Deadly Deceit, page 9
“Oh, promises, promises,” Christina cooed, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
Jolene snickered. “Erin Wade sold the movie rights last year, with the stipulation that she retain final say on what gets changed. She’s been posting about it for months on Facebook. The movie finally came out last week, and there is supposed to be a quick cameo by both her and her wife.”
Christina rolled her eyes. She shared her wife’s enjoyment of Erin Wade’s novels, but loved to tease her about it. “You’re just excited to see her on screen. You met the woman one time, and now your obsessed.”
Jolene narrowed her eyes and glowered at her wife. “I’m obsessed?” she asked, “You own autographed copies of every book she’s ever written, and attended at least half a dozen conferences where she has been a panelist. And,” she added pointedly, “may I remind you, that you are the one who won that meeting with her and her wife. You are to blame for my interest in her work, my beloved bride. If you hadn’t won that drawing, I never would have met her and been completely charmed by how down to Earth she and her wife are.”
Christina smiled smugly and hopped off Jolene’s lap. “You don’t need to remind me, Honey,” she said, moving past Jolene toward the stairs, “I know what I’ve done, and I am not even close to sorry. Everyone should have the pleasure of reading her work. You look up the movie times, and I’ll go get dressed. Somehow, I don’t think I’ll be allowed into the cinema in just my panties and tank top.”
Jolene shook her head and grabbed her phone. She followed Christina into their room as she asked Siri to list the showtimes for the movie. While the mechanical voice listed the viewing options, Jolene watched the way Christina’s body moved as she exchanged her sleepwear for casual wear.
Jolene had never been so entranced by something as mundane as pulling on jeans, until Christina came along. Without any effort at all, the raven-haired beauty could turn the act into something sensual and erotic. The way her hips moved as she shimmied the jeans up her legs always caused a knot of desire to tighten in Jolene’s belly.
When Christina slipped her arms through a long-sleeved, button down shirt, Jolene started to drool. Again, without intention, Christina managed to turn her wife on by getting dressed. The way her nimble fingers manipulated the small white buttons, moving slowly down her body as she made her way toward the hem, made Jolene’s thighs clench as her mind replayed the last time Christina had used those fingers on her.
“Why are you staring at me?” Christina asked, finally taking notice of her wife’s rapt attention.
Jolene started and sucked in a breath. “I’d be stupid not to,” she replied, her eyes still glued to Christina’s fingers, “Come on. Let’s get going, before I change my mind and just cuff you to the bed for the weekend.”
Christina smiled teasingly and moved toward Jolene, her movements deliberately enticing. “Take me out and spend time with me outside this house,” she said, dancing her fingers up Jolene’s stomach, “and I will let you do just that.”
Jolene groaned and moved toward her closet. She moved quickly, pulling on a simple white blouse and a pair of jeans. “Okay, let’s go,” she said, taking Christina’s hand and tugging her along, “the sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back.”
***
“Jo!”
Christina and Jolene looked toward the excited voice. Jolene barely had time to brace herself, before a blur of red curls launched herself into the woman’s arms.
“Hiya, Dej,” Jolene laughed, hugging the much shorter woman tightly, “How are the babies?”
Dej released her friend and stepped back to slip her arms around her wife’s waist. “They’re growing like crazy,” she replied, “They’re going to be two in December.”
Jolene let out a low whistle. “Wow, already?” she asked in amazement. It didn’t seem like that long ago that she and Christina had attended the baby shower.
Carrie, Dej’s much taller, blonde haired wife, laughed. “I know, right! It feels like they were just born a few weeks ago, and now they are walking and starting to talk.”
“Aww,” Christina said brightly, “I bet they’re adorable. I think the last time we saw them, was at the Fourth of July party in the park.”
Dej beamed and pulled her phone out of her back pocket. The line for snacks was ridiculously long, so she knew they’d have time for pictures. She tapped on the screen, pulling up her camera roll, and handed the phone to Jolene.
Christina leaned closer to her wife, smiling and cooing with admiration as they looked at the photo. Dej and Carrie’s 19-month-old twins, Hank and Callie, smiled brightly at the camera as they stood with a massive German Shepard between them. The twins mirrored the differences between their mothers, something that Jolene had always found intriguing.
The twins were conceived using Carrie’s eggs and sperm from Dej’s brother, Zane, and her half-brother-slash-cousin, Tommy. No one, not even Dej and Carrie, knew which of the men was the father.
Hank closely resembled Carrie, making it obvious that she was his mother. He had the same golden-blond hair, bright hazel eyes, and was much taller than his twin sister. The only resemblance the little boy had to Dej, was his mass of unruly curls.
Callie, the pleasantly unexpected surprise twin, was a miniature version of Dej. She was the polar opposite of her brother. Callie’s hair was bright red, only a shade darker than Dej’s, but held absolutely no curl. Her big, puppy-dog eyes were an entrancing shade of royal blue, and her slight frame gave her the presence of a much younger baby.
Dej and Carrie were forever being asked how old Callie was, usually by people who didn’t believe that she was Hank’s twin sister. Jolene and Christina couldn’t blame those people; had they not known the babies since birth, they would have assumed the little girl was at least a year younger than her brother.
“Wow,” Christina said when Jolene returned the phone, “Hank’s going to be taller than you, Carrie.”
Carrie beamed proudly. “Yeah, he is,” she agreed, “He’ll probably be taller than me by the time he starts Kindergarten.”
“Callie’s hair is getting long,” Jolene observed, tugging affectionately on one of Dej’s curls, “She’s looking more like you every day.”
“Tell me about it,” Dej said squeezing Carrie as the couples stepped closer to the snack counter, “What movie are you seeing?”
“Living Two Lives,” Christina answered, resisting the urge to take Jolene’s hand. She didn’t miss the slight drooping of Jolene’s shoulders, and she offered her wife an apologetic squeeze on the arm.
Even though they were in Marilynn, a town the locals had dubbed the “Gay Mecca of Oregon”, Christina still feared being spotted by someone who might cause trouble for her at work. Dallas residents frequented Marilynn for entertainment, and Christina didn’t want to tempt fate.
“I loved that book!” Dej replied with a smile, “That’s what we’re seeing, too. I hope it’s as good as the book. I hate it when a movie is touted as being based on a novel, then has no resemblance to the book at all.”
“I’m sure it will be, Babe,” Carrie said, bending to kiss Dej on the lips, “Your parents saw it last week, and they said it was fantastic. They haven’t been wrong yet.”
“I’m excited about it,” Jolene put in as the group reached the counter, “I’ve been wanting to see it since it was first announced.”
The group chatted amicably as they waited for their snacks. Once they had their order, the four women carried their booty down the wide hallway to the theater. As was usual for Jolene and Christina, they chose to sit in the back row. Dej and Carrie tried to convince the women to move closer and sit with them, but Christina insisted they wanted to sit in the back.
Dej and Carrie exchanged a knowing glance in the dimly lit theater. They knew why the women chose to sit in the back, and wished their friends could just be themselves. Dej wished the women a good evening and followed her wife to the center row.
As the lights began to dim, and the previews started playing, Christina leaned against Jolene. Jolene put her arm around her wife’s shoulders, cuddling her close. With Christina’s attention on the screen, Jolene used the preview time as a chance to study the woman she loved more than anything else in the world.
***
Seven years earlier, when Christina and Jolene were twenty-one, the couple had their first run-in with one another.
Jolene, fresh out of the police academy, was on her second shift as a rookie police officer. She and her then-partner, a useless waste of a human being who thought that his badge gave him the right to harass immigrants, were patrolling the interior of Turner Park.
Christina, a college student working on her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry, sat alone at a picnic table near the bank of the creek that ran through the park. Textbooks, notebooks, and a multitude of beakers and petri dishes littered the tabletop. Jolene had glimpsed the woman as she and her partner sprinted across the wooden footbridge, and chuckled to herself.
Who could sit in the park and study on such a beautiful day?
She didn’t have time to dwell on the thought, though, because the young man they were chasing took a sharp turn at the end of the bridge.
Unfortunately for Christina, her quiet study spot was directly in the path the man was going. Unfazed by the obstacle in front of him, the man stepped up onto the bench beside Christina’s hip and ran across the top of the table.
His foot came down on one of the petri dishes, causing him to slip and pitch forward. As the man fell, his foot shot backward from under him, catching Christina in the cheek. The stumble gave the officers a chance to catch up to him, and Jolene tended to Christina while her partner made the arrest.
“Are you alright, Miss?” Jolene asked, crouching to get a look at the angry red mark on the woman’s face.
Rubbing her sore cheek, Christina looked up into the officer’s eyes. When their gazes locked, Jolene felt an electric jolt all the way to her soul. This young woman with midnight-black hair that hung to her waist in loose curls, had the clearest sapphire-blue eyes Jolene had ever seen.
Jolene stared silently into those eyes, completely lost in their depths, until the woman attached to them tilted her head.
“I’m sorry,” Jolene said sheepishly, shaking her head as if to clear it, “what did you say?”
Christina smiled, revealing a set of brilliantly white teeth. She was amused by the awestruck look on the officer’s face. “I said I’m fine, but you are standing on a very important set of notes. Can I have them, please?”
Jolene looked down and took a step back. Sure enough, she was standing on a small notebook. She bent down to pick it up, and noticed that there were several sheets of paper littering the ground near the table. There were also shards of glass from the broken beakers visible on some of the pages.
“Oh, here,” Jolene said, handing the woman her notes, “let me help you.”
Christina smiled softly and nodded, watching intently as the redhead quickly rounded up the scattered papers. She’d never experienced such an intense, instant reaction to anyone before, but as soon as she’d looked into those hazel-brown eyes, Christina forgot all about the throbbing pain in her cheek.
“Thank you,” Christina said, accepting the pages Jolene offered, “I’m Christina Hess. What’s your name?”
Jolene smiled and tried her best not to fidget under the woman’s scrutiny. “Officer Jolene Preston, Ma’am, Marilynn PD.”
Christina extended her hand, her flesh tingling the moment Jolene accepted it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Christina said, her voice dropping on its own accord, “Thank you, again.”
Jolene’s freckled face flamed as she felt a pleasant warmth spread through her body. She knew, instantly, that she wanted nothing more than to touch this woman again, and never let her go.
“You’re adorable when you blush,” Christina teased lightly, loving the way the fair-skinned woman’s blush made her heart flutter.
“You’re just plain adorable,” Jolene muttered. She sucked in a breath and clamped a hand over her mouth as soon as the words were out. “I, uh,” she stuttered, glancing around to make sure her partner hadn’t just heard that little slip, “I meant…”
Christina laughed and shook her head, raising her hand to interrupt. “Don’t you dare take that back,” she said softly, “That was the best compliment I’ve ever received.”
Jolene’s breath left her in a whoosh of relief. She’d meant it, but she hadn’t intended for the compliment to leave her head.
An impatient clearing of the throat sounded behind her, and Jolene turned to see her partner standing next to the man they’d been pursuing.
“I’m sorry about your work,” she said, returning her attention to the gorgeous creature before her, “I hope nothing of importance was ruined. You have a wonderful day.”
Jolene turned to leave, but Christina’s hand shot out and wrapped around her wrist. “Wait,” she said quickly, her mind racing to find a reason to prolong their conversation, “Can I ask you something?”
Jolene nodded, ignoring the growing impatience of her partner.
“I’m writing a paper,” Christina lied, “and I need to get the perspective of a female police officer. Would you be willing to meet with me and answer some questions? I would be eternally grateful.”
Jolene nearly melted at the way Christina nervously chewed the corner of her bottom lip. “Sure,” she replied, pulling one of her brand-new contact cards from the breast pocket of her uniform, “Just give me a call to set up the appointment.”
***
The feeling of a hand slipping over her thigh brought Jolene back to reality. She smiled at Christina; that breathtaking college student who had become her wife, and placed a quick kiss on her forehead.
“Where did you go?” Christina whispered, just as the opening music of the movie thundered around them.
“I was just thinking about the day we met,” Jolene replied quietly.
Christina squeezed Jolene’s thigh affectionately. “I remember that day,” she said, her eyes darting between her wife and the screen, “That was the day my study habits led me to discover the meaning of ‘soul mate’.”
Jolene’s smile widened, and she pulled her arm tighter around her wife. “Me too,” she replied, “That day, I learned what true happiness really meant.”
Christina pressed a kiss to Jolene’s cheek, before surreptitiously glancing around to make sure no one saw. “Just being around you makes me happier than I ever thought I could be,” she said, satisfied that they hadn’t been observed.
Jolene was grateful for the darkness as a wave of apprehension past across her face. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you happy, baby.”
Christina, oblivious to the expression on her wife’s face, rested her head on Jolene’s shoulder. They were silent as they watched the movie, each enraptured by the action on screen. Neither noticed the girl at the end of their row, her black clothes helping her to remain unobtrusive in the dark shadows of the theater.
She couldn’t hear what the pair were saying, but she hadn’t missed the kisses, or Christina’s hand affectionately stroking the inside of Jolene’s thigh. The girl gripped the armrest, her nails biting into the hard plastic as her mind tried to assimilate what she was seeing.
Although she hadn’t been surprised to see Christina at the movie, most of the women she knew had seen it, she was surprised by Christina’s companion. She’d never expected to find the beautiful teacher on the arm of another woman.
Ho-lee shit, things just got a whole lot more interesting at Dallas High School, she thought with a smile.
***
“Wow,” Jolene gushed as she and Christina stood to leave the theater, “Just… just wow. I say we start a petition to get all of Erin Wade’s books made into movies.”
Christina snickered and shook her head. “So, it was worth the wait to see it?” she asked, waving goodbye to Dej and Carrie as they passed.
Jolene nodded and stopped in front of the ten-foot-tall movie poster for Living Two Lives. She stared at the artwork, a live-action recreation of the novel’s cover art, with a look of awe on her face.
“More than, Babe,” she said, still staring at the knock-out blonde on the poster, “I think more authors should put the decision clause in their movie deals. This movie was so true to the essence of the book, that it felt real.”
Christina tilted her head, joining her wife in the perusal of the poster. “What do you mean?” she asked.
Jolene furrowed her brow as she tried to find the words to accurately convey what she meant. “Most movies that are based on books,” she began carefully, “are horrible representations of the author’s vision. So much gets lost in the transition to screenplay, that the entire feel of the story changes. Nuances that reflect the author’s mindset are obliterated, and the whole point of the book can be altered by that. What was written as a dramatic love story, becomes a comedy about the trials of dating.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” she added for clarification, “sometimes the changes actually improve book sales, and bring in more fans. But, in my opinion, most movies that start out as books tend to fall flat. This one, though, this one was the complete opposite. The last good movie we saw, that was based on a best-selling novel, was the one based on Nancy Ann Healy’s Alex and Cassidy series.”
“Covert Discretion,” Christina supplied, tipping her head toward the exit doors. The theater was closing around them, and she was ready to go.
“Yeah, that one,” Jolene said, leading the way out to the car, “Nancy Healy did the same thing Erin Wade did; she added it to the contract that she retain final say on editing. Maybe what we really need, in order for books to retain their integrity when being made into movies, is for the authors to be lesbians. Maybe that’s the secret.”
Christina laughed and shook her head. “I love you, Jo,” she said reaching for Jolene’s hand, “but sometimes you make absolutely no sense to me.”
Jolene flashed a smug smile and stuck out her tongue. “I don’t have to make sense to you. I make sense to me, and that’s all that matters.”
