See Chapter One for disclaimers.
Chapter EightSo help me God, if she nods, it'll be the worst murder case in history, Cody thought.
Jennie shook her head. "No," she said, still sniffling. "He just… grabbed me, and hit me when I tried to get away, but I kicked him in the groin and left."
"Good girl," said Cody, kissing her forehead, and pulling her close again. "Stay here," she said, kissing the woman once more, and heading towards the manager's office. Without bothering to knock, the woman stormed in, and slammed the man up against the wall, from his former position of sitting at his desk.
"Remember me, ass hole?" she demanded, hotly. "You had the nerve to threaten Jennie, and then fire her when she didn't let you molest her? You goddamn son of a bitch! You're lucky all she did was kick you in the groin; I would've ripped it off and shoved it down your fucking throat.
"I still might," she growled, as an afterthought. "I can have you arrested so fast…"
"What do you want?" blubbered the old man, finding it hard to breathe for the strong hands around his throat, holding him a good three inches off the ground.
"I want you to quit," she snarled. "That's right. I want you to write up a letter saying you give the ownership over to one Jennie Donavon, and I want you to do it now."
"But… I can't do that!" he protested. "This is my daycare!"
"Do you even know how many kids come here? Or how to take care of them? Or their names? Or their parents' names?" Cody demanded. "She's run this place for the past God knows how long, and you're just going to make it official. You will write that document, selling the daycare to her for one dollar, and you'll do it now."
Numbly, the man nodded, and Cody shoved him back down into the chair at his desk. "Write," she commanded. A few minutes later, the man signed his name at the bottom of the deed, and Cody fished a dollar out of her pocket after approving the document. Stuffing the money into the man's hand, she escorted him outside, shouting, "And don't come back!"
Turning around, Cody found Jennie a few feet behind her. "Honey, what would you say to running this place - officially?" she proposed, showing the document to the small blonde.
Jennie's eyes lit up. "Really?" she asked, happily taking the paper from Cody's hand and reading it with fervor.
Cody nodded. "Yep," she agreed, sweeping the woman into a strong hug. "It's all yours, Jen. Congratulations."
"Thank you," murmured the blonde, kissing the tall woman, deeply.
"Do you still feel up to going to dinner tonight?" asked Cody, reluctantly having to end the kiss to ask her question.
Jennie nodded. "I'll be all right," she confirmed, and Cody helped her close up for the night, before starting down the road towards the restaurant. The blonde was already feeling the butterflies in her stomach at the knowledge of what she was going to tell her parents in just a few minutes, and her tension was felt by the tall star in front of her.
"Are you sure you want to tell them, sweetheart?" asked Cody, over the sound of the motorcycle. "Like I said, I'll understand if you're not comfortable with it, and we can just be friends."
Jennie shook her head. "I'm sure," she insisted, "but thank you, honey. I'm just a little scared as to how they'll react." Patting her hand reassuringly, Cody tried to get the woman to relax, as they pulled into the parking lot of The Olive Garden.
"How's your arm?" asked Jennie, walking beside Cody, whose right forearm was wrapped in a clean bandage, showing her injury with the short-sleeved shirt she wore. Sans the jacket, she looked much like she had the night before - black slacks and a white shirt. Her long black hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, and Jennie had insisted she looked beautiful.
While Cody, of course, had proclaimed Jennie absolutely breathtaking. The small blonde wore dark blue jeans, with a gray shirt, and green earrings that Cody said brought out her eyes even more. While neither was dressed up, both felt the other couldn't possibly look any better in casual dress clothes.
"Feels all right," shrugged the tall woman, nonchalantly. "Doesn't really hurt right now, so I'll be okay." The blonde smiled, and took a deep breath as the two walked in the door, and were led to a table for four, where Dana and Thomas Donavon were patiently waiting their arrival.
Thomas wore jeans and a button-up shirt, with cowboy boots and a silver belt buckle, ex-rodeo rider that he was, his black hair not even hinting gray. His smile reached his soft brown eyes when he saw his daughter, and immediately stood to give her a hug, standing at least four inches taller than his little girl.
Dana also stood, wearing a gray pantsuit, her long blonde hair still up in a bun, having just come from work, showing a house for the real estate company she owned. Her green eyes took in the tall form that was beside her child, and remembered the description Jennie had given them of Cody - tall, dark hair, with blue eyes…
"Jennie, you made it," she smiled, enveloping her daughter in a tight hug. "We were expecting you to bring your boyfriend, Cody. Who's this?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the tall woman with dark hair, who was standing by, somewhat awkwardly.
Jennie met Cody's eyes, and then swallowed, turning back to her parents. "Mom, Dad, this is Cody," she introduced, and watched as the adults exchanged glances, before turning their gaze to the baseball star.
"Cody Madison, right?" asked Thomas, and the woman nodded.
"Yes, sir," she said, shaking his hand, and he laughed, asking her to call him Thomas.
"Honey, is this your boyfriend's twin sister? She looks just like you said he would," said Jennie's father, urging his daughter to respond with a look.
"Dad, you don't understand…" began the blonde, with a sigh. "This is Cody. I don't have a boyfriend, because Cody is my girlfriend." Waiting for the angry response, Jennie quietly took Cody's hand, and leaned into the tall woman for support, which was readily provided.
Dana spoke first, after motioning for everyone to sit down. "So, how long have you two been together?" she asked, lightly, not yet letting it show if she was pleased or upset with the information.
"About two weeks," answered Jennie, her green eyes darting from her mother to her father, trying to read their expressions, and failing.
"Does Jeffrey know?" asked Dana, and Jennie winced, but nodded. She knew her parents would disapprove of her raising Jeffrey if she was with women, especially if the young boy knew, and she was pretty sure he did.
"And what do you think of him, Cody?"
Blue eyes met green as Cody looked at Mrs. Donavon, seriously. "I think he's a terrific little boy, and a pleasure to play ball with," she replied. "Jennie's done a wonderful job of raising him, and I'm glad she's allowed me to spend time with him. I've always liked kids, but with Jeff, it almost makes me feel like a mother, with my own child," she said, and paused for a moment.
"Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body," the tall star said, quoting Elizabeth Stone. "But that's the way I feel with Jeff, and it's great."
Thomas spoke up, breaking the surprised silence that had settled over him and his wife, after Cody's eloquent response. "Well, Cody, what are your intentions towards my daughter?" he asked, and Cody's jaw almost dropped at the question.
"Dad!" exclaimed Jennie, when she realized the woman was blushing to the roots of her dark hair.
The man laughed. "I'm sorry, honey. Forgive me, Cody," he said, smiling. "I just couldn't resist. Jennie, why didn't you tell us from the start that Cody was a woman?"
Jennie looked away. "I wasn't sure what you'd think," she admitted. "I was afraid you'd be angry. And I still don't know you feel!"
"Jennie, we've known for a long time," said Dana, gently. "You're our daughter; we know you. We didn't say anything because we didn't want to push you into telling us before you were ready. And just to let you know, I never really had any dates lined up for you. But, I couldn't let you know I knew, so I had to keep saying I wanted you to meet some nice guys," she smiled.
Jennie just shook her head, disbelieving. "So, you're okay with all of this?" she asked, and her parents nodded.
"As long as you're happy, that's all that matters," said Thomas, smiling to himself when he saw Cody nod slightly in agreement, and slip her arm around Jennie's waist.
The waitress came, and took their orders, eyeing the younger couple with disgust when she noticed that Cody was absentmindedly rubbing Jennie's thigh with her thumb. Seeing the woman's look of discomfort, the tall woman removed her hand, and checked her back molars with her tongue as she looked away.
"Cody, what happened to your arm?" Thomas asked, once the waitress had left, noticing the bandage for the first time, since Cody's arm was now in plain view.
Before the star could answer, Jennie said, "She cut it helping those people in the car accident yesterday. She saved their lives!"
Cody blushed again, and sheepishly nodded. "Had to bust a window," she explained, modestly. While Dana and Thomas demanded to know what happened, Cody watched with interest as the waitress spoke with the manager, and pointed over at their table. Frowning, the manager nodded, and started walking over to them.
"I'm going to let Jennie tell you the details," she said, scooting her chair back. "Excuse me for a moment." Getting to her feet, she intercepted the man's journey, and led him over to a corner.
"I know what you were going to do," she told the owner, and glared at him when he wrenched his arm free of her grasp, and almost looked as though he was going to be sick, standing so close to her. "That waitress told you that that beautiful woman and I are together, and you were going to ask us to leave, because we were disturbing people," she continued, knowingly.
"This dinner is very important to her, and she will be very upset if something goes wrong. And if she's upset, I'm upset." Reaching into her back pocket, she withdrew her wallet, and handed the man a fifty dollar bill. "You keep quiet, don't ruin the evening, and tell your waitress to stop staring at us like we're anything less than she is. If people complain, tell them not to look," she said, giving him the money.
"Do you understand?"
The man nodded, but couldn't resist saying, "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. The moment I see anything inappropriate, you and your little girlfriend are gone." Cody growled at him, but left, clearing her anger before returning to the table.
"Everything okay?" asked Jennie, and Cody nodded, eyeing the manager from across the room as she took the blonde's hand.
"Yeah," she assured her, smiling. "Everything's fine. What did I miss?"
The night passed without incident, and, as they drove home from the restaurant, Jennie's bubbly personality was back. Cody was glad things had turned out as they had, even though she had been worried for a while. She decided against telling the blonde about the near-incident with the manager.
"I'm glad my parents are okay with us," the young woman said. "Despite the problem with Mac, today's been a really good day. Thanks to you," she added with a smile, kissing the tall baseball player on the lips.
"Wanna come inside?"
Cody grinned, and said, as she followed the woman into the house, "I don't know if I should. Your father might not like my intentions."
Jennie laughed. "I can't believe he said that," she said, smiling when she remembered the adorably dark blush that had covered Cody's face. "You're cute when you blush," she said, and the tall woman turned a little pink.
"Well, you've got me beat," she said. "You're cute all the time." The blonde laughed, and snuggled in close to Cody's side as they sat on the couch. "Much as I'd love to stay here all night long, and wake up with you in the morning, I've got to go to practice early tomorrow. Joe wants me practicing for the game, since I have to play," she sighed.
"But, what about your arm?" asked Jennie, concerned.
The star shrugged. "Joe says I've got a good chance at becoming Most Valuable Player this year, but I have to play every game, unless I break something," she explained, evenly. "Getting MVP would be great, Jen, and I have to try. I'm sure I'll be fine," she assured her, and the smaller woman sighed, wrapping her arms around Cody's waist.
"You'd better be," she said, "or I'll hunt Joe down myself."
Cody smirked. "Thanks, honey," she replied. "I'll tell him you said that." In truth, the tall woman wouldn't say a word to her manager, because Joe didn't like for anyone in the team to date the fans. In other words, unless they were already married, or at the very least engaged, he didn't want them to have a personal life. The game was all that mattered to him, and he figured that's all his players should worry about, as well.
"How would you like to come to the practice on Sunday?" she offered. She knew the woman wouldn't be able to come to the game on Friday, even though it was a home game, because Jennie had plans to help the parents of one of her kids run a birthday party that would last well past 7 o'clock. So, practice was the next opportunity.
"That'd be great, Cody," agreed the blonde. "Jeffrey loves watching you guys play, even if you're just practicing. And I just like watching you," she admitted, kissing the tall star deeply.
"Mm," muttered Cody, "keep that up, and I won't be able to leave tonight." Regretfully, she pulled back, and kissed the woman on the forehead. "I'll see you in the morning, Jen," she said, getting to her feet, and embracing the small woman one last time before she left.
"Good night," said Jennie, and Cody echoed the same, forcing herself to walk out the door. With a sigh, Jennie dropped into bed, and considered doing something for Cody on Saturday night, to celebrate, since she had no doubts about the Warriors victory at the game on Friday.