"Muncy, I'm going to give you an address. The woman that lives there used to be a detective here. I want you to tell her that I need her to come in. She worked on a similar case a few years ago," Detective Benson said. Grace nodded and took the small piece of paper.
After about forty-five minutes of driving, Grace found a parking spot. She walked up the steps and double-checked the number on the door. She peeked inside the window and saw a lesbian pride flag hanging on the wall. She inhaled sharply, remembering the picture she had seen of the woman she was supposed to be bringing in. She exhaled and pulled her hair out of the rubber band it was in. She ran a hand through it, wishing she'd thought more about her appearance before she got out of the car. She bit her lip and knocked on the door. The door opened and the woman smiled.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"Detective Grace Muncy. Captain Benson asked me to bring you in to help with a case," Grace mumbled. The woman laughed.
"Kat Tamin," she said softly. "Let me grab my bag, and you can give me a ride there," she said. Grace nodded.
"Damn it, brain, work," Grace muttered as Kat turned around and walked back into her apartment. She walked down the stairs and took several deep breaths.
"Ready?" Kat asked. Grace nodded and led her to her car. They got in and Grace started the car.
"Don't look over. Don't look to your right. Focus on the road," Grace thought to herself as she pulled onto the main road.
"So what's the case?" Kat asked.
"Sexual assault," Grace mumbled.
"I figured that, silly. Why does Benson want me to come in?" Grace bit her lip. Silly.
"Um. She said it was similar to one you worked on. Same methods…" she mumbled. She felt a hand touch her arm.
"Are you okay?" Kat asked softly. Grace's heart was pounding.
"Uh, uh huh," she mumbled. Kat was touching her arm. She came to a stop at the red light and opened the bottle of water in her cup holder. She took a swig and tried to think straight. "Sorry. She said it resembled the Jacobson case and you would be able to help," she said softly.
"Ugh. That guy," she said, leaning back a little.
Grace pulled into a parking spot and got out of the car. She grabbed her badge and led Kat inside the building. Kat greeted the rest of the team and went over to the whiteboard.
"Yeah, it's definitely the same guy. We can probably expect another rape tonight if we don't catch him," she said. Grace bit her lip and sat on her desk. Kat sat next to her and smiled softly.
"Why'd you take your hair down?" Fin asked.
"I always wear my hair like this," Grace said, eyeing him sharply. Fin immediately realized what was going on and fought a laugh.
"Kat, how are things going with your girlfriend?" Benson asked. Grace felt like a thousand knives had stabbed her in the stomach. Girlfriend. Kat had a girlfriend.
"Actually, we broke up two months ago," she said softly. Grace didn't know what to feel now.
"Aw, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Fin asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It was mutual," she said softly. Just then Velasco walked in with a woman.
"This is Jacobson's girlfriend. She wants to testify in exchange for protection," he said.
"Well, we can certainly work that out. Why don't you go with Detective Muncy and Kat to the interrogation room," Benson said softly.
"I'm going to run to the bathroom real quick," Grace said softly. She darted into the bathroom and leaned against the wall. She took several deep breaths, then went up to the sinks and splashed water on her face.
"Detective Muncy," Benson said, opening the door.
"Yes?" Grace asked nervously.
"Are you capable of doing your job or not?" she asked.
"Of course I am, Captain,"
"Well, then you need to get your ass in the interrogation room. Kat isn't allowed to question that girl," she said.
"Sorry," she whispered. She splashed water on her face again and walked out. She went into the interrogation room and sat down in the empty chair. She saw Kat's eyes wander over her body and she gulped.
"So, um, your boyfriend leaves for long periods of time. You never found that weird?" Grace asked.
"I mean, yeah, but I trusted him. I guess it was misplaced, but…"
"Hey," Kat whispered. "It's not your fault," she whispered. "You had no idea. And you're doing the right thing by helping us," she said softly.
"Are you gonna charge me?"
"We're going to do everything we can to avoid it."
Two weeks later, Jacobson had been found guilty. Grace had considered asking Kat to dinner or something simple like that, but she had chickened out every time she'd had the opportunity.
She went into the bathroom and checked her reflection in the sink. She had worn her hair down every day of the two weeks, and it was starting to drive her crazy. She ran a hand through it and sighed. She jumped when the door opened and Kat walked in. She stared directly at the counter and tried to keep her breathing steady.
"Want to answer one question for me?" Kat asked, walking up next to her.
"What's up?" Grace asked.
"Why have you been acting so weird?" Kat asked. "Did I do something?"
"No!" Grace said immediately. "No, I swear," she said softly.
"Then what is it?" she murmured. Grace took a shaky breath as Kat reached over and touched her hand gently.
"Do you think that maybe, um, you would possibly want to, um, go get dinner or something?" Grace asked shyly. Kat grinned.
"I don't see why not," she said softly. Grace was fighting every urge in her body to push Kat against the wall and kiss her. She grinned.
"How about six tonight?" she suggested. Kat grinned.
"How about the pizza place in the mall? We can go do the glow in the dark mini golf afterwards," she suggested. Grace nodded and grinned.
Grace went home and immediately opened her closet door. She tried to figure out how to dress. The pizza place in the mall was by no means formal, but she wanted to look hot. She decided on a pair of loose ripped jeans and a black cropped halter top over a matching black lingerie set. She brushed her hair and put on some light makeup. She chose a pair of black high-heeled boots and grabbed her purse. She grinned and took several deep breaths.
Meanwhile, Kat was trying to figure out how to dress for a first date. It had been years since she'd been on one. She pulled out a lacy blue bra and set it on the bed. She couldn't find the matching panties, so she found a solid black pair. She eventually chose jeans, a low-cut tank top and sneakers. She heard a knock at her door and grabbed her purse, then hurried to the door and opened it. Her eyes widened when she saw Grace standing on her porch. She chuckled softly and smiled.
"Wow, I, um, I feel underdressed," she said sheepishly.
"You look great," Grace reassured her. Kat grinned and flipped the light off, then stepped outside.
Grace took a deep breath and darted in front of Kat. She opened the passenger door and closed it behind Kat. She got into the driver's seat and pulled out once they both had seat belts on.
Once they made it to the pizza place, Kat opened the door for Grace and smiled softly. Grace's stomach fluttered and she picked up two menus. They sat in the corner booth and started looking.
"Do you want to split a pizza?" Kat asked softly.
"Sure. No veggies," Grace said. Kat laughed and reached across the table to gently squeeze her hand.
"How about Meat Lover's?" Kat asked softly.
"You read my mind," Grace murmured.
"So," Kat said softly.
"What's up?" Grace asked.
"Have you ever been with a woman before?"
"A couple times," Grace said softly. "I heard you have an ex-girlfriend, are there any others?"
"A few. None for as long," she said softly. Grace nodded as the waiter appeared.
"Hello, ladies, can I take your order?" he asked.
"We were thinking a medium Meat Lover's to share, and a Coke for me. What do you want?" Kat asked.
"Coke for me too," Grace said. They had light conversation throughout the meal. Grace was kicking herself. She was sitting right in front of what she was pretty sure was the most beautiful woman on earth, and she couldn't gather the courage to make a move. Once they finished their meal, Grace paid the bill and they walked out.
"Do you still want to go do some glow-in-the-dark mini golf, or are you done with me?" Kat murmured. Grace took a deep breath and bit her lip.
"What if I said neither?" Grace asked.
"What do you mean?" Kat asked softly.
"Kat, this is, um, this is driving me crazy. I don't understand why it's so frustrating," Grace whispered. Kat touched her shoulder gently.
"How about we go sit in the car and you can tell me?" The girls walked back to Grace's car and got in. "Talk to me."
"I just… Benson sent me to your apartment and showed me your picture, and I just… You looked so beautiful. Then I got to your apartment and I saw the lesbian flag through the window, and I guess the best way to describe it would be that my brain broke. I wanted you so much, I still do," she said quietly. "And I guess it seems dumb to me to go mini golfing when what I really want is to take you home," she whispered. "I'm so sorry if I ruined this, Kat. It's just been so long since I've been in a relationship, I don't know what I'm doing," she whispered.
"Come here," Kat whispered. She pulled Grace against her and kissed her softly. "Tell you what. You don't want to play mini golf, so is there something that you do want to do?" Grace shrugged a little.
"You know what? Mini golf sounds perfect," Grace said softly.
"You said you didn't want to," Kat pointed out.
"We don't have to," Grace said hurriedly. "There's a pretty sick pool at my complex," she suggested.
"We can do that, but I'm not one for indecent exposure, so you'd have to take me home first," Kat teased. Grace grinned and pulled out of the parking lot. They made it to Kat's apartment and Grace parked, then unlocked the door so Kat could get out. Kat came back a few minutes later with a tote bag. Grace unlocked the door again for her.
"Welcome back," she teased. Kat grinned and got in. Once they were at Grace's apartment complex, Grace parked and led Kat to her apartment. "You can change wherever," she said as she walked inside. Kat touched her back and Grace turned around. She pulled Kat against her and stood on her tiptoes to kiss her lips. She stepped into her bedroom and closed the door halfway. She peeled her clothes off and opened the drawer. She dug through it until she found a black one-piece with a silver buckle on the waist. She pulled it on and adjusted it to her liking, then pulled on some denim shorts and walked out. Kat looked her up and down and smiled. Grace blushed and in response, she did the same for her much taller girlfriend. Kat blushed and followed Grace outside. Grace locked the door, then tucked her keys into Kat's bag and led the way to the pool. She opened the gate and held it open for Kat to follow her in. They both lowered themselves into the water.
"Ah! It's cold!" Kat whined. Grace laughed and splashed her playfully. Their playfulness didn't last long before Kat pushed Grace against the wall and kissed her. Grace wrapped her legs around Kat and deepened their kiss. Kat moved on to kissing her neck and grinned. Several minutes later, they were making their way out of the pool and back to Grace's apartment.