Hey guys...this is my second fic! Hope y'all like it! Of course I don't own these characters!
Holding On
Chapter 1
Agent Dwayne Pride sat at his desk waiting on his girlfriend, Rita Deveraux to arrive from D.C. It had been 3 weeks since he had last seen her. Rita was a very beautiful, smart and amazing woman. Her and Dwayne dated in the past but split up and each found someone else. Now 25 yrs later..here they were. Seeing each other when they can. It was obvious they cared for one another.
There was a problem though, someone else had feelings for Pride. Someone closer to home. Shelby Raines had worked for Dwayne for almost a year and a half. Shelby was a simple woman. She finished high school but never made it to college. Instead she was married at 20 and divorced at 30. Now it was 10 yrs later and she was working for a government agency thanks to her brother who worked with Dwayne back in the day. Shelby heard stories of Dwayne but didn't realize how wonderful he was until she started working for him. Dwayne bragged on her alot to everyone. He would say how great she was at her job...a researcher...someone who studied cases. Shelby would smile but she never felt smart. She never considered herself even pretty. She was just Shelby..dependable and reliable.
One evening about 6 months ago. Shelby had been working late and she heard Dwayne playing the piano in his room. She sat and listened to him. His playing soothed her. He was so good at it. She wanted him to know how much she enjoyed his playing. She made her way to Dwayne's room and she heard him stop. She knocked on his doorway and he told her to enter. She also had a drink for him.
Hey Dwayne..thought you might want a drink. He grabbed the drink and thanked her. I also wanted to tell you how much I enjoy hearing you play. He smiled and winked at her. Will you play something else. Dwayne said sure. As he played, Shelby listened and watched his hands stroke the keys. She closed her eyes and imagined Dwayne's hands on her face. She imagined his hands all over her body. Her eyes opened immediately and she was hot. When Dwayne finished..she thanked him and walked downstairs to get some air. She was blushing. It was obvious that she wanted Dwayne, but he didn't notice one bit.
As the months got longer and time passed. Shelby got know Dwayne better. He did tell her things that he didn't really talk about with anyone else. She also talked about her life too. The one thing she couldn't tell Pride about was her ex. I mean she told him they didn't agree on anything, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him about the physical and mental abuse he put her through. She didn't want him to feel sorry for her. She also couldn't tell him she was falling for him either. Rita was his girlfriend and Shelby knew King would never look at her like that. I mean why would he? His girlfriend was hot and a Navy JAG among other things. Shelby could never compete with her. Plus she and Dwayne had history. Everytime Rita came around she would smile and say hello. Then Shelby would walk away with tears in her eyes. Praying no one saw. She really wanted to hate Rita but she couldn't because Rita was so nice. Still she was jealous as hell. It broke her heart to see them together.
Before Dwayne left he went to tell Shelby to lock up when she left but when he got to her he heard her crying and her back was to him. He called her name, Shelby? Shelby panicked. She turned to run but Dwayne grabbed her. Shelby what's wrong? I just had a bad day Dwayne. Thank you for asking. You shouldn't keep Rita waiting. Are you sure darling? Shelby wanted to say no, but she smiled and said yes. Have a good night Dwayne. Dwayne felt uneasy but all he could say was you too Shelby as he walked away. He turned to see her before he left the room. She was turned away from him with tears rolling down her face. Shelby heard him and Rita leave and she broke down and cried so hard.
That night Rita was in mid sentence about her work when she noticed King wasn't listening. Dwayne? He cleared his throat and said, yeah? Are you with me? He said he was sorry he was distracted. She asked if was a case and Dwayne lied and said yes. He was really thinking about Shelby. He hated seeing her upset. He had grown close to her and cared about her. Rita told Dwayne that he would figure out the case, he always did. Dwayne just smiled. That night Rita spent the night as usual and after her boom boom session with Dwayne she fell fast asleep. Dwayne on the other hand was restless. He made his way to Shelby's office. She always locked it but Dwayne had the master key. He knew something was wrong so he thought might try to see if he could figure it out. He looked around the room and saw the pic of Shelby and her parents. They died 15 yrs earlier in a car accident. He saw her dreamcatcher hanging on the wall. He sat down at her desk and there was the pic of him and her from this past Christmas and he smiled. Dwayne, noticed a file sitting on her desk. He knew she was always working on cases. Imagine his shock and surprise when he opened it up and saw pics of Shelby black and blue. Her eyes and lips swollen...cuts everywhere, bleeding. Dwayne was horrified. How come she hadn't told him? Who did this to her? and Dwayne thought is this why she had been crying? Suddenly, Dwayne heard Rita call his name. She told him to cime back to bed. Dwayne locked Shelby's door and made his way back to his bed and laid down with his girlfriend. There was no way in hell he could sleep after what he saw. He needed to talk to Shelby. He would in the morning.