Disclaimer: The characters, and the premise upon which they are based, do not belong to me. I don't know if I could handle the responsibility, quite frankly.
Author's Note: Like a golfer, I'm working on improving my short game. I tend to write lengthy pieces, which are fun and really exhausting at the same time, but I need to work on my one shots. Read, Review, Write - That's all I can tell you, folks. Seriously, we help each other get by, but as fellow reader and writer, one can quickly get disheartened by the lack of fresh material and feedback. Trust me; it may not seem like much, but it helps keep writers inspired.
Author's Note II: Support your local artists, that way hometown and small time projects like Through the Pane can make it big time. Big shout out for Pauline Egan and Louis Ferreira; showing TTP in Vancouver tomorrow (which is where I wish I could be right now)!
Okay...I digress...carry on.
Rolling her eyes, Angie mumbled a few not so nice words as she tugged at the hem of her skirt nervously. A light chuckle to her right reminded her that she was not alone in this predicament as she watched the cab pull away from the curb and disappear out of sight. Turning towards her partner, she lightly punched him on the bicep as scratched his fingertips over the expanse of his bearded cheek and down toward his collar; learning long ago of the action being one indication of him being nervous.
Their wonderful supervisor, discouraged by dead ends after being stonewalled by certain community members, had decided that the best way to discreetly acquire information about their affluent suspect was to crash the latest shindig in his home. Mingling with countless guests, the partners could casually obtain facts and opinions without arousing too much suspicion as they quietly inspected the home for clues, too. Unfortunately, fitting the part also meant a transformation from skilled detectives into inconspicuous undercover agents.
Offering an elbow towards Angie, Oscar smoothed his sweaty palm down his argyle sweater vest as he led her up the illuminated path in front of the imposing manor. Raising his fist to knock loudly on the huge oak door in front of him, he paused midway while glancing at Angie. "You ready for this?" he asked softly.
"As ready as I'm going to be," she replied, grimacing faintly.
"That may be as good as it gets," he smiled sympathetically at her.
"Shit!" Angie whispered forcefully from behind Oscar.
Turning his head around quickly, Oscar was met with Angie's squirming back; watching as she hunched over as if to shield him from whatever had happened a moment before. Setting the silver frame in his hand back down on the mantle carefully, he quietly walked up behind his partner so as not to draw any unwanted attention towards them from the other guests at the party.
Under the pretense of attending said party as guests of their suspect's mother, Angie and Oscar had spent most of the evening posing as the neighborhood's newest residents. Up until now, the evening had gone as planned; however, Oscar had the sneaking suspicion that was about to end any minute now.
"Oscar!" Angie whispered once more; eyes bulging frantically as she met his gaze. Flicking her head back towards her side of the room, Angie hoped he would understand her urgent signal and act quickly; smiling politely as an elderly woman walked by the duo on her way through the rapidly crowding room.
Gliding smoothly around Angie's right, his fingertips ghosting across her elbow, Oscar positioned himself between her and the window as he looked on in concern. "What -," he attempted, only to be cut off by Angie's left hand being thrust into his face. Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, he looked at her face through her spread fingers; unwittingly staring right through the problem.
"Oh, honey...that's beautiful!" came a voice from the far side of the room as the former passerby stepped into the room once more. Heading straight for the partners, the elderly woman rested her right palm across her chest in admiration of the glinting diamond on Angie's outstretched hand. Reaching for Angie's upturned hand; she inspected the jewelry closely before turning back towards Oscar with a bright smile. "She's a keeper, young man; you did a wonderful job. Congratulations!"
Watching the older woman in confusion as she walked away, Oscar looked back at Angie as she punched him in the shoulder and dragged him from the room. Halfway down the hall, Oscar noticed the hard angle of a sharp object cutting into the palm of his hand. Tugging on Angie's own hand to slow her to a stop, he lifted their joined hands to inspect them once more. "Angie...what the hell is that?" he asked incredulously; swallowing thickly as he pointed a finger at the antique diamond ring that shone back at him.
Yanking on her digit roughly, Angie screwed her face up tightly as she attempted to work the jewel loose. "Oh, hey, Oscar; how nice of you to join us," she mocked condescendingly. "Now help me out, damnit!" Angie cried in frustration.
Pulling her hand back towards him, Oscar tugged on the ring gently; careful not to hurt her as guests milled about around them. "What the -," he muttered to himself quietly; only stopping when he noticed the finger rapidly turning a bright shade of red. "Ang...Where did you get this?"
Face flushing bright red as if to match her extended digit, Angie cleared her throat before whispering quietly; "Nelson's desk. I thought it was identical to Felicia Sims', but I remembered her fingers seemed really large, so I guess you could say I compared notes on its fitting. It would seem -,"
"It would seem you were mistaken, Cinderella," Oscar joked lightly, attempting to put his partner at ease as he gently massaged her petite fingers with the calloused pads of his own fingertips. As he continued his ministrations, Oscar perceptively noted how Angie's fingers trembled and her shoulders drooped slightly as she relaxed. Pulling her toward him to allow an exuberant couple to pass by them, he frowned slightly as he realized that his light touch was not working as well as he had planned.
Eyes flicking around the crowd, Angie suddenly pulled her hand away as their biggest fan approached them once more as she heard the greying woman remark over her shoulder to a younger man about a lovely couple she had run into earlier in the evening. Looping her arm through Oscar's elbow, she drew him with her down a darkened hallway to elude the oncoming confrontation; peeking into a partially open doorway, she didn't think twice before she shoved him over the threshold in front of her.
Closing her eyes tight and slamming her back gently against the door, closing it with a loud thud, Angie mentally counted to ten before blinking in the dark as her eyesight adjusted to take in her surroundings. Canned goods on her left and fresh produce to her right, Angie rolled her eyes as she took in her partner's amused expression in front of her.
Shoving his hands deeper into his pockets, Oscar fixed Angie with a questioning gaze as he took in her frazzled expression. "Ang - this infatuation you have with food is getting out of hand," he remarked sarcastically as he turned away from her to inspect the contents of the shelves. Shuffling the items around, his hunt was cut short by her exasperated sigh in the dimly lit and cramped space. "Oh, I'm sorry," he turned to face her once more. "You'll have to forgive me for ignoring you; I'm kind of searching for something to help slip a stolen wedding ring off of my friend's finger."
"Shut it, mister. No need to get snarky with me," Angie bit back as she tugged once more. When the ring stayed put as her hand slipped out of her grip, it sent her right elbow slamming into a shelf about shoulder height at her side; contents wobbling as a large jar threatened to fall down upon her. Realizing she didn't have the time to catch the heavy object, Angie closed her eyes as she attempted to shield herself and moved as far away as the confined space would allow.
In an instant, Angie suddenly felt warmer as the heat from her partner's body radiated towards her as he reached up to protect her from the falling debris. Opening her eyes, Angie realized she was staring at the broad expanse of his chest as she watched it rise and fall in time with the soft breaths blowing across her hairline. Unable to retreat due to the door directly behind her, Angie released a shuddering breath that she didn't realize she had been holding; quietly willing her heartbeat to return to normal now that imminent danger had been avoided.
Taking a small step backwards, Oscar nervously cleared his throat as he gently tugged at his collar. Offering Angie an innocent smirk, his eyes quickly looked around the room as if to look anywhere but at her piercing blue gaze; nodding silently when she whispered a soft thank you. Feeling her words more than hearing them, Oscar was suddenly inspired to start reciting the Canucks team roster when his body began to react without his consent. "Uh -," he muttered quietly, praying she wouldn't notice his flustered response.
Watching her partner for a moment longer, Angie decided that it was her turn to have some fun at his expense. Sliding her right hand up his chest, she thumbed the ring encircling her left ring finger as she lifted it to where they both could see it. "I think I may have another idea," she whispered to him. Barely awaiting his response, Angie lifted the hand a fraction of an inch more and sucked the entire length of her long finger into her mouth; swirling her tongue down and around the ring at its base before slowly pulling back up towards the fingertip.
Plunging back down once more for good measure, Angie grinned mischievously around the digit as she watched Oscar's eyelashes flutter against his cheek; eyelids drooping closed as he released a nearly indistinguishable grunt. Pulling the damp finger from her lips with a loud pop, she watched with fascination as Oscar's eyelids flew open; fixing her with an intense and clouded gaze. Sliding the ring up the length of her ring finger to pinch it between her thumb and forefinger, Angie's breath was caught in her throat as Oscar reached forward with both hands on her cheeks and kissed her firmly on the lips.
No tongue; just lips; the contact was solid as his lips affixed themselves to hers firmly while his gentle grip held her to him. Drawing back for just a second moments later to inhale quickly, Oscar descended once more, with his eyes closed as he laced his fingers through hers as he held her hands in place above her head; paying no attention to the ring that dropped to the ground and tinkered across the tile floor. Gripping her fingers tightly, he was pleasantly surprised when Angie tightened her own grip in eager response; hesitantly granting her access as she ran her tongue over his bottom lip in a request for entrance.
Pulling away, but only enough to share the same breath, Oscar exhaled a shaky breath as Angie slowly untangled their knotted fingers. Breathing heavy, Angie let her head fall back against the solid surface of the door as Oscar knelt down in front of her; squinting in the darkness as he searched for the elusive ring. Lowering her gaze, she expected to be met with a head of dark curls; her heart thudding heavily when she saw him peering up at her with the jewel gripped between his fingers.
Pinching his bottom lip between his teeth, Oscar's stomach dropped as he watched Angie's eyebrows shoot up when her eyes widened. Despite the dim surroundings, he was able to see her clear blue irises swallow her pupils as they attempted to readjust to the added light as quickly as possible. As her breath caught in her throat, Oscar swallowed thickly as he quickly jumped to his feet.
"No; no, no," he whispered quietly to himself as he stood up; banging his elbow loudly on the shelf next to him. Quickly grabbing the joint in pain and cringing at the loud noise, he felt his stomach drop as he looked back at Angie's wounded expression when he realized that she got the wrong impression about his mutterings. Shaking his head vehemently, Oscar quickly spoke again, "Damnit – I mean –," he tried once more, only to be blinded by a bright light as the door flew open.
While apparently no one from the party minded two middle aged adults being caught like teenagers in a kitchen pantry, the situation was enough to drive a particularly sharp divide between the partners for the rest of the weekend. Fortunately, karma took pity on them and allowed them to spend their weekend apart from one another; healing from the awkward and embarrassing moment that had passed between them. A tiny break from Oscar was exactly what Angie had intended to enjoy; preferably without interruption.
Frowning slightly as she walked into the bullpen the following Monday morning, Angie was equally concerned and confused as to how she managed to beat her partner into work. Sighing softly, she settled in at her desk to review some case notes; focusing so intently that she barely look up as the bullpen began to come to life around her, or even her partner arriving sometime later. Sometime later, as her concentration was broken by an unwelcome phone call, Angie nearly knocked over a small velvet box on the edge of her desk as she reached for the phone.
Hand suspended in midair, Angie ignored the incessant ringing as she shot a quick glance in Oscar's direction; the man either ignoring her or not noticing her stuttered movement. Slowly lifting its lid, she gasped as its contents was revealed; settled lightly on deep charcoal velvet, a tastefully simple silver three-stoned setting shone back up at her. Quickly snapping the box closed, Angie closed her eyes tightly as she took a second to breathe; peeking inside once again a moment later, only to snap it closed once more as she turned towards Oscar with a quick flick of her head.
Smiling softly at her, Oscar glanced around the bullpen as he slowly inched his way across the divide between them. Glancing down to where Angie's hand was gripping the box tightly, he chewed his bottom lip for a second as he peered up at her with his chin tucked in tight against his chest. "It's yours; maybe not now, but some day, when you're ready," he whispered softly.
"We're not even -," Angie whispered back, almost incredulous at the gravity of the proposition.
Rolling backwards to his side of the small aisle between them, Oscar picked up his glasses; poised to slide them back up the bridge of his nose as he stared at her intently. "Doesn't change my feelings for you," he smirked at her once more before turning towards his own pile of paperwork.
I hope you enjoyed this piece. It was fun; not necessarily easy at times, but fun nonetheless. You are all fantastic, so please don't be upset by my "rant" at the top of the page. I'm just letting you all know.
P.S. - Motive has a forum now, so feel free to check it out. I'm sure you'll participate there as much as you do here, but seriously...be active in your community, folks! ;)