"No, Reese, its not my leg!" Tory said, sitting up, struggling to keep her voice calm. "Just a cramp. Its gone now." She looked into Reeses troubled face, knowing she didnt have a clue about what just happened. Tory fought to ignore the increasing pressure throbbing through her pelvis. God! Did she have to be so damned attractive?! "Really, Im okay. Lets just switch techniques for a while."

"Youre sure?"

"Absolutely."

They finished their workout, both unusually subdued. Tory was trying to keep her mind off what had been an unmistakable rush of potent physical desire. Reese was trying to understand why the mere thought of Tory in pain moved her in a way nothing ever had.

"Do you want to take a day or two off?" Reese asked after they finished.

Tory glanced at her, seeing the concern in her face. Its not fair to make her worry just because you cant control yourself!

"Are you tired?" Tory teased lightly.

"No, I just thought-" Reese stopped, blushing slightly. "I guess youll tell me if you need a break, huh?"

Tory smiled gently, finding Reese even more attractive in her slight uncertainty. "You can trust me to take care of myself. But thanks for asking."

Reese grinned. "Marge would say Im doing my butch thing. Right?"

It was Torys turn to blush. And exactly how would Marge know? She busied herself with her gear, rejoining, "Actually, yes. But on you it just seems natural. Dont worry about it.

"So, Ill see you tonight?"

"Yes, of course.

**********

They met outside Front Street, a favorite restaurant of the locals and tourists alike. Reese wore a white open collared shirt and well-worn blue jeans with highly polished black boots. Tory was equally casual in black jeans and a scoop neck black singlet that molded to her well-developed shoulders and arms. Reese had called ahead for reservations, and they were seated immediately. The waitress, who knew Tory by name and Reese by the usual town gossip network, was attentive in a nonobtrusive way. Tory was aware that they turned more than a few heads as the restaurant filled up. Reese seemed totally unaware of the notoriety, sipping a glass of red wine as she leaned back in her chair, recounting for Tory the four years she had been stationed in Japan.

"The part I loved best of course was the opportunity to train with the Japanese at one of their own schools. My teacher in the states had written ahead with an introduction, which helped pave the way. The Japanese are much more receptive to American students than they used to be, including women, but it certainly helps to have a personal connection. I had been training for close to ten years by the time I got there, which didnt hurt either." Reese grinned a little ruefully as she emptied her glass. "Im boring you, arent I?"

"On the contrary," Tory remarked, reaching to fill both their glasses. "I was just thinking how I envied you. My own training took a back seat to my rowing for many years. About the time you were in Japan, I was getting ready for Barcelona."

Reese caught the flicker of pain that clouded Torys expressive features for an instant before the other woman visibly drew herself out of the past. Reese reached spontaneously for her hand and held it gently.

"Im sorry for the pain, Tory," she said softly. "You dont have to talk about it -"

Tory shook her head. "Im pretty well over it. Its just so damn frustrating! I had come close to winning the gold in the previous Olympics, and I was in the best shape of my life. It was just a warm-up run, not even the preliminary heats. One minute I was flying. The sun was on my back, the surface was perfect - like glass, and I knew it was my time. The next thing I knew they were fishing me off the bottom, with my leg in pieces. I looked down at my foot hanging there - I couldnt feel it, and I knew it as all over." She took a deep breath, dispelling the memory. "Then I spent the next year just hoping I would walk again." She looked at Reese apologetically. "Now this is really awful dinner conversation!"

As she talked, she had unconsciously entwined her fingers with Reeses. Tory studied their interlaced fingers as they lay against the white tablecloth. Reeses compassion and unspoken sympathy seemed to flow into her through those long, strong fingers. It was comforting, and not the least bit pitying.

"Reese," she said softly, her throat suddenly dry. "If people see us like this, theyre going to assume this is a date." She kept her voice light, but she couldnt control the slight quiver in it. She felt raw and uncomfortably vulnerable.

"Are you telling me it isnt," Reese asked quietly, no hint of banter in her voice.

Tory jerked in surprise, her pulse racing. She searched Reeses face for the suggestion of a joke, and found only Reeses serious blue eyes gazing back.

"Reese, I am a thirty-eight year old woman. I have finally recovered from losing a lover I thought I would grow old with. Im not sure "date" is a word in my current vocabulary. Most importantly, I have no idea what the word means to you."

"Im afraid my answer may not make sense," Reese began. "I am thirty-seven years old and Ive never been on a date. I think what it means to me is spending time with someone I find interesting, someone I want to know better - someone- special."

"And eventually?" Tory asked gently.

Reese flushed but she didnt look away. "Uncharted territory."

"Oh, Reese," Tory sighed, giving her hand a little shake. "Youre putting me in an impossible position! Dates are not about friendship - not in the ordinary sense - dates are about the possibility of something more, something deeper." She hesitated briefly. "And dates usually occur when two people are sexually attracted to one another. I cant afford anymore heartbreak, Reese - and you, my beautiful friend, are heartbreak material."

"Are you trying to let me down gently?" Reese asked with a hint of levity. She didnt want to make Tory uneasy, and she understood Torys reluctance to become involved again. She couldnt clearly describe what she felt, it was too new. She only knew that sitting there with Torys hand in hers felt completely natural, and completely right. And she also knew she didnt want to let go.

Tory appreciated Reeses attempt to lessen the pressure on her. But for her own preservation, and in fairness to Reese, she needed to be clear. "Im not ready to take a chance on someone who may not even be a lesbian. Im not sure I want to risk anything anymore. Im sorry." As she spoke she gently disengaged her hand from Reeses.

Reese shook her head, smiling softly. "Dont be. Until now the only words that ever applied to me for certain were "recruit" and "soldier". I never gave anything else a thought."

Tory laughed. She congratulated herself on steering their relationship onto safer ground. She steadfastly ignored the way her pulse raced everytime she looked up to find Reeses disconcertingly appraising eyes upon her.


Chapter Thirteen

"So, tell me whats going on with you and our good doctor," Marge said as she lined up her shot. She stroked lightly through the cue ball and slid the nine ball into the side pocket.

"Nice shot," Reese commented as she balanced two fresh beers on the thin shelf that ran along the wall. "What do you mean, whats going on?"

Marge glanced at her briefly as she slowly circled the table, planning her next salvo. The slightly perplexed look on her young friends face told her the Deputy Sheriff really didnt know what the rumor mill had been churning out. "Word has it that the two of you are an item."

"Because we had dinner together?" Reese inquired as she carefully chalked the end of her custom cue.

" Romantic dinners. More than once, Im told," Marge added as she banked in her next shot. "And because she seems to spend a lot of time at your place. And because the two of you have been seen together at the Lavender Lounge the last two Saturday nights."

Reese was impressed with the accuracy of the local reporting.

"Sounds like youre information central," she commented dryly.

"Its the tea dance. Everybody trades news there. I keep trying to tell you what youre missing. And dont avoid the issue!"

Reese approached the table as Marge narrowly missed a tricky combination. Stretching her long form low to get the proper sight along her stick, she neatly deposited the three ball in the corner pocket.

"Were not an item. Were friends."

Marge waited. When nothing further seemed to be forthcoming, she sighed with exaggerated impatience.

"And? Do you have any intentions?" she asked as she watched Reese move gracefully around the table. It was looking like theyd need to go four out of seven for a fair match.

"She isnt interested," Reese said flatly. She gently tapped the cue ball the length of the table, angling the seven into the corner.

Marge raised a questioning eyebrow at the vague answer. "I was asking after your plans."

Reese leaned her stick against the edge of the pooltable, regarding her companion seriously as she reached for her beer.

"I cant answer that."

Marge looked peeved. "Well, if you dont want to tell me-"

"Thats not what I meant. I dont know how to answer your question."

"You like her, right?"

"Of course, shes terrific."

"And shes great looking, right?"

"Shes beautiful."

"So, at the risk of sounding like the crude old dyke that I am, have you given any thought to taking her to bed?"

Reese studied the foam on her beer. "Arent there a few steps you left out? Like - well, like courting?"

Marge coughed on the mouthful of beer she was swallowing. "God, you are priceless! Courting! If the girls in this town only knew what you were really like, youd have to beat them off with a stick!"

Reese asked cautiously, "What do they think Im like?"

"I think Carol from the Cheese Shop put it best. She said you were an impossibly good-looking, unapproachable butch who probably does the asking. And there's a fair number of women waiting for you to ask. Only I know that youre an old-fashioned romantic."

Reese smiled ruefully. "No, Marge -Im not that either. What I am is someone whos always been happy with my life just the way it is. I never thought to look for anything more. It never occurred to me there was anything more."

Marge started to protest, then grew quiet. At length she voiced what she initially had found inconceivable. "Youve never been with a woman, have you?"

"No."

"Oh, boy," Marge whistled. She looked at her suspiciously. "Youre not straight are you? Therell be hearts breaking all over town."

Reese looked away with a shrug.

"Tell me you dont know," Marge said in disbelief.

"Its not that simple," Reese stated. "Ive spent my life with men, many of whom I commanded. The rules are very clear, and very strict. I never had that kind of relationship with anyone. It never seemed to matter to me."

"What about- you know, sex -" Marge persisted.

"Ive had feelings -" Reese said, remembering with absolute clarity the way Tory had felt in her arms when she had innocently carried Tory into her house. She remembered the warmth of Torys fingers in hers at dinner, and the rightness of it. "The opportunity just never arose."

Marge simply shook her head. "Unbelievable. But you still havent answered my question about the doc. Do you have feelings , as you so delicately put it, for her?"

Reese picked up her stick and focused her attention back on her game. "It doesnt matter. Shes been hurt, she shouldnt be hurt again. Im the last thing she needs."

"Why?"

"Because she doesnt trust me not to hurt her."

Marge was well aware that Reese had avoided discussing her own feelings, and respected the unspoken barrier. But she still wasnt ready to let her completely off the hook. Left to her own devices, Reesed never figure out what she was about - or that sometimes women just needed you to keep trying. She didnt doubt that Tory King was cautious. Marge hadnt known her to date anyone the entire three years shed lived there. She also knew that sometimes rumors started because those on the outside looking in saw more than the people who were in the thick of it.

"So how about coming to the tea dance tomorrow? Its the fourth of July weekend. Youve never seen anything like it," she pressed.

Reese sighed. "You know Im working -"

"Right - and I know damn well youre still working splits with Smith. You can come to the tea and have plenty of time to sleep before the late shift.