A/N I've been asked to give a better idea of what Natalie and Anastasia look like. I indeed have two beautiful muses who inspire me, so I thought I should post their images.
I am trying to find a way to post images of these two women; however this site's software is corrupting the addresses of the images on Photobucket.
If you make your way to Photobucket and search for Unicornff, you will be taken to my album which contains images of both Natalie and Anastasia.
I hope this helps my reader's enjoyment of the story.
Dancing down Rodeo Drive Part 1
Natalie's viewpoint
Wandering along Rodeo Drive was like a kid in a candy store for Maura, I swear that woman was born to shop.
We expected that Ana and Jane would be at the range for a few hours, bonding over firearms and then heading home for a few beers. Maura and I had agreed that today was a bonding day for us as well, only over something so much more fun than gun smoke and beer.
We were going to shop all morning, pausing for a coffee, do some more shopping, then have lunch somewhere here, before some more shopping and heading home, where we could console Jane and Ana on the wonderful day they missed.
Ha! As if.
I could see the synchronised eye rolling already. Ah well, Maura and I could enjoy it without having the girls getting restless and whinging.
Several hours later I had come to the conclusion that Maura found shopping only slightly less desirable than Jane. Not that I could blame her, she had a figure that was made to be wrapped up in a glamorous dress and strut in beautiful shoes.
I'd got an eyeful of her figure when we ended up stripping down to underwear in changing rooms, after the second or third shop it didn't bother either of us. In fact it didn't slow down the conversation either.
She was wearing a strapless bra and boy short briefs, which meant it was easier to try on strapless and off the shoulder dresses. After she skimmed out of her linen slacks and blouse the first time I paused to look her up and down. Impressed I gave a low whistle, causing her to look up in surprise.
"You have a lovely figure Maura, no wonder Jane follows you round like a lovesick puppy" She blushed slightly, while watching me slide out of my sundress.
"Thank you, although I wish my legs were longer. I always wanted to be a bit taller, more your height" I looked over my shoulder at her, quirking an eyebrow at her.
"I wouldn't recommend it. Getting nice clothes that fit you at my height can be a problem, especially if you're not built like an anorexic catwalk model, all leg and no curves" I smiled. "Somehow I doubt Jane would want you to lose those curves either" Maura smiled.
"Well, she is rather fond of them, even though she describes herself as a beanpole" I frowned.
"She's tall, with long legs, but I don't recall her being too thin"
"I quite like her shape, she has an athletic build I find rather appealing, but she would probably prefer to have a more statuesque figure" She shrugged. "I find that from what I've observed, most women wish for a shape that they don't possess, or attributes that they don't have"
I paused from where I was pulling on a beautiful crimson gown that I really couldn't afford, but wasn't that part of the fun of going shopping with friends?
"True, you want to be taller, Jane wants more curves, I really wanted deep green eyes and Ana wants to be taller too"
"Why would you to change your eye colour? Your eyes are a quite striking blue?" I shrugged, trying to pull up the zipper. Maura stepped up and drew it up my back.
"Thanks for that. I don't know; blondes with blue eyes are such a cliché, half the blondes you see with them are wearing contacts anyway. I think this is a bit too tight, don't you?" She made a turnaround motion with her hand, scrutinising me as I did.
"It doesn't sit right on your upper torso. The length is fine and it is a lovely colour, but it's not sitting right up here" She patted her chest. "Why green, besides the fact that it is one of the rarest eye colours?" I turned back to let her slide the zip down.
"Thank you. I always thought green was striking and exotic and something I associated with redheads. Redheads always stand out in a crowd, blondes are a dime a dozen. I didn't know it was the rarest, just different." Maura stepped into a golden sheath dress and pulled it up and on, zipping it tight at the side, wrapping her tightly, with a line that dipped low down over her breasts, emphasising her cleavage.
"Green is the rarest of the common colours, blue is also quite rare, only about 1% of the population have blue eyes. So for most of the rest of us blue is pretty exotic"
I nodded, watching the dress mould to her.
"Mmm, nice" She glanced up.
"Thank you, but I'm not sure about the colour. I like the cut but metallic colours can seem a little brash, you know, a bit too try hard" I grimaced.
"I don't think the first thought that would come into Janes mind if she saw you in that was that you were trying too hard" I observed. "The first thought would be getting you out of it, soon; the second would be stopping anyone else seeing you in it" Maura smiled gently.
"I believe that would be mission accomplished?" I laughed at her playful tone.
"Maura, you could wear a brown paper bag and Jane's first thought would be the same" We shared a smile. I considered the colour of her dress.
"Seriously, the only problem I have with metallic's is they're usually light colours and the blonde hair tends to get lost on it, I think it works better on a brunette, same as whites and creams do"
She shimmied out of the sheath, which was a distracting sight, I was Ana's but that didn't mean I was completely immune to Maura's beauty. I took a deep blue backless gown off its hangar and stepped into it.
"Why on earth did you want to be a redhead? Surely you attract enough attention already from what I've witnessed" I turned to face her as I settled the gown on.
"When I was a kid, I was gawky and all arms and legs and nothing to look at. I really didn't start to look good and feel good about myself until I was in my late teens. I wanted to stand out and I thought redheads were exotic" I shrugged. "Now I'd settle for green eyes, really deep green are lovely" I turned to look in the mirror. "What do you think?"
"Nice dress, but it's not sitting quite right, I think the back should have been cut lower" I frowned, looking at the reflection, she was right; it should have been cut a lot deeper. Preferably down to just above my ass, this was too high and looked like it couldn't make up its mind. I slipped the straps off and stepped out of it.
"Anyway, why do you want to be taller? You're the perfect height to fit into Jane"
She finished slipping into a deeply bias cut pale crimson gown before looking up at me, making a non-committal gesture.
"I would like to be able to look Jane in the eyes and be the same height when we kiss, rather than having her bend down to me" She looked a little embarrassed.
"I'm sure Jane loves you precisely the way you are, she's very protective of you, and having to tilt her head down a little is no great burden. Besides, we're all the same height lying down" She settled the dress, smoothing it across her stomach. We both studied her reflection in the mirror for a moment, before both shaking our heads. It really didn't do anything special for her. She started stripping it off again as I continued the conversation.
"I can understand though, Ana would like to be taller for the same reason, but it doesn't bother me in the slightest" We got dressed into our own clothes, handing the dresses back to the woman in the shop, before wandering a few doors down into another boutique.
The conversation continued on through several stores, meandering along much as we were. We stopped for a coffee and split a blueberry bagel, before continuing on.
We were standing in one shop when my eye fell on an electric blue evening gown, the colour naturally drew your eye and I could see myself in it. I flipped through, looking for the right size, it looked lovely and I could really see myself wearing it out. I do like blue, though I normally wear darker blues. Finding the right size I turned to find Maura was holding a lovely black gown and looking at my choice.
"Ooh, nice colour, you will look good in blue" I smiled.
"Thanks" Two minutes later we stood side by side, admiring each other. Hers was a mermaid design, all satin below the waist and a delicate lace and beading corset style above, It made her look even more lovely, her hair cascading across her bare shoulders. It didn't fit exactly right at the waist, needing to be taken in a fraction, but it looked very good.
The blue number I had on had a single shoulder strap, was gathered in at the waist with a silver piping detail running from the breasts to the start of a centre split, it was lovely, really it was, but I really couldn't afford the $3,000 price. Still, half the fun of shopping was trying on things you weren't going to buy. Maura was looking at me.
"What do you think?" I looked a little wistful.
"It's lovely, but I can't really justify it for a single wear. It is nice though. What's your opinion?" She looked around.
"Where are your heels? Ah, there they are" Handing them to me she continued. "Put these on, I'd like to see you walking in it" I slipped the three inch heels on and walked back and forward in front of her. She nodded.
"It works with your height, you have nice legs and the cut shows that off. The colours nice but… I don't know, I think you could do better" I rolled my eyes.
"I don't think Mr McQueen would like hearing you say that" She smiled. "Let's have a look at you" She did look lovely, the corset finish emphasised her nice breasts, drawing the eye to them. "Hold still Maura" I walked over and stepped right into her personal space, close enough for our bodies to almost touch and looked down. Maura looked up at me with a curious expression. Stepping back, I sighed.
"Jane will absolutely love it, as she looks down while she's dancing with you all she'll see is your face and an eyeful of your tits. Don't be surprised if she trips or steps on your feet cause she won't be looking where she's going" Her laugh was swift and rich.
I noticed a salesperson looking in but she disappeared at a look. Catching the interaction Maura looked over at me and raised an eyebrow. I shrugged and she smiled.
"So this one gets your approval?" I nodded.
"Best I've seen so far, but the day is still young" Nodding, she twirled again in front of the mirror before stripping it off.
The rest of the morning was a round of gowns and dresses and labels, between us we must have tried on a good quarter of a million dollars of dresses, not hard when even the cheapest ones were over a thousand dollars. I hadn't found anything that I liked enough to damage my credit card for, but Maura had a stunning Valentino lilac gown that while not completely to my taste, certainly looked great on her. Mind you, most things did.
We had stopped in to several jewellers, checking out sapphires, sapphires and diamonds, sapphires and rubies, sapphires and emeralds. Practically every combination you could think of. Finally we agreed I should ask Ana what colour she was wearing and team the second stone with her dress, that way we would be a match even if I wore black.
As we were walking out, I noticed a set of jewellery in their own special case, the flashing colours caught my eye and I detoured over. What I was looking at was a collection of unusual stones.
Calling Maura over we oohed and aahed over them before the store manager, a stylishly turned out woman in her late fifties or early sixties joined us.
"Do you like them?" I nodded.
"They're lovely, I've never seen stones like these before" She smiled.
"I went to a show recently, the Aussies here in LA get together with the Australian Government to put on an introduction to all things Australian. Nicole Kidman is an occasional customer here and suggested there were things there I would find interesting" She shrugged. "Who was I to say no to a customer, so I went, expecting to find clothes and holiday ideas and such, but they had a collection of their jewellery, I liked it so much that I ordered some of it, and these are the first samples"
Unlocking the cabinet, the manager brought out a set of stones in gold settings, burning with colour.
"These are Australian opals; the majority of opals come from there, some 95% or more. They come in a range of colours as you can see, but the black opals are the most sought after" I looked at the stones and was transfixed by the colours flaring in the overhead lights. Maura reached out and picked up a set of gold drop earrings with flashing red and green opal stones.
"These are beautiful, I love the colours. What do you think Natalie" I tipped my head considering them, I wasn't sure. I reached out and picked up one and held it to her ear.
"I don't know Maura" She laughed and pulled it from my hand.
"Not for me, for Jane"
"Ah sorry, yes, I could see her in those; they'd look good against her dark hair and olive skin"
"That's' what I thought" Frowning, she placed them back on the table, picking up a set of small loop earrings with green and blue flecked opals set in them in an intricate setting.
"These are really nice, I could see you wearing these" I took them from her and wandered over to a mirror, admiring them as they glowed in the light. I'd never seen opal before and these were truly lovely, I really could see myself wearing them too.
A shame they were probably going to be far more than I could afford. Sighing I turned back and braced myself for the bad news.
"They are really nice, how much?"
Looking at me the manager smiled as she spoke.
"$425, as is" Both of us must have worn stunned expressions, as she smiled even wider.
"I get that reaction a lot; it's remarkably low priced given the beauty of the opal. I was surprised but wasn't going to argue with the supplier. I expect to sell out of it once word gets around"
I looked at Maura and we shared a slowly widening smile.
10 minutes later we walked out, I had my earrings, Maura had the set for Jane and we'd agreed that a stunning jet and opal inlay link necklace and matching earrings looked too good against her pale skin to be left behind; all up we'd spent less than $2,000 and were very, very happy with our prizes.
Lunch at a café followed, where we had a light meal, with Maura reminding me that while Ana wasn't here to keep an eye on my choice, I would be paying for the excess later. Sighing at her gentle nagging I went with a Thai beef salad, which turned out to be fine. Maura had a leaf salad with croutons which looked a little too healthy for my tastes.
"You didn't see any opal that would suit Anastasia?" I shook my head.
"No, she's not really a stone person; she prefers the clean look of plain metal. In fact the only stone she wears is her ring" Maura raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I know, I'd love to put her in diamonds and emerald and rubies, it'd look great against her skin, but she's not really interested. Most of her dress jewellery is yellow gold, silver or white gold"
"A shame, I agree. She is a lovely woman and you want to make her as beautiful as you can" She smiled fondly. "That's why I don't really feel bad about coaxing Jane into dresses and heels and jewels, no matter how much she complains. I love how stunning and feminine she is when she's in makeup, her hair done up, dressed in a gorgeous gown and looking beautiful" I smiled at the thought.
"It's the same with me and Ana. I try, I buy her tailored pants suits rather than the off the rack suits she used to wear, but she doesn't wear the matching skirts that come as part of the suit as much as I would like" I sighed. "Ana has lovely legs, I love seeing them under a short skirt, balanced on a set of stilettoes, doing very nice things to her legs definition…"
I found myself remembering the last night out in Seattle, clubbing in short cocktail dresses and heels, feeling her thigh sliding between mine, me backed up against a wall, running my hands up under the skirt, lost in her kisses, unconsciously I licked my lips.
Maura's giggle brought me back to earth, a little embarrassed.
"That must have been a very nice memory Natalie. You went from calm to aroused in about two seconds" I felt my face flushing in shame.
"Sorry" I mumbled, getting a further round of giggles from her. When she subsided she smiled.
"What were you thinking of, if it wasn't too X-rated?" I smiled.
"The last night we went out clubbing, in Seattle a week before we moved here. We both love dancing and it gives us an excuse to dress in heels and short skirts and be completely uninhibited on the dance floor. There's a women's-only club up there that has a pumping DJ in residence, we get pretty wild on the dance floor and well, things got even wilder later after a night of build-up" She smiled a little wistfully.
"That sounds like lots of fun, Jane is an excellent dancer and I'm reasonably skilled. We didn't go out dancing all that often back in Boston, given Jane's initial reserve in being seen by her colleagues. When we did however we had a great time"
"Ana used to be pretty uptight about showing skin and being out there with me, but I wore her down over time" I shrugged. "She's beautiful and I like to look at her when she's done up. In fact she's now so comfortable that the club's management threatened to throw a bucket over us one night when she dressed in some pretty skimpy club wear, I couldn't keep my hands off her"
"I'd like to think that we could coax Jane out to the clubs here, it's not like we would meet anyone who knew us before we became a couple here" Maura looked pensive. "Would you and Ana come out dancing with us. I mean if you don't mind" She looked adorable when she was being bashful. I laughed happily.
"Maura, you don't have to be so worried about it, of course we'd love to, any excuse to get Ana into something skimpy works for me. We just have to make sure Jane doesn't get cold feet but with Ana's help we should be fine" She smiled happily.
"That would be so much fun. When she lets go she's a different person, she stops being Detective Rizzoli and is just Jane, who is the person I love most"
"Well, I'll do some research on where we can go, there's bound to be a few girls-only clubs here. Then comes the fun part" I winked at Maura, seeing her amused scepticism.
"And that is…?"
"We get to go shopping for what we're going to dress Jane and Ana in, something that involves short skirts, high heels, tight tops and lots of skin" Maura looked a little pensive.
Jane will be very uncomfortable dressed like that" I smiled.
"I have every faith in your ability to get her to see it our way Maura and besides, she won't have time to complain, she'll be too busy staring at what you'll be wearing and trying not to drool" Maura gave me that tilted head look she does when she's curious.
"And what might that be?"
"Something very short, very tight and very, very scandalous; I expect there's not a lot of that in your wardrobe Maura, but don't worry, I have some ideas"
"I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing Natalie"
"Of course it's a good thing. I can't wait to show you what I have in mind"
"I'm starting to think I should be worried"