HotTango (6 page)

“Hello?”

“Hi, this is Lea from Honey. Is this Tanya?”

“Yes, it is. Hi, Lea.”

“Hey, I was just calling to let you know we have the book in
stock you wanted. Do you still want me to hold a copy for you?”

“Yes, please. I’ll be down in an hour to pick it up.”

A book and the Olympics on TV—maybe she could take today
off. And tomorrow,
she’d
pick the card from Pandora’s Box.

* * * * *

Cole watched the thinning crowds. It was evening and the
Olympic Village was emptying out for the most part. People were headed out for
dinner or to take in some of the Games, while others were packing in the last
rest before their events.

Aaron rested his shoulder on the opposite side of the column
supporting Cole. There were still at least six hours left in their Olympic
shift, but after a regular shift and then being called out to execute a
warrant, Cole could have slept the day away. Instead he was on crowd control
duty. Typically he wouldn’t be on duty for more than twelve hours at a time
without a twelve-hour break following, but with the Olympics, everything was
flexible. It didn’t hurt that the overtime would make a nice addition to his
bank account. Maybe after this he should look into a trip for Tanya and him.
Someplace they could explore this kinky side of her. He was warming up to the
idea of a more active sex life.

“What the fuck is up with you?” Aaron asked without
preamble.

“Excuse you.” Cole turned toward his friend with a snort.
“You are speaking to your commanding officer.”

“Yeah, whatever. What’s up with that grim face? Not get
enough beauty sleep?”

“Fuck you.”

“No thanks, you aren’t my type.” Aaron batted his eyes at
Cole. “But seriously. What’s up with you the last few days?”

He considered blowing the question off, but Aaron was
possibly his closest friend. “Tanya and I are having some issues.”

“That’s fucked up. Sleeping on the couch?”

“Hell, no.” Cole knew he was lucky that his problem was more
from the lack of sleep and abundance of sex, rather than being relegated to the
couch. It was such a difficult place to be.

Aaron shook his head. “Women are traps, man.”

Cole peered at his friend. “Something going on with you
and,” he scrambled to remember Aaron’s fiancée’s name, “Angela?”

“Angel. This wedding stuff is for the birds.”

Cole didn’t want to point it out, but when a man’s best
friend didn’t even know the name of the woman he was going to marry, things
probably weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Cole had had some reservations
about Angel since the beginning, but had only met her a handful of times. To
him the relationship seemed to be happening too fast, with too much outside
pressure from family and friends who’d set them up. Cole didn’t see the same
kind of excitement or passion he felt for Tanya when Aaron talked about Angel.

“What are you two yapping about?” Officer Jake Vant strolled
toward them, his gaze on the passing crowd.

It was somewhat frustrating being on-site today. They
weren’t even at an entrance, but instead were set up inside the Village.
Probably an attempt to give them a break and still have them on hand.

“Women,” Cole answered.

“Ah.” Jake nodded. His wife Nicole was a spitfire.

“What did you do this time?” Jake asked Aaron.

“Me? We were discussing Cole’s transgressions, not mine,”
Aaron said.

“You?” Jake gave Cole a disbelieving once-over. “You fucked
up, Sarge?”

Jake almost always addressed him as Sergeant, regardless of
the situation. Cole could only imagine it amused him. Jake was a good ’ol boy,
several years older than Cole and perfectly happy to be some of the brute
muscle on the team. Taller than either Aaron or Cole, he was only a little
narrower through the shoulders.

“I did not fuck up,” Cole said. “Now if you don’t mind, I am
not going to discuss my wife with the two of you idiots.”

“Then why are you sleep deprived?” Aaron asked.

Cole didn’t reply immediately. Jake howled with laughter,
drawing the attention of those nearest them.

“I think you’re applying the wrong answer.” Jake continued
to snicker.

“Are you three working or jacking off?” Officer Becca
Jameson sauntered up, giving all three of them the evil eye.

“Do we get to chose? Because I’d take option number two.”
Aaron waggled his brows at Becca, who merely snorted and rolled her eyes at
him.

“Figures,” she muttered.

Cole glanced between the two. There had always been a thread
of tension there, hostile or horny, he couldn’t quite tell, but in his book
they’d make a better fit than Aaron and Angel, and Becca and whoever she was
shacking up with these days.

“Actually we’re discussing Sarge’s sex life. Seems his wife
is keeping him up a lot lately,” Jake offered, oh so helpful like.

“Is that what it is? Damn, I hope my girl gets pissed and
just wants to fuck. That’s the kind of fight I want to have.” Aaron grinned.

“I hope what’s-her-face never wants to see your dick, ever,”
Becca retorted.

“Calm down, kids.” Jake held his hands out, still
snickering.

“Her name is Angel,” Aaron offered.

“Of course it is. Gag me, please.” Becca leaned against the
building next to Cole.

Aaron leaned around the column to peer at their fellow
officer. “Is that how you like it?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Becca grinned, but the light
didn’t touch her eyes.

Aaron never noticed a thing. He tossed his head back and
laughed.

Interesting.

Jake’s smile was firmly in place, but his gaze roved over
the nearly empty pathways. “Anyone want to see some of the Games?”

“I could be down for that,” Cole replied, thankful for any
other topic, entertaining as the sexual tension between his fellow officers
was.

“Yeah, let me see what Angel wants to do.” Aaron patted his
pockets for his phone.

“Someone’s whipped,” Becca taunted, intentionally not
looking in Aaron’s direction. “I’ll be there. Might as well get to take in some
of this stuff.”

Oh boy. They were going to get to go through this again.
With significant others along.

Cole couldn’t wait.

* * * * *

Tanya flopped on the metal bench and jumped back up. “Fuck,
that’s hot.”

Mallory cackled and chose instead the safer option of
landing on the grass. They’d just finished a five-mile skate around the park’s
perimeter on the jogging loop. Tanya had been ready to throw in the towel after
one lap. The sidewalks were so much harder to skate on than the polished rink
surfaces, add in the rolling hills and her legs were completely made of jelly.

Tanya gingerly touched the burned skin on the backs of her
thighs. She sank down next to her friend and extended her legs toward the
sidewalk.

“Hey, thanks for joining me tonight.” Mallory removed her
helmet and lay down on the well-manicured park lawn.

“My pleasure. This was exactly what I needed.” With Cole
working so much overtime thanks to the Games, it was nice to have distractions.

“How are things?” Mallory asked, and Tanya knew exactly what
she meant.

“Good.”

“Oh come on, details!”

Tanya held up her hand to block the fresh grass clippings
her friend threw at her. She bit her lip. Discussing her sex life had never
been something she did with as much ease as her teammates.

“Tanya…”

“It’s good, okay?”

“Okay, that’s all you’re going to give me? Seriously?”

“What am I supposed to say?”

“That you’re having hot sex or something, I don’t know.”

“Would you really want to know?” Tanya rolled to her side.
She wrinkled her nose, honestly perplexed by the idea of dishing about their
bedroom antics.

“It’s kind of interesting listening to the heterosexual side
of things,” Mallory replied. “Do you want me to tell you about my sex life?
Would that make you feel better?”

“Uh, I don’t know.”

Mallory sighed and stared up at the twilight sky. It dawned
on Tanya that there was something her friend wasn’t saying, something maybe she
wanted to talk about.

Tanya rolled to her side and prodded Mallory’s shoulder.
“What’s up?”

She shrugged. “Aaliyah’s being a pill. Nothing new.”

It was difficult for Tanya to merge the idea of the
fun-loving Aussie transplant and the cutthroat, take-no-prisoners African
suffragette. Maybe it was their differences that brought them together.

“We want to have kids, but no one will let a lesbian couple
adopt. We have to be married, but since the state overturned the same-sex
marriage bill last fall, we don’t qualify. You can imagine how pleasant that
makes her.”

“Mallory—that sucks.” Tanya didn’t know how to respond.
Aaliyah was not Tanya’s favorite person, but she loved Mallory. The couple had
been together for years, through so much. Mallory’s parents disowning her, news
of Aaliyah’s family’s death, and each had a tough time getting U.S.
citizenship. If anyone deserved to have a happy life together, it was the two
of them.

“Yeah. It does. We’ll get our day though. They can’t keep us
out forever.” Mallory grinned up with her trademark carefree grin. “And you
know when we can get married, we’ll have the biggest, craziest party.”

“You will.”

“What would you think of being my bridesmaid?”

Tanya stared at her friend, surprise and warmth bouncing
around in her breast. “Me? Really?”

“Yeah.” Mallory shrugged. “My family thinks I might as well
be dead, and you’re my closest friend, so why not?”

“Of course. I didn’t know you were engaged though.”

Mallory snorted and her brow wrinkled. “What do we need to
be engaged for? Aaliyah and I both know we’re inevitably going to end up
together for the rest of our lives. A ring isn’t going to change that.”

“I’d love to be your bridesmaid. Or best woman. I don’t even
know what you’d call the attendants in a lesbian wedding…”

“Neither do I.”

They both giggled.

“Would you wear the dress or would Aaliyah? Or would you
even wear dresses?” Tanya resisted a deep sigh. She’d loved every minute of her
wedding, which had been held in her grandparents’ hay barn. Everyone had drunk
from mason jars and most people had worn boots. It was one of the happiest days
of her life.

“Am I supposed to know these things now? Shit, I don’t know.
We’d probably do it at the rink or something before a bout. Do you really think
Aaliyah or I are going to wear a frilly dress or even a suit?”

“You’ve got a point there.”

“Throw the brakes on the planning stuff, crazy woman.
Sheesh.” Mallory grinned at her. “I’m glad you’ll be there though.”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

Tanya indulged in her sigh and rolled those precious
memories of her wedding around in her mind. Their love had matured, grown.
They’d get through this rough patch. She had faith in them.

Cole roused slowly from sleep, coming awake a little at a
time. At first he was aware that the TV was still airing the Olympic coverage,
then the aroma of sizzling meat, seasoning and butter let him know he was no
longer alone in the house. He’d practically fallen face-first on the couch
after getting home. He’d worked the late shift at the Village, come home and
slept a few hours before getting an early call to execute a warrant before
heading back to the Village.

He rolled onto his back and stretched. At least now he felt
more human. He’d still sleep like the dead tonight. A glance at his watch told
him it was well into the evening, so Tanya must have been tiptoeing around him
for hours. He’d anticipated the afternoon sun waking him up, but again, his
wife must have pulled the blackout curtains because the only light was that
from the TV and the kitchen.

Cole didn’t deserve this kind of treatment.

Guilt ate at him for how he’d snapped at her the day before.
He wasn’t looking forward to the conversation they were going to have, but it
was a long time coming. He’d own the fact that there were a lot of things he’d
swallowed over the last few years instead of making a fuss. And he’d never
thought about it from her perspective before. What he’d viewed as lazy was her
trying to make things easier for him. Hell, just a five-minute conversation had
given him some important insight.

Maybe she was on to something.

“Hey, you’re awake.” Tanya bent over him, her voice low.

“Yeah, just woke up.” He rubbed the side of his face.

“I bet you’re exhausted. Dinner’s ready. Do you want me to
bring you a plate?”

“Nah, I’ll come get it.”

Tanya returned to the kitchen. He followed, dragging his
feet and stretching the kinks out of his shoulders and neck. The table was not
set, he noticed.

They fixed their plates, moving around each other with ease
and practice born of years of familiarity. He followed her lead and took his
plate back to the den, where she’d turned up the volume on the TV and curled up
on one side of the couch with her bowl of pasta.

“They changed the schedule again today, but I should still
have Saturday night off,” he said.

“Awesome. Should I make you a ‘Mrs. Hot Tango’ t-shirt?”
Tanya grinned at him.

Cole didn’t understand a lot of the social ins and outs of
the roller derby community. Most of it was his own fault for not taking a more
active role, but it demanded a lot of time he couldn’t commit. Still, he liked
that Tanya had more going on than her work. She was having fun, and as much as
she enjoyed her job, he firmly believed she needed something else. It also
didn’t hurt that her full schedule kept her from sitting at home while he was
called out on missions.

“Can it be pink?” he asked.

“If you want it to be.” She laughed and spooned more food
into her mouth.

Cole ate but didn’t taste the food, which was a shame
because one of Tanya’s many talents was cooking. He took a drink and cleared
his throat. “About yesterday—”

“I’m okay waiting to talk about it if you don’t feel like it
now.” The tone of her voice was so serious. Reading between the lines, he knew
she hadn’t forgotten and they were going to discuss it.

He shifted so he faced her and rested the bowl on his knee.
“Okay. Maybe those points we should talk about later, but I was thinking you
were right about one thing. We don’t talk like we used to anymore. I think one
of the things with you traveling so much was that we had set times we did talk,
and now that we’re always around each other we don’t communicate.”

Tanya nodded slowly. “I can see that. I think we’ve gone
days without saying more than a bullet list of our schedule.”

“I’m not saying it’s your fault or mine.”

“It takes two to tango.” Tanya set her bowl on the coffee
table and crawled across the couch to lay her head in his lap.

He stroked her hair and rolled an idea around inside his
head. At work they had daily briefings, where the whole team got together to go
over regular things, touch base and check in with each other. Most of the time
he was better connected to his teammates than he was to his wife. So why not
take a page from the SWAT handbook?

“I was thinking, what if we set aside times to talk?” Cole
suggested.

Tanya rolled onto her back, gazing up at him. “Build new
habits. I like it.”

He cracked a grin. “Will you check your schedule and see
when you can squeeze me in?”

She rolled her eyes, but he could see the relief relaxing
her body, the way she eased into him more. “I think I can do that.”

“Perfect.” He chuckled and spooned another bite into his
mouth. The flavors burst on his tongue, tangy with a hint of spice and
fantastic. “Mm, this is really good, babe.”

She hummed and curled over on her side, one hand under her
cheek. He finished off his dinner and settled in to watch gymnasts compete. It
was fascinating from a physical standpoint—the kind of stamina it took to
participate at that level. And the girls bouncing around on the mat were less
than half his age on average.

“Are you falling asleep?” He stroked Tanya’s hair.

“No.”

“Did you think about that thing I texted you about earlier?”

Tanya propped her chin on her hand and peeked up at him.
“You mean that text you sent me that just said ‘Red or black box?’ and nothing
else?”

“Yeah, that one.”

“I don’t know what to say. Yes? Do I get to pick this time?”

“If you want.”

She chewed her lip for a moment before sitting up. “Okay.”

“I’ll put the dinner stuff away.”

“Deal.”

They each got to their feet and headed in opposite
directions. He was tired, but for Tanya he could muster up some energy.

Cole put away the rest of the food and got the dishes in the
washer. He did a quick pass through the rest of the house, checking the window
locks, back door and garage out of habit before entering the bedroom.

Tanya was sitting on her side of the bed, the comforter
turned down. She wore one of his SWAT t-shirts. Not exactly sexy attire, but he
liked her best in his clothes. In her hand was a card.

“What essential ingredient to our sex lives do we have
tonight?” he asked as he scooted in beside her.

She held up the paper, a serious expression on her face.
“Remember the simple pleasures.”

Cole paused and rolled the words around in his head. Simple
pleasures?

“I want to cuddle,” Tanya said on a rush of breath.

“Okay.” Because what else was he supposed to say?

Tanya leaned over and flipped the bedside light switch and
the room slowly dimmed. Cole removed his clothes down to his boxer-briefs and
lay down. Tanya scooted over until she curled around him, her head on his
shoulder and hand splayed across his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and
drew her in closer.

“I miss this,” she said into the darkness.

“Cuddling?” He struggled saying the word. So he was a guy.
Some things didn’t come naturally to him.

“Yeah. We only really cuddle after sex or during a movie.
It’s nice to be held.”

He tightened his hold on her. Damn it. Tanya didn’t ask him
for much. He’d have to remember this.

“Where do we stand in the medal count?” he asked, not quite
ready to sleep yet.

“Last I looked we were behind China for gold, like eighteen
to sixteen, but the games barely started.” She stroked his hand over his chest
in a distracted manner.

“Do you want to try to get tickets to go see something this
week or next? Some of the guys were talking about trying to go together.
Interested?”

“Sure. Who is going?”

“Aaron and his girlfriend, Jake, Nicole and some others
probably.”

Tanya groaned. “Nicole? Really?”

“I know you don’t really like her, but it’s not like we can
just invite Jake and not Nicole.”

“Fine. I’m just going to flirt with Aaron instead.”

“I don’t know about that.” Cole squeezed her tighter.

“Oh? Is that jealousy?” She batted her eyelashes at him.

“No, I just think Aaron is in over his head.”

“I sense gossip. Tell me!”

“Fine. There’s something between him and one of our female
officers, Becca Jameson.”

“Brunette, little shorter than me?”

“That’s the one.”

“She’s hot. And a badass.”

“Yup. Anyways, I shouldn’t say anything but this fiancée of
his just seems weird to me. He barely knows her and I’m his best friend and I
don’t know more than five facts about her.”

“Not everyone dates for years like we did.”

“No, but shouldn’t you at least make sure your friends know
your woman if you’re going to get married? It just strikes me as weird.”

“Hm, interesting. I will have to observe this.” Tanya
wiggled and cuddled closer, if at all possible. “Sleep now.”

He kissed her forehead. “Good night.”

“Mm, night.”

* * * * *

Tanya sucked in a breath through her mouth and dug down deep
for the last drops of energy. The smell of burning rubber and squealing wheels
as girls churned up boards filled the skating rink.

“Move those feet. Move ’em!” Aaliyah, the league’s general
manager and assistant coach to the travel team, called out from the inner
track.

Tanya hunkered down and put on a burst of speed. Lotta Byte
skated past as if Tanya were standing still. She groaned and pushed herself to
fall in behind Lotta to draft off the faster skater. Tanya didn’t have a hope
or a prayer of overtaking Lotta, but she could try to keep up. She gained about
six inches before Lotta turned up the gas and sped away. Coming out of a turn,
Lotta glanced over her shoulder, grinned and rocketed forward, displaying exactly
why she was one of the Metro City Derby Dame’s top skaters.

Three blasts on a whistle from center rink and Tanya let
herself coast around the track, hands on her knees and sucking in lungfuls of
air.

Lotta Byte and Mallory Bruiser coasted up on either side of
Tanya. She stood up, pulled the mouth guard out and stuck one end through the
vent holes on the top of her helmet like every other derby girl.

“You’re getting faster,” Lotta said, which was surprising
because the woman was shy and hardly said five words to anyone.

“Thanks. Maybe someday I’ll be able to keep up with you,”
Tanya replied.

Mallory merely grinned, her face red and splotchy.

“Everyone come to the middle and take a knee,” Aaliyah
called through her megaphone.

Tanya banked left and went to a knee, letting her weight on
her kneepad slow her to a stop. She shifted to sit on her bottom and began
stretching her legs and arms. Her muscles were screaming, but Lotta Byte’s
observation about her increasing speed rested in the back of her mind.

She was getting faster.

Typically Tanya played either as a pivot, which was a key
blocker role, or jammer position, all of which required a good deal of speed
and maneuverability. As a pivot, she led the pack and was the last line of
defense to take out the other team’s jammer, or point scorer. When she played
as jammer, she wasn’t the fastest, but her speed coupled with her sturdier
build and strength meant she could hit and move her ass.

Mallory slid in next to her and jerked her head in a nod.

Aaliyah waved a handful of papers as she spoke. “I want to
take a minute to talk about Saturday’s bout against Sin City Rollers. Everyone
knows the Olympics are in town, so give yourself extra time to get to The
Warehouse to set up for the bout. Remind your family and fans to allow for more
time. Metro City PD will not, I repeat, will not be on-site Saturday to assist
in security or traffic control. We’ve had volunteers from derby husbands to act
as stand-ins, so they will be taking over this weekend only.” She glanced at
the papers. “I think that’s it.”

Mallory cupped her hands over her mouth and yelled,
“Aaliyah, talk about attendance.”

Aaliyah glanced up and glared at her girlfriend. “Why don’t
you?”

“Okay.” Mallory shrugged and got to her knees. “We’ve had a
lot of orders and inquiries from people in town for the Olympics. It sounds
like we’re going to have a huge crowd. Get your family and friends pre-ordered
for this bout. Sin City is bringing a lot of people with them too. We have a
maximum capacity of thirteen hundred people. Typically eight to nine hundred
come to a game. A sell-out crowd is not an impossibility.”

“Thanks, Mallory.” Aaliyah slapped the papers on her thigh.
“That’s a wrap, girls. See you tomorrow for a dress rehearsal practice. Get out
of here.”

Tanya got to her feet and skated slowly to the benches where
girls were already stripping out of their gear. She plopped down in her seat
and was almost immediately bracketed by Mallory and Goldie.

“Shit.” Tanya glanced at both women. “Can I help you?”

Goldie laughed and shouldered her roughly into Mallory.
“Just curious how you’ve been the last few days.”

Tanya compulsively grabbed her cell phone and glanced at the
screen. There was one text she was itching to read, but not with an audience.

“Good, just busy,” Tanya replied.

“Oh come on, you aren’t going to hold out on details, are
you?” Goldie glared at her and Tanya became very interested in removing her
wrist guards.

Mallory snorted, but held her tongue.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Please, you’re a horrible liar.” Goldie chuckled. “I’m
guessing it’s been good. My new vibrator’s been amazing.”

How did Tanya reply to that? She shifted in her seat and
tucked the wrist guards away. These women were her friends. She took a deep
breath and started at the only place she knew. “Things in the bedroom are
better. It’s just that it seems that we have some other things to work out
too.”

“But you’re working on them?” Goldie asked.