Tap Dance (Dance Series)

chapter Eighteen



Ram watched her as she came to the car and his heart did a double-bump. It felt like they hadn't seen each other in a very long time but, in truth, it was just a matter of days.

"Hey, honey," she said softly getting on her knees to lean over the console for a kiss then settling into her seat and putting on the seatbelt.

"Things are well with you, Pyari?" He asked, pulling into the street.

"As well as can be expected, I guess."

"Would you like to go for a drive or go to my house?"

"Ah…"

"I need to talk with you, Marianne. And when we're together alone, we seem to get distracted."

He heard her soft giggle and smiled in response.

"I can't complain about the distractions, Ram."

"Nor can I."

"We could always have tea, maybe a Pop Tart and talk in your house. Perhaps make a pact that we won't…uhm…get distracted."

"You mean, stay away from the guest rooms?"

They shared a glance and a small laugh.

"You're funny," she said softly, feeling her heart fill at the sound of his laughter.

They made their way into his house and Marianne went to the kitchen while Ram went to the bedroom to secure his gun and change his clothes. He pulled on a pair of drawstring pants and a t-shirt before putting his uniform in the dry cleaners bag. The Suds 'N' Duds does a much better job of washing and ironing his uniform than he could ever do, no matter how much they charge.

By the time he made his way down the hall, Marianne was sitting in her corner of the couch sipping her tea. He saw another steaming mug on the coffee table.

"Thank you," he said, bending down to kiss the top of her head. He grabbed his mug and copied her pose, taking up the other corner of the couch facing her and stretching his long legs out across the seats.

"I really wish I knew where to get this tea," Marianne said. "It goes beyond Nectar of the Gods."

He smiled as he sipped.

"You want to go first, Pyari, or should I?"

"To tell the truth, I don't know what you want to talk about."

"Fair enough. I'll go first."

He watched as she stretched out her legs to tangle with his, smiling as she moved.

"Pyari. Marianne." He stopped, not knowing how to put into words, acceptable words, of what he wanted to say.

He saw her eyebrows raise and her head tilt but she didn't speak.

He sighed and took another sip of his tea.

"I want us to date." He said watching for her reaction. Maybe by observing her face he would have an idea of how much to tell her.

"Date? You mean like, you come to the house and we go out to dinner and stuff?"

"Yes."

"Ah, honey? You work sometimes seven days a week, and can get called out at any time. So how's that gonna work if, say, we were in the middle of dinner at Henry's?"

"I work too much, Pyari."

"Why is that, Ram? Are Police Chiefs required to work so much?"

"No."

"Then why do you do it?"

"I don't know. I was thinking about it earlier and the only thing I could think of was that I wanted to prove myself as being a completely different Chief than Walt Saltzman."

She tilted her head as she thought about what he was saying.

"But, you're not a dirty cop, Ram."

"Yeah, but he was. I believe my intention was to show everyone, everyone, that I was nothing like him."

"Honey, I think we all understood that within the first month you were in charge." Marianne put her empty cup on the coffee table and scooted back onto the sofa. "So, are you saying that you're not going to work so much?"

"I'm thinking of taking one day off a week," he said, watching for her reaction.

"That would be great," she replied smiling. "And it would be a start, at least."

So far, so good.

"And I was considering making Sunday my day off and cutting my day short on Saturdays."

"Somebody once told me that Sunday was the best day of the week," she said with a giggle.

Ram smiled as well. She remembered their talk.

"So, honey, you'll have Saturday night free as well as Sunday?"

"Yes."

"That's good."

"And I want to be with you during that time."

"That would be nice."

Nice? He was hoping for a more … enthusiastic response than 'Nice'.

"And I would prefer that as dating partners that we, ah, remain exclusive."

She looked at him and blinked a couple of times.

What could a blink mean?

"Are you saying that we wouldn't see anyone else while we are, uhm, dating?"

"Yes."

There. Thank God. He said it.

"That sounds good, Ram."

Good?

"So you won't be seeing anyone else, Ram?"

Uh-oh, where was this going? He wasn't seeing other people. He didn't have time to see other people and, truth be told, he had no desire to see anyone but her. Should he tell her that?

"And you wouldn't see anyone else, Marianne."

She nodded. "That'd be okay."

Okay? Ram wasn't sure what kind of reaction he was looking for from her but he sure as hell didn't expect 'Nice', 'Good' or 'Okay'.

"When were you looking to start this dating thingie?"

Thingie? She called their dating no one else but each other a 'thingie'?

"Immediately, if you are amenable."

"So we are going out on Saturday, then?"

"Ah, yes. Yes, we are."

"Where will we go?"

Where? He hadn't gotten that far. He had just made the decision to free up his time and get her to stop seeing anyone but him. But the logistics of the proposal had yet to be ironed out.

He was quiet as he thought.

"Ram? Honey?" she asked softly.

He raised his eyes to hers.

"Why don't you talk to me from your heart and stop with the twenty-five cent words?"

"What do you mean, Pyari?"

"Speak to me from your heart, Ram. You're speaking very formally, very business-like, and it just doesn't sound like you, honey."

He grinned. It's true.

He sighed as he put his empty cup on the coffee table.

"I want you, Pyari. I want to spend time with you, both inside and outside the bedroom. I don't want to see other people and I would ask that you not see others as well."

She pressed the soles of her sock-covered feet to his bare ones, smiling softly.

"I want you, too, Ram. I don't want to see anyone else. I like spending time with you, both naked time and clothed time. And if you've made a decision to cut back on your hours at work, that's great. And if you choose to spend that time with me, that's wonderful."

Now, that's more like it. She said 'Great' and 'Wonderful'. Now we're getting somewhere.

"I would like to get to know you better, Ram."

"And I would like to get to know you better, Marianne Louise Gibson."

"Okay, then. What's your full name, Ram?"

The smile slid from his face.

His full name.

He swallowed thickly.

"If I tell you, Pyari, we'll have to do another Pinky Swear."

She dropped her head back as the laughter rolled up and out of her mouth. She was laughing so hard, she could barely breathe.

She was so beautiful. Especially when she smiled or laughed.

"Deal. You tell me your full name and we'll do a Pinky Swear. But, honey?"

"Yes, Pyari?"

"You sure have a lot of secrets!"

Now it was his turn to laugh. It's true. Their Pinky Swears had all been over something he didn't want other people to know.

"Are you ready, MG?"

"For your name? Sure."

He swallowed thickly, before murmuring softly.

"Sorry, honey. Didn't quite catch that."

"Ramjet Harold Patel."

She blinked and stayed very still.

He needed to know what she was thinking.

"What are you thinking, Pyari?"

Marianne just shook her head as she brought her hand up to her mouth.

He waited for her to say something but she wouldn't look at him.

He waited.

Then he saw her shoulders start to shake, and she moved her hand away from her mouth. Her head again fell back and her laughter rang around the room. She laughed so hard she had tears in her eyes.

"Harold?" She asked when she could finally take a breath.

"Yes. Mataji gave all three of us English middle names. Ramjet Harold Patel, Ajit Malcolm Patel and Turan Eugene Patel."

He watched as she got up on her knees and began to crawl along the couch towards him. His heartbeat picked up as she got closer, maneuvering around his legs until she was on his lap. She placed her left hand on her heart and raised her right hand.

"I, Marianne Louise Gibson, do solemnly swear that I will never tell a living soul that our hot, gorgeous, smart, sexy Police Chief's middle name is…" her face was a picture as she tried so hard not to laugh.

"Middle name is Harold!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she was back to laughing so hard she was crying and rocking back and forth in her merriment.

Ram put his arms around her, waiting for her to finish.

"Sorry, honey," she said wiping her eyes with her sleeve. She raised her right hand and held out her little finger.

He smiled into her eyes when he wrapped his little finger around hers.

"Pinky Swear, Pyari."

"Yeah, honey. Pinky Swear."

She laid her head on his chest and they shared a few minutes of quiet.

"Ram?"

"Yes, Pyari?"

"Why don't you consider what we've been doing as 'dating'?"

"You do?"

"Well, sure."

She pulled back and looked up at him.

"You don't think we're just f*ck buddies?" he asked incredulously.

That set her off again. Her laughter was infectious and he found himself laughing along with her. It took a long time for their laughter to die down.

"Interesting term," she said finally. "I didn't categorize how we spent our time together in quite those words."

"How would you categorize our time together?"

"Uhm. I don't know. But I do know that I like it. I like it because bit by bit we're getting to know each other, to trust each other. "

She raised her face to his before continuing.

"You're not only my lover, Ram. You're one of the closest friends I have. And each time we are together, it feels like we get even closer."

'Main tumse pyar karta hoon', his heart whispered.

"How would you categorize it, Sailor?"

"I like spending time with you, even if I don't always have the time to do it. Obviously, what we have in the … ah, guest room, is amazing. But even just sitting having breakfast with you is amazing. You're amazing, Pyari."

He wrapped his arms around her as his words floated around the room.

He heard her, tucked into his chest, as she whispered, "That's how you make me feel, Ram. Every time, every damn time I'm with you. You make me feel amazing."

'Main tumse pyar karta hoon', his heart whispered back.

"So, Sailor. Are we gonna talk or are we going to make each other feel amazing on that big bed of yours?"