Chapter 7
"I'm so sorry I couldn't meet you at the airport," Raven apologized as she held Chelsea's hand, leading her further into her home after a long hello kiss.
"It's okay," Chelsea said as she continued to follow Raven. Her flight to L.A hadn't taken long, but it was long enough for her fears about dating a celebrity to come to the forefront again. She had been spoiled in getting to know Raven on her own turf in San Francisco, but L.A. had a different vibe.
"I have a few last minute meetings this afternoon and my parents will be in town later. I hope you don't mind if we have dinner with them. After that I was thinking that maybe you and I could go out for drinks," the designer said before finally leading them to her bedroom so she could finish getting ready.
"Sounds good." The detective looked around as Raven moved back and forth between the bedroom and the adjoining bathroom. The bedroom was at least twice as big as her own. "I thought you had people to help you with this sort of thing," she said as she played with some of the jewelry strewn about.
Raven smiled as she slid a bracelet over her hand. "Sometimes I do. My stylist was here earlier." She knew Chelsea had lots of questions and she didn't blame her. She liked to think of herself as a normal person, but she knew that fame opened up doors to a lifestyle that would be foreign to the average person.
Finally finished, she gave a small twirl and held out her arms. "Well, how do I look?"
Chelsea stood from where she had been sitting on the bed and moved in front of her. "Do you really have to ask?" she said as she brought a hand to Raven's face and kissed her lips softly. "You're beautiful."
"You make me feel beautiful," Raven smiled before returning the kiss. It was so easy to forget about the rest of the world when she was with Chelsea and she nearly did before remembering her obligations. She ended the kiss reluctantly.
"You should get going or you're going to be late," Chelsea said.
"Okay," the designer breathed, ready to swoon at the way Chelsea made her feel. "I hate that you just got here and I have to leave you already."
"It's okay," Chelsea smiled. "I know you have a lot to do before tomorrow. I'll just give myself a tour and make myself at home."
"Please, do," Raven said seriously. "I shouldn't be gone for more than a few hours.
Chelsea walked Raven to the door and it felt strangely as if they had been doing it forever. With a final kiss goodbye, she turned to look around the spacious home before deciding to find the kitchen.
A couple of hours had passed since Raven left and Chelsea found it surprisingly easy to make herself at home. The kitchen was stocked full of groceries and she helped herself to a big lunch, wondering if it was just a coincidence that so many of her favorites were available.
She had texted a few pictures to Eddie, knowing that he would get a kick out of the beautiful home she was staying in. He and Raven had gotten off to a shaky start, but ever since she helped him figure things out with Chantel, he had suddenly become her number one fan.
With her tour of the house complete, Chelsea relaxed on the couch to watch television. As she flicked through the channels, she heard the sound of the front door opening. Thinking that Raven had returned early, she went to greet her, but was alarmed as she saw a young man standing in the foyer instead. He was dressed nicely in a pair of shorts, a polo shirt and very expensive looking shoes.
"Who are you?" she asked rather rudely. Raven hadn't told her to expect anyone and her instincts as a police officer immediately kicked in.
The young man turned around startled and took his sunglasses off. "I could ask you the same thing," he said, his voice deep as he eyed the redhead suspiciously.
"I asked you first," Chelsea said, still suspicious.
"I asked you second," he returned.
Chelsea continued to stare him down, but then it suddenly occurred to her who he was. "Cory?" she asked cautiously.
"How do you know my name?"
"You're Raven's brother…I'm sorry. My name is Chelsea. I'm a friend of your sister's. She didn't tell me you were coming," Chelsea explained, feeling slightly guilty. She finally recognized him from some of the pictures she saw while exploring the house and Raven had mentioned him on a few previous occasions.
Cory seemed to relax a little as he moved further into the room. "That's because she didn't know I was coming," he said with grin.
Chelsea watched as he breezed past her and she followed him as he made a beeline for the kitchen.
"So, how do you know my sister?" came the disembodied voice from behind the refrigerator door.
The detective watched as he finally reappeared with an armful of food and sat it on the counter. "Um…we've been dating," she answered.
Cory smirked as he began making a sandwich, wondering how his sister always managed to get the pretty ones. "Well, whatever Raven has told you about me…don't believe it."
Raven entered her home later that afternoon to the sound of laughter and hurried into the living room to find Chelsea and her brother sitting on the couch.
"So after Raven and my dad finally got the blue stain off their faces…"
"I know you are not in here trying to embarrass me in front of my girlfriend," Raven interrupted as she came further into the room.
Chelsea smiled brightly when she saw the designer and her heart beat faster at being called Raven's girlfriend.
"It's what I do best," Cory smiled as he dodged a smack to the back of the head.
Raven was secretly excited to see her brother, but she didn't let on. He stayed pretty busy with his own life, but it meant a lot to her when he came to support her. She'd burn a pair of Prada's before she told him that though.
"I hope my brother hasn't been boring you to death," Raven said before leaning down to kiss Chelsea lightly.
"No, but he did tell me about the time you got in trouble for smart mouthing a teacher," Chelsea laughed.
Raven shot her brother a murderous glare before making her way into the kitchen.
"I'll finish telling you later," Cory whispered with a wink.
"Cory Baxter, look at the mess you made in my kitchen, boy!" Raven yelled.
"How do you know it was me? Chelsea's been here all day," he yelled back.
"Hey!" Chelsea said, following after them into the kitchen.
Chelsea was nervous as she sat at the restaurant with Raven and Cory waiting for their parents to join them. Her leg bounced under the table and she looked up when she felt a hand on her knee.
"Chels, they're going to love you," Raven smiled, trying to reassure her.
Chelsea returned the smile, but she was still nervous.
"Here they come," Cory said as he stood up to greet them. It had been a few months since he had last seen them.
Chelsea watched as the Baxter's greeted each other happily and stood up to do the same when curious eyes turned to her.
"Mom, Dad, this is Chelsea," Raven introduced with a smile.
The detective was happy to see that Raven's parents were all smiles and they welcomed her with hugs. The group finally sat down and Chelsea was glad to listen quietly while the family caught up.
"So, Cory," Victor said to his son, "How's business?"
"Great!" he said excitedly. "You can't tell anyone," he said, lowering his voice and looking around suspiciously, "but William and I are this close to striking a huge deal with the makers of Game Ball. William created some software that's gonna take gaming to an entirely new level."
"Wow, I'm impressed," Victor said as he looked at his wife. They were very proud of how successful their children had become.
"Did Raven tell you guys that Chelsea here was a cop?" Cory asked, changing the subject.
"Not just a cop, a detective," Raven corrected proudly.
"Wow, that sounds pretty exciting," Tonya said.
"Yeah, got any cool stories?" Victor asked.
Chelsea thought for a moment. "Well, there was this suspect who liked to steal all of the ice trays from the homes he robbed. When we finally caught the guy, his garage was filled with ice trays and labeled according to what address he stole them from. He liked to call himself Mr. Freeze."
Everyone laughed and Chelsea glanced over at Raven, glad that everything was going well.
A short while later, everyone had ordered and Raven excused herself to take an important call.
"So, Chelsea," Raven's mom said with a smile, "How did you and Raven meet?" Tonya had a good feeling about Chelsea, the complete opposite of how she felt about Jordan the first time she met her.
"It was actually the night her home got broken into," Chelsea explained, completely unaware that Raven hadn't shared that bit of information with her family.
"What? Broken into? When did this happen?" came the sudden questions.
"Umm…"
Raven chose that moment to return to the table and she could immediately tell that the mood had changed. Her parents and brother looked upset and Chelsea just looked guilty.
"Okay, what did I miss?" she asked as she retook her seat next to Chelsea.
"Raven, I'm so sorry about earlier. I didn't know," Chelsea said later, from the passenger seat of Raven's car.
After dinner, everyone had made their way back to the house. Raven's parents settled in while Raven and Chelsea changed to go have drinks. Cory had already left to go and meet some friends of his own.
"Chels, don't worry. It was my fault for not telling them sooner," the designer said. "Besides, now my parents really love you because they think you're my hero."
Chelsea laughed. "Well, I'd hardly call myself a hero. We haven't even figured out who did it yet." A fact which still bothered her, but she didn't say anything, not wanting to scare Raven.
"Well, as far as they're concerned, you're my new bodyguard."
"Bodyguard, huh?" Chelsea said as she smoothed her hand down Raven's thigh. "I think I can handle that."
Raven grinned at the detective before turning her attention back to the road.
Chelsea was starting to get a little nervous as they drove deeper into the city. The sun was setting and as they pulled up to the club, she could see that there were tons of people milling about. Stepping out of the car, she felt very out of place as she looked around at everyone. Cameras were flashing everywhere. The loud music could be heard thumping from inside and she quickly looked around to find Raven, who was busy handing over her keys to the valet.
"You okay?" Raven asked as she finally joined the redhead.
"Yeah, I'm good…it's just a little more hectic than I expected," she explained.
"I know. I'm sorry. We can go somewhere else if you want," Raven said, realizing that Chelsea wasn't used to all of this.
"No," Chelsea said, shaking her head adamantly. "This is fine." She wasn't going to let her fears take over. She was a cop for goodness sake. Surely, she could handle a busy night club.
But she became more and more uncomfortable as Raven led her further inside. The designer seemed completely in her element though. They stopped to say hello to a few people before finally making their way to a table near the back. A waitress came over a few minutes later and took their drink orders.
"See, it's not so bad," Raven said, leaning close so she could be heard over the loud music. Chelsea smiled and she placed a quick kiss on the redhead's lips.
"Well, well, well, look who it is."
Raven turned around to see Alana Rivera, Bianca Ramirez and Loka Edwards standing by their table. "Just great," she mumbled to herself. They were the last people she wanted to see. Alana was dressed in a tight, short red dress and stilettos to match. Bianca's was dressed similarly in black and Loka stood tall in a pants outfit behind them.
Chelsea took in the three women who were busy staring Raven down. She didn't become a detective by not knowing how to read people. Her instincts as a police officer were kicking in and she felt herself becoming protective of Raven.
"What's up, Raven?" Loka said. "Aren't you gonna ask us to join you?"
Before Raven could answer, they were already seating themselves at the table.
"So, Baxter, who's you're friend?" Bianca asked.
Raven sighed. "Alana, Bianca, Loka…this is Chelsea."
They barely looked her way before deciding to question Raven some more.
"Haven't seen you around in a long time, Raven. What have you been up to?" Alana asked.
"You know how it is," Raven answered a bit condescendingly. "Not much time for socializing when you have a new line coming out." Alana was also a fashion designer, but she had never quite been as successful as Raven had. She and Raven had even interned together for a short while, but Donna Cobanna always favored Raven over Alana and it caused a rift in their friendship. Bianca was a spoiled socialite and Loka was a model, but they had been Alana's goons for as long as she could remember.
This was not how Raven wanted her time with Chelsea to go, but just before she could suggest they leave, Bianca spoke again.
"Don't look now, Baxter, but it looks like your old flame just showed up," Bianca said as she threw a smirk Alana's way.
"Awkward," Loka said in a sing song voice as the three laughed.
Raven immediately looked toward the door to see Jordan strolling through with her entourage. "Of all the clubs in this city, she just had to pick this one," the designer said. This was supposed to be a happy time for her. She was in a new relationship with a beautiful, caring woman and her new clothing line was coming out. The last thing she wanted or needed was drama.
Chelsea looked at Raven and could see the stress washing over her. Deciding that she'd had enough of the three stooges, she stood up and pulled Raven with her. "Come on," she smiled. "Let's go dance." The detective never considered herself much of a party girl, but if letting loose a little would help to salvage the night then she'd do it for Raven.
The designer smiled as the detective led her out to the dance floor amongst the other gyrating bodies. A new song by Trey from Boyz N Motion was blasting. She was here to have fun with Chelsea and she decided she wasn't going to let anyone ruin that. Her focus stayed on the redhead as they danced, which wasn't hard considering how sexy she looked in a pair of tight jeans and a snug blouse.
After a few songs, they moved to the bar for a much needed drink. Chelsea leaned both elbows against the bar and Raven stood close with an arm thrown across the redhead's waist as they waited. So engrossed in the showmanship of the bartender, neither woman noticed when Jordan approached.
"Hey, Raven," came the smooth, silky voice.
Raven was hoping to avoid the supermodel tonight and she had almost forgotten she was there, but fate had other plans. She slowly turned around to face her. "Hi, Jordan." It was the first time she had seen her since the breakup.
Chelsea watched quietly as the two women greeted each other. There was no denying how beautiful Jordan was. She trusted Raven when she said things were over between them, but somehow she still felt like the third wheel.
"Do you think we could find someplace quiet to talk for minute?" Jordan asked.
Raven wasn't sure she wanted to. What else was there left to say? Jordan had made her feelings pretty clear when they broke up. "Actually, Jordan, I…"
"Raven, it's okay," Chelsea said. "Listen, I'm going to head to the ladies room and you two can talk," she said close to Raven's ear.
Raven was touched by the trust she saw in Chelsea's eyes and nodded. A part of her was curious about what Jordan could possibly have to say. She squeezed Chelsea's hand in thanks and left with Jordan.
Chelsea watched them for a few moments before finally making her way to the restroom. There was a short line and she waited patiently for her turn.
"You know, if I were you, I'd keep a better eye on my girlfriend."
Chelsea turned around to see Alana standing next to her. She didn't respond to her, but she didn't back down either.
"I'm just sayin'," Alana shrugged. "They used to be pretty hot and heavy. I mean, Raven was even thinking about marrying Jordan. She had the ring picked out and everything."
Chelsea brow furrowed slightly. Raven hadn't told her that part. She knew Raven was in love with Jordan, but she had no idea she had intentions of marrying the woman. A year was a long time, but she wondered if it was long enough to get over the person you had plans of spending the rest of your life with.
"Line's moving," Alana said, smiling smugly as she cut in front of Chelsea.
There was no escaping the loud music, but Raven and Jordan found a somewhat quiet corner to talk in.
"So how have you been?" Jordan asked, all of her attention focused on the designer.
"I've been good, Jordan…happy," Raven said. She held her breath as Jordan reached out to brush some hair away from her face.
"I'm glad. You look beautiful," the model said sincerely.
"So do you, Jordan," Raven returned. It was certainly true.
"Listen, I know things didn't end very well with us, but I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry," Jordan said.
Raven was surprised by the apology. Jordan's behavior had been so awful. "Why did you do it?" Raven asked, her eyes glistening as she remembered the pain she felt.
Jordan reached out to take Raven's hand. "I was going through so much stuff at the time. My family didn't respect my choices, work was getting to me…everything was just so stressful," she explained.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Raven asked. "You know I would have done anything for you."
"I know," Jordan said, squeezing Raven's hand tighter and pulling her a little closer. "I was an idiot to throw away what we had. Raven…I still love you," she confessed. "And I know that there has to be some part of you that still loves me, too."
Raven looked down at the drink in her hand. She couldn't believe they were having this conversation. There might have been a time when she would have been willing to give things another chance, but Jordan had been so awful to her. She would be a fool to give up what she had with Chelsea.
"Jordan, I can't deny that you and I had some good times," the designer said as she continued looking down at her drink, "and there will always be a part of me that cares about you, but…"
Raven was startled when she felt soft fingers tilting her chin up and even softer lips pressing against her own. The kiss was very familiar and it immediately took her back to the special moments she and Jordan had shared, but as the kiss started to deepen, she pulled away suddenly.
Chelsea finished washing her hands and left the bathroom where Alana was still busy checking her makeup in the mirror. Although she had been nervous about entering Raven's life, she wasn't going to let comments from troublemakers like Alana scare her off. Her and Raven's relationship was new and there was still plenty to learn about each other. She was confident that the designer had been honest with her so far and she wasn't going to stop trusting her now.
The amount of people in the club seemed to have doubled while she was in the bathroom. Walking a little further into the crowd, she continued to look around for the designer. Just as she was about to give up and pull out her phone to send a text, she spotted Raven and Jordan in the far corner. As she began making her way to them, she stopped short when she saw Jordan pull Raven into a kiss, but the heartbreak only came when she saw that Raven wasn't pulling away.
"Guess they're still hot and heavy."
Chelsea looked over to see Alana standing next to her once again.
"I have a feeling you're not going to be able to compete with a supermodel," Alana said, getting one last dig in before she left.
With one last glance at Raven and Jordan who were now talking together closely, she made her way to the entrance.
"Don't tell me you didn't feel anything?" Jordan said.
"I did feel something," Raven said as she pulled her hand away, severing any contact. "I felt memories and that's all there is left of us, Jordan. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and find my girlfriend."
Raven suddenly felt angry at Jordan for thinking that all it would take was a kiss for her to be swept off her feet again after everything she did. All she wanted to do was find Chelsea and leave.
Making her way to the bathroom, she called out for her, but got no answer. After sending a text to the detective's phone, she continued looking around, but didn't see her. She was starting to get a little worried. With a sigh, she made her way over to the table where Alana, Bianca and Loka were sitting.
"Have you guys seen, Chelsea?" she asked reluctantly. Her brow furrowed when they laughed.
"Raven, girl, looks like you and Jordan were getting pretty cozy," Loka said.
"Look, have you guys seen, Chelsea or not?" she asked again, becoming angry.
"Yeah, we saw her," Alana said with a smirk. "And unfortunately for you, she saw you and Jordan all over each other."
Raven felt nauseous as the news sunk in. She hurried to the entrance followed by the sound of Alana's laughter.
Chelsea was glad that she decided to pack light as she tried to make her way down the steps quietly. Cory had fallen asleep on the couch and she wanted to make her escape without anyone knowing. She had taken a cab back to Raven's house and was glad to find the front door unlocked.
She cursed softly when one of the floor boards creaked and looked over to see that Cory was waking up.
"Chelsea?" came the tired voice. "What's going on?" he asked as he stood up.
"Um, something came up at work," she told him. "I've got to catch a flight back tonight. Raven already knows."
"Oh, well that sucks. You're gonna miss Raven's show tomorrow," he said.
Chelsea felt guilty, but the memory of her and Jordan kissing reaffirmed her decision to leave. "Please let everyone know that I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to say goodbye."
"Sure thing," he said, smiling sleepily.
Chelsea hugged him goodbye and made her way to the airport, the cab still waiting outside for her.
