Chapter 2
A slight pulsing in her right temple woke Tasha up. She slowly opened her eyes and squinted. She was in a brightly lit room that was not her own bedroom. She opened her eyes a bit further and stared at the ceiling as the world started to come into focus. She was in Patterson’s apartment. In Patterson’s bed. Yesterday. The costumes. D&D event. Whiskey. She exhaled slowly and sat up, and then realized she was in just her bra and underwear. She looked around for her clothes and spotted her duffel bag. She put her hand to her head, exhaled one last time, and was about to get out of bed, when she head Patterson come into the bedroom. She was dressed in a t-shirt and her underwear, and holding a mug of coffee.
“Good morning, my sleepy rogue thief”, Patterson said, cheerfully. She smiled and then handed Tasha the mug. “Black with sugar, right?” she asked. Patterson had gotten Tasha coffee before at the office and, with her near-photographic memory, had memorized Tasha’s preferences.
“Yeah, thank you”, Tasha said. She smiled weakly and took the mug, then took a sip.
“How did you sleep?” Patterson asked as she sat on the bed next to Tasha.
“I think okay, but my head hurts”, Tasha responded.
Patterson smiled. “Well, you did drink most – no wait, all – of the healing potion yesterday”, she said.
“I know, I know”, Tasha said. “Well, I needed something to get me through the event-“
“The event that you actually ended up having a good time at, yes?” Patterson said.
Tasha stared at her and then smiled back. “Yes.”
“Good. Now, I’m going to make us breakfast, so right now you just sit here and drink that magical healing potion coffee, and I’ll come get you when breakfast is ready”, Patterson said with a big smile.
“Thanks, but I kind of just want to go home. And why are you so chipper today?”
“Well I didn’t have any healing potion yesterday and plus, we have fun things to do today”, Patterson said, getting off the bed.
“Wait, what?” Tasha asked, putting down her coffee mug on the nightstand next to the bed. “What fun things? What are you talking about?”
“Well, you said that you wanted to go train and run muddy trails today, right?”
“Well, yeah, I did mention that a few days ago, but that was before I ended up drinking like eight ounces of whiskey. I can’t move today.”
“Well, that’s what coffee’s for. Plus, some exercise will help you recover.”
“Look, I don’t know, I kind of just want to go home-“
“No”, Patterson said. She stared at Tasha for a moment and then climbed on top of her so she was on all fours, somewhat straddling Tasha, kneeling over her. “Look, you came with me yesterday to my event. So now today, I’m going to go with you to do your things.”
“Wait, what?” Tasha said again. “What things?”
“Your things. You know, mud running and salsa dancing.”
“Wait wait wait”, Tasha said, waving her hand. “You won a bet. That’s why I went to your thing.”
“I know, but you went, and that’s what matters. And, despite yourself, you ended up having a good time”, Patterson said. “So, despite my misgivings about salsa dancing and mud running, I have decided to try your things today.” She stared at Tasha and then smiled. “We can make it a Tasha and Patterson weekend.”
Tasha stared at Patterson. She really did want to just go home and rest the day away, but Patterson mentioning that she wanted to try the things that Tasha enjoyed made her perk up. “Okay.”
“Okay? You sure?” Patterson said with a smile and moved her face closer to Tasha’s.
“Yeah, okay.” Tasha said with a slight smile and then looked back into Patterson’s eyes. Less than a foot and their lips would meet.
Patterson stared at Tasha for another moment and then sat back up. “Awesome!” she said and got off the bed. She ran her hand along Tasha’s leg under the covers and then headed out into the kitchen.
“Hey, Patterson”, Tasha called as Patterson was near the door.
“Yeah?”
“Last night…did we…you know…”
“Did we sleep together?” Patterson finished with a smile.
“Yeah, I mean no, I mean…” Tasha trailed off.
“Yeah we did. We slept together”, Patterson said, watching Tasha's eyes fly open, and then she then smiled and continued, “in the same bed.”
Tasha smiled back and sighed, relieved. “And did things get…you know…?”
“Weird? Well, you pulled me onto the bed and then pretty much passed out like right away, so no, things did not get weird”, Patterson answered. “At least not yet”, she said, then smiled again and walked out the door. Tasha stared for a moment, then smiled, picked up her mug and took another sip of coffee.
********
“C’mon, Patterson!” Tasha yelled back. They were running along a section of muddy bank near the Hudson River. They had been running for about an hour.
“I’m coming!” Patterson yelled back, breathing heavy. After breakfast she had packed a bag with workout clothes and an evening outfit, and then they she and Tasha had stopped by Tasha’s place so Tasha could change. Then they had started out for the trail. When they had started running Patterson had been holding her ground, but Tasha was in better shape, and even with a hangover this morning, the running had seemed to clear Tasha up, and now she was in the lead, Patterson behind her straining to keep up.
Tasha scrambled up an embankment and then paused at the top to wait for Patterson. Patterson started scrambling up and almost made it to the top but then started to slip in the mud and fall back down. “Patterson!” she yelled. She reached out her hand and grabbed Patterson’s arm.
“Tasha, I’m slipping!”, Patterson yelled, her feet sliding down the muddy slope.
“I gotcha!” Tasha yelled. “Grab my arm with your other hand!” She felt Patterson’s other hand grab her arm, and then with a mighty effort she heaved Patterson up onto the top of the embankment. She ended up on her back, Patterson partially on top of her.
“Oh my God”, Patterson gasped.
“You okay?” Tasha asked. She smoothed Patterson’s hair out of her face and looked into her eyes.
“Yeah”, I think so”, Patterson said, still breathing heavy. She stared back at Tasha for a moment and then said, “Thanks for, you know…saving me.”
“I would never let my cute little gnome cleric go”, Tasha said back.
“Gnome cleri- wait, you remembered?” Patterson asked, surprised.
“Yes, Patterson. I remembered. I know, you’re not a dwarf.” Patterson smiled at Tasha through heavy breathing, and Tasha returned the smile. Lately she had found herself thinking more and more about Patterson. She was the smartest person that Tasha had ever met. Not to mention the sweetest person she had ever met. It was nice, she thought, to have someone on the team who wasn’t always yelling or scowling at everyone. I know it's a serious job, Tasha thought, but we can't all carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. Patterson's smiles were a breath of fresh air, especially compared to Weller's intense demeanor. Lately Tasha had found herself falling for Patterson’s personality, and her smarts. And her passion, like when she got excited about finding a clue in a tattoo. It was endearing, and it made Tasha smile inside when she watched Patterson brief the team. And she’s beautiful, Tasha thought, with her wavy blond hair and captivating eyes. It was for all of these reasons that she had taken the bet with Patterson. She knew she would probably lose. And she was pretty sure that she probably wouldn’t enjoy the D&D event, but maybe that didn’t matter. Maybe having a reason to just be around Patterson was what mattered. And I haven’t had much in the way of relationships, Tasha thought. And nothing since my partner died five years ago. But maybe it was time. Maybe it was time to move on. She had just settled her debt and was moving beyond that. Maybe she was ready to move on in other ways as well. She stared at Patterson for another minute, who was still breathing hard, and asked, “So, are you ready to continue?”
Patterson stared back at Tasha for a moment and then said, “I don’t know. Think I’m done for the day. I think I need a healing potion of my own right now. Like a glass of wine.”
********
“I feel ridiculous in this”, Patterson said.
After the muddy run they had gone back to Tasha’s to clean up and then had napped together in Tasha’s bed before getting up in the late evening. They had spent a couple hours getting ready and then Patterson had taken Tasha out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, to thank her for “saving” her on the muddy run. Now, she and Tasha were walking towards the salsa club.
Tasha looked over at Patterson and then stopped walking. She took Patterson’s hand and faced her and looked her in the eye. “You look…beautiful”, Tasha said.
Patterson looked back at Tasha and then smiled shyly. “Thanks. I just…never wear outfits like this.” Patterson was wearing a red salsa dress with an exposed back, a gold sash belt and gold heels.
“Well, you should more often, because you look amazing”, Tasha said
“No. I mean, thank you, but um, no…you…look…amazing”, Patterson stuttered out, squeezing Tasha’s hand. Tasha was wearing a black cocktail dress, black leather belt and high heeled black boots.
“Why thank you, my beautiful dancing partner”, Tasha said. She stared at Patterson for a moment and then said, “Shall we?”
Patterson exhaled and then smiled. “Yeah, we shall”, she said, and then let Tasha lead her by the hand to the club entrance. There was a line at the door, but Tasha greeted the doorman by name and he opened the door for them.
“Nice work avoiding the line”, Patterson said as they entered the club. The dance floor was already pretty full. Music pulsed from the surround sound speakers.
“I know the door guy”, Tasha said.
“Is that so?” Patterson said. She paused for a moment and then pried a bit. “Ex-boyfriend?” She realized that she really didn’t know anything about Tasha’s romantic life, other than she surmised that Tasha was currently single.
“No, we’ve just become friendly since I started coming here”, Tasha said. She smiled at Patterson and then held out her hand. “C’mon – let’s go dance”, she said, then took Patterson’s hand and led her onto the dance floor.
“I have no idea what I’m doing”, Patterson said as Tasha turned to face her.
“Look, it’s simple”, Tasha said, taking Patterson’s hands. “Just follow me.” She took three steps forward, exaggerating her hip movements with each step. “Now you try it, step forward three steps”, she said. Patterson stepped forward and Tasha stepped backwards. “Exaggerate your hips”, Tasha said.
“I feel kind of silly”, Patterson said as she sashayed her hips.
“Sillier than wearing a gnome cleric costume and carrying a vial of healing potion?” Tasha asked, as she guided Patterson back three steps.
Patterson smiled. “I guess not”, she said, taking three steps forward, swaying her hips to the music. “But I could use a healing potion, if you know what I mean.”
Tasha smiled back and then spun Patterson around. She put her hands on Patterson’s hips and moved in close to Patterson’s back. She felt Patterson's hands cover hers. She nuzzled her face into Patterson’s neck and breathed in her ear. “Tequila okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine”, Patterson said. She wasn’t really a big Tequila drinker but she knew that Tasha liked tequila, so tequila it would be. “But we can wait", she said. A slow salsa tune had come on. Patterson swayed for a moment, feeling Tasha behind her, and she smiled. It felt good to have Tasha close. She closed her eyes and pulled at Tasha's hands, wrapping them around her own waist.
“Okay”, Tasha said back into Patterson’s ear, and Patterson’s skin made goosebumps as Tasha’s breath hit her neck. “You let me know when you’re ready for your healing potion”, she said, and Patterson laughed lightly. “By the way, have I told you yet that you look amazing?” Tasha asked.
“Yeah, like a few minutes ago”, Patterson said and giggled.
“And you smell good too”, Tasha said, nuzzling back into Patterson’s neck, and Patterson giggled again.
********
“Ahhhh!” Patterson squealed and smiled as Tasha spun her. There had been dancing, then tequila, then more dancing, then more tequila, and then more dancing. Now they were back at Tasha’s apartment, still dancing. Tasha had put on some slow salsa music.
“Here, wait – try it again”, Tasha said, as she spun Patterson again. They ended up facing each other, hands on each others' hips, moving close.
“Wait – what’s that one thing we were trying to do at the club?” Patterson asked.
“Here – like this”, Tasha said. She put her arm around Patterson’s back and then tilted her back. Patterson squealed, and Tasha held her there for a moment, bent over her, and then pulled her back up.
“Okay, one more time”, Patterson said, “but backwards.”
“Okay”, Tasha said. She spun Patterson around and ended up behind Patterson, holding her close. “One, two, three!” Tasha said. She bent Patterson back, then bent over her. She held her there for a moment and then went to pull her back up, but Patterson somehow slipped a bit and the two them went down onto Tasha’s floor, laughing, Patterson on her back on the floor facing up, Tasha on top of her.
“Oh my God”, Tasha exclaimed, “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay”, Patterson said, laughing. “I’m fine.”
“You sure?” Tasha asked. Her hand went to smoothed Patterson’s hair out of her face.
“Yeah, I’m not hurt”, Patterson confirmed. She smiled to show Tasha she was fine. “I’m just glad we didn’t try that at the club, though. That would have been embarrassing.”
Tasha smiled at Patterson and then looked at her. “I would never let you go”, she said. “At least not out there”, she motioned her head towards the window, then said, “my beautiful little gnome cleric.”
Patterson stared at Tasha. They were close. Less than six inches and their lips would meet. She stared at Tasha for another moment and then smiled back. Her hand reached up to touch Tasha’s hair, which was hanging down, framing her face. “And how about in here?”
Tasha stared at Patterson for a moment and then slowly lowered her head, and as she did, Patterson raised her head, and they met in the middle, lips pressing together.