Labyrinth of Emotions – 02.06 – Taking It Back

            The Planet early morning and Kit was setting up the table for the girls, because finally things were looking up. At least in some aspects of everyone’s lives. Alice was doing true reporting, and Dana was about to start playing in some televised events. Tina was feeling better she was working all the time and finding her way back to her life. Sam was doing well, looking much too healthy for a heart transplant recipient, Lara was her constant companion, and Shane was always in the mix. She gravitated to them because neither of them had any preconceptions of her. Tim and Vanessa were planning their wedding and Alex was muttering about having to help foot the bill. Jenny and Carmen were a couple, but Jenny was making time with Marina on the side, a new twist on an old story.

            It was two weeks after Alex had come to talk to her and Bette had been approved for another month in her sanctuary and Kit thought that her sister was pulling the ultimate run away scam. Her sister had perfected what Kit had always done, tuck tail and bolt.

            Kit turned and saw Alice and Dana walking in hand in hand. Dana staring lovingly at Alice, as Alice scanned the room and finally laid eyes on Kit smiling and waving. Alice looked radiant something about digging up the truth was making her life much more simple.

            “Well if it isn’t the two love birds.” Kit said sweetly as Dana sat down at the table, looking exhausted. She rubbed her dark tired eyes and smiled up at Kit. Alice excused herself as her cell phone rang and her face lit up when it did. She walked away and began talking excitedly, more than likely about her new story. Dana was sure it was Maura, Alice‘s editor. Who Dana had met, and she was sexy, a flash of jealousy flashed in Dana. A hot searing feeling in the pit of her belly.

            “Dana honey you look totally beat. What is going on with you girl? Is your coach training you way to hard?” Kit said, and Dana nodded, cradling her head in her arms on the table. She sighed and looked up at Kit just speaking was too much for her.

            “My mom is living with me, she left my dad the other week, now she is sleeping in my bed in my house and telling me what to do all the fucking time. It’s all a jumble, it’s all fucked up. It’s, well fuck I think my mom is gay! She thinks she is gay, and now she is driving me insane. She asks questions 24/7, she woke me up last night to ask about female ejaculation!” Dana admitted and Tina sat down next to her smiling brightly at Kit.

            “Hey guys. Did you just say your mom is gay? I thought she was like Miss Republican of the year.” Tina said a huge grin on her face, she had been spending many late nights at the Center lately. She’d close down Twilight and head over to the Center, in hopes of catching the elusive and mesmerizing Rosita Navarro. Three times in the last week and twice the week before. She still had no idea if the woman was gay, but she did flirt and that was enough for Tina at the moment.

            “It’s a long, twisted story for another time I’m tired of talking about it. Alice has been talking it into the ground, every night in fact.” Dana admitted they’d talked about it every single day, and night and she wanted nothing more to do with it.

            “Baby girl, you look radiant this AM.” Kit stated, wagging a finger at Tina, and Tina‘s eyes widened at the early morning compliment. She pushed back her blonde hair from her eyes, smiling shyly.

            “Yeah what is up with that?” Dana asked, a bit sarcastically and Tina shot her a look. Why was it, that if she wasn’t with Bette, they would never accept her being happy just being who she wanted to be. Dana‘s eyes went wide and wiggling her eyebrows, and Tina had to smile at her she reached over and squeezed Dana‘s hand and Dana winked.

            “G’morning ladies.” Carmen said as she motioned to one of the empty chairs, and Kit nodded to her DJ.

            “Take a seat.” Kit said smiling and patting the table, Carmen got comfortable. Jenny wasn’t far behind and Dana turned to see where Alice was. She was on the patio, talking away on her cell phones, hands moving up and down totally animated. Dana rested her head on her hand and watched her. Smiling as she traced the lines of her face with her eyes, her fingers always moving. Dana got an erotic shiver as she stared at her that switched had just flicked on when Alice had kissed her, she saw her in a totally different light now.

            Jenny sat down and she looked up to see Shane walking in, and her heart dropped a bit. She sighed, for some reason Shane still had a soft hold on Carmen, and this was very annoying to her. She wanted Carmen to stop looking at the androgynous woman her roommate. She wanted Carmen to only want her but something about Shane just kept Carmen interested a bit. Carmen did look up as Shane walked in then scoffed.

            “What?” Jenny asked as the table was in some conversation about a huge party that was going down at Twilight Saturday night. Her interest perked up at the mention of a party, she did love parties.

            “Isn’t that Lara‘s girl that Shane is hanging with?” Carmen whispered, and the whole table heard her turning around to see Sam‘s hand sliding up Shane‘s lower back. Tina turned and stared at the table, her teeth clenched together. She didn’t like cheaters never had never would and now it was worse. She quickly laid judgment on Sam and Shane, making sure she had her back fully turned away.

            “What the?” Dana said and Lara came out from the kitchen just then, moving over to Shane and Sam. She gave Shane a kiss on her cheek and Sam a more personal one, pulling her close and sweeping her tongue into the tomboy’s mouth. Sam tugged her close using Lara‘s belt to do so, Sam leaned back and read Lara‘s newest shirt, it read. We Are All Connected. Sam grinned and thought it was true 6 degrees of separation.

            “Darlin, still not sexually approved ok? Ease up on the knee weakening get me wet kisses huh? A month, I swear but until them, slow down on ‘em eh?” Sam said her voice deep as Shane let out a short laugh and led them over to the growing table. Lara grinned from ear to ear as she slid her hand down Sam‘s arm and found her small hand.

            “Howdy y’all.” Sam said in a southern accent spinning the chair around and swinging her leg over it straddling it. Shane sat down heavily slumping in the chair as she sipped her java. Carmen looked over at her but Shane ignored it if she saw it. Carmen was off limits, she was with Jenny and that was the end of that. She wasn’t going to meddle in someone else’s relationship ever again. Lara gave Sam a kiss and whispered something in her ear and Sam nodded.

            “I promise sugah.” Sam said a bit sheepishly sticking to the southern drawl, and Lara said.

            “Be back in a bit guys I have some pastries to attend too, make sure she has no coffee!” Lara sang out and Dana leaned over to Sam. Her face ultra serious as she stared Sam down hard, and Sam returned the stare, then her eye brows drifted up and finally Dana said.

            “You can’t have coffee?” She asked very serious and Sam nodded and sighed, breaking eye contact with the goofy tennis player. She saw just why Lara had pined over her so hard, there was something innocent about her, yet the feeling of a naughty thought in the fringe of her psyche. That was sexy.

            “Coffee can’t eat a good, greasy cheese burger, and no sex, so I’m really sucking in life at the present moment in time. I got to live, oh great but I can’t do a thing I love, not even work.” Sam groaned and whined the table laughed and Sam‘s eyes lit up as she saw a sexy dark haired woman walking into the Planet, and Dana whistled and said under her breath.

            “Ok tasty morsel at six o’clock.” Dana announced and Tina turned around and smiled at the sight that graced her view. She was standing there cotton pants, and a dark purple shirt that seemed to make her skin glow. She spotted Tina and walked over to her with a lopsided grin, and her hips swaying, the table watching every single move the Latina made. She had a pair of sunglasses perched on her head, holding back a few strands of stray hairs in place.

            “Hey bella, you forgot this at the Center this morning, did you get any sleep at all?” Rosita asked and handed Tina her cell phone as she knelt next to Tina and Tina smiled. Not bothering to introduce her to the table, since she was sure that Ro wasn’t going to stay. Rosita wasn’t into group stuff she was a loner, that much Tina had gleamed from her in the short time she’s met her.

            “No, I’ll sleep this afternoon before I have to go to work. You are going to come to Twilight for the party? Please? Saturday night?” Tina begged with a small smile and Ro nodded, dropping her purple sunglasses on her nose and smiled just a bit. Her dark intense eyes studied Tina, finally glancing around the table and settling on a cute tomboy that was trying not to stare at her. Something dark was brewing in that tomboy, Rosita was sure as she reached over and stole a donut from the androgynous looking woman to her left.

            “Si, I promise. I have to go I’m due at the office in a few minutes. Two weeks until I’m a free woman chica. See you in the dawn.” Ro winked and jogged off and the table sat in a collective stare, and Alice came up and asked.

            “Who the hell are you all staring at? Who is that? Come on people, talk to me!” Alice yapped, snapping her fingers in a very good Bette impression and Dana grabbed her and yanked her into the free chair next to her, and Carmen had to laugh. Jenny covered her mouth as Alice over acted, the drama queen in her taking over for just an instant.

            “A sexy dark haired, dark eyed, body from heaven and beyond sex goddess that Tina seems to be hitting the sheets with.” Dana said with a brazen attitude that was so unlike Dana that they all turned and stared at her, and Tina slapped her in the back of the head, and Shane said with a rancid grin.

            “Um, Tina, if you’re not banging her, can I?” Shane joked and Carmen grunted and Jenny smiled inside that the comment had pissed off Carmen. Things were looking up, at least for Jenny.

            “No, you cannot!” Tina said moving around in her chair uncomfortable Sam watching as Tina went from pale to blushing and then back to normal again. A sly smile graced Sam‘s full lips, as she blurted out.

            “Oh you have it BAD!” Sam stated stealing more of the donut from Shane, who slapped her hand away and Sam smiled at her. Shane at least let her get away with the little things and she adored her for that, Shane looked away from Sam‘s grey eyed stare. She had totally child like moments when she was in Sam‘s company, and she was afraid that she’d start to enjoy it too much, and be tempted.

            “No, I do not have it bad Dr. Vance. Rosita might not even be gay, I don’t know! I haven’t asked her yet and I’m not going too. So shut up about it, she’s a nice kid and she’s a great lawyer.”

            “Kid and lawyer?” Kit asked and batted her eyes at least she was better than the bottom feeding Helena. Kit had always thought that Helena had some sort of ulterior motives when it came to Tina. She saw Tina‘s eyes go stormy as she thought about Rosita.

            “Well, she is young… she’s like 25 or something so she is a kid to me ok.” Tina admitted and Sam let out a barking laugh. Sam rubbed her chest, feeling the scar under the shirt and shook her head her heart was older than she was.

            “Well fuck I’m only 25, so guess that makes me a kid too huh Tina? She must be driven, to be a lawyer at her age. Had to have done some summers and extra classes to finish up before 26 years of age. I should know I did the same thing.” The table stared at her, and Alice laughed. Of course no one knew a thing about Sam she kept everything to herself, close to the vest. The mysterious Samantha Vance.

            “Sami, no one knows that you are a brain trust! Sami and I went to school together, remember….” Alice began and Sam threw Shane‘s donut at her and Shane snorted and gave her a glare, which Sam returned.

            “I wasn’t done with that!” Shouted the Casanova and she crossed her arms, slinking down in her chair. Sam reached over and pinched her nose getting another hard glare from Shane, Kit watching the exchange with some interest.

            “May I continue?”  Alice asked and then said. “Thank you; and she was a mere 14 years old when she entered the hallowed halls of college where she proceeded to bag the sexiest woman ever, except for Dana of course, on earth. Ok, picture like; Anna Paquin with a better body, like… The Black Eyed Peas chick! She can sing too, CJ that is, not Dana. They were the ying and the yang of campus! If CJ couldn’t get you in bed with her body, Sam could coax you with her wit and charm. The dynamic duo of lesbianism!” Alice blurted out, and Sam was getting impatient she fidgeted in her chair and Shane watched her, trying to get Alice‘s attention, but it wasn’t working. Alice continued.

            “She then graduated with high honors, zipped through med school in like 3 years, because she didn’t understand what summer vacation was and is sitting here before you all. Brilliant and still alive and kicking…” Sam blushed and Alice smiled at her old friend. Sam thought she forgot to tell them half of the story.

            “You are like a brain that is amazing that you were in school at such a young age and turned out relatively normal.” Jenny was in awe and Sam laughed, she thought Jenny was one of those people that no one really understood. She was too intelligent, yet innocently naive at the same time, sand box mentality in the body of a vixen.

            “Right, normal.” Sam said sad at the thought of CJ suddenly and she excused herself. Pangs of aching lurched through her body as she saw CJ vividly in her mind, Shane sighed and shot Alice a look she got up and said to Alice.

            “You know, don’t mention CJ again, ok? She’s a bit ticked that the woman showed up a few weeks ago, asking for money and treating her like a dead woman. You can open your mouth at the wrong time Al.” Shane stated and walked away to catch up with the young doctor. She ran out, and saw Sam‘s car driving away from the curb, Shane cursed and went to the back of the Planet to ask Lara where Sam might go when she was upset.

            “Well like I knew that!” Alice said after ten minutes throwing up her hands, reverting back to being the drama queen, and Alex sat down in Shane‘s still warm seat.

            “Knew what? G’morning everyone. How’s it hanging?” Alex asked and the table began to banter, and she joined in waiting for her phone to ring. She was on a mission today, and it was a mission that she needed to complete before she could move on with her life. Kit slid her a slip of paper with an address and Alex nodded to her. The gang continued their conversation, not having seen Kit slip something to Alex and Alex got up and left, not bothering to say good bye.



*****
Taking It Back
9/11/04
Jaded-Rogue

Can you help me understand
I am just not wired this way
Yet here I am
Under your thumb

Why have I given in
To these darkest of my desire
Given up my control
For your direction

I am lying to myself
Reckless suicidal desires
You call me precious
Preciously yours

I am disconnected
Self destructive
One slash of the wrist at a time
Everyone has their day to die

Craving the fame
I am all about decadence
You lead me around
Like a puppy on a leash

Picture perfect on the outside
A mess on the inside
Drama queen
Of the utmost proportions

They were all right about you
You took it all away
The hurt is gone
Now its my time to leave

Take back my independence
Rip it away from you
Stealing back my life
Freedom my gift from you