Chapter 5

Stef waited outside as all of the kids were dismissed from the school Cars lined the curb as parents eagerly looked for their children. She smiled as some of the kids walked by to wave at her and stared slightly longer than usual at her uniform. Children always seemed to have found her appearance co fascinating and she didn't mind one bit.

She waited a few more moments and saw Lena coming out of the school with what appeared to be a slightly sad Mariana. They walked towards a brunet woman with glasses as her and Lena began speaking. Mariana seemed very resistant to be passed off as she still remained relatively close to Lena. She wasn't paying much attention to the conversation happening above her as she glanced around at all of the other kids and their parents around her.

Stef smiled at the little girl as her face illuminated and she ran over to the cop. Both women looked to Mariana to see where she was running off to. Lena felt her heart jump as she noticed Stef. She smiled as she watched Stef bend down to pick up the little girl and they began their own conversation.

"Do you know her?" Rita asked examining the two. Lena nodded still looking over to them. "Yes, she's a friend of mine. The school wanted extra security for the first week". Rita glanced at Lena then back at the two again. "A friend huh? Must have made a great impression on her. Mariana doesn't like just anyone".

Stef began to walk over to the women as she couldn't resist smiling at Lena. When she was close enough she put Mariana down and quickly smiled to Rita. "Hi, I'm uhm Officer Stef Foster. But Stef is fine with me". They shook hands as Rita smiled back "Hi Stef I'm Rita. I'm in charge of Mariana's group home. It's nice to meet you. But we should get going now. The other girls are waiting. We will see you tomorrow". Mariana gave Lena one last hug as she held onto tears. "Be strong, my sweet girl. We will be together again tomorrow, I promise," Lena whispered before letting go and the girl was led away.

Lea stood and looked over to Stef smiling and feeling slightly uncomfortable out in the open. "Did you need to get anything from inside?" Stef said sensing her nervousness. But it didn't bother her. She knew that there were a lot of factors and eyes at the current moment. Especially with them being outside of Lena's job and other police officers still around.

Most of the other officers were done after the lunch block, but besides Stef there were two other officers still there and she didn't want to make anything too obvious. Lena nodded her head and went to walk inside. "You aren't going to come with me?" Stef looked at the other two officers in the distance preparing to leave. "I'm going to wait out here, Love. You know, just keep an eye on the kids. I'll be right by the cruiser".

Grabbing her stuff from the classroom Lena could not describe the multiple feelings running through her body. But she could not shake the negative ones either. Like why Stef felt as though she couldn't come in with her. She understood the problem with Mason but they didn't have to be overly cautious. Then of course there was Mason. After she returned from being on the beach with Stef she has to call Mason with an excuse as to why she wouldn't be home right after work. She was able to convince him that she needed to stay late to fill out and organize paperwork. But this didn't go without an argument. She was absolutely positive that Mason found joy in making her stress out. But as she leaned against the side of her desk, she took a couple of deep breaths and pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind.

When she walked out of the school she saw that Stef had pulled the car around to the curb by the entrance. Her hair was once again freed and she took off her uniform shirt. She smiled as she leaned up against the car and watched Lena walking towards her. With most of the students and staff gone and with Stef being the only cop around they both appeared to be more relaxed and comfortable. She helped Lena settle into the police car before running to the driver's side and taking off.

"I hope you don't mind but I kinda want to stop by my place. I can't wait to get out of this uniform". Lena looked over and chuckled. "No I don't mind at all". Though she did believe that Stef looked great in uniform, she loved the time she got to see her out of it. Stef returned the smile and reached to grab Lena's hand, intertwining their fingers as she continued to drive.

Stef felt something strange beneath her palm and remembered seeing a cut or something on Lena's hand before. "What happened here love?" Holding Lena's hand she could feel Lena's pulse increasing. "Oh. I broke a vase and glass was everywhere. I'm pretty clumsy at times". As always Stef knew something was up with her but was afraid of knowing the truth. Sensing the worse Lena tried to pull her hand away but Stef wouldn't let go. She just raised it up to her lips and kissed the back of it a few times before holding it there. "So how was the rest of your day beautiful?" Stef said continuing to drive. Hopefully better now," Lena said with a wave of happiness washing over her.

Pulling up to Stef's apartment surprisingly caused Lena to feel extremely excited. She was desperate to know more about this woman and seeing someone's personal space such as their home was a perfect way to get to know someone.

Once they reached the apartment door, Stef began to feel a little apprehensive. The only people besides herself to ever step foot inside of her apartment were her mother and Mike. "I just want to warn you, it's not the best looking place," she said as she led Lena inside. Though Stef's warning threw her off, the apartment wasn't that bad; just not what she expected.

She walked in further taking in her surroundings as Stef sat her stuff down and offered Lena something to drink. The apartment was actually a surprisingly large and lavish size, especially for a single police officer. There were modern appliances, a glass dining room table, and across the apartment there were two plush couches by the large balcony doors. But besides that there was nothing. There weren't any pictures, painted walls, or any signs that Stef actually lived there. There were even some unpacked boxes pushed into one of the corners. The only reassuring clues were the random uniform shirts and pants thrown over the chairs.

Stef stepped beside Lena, handing her a glass of water. "Sorry. I wasn't really expecting to have anyone by". Stef grabbed Lena's belongings and walked to the bedroom with Lena in tow. "Did you just move in or something?" Lena was once again surprised as the bedroom seemed slightly out of place; considering that it was fully furnished and decorated in creams, golds, and other earthly colors and the smell of eucalyptus filled the room. "No my dad actually got me this place a year or two ago when he saw where I was living on my own salary. It's just so big and lonely at times. I mean there's a whole extra bedroom that I don't see the point of since it's just me. Not like I'm an office type of person. Besides it doesn't really feel like a home so I try not to be here most of the time". Stef said feeling a little awkward after revealing a part of herself.

She uncomfortably looked around as Lena watched her with a small smile placed on her face. Lena just couldn't resist anymore. She walked up to Stef and wrapped her arms around her neck as Stef placed hers around her waist. They locked eyes, both searching for something they both weren't quite sure of. Then Lena looked to her lips before closing her eyes and kissing her. The kiss started off slow, but then intensified as Stef couldn't hold back anymore. She deepened the kiss as they slipped each other their tongues and sucked on their lips. But yet it was Stef to break away first, not wanting to go too far too soon.

"I'm going to shower up. Make yourself comfortable. You can watch whatever you like", Stef said handing her the remote to her large mounted TV. Stef quickly grabbed her towel and made her way into the bathroom.

Lena took the time to look about the room. Unlike the rest of the apartment these four walls made her feel warm and secure. As if she knew the room inside and out. She began looking at the pictures Stef kept. There were pictures Stef kept. There were pictures of her parents and a couple from when she was younger. She had a candid picture of her and Mike in uniform laughing. There was even a picture of her at his wedding. She could only dream of having a close friend as that. After going over Stef's small collection of perfumes, trying to figure which she enjoyed wearing most often, she made her way to Stef's bed. She lay across the bed and thought to herself that it had to be the softest plushest bed she's ever been in. And every bit of it smelled just like her. "You seem very comfortable". Stef said smiling at the sight before her.

...

"Stef what is this place"? Lena asked as she walked alongside her with a couple of blankets, while Stef carried the food and a couple of insect repellent candles. They've driven about an hour's way out of town and Stef refused to tell her the destination until they got there.

The sky was changing into waves of oranges, pinks, and purples. To be honest Lena was enjoying the adventure and leaving her troubles behind. "I try to come here at least once every couple of weeks. It helps to clear my mind". They arrived to a large field where everyone was sitting on hills and at the bottom there was a small stage occupied by a band playing a mixture of jazz and instrumental covers. There were vendors and amateur photographers walking around. And kids running around with glow sticks.

They laid out the larger blanket and lit the candles as they shared the other blanket around their shoulders. They smiled at the people around them and engaged in light conversation as they held hands and ate their food. They felt as if they were in a different world as it the hills and the music granted a spell that housed them to feel safe and for once like themselves.

Stef looked at some of the couples dancing to the slow music and the way Lena looked at them. She stood up and reached out her hand. "Can I have this dance with you, Lena?" Lena looked to Stef slightly shocked that she would want to dance with her but definitely was not willing to refuse. She took hold of her hand as Stef pulled her to her feet. They held each other close as they swayed to the music. In that moment everyone on that hill disappeared.

Undenounced to them a photographer came by to take their picture; admiring them and snapping different angles. It wasn't until the music stopped that they both noticed him. "You two are a beautiful couple. Take a look!" They laughed as they looked at the images, neither correcting him. "I can send them to you". Stef gave the young looking man her email and talked to him about how he couldn't include the pictures on any public site or paper considering that she's a cop.

Lena looked at the clock tower behind him. 8:55. That time couldn't be right. Mason got out of work at 8:30 and there's no way he would believe that she was at the school this late. Plus she still needed to get her car. Her head was spinning as she began to panic. "Lena? Are you ok?" She looked at Stef as her heart continued to race. "Stef, I have to get home. Can you please give me to my car?" Stef seeing the complete fear in her eyes didn't want to question it. She just wanted to ease whatever feeling was happening to Lena in that moment. She quickly gathered everything and practically ran behind Lena to the car.

The whole ride she could practically feel the anxiety radiating off of Lena. She would tell her what was wrong or even speak to her, she just kept saying that she had to get home. Stef had to continuous run Lena's knee to keep her from tapping a hole into the floor.

10:05. Lena practically jumped out of the car once they pulled into the parking lot of Anchor Beach. "Lena!" Stef stopped the car and ran out after her. "Lena wait! Let me come with you!"

"No Stef. You work with him. He can't know that we know each other. It's ok. I will be ok. I will call you as soon as I can. But I have to get home now." Stef didn't want to argue, but she was scared and didn't know what to do. She just pulled her in tight and kissed the side of her head. "As soon as you get a chance, Love." Lena nodded and quickly got in the car and pulled away.

...

The next morning Stef practically ran into the building. She didn't receive a call or even a text back from Lena. She rejected all of her phone calls and messages. Stef just had a funny feeling and just needed to see her.

"Stef!" she heard from behind her. She turned to see Mariana running up to her. "Is Lena with you?" the young girl whispered as Stef picked her up. "No, sweetheart why would she be with me?" The little girls eyes began to water and she started to panic. "Something is wrong then. She promised I would see her today and she's not here. They have a sub and she never misses school". Stef's entire heart fell straight to the ground.