." With that, she shot a none too friendly look at Kasey, and walked away leaving them both speechless.

  Koty was doing a good job hiding it, but Kasey could tell that she was suddenly uncomfortable. Reaching across the table, she put her hand on Koty's. "Look Koty, why don't we just call it a night, ok?"

  Koty just stared at their hands for a moment, then looked into those incredible gray eyes before answering. "Yeah, lets get out of here. You don't mind do you?"

  "Absolutely not. It's been a long day for the both of us I'm sure. Lets go."

  The ride back to Kasey's was pretty quiet. Kasey was wondering who the beautiful redhead was, and Koty was wondering what the hell Tina was doing there, when she didn't even like the place. Koty almost had to beg Tina to go there with her before.

  Koty walked Kasey to her door, and when they both at the same time, went to kiss each other on the chee
k, they missed and got each other on the lips instead. Both of them, wide-eyed, backed away from each other, and gave a small gasp.

  Koty made a quick apology, said goodnight, and hurried to her car then left.

  Kasey was still standing there for several minutes with her jaw dropped, when Koty was well out of sight. "This isn't going to be easy being just friends with her. That woman is so charming, she is dangerous."

  "Great Silvers, just Great! What in the hell was that all about?"

  She remembered the look on Kasey's face. Man was she shocked. 'Shocked yes, repulsed no.' Koty was sure that Kasey felt it too. 'Felt what? Just what do you think you're feeling. I need to get a handle on my emotions.'

  Chapter Nine

  Thursday night after work, Koty stopped by Monty and Chris's house, to let Monty know that she had some phone calls in about his foreman. Chris answered the door, and pulled Koty in by her arm.

  "Koty, come on in here. I made lasagna for dinner, why don't you stay.

  "You know I can't turn down your cooking Chris, of course I'll stay. But, is there going to be enough food left for Monty? I'd hate for him to go hungry, because you know how much I love lasagna."

  "I guess we can let him have a little bit. You know how bitchy he gets when he's hungry."

  While they were sitting at the table, Chris asked Koty how her dinner with Kasey went the night before, and made Koty almost choke on her tea.

  "Um...how did you know about us having dinner?"

  Chris just smiled and filled their glasses. "Well, Kasey told me of course. Why, is it supposed to be a big secret?"

  "No. Well no, I was just curious how you knew about it, that's all." She glanced over at Monty, who was just smiling to himself.

  "Besides, it would have been a little better if Tina hadn't shown up, asking me why I haven't returned her phone calls. Like I have nothing better to do than worry about her. Other than that, it went ok. It felt good." 'Too good actually, and that scares the shit out of me.'