Title: It's all about living life
Chapter 11: The dress
Author: Ann (Chrystalsandsnowflakes)
Rating: (G to NC-17): PG 13
Spoilers/Warnings: Little bit of smut. Takes place in the future, so after EOT
Summary: Lula and Tank go out for dinner, so Lula needs a new dress
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, I just play with them

Thanks to everyone who was kind enough to review! I hope you stay entertained with this chapter, because the next update might take a while since I first have to spend some serious time on my thesis for my MBA. Hope to be back online in August!

The dress

Ranger has been gone a little over a week now, and I now know for certain that it was the right decision of him to leave for a little while. Joe and I have been talking together a lot about how to arrange things between us, and it wasn't always easy. But if Ranger would have been in the area, it would have been distracting. I know he wouldn't do anything on purpose, but he just is a very distracting guy. This way, Joe and I got to work out everything together without getting into painful debates about me being seen with Ranger on a job or something. However, I did miss him. I had always felt safe with him, and in this time, where my certainties were falling away, it would have been nice to hide occasionally in his strong arms. And I mean this in a 'friends' kind of way! (What were you thinking, I'm a married woman!)

I entered the bonds office, and Lula was jumping up and down. I blinked, the already tight fabric of her clothes was absolutely reaching it maximum stretch now. Luckily, when she heard the door open, she turned around and stopped jumping. For once my life has been taking a back seat in the burg gossip. Lula and Tank ware the absolute number one now. I couldn't blame the people, they made an interesting couple. A few days ago, Tank had asked Lula to go out for a drink, and they had had a good time. At least, that was all Lula and Tank were willing to say about it. That of course made everybody else very curious, and wild rumors had spread within minutes.

"Lula, what's going on?" I asked. The jumping had to be related to something.

"Nothing, I'm just happy" Yeah, right. Connie smiled sweetly and said:

"I heard that Tank made reservations for two tonight at Rossini's. I'd say that is what is making Lula jump up and down" Lula blushed a little and we knew Connie was right.

"So, dinner?" I asked. Lula smiled.

"Yes"

"You two are really hitting it off"

"Yes, he is a great guy. And great eye candy!" That had Connie and me nodding our heads in agreement. Okay, I did prefer Ranger over Tank, but that doesn't mean that the guy was ugly. To me, Ranger just was the most attractive guy alive. And Morelli was high on the list as well… But then again, all Rangemen were nice to look at. If one of them is gay, he is the luckiest guy alive!

"So, what are you going to wear?"

"Well, I have been thinking about that, and I think a trip to the mall is needed. You coming?" We Jersey girls can have closets full of clothes, but a date always justifies a shopping trip.

"Sure, can we pick up Mooner on the way? He missed his court date last week"

"Okay, no problem. Maybe we can take him with us shopping. You know. A man's point of view." Connie and me both raised our eyebrows at that.

"Eh, I wouldn't exactly trust Mooners' opinion on fashion, Lula" Connie said. Lula looked thoughtful.

"Mmm, maybe not, but he is good fun" That I could agree with.

We took Lula's firebird and we arrived at the mall half an hour later with Mooner in the back and the stereo at full blast.

"Okay, tell me again dudes, what are we looking for?" Mooner asked.

"We are looking for something that makes a man hot, without looking like a slut. I wanna show Tank that I can be a classy girl if I want to" Lula said.

I did a mental sigh. Lula was a full figured woman, it wouldn't be too easy to find something "classy but hot without looking like a slut". We went through several stores, unsuccessfully. Mooner so far had picked a dress that looked like it was a sheet coming straight of a bed, a pantsuit in bright red that made Lula look like a big tomato and a dress that screamed 'ho. Then we decided to hit Macy's. After checking the usual women's departments, we realized we lost Mooner. Oh great, I was still supposed to bring him in. What did it mean if I couldn't even bring Mooner in anymore! But suddenly we heard very excited shouting coming from the other side of the store. Mooner.

"I've got it! I've got it!" Lula and me looked at each other, and prepared ourselves for another horrible piece of cloth. But in stead he held up a black dress. It was long, made of velvet, and strapless. It looked classy alright, but a little conservative for Lula's taste. That was, until Mooner showed the split on the side. Wow, that would end just below her underwear. Lula started to smile.

"Mooner, my man. I think there is still hope for you" and she trotted off to try it on. When she came out, I hardly recognized her at first. I had only known Lula in bright spandex or animal print. But she looked fantastic in the dress. The dress accentuated her breasts without making the cleavage that showed look slutty. The dress was long, almost touching the floor, which made her look longer and thinner. And when she moved you could see all of her leg. Yep, this was the one, no doubt about it.

"Holy Jesus, they want some serious cash for this piece of cloth!" Lula said.

"It looks real good on you. Tank will love it!" I said.

"I suppose I just got to make this investment worthwhile," Lula said with a sly grin.

"It's a great piece, dude," Mooner added.

So that was it, Lula was buying the dress. She had some killer shoes at home she told me, so we were finished, and we all went to get some ice cream to celebrate the dress. When we were licking our cones, Lula's phone rang.

"Hello?" She started smiling when she heard the voice on the other side.

"That could have been me" Pause, smile.

"That could have been me too" Pause again, bigger smile.

"And that was definitely me"

"Well, that's for you to find out, big guy" and she hung up. I looked expectantly at her.

"That was Tank" No, really, never would have guessed with that smile on her face.

"What did he want?"

"He heard that I was shopping"

"And?"

"He wanted to know if I was the woman in a big sheet of white." That would be Mooners' first pick.

"And then he wanted to know if I had tried something red, since it was his favorite color." Mooners' second choice, although I doubt that Tank would still loved red if he had seen her in that outfit. There was simply too much red.

"And finally he heard some rumors about a sexy but classy black dress." I laughed at that. Wow, news definitely traveled fast today.

"And when he asked how sexy and classy I told him to find out for himself." She smiled.

"Dude, could we maybe get to the police station soon? There is this Star trek rerun starting at 5 that I don't want to miss." Mooner.

"No problem, we can leave now, and you will be back in front of the television in no time." I told him reassuringly. We gathered our bags and left.

--------

That night.

--------

I had checked myself in the mirror a few times. I was glad that none of the guys good see me now, I was actually really nervous. Since this afternoon I couldn't wait to see her, that dress must be really spectacular since I got a call within 5 minutes. It was time to leave. Since Ranger was gone I decided to take a chance and take one of his personal Porsches. I know there would be hell to pay if he found out (hell, who was I kidding. He always managed to find out everything, only Stephanie got to borrow his personal cars), but it was a nice opportunity to impress Lula. I was still surprised that Ranger had given Stephanie his car after she had destroyed the last couple he had given to her. And then the stay in his apartment… Tss, the man had it bad, but thanks to Lula I knew exactly why Ranger had been doing it. Some women are just worth it, and Lula was one of those women.

I rang the bell, she opened the door almost immediately and my mouth went dry. Wow! This was some dress. She looked damn classy in this outfit. And she had done something really nice with her hair as well. I held out the roses that I bought for her.

"Hi, you look wonderful" She blushed and accepted the flowers.

"You look nice too, I have never seen you in a suit before."

"I don't think I have seen you in a dress before. Give me a twirl" and I moved my finger in a little circle to show what I meant. Lula's smile turned in to a grin and I felt my pants tighten. Something was up. Slowly she started to move, swaying her hips with every little step that she took. First I didn't see much except for a really nice black dress on a beautiful woman. But when she was with her back to me and took another step I suddenly saw a part of her leg. A large part. Holy fuck, I was a dead man. This dress had a split on the side right up to her thigh. You didn't see it if she was standing still, but with every move it opened and revealed her leg. And it was on her left side, the side that would be to me in the car, the side that would be towards me when we were walking... I loved her for finding this dress, and I loved myself for putting on some tight boxers. This was going to be a great night!

Dinner was perfect, from what I remember. From the moment that she moved to get into the car I could only focus on the leg. It was right there next to me for the whole ride. I wanted to run my hand up and down her thigh, but that seemed like a bit forward. From her smile, I'd say she knew damn well what kind of reaction this dress was giving me. During dinner she had scooted closer and closer, until her bare leg was touching my trousers and I could feel her warmth through the thin material. She had enjoyed her food, and especially her dessert which had consisted of strawberries with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

"Mmmm, Tank, this is really good" she said in a low voice, slowly putting a strawberry dripping with chocolate in her mouth.

"Mmmm, delicious" I felt my control slipping. I hadn't lost control over a situation like this for years!

"Here, try some." She held a strawberry covered in chocolate and cream in front of me. I opened my mouth, but some of the cream smeared on my upper lip.

"Oops" she giggled and then her finger was there gently wiping it away, and she licked her finger while looking me deep into my eyes. I thought I would explode. Nobody had ever had this effect on me. In a way it was frightening, but I was loving every second of it. This was a whole new experience.

Lula was quiet on the way back to her house. When we were there, she looked at me and smiled.

"Would you like to come up?" Wow, straight for the jugular. Lots of thoughts flashed through my mind.

"Lula, I want to say a few things first, will you please let me finish before you respond?" She suddenly looked scared and angry.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Why are women always jumping to conclusions?

"No, absolutely not. I just want to make sure we are thinking the same thing" She relaxed a little at that.

"Okay, say what's on your mind big guy" I had to smile at that. She was the only one whom I allowed to call me that.

"Lula, I really like you, and the more I get to know you, the more I like you. I think you look absolutely gorgeous and drop-dead sexy tonight. In the past, if you were some woman I just met on a trip, I wouldn't hesitate to accept your invitation to come up. But I have learned my lesson. Besides, the last thing that I want right now is for you to think that I am that kind of man. I am interested in building up something more serious than that. But I need to know if you are interested in the same thing…" Did anybody say I was getting soft or what?

Lula looked at me with unreadable eyes for a long minute. Then she started to smile, and I felt relieved.

"Tank, my man, I was going to offer you something to drink" I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. Shit, shit, shit! She smiled softly.

"I am not that kind of woman, well, not anymore. I have learned my lesson too. So now it has to be one hell of a man to get between my sheets, but you definitely have the potential." Glad to know.

"So, yes, I am interested in you in a more serious way. Now how about that drink?" Yes, yes, yes!

"I'd love to have a drink with you, but could you please put something over your legs? I just can't control myself much longer with that dress"

"Tank, are you saying that one dress is already enough to bring you to your knees?"

"It is when you are wearing it"