Beneath The Surface.
“Red okay?” Carla asked as they both approached the bar at the Bistro once inside. Carla’s nerve endings were on fire. She wasn’t sure what had quite come over her when she’d asked Lisa if she fancied a drink; she’d only just met the woman, but something inside had ignited, and Carla felt drawn to Lisa.
“A woman after my own heart,” Lisa replied, noticing the blush that spread across Carla’s cheeks. Looking shyly away herself, Lisa scanned the room for an empty table, somewhere away from prying eyes. Somewhere they could talk and be heard. Lisa too felt nervous; had the woman she planned on being her coach for the next few weeks, months, or however long it took Lisa to feel herself again really just asked if she fancied a drink? Lisa shuffled on her feet, trying not to read too much into the situation that she’d found herself in tonight. Completely uncharted waters.
Carla took that answer as a yes, ordering the finest bottle of red as Lisa went to find a quiet booth over in the far corner of the restaurant. Carla was right, Lisa thought; this place was certainly quiet tonight. Perhaps it was quiet every Monday, every night, or perhaps it was just a lucky guess.
Lisa took the place in as she slid into one side of the booth, removing her jacket in the process. It was possibly the detective in her, but she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t help but assess her surroundings—the entrance, the exit, her safety. Lisa wasn’t one to necessarily live on the side of caution, but she didn’t live on the edge of danger either.
Carla returned to the table, a bottle of red in hand, placing two wine glasses down, and Lisa was quickly drawn back from her thoughts.
“You looked miles away,” Carla said observantly.
Lisa chuckled. “Just taking it all in. I’ve passed this place a few times but never been in. It’s not really somewhere I felt like I could come on my own, and perhaps a bit too much for Ryan and Kit to join me. It’s nice, thanks for bringing me here.” Lisa offered Carla a warm smile.
“So, Detective Lisa, what do you do for fun? Other than your casual Friday night drinks in The Rovers with the boys?” Carla asked, hoping to soften the other woman before treading carefully in getting her to open up about the serious stuff. People didn’t tend to just come to her self-defence classes and observe.
Lisa blushed at the question, feeling slightly exposed as it seemed Carla already had insight into her life, while Lisa knew nothing more about the mesmerising woman sitting in front of her other than her day job and that Ryan was her nephew.
She didn’t mind too much, though, as the little information Carla had would have most likely come from Ryan, and even though she hadn’t known Ryan all that long, she’d trust him with her life. You learn to do that quickly in the force, forming a bond where you’ve got each other’s backs, although she was warmed by the fact that hers, Kit’s, and Ryan’s bond ran far deeper than that.
“Not a lot with a high-pressure, demanding job and a stroppy teenage daughter,” Lisa quipped back, not wanting to sound like she didn’t have a life outside work and Betsy, but it was the truth.
“Who’s your daughter? I’ll tell her you said that,” Carla teased.
“I’ll tell her myself,” Lisa pushed back, taking a sip from her wine to hide the smirk that Carla had managed to rouse from within her.
“What about your better half? No one else waiting for you at home?” Carla asked innocently.
Lisa’s smirk soon disappeared, and her whole body shifted; she became almost closed off, guarded.
“Sorry, Lisa, you don’t have to answer that. God, I’m really so good at putting my foot in it, aren’t I?”
“Carla, it’s fine. I just assumed you’d know what with Ryan and—”
“Ryan is as honest as they come. He doesn’t divulge anyone’s secrets to me; no gossip in the Connor household.” Carla raised a finger to her lips and made a zipping motion, as if pulling an invisible zipper across her mouth. The gesture was both playful and reassuring, although Lisa still wanted to press exactly how much Ryan may have divulged about their heated Friday night encounter outside the pub, but pushed that aside for later.
“I’m widowed,” Lisa said quietly. “My wife was killed in a hit-and-run three years ago now. So, ‘stroppy teenager’ in context was a little harsh but also not even close to the bone.” Lisa tilted her head slightly, side to side, summing up the rest of her words. “I mean, she hates me, really. Reminds me of it quite often, actually.” Lisa sighed heavily, fiddling with the stem of her wine glass, raising it to take a bigger gulp this time, finishing off the glass.
“And I thought I drank quickly,” Carla teased, trying to ease some of the tension that evidently came with Lisa opening up. Carla topped up Lisa’s glass with the remainder in the bottle.
“I’m sorry about your wife, Lisa, and I’m sorry your daughter gives you a hard time, but I shouldn’t think it’ll last forever. I bet you’re a million things to her that your own mum wasn’t to you. You’re showing her she can be a million things that you are, being a single mum with a high-pressure, demanding job…and a stroppy teenager.” Carla’s tone was sincere.
“I’ll tell her you said that,” Lisa teased, hiding her smirk once again with a sip of her topped-up glass of wine.
“Hey! Those were your words…” Carla chastised, reaching over to swat Lisa from across the table but just missing as Lisa ducked out of the way, leaving both women laughing. It had lifted the mood back up slightly, for which Lisa was grateful.
Lisa had caught sight of the empathy in Carla’s tone and expression, though. She smiled at the woman sitting in front of her as her eyes felt glossed with tears.
“It’s nice, you know, to have someone to talk to about it, about Bex. I mean, I know I’ve got Kit and Ryan, but it’s not really the same with the lads, you know? And friends are few and far between when you’re a copper.”
“Well, you can count me as a friend if you want. I’ve been around on this street for many years, and plenty of people love me; plenty of others love to hate me. My best friend Michelle left for Ireland about a year ago now, and after my divorce, all I’ve really got close enough that I trust is Roy, the guy who runs the café, and Ryan,” Carla blurted out. “All my cards on the table right there.” Carla laughed nervously, hoping she hadn’t said too much to scare the other woman off, although after what Lisa had just shared, she certainly didn’t think so.
“Too much truth drug, that’s what it is,” Lisa teased, tapping on the side of her wine glass.
“Want another?” Lisa grabbed the empty bottle, moving slightly in her seat as if to get up as she nodded towards Carla’s empty glass. Desperate to get a moment away to herself. Lisa was beginning to feel a little tipsy, and having a gorgeous interesting woman sat opposite her was a struggle for her to not seem over keen. Lisa hadn’t dated since she’d lost Bex, not even had anything casual but the thoughts about Carla that were swimming in her head right now were far more than friendly, and so she needed a moment to compose herself, knowing already that she didn’t want to ruin this chance of a friendship.
“Yeah, why not,” Carla agreed, not wanting the night to end just yet. She hadn’t even started in getting Lisa to talk about how she’d ended up sitting on the sidelines of tonight’s self-defence class, but if wine was the so-called truth drug for Lisa, then Carla would keep the wine flowing to keep the conversation flowing. Although it wasn’t really entirely about that, was it? It was all about how much she was enjoying getting to know this mysterious blonde.
Carla watched as Lisa made her way over to the bar. Lisa slowed her pace as she began to feel the effects of her second glass of wine take over. She could feel Carla watching her; she was sure of it, so she swayed her hips slightly with ease, allowing herself to let the alcohol take over just for a moment, from a safe distance, and as she finished ordering their next bottle of wine from the bar, she chanced a look over at Carla from across the room.
Bingo.
Carla blushed as their eyes met. She quickly averted her gaze, but she knew she’d been caught. Lisa turned her attention back to the barman, a small smile gracing her lips, offering a polite thank you as she picked up their next bottle of wine and tapped her card on the reader. Lisa knew it—Carla had been looking. Watching.
Lisa made her way back over to the table, pouring Carla a second glass.
“So, how much did Ryan tell you about Friday, considering I found a picture of your business card finding its way into my text messages?” Lisa turned the charm on a little bit in the hazy confidence of the wine. It had been a while since she’d allowed herself to receive attention from anyone. In fact, it had been the first time she’d put herself in a situation where she would receive any attention at all, but she liked Carla, from what she was learning, and she wanted to learn more.
“Well… it wasn’t so much what he said… more what I saw, and then more of what I kind of forced out of him and Kit afterwards in the pub. If I’m being honest, I thought our Ryan had upset you, and therefore I was ready to rip a shred out of him,” Carla admitted bluntly.
Lisa laughed at that.
“What’s so funny?” Carla asked, eyebrow raised, smirking.
“The words ‘Ryan’ and ‘upset me’ in the same sentence,” Lisa quipped, taking another sip from her glass.
“Alright, alright. Just ’cause you’re a detective doesn’t mean you’re invincible,” Carla teased, although that one hit a nerve. Carla knew instantly she saw Lisa wince in front of her, her expression told her all she needed to know.
“Shit—Lisa, I’m so sorry.” Carla reached out to touch Lisa’s hand that was flat against the table. She stroked absently atop Lisa’s skin, just like she had earlier with her comforting hand on her arm in the studio. Truthfully, Lisa couldn’t get enough of the physical contact. The care and compassion that radiated through Carla, despite her big mouth, was something else.
Lisa burst out laughing. Okay, this was definitely made easier by the wine.
“Okay, what’s so funny this time?” Carla teased again as she lightly withdrew her hand from Lisa’s, realising that perhaps she didn’t need the comforting touch so much this time.
Lisa felt the absence of Carla’s hand immediately but felt she’d probably ruined the moment by laughing.
“You really do have a big mouth,” Lisa teased.
“Alright, tell you what. You can tease me and my big mouth all you want if it means you tell me why you ended up on the sidelines in my self-defence class tonight?” Carla asked sincerely now, the camaraderie of playful teasing stopped, and the edge of concern returned, the care and compassion coming back.
“Promise me this won’t go any further between us, though, please.” Lisa’s tone was quiet, her face etched with worry.
“I haven’t been completely honest at work, or with Ryan and Kit. I’ve been assessed properly for my… injuries, and I’ve got the relevant pain relief, but if my superiors find out, they’ll order me to be signed off work,” Lisa admitted openly.
“Look, your secret is safe with me, but only if you do something for me too,” Carla asked.
Lisa quirked her eyebrow. “Go on. I might be encouraged to consider.”
“Tell me exactly what happened so I can help you. Don’t be missing anything out.”
“Are you like this with all your clients?” Lisa asked quizzically, eyebrow raised in protest.
“Oh, stop it,” Carla teased. “Behave with your detective charm; it won’t work with me.”
Was that a challenge? Lisa thought to herself. She was enjoying their flirtatious banter and was a bit disappointed she couldn’t continue to push with her charm, but she knew Carla wasn’t going to let this drop. She was certainly persistent. Lisa admired that.
Lisa sighed.
“We were called out to a domestic incident on the Brightwell Estate on Friday. We’d been there a million times before, but this time, something was different. Once we’d entered the property and made our way through, Kit was caught off-guard by a second assailant but had managed to restrain and arrest him… which left me and the husband who we’ve been trying to nail for domestic assault for months now, but the wife just won’t press charges. So with Kit tied up and backup on the way, I tried to restrain him myself, but he flipped out and sent me flying across the room. I landed on the coffee table… which is now more or less just a pile of wood—”
“Lisa…”
“I’m here, aren’t I? The paramedics assessed me for my injuries; my shoulder was wrapped up, and I’ve been given some strong pain relief and was on my way.” Lisa shrugged, as if it was nothing.
“You really are stubborn, aren’t you?” Carla teased, treading carefully. As much as she wanted to give Lisa her own lecture, she knew it would fail. If Kit and Ryan hadn’t gotten through to her, then there was no way Carla was going to be able to, after only getting to know each other over the last few hours.
Carla tried a different approach. “I offer mindfulness and meditation classes for my clients that need a little extra support.” Carla swallowed the lump in her throat, hoping she hadn’t upset Lisa by suggesting she needed any kind of support, never mind extra support. When she noticed Lisa was just listening intently, she continued. “Maybe we can start there before we jump into any physical classes? I offer one-on-one classes if you prefer; some of my clients prefer a group setting, and some find that a little overwhelming, so I try to provide everything I can to suit everyone’s needs.”
Could this woman get any more perfect? Lisa thought to herself.
“How does that sound?” Carla asked gently.
Lisa nodded.
Carla grabbed a napkin and jotted her number down, sliding it over to Lisa. “Text me your work schedule, and I’ll see where I can fit you in. We can start with one session a week and build on that if you find it beneficial.” Carla smiled.
“Carla, you really don’t have to—”
“No, I insist. Please.”
Lisa smiled shyly, popping Carla’s number into her phone.
Lisa winced at her pain, clutching her side with her right hand again.
“Hey, are you okay?” Carla asked, leaning forward. Her expression etched with concern.
“Yeah,” Lisa breathed out, feeling a little winded. “Just maybe done enough for one day.” She laughed unconvincingly.
“Come on, I’ll walk you to Street Cars,” Carla offered as she started to make a move. Watching Lisa struggle, she gently offered to help Lisa slide her arms into her baby-blue trench coat, starting with the left, her weakest. Carla smiled when the other woman didn’t protest, her hands straightened out Lisa’s collar, lingering for a moment longer before withdrawing and heading out of the Bistro with Lisa in tow.
Lisa felt like she could have made a friend while starting her journey to push herself out of her comfort zone and find that self-empowerment again. But she equally couldn’t ignore the other feelings that were hanging in the air between them. The night had been filled with stolen glances, lingering touches, and light flirtatious banter. It was a feeling Lisa had welcomed more than she’d expected, but she was learning she enjoyed the attention from Carla, and she only craved more.
Carla felt equally thrilled at the thought of a new friend but couldn’t shake the feeling that something about Lisa was different from people she’d met before. She thought back to the shy glances, the eye contact, the physical touches. The air around them had been electric, and Carla tried—she really tried—to push these unknown feelings away, to try to remain professional, but little did she know she’d get so much more than she bargained for.
Lisa walked with Carla slowly to Street Cars. The comfortable silence as they headed around the corner to the taxi office wrapped them up delicately. Tim, the driver, was readily waiting for a fare, and so Lisa said her goodbyes to Carla.
“Don’t forget to send me that schedule of yours,” Carla reminded her. “And I would appreciate it if you let me know you got home safe.” Carla smiled at Lisa as she leaned in to say that before closing the door of her cab and watched the car pull away.
Once Lisa got home to the dark and empty house, after paying Tim and locking herself in at home, she pulled her phone out to text Carla straight away.
I’m home. Thank you for tonight, Carla. It was more than what I needed. L x
Carla had also come home to an empty flat. Ryan had left her a note on the refrigerator door saying he was doing a DJ set till late and not to wait up. She had no idea how that lad found the time to pursue his dream of music all while he played detective as his full-time job, but she admired him for it.
Ryan had been through a lot, what with the acid attack he’d endured, his steroid addiction that followed, but he’d turned his life around. He’d studied hard, passing all of his detective exams to get to where he was today, and he had good people around him. Carla had supported him throughout, offering him a place to stay after his attack while he healed, but also, it was welcome company after Carla’s divorce. They’d helped and supported each other, to be honest. Been each other’s rock.
Carla’s phone buzzed, and she smiled as the unknown number flashed up across the screen. She quickly saved Lisa’s number in her phone before replying to her message.
Thank you too. I had fun tonight, Lisa. Saved me coming home earlier to an empty flat. C x
Carla’s reply came through just as Lisa was sorting out her work schedule to send to Carla.
The company was definitely better than spending my time alone in an empty house. L x
Lisa sent off her message, attached with her work rota for the rest of this week and next week. She wasn’t sure when Carla would be able to fit her in and didn’t want her to feel any pressure in making their first session immediate.
How does Wednesday suit you? 8 PM? And you have my number now, so company on speed dial if you ever want to trade an evening in any empty house with a bottle of wine with me. C x
This Wednesday? L x
Lisa had replied instantly, a little in shock about how quickly Carla had been able to fit her in.
Yeah, that okay? C x
Yeah, Wednesday is great…just a little surprised at how quickly you want to fit me in. Do you want me to pay upfront? L x
See you Wednesday then, 8 PM. Don’t worry about that; we’ll sort payment another time. Wear something comfortable. None of that detective attire. C x
Got you. L x
…and about sharing the bottle of wine over an empty house…I’ll keep that in mind. Goodnight, Carla. L x
Goodnight, Lisa. Sweet dreams. C x