CHAPTER 3

"So what'd you do to survive?" Roxy asked him. "This could be a pretty dangerous conversation, you bein on the right side of the law now."

"I've been known to look the other way for a friend. And my friends, Roxy, I'd do anything for."

"You consider me a friend?"

"I certainly don't consider you an enemy." Remington laughed. "I just don't like talking about my past much. I'm a pretty private person with that. I'm sure you can understand."

"Yeah. Not exactly proud either."

They sat in silence for a few minutes each digesting both their dinners and the conversation.

Remington wondered if he should tell her. Get it all off his chest once and for all instead of only letting some be known once it became imperitive.

"Where'd you pick up cooking?" She asked figuring it was a safer subject. "Dinner was really good."

"Thank you." He flashed her a smile. "It was something I taught myself to do. Something I realized that beautiful women enjoyed."

"And it probably helped that if you were hungry you could cook for yourself." She smirked knowingly.

"Is that to assume that you cook?"

"No. I microwave or order food in." Roxy laughed. "Me cooking is a total disaster."

"It doesn't' have to be. I can teach you if you'd like." Remington offered. "Its not terribly difficult and we could start out easy."

"Well, I never …understood recipes and stuff. Besides its not like I can teach you guitar so.." Roxy covered.

"I know I have no musical talents." He smiled. "I don't expect you to teach me."

"Look its just not a good idea." Roxy protested. "I'd probably blow up your kitchen."

"I don't use a gas oven." Remington laughed. "So that's highly unlikely. There might be a few fires but I have an extinguisher on the ready. And I'd be right there to make sure you wouldn't poison me. Recipes are usually pretty simple. Instructions unto themselves. We could even have our first lesson now if you'd like."

He stood up and took her hand to lead her into the kitchen. But Roxy resisted.

"I said no!" She said pulling her hand back.

Remington had no idea what was making her have this type of reaction to cooking. He knew that people weren't fond of it but he'd never seen this type of reaction before to it. It was akin to a child not wanting to go to the doctor's for fear of a shot of some kind.

He wondered if perhaps she'd had some unfortunate kitchen incident in her past and knew that his investigative skills wouldn't let him drop it. He just hoped that she wouldn't see him as excessively and unnecessarily prying.

He sat back down next to her and gently took her hand in his. "Roxy, what's wrong? Did something horrible happen to you in a kitchen? Or near kitchen equipment?"

Roxy was taken aback by his concern and look of genuine worry. She could tell in that split second that he actually cared about what was going on with her. She didn't know if she should tell him though.

"Not exactly. I don't have a real problem with kitchen equipment. Fridges are my best friends." She tried to joke.

"Then what is it? Are you worried that I'd make fun of you for not knowing how much a teaspoon is?"

"More like if I don't know how to read a recipe. Or anything else for that matter." She admitted and looked away, too embarrassed to look him in the face.

Remington took in the information she told him and breathed a sigh of relief. Illiteracy was a big problem but not as big as her being hurt in some way in her past. He had many friends he'd known over the years in a similar position. Street tough and raised but no reading or school skills to speak of. The older they got the more embarrassed they were about their situations.

"Roxy." Remington said putting a hand to her shoulder. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I know many people who have the same problem. Though none quite as able to rise above it as you."

Roxy turned back towards him, tears staining her face.

Remington took her into his arms and just held her for what seemed like hours.

"You gotta keep this a secret." She eventually whispered to him. "A few people know, including my bandmates. Not that Pizzazz and Jetta ever let me live it down. Jetta especially."

"Well then she's an ignorant fool."

Roxy laughed at that statement. "Got her pinned in one. Just add lying to it and that's our Jetta."

"I wasn't especially crazy about her this afternoon if its any consolation." Remington added. "As a detective, I have to have keen instincts about people."

"What did your instincts say about me?"

"A beautiful mystery waiting to be solved." He said touching her face. "If you wanted, I could help you learn to read and cook at the same time. But only if you felt comfortable with it."

Roxy thought about it for a few minutes and knew that lessons like those would allow her to spend a lot more time with him once Eric's money for this investigation ran out. It was a good excuse and one that he just offered up.

"I could try it." She agreed. "I'm just not really in the mood right now. We finished a pretty big dinner and cooking more food kinda seems pointless."

"So another dinner date? But we both make the dinner?" Remington smiled.

"Yeah. I'd like that." She nodded.

"If you like movies, there's a wonderful film going on tv right now. Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Humphrey Bogart, Walter Hudson, Warner Brothers, 1948." Remington said. "A bit of a treasure hunting movie. One of Bogart's best."

"He your favorite actor?" She wondered. "I don't think I've seen any of his stuff."

"You've never seen a Bogart film?" Remington asked in some shock. "The Maltese Falcon? Key Largo? Sabrina? Casablanca?" He said pointing to the movie poster.

"Nope. Never seen em."

"Would you care to?"

"Sure. Now you got me curious about this Bogart guy." She shrugged as he turned on the tv.

Roxy found herself entranced by the film running on the tv and liked both the actor and the story very much. But it had been a long evening, emotionally, and she found herself drifting off to sleep on his shoulder.

The movie ended and Remington looked at her sleeping form. He decided not to wake her and merely helped her to lay down on the couch and removed her shoes. He then got an extra blanket from his closet and covered her with it.

"Goodnight, Roxanne." He whispered, placing a feather light kiss on her forehead before heading to his own bedroom and drifting off to sleep himself.