The Third Time

Another three years passed. Terry had got himself made sergeant on the Drugs squad. He was divorced and living on his own in a flat nearby. He hadn't seen or spoken to Pamela since everything got finalized. He also hadn't spoken to Bernice since her final day on Homicide before her sergeant's training. He saw her in the halls sometimes, heard her name mentioned. He did his best to ignore her.

But sometimes the gossip was too good to tune out.

"You hear about Waverley? Apparently her husband walked out. Can you believe that? I know she's a ball-buster, but they've got a little kid. Can't see how she's gonna fair now."

Terry's head snapped to attention to hear the uniformed officers talking in the lift. So Jack had finally left. Miracle he stuck around this long, playing dad to a kid that wasn't his. But maybe Bernice had convinced him to stay. Terry realized suddenly that he knew nothing about Bernice's child. His child. Didn't know if it was a boy or girl, the name, health, anything. Terry hadn't contributed anything. Bernice hadn't asked. But he hadn't offered either. Maybe he should. And now that she was available, maybe he could get her back in the sack. He'd dated around a fair bit the last few years, but he'd yet to find a woman as good as her. He smirked to himself, letting himself imagine her again.

Bernice was in her office, working on reviewing a report to the DPP, when the door opened without a knock. She looked up to give someone a bollocking over the disrespectful behavior and saw the last face she ever wanted to see.

"There's nothing my crew is working on that involves the Drugs squad, so kindly bugger off," she told him.

"I need to talk to you, Bernice," he said, closing the door behind him and ignoring her annoyance. "I heard about Jack."

"That is none of your business," she replied angrily.

"I think it is my business. Is he supporting you? And the kid?"

"We don't need him. And we certainly don't need you. You've done a good job ignoring us the last few years, and that suits everyone just fine. Besides, your wife might notice if you start trying to get involved now."

"Haven't got a wife. Told her it was over the same day you told me about the baby."

Bernice felt her heart sink into her stomach. "You…you never told me."

"You never asked."

They were at a stalemate. Staring at each other. Each of them begging for the other to say something but praying they wouldn't say anything at all. In the end, it was Terry who broke the moment. He gave a curt nod and walked out of Bernice's office.

Feeling all out of sorts, Terry went out for a drink after the day was done. He had it in mind to drown his sorrows, whatever those sorrows might have been. Nothing had really changed. There was no reason to be upset about anything. What had he expected? That she'd come crawling back to him? Bernice wasn't that sort of woman. She didn't need him. For a time, she'd wanted him. But she had never needed him, and she never would. And for that matter, Terry didn't need her either. He did just fine on his own.

The noisy din of the bar made him irritable. He paid his tab and drove himself home before he'd had too many. He felt calmer in the silence of his car. He'd go to bed and tomorrow would be back to the usual sort of thing. Enough of all this.

But that plan was quickly foiled. There was someone standing in the hall beside the door to his flat. "How'd you know where I live?"

"I have access to personnel records, Terry," Bernice pointed out softly. "Now, are you going to report me for improper use of the police database or are you going to let me in?"

Terry eyed her suspiciously but unlocked the door and let her inside his flat. "Shouldn't you be going home to your kid?"

"The babysitter can stay till ten."

There was a tone in her voice that made Terry shiver. "What're you doing here, Bernice?" he asked.

"After you came by my office, I got to thinking. We're both single now. We've never been both single before."

Terry wanted to point out that they'd both been single at the academy, but even then, he with Pamela and foolishly optimistic about what the future might hold. What a bloody waste. But Bernice was right, they were both single now. "So what does that have to do with it? Never mattered much before."

Bernice wouldn't let herself agree with him, even if it was true. She just hummed. "What do you think, Terry? Old time's sake?"

A smiled curled over his lips and his eyes darkened. He leaned in close and murmured, "You show up at my flat for a shag, Bernice?"

She blushed in spite of herself. "You gonna turn me down?"

"Not bloody likely," he scoffed.

And with that, Bernice grabbed the lapels of his jacked and pulled him down to kiss her. They were out of practice, but the habit came back quickly. They stumbled together down the hall to Terry's bedroom, bumping into walls on the way but never ceasing their hungry kiss.

Terry felt all the blood rush out of his brain and down to his groin. It felt mad, being with her again. Bernice was pushing his clothes off his body, removing her own as quickly as she could. Terry could barely get his hands on her. She was eager and powerful and she wanted him. And Christ, did it feel good.

Bernice got them both naked as quick as possible, wanting to push forward and get to it before she came to her senses and lost her nerve. A lot had happened in three years. She hadn't been with a man since Terry, but she certainly wasn't going to tell him that. When she told Jack she was pregnant, he'd nearly walked out then. But Bernice painted a good picture of what life would be like for him, leaving his pregnant wife who was a cop to boot. Not that she'd ever use her influence to make his life difficult, but the threat of it was enough to keep Jack at home. But he'd never wanted to be a father, still fought with her as often as possible, and resented every single second of it. And she suffered through it because she thought she needed him. She thought she needed the support of a person in the house, a father for her child. But the first time she saw Jack raise a hand to the baby, she put an end to it. She let the rumor go around that her husband had left her—that was a more sympathetic angle, after all—but she had been the one to kick him out then and there. He could hate her all he wanted, but she would die before she let anything happen to her child.

For now, her child was in capable hands. After she got her fill with Terry, she'd go home and that would be that. Seeing Terry again that afternoon, talking to him, it all came back. The rush she always got when he looked at her, the way his gaze was always soft with care and hard with lust. Miraculous how those always seemed to go hand in hand for Terry. At least when it came to her. Just hearing his voice say her name again made her wet with arousal. It had been so long since she'd given any thought to physical pleasure. She had more important things to be concerned with. But Terry brought it all back to her. And if he wasn't married anymore, that made the logistics of a tumble in bed all the more convenient. He lived alone, and she had the babysitter till ten.

She pushed him back on the bed, marveling at how he'd been able to keep his physique after being made sergeant. Desk work had made her fat. Though that probably had more to do with the baby weight she never managed to lose. Terry didn't have that problem. Bernice was concerned, for a moment, about the drastic changes to her body since the last time Terry had seen her. Her hips were wider, her middle had rolls, and her bum sagged almost as much as her tits did. That baby thoroughly ravaged her, but until this exact moment, she hadn't thought to be bothered by it.

Bernice needn't have been concerned. Terry lay back and stared at her in all her glory, slack-jawed and growing hard as a rock. She was incredible. Always had been. And he'd missed her. "Come here," he growled, reaching out to her.

She crawled over the bed to straddle his lap. She wasn't in the mood for much foreplay. After all, she had a timetable to keep. She gave him a few hard strokes before sinking down on top of him.

Terry roared as she took him in. The feel of her was like nothing else in the world. His hands traveled up the flesh of her thighs to her hips and gripped her tightly. Bernice began to move, slowly at first, grinding on him. Terry continued his journey of exploration, over the curve of her waist and took her breasts in his hands, feeling their weight and teasing her with exploratory squeezes of his fingers. She moaned at the sensation. Everything felt different after the baby, but it was so very, very good.

As she began to ride him in earnest, Terry called out her name over and over, like some glorious, filthy benediction from his lips. Bernice braced herself on his chest, delighting in the hard muscle she found here. But thanks to her age and the fact that she was woefully out of shape and out of practice, she tired quickly. She leaned forward, changing their angle. Terry caught her nipple in his mouth, grazing it with his teeth. He clutched her ass in his hands and guided her movements. She came quickly after that, and Terry thrust up into her furiously to follow soon after.

Bernice collapsed on top of him, sweaty and exhausted and unable to move. Terry wrapped his arms around her to hold her against his chest. He pressed a kiss to her hair.

As they struggled to catch their breath, Terry found himself a bit loose-lipped. "Tell me about the kid," he said. Immediately, he regretted it. He'd just gotten Bernice back in his arms and in his bed and now he was going to muck it all up again while he was still inside her.

But Bernice wasn't bothered by the request. It made her smile. "His name is Joshua. Joshua Martin, after my dad. He's two and a half now. And he's the sweetest little thing. Looks like me, thankfully. But he's got dark hair, like my dad did. He's so young, but he has this outstanding compassion about him. And a stubborn streak I cannot fathom. He's already quite a handful."

Terry couldn't help but grin. The way Bernice described her son—their son—felt an awful lot like how he'd hope someone might describe him. "He's healthy? Happy?"

"He's both of those things, yes."

"Good." Terry wanted to say a whole lot more than that, but he wouldn't push his luck. That would come in time.

Bernice wanted to stay right where she was forever. Naked and sated, nestled in Terry's arms. But unfortunately, this wasn't where she belonged. "Here, I'm crushing you," she said, climbing off him with a few unflattering grunts of effort.

Terry didn't want to let her go, but it would be best to make a move if she had to get back to Josh. Still, he couldn't keep his hands to himself. He let her roll off him, but his arms snaked back around her waist, his hands rubbing up and down her thigh and hip. "You're gorgeous," he murmured, kissing her neck.

She had to laugh, not having felt anything close to gorgeous in years. "You look exactly the same, and I got fat."

"Gorgeous," he insisted, squeezing her a bit tighter for emphasis.

Bernice nearly let her reaction to that sentiment slip from her lips, but she kept her mouth shut. None of that. "Terry, I've gotta go," she reminded him.

He sighed and reluctantly released her. "Yeah, I know."

She got out of bed and slipped into the bathroom to clean herself up a bit, just enough so she could go home and not have to answer questions from the babysitter. When she returned, Terry was sitting up on the edge of the bed wearing his trunks. Her clothes were folded in a pile beside him. She smiled in thanks and got dressed as he watched. "Thanks," she said.

"Any time. You know where I live now. All you gotta do is tell me when you wanna come over," he offered.

But Bernice shook her head. "We cannot go back to that, Terry. This was a…a one-time thing."

"Is that so?" he asked flatly.

"We're sergeants now. We answer to a higher ethical standard. And if either one of us wants to be made superintendent anytime soon, we've gotta keep our noses clean. And I've got Josh to think about."

"I meant what I said about that earlier," he interjected.

"I know you did," she replied gently. "But the answer's the same. Josh doesn't need any more changes in his little life. He's doing alright since Jack left. I don't want to confuse him any further. And we don't need money. We're alright."

"So you come for a shag and won't take anything from me? Worried we might be getting on the wrong side of Vice?"

Bernice pursed her lips at the insinuation that having sex and then accepting child support from him might be anything akin to prostitution. "You haven't changed at all, have you?" she spat.

Terry just shrugged. "You know where the door is, Bernice. Your choice if you want to slam it shut behind you."

And that's what she did.