Chapter 16
Carmelita was still in a bit of a snit, and slammed Sly's door closed while she grumbled aloud to herself, "Stupid, stupid, stupid raccoon!" She might of been mad, but she still felt a shivery thrill of excitement, remembering exactly how he told her how lovely she was. God, she moaned to herself, why couldn't I feel this way about another Interpol officer? Why must I be tortured by my feelings for...for...a thief! C'mon, girl...snap out out of it! Cooper is a wanted fugitive, an outlaw! She sighed, the woman in her talking now, although, he is awfully cute. And, and...he does say the loveliest things about me, you know. She shook her head wearily, trying to clear her troubled mind. "Gah! Cooper!" she groused, not liking this situation one bit. "I'll get you for this." But, then she chuckled softly, looking back over her shoulder to his room, shaking her dark-haired head. "Exchanging photos...what a goof..." she remarked in a whisper, smiling.
Sly decided that, well, since he was up, he might as well get dressed. It's nearly eleven o'clock already! He found himself humming softly, then stopped, grinning. "Ah, now it's dress for breakfast with the lovely Carmelita, and we'll see what's on the ol' 'to do' list for today..." he told himself, smiling.
Carmelita, meanwhile, headed back downstairs to finish her breakfast...meager though it had been. Maybe she'd get another cup of coffee as well. As she entered the kitchen once more, she saw Bentley deep in thought, playing chess against himself again. She found some decent bread about, and popped a couple of slices into the toaster. As she waited, she observed, "So, Bentley... who's winning?" She couldn't help but grin. "You? Or…perhaps, you?" She chuckled.
Bentley looked up, smiled...then gives her a face. "Oh, you're a rare wit, you are, Carmelita," he grumped, not liking how the match was progressing.
Carmelita's toast popped up, and she quickly buttered it. As she munched her toast, she looked over to observe the board as Bentley pondered his next move. She grinned cleverly as she noticed the Black King was currently in check...and, without a move to save himself, mate! She couldn't believe that Bentley hadn't noticed this as of yet. Her first slice of toast gone, she watched the board, and in doing so, she found she wanted to play another game. "May I have dibs on the next game, Bentley?"
Bentley waved her to silence, mumbling crossly. "Yeah yeah...just as soon as I finish this game, okay?" he responded, his brows furrowed in concentration.
Carmelita cleverly reached over and toppled the Black King. "You know…I hate to tell you this, Bentley...but it is finished. Look, the Black King is in check mate. Game over."
Bentley gaped at this revelation, then blinked in surprise. "Damn! You're right. Gee, I can't believe I didn't catch that," he chided himself.
Carmelita patted him on the shoulder in a supportive way. "Aw, don't worry, sport. Obviously, you were just having yourself a senior moment is all," she told him grinning, then chuckled at her display of wit.
Bentley scowled at Carmelita, making a face of irritation. "Oh, har har hardy har har, Carmelita...you're a real card," he reproved her, frowning and crossing his arms before his chest. "Well, aren't you glad then that I wasn't 'having a senior moment' back when I managed to open the restraints on that old IronTec 250, remember?" he pointed out, "because If I had been, you'd be the Countessa´s brainwashed 'friend' right now, doing all her dirty work now, wouldn't you?"
Carmelita shuddered slightly at that image. She could only imagine the horror of just standing there, still as a statue, beside that scoundrel, the Countessa, being forced to follow her least-most command happily. For some reason, she then remembered what the Countessa had said to her when she lay secured to that table. "I won't become brainwashed that easily!" Carmelita had thrown into the old crone's teeth. The Countessa had replied in that damnable calm voice of hers, "You're quite right. It won't be easy. But I will manage to hypnotise you, my dear. And you will take a fall for me with Interpol. Now, just lay back and relax. Go to your happy place...and stay there forever..." Carmelita found herself suddenly cold, and she wrapped her free arm about herself, shivering.
Bentley has just set up the board, when he looked up to invite her to play. He frowned then, noticing Carmelita was stock still, her expression haunted, one arm about herself as if she was freezing...even though it was comfortable in the kitchen. Concerned, he reached up and waved his hand before her eyes. "Hey, Carmelita! Anyone at home?"
Carmelita didn't notice, still caught remembering her past. She remembered how, much later on, she had made a deal with herself. She then boldly had informed the Countessa of her pledge. "I swear I'll make it my life's work to bring you down!" she had growled. She still remembered ---quite vividly---the Countessa's mocking laughter, and her confident reply, "Oh, soon your life---let alone your life's work---won't mean anything at all, my dear. When I'm finished with you, your life's work will be whatever I tell you it to be!" Carmelita shivered again as her memories continued. She recalled that near the end, she had nearly given up hope of getting free of the Countessa's clutches. But, just when everything seemed its darkest, suddenly the restraints that had bound her to the IronTec 250 sprang thankfully open! Carmelita grinned at the thought of the Countessa's face when she had picked up her trusty shock pistol, and placed it before the haughty spider's face. Oh, but that had been priceless!
Carmelita's reverie was shattered in an instant as she felt someone gently pinch the right cheek of her behind, making her yelp. She reached a hand back to rub her tingling backsides, and turned. She should of known...Sly Cooper! She scowled at him.
Sly leaned against the nearby wall, smiling. He turned his head to Bentley, and observed, "See? And you said nothing could break that trance of hers, didn't you? Well, didn't I tell you I could get her out of it, pal?" His smug expression disappeared in a flash as he suddenly was knocked back off balance, forced to duck as one of Carmelita's expertly wielded crutches whizzed by over his head, having nearly taken his head off. "Whoa!" he yelped, moving quickly out of range, though he was still grinning. He then regarded the irate, yet beautiful vixen, asking both the furious Carmelita and the startled Bentley. "Gee, the thanks I get for helping a damsel in distress, eh?" Sly shook his head, both at his own cleverness, as well as the outraged look on Carmelita's face! "Au revoire, mon belle amour!" he called to her, blowing her a kiss, even as he dodged the crutch that Carmelita had hurled---with savage accuracy---directly at his head.
Carmelita bristled, mad at that all too bold raccoon. "Dang it! Missed again!" she growled. She then saw Bentley's pale and shocked face. "What? I told him what would happen if he tried that stunt again." She nodded her proud head, disregarding her crutch which lay upon the floor. She limped over a few steps and seated herself, taking a bite of her now cold slice of toast. Carmelita looked over at Bentley, who still sat there, not knowing what precisely was going on. "Don't pay any attention to that fool," she told him, then pushed her thick, dark hair back over her shoulders. "So...we going to play, or what?" she challenged him.
Bentley's respect for Carmelita went up a notch, as well as his fear of her. "Uh, sure! Sure! So...you want to play black or white?" he asked with a nervous sort of smile.
Carmelita thought a moment before answering. "I'll play white this time around, thanks…"
Two games later, Carmelita was glad for the diversion of the challenging games of chess with Bentley. They kept her mind off her tangled feelings for one Sly Cooper, Master Thief. Carmelita sighed as she began to feel her behind cramping from sitting for so long. She tried gamely to find that one comfortable spot, constantly shifting about, but to no avail. Speaking of her own rump, she could remember all too well the feeling of Sly's fingers deftly pinching her posterior. While a part of her took offence at his bold action, another part of her shivered slightly at the tingle his pinch had caused her. That tingle, even now, gave her a thrill if she thought about it. She mentally shook herself, and made her next move. "Queen's Knight Pawn to Queen's Knight Four," she declared, making that move a moment later. She still shifted about as she sought a comfortable way to sit.
Bentley watched the board a moment, then saw Carmelita squirming yet again. "Look, Carmelita, we've been at this a while, and we're tied. What do you say we call it a draw, hmm?" he asked gallantly.
Carmelita thought a moment, then nodded thankfully, smiling. "Agreed. Thanks for the match, Bentley," she replied, smiling at him again. "Thanks." She got slowly to her feet, and was most surprised to find both of her crutches leaning conveniently against the nearby cupboard. Now, how did that end up there? she asked herself. I could of sworn that one of my crutches was over there by the door, where I hurled it when--- "Um, Bentley? You didn't by any chance---er, never mind. I'll be in the living room if anyone needs me," she began to ask, then thought better of it.
As he put the chess board away, Bentley watched Carmelita crutch her way out of the kitchen, shaking his head. She's a great chess player...but, boy, has she ever been acting strange lately, he thought to himself. He shrugged a moment later, thinking, women...who can figure 'em out?
Sly sat in his own bedroom, reading…knowing full well that he was persona-non-grata with his lady love for the moment. He was reading his latest mystery novel, the latest of his favorite genre. He paused a moment, thinking that this latest novel was one of the better ones he'd read. You know, he thinks to himself quickly, I betcha Carmelita would just love this! Why, I'll just take it down for---oops, maybe not, he quickly reminded himself. She would probably just try to nail me with her crutches. He then smiled, remembering how he has snuck in while she and Bentley were playing chess, to place her crutches thoughtfully where she could get them when she was finished. The thought of the fair Carmelita only made him smile a warm, fond smile.
"Ah, Carmelita...you don't know how I wish you were mine," he professed softly to himself. He then sighed heavily, and shrugged. "Who am I fooling, though? She'd prefer to brain me instead of kissing me." He shrugged again, this time smiling wistfully. "Well…a fella can dream now, can't he? Yeah, but dreaming is about all I've got, isn't it? Yeah, I know precisely what she'd say if I told her that I loved her to her face. What is it she says again? Oh yeah, I remember..." He skillfully adopted a Spanish accent, then mimicked Carmelita by pitching his voice higher. "Cut the all the flirty chit chat, Ringtail!" he said in her exasperated tones. He then sighed again, grinning a bit foolishly. "Shut up, Cooper!" he added, finishing her response as he saw it. He reverted back to his own voice again. "Heh," he sighed, loving her, but knowing she didn't return that love. "I guess it's all just a pipe dream, nothing more...nothing less," he tried to tell himself, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. He grinned then…despite the fact his heart ached. "But, oh, what a dream, huh? And...what a woman!" he finished, plunking down on his bed, resting his elbows on his knees, thinking.
"Hey, Cooper!" he then told himself, "since when do you let anything keep you from your goal, eh? That's right! Up and at 'em, boyo!" He decided then and there that he was going to see Carmelita and win her over, even if it was the very last thing he ever did! He grinned with determination, whispering to himself. "On my way, Carmelita my sweet!"
Carmelita, even as Sly resolved to win her heart, sat alone in the living room. The lovely vixen sat, confused, continuing to wage her internal battle of heart versus mind. Carmelita, the consummate detective, prided herself on always using her logic...in everything, even in affairs of the heart. And, where had that gotten you, girl, she grumped. A love life? she told herself, what love life? You don't have one, girl! But, she countered, did she really want to---could she even?---fall for a thief...no matter how charming, how honorable, and how much he made her nearly swoon at times? "Damn it!" she swore, torn. "Why do things like this always happen to me?" She sighed heavily, putting her face in her hands, her mind whirling a mile a minute. "Why can't my life ever be simple, hmm?"
Sly strutted along, determination echoed in his light steps. He turned the corner, and saw a most troubled looking Carmelita sitting alone in the plush armchair in the living room. He could sense almost immediately that she was there---alone!---for a reason. So, he pulled back around the corner, allowing her to have her alone time---but, still allowing him to listen in. Who knows, he told himself, I might even be able to help her…
Carmelita sighed heavily again, thinking once more about Sly...of how he had just pinched her behind...again! She growled, trying to find a reason to block her feelings for him. "Bloody Ringtail...pinching my behind AGAIN!" She softly rubbed her tingling posterior. "I swear, if he tries that again, I'll give him a knuckle sandwich he won't ever forget! Rogue! Wretch!" she railed softly aloud, trying hard to paint him in the poorest light possible.
Sly sagged against the wall in dejection, hearing all her anger directed at him. But, he thought---with a grin---how could he resist that temptation? She does have the loveliest behind, and it wasn't my fault that she was in a trance now, was it? he explained to himself. He then listened to himself making trite excuses and shook his head. It wasn't really very nice---though, he hadn't pinched her hard at all---and he could see how, just maybe, she might be just the slightest bit irked at him for being so bold in touching her in that sensitive area. He groaned at this realization, telling himself silently…nice going again, Cooper.
Carmelita, however, despite her best attempts, couldn't remain mad at the brash, though charming raccoon. Her remarkable and lovely features softened then and she chuckled to herself softly. "Just who am I fooling here, hmm? I might be hopping mad at him one minute, but he always---and I do mean always!---seems to come up with a way to make me forgive him," she observed, idly rubbing a finger below her chin.
She then thought of their latest tiff, and much to her surprise, softly giggled, remembering. "Helping a damsel in distress...what a goof!" she chuckled, sighing. She then frowned. "Ooh, I hate how he does that! It's not fair...I have every reason to be furious with him...but then, he goes and says something, or does something, and I---big stupid idiot that I am!---laugh and forgive him before I even realize I'm doing it! What's wrong with me?" she remarked, shaking her head.
She leaned back, her eyes introspective. "C'mon, girl...you rail about him being a thief. Well, to be truthful...he is one! But, in all honesty, he's not a bad guy," she found herself saying…which surprised her again. Just when had she started thinking of him that way?
She closed her eyes briefly, struggling. "No, I know Daddy always told me that all criminals were bad people, but somehow, somehow, I'm thinking he might of been wrong about that," she continued. She then steepled her fingers, thinking aloud to herself. "Sly, er, I mean Cooper, has never stolen from innocents…only criminals. And then only to bring those criminals to justice...though, I will have admit, in his own let's say, unique way." She shrugged, still wrangling with herself. "Now, sure, technically, he's breaking the law. But, really, isn't he really contributing to the betterment of society? I mean, he doesn't keep the things he steals now, does he? No, he doesn't."
She then smiled a bit dreamily, as a particularily memorable scene popped suddenly into her head. "I remember when he stole that four karat ruby," she grins remembering, her eyes shining. "Yeah, it was gorgeous, formed like a heart." She then narrowed her eyes, a fond smile appearing on her lips. "And that raccoon goes and gives it to me, so prettily dressed up, as a Valentine's Day present! Who'd of ever figured that?" she asked herself, grinning, shaking her head. "Say what you will, but he's a romantic fellow, Sly Cooper is!"
Sly smiled, listening in as she debated his merits, feeling a rush of excitement run up his spine upon hearing Carmelita professing his virtues. Could it be, he thought, that she really doesn't think all that badly of me then?
Carmelita blushed then, feeling a sharp pang of guilt. "Yo! Snap out of it, girl! Cooper is a crim-i-nal...and, as such, only deserves to be brought to justice! Period!" she berated herself, her expressive brown eyes flashing. But then, just as quickly, her lovely face's features softened, and the hint of a fond smile reappeared. "But, then again...I've never met a guy who was as much a gentleman as Sly is. Compared to those macho strutting peacocks at Interpol, he's the absolute soul of chivalry," she reminded herslf. And, chivalry meant a lot to Carmelita, who had been brought up on tales of chivalrous knights and their faithful ladies. "Okay, true, he's forever flirting with me...but, he's never shown me anything other than respect for my being a lady," she added a moment later. She thought on, then a moment later snorted derisively. "Hmph! Unlike most of the guys I work with...I might add," she grumped. She didn't say a thing, but her heart ached at their staged, pathetic pick-up lines, all sugary fluff with absolutely no sincerity. And, at how she has had to endure their crude sexist remarks and their insults when she turned them all down. "Why can't I meet a swell guy like him...only one that's not a criminal, huh? Is that too much to ask?" she pleaded then, sniffing, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Sly gulped, nearly feeling his heart break while listening to what Carmelita has had to endure. He really never had any idea of what was going on exactly where she worked. He'd assumed they were all professionals, and behaved as such. Apparently…he was wrong. Very wrong. He gritted his teeth then, wanting very much that moment to storm down to Interpol HQ to punch out a few of the most deserving male members of Interpol. He felt the fur on the back of his neck rise, along with his own mounting fury. Just who do these creeps think they are? he demanded vehemently. Don't they understand just how wonderful a girl Carmelita truly was? He bridled at her hinting at their crass behavior. Could it be that they were truly just as stupid as she portrayed them to be? To tell the truth, he wasn't quite sure...but he did know one thing for certain: if they hurt his Carmelita...he'd bust their chops, and that was that!
Carmelita, not knowing of her would-be beau's righteous indignation, or even of his presense, brightened once more, thinking of Sly again. "I don't know why I treat him so poorly sometimes," she puzzled to herself. "I mean, really! I owe the guy big time...for so many things. Like, that time I was kidnapped by that mad mechanical owl, Clockwerk. Who rescued me then? The SWAT team from Interpol? A fellow officer?" she mused, then shook her head. "No...it was Sly Cooper."
She continued. "And, that time I was nearly brainwashed and turned into a freaking zombie by that fat old cow, the Contessa? Again, who was it that set me free? Who cared enough to attempt what seemed to be the impossible…all for me?" she told herself, then nodded. " You got it…Sly Cooper, if you can believe that!"
"Now, most criminals would of just left me to rot in those woods when I stepped into that fox trap," she reminded herself, reaching down to softly rub her injured, but healing foot. "But, Sly Cooper? Oh no...not him! No, he came back---even when I'm armed with my shock pistol---to free me. Then, instead of running away---which any sane thief would of done---he cared enough to take me to his own home and nurse me back to health. Why, you might ask? Because he wants me well again so I can chase his sorry butt all around Paris? Hmm, maybe… but, I don't think so, really."
She smiled gently, fondly at those examples of Sly's character, shaking her head. She shivered a moment later, when she remembered the thrilling words she heard Sly tell his friend Bentley…of how he loved her. Loved her! Carmelita had never thought she would ever hear a man---any man!---say those three magic words about her. She then had an epiphany of sorts, where her heart finally set her straight...and for that one time at least, she actually listened!
"Oh, c'mon, girl...just who are you trying to fool, anyway? You know you love him. Yes, you love Sly Cooper. Face it…you're just too damn proud to admit it is all," she finally admitted aloud. And, by doing so, she felt the first thrilling rush of the realization that she was a woman in love! She smiled a shy smile then, and felt a bubble of hope, of contentment, swell within her. "I know I shouldn't feel this way...but I do. Oh, how I do!" she whispered to herself, sighing again happily.
She sobered then, realizing it wasn't going to be as easy as all that. "Now, though, here comes the real problem...just who am I to follow: my family, who thinks all criminals are detestable people, fit only to be brought to justice; or my heart, which tells me that Sly is the man I'm meant to spend my life with? The man who I would one day want to marry, and...maybe even have children with?" She sighed at that, distraught. Her heart was torn…between the love of her family and their traditions…and the man she had finally come to love. She sat there a long while, hemming and hawing, pleading both sides of the case. But, it finally became too much, even for her, and she began to sniffle, trying hard not to cry. "Dios! I hate my life...I really do," she said.
Sly, still listening from in the hall, forced down his initial urge to rush forward, to take her in his arms, and console her. So, he thought to himself, dare he believe what he'd just heard? That---be still his heart of hearts!---one Ms. Carmelita Montoya Fox, the absolute love of his life, might actually love him too? Well, that's what she said now, wasn't it?
Hoping against hope, he stealthily moved up beside her chair, and heard her sniffling, holding back her tears. His big heart ached for her and her anguish, so he sighed and softly cleared his throat. "Hem, hem..."
Carmelita's head came up abruptly, her lovely brown eyes bright with unshed tears, her mouth opening in surprise as she turned in her seat to see Sly kneeling just beside her. Her heart leapt at seeing him, but a moment later she was beset with a sudden case of shyness. "Cooper? How---? Where---? Just how long have you been there anyway?"
A part of Sly wanted to lie, to allow her to really, truly decide if what she had just said aloud was how she actually felt about him or not. But, he decided---after a rather intense internal struggle with himself---to simply tell her the truth. "Carmelita, oh, I heard it all, my sweet. Everything from your 'Bloody Ringtail, pinching my behind AGAIN!' line," he confessed, lookng up into her face. He then reached up to lay his larger hand over her smaller one.
Carmelita blushed hotly---at both his touch, as well as the realization that he had heard everything she had blurted out, thinking herself alone. "Oh," she replied in a small voice. She blinked, looking away. "Oh." She felt him tap her gently on the shoulder, and she turned back to him. She looked over at him, and was most surprised when he handed her a book. "What's this?" she inquired, confused.
Sly knew he could of pressed his advantage...but he won't, not with Carmelita. So instead… "Well, it's a book," he informed her with a clever grin, especially when she blinked and grinned back at him. "To tell you the truth, dear girl, I came out here to ask you if you'd care to read this. It's a mystery novel---a pretty good whodunit, really---that I thought you might like, so…here you are. Enjoy." He trembled slightly at the nearess of her, but steeled himself, and woodenly got to his feet, clearing his throat a second time. "Well, I'm done here...I suppose I'll just get going then, okay?"
Carmelita felt pleased that he had said nothing about her declaration of love for him, and was touched by his thoughtfulness. She darted out a hand to grab his before he can walk away from her. They both have allowed the other to do that far too many times already. It had to stop sooner or later, she told herself. "Sly...wait," she pleaded softly.
Sly looked back at her, feeling a warmth fill him as she took his hand. He realized a moment later that she had wonderful hands...soft, strong, slender, and very feminine. That moment passed, and he blinked rapidly as it occured to him that this was only the third time he'd ever heard her call him by his first name. He thought he should mention that to her. "Yes, Carmelita?" he began, adding, "You must want to tell me something important...as that's only the third time you've actually called me Sly to my knowledge."
Carmelita grinned then, realizing the very same thing. With her brown eyes shining, she teased. "Yeah, I know. You do remember the other times, don't you?"
Sly returned her grin, feeling his heart beat faster at her brilliant smile. "Uh-huh. Oh yeah! As I recall, the first time was was when I just rescued you from Clockwerk and you demanded to know why I helped you. Now, the second time was when Clock-La---Neyla in Clockwerk's body, you remember---was trying to do us both in, yes?" He grinned as Carmelita nodded, her wavy hair shimmering as it moved from that movement. "I also seem to recall you saying something like, 'Sly, for once, just cut the flirty chit-chat! I need a gunner for this helicopter...so get in, and shoot down that owl!' That was when we were after Neyla." He waggled an eyebrow at her. "Sound about right, Carmelita?" he asked.
Carmelita grinned, remembering the feeling of working together with him. How it had felt so good, so right...and how she---idiot that she was!---had ignored that feeling then. She sighed again, ready now to bare her soul to him if need be. "Yeah, and then you had said you call that not flirty chit chat." She smiled, then grew serious. "Look, Sly---there! That's four!---I just wanted you to know something, okay? You remember that night, you know, the one when you finished my massage?"
Sly thought to himself, oh my yes, I remember! The feeling of Carmelita's warm soft skin beneath his fingers...how could he ever forget that! "Oh, yeah, I remember, all right."
Carmelita blushed a little, looking away from him a moment, then turned her gaze back to him once more. "Then, you probably also remember when you went out into the hall and had a talk with your pal, Bentley, then too?"
Now it was Sly's turn to blush slightly. Oh, yes, he remembered that conversation all right. It was when he had admitted how he loved Carmelita. "Yeah, I remember that too. Go on..." he coaxed.
Carmelita's eyes were shining brightly. "Well, you've already probably guessed that I heard it all too, then," she told him, then looked down into his eyes, her expression one of surprise. "Sly, I never knew!" Then, she grinned. "Okay, I'll admit that you never made your interest in me unclear...but I guess I never realized that all of your lines were how you really felt, not some series of pick-up lines. I mean, I still don't understand how you could love me, really. I mean, I chased you, I shot at you. I pledged I would put you in jail in a heartbeat, and yet…you just kept on pursuing me...even as I was pursuing you…though, in a different way." She grinned awkwardly, but sincerely.
Sly took her hands in his own, and kissed the backs of them. "I know. It's kinda crazy now, isn't it? But, there it is anyway. I hadn't intended to fall in love with you, Carmelita. But, before I knew it, I was. Oh, same as you, I didn't want to admit it at first...I kept telling myself I was just flirting with you to keep you off your guard," he explained. "I guess I should of realized that my lines seemed a little too true, and I found the more I used them on you, the more I began to believe them. Look, Carmelita...I don't know what those other jerks you work with have told you, but I've never met a woman like you, ever! You're strong, you're smart, you're determined, and...you're so beautiful. I mean, what sort of fool would I be if I didn't fall in love with you, woman?"
Carmelita shivered to hear him say how much he admired and---yes!---loved her. "You wouldn't of been the only one, Sly Cooper. I fought my feelings for you for years! And...funny thing is…I don't really know precisely why!" she chuckled. "I suppose part of it was from my family's prejudice toward criminals---all of them were the same: bad! And, I suppose another part of it was my own stubbornness," she ruefully admitted, looking down as she said it.
Sly grinned then, kissing her hands again. "My Carmelita...stubborn? No way!" he teased, and felt a pleasant warm feeling when he said 'his Carmelita'.
Carmelita stuck her tongue out at him, then laughed. "Just you hush! Look...I've been having a sort of internal crisis in my life, Sly. I started out working at Interpol, intending to be the best detective I could be. You know, maybe I could make the world a safer place, and all that? But, as I've moved along in my career, I'm beginning to realize that police work isn't as cut and dried as it was when my father was a cop."
"No?" Sly inquired, wondering where she was going with this conversation.
"Uh-uh. Look, my skills as a detective aren't getting me anywhere---even with my unprecedented 99 arrest rate! It's become all politics, not police work, that drives the folks at Interpol. Just look at Neyla---that bitch!" Carmelita growled briefly, but quickly sobered. "She was briefly made Captain, if you can believe that…and she couldn't find her shapely little fanny with both hands!"
Sly shook his head, knowing how much that has to of pained Carmelita, who had grown up in a long line of police officers. "Yeah, that had to suck…big time! I know how good a detective you are, Carmelita. You're the only one who's ever been able to keep up with me," he told her truthfully. "Those other losers? Pff...child's play! Well, okay, except for a few, maybe."
Carmelita grinned in hearing his praise of her. She returned the favor and kissed his hand, for the first time ever. She was delighted as he shivered at her touch. "Thanks, Sly...that means a lot, coming from you," she replied, her smile telling him everything. "Hey, I didn't mean to bend your ear for this long...I just wanted you to understand."
"Any time, my gorgeous girl," he told, meaning every word.
Carmelita felt her heart swell at hearing him say that. "Um, Sly?" she started, the stopped.
"Yes, dear?" he asked, liking the sound of saying that to her.
"If you and I are now…um, that is…" Carmelita began only to falter.
"You mean now that we are in love?" he said helpfully.
Carmelita shivered at hearing that, delighting in the knowledge that for now on, he would always be there for her. She took strength in that knowledge. "Yes, that," she replied, though a bit hesitantly.
"Was it so hard to say, Carmelita?" he teased, grinning.
"No," she replied quickly, then grinned in reply, ignoring his teasing. "Since we're in love now, I'm not sure I'm going to remain at Interpol any longer. The only reason I've stayed there this long is that my entire family has been policemen and women, for four generations," she explained.
"You want to give up your job?" Sly questioned, not believing he'd ever hear those words from her.
"Oh, yeah. I've been giving this a lot of thought actually. I mean, catching you was the only thing that kept me coming to work. It's been getting progressively worse there. Besides…um, well, no one there really likes me anyway. Well, except for Trish Connelly, that is. She's a real sweetheart," she admitted, though reluctantly.
"I bet you'd be surprised at the friends you have there, girl," Sly told her, knowing that there were folks there that could see past Carmelita's determination and drive to see the wonderful woman that was just below her gruff exterior.
"That's sweet of you to say, Sly," she replied, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "But…most of them…ugh!" She glowered then. "All my male so-called colleaugues---well, maybe not all, but a lot of them!---were forever flirting with me, and rather badly at that," she explained, her lips thin. "Trust me, Sly, you were a breath of very much needed fresh air, after all the come-ons I had to put up with from those creeps."
"So I'm hearing," Sly replied, his eyes narrowing in his displeasure.
"Can you believe that one of them---a slow, ego-centric bastard of a Panda--- had the audacity to pinch me on my rump...hard!" she remembered frowning, then gave Sly a sly smile that made him grin. "Of course, he saw the error of his ways...well, at least he did once he was released from the hospital a month later."
Sly stroked her lustrous hair, and gave her a congratulatory grin. "Serves him right. That's my job!" he replied with indignation, only part of which was fake.
Carmelita gave him a mock glare. "Oh, I'm not forgetting that either, buster!"
Sly grinned then. "Aw, c'mon...it's not my fault you're so cute!" he protested.
Carmelita smiled at his clever line. "Maybe not...but quit distracting me, okay?"
Sly nodded his acquiescence. "I'm sorry...you were saying, my love?"
Carmelita looked back down into his eyes. "If the guys there weren't bad enough, then most of the other female detectives were even worse! Those girls almost weekly would float some of the crudest rumors about me, as well as making a habit of calling me the most offensive things they could think of from behind my back. If you would of listened to those bitches, you would of thought I was some sort of hussy who stole all the guys at work. Huh! They were welcome to the lot of them, let me tell you that! Those girls treated me like the only reason I got my job was because I slept my way into it! Ooh! How I loathe the whole lot of them!" Carmelita seethed at the memory.
Sly nodded compassionately, stroking her hand. "Yeah. I suppose you probably knew that our old friend Neyla routinely referred to you as 'Old Ironsides', right?"
Carmelita snorted derisively, her eyes making her feelings about Neyla very clear. "That wouldn't of surprised me in the least. But, that's neither here nor there. Look..." She took his hands in her own again, thinking how he had very nice hands for a man. "Sly, since we both feel the same about each other, I'm thinking about quitting my job. You were the only reason I cared to stay anyway. I mean, why should I stay, I ask you? I'd much rather spend my time with someone who loves me than to remain at Interpol, where I routinely get chewed out by my chief, who---incidentally---weekly informed me that I'd get demoted or fired if I didn't manage to capture you."
Sly shook his head, feeling badly for his much beset upon lady love. "My poor Carmelita...I didn't realize you had it so rough, sweetheart. Well, I'll leave the decision of your job to you, Carmelita. But, I don't know how much longer I'd continue doing what I do if you're not there to bring out the best in me, my love. You know, retirement is sounding better and better all the time…"
Carmelita smiled fondly at him, then got to her feet, crutching herself past him, only to stop right behind him. She was about to turn and tell him she loved him again, when she twitched as Sly softly pinched her rump again. "Sly?" she asked sweetly.
Sly looked up adoringly into her face. "Yes, my love?" he replied.
Carmelita slapped him across his face with her hand. Not hard, but still rather firmly. "That's for pinching my behind...again," she informed him.
Sly put his hand to his cheek a moment, then laughed happily. "I've said it before...and I'll say it again and again," he told her. Carmelita turned her back to him, though she did look over her shoulder at him before Sly spoke. "What a woman!" he stated fiercely, loving her very much that moment, pink cheek and all!
Carmelita laughed a warm little chuckle. Then, with her head held high, she made her way back to her room. She peeked over her shoulder once, and saw Sly raptly watching her moving away…his eyes drinking her in. Feeling warm and very happy, she decided to reward his attention by swaying her hips a bit more for his benefit as she headed through her door. She turned one last time to him, still seeing him standing there, looking at her with his love shining in his eyes. She then grinned cleverly, and blew him a kiss just before she shut her door.
Sly gave a heart-felt sigh, then flopped back down into the nearby chair. He turned his eyes heavenward, and clasped his hands together as if in prayer. "Thank you, God. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"