The Underwear Incident
Anyone else wonder if the underwear Crews bought in Black Friday are the same ones Tidwell is blathering on about in Evil…and his brother Ziggy?
Hey, hon? Have you seen those purple panties of yours? The ones that I like so much?" Tidwell shouted from the kitchen.
Why the hell would he need her panties in the kitchen anyway? And did he just call me "hon"? Reese thought. She poked her head around the doorway into the kitchen. "Did you just call me, hon?"
"Geez, Dani, I'm sorry, habit." he said sheepishly. "Does it bother you that much?" he seemed genuinely hurt.
"It's just that you might do that at work and then… well, I'd have to deal with more than Crews and Stark knowing about us. Neither of us need that, right?" she said, trying to put a positive spin on the fact that she liked pet names about as much as she liked nicknames.
"What do you want with my panties anyway?" she said effectively changing the subject. What she didn't realize was that simple question was about to seriously change her morning.
"Well" Tidwell started sidling up to kiss her… "you know they are my favorite… but Tidwell was thinking you'd look good in a couple other colors… like red….maybe black… and if I knew where you got them at I could get a couple new pairs for you to model for me?" he teased while gathering her in his arms and peering down at her grinning.
Dani scowled, trying to look serious, but couldn't hold the look. "So I could model them for you, huh?" She kissed him. Dani had never expected to like him so much, to find him endearing in a playful, non-threatening way. Tidwell's approach was very straight forward, so little guile, from almost the day they met - he'd expressed an interest in her in no uncertain terms. He desired her, but he was still the best boyfriend she'd had in recent years. Maybe he's the only boyfriend I've had in recent years, she thought.
"So come on, tell Tidwell…where'd you get them?" He asked taunting her.
She knew her answer was going to cause problems, she had no idea how many, but she answered him somewhat honestly. It was a habit she was still getting used to. "I don't know where the came from. Actually, they were a gift."
But Dani did remember – it was the case at the shopping mall on Black Friday – the busiest shopping day of the year. She could still see him sitting on that bench, Crews with his hands full of shopping bags; the sunglasses he bought for her by describing her face to the clerk – who paid that much attention to their partner's face anyway? Crew wildly jabberingon about learning Dutch and then those expensive, lavender lacey panties he'd purchased that just happened to be her size and "no returns on underwear" he'd said.
Dani knew she shouldn't have taken them, but he'd left them any way, very subtly. She pulled out her desk chair and found a small, plain cardboard flat box with a black ribbon around it. Hidden under her desk with the chair pushed in, but there was no mistaking where they had come from, Crews. He didn't even hint at a smile sitting there in the desk opposite her, just his eyes smiled.
In the women's locker room, she'd considered throwing them away entirely, but they were very nice, fit her perfectly and complimented her complexion, damn Crews for being so perceptive. They just happened to be her favorites too, so it was not coincidence she was wearing them the first time she and Tidwell hooked up. Since then it had turned into an almost nightly affairs, but most sleepovers were still at his house. Tidwell staying at her house was still too personal.
Tidwell, who beside being the Captain in charge of their Homicide Squad, was however was also a cop and he could smell her attempt at deception. "A gift? From who? Who is this person who gave you lacey purple panties? Better have been your mother…" he warned, obviously annoyed.
It would only get worse when he found out who, but she could see no way around telling him. She could either tell him now - or Crews would end up blurting it out because knowing those two, they would discuss it. Tidwell grousing to Crews how she wouldn't tell him who gave her a gift of panties and how wrong that was. She could actually see the exchange going down in the conference room, her suitor from the Bronx fronting her partner, neither man willing to back down. Neither of them had any shame – or discretion. This was not good – she thought.
Tidwell was still glaring at her when she made up her mind to just tell him – "Crews" she stated flatly "Crew gave them to me – last Christmas."
"Crews? Charlie Crews? Detective Charlie Crews?" he kept getting louder with each new and more definitive way to recite Crews' name. "What the hell is your partner doing buying my girlfriend underwear?" Tidwell was pissed and very obviously jealous.
"Now just a minute" Dani started to defend Crews, which was pretty much the exact wrong thing to do. "I wasn't your girlfriend at the time."
"Okay… he conceded "but that is not a gift you give a partner. That is a gift you give a woman, a beautiful woman you want to…." Thankfully Tidwell did not finish the thought because she knew where he was headed. "But that would mean that he thinks about you…and that thinks about you - the way I think about you….oh, yeah, like that shower comment" Tidwell was now doing a perfect impression of Crews by talking to her and yet somehow not talking to her.
"What shower comment?" Dani asked her interest piqued.
"Huh?" his anger forgotten for a moment as he replaced a piece of Crews film from his own personal archive. Dani continued staring until he answered. "Oh… we were just… this one day… you were in the shower. I asked him if he knew what I was thinking? And he says "Reese in the shower", which is funny because I was thinking about that – you – but now I'm thinking he was thinking about that – you - too". He sputtered to a stop.
They both stopped to think. Tidwell obviously reassessing Crews and moving him from the "friendly" column to the "potential competition" column in his head. Who was he kidding Crews was filthy rich, drove fast cars and despite being fifteen years Reese's senior – still did quite well with the ladies – if the department rumor mill was to be believed. Did he have to worry about this guy? You buy underwear for a girl because you like the girl, right? And you like that girl in a way that… well, Tidwell didn't want to think about Crews thinking about his Dani like that.
Reese was still trying to figure out what all this meant when her cell rang.
"That better not be him" Tidwell warned.
She shot him an annoyed look and answered "Hey Crews. Yeah, I'm on my way. I'll meet you there. Yeah, coffee would be great" As she walked out the door, leaving Tidwell standing in his socks in the kitchen. He shot a withering look at the coffee on the counter and swallowed hard knowing things just got tougher for him to hang onto Dani Reese. Crews was serious competition. She spent half her life with him. They finished each others' sentence. This was not good for Tidwell.
Reese rolled onto the scene to find Crews perched on the front of another in a string of very expensive foreign cars in a $3000 suit, looking like he'd walked off the pages of GQ. He was eating a pear and hoisted a coffee in her direction and smiled. Reese thought what kind of guy buys his partner underwear anyway? It was still on her mind when she walked up to him and opened the conversation with "so, did you buy Stark underwear when he was your partner?"
She thought Charlie was going to choke. He paled, which was saying a lot for him as he was quite pale already and stammered "Wh..what?" feigning innocence, but his look told her Crews knew exactly what she was talking about. He was stuck between a line of patrolmen inside the crime scene and one very pissed off five foot tall brunette. Crews was seriously considering his options when she walked up to him very purposefully and whispered "thought so".
To say Crews was shocked would be seriously understating his state of discomfort, but then she added "Just so you know – I know, Crews" she let the statement just stand there and then after a beat added "so does Captain Tidwell" for effect. Crews never painted Reese for a sadist but he would have to rethink that characterization went she shot him a grin and ducked under the crime scene tape. Boy, this was going to be an interesting morning, Charlie thought.