“
There is a woman outside, smoking a cigarette.
Her purse was on the floor under the desk when we came
inside.”
“And she left her purse out in full-view,
unattended?” Sometimes I really hated being blind. It would be nice
to see things for myself instead of jumping to all types of
conclusions.
To Detective Stephens, I said, “Red tells me there is
a woman outside smoking a cigarette. Her purse is under the desk in
your entry area. Red says there is a gun in the purse, and there is
also something which smells like alcohol.” I thought for a moment,
“I should tell you, Red might not be able to distinguish between
products that contain alcohol, as he only has my roommate's whiskey
to use as a basis of reference. You could ask Red to bring you the
purse, if you'd like.”
Detective Stephens seemed to consider this for a
moment before saying, “I would consider it a favor if your
companion would be so kind as to search the adjoining room for the
presence of firearms.” I grinned at the phrasing, noting he tried
to use language which didn’t contain traditional training terms. So
suspicious. Without waiting for my reaction, or any signal from me
at all, Red trotted out of the room presumably to get the purse.
But, with my dog's sense of humor, who knows what he'd bring
back?
Red must have returned with, presumably, the purse as
I heard the detective thank Red with a, “Good boy.”
“Hey!” a voice called out from the front room. “Your
dog stole my purse!”
“It’s a dog Marleen, not a cat burglar.” It appears
Detective Stephens has a sense of humor; also, good to know. “The
dog is going through some training exercises and it seems he has
detected a firearm in your purse. Have you got a concealed weapon
permit for this?”
“Ahhh.” There was a pretty long pause here.
“
Marleen needs to think a little quicker on her
feet, but that's merely my humble opinion.”
Red clearly loved
his role in the discovery.
“You didn't ask if you could search my purse,”
Marleen finally, blurted out.
“The dog picked it up, and brought it to me. I can
feel a gun through the fabric. So, I'll ask again, do you have a
permit for this?”
“Well, no. Not yet, but I was going to get one.”
Marleen's voice sounded young and whiny; what a joy she must be to
work with.
“Ms. March,” Detective Stephens addressed me, “thank
you for your help today, and the demonstration of your dog's
tracking abilities. I have a few matters to attend to here, but I
have your business card. If it's okay with you, may I contact you
at a later date to possibly discuss how you and Red might be able
to provide occasional service to the department?”
I'm not sure if Detective Stephens was trying to
maintain the illusion Red accidentally discovered a gun in a
volunteer's purse, or if he believed Red and I had an extraordinary
team dynamic, but I replied in kind, “Thank you, Detective, for
allowing Red and me to demonstrate some of our skills. I look
forward to your call if you feel we can offer anything of
value.”
Detective Stephens also earned points for not
discussing the gun issue in front of us. He handled the situation
very professionally. I'm not sure if there was anything we could
offer to the SPD, unless it was to entertain at police office
parties, but I appreciated the detective's courtesy.
I'm one of those people who are showered, and as
dressed-up as I plan to be, within forty minutes. My date with
David was no different. I was dressed and ready fifteen minutes
before I expected to be picked up.
I decided I would bring Red, and was buckling him
into his harness, when the doorbell rang. With a final scratch
behind his ears, I opened the front door.
“
Holy crap! It’s the Alpha!”
Red
exclaimed.
I don't know what startled me more, that Red used
“crap” (Note to self: quit swearing in front of the dog, he repeats
everything), or that David was the second man from dinner the other
night. My thoughts narrowed and focused; the same man who Red said
found me worthy? I bent over, as if giving Red a command, “You
sure?” I whispered for his ears alone, completely puzzled why David
hadn't mentioned it. Especially after Janey brought it up in the
car. Although, I did harshly squelch the conversation.
“
Of course, I'm sure,”
Red, replied. Affronted
I questioned his sense of smell, I suppose. He had gone on and on
about his crime fighting skills ever since we'd left the police
sub-station, clearly becoming a legend in his own mind.
Full of surprises, Red went totally dog on me and ran
right up to David to greet him and beg for attention. Shameless if
you ask me. “Good gracious Red, where's your pride?” I muttered as
I listened to his nails tap on the entryway linoleum. It sounded
like the crazy mutt was dancing in circles.
“
Hey! I'm a dog,”
he stated the obvious.
“People love me when I'm all excited and doggy.”
I was
shaking my head as I listened to David making all the proper
crooning and praising noises.
“He's a nice man. He's checking my
side to make sure I'm not hurt.”
I grinned at Red's antics, and was a little amused
David hadn't even said hello to me yet. I stepped back from the
doorway, intending to leave the two guys to bond. David managed to
snag my hand before I turned away. “Hey,” I said, still smiling,
“don't let me break up your bro-mance.”
He laughed and tugged gently on my hand to pull me
into his arms. “Guy moment is over. Now I want a Teresa moment.
Hello,” he said belatedly, resting his forehead against mine, “you
look terrific.” He bussed a quick kiss on the tip of my nose, and
then said, “I'm starving.”
His hand slid to the back of my neck to brace my head
steadily, and then his mouth took mine in a full, carnal kiss. What
was it about this man's kiss that melted me into a brainless ninny?
He didn’t thrust a tongue in my mouth and try to pick a fight with
my tonsils. Oh no, this guy had major talent.
David's tongue swept through my mouth and
tasted
me. It was like he was alternatively licking and
sucking, using teeth to nibble my lower lip before tilting his head
to fit our lips together again. His lips suggested this is how he
would make love; slowly, savoring each flavor, leaving nothing
untouched or unexplored. Oh, man! I was in big trouble.
The kiss broke off slowly, and we were both breathing
audibly. “Starving,” he repeated, suggestively. Then he
straightened with a deeply in-drawn breath, “and hungry too, so
let’s get going before I do something which will get me in
trouble.”
A smug voice in my head,
“Dude! He not only finds
you worthy, you seem to find him pretty interesting too.”
Dude? I thought, where did Red hear someone say
Dude?
The whirlwind who is David, slipped an arm through
mine leaving my left hand available to sling my purse over my
shoulder and grab the dog by his harness. If you're caught-up in a
tornado, I have to assume, it's best to relax and go where the wind
takes you.
David took me to a new restaurant in town called
Blind Seduction. It was billed as a “meal for the senses.” The
diners wore blindfolds and there was no silverware; we would feed
each other.
The irony is I was their “first blind girl” and the
servers were gushing at the opportunity to serve us. The restaurant
was divided into cozy alcoves, featuring a small round table and
very comfortable chairs which sat side by side—perfect for two
people. David was given a blindfold when we were seated so he could
have the option of eating all, or part of his meal, without
sight.
The restaurant had no menu. Although they checked
with us beforehand to make sure we had no allergies, we would be
served a meal of their choice. Each course had a common theme, such
as cold or hot, spicy or mild. The hostess made a point to let us
know nothing was too hot to touch, or too spicy or messy, as they
wanted us to relax and savor the evening.
Our two servers, Megan and Lydia, began the meal by
washing our hands. We were treated to a combination of a massage
and cleanse with fragrant, handmade lemongrass soap. Our hands and
wrists were wiped with soft and warm lemon-scented towels before
they were rinsed over, what I assumed was, a deep bowl. It was very
relaxing. Practical too; a nice polite way of making sure everyone
had clean hands since we were feeding our partner.
While we were being pampered, the girls told us many
of the couples who come to dinner take turns with the blindfolds,
switching back and forth between courses. “We have a lot of couples
who only do the blindfold for the dessert course. Most of the fun
was had in feeding each other, not necessarily in enjoying the
sensory aspects of the textures and the flavors of the food,” Megan
added.
We were given long apron-like bibs, and our serving
team told us the restaurant provided covering for clothes so we
wouldn't get stained. The girls left us alone after letting us know
there were glasses of water and jasmine tea poured and available on
our table. They mentioned practice had taught them it was best for
us to handle our own liquids, as there had been more than one
accident with spilled drinks.
David informed me he put his own blindfold on when we
were seated, as he wanted to experience the meal on a sensory
level, the same as me. Red was curled up at our feet—I'm pretty
sure he was snoring. He’d likely wake up when food arrived.
The service was great. Dinner was amazing. Eating a
meal with David was indescribable.
Our first course featured vegetable appetizers; the
theme appeared to be cool and crisp. Crispy baby carrots with blue
cheese dressing, snap peas with a dill sauce, and bite-size celery
stalks with a mix of caviar and cream cheese spread into the
groove. Megan described the dishes, and where all the accompanying
sauces were located, when she dropped off the food. I helped David
learn how food placement worked, and the best way of finding food
on the plate without getting it all over your fingers, “Although,
for this meal, that seems to be the point,” I laughed.
Together, we discovered the best way to ensure
accuracy, was to use our hands to hold or touch the others' face to
make sure the food didn't hit an eye or something. It was when he
was feeding me a bite of crisp celery, he admitted to watching me
in the restaurant the other night. “That jerk seemed to get you so
upset, and I didn't see a polite way to broach the subject, so I
stayed silent when I saw you again. When I realized you had cut off
all your beautiful hair to shield your facial scars, I wanted to
hunt him down and punch him.”
“
My kinda guy,”
a voice said in my mind.
“The whole 'rip your balls out through your throat' thing? I
would have totally been there for that.”
As I suspected, the snoring was a ruse, I also
contentedly accepted he wouldn't be able to pass a quiet evening
without butting into the conversation. I ran a foot lazily across
Red's flank to acknowledge his comment.
“I knew who you were,” he admitted. “Every time Bas
got a batch of pictures emailed, he would show them to all the
guys. There wasn't one picture of Janey which didn't include you
right beside her.”
David was silent for a few seconds, and then said,
“You know Bas has a thing for you, right? I was surprised he picked
a fight in the car because I know he was excited and nervous you'd
be joining us for breakfast. I got the impression there was a
history between you two, but he's never spoken about you except as
Janey's friend.”
He didn't ask, but I could hear the question in
David’s voice. I cupped his face in my palm and leaned over for a
soft kiss, and then placed a dill-covered snap pea between his
lips. “Bas came over this morning, after Janey dropped me off at my
house. We had a nice long talk and I think we resolved some issues.
It was refreshing to hold a conversation with him that didn’t
involve yelling or gritting my teeth. He and I have agreed to spend
some time together to get to know each other.” I stopped, hesitant
to discuss the weird revelations Bas and I shared earlier.
“To me, Bas has always been Janey's brother, and I've
never had a high opinion of his moral character. But, I'll admit my
teenage perspective colored my judgment, as I haven't spent any
time around Bas since I was a kid. I don't know what kind of man
he's become. Mostly, for Janey's sake, I'd like to see if we could
become friends. From my own perspective, I think I could like him;
we made a little progress in that direction today. And Bas’ view?
That gets complicated. I think he wants a
relationship.
” I
made sure to add lots of innuendo to the word, “But, in my opinion,
he wants a relationship with who he
thinks
I am. My avoiding
him for all these years seems to have sparked his prey drive.”
David stroked my bangs back from my forehead and
slipped a cream cheese-coated finger between my lips. I heard a
crunch as he ate the piece of celery he had snagged the filling
from. Cheater! He let out a little groan as I sucked the fingertip
deeper into my mouth, the salty tartness of the caviar blended with
the sweet smoothness of the cream cheese and exploded over my
tongue. I released his finger with a long lick. Serves him right
for stealing my celery.