Author's Note: Hi, it's me with Chapter Sixteen, ready for reading and reviewing. WARNING: This chapter contain descriptive sex scenes, but I swear, I only went so far as M-rated content allowed me to go. No cock-sucking, nipple-sucking, cumming, fisting, or any other graphic shit like that. To those who see this, I beg you not to report me for violating the content regulations, because I worked very hard not to here. Still, if sex scenes bother you so much, then DO NOT READ THIS! I'm not looking to have my account shut down on this site. Thanks! To the rest of you, enjoy.
Chapter 16
"I had a short meeting with Mr. Lancer and Mr. Sussex today about your offer," Valerie said to Sundown. "They said that, although I've been doing good work with them, it's too soon for me to take a vacation. I'm so sorry."
They were awaiting their dinners at the El Paso Steak and Burger House, not the same place they'd been to before. Sundown sighed, but seemed to understand. "I was worried 'bout this," he said. "Last night, I sat up in bed and said to m'self, 'She's only been in town fer a couple of months. Ya think she'll really git her summer holidays this year? Did you git yer holidays immediately three months after ya joined C.O.P.S.? No, you didn't. So why would ya expect her to git the go-ahead?'"
"But don't worry," she replied, "If you're willing to wait until sometime next June, they'll be able to release me then."
He sat right up, looking at her in shock. "June?" he repeated. "You ain't gonna keep workin' that hard for the next year, are ya? I reckon you kept havin' other successes in yer time here. And Lord knows how hard you were workin' before ya came, wit yer divorce an' all. At the rate yer goin', you'll collapse before Christmas."
She laughed. "Oh, come on, Sundown," she said. "Advertising isn't that stressful when you've been working as long as I have. Why, the only stress I had so far were fights with other co-workers about my personal life – which I refuse to talk about, so don't even bring that up." She drank some of her Earl Grey. "See, it takes more than just loving your job to keep the stress low. You also have to keep your personal and career lives from intertwining. That's why I hate discussing personal matters on company time – plus, I also think it's rude to gossip. And when I was having my martial problems back in Indiana, I kept them bottled up during the day while I was doing my work. Only during lunch and coffee breaks did I open that bottle to people."
"Wow, that's some strength," Sundown said. "Y'know, if ya married me, or anyone else on my team, you could be a role model fer police marriages in this city. A lot of coppers are known to bring their work into their home lives, but that don't apply to any of us. Longarm's the only married one of us, but he's always known to leave his work at the office when he goes home. He an' Elise have always said they could use another couple to help counsel officers an' their spouses on how to keep their marriages tickin'"
"They actually said that?" Valerie buried her face into her hands, laughing. When she brought her head up, "Well, I'm no marriage counselor, but I am willing to do anything to help. Elise is my friend, after all, and it'd be nice to work with her outside the agency." She stared at Sundown lovingly as she thought, Which means you'll have to make a decision quickly, girl.
Later, they were sitting in her recreation room, watching some movies they had rented, the DVD player plugged into that TV. They had just finished watching The Wooden T-Heart, a drama about a married woman found guilty of adultery in the Wild West after she has a child with a member of an outlaw gang. As Valerie watched, she was both cringing and enjoying it. Sundown looked at her every so often, confused as to what she really thought of it.
"I don't get it, Sundown," Valerie said. "What is it about a Wild West outlaw that women find so attractive? They have to be pretty naïve, because women did not do very many drugs back in those days."
"Their looks, my darlin'," Sundown answered. "Once a lady can find a man who's as handsome as a devil in black, she thinks wit her heart, not her head."
"Was there somethin' wrong wit the movie, Valerie?" he asked at the end credits. "You were givin' off mixed signals 'bout it."
"You told me in the store this was a parody of The Scarlet Letter, right?" she said. "I was nervous about this one at first, because that took me back to high school, and I had to read that awful book in my senior year. Too bad I don't have the talent to write a novel suitable for English class, only product pitches."
"Well, there are some parallels between that an' Scarlet Letter." He sipped some of his cinnamon margarita. "But don't ya think the differences make this better?"
"Very much so. Uh, Sundown, are you sure that was how women were punished for adultery in the Wild West? I don't remember anything like that from my History classes."
"Nothin' like that really happened back in those days. You know that. Back then, ladies were really expected to be ladies, an' stay faithful to the men they wed. That was just a 'what if' thing. I reckon that if a woman laid down with another man back then, she'd wear just the plain heart around her neck. But in that case, that 'T' stood fer treachery."
"It was interesting, nonetheless."
He stood up and held both her hands. "Valerie," he said, "now I want you to be honest with me. If you were my bride, an' a dashin' outlaw came to town to loot an' shoot an' frighten ev'ryone, an' he tried desperately to take ya, if he wanted you to go wit him, would ya do it? Would you leave me fer him?"
She touched his tanned cheek lightly, staring at his face, thinking of how not even a movie star's face would make her leave someone like him. "Why, Sundown," she breathed, "how could you even ask such a thing? You know I'd never go for a bad guy, no matter how handsome he looked. I learned that when I got divorced. And that's why I resolved to never love any of the crooks, no matter how much they try to tempt me."
She placed her hands upon his shoulders, and kissed his mouth down to his neck. "But then again, I don't think any bad guy could look as handsome as you." He smiled, then suddenly grabbed her waist and dipped her as if they were tango dancing.
"Sundown!" she cried. "Wow, you're more dashing than any outlaw I've ever seen!"
"That's because good prevails over bad in both crime-fightin' an' romance." He brought her back up. "Ev'ry time. At least, that's how it oughta be." With that, he kissed her sensually, as if he was ready to take her. But Valerie stopped it quickly. She knew she wasn't ready, at least not at this hour of the evening.
"Hold on there, Rhett," she said. "I was thinking maybe we can watch the other movies we got." She broke from him, took the movie out, put in the next one from the stack, Deputy Wildheart. Sundown grinned when he saw the next selection.
"Ah, good choice," he said. "That's supposed to be real sexy."
As the movie started up, Sundown proceeded to go behind the mini-bar. He unbuttoned the top three buttons on his shirt, retrieved a bartender's guide, and asked, "How 'bout somethin' exotic fer the lady?"
Valerie laughed, remembering how Sundown told her he worked as a bartender before becoming a deputy for Texas police. "Trying to relive your college days?" she asked. "I'll just have a chocolate rum liqueur, please?" She sat on a stool near him, and pressed the play button on the DVD remote. He made up her order, then poured some Sprite with whiskey for himself.
This was one movie that interested them both. Sundown and Valerie paid extra close attention to the hearty number of lovemaking scenes. Around halfway through, Valerie started to lose count of how many women were being taken. On occasion, she would look over at him to see him studying the love scene hard, looking very frisky at her. She'd look surprised, but she'd laugh about it afterwards.
"Is this supposed to be a hint, your look?" she asked one time. She touched his left forearm. "I think you look sexy enough tending to my bar. The extras aren't necessary."
"I know," he said. "Maybe it's just the movie, but I'm feelin' a lil' bit like Deputy Wildheart right now, all jacked up wit sexual desire. Oh, Valerie, but yer lookin' so fresh tonight. What is it 'bout you, yer hair? Yer clothes? Yer walk?" He proceeded to slide his hand across her arm, but she took it off.
"Cool it, cowboy!" she insisted. "I want to watch a movie here. Keep your hormones to yourself until it's over, all right?"
Sundown's grin got wider. "Oh, so ya wanna, don't ya?"
Valerie shushed him. "Could you fix me up a plain Cucumber, please? I always liked that neat color." Sundown smiled as he searched for the recipe in the guide index. Minutes later, he handed her a glass of green liquid that looked more aquamarine to her. She sipped and let out a quiet, satisfying hum. She never noticed him leering at her. He thought it sounded sexual.
When the movie was over, Valerie swiveled in her stool to face Sundown. She batted her eyes shamelessly, touched his forearm again, and said, "Damn, but I'll bet you were one of the sexiest bartenders in all of Texas. No, the sexiest!"
"Hey, it's like I told ya," he replied, "I had hordes of ladies flock to the bar to get a drink from me. I was makin' spicy tequilas, dry martinis and mint juleps from the time I was eighteen, 'til I got heavy in cop college. An' here I am twenty years later, still the talented, charmin' drink maker. Such a shame that I don't have a mini-bar in my apartment, then we could do this when I'm hostin' you."
She moved her hand up his arm. "That'd be sweet of you."
He left the bar to put away the DVD player. As he was unplugging, Valerie told him, "I don't have any beer in the fridge, but if you want, I can bring up a bottle of rum, and we can have rum and cola." Then she changed her mind quickly. "Actually, I don't have any cola in the fridge, but I do have that cherry cola, and some orange soda, and green apple soda." She went to retrieve a bottle of vodka. "How about we add this to it?"
Sundown grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Bring it up."
In the living room, she set the bottle on the coffee table, then watched him plug the player back in. When he got up, she said, "I just put the soda in the fridge before you came. If you'd like to go get it for me, please? You can also get two plastic cups from the cupboards above the coffee maker and microwave." He smiled as he went to the kitchen.
He came out with a bottle in each hand, then went back for the last one and cups. Valerie poured the vodka, filling the cup halfway. She poured cherry cola in her cup and asked, "Do you want to watch the last movie we rented?"
"It's already after midnight," Sundown answered. "We'd be dead like logs by the time it's over." He pulled her close in attempt to be convincing. "Look, if I gotta serve another day shift tomorrow, I can come back after work to watch it wit ya."
She nodded. "That's a deal. Would you like orange or green apple? You men probably wouldn't go for this cherry stuff."
"Orange, please. Y'know, most people don't really drink soda pop wit vodka. Back in Texas, we drank our vodka wit orange juice."
She opened the orange soda bottle. "Shall I put on some music? I should have an old collaboration of classic country duets."
"Nah, I kinda like this quiet atmosphere. I reckon it adds to the romantic settin'." Sundown took a drink and held Valerie close to him. He kissed the back of her head.
They sat there for almost half an hour, drinking and making love. With the drinks they had downstairs, by the time they emptied the vodka bottle, they were looking very drunk, probably more drunk than Valerie and Highway had been. Sundown put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Valerie, you think you looked beautiful before? Now that I'm good an' drunk, you're lookin' as hot as a saloon hooker." He was slurring his words and sounding belligerent.
"Oh, stop it," she said. She was slurring, too, but she sounded rather quiet.
But he wouldn't. He pushed her down on the sofa, positioned himself on his hands and knees above her, and looked at her like a wild jungle cat would his prey. Like a willing submissive, she grabbed his arms and pulled him down onto her. Their lips were pressed against each other as they were tossing around. When they rolled, they immediately fell to the carpet, barely missing the coffee table.
Sundown and Valerie stumbled to get up, and she led him to her bedroom. She locked her door, and in the darkness, he walked to her bed and sat. Feeling lustrous, she strutted over him, and sat down straddling on his lap. Immediately, she ripped his shirt open, slid it off, and let her fingertips explore his chest hair. He didn't know if it was the feeling of his bare flesh, or the passion he felt for her, but he reached around her back for the button snaps on her dress. He made them come undone all at once, and slid the dress off.
"Valerie," he moaned ecstatically. "I always wanted to know what it was 'bout ya that made ya so damn special! It's that touch! Your beautiful flesh, your fingers all over me! Oh, Valerie, I… Valerie, what in hell are ya doin'? Don't stop! I…" His voice trailed as he felt his socks come off, then his jeans.
"Sundown!" Valerie moaned. "Sundown, I had to! You know I wouldn't let a strapping cowboy like you bang me in anything more than your underpants." She slid her hands up his legs, and into his underwear to feel his thighs. "Oh, are those bikini briefs? Oh, I love those! Those make hunks look sexier." She started to crawl over him, and pulled back the quilt and bedsheets aggressively.
"Valerie," Sundown groaned. "Where'd ya go, ya sexy woman? Why ain't ya got yer pretty hands all over me?" He crawled along the bed until he could feel her legs. He touched his way along her body until he could feel her face.
"Sundown, what took so long?" she asked. "I waited for you for three whole minutes."
Instead of answering her, Sundown tried to be angry and said, "Why did you leave, Valerie? You know I'm the type of man who gets desperate when I ain't got the beautiful touch I need!" He covered the both of them with the bed linens, and his voice started to get louder with every sentence he spoke. "I love you! I need you! I must possess you!" Then he clutched his arms and pressed his chest against hers. "Don't ya ever take yer hands off me again!"
Their bodies forced together, Sundown and Valerie rolled all over the bed in their passion. He pinned her against the mattress, and she screamed, feeling a bit scared. Moments later, he was on his knees again, and put her hands back upon his chest. Suddenly, she was feeling good again, and she willingly rubbed him until she could feel his nipples. She loved the feel, and began to stroke them repeatedly.
"Oh, yeah," he said to her. "Yeah, Valerie, you love the rugged, beefcake feel of my chest. You want–" Then, he could feels her hands sliding down to his stomach, all the fingers going into his belly button except her thumbs. He snickered at every poke and said afterwards, "Valerie, what are you doin'? Damn, that tickles!"
"And I'll come back for it later," she said. She continued to rub south when she felt his underwear again, and pulled it down to his knees.
"Valerie!" he yelled. "Valerie! Oh, Valerie, why'd ya do that? Why do ya wanna git me naked? What kinda man d'ya think I am?"
She reached around to his back and brought him back down. "The kind of sexy lawman who deserves to be naked." She brought her feet to his knees and took his underwear off with her toes. In turn, he took her panties off.
"Oh, but I feel so free, don't you?" he asked. "Don't ya?" Before she answered, he quickly tossed the linens back over them, put his arms around her neck, kissed her roughly. He rubbed the back of her head until his fingers went into her hair.
"Oh, Valerie, yer hair is so beautiful, so silky," he said. "Oh, but I wish all the ladies in Texas were as pretty as you. Ain't none of them would even compare." When his hands returned to her body, he found them placed on her cleavage. "And I ain't never felt ample bosoms quite like yours. I know it ain't gentlemanlike of me, but I just can't help this. I touch beauty like this, and I just wanna turn into some rough redneck." He brought his mouth to his hands, removed them from her chest, and started kissing it, working above her nipples. He knew better than to handle a woman like that.
"So you like making rough love?" Valerie assumed as Sundown ran his index finger down her bustline. She brought his face back up to hers. "I like it rough with the right man." She rolled him around so she would be on top of him, and kissed him in a passion that kept heir lips together for a long time. She was rubbing him again, on his arms, his shoulders, and any place where he was muscular. He loved her touch, but felt controlling once more, so he flipped her over so he was on top. He slid his arms around her back and started kissing her once again.
When Sundown awoke the next morning, he discovered he was alone. He stared at the purple walls and bedroom furniture, and even the purple bed linens.
"What in Lord Almighty is with this color?" he asked himself. "Ain't no way the bouquet I gave her is gonna look good in this room. Maybe if it were sunset orange with some red, yellow and brown in between. Valerie would love it." He looked at the dresser, noticed Barricade's blue bouquet on top, and became horrified.
"What in tarnations?…" he began. "Those ain't the flowers I gave her!" He grabbed his underwear and jeans and put them on. "No, it ain't true. It's me Valerie loves, not Barricade!" He stared coldly at the bouquet. "If she loved Barricade enough to put his flowers here, then why in hell did she lay down wit me?" He grabbed the vase and went to find Valerie.
She was in the kitchen, looking through cookbooks for a Texas omelet recipe. She could hear loud footsteps approaching, and looked toward the entrance. Sundown was glaring at her, Barricade's bouquet held out in his right hand.
"I reckon these were put in the wrong room," he said.
Valerie immediately became shocked. She put Barricade's bouquet in her bedroom because she was deeply in love with him when she got them. But she couldn't tell Sundown. He already saw this as more intense competition; that would only make it worse. She stuttered, but he already left to do a decorative switch.
Sundown saw Barricade parking as he arrived at C.O.P.S. headquarters later that morning. He felt passionate to start a fight, but decided against it. Assaulting another team member could cause Bulletproof to dismiss him. Instead, he walked up to him, grabbed his arm, and dragged him inside to the men's room.
"Sundown, what in hell?" Barricade asked. "What's this for? You're not usually this angry when you come to work."
"You listen here, hombre!" Sundown said angrily. "I spent last night with Valerie. I've been in her bedroom, when we had the most ramblin' sex anyone could ever have. Guess what I saw when I woke up? Those blue silk roses that you gave her!"
"Well, I've never really seen Valerie's room," Barricade replied. "But she put my bouquet in there? That's wonderful. Now I guess we know who she thinks about more!" He stepped slowly towards Sundown. "All I have to tell you is 'in your face.'"
"Just so ya know, Barricade," Sundown replied, "they ain't there no more. I put my yellow bouquet in there, and yours is on the livin' room end table where they damn well belong! You'll see, you an ev'ryone else, Valerie will be in my possession." He turned to walk out, an incensed Barricade following him.
"Just one second, Sundown!" Barricade blasted. "Your possession? What, you think of Valerie as your personal property? Is that how a man treats a woman back where you come from?"
"Not when he's the only one she wants. But when he's in competition fer her hand with a group of other men, he'll do whatever it takes to claim her."
"Well, you just remember something, cowboy! Being overly jealous, acting like you own a woman, and making her feel like no one else deserves her will only drive her away."
"I ain't nothin' like that! You knew since we met her at the picnic that I was madly in love wit her. And I don't treat her like my property. Who d'ya think I am, that Big Boss? One of those crooks? I'll have you know that I'm plannin' to take Jeremy wit me on my vacation."
Barricade stopped and turned to Sundown. "Oh, is that so?"
"Yep! He ain't never seen the Grand Canyon, and I'm takin' him there next month, after a week-long stint in my home state. I'd like to know what you're doin' fer yer holidays."
Suddenly, they heard Mace ask, "Who's takin' who to the Grand Canyon?"
They looked at him, and Barricade answered, "Sundown here has just informed me that he's taking Jeremy down south on his summer trip. But that's not the worst part. He was at Valerie's last night, and he took her. I mean, they literally did it."
Mace looked horrified at Sundown. "You didn't!"
"I did, and she loved it!" Sundown bragged. "At least, she told me that after I felt better, having put that yellow bouquet I gave her in her bedroom!"
"WHAT?" Mace yelled. He shoved Sundown a little. "Whaddya mean, your bouquet in her bedroom! That should be my bouquet! My purple silk flowers should be the last thing she sees at night, and the first thing she sees in the mornin'!"
"Don't tell me you're thinking of Valerie as your property, too, Mace!" Barricade scowled. "Look, if you're trying to win her love, the little 'ownership act' isn't going to work."
Suddenly, they heard Mainframe call to them. "You guys," she said, "the computer's been reporting more thefts all over the city! ECTV's just informed that Big Boss and his gang are at it with their hypnotic broadcast again. And here you are, arguing over a woman? I could hear you, and I can't believe it! Everyone else already left! You need to get out there – now!"
"She's right," Barricade said. "We'll discuss this later. Right now, it's crime-fighting time." They looked at the locations of the crimes being committed downtown, then hurried their way out.
Meanwhile, at Karen's house, she was equally unimpressed as Valerie told of her date with Sundown.
"You're unbelievable!" she said in both shock and disgust. "It's one thing if you and your date get buzzed over two fancy alcohol drinks and a whole bottle of vodka – and by the way, it was stupid of you to drink a whole bottle in one sitting – but it's quite another if you end up having a fuckfest because of it! Didn't you tell me you were being gossiped about at work because of this? What if anyone saw you? Boy, it's a good thing Jeremy slept over here last night."
Valerie rolled her eyes. "He would've been in bed sleeping at that time, anyway," she said. "You know he's a deep sleeper. He wouldn't have been able to hear us. And the bedroom curtains were closed. Who could've possibly watched us?"
"I still would've thought twice before doing something so crazy." Karen sipped her coffee.
"Oh, come on, I'm sure you and Bart did the same things when the boys were conceived. And we were discreet about it."
"Valerie, he and I took individual cold showers."
"And that's supposed to arouse sexual feelings?" Karen looked dumbfounded, but Valerie said, "I guess it could work if you didn't catch pneumonia first." She finished her tea. "Anyway, when I woke up the next morning, I noticed Sundown was sleeping so deeply – oh, but he looked so sexy – so after a shower, I went to the kitchen to try and cook a special breakfast fit for a sheriff. I was already searching through a third cookbook when he surprisingly stormed in with Barricade's flowers. You should've seen how pissed he was. I wanted to tell him that I thought it gave a nice touch to the room, but he didn't believe me. The next thing I knew, he left, and when I went to the dining room, I saw Barricade's bouquet where Sundown's was. He put his in my room. Have you seen it now? It looks terrible. That arrangement really sticks out."
Karen tried to remember the bouquets Valerie showed her. "Sundown – his is the yellow one, right?" Valerie nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Yellow and purple definitely do not go well together."
"I'll tell him this when he sees me tonight. We're going to watch the last movie we rented. He'll try to convince me to transform my room into some Western look that wouldn't suit me at all."
"You know, Bart's been trying to convince me to put up Wild Western wallpaper, and turn our room into a cowboy's paradise for quite some time now. He's into that kind of thing, too. I think he'd get along real well with Sundown if you choose to marry him."
"But that wouldn't look good for you, either, would it?"
"No, but that's men for you. Always thinking their ideas are better, and convincing you to go along with them, no matter how ridiculous you think they are. Especially–"
Valerie immediately stopped her. "Don't even go there, Karen! Do not say the name of a certain ex-husband for whom that statement especially rings true! Sundown may be level-headed and competitive, but he's enough of a gentleman to not call me a lazy parent."
"That's true. I mean, if he's kind enough to take Jeremy on a bonding trip."
"Speaking of bonding trips, I should expect an e-mail from the others telling about their vacation plans. With our upcoming four-day trip to L.A., I expect Jeremy will have a summer of pure closeness. He desperately needs it after all the shit he's been through all these years."
"I agree. It'll keep him from questioning the trust of men." She took a raspberry muffin from the platter, and gave Valerie blueberry. "Speaking of which, when are those two leaving for vacation?"
"Next month, on the ninth. They'll be gone for two weeks."
Karen nearly choked on her bite, but managed to swallow. "You're kidding. From the ninth to the twenty-third?"
"What's wrong?" Valerie asked. "Is there something happening during that time?"
"Well, between your quick divorce, your achievements at work, and juggling your new romances, you may have forgotten," Karen answered. "I hate to change the subject, but the Slamier-Kentwood family reunion is taking place the weekend of the fifteenth. Don't you remember the invitation you got back in February, when you still lived in Parrish? The whole family's coming here from all over the country. There are family members who've never seen Jeremy since he was a baby, others who've never met him at all. Oh, but he just has to be there! Relatives are even coming in from Canada, England, Ireland and France. Everyone in the family has to be there! Aunt Margaret worked very hard organizing this thing."
"If she's coming for my birthday, we'll talk then," Valerie said. "But if Cousins Laura and Barbara are going to be at that reunion – and I gather they will – then it'd be best if Jeremy wasn't there. There's a good reason why he hasn't seen them since he was five."
"They're her daughters, for one thing. And she'll be very upset if you and Jeremy aren't there. These things aren't optional with her."
"Hey, I'd love to be there." Valerie took a big bite from her muffin, thinking of the many confrontations she might have with family members who are strict disciplinarians. She swallowed. "But if I have to put up with those two bitches criticizing me because I'm not physical with him," She rolled her eyes, "then I'd rather not subject him to it. In fact, I just might get physical with them."
Karen sighed harshly, hoping she was just joking when she looked serious. "Don't do that. Please! That'd just ruin it. Aunt Margaret would never forgive you."
"Better pray they don't start something with me."
Karen could tell her sister was getting unhappy again, so she started talking about Sundown and Jeremy's trip again. "What does Sundown has up his sleeve for his trip."
Valerie told about the Grand Canyon. "I haven't been there since that summer I was sixteen, and Jeremy's never seen it. He doesn't know yet, but I can tell he's going to be excited. And Sundown wants him to learn about the Alamo while in Texas. I think maybe he'll understand that once he sees it."
"Well, they say experience makes the best teacher. But still, maybe you should ask Margaret if it'd be okay, and Mom as well."
"I'm sure Mom will be happy to see Jeremy go away with a man he's grown to love." But she wanted to know what the others have planned.
That night, Valerie said to Jeremy, "You'll have to put yourself to bed soon. I have to have a shower and change clothes."
"What… for?" Jeremy asked.
"You remember Sundown?" she replied. "He took me out last night while you were at Auntie Karen's. Well, he's coming back here later tonight, and we're going to have more quiet time."
Jeremy nodded and looked at the clock. He had to go to bed in ten minutes. "I… guess… I'll… go to… bed… right… now. I can… read… for… a… little… while… before… I go to… sleep."
"I'll help you brush your teeth, sweetie," Valerie offered.
She went to her bedroom for her bathrobe. She hung it on the hook on her bathroom door, then placed toothpaste on Jeremy's brush. After brushing and using the toilet, Jeremy trotted to his room, then she undressed to shower.
Ten minutes later, she emerged from the shower, back to her bedroom for something conservative, yet sultry. She searched through her work outfits, and found a dark violet silk blouse and indigo skirt. Without a double-breasted jacket, it looked perfect, perfect for staying in and watching the last rental. Now, she had to do her makeup and nails.
In the living, she checked the time. Twenty minutes after nine. Valerie didn't know when Sundown was getting off his shift, and he never told her when he was coming back. She thought of calling the headquarters to ask him, but decided it was rude and sounding desperate. So she spent much of the next hour just waving her hands. She heard it was the quickest way to dry her nails. At quarter after ten, she went to the kitchen to put kernels in the cordless popcorn maker.
Five minutes later, the doorbell rang. Valerie answered to see Sundown. He looked like an outlaw in a black silk dress shirt and matching denims. Surprised, she said, "Sundown! Uh, the good guys aren't supposed to wear full black, expect for funerals."
He stepped in and French-kissed her. He asked, "How 'bout when they wanna be sexy an' darin'?"
She laughed as she escorted him into the living room. "Uh, Sundown, about your flowers being in my bedroom…"
"I know what yer thinkin'," he replied, "an' I agree. I never reckoned the bedroom made 'em look good either. So I got this idea of maybe gittin' rid of all that purple stuff, and turn it into an old-fashioned country bedroom. Somethin' that could suit us both."
Are you making plans to marry me already? she wanted to ask. But maybe he wasn't really coming on to her. So she asked, "Are you sure? You're not planning to change it right this minute, are you? Not that I mind Wild West décor, but I don't think that'd look very good for a room belonging to a single mom."
"An' I thought all that purple looked a bit too womanish for a couple," he told her. "Or at least, it made me feel like I was sleepin' inside a machine that made grape candy. It could stand more color."
"Maybe, but I should decide what changes should be made, and when to change it," she insisted.
"Of course. It ain't in my place to take charge of a lady's home. That was only a suggestion."
As he advanced in the living room, he could sense an aroma from the kitchen. "Is that popcorn I smell? Smells heavenly."
"Sure is, I'm just preparing the last of the movies," she answered. She took the last movie and put it in the DVD player. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable on the loveseat? I have an idea."
Valerie went to get her quilt from her bed, and placed it beside the loveseat. Then, thinking the popcorn must be ready, she went to the kitchen for a big bowl, and poured the snack from its machine. When she came back out, she had Sundown hold the bowl, while she draped the quilt over their laps. She told him, "I've seen Rhonda and Richard do this when they were first dating, and I watched movies with them. Same with Bart and Karen. I also used to do this with Tom before we were married."
They spent the first forty-five minutes of the movie eating popcorn and exchanging romantic glances. They were sitting quite close to each other, but around halfway through, Valerie started to get closer. She put her head on Sundown's shoulder. He could sense this, and immediately put his arm around her.
"Oh, Sundown, isn't this romantic?" she asked. "You and me, sitting all warm and comfortable like this, falling in love to another western romance?"
"Could be even more romantic if our feet were off the floor," he answered.
They were watching a scene where the main lovers were alone. Valerie sensed that some kissing would be coming up within moments. She decided to take this cue, and turned to Sundown, poised to kiss him. Seconds later, her lips touched his, and they were kissing in sync with the movie.
Mace was driving home from his shift late that night, when he spotted a white van running a red light, and turning the intersection he was on, cutting him off.
"Must be that damn Berserko and Turbo," he muttered to himself as he slammed his foot on the gas brake. He was speeding after it, determined to not let it leave his sight. He activated his CB radio and said, "Attention all units! I'm followin' a stolen truck from the flower shop. It was goin' too fast to make out the logo, but it looks like a florist truck, and the license plate is 5X6L3H. Suspects may be considered armed and dangerous. All available units required. Mace out!"
The vehicles were weaving in and out of traffic. Mace looked into his rearview mirror to see Highway following behind on his motorcycle, only to speed ahead seconds later. Mace checked his mirror again. More police cars in the hottest pursuit.
After a few minutes, Mace activated his bazooka to shoot out the tires. With each shot, the truck swerved so it could be missed. He saw Highway shooting at tires, too, but he was missing as well.
"Dammit!" Mace shouted. "Those bastards must have some particular place to go!" He kept following the truck anyway, curious as to where it was headed.
The chase eventually led to Valerie's residential area, and her street. Mace began to get concerned. "If this is what I think it is…"
The truck stopped by itself outside Valerie's house. Mace and Highway left their vehicles, followed by Barricade and Bowzer. They saw the driver's door open, and Mace yelled, "Get out of the truck with your hands in the air! Every occupant in there! You're all under arrest!"
They saw Buttons jump from the driver's seat. He opened his trench coat, machine guns pointed at them from his chest. "First, I want all you coppers to drop all yer weapons!" he ordered. "I don't wanna hafta shoot! There's somethin' we gotta explain to you." Soon after, Turbo and Rock Crusher stepped out behind him.
Buttons stepped towards the C.O.P.S. as he said, "We was only tryin' to bring some very special gifts to Valerie here. Luckily, the address Badvibes gave us was still in our memories as we sat in prison. We made itour first priority to try again wit her when we broke out!" He opened the back of the truck to reveal practically every bouquet from the flower shop, and Berserko ready to hand them out.
"Yer wastin' yer time, scumbags!" Mace replied. "Valerie don't want nothin' to do with you!"
"That's what she thinks, but we plan to change her mind, don't we, boys?" Turbo said with a determined attitude.
"Oh yeah!" Buttons agreed. "We'll have her pickin' from one of us, and forgettin' about all of you." Berserko then proceeded to give each crook three bouquets.
Mace, Bowzer, Barricade and Highway all huddled together, and Mace whispered, "We can't let 'em pursue her like this. Somehow, we gotta beat them to Valerie's door."
"Then we have to go now," Barricade agreed. The good guys broke, and rushed up her walkway, the crooks following behind.
Soon, a brawl broke out on the front step, officers versus crooks, attacking each other to see who will open the door first. Berserko was holding on to all bouquets while the other crooks fought. Then, Crusher took his offerings and ran to the door, through the C.O.P.S. like a pile-driver.
Meanwhile, inside the house, Valerie and Sundown were rolling all over the living room carpet in their passion, the quilt not covering them. The movie had ended. They were wearing nothing but their underpants. Sundown's nose looked to be buried in between Valerie's breasts. She pressed him down so his chest was on her stomach, and he was kissing and licking below hers.
"Oh, Sundown!" she cried. "Sundown, please! I want you! I need you! I must have you!"
"Oh, Valerie!" he moaned. "If it's me ya want an' need, it's me yer gonna git!" His lips returned to her breasts.
They heard the noisy brawl from outside. Valerie's attention was soon to the door, and she said, "Sundown, wait! Do you hear a fight on the doorstep? I wonder what's going on?"
Sundown listened for a minute, then said, "It's my competition, baby. They just wanna take you from me. But I ain't gonna let that happen. Just ignore it, it'll go away." He kissed her lips, and pressed on her breasts again.
They were too immersed in their sex to hear Crusher kick the front door in, flowers in hand. Crusher called, "Surprise, Valerie! Your big bad Romeo is here to sweep you off yer feet and–" But he and the others caught her and Sundown in their compromising position.
"Augh!" he cried. "Oh my God! Cover yer eyes, boys!" It was as if he'd never seen a man and a woman have sex before.
Berserko grabbed at his stomach and said, "Uh, where's the bathroom? I don't feel so good!" He put his hand over his mouth and ran down the hall. He saw a toilet and locked himself in the room.
Valerie and Sundown had covered themselves with the quilt. Her look was part relief, part horror. She was inwardly glad that his colleagues had arrived. But she couldn't believe that some of the Big Boss' gang now knew what she looked like with no clothes on. She hoped none of them had a camera.
She started to think back when Dr. Badvibes visited her. She remembered him saying he got her new address from Rhonda. Now she was angry and disgusted, as well as humiliated.
"Sundown," she muttered, "remind me to kick the shit out of my sister, Rhonda, when I see her again. I may have to move to another part of town."
He shushed her and replied, "Now don't you go talkin' like that. You know you'll have lots of protection when you need it." She never thanked him.
A/N: Regarding the scene with Sundown at the mini-bar, early in the chapter: As you may recall in Chapter Eleven, when Mace and Sundown were over at Valerie's house together, Valerie mentioned the mini-bar that she would show them. If you would like me to emphasize on the sheriff's college days and bartending career there (opportunity arising,) I will gladly go back, revise that chapter and re-post. See you next time.