Tap Dance (Dance Series)

chapter Seventeen



Ram was making his way from the interrogation room where Ted Pierson was interviewing one of the merchants that had claimed credit card fraud. There were too many holes in the man's story to make it believable and Ted was going to have to advise him of legal ramifications in making false statements before he cut him loose.

"Is he getting anywhere, Chief?" Paul asked from his desk in the middle of the bull pen.

"Unfortunately, no," Ram answered never breaking stride. He was steps away from his office when he heard Marianne's name mentioned.

"Paul, you still seeing Marianne?"

"As far as I know, Cliff," Paul said with a smile. "Although her aunt says she's seeing a couple of guys. I just hope I'm still one of them."

Laughter at Paul's admission made its way around the room.

Ram took that on board and didn't show that he heard or cared about the subject. But he made a mental note to himself to have a talk with a certain blonde siren regarding the status of their relationship.

He had been willing to step aside after watching her and Paul's flirting at the hospital, but things had changed considerably since that time and Ram wanted to make sure she knew that he was the only man she was dating.

Although, dating wasn't the right word when he thought about it.

They had never gone out to dinner, seen a movie at the theatre or done any of what one normally does on a date.

He was aware that his unpredictable schedule was partly to blame for not having the time to go out, but it wasn't the full reason.

He turned this over in his mind.

Mainly, now that he thought about it, they had sex.

And they talked, then had more sex.

He wasn't complaining about it, but she was more than just a 'friend with benefits'.

He wondered how she would classify their relationship.

Did he mean more to her than just what they did in bed together?

Did what she have with him have meaning for her?

Listen to me, he thought. The standard joke was that the woman wanted to define a relationship, not the man.

Well, joke or no, he wanted to make sure they were both on the same page and were working towards a common goal.

'And just what the bloody hell is that goal, Patel, huh?' he whispered to himself before sinking himself into his large, office chair.

He was out of sorts when he finished up for the evening and made his rounds through the downtown.

He saw Marianne's car at Enrique's but didn't see her in the restaurant.

His out of sorts frame of mind stepped up a notch and he realized that he was getting angry; angry thinking that Marianne would think they were simply f*ck-buddies, anger at himself for not showing her that he enjoyed her company both in and out of bed.

Anger at the thought that she was still seeing Paul.

'F*ck this,' he mumbled and turned south to Jake's gym, where he hoped he could work some of this tension off.

He couldn't remember the last time he had taken the time to work out. Which just pissed him off even more.

His lack of time is something that he seemed to be using as an excuse not to do things that he knew had to be done or taken care of.

But, when the old Chief had been ousted due to corruption, Ram felt he needed to front and center, overseeing the open cases, completing the documentation that needed to be done and getting it done on time. Ram also tried to ensure that the townspeople of Grantham knew that he was a 'hands on' Chief and he made every effort to remain visible.

How long was he expected to have his work consume his life? Outside of having Tim Bell cover for him when he and Marianne went to her apartment, he had been on the job 24/7. He needed a break. He needed a standard schedule with, at least, one day off each week.

No one said he had to work so much. It wasn't in his employment contract but it was something he had started doing the moment he stepped through the door.

No one to blame but himself.

Well, he decided, after punishing his body with three rounds of circuit training, that shit stops now!



*.*.*.*.*

I was laying on the double bed in my aunt's guest room staring at the ceiling, unable to shut my mind off enough to sleep.

First there was my apartment. I still shuddered when I thought of the destruction of my property. I knew I should be able to put this behind me, start thinking about the furniture I would be able to afford with the insurance check.

Did I want to use blue again?

When had I had that notion, that blue was my signature color? High school? College? After seeing how beautiful and gracious a home could be, like Ram's, I was considering changing my color scheme.

Maybe having a signature color was a little juvenile?

Paul had left me a voicemail when I had been at dinner with Crys asking me out for Saturday night. I hadn't replied because I wanted to keep my Saturday night open in case Ram wanted to be with me.

Why couldn't I fall in love with an accountant or a mechanic or someone who only worked eight hours?

Wait…what?

Fall in love?

Was that how I felt about Ram?

Aw, geez.

But, I really didn't know that much about him. How can you fall in love with someone that you don't really know?

So. Hmmm. What do I know about him? That he is extremely good in bed. Extremely good. Sublimely good. I ran through a couple of examples in my head and kind of lost track of what I had been thinking about earlier.

Oh, yeah. What did I know about Ram?

That he was a very hands-on Chief of Police and had the respect of those under him and the admiration of the people of Grantham.

He loved his family very much even as he laughed at some of their ways of doing things.

He cared about me very much and seemed very protective.

In all my life, I'd never had the kind of support he'd given me at the apartment, and then afterwards.

If I loved him, could he ever love me in return?



*.*.*.*.*

Ram was just finishing up his patrol of the downtown and was making his way home when he decided to drive by Estella's house. He saw MG's muscle car in the driveway. He saw a light on in one of the bedroom's so, he took a chance and called her on her cell.

"Hey, honey. What's going on?" He heard her say softly.

"Not sleeping, Pyari?"

"Can't turn my mind off enough to sleep."

"Want to go for a drive?"

"When?"

"I'm right outside the house," he said with a chuckle.

"Let me get dressed and leave a note. Say, five minutes?"

"Come to me, Pyari."

"See you in five, honey."