A Fighting Chance Read online

  “And what makes you so sure it was Steve that had me distracted? It could have been my job.”

  “It never has been before. I know what I know.”

  “Uh-huh. I’m sure you’ll hear a full report later, so you don’t have to wonder, of course.”

  Mrs. Adams scoffed. “You think that child tells me everything about her love life? I can’t say for sure how many girlfriends she’s had, as I’ve only met the one.” Suddenly, she looked sad and troubled and her smile faltered.

  Lou noticed but didn’t feel it was right to question it. Instead, she smiled gently. “Maybe that girlfriend was the only one who mattered.”

  Mrs. Adams looked relieved. “Yes, I believe you’re right.” Suddenly she gathered her towel and water bottle and said, “Well, I can definitely say there is nothing wrong with my daughter’s taste. You are a bright, beautiful, fierce woman, and I really do hope things go well for both of you tonight.” Mrs. Adams extended her hand.

  Surprised, Lou shook it. “Thank you, Mrs. Adams. That means a lot.”

  “And you let me know if my daughter doesn’t treat you with respect. She knows I’ll use some of my mad ninja skills on her if I have to.”

  Lou laughed. “I will remind her.”

  “Good. See you tomorrow.” Mrs. Adams started to walk away, then stopped and, with a twinkle in her eye, said, “You know, she’s my only hope for grandchildren.” Then she winked.

  Incredulous, Lou just stood there in shock as Mrs. Adams walked away laughing.

  * * *

  Lou fussed with her curls, which she had decided to clip back. She had toyed with the idea of leaving her hair down altogether, but just the thought of constantly having to push it out of her face annoyed her. She never wore makeup, except on stage, but she did apply a little lotion to her face. Her mother, who also never wore makeup, had told her that moisturizing was the healthy thing to do. Simple silver hoops dangled from her ears and a charm bracelet that had belonged to her mother, containing a tourmaline charm, her mother’s birthstone, adorned her wrist. She had loved it since she was a child because it had always reminded her of watermelon. She wore it when she was feeling playful. She didn’t own much jewelry. She didn’t have much occasion to wear it—jewelry didn’t really mesh with stage fighting and martial arts.

  She had thought a long time about what to wear, which was unusual for her, even on dates. Normally, she had no problem just grabbing something from her closet and feeling fine in it, but she wanted to take extra care tonight. As she was picking out a pair of black slacks, she had to ask herself what happened to the woman who, just a few days ago, sat at Dix and Bill’s table and told them she wasn’t even attracted to Steve, that she wasn’t her type? She muttered, “I should work on not being this easy,” then chuckled to herself as she finished getting dressed.

  Next came the choice of blouse. Lou was usually fine in T-shirts, feeling they were right for most occasions, but she did own a few nice blouses that she brought out once in a while. The question was, black or add some color? She stood in front of her open closet door, arms crossed, chewing on her right thumbnail. Realizing that she was reverting to a childish habit, one she used to get yelled at for, she dropped her thumb and stood facing her clothes with her hands on her hips. Just as she was about to give up and text Bill, knowing he would know what to tell her, she heard his voice in her head. Always go with color, unless you’re going to a funeral or a cocktail party. This is a date, not a wake, shine a little! Chuckling to herself at the thought, she grabbed a turquoise blouse out of the closet and put it on, then checked herself in the full-length mirror on her closet door. Her honey-blond curls were off her face but there were always a few that escaped and rested on her forehead. Her small wire-framed glasses made her look like the academic she was, but she couldn’t do anything about that. Her smile was uncertain, almost shy, and she realized she was nervous. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and said to her reflection, “You got this.” Before she could fuss any more, her doorbell rang, right on time. Of course.

  When she opened the door, she saw Steve standing there with her hands crossed in front of herself, with her head cocked to the side and a small smile that got bigger once Lou was fully in view. “Hello, you look absolutely lovely.”

  Lou flushed. “Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.”

  “I clean up nice.”

  Clean up nice was an understatement, Lou thought. From head to toe, Steve was dapper—that was the best word Lou could think of. She was in a tailored charcoal-gray suit, shiny patent leather loafers, a crisp white shirt, and a gray and black paisley patterned tie, accessorized with a silver tie clip, all of which served to make her buzzed blond hair even more noticeable. Who was she kidding? Lou thought. Steve was noticeable. Lou swallowed and was sure Steve noticed because she grinned at her. Recovering, she said, “Yes, you do. And I suddenly feel underdressed.” Nervously, Lou touched her blouse at her throat.

  Smiling, Steve reached out and took that hand. “No, you look lovely, as I said. Now relax and believe that, and we shall go out and have a wonderful time.” Suddenly, Steve bowed and kissed Lou’s hand.

  Lou chuckled, though not unkindly. “You are really good at this charm thing.”

  “Thank you, but, to be fair, I have to work at it. Ready?”

  Lou nodded and stepped out on her porch, locked her door behind her, and rested her hand on the arm Steve offered. As they walked to the car, Lou said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Nothing wrong with practice.” Steve escorted Lou to her side of the car and opened the door for her. Lou smiled. She had never been on a date with a gentleman butch before, mainly because she had avoided dating butches.

  When she got into the driver’s seat, Steve said, “Which is why you are a badass ninja warrior and I am merely an amateur in the ring.”

  Lou laughed at the compliment. “Well, I do have a set of special skills,” Lou said with humor.

  Steve narrowed her eyes in Lou’s direction and asked with the same humor, “Do you? Sounds intriguing and something I should know more about. Maybe even sexy.” Steve’s voice took on a lower register.

  Lou was glad it was dark out, because she was sure she was blushing. “If you find the ninja pajamas—as my former student Rachel calls them—sexy, then there is something seriously strange about you. They’re baggy and not at all flattering.”

  “I wasn’t talking about your ninja clothes, just your skills, though I have a feeling they are sexy when you wear them.”

  “Wow, you are way better at flirting than I am. You must have had more practice than me.”

  “Ah, not so much as you would think. Not to sound cocky, but a butch in uniform is still a butch in uniform. Sometimes I didn’t have to work for the attention, because the uniform did it for me. I only work at it when it matters.” She smiled pointedly at Lou.

  “I will take that for the compliment it was intended.”

  “Good.”

  “You know, you haven’t told me where we’re going. Are you planning on keeping it a mystery till we get there?”

  “I thought about it. But if you really want to know, I thought I would take you to dinner and then we can figure it out from there. Maybe go for a walk. Find somewhere to keep talking. I didn’t want to overplan.”

  “I appreciate that. I like the idea of making it up as we go.”

  They shared a smile and didn’t say much for the rest of the drive to the restaurant, which turned out to be a French steakhouse Lou had been wanting to try since she had moved to town last year but hadn’t had an excuse to visit.

  When they pulled up, Lou noted, “You would think with a name like La Petite Vache, they would only serve veal.”

  Steve laughed out loud at Lou’s joke. “Let’s hope not. I was hoping for a nice steak.”

  “Let’s go find out.”

  They did indeed serve steak, and there was plenty of conversation and more light flirting, mostly from Steve. Lou had decided t
o refrain, since flirting was outside her skill set. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t enjoying Steve’s charming efforts. Steve continued being the perfect gentleman—holding doors, pulling out her chair, and letting her go first. All the things that Lou had always told herself she couldn’t stand, since she could do all of those things for herself. She was not a helpless female who needed someone to do things for her. But when Steve did those things, Lou was able to see the respect behind each gesture and appreciated them in that vein.

  When the meal was over, Steve turned to Lou and asked, “So where would you like to go?”

  Lou thought about it for a moment, then smiled as a thought occurred to her. “How about the little pond on campus? There’s a walking path around it and it’s well lit. Even at night it’s very pretty.”

  Steve looked surprised. “Well, that does sound nice. Okay, let’s go there.”

  When they reached campus, she directed Steve to the visitors’ parking lot, and then they made their way to the little pond, which Lou had only recently discovered had a name. Someone with an amazing gift for hyperbole had named the little man-made hole in the ground Lake Van Horn, after a former college president whose wife had insisted they name it after her husband. She had gotten her way. Now her husband’s name lived on in the form of a small picturesque pond where young couples walked around holding hands, watching the sun set, feeding the ducks. Lou knew that Rachel and Bobby had had more than one romantic moment at that pond. Maybe there was something to its purported magic. Lou hoped it worked for her.

  She and Steve began a casual stroll, hand in hand. Being there with Steve was pleasant—that was the word that kept coming to mind. Their conversation was light but not strained, just as it had been in the café when they had met for coffee. Steve minded her manners and never once tried to overstep by making a move that Lou might not welcome. Totally not what Lou had expected. And she chastised herself for her preconceived notion of what butches were like. She had a brief moment of regret about the women she had turned down over the years simply because she had expected them to be a certain way. But, not one to dwell on the past or things she couldn’t change, Lou put that thought out of her mind and tuned back to the woman at her side. She was glad she had decided to judge Steve on her own merits and not against what she expected her to be.

  When they pulled up at Lou’s little house, Steve quickly got out of the car to hold the door for her. Lou waited for her to do so, then smiled at her as she stood and then took Steve’s arm as they walked up to her door. At her doorstep, she turned around and said, “I had a wonderful time.”

  “Me too. You are a wonderful dinner companion. And you were right—the lake was a great location.”

  “You do know that I’ll have to report to your mother tomorrow?” Lou asked with humor.

  Steve laughed. “I know. I’m going to get it when I get home. She’ll want to know everything.”

  Lou reacted in mock horror. “Oh no!” Then she chuckled.

  Steve stepped closer. “Don’t worry, we haven’t done anything that would scandalize her. Not yet, anyway.” Steve leaned in for a kiss good night and Lou responded by kissing her back and putting her hand on Steve’s chest. Just as the kiss was growing in intensity, Steve stepped back.

  Lou licked her lips, then looked down for a moment, and then looked into Steve’s eyes. Almost whispering, Lou said, “We don’t have to tell her everything.”

  “No, no, we don’t.” Steve stepped back and suddenly looked awkward again, especially when she slipped her hands in her pockets. “I will definitely call you. I would like to go out with you again.”

  “Yes, absolutely.” They both stood there for a moment, and then Lou realized she should say good night before she grabbed Steve and made a scene on her porch. She smiled. “Good night, Steve.”

  “’Night, Louise.” Steve sighed, then left Lou’s porch, and Lou let herself into her house and closed the door behind her.

  That had gone surprisingly well. Considering her recent dating track record, which had been less than stellar, Lou appreciated the evening for what it was and hoped it really would be the start of something good.

  Chapter Five

  The next morning when Steve woke up and threw the sheet off, her first thought was of Lou and she smiled. The date had gone well and she hoped it was the start of more to come. As she stretched, she remembered the feel and taste of Lou’s lips, the little smiles she caught Lou giving her from time to time, and the little almost unnoticeable scar on the bridge of Lou’s nose that she figured Lou had earned somewhere in her career. The old adage was true: chicks did dig scars, and she wondered how Lou had gotten it. Just what sort of shenanigans had she been up to, to cause it?

  Still smiling, Steve stood and went into the bathroom. When she finished in there, she quickly got dressed in sweats, thinking she would get a quick workout in before she had to pick her mother up so she could get hers. She walked into the garage that she used as a gym, went to the wall that held her bikes, and pulled down the one for in-town riding, then took a helmet off the wall. That was when she realized she’d forgotten her water bottle, so she went back inside to fill one up, then returned to the garage and rolled her bike out the side door into her driveway, mounted, then secured the helmet. Once she was set, she biked out of her driveway, taking a left turn. It was early on a Sunday morning, so the roads were clear and the kids weren’t out yet. Further down her street, a dog came running up on her back tire, scaring her, but he just seemed happy to run alongside her and didn’t approach, so she deemed him no threat. He lost interest after a couple of blocks and walked off happily in the direction he had come.

  Steve kept going. She had in mind that she wanted to do a twenty-five mile trek through town. Easy enough, and something she knew she could do in about an hour and a half, give or take a few minutes. The route she had in mind took her past the university, though not the side the pond was on. Still, just seeing the spread-out campus, with its tall buildings and shady paths, made her think of Lou and the night before, but she quickly pushed those thoughts aside. She didn’t want to get sidetracked. She was just grateful that the campus was quiet on Sunday mornings and there was little to no traffic. The campus bus didn’t even run on Sundays. But there was still enough traffic from those who lived in the neighborhood next to the campus that she had to pay attention.

  When Steve finally got home, she checked the clock on the microwave while she rinsed out the water bottle and left it in the strainer to dry. She still had time to shower and change before she picked up her mother to take her to kung fu practice. She really hoped she would get to see Lou again. She smiled when she remembered Lou referring to her kung fu pajamas the night before. She had yet to see her in them—Lou always changed before she left the gym.

  * * *

  Lou walked into her session with Mrs. Adams running a little behind, which was unusual for her. She had lingered in bed after she woke up, then took a long leisurely shower. She had been in no hurry to leave the house, partly because she didn’t feel as if she was up to all the self-disclosure she thought Mrs. Adams might ask for. It wasn’t that she minded the teasing so much, just she didn’t discuss her personal life with very many people, and Mrs. Adams, being her student as well as her date’s mother, made the prospect even more awkward.

  As soon as she saw Mrs. Adams, who was standing off the mat, drinking some water and looking happy, Lou smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry I’m late, Mrs. Adams. I can stay later if need be to make sure you get your full session.”

  “That’s fine, dear. You’re allowed to be human every now and again.”

  “Well, human is one thing, but there’s no excuse for my lateness and you have my apologies. Shall we get started?”

  With gusto and determination, Mrs. Adams declared, “Yes, let’s do it.”

  Steve followed her to the mat, grateful Mrs. Adams hadn’t insisted on talking about her date the previous evening, though she was aware that Mrs.
Adams was probably waiting until after the session, which kind of put Lou on edge a bit in anticipation. Lou resigned herself to the inevitable and tried to put it out of her mind and focus on the session at hand. She had better success than she’d had the day before with that and was glad. After the final bows, Lou left the mat and went for her water bottle, and Mrs. Adams followed.

  Mrs. Adams grabbed the small towel she had next to her water and wiped the sweat off her face and neck, then took a drink. She favored Lou with a warm smile. “It seems things went well. I’m glad.”

  Guarding her expression, Lou looked across at Mrs. Adams over her own water bottle and said cautiously, “It did, yes. It was a fun evening.”

  “You know, if I was in your shoes, I wouldn’t want to tell the nosy old lady anything either, and that’s perfectly all right. Don’t worry about me. I really do stay out of my daughter’s love life. It’s just never been this close to home before. I couldn’t help teasing you.”

  Lou instantly relaxed. “Oh no, that’s fine. I can take a well-natured tease. It’s not you, Mrs. Adams—I just try to keep my work and personal lives separate, is all.”

  “Well, in that case, if you and Steve become a couple, I’ll invite you to dinner and then you can spill in the comfort of my dining room.”

  Lou laughed. “I’m not sure I would find it so comforting if you plan to grill me.”

  “Oh, you wouldn’t be on the menu, dear…at least, not mine.”

  Had Steve’s mother meant what she thought she meant? Lou couldn’t think of an appropriate response. “Don’t look so shocked, dear. You know what they say about librarians.”

  “What do they say about librarians?”

  “Sleep with a librarian, you might learn something.” Again, Lou was speechless. “Where do you think Steve got her sense of humor from? Her father, bless his soul, was a serious man. One of us had to make inappropriate jokes.”