Dinner with Jane last night was interesting. I had a lot of fun with Jane, and I think she and I have a lot more fun times ahead of us.

Last night after dinner, I came home only to see that Garrett had locked me out of our room. I ended up sleeping in the guest room and sneaking back into our bedroom after Garrett had already left and the kids hadn't woken up yet. I got ready to take the children to school before coming back to an empty home to do whatever I pleased. Today was my day off and I was going to call Jane and see if she'd like to get lunch, but I decided against it. The woman probably needed a break from me. I know most people would.

I got a phone call from one of my friend's from the country club Garrett and I were a member of, and she invited me to go out tonight with her and several of our friends. Heather seemed ecstatic that I would be joining them, and I matched her enthusiasm. It would be nice to get out of the house for yet another night after what Garrett did. All that would be attending would be me, Riley, Shannon, Heather, and Tamra. Out of all of the girls, I was closest to Shannon and Tamra. Riley and Heather and I got along well, and we were friends, just not best friends. In fact, I believe I have a closer relationship with Jane in the little time that I've known her than I do with Heather and Riley.

The fact of the matter is, Riley and Heather are too fancy-pants for me. Yes, I enjoy fashion and the occasional shopping spree even more, but they were too over-eager and fake. Heather's husband Terry is a plastic surgeon and they live in a private residence sort of like Beacon Hill, but more expensive and over-the-top. Heather hardly ever drinks and when she does, it's not an excessive amount. She never let's loose, and is always so uptight. She always has to be correct and prove you wrong. It just gets annoying.

Riley's husband Richard works with Garrett, and they're relatively good friends. Riley and Rick have come over for dinner a few times, but I always felt so awkward around them. See, the thing is, Riley and Rick are — for lack of better words — swingers. They go to clubs and bars and meet other couples, taking them home and having sex with them, occasionally switching partners. The concept was quite disturbing and unnerving for me, and it seemed unnecessary. If your partner can't please your needs and wants, why stay with them? If you love them, I understand wanting to be with them whether they please you or not... but why have sex with other couples?

Garrett had once asked me if it was something I would be interested in. I said no.

Shannon and Tamra are much like me. Shannon and I go to yoga, feng shui, and to an acupuncturist together. We both have explicit taste in wine and love reading and science. We love knowing everything we can know about everything there is. The good thing about us being so alike is that we don't get tired of each other's endearing qualities most others find annoying, like our, incoherent to most, scientific babble.

We also both have problems with our spouses.

Tamra is quite the drama queen. Although she's living the life and is rich and owns a gym called Cut Fitness, she often complains about not having enough. She also loves using her middle finger, I've noticed. Tamra is my friend and I love her the way she is, I wouldn't change a thing about her.

Other than Jane, they're really my only good, trustworthy friends. I would rather have a few loyal friends than a dozen shitty friends. (Excuse my French).

Garrett and I had got into yet another fight when he came home and saw me sitting at my armoire putting my earrings on.

"Where are you going now?" he asked, setting his briefcase by the door.

"Out," I replied simply. Although I hated not answering in complete sentences, I didn't feel Garrett deserves complete answers when he never gave me any himself.

"With who?" he asked, raising his voice a little.

"The girls from the country club," I replied, standing up and sitting on the edge of the bed to pull my heels on.

"How long will you be out?"

"I don't know." He glared at me. "I really don't know."

"Where are you all going?" he asked impatiently.

"I don't know," I said again.

"Damn it, Maura! I need answers!" he yelled.

"Garrett, I don't know! Honestly, they just told me we were going out and I couldn't say no! They didn't really give me a choice!"

"Why are you dressed like that?" he asked, looking me over.

"Why am I dressed like what?" I asked.

"A whore," he said. I gasped.

"Garrett! I always dress like this!" I rolled my eyes and I grabbed my purse and walked out of the bedroom, wanting to go outside and wait for the girls.

"You're not leaving," Garrett said angrily, grabbing my wrist.

"I can do whatever the hell I want," I said, turning around the glare at him. "I'm not your property, you can't boss me around. Let go of my hand."

"No," he said. "You owe me from last night. I had to go to sleep unsatisfied."

"I feel so bad for you, Garrett," I rolled my eyes. "I go to bed unsatisfied every Sunday night." Garrett raised up his hand, and I braved myself for the hit.

"Dad? What the hell?" Garrett lowered his hand and snapped his head towards the stairs.

"Gavin," he said, laughing nervously. "You're supposed to be doing your homework."

"I came down to see why you were yelling at Mom." Gavin turned to me. "Did he hit you?" I glanced at Garrett, and he was giving me a death glare.

I turned back to Gavin and smiled.

"No, honey. I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"Okay..." he said, hesitating before heading back up the stairs, but not before sending one last knowing glance towards me.

"I'm leaving now," I said.

"I won't wait up for you!" Garrett yelled after me.

"I didn't want you to," I replied, opening the front door just as the girls pulled up in a limousine.

"Hey," Shannon hugged me as I crawled in.

"Hi," I sighed, exasperated.

"Are things better?" Riley asked.

"No," I shook my head.

"Girl, tonight is the perfect night to take you out then," Tamra said.

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked. Everyone smiled.

"Don't ask," Heather said, frowning slightly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I just can't believe the girls talked me into this!" Heather said. "I'm only doing this for you, y'know."

"What exactly are you doing for me?"

"It's a surprise," Tamra said.

"Can you at least give me a hint?"

"I can promise you it's somewhere neither you nor I have ever been. Now these girls," she said, gesturing to the rest of the women, "I'm not sure about." I chuckled.

"Tamra and I have been," Shannon said.

"You would go, Shannon," Riley butt in. "You always like trying new things."

"Nothing wrong with that," Shannon shrugged.

"Will I enjoy it?" I asked tentatively.

"Depends on whether you have a stick up your ass or not," Tamra replied, laughing along with Shannon, Heather, and Riley.

This was going to be an interesting night. I could already tell.

"Oh my god," I said as we walked into the club. "Are you kidding me? This is where you brought me?"

"Yes," Shannon chuckled. "It's amazing, isn't it?"

"Well, there are definitely plenty of girls," Heather said, her eyes widening as she looked around.

"I can't believe you brought me to a lesbian club," I scoffed.

"Hey, it's just for fun," Shannon insisted.

"How is having women stare at you like you're a fresh piece of meat fun?" Heather asked.

"It's fun to see what kind of different women are into you," Tamra said.

"Plus," Shannon added, "you can get all flirty with each other just because and not be judged. You know how some people flirt with everyone? Like you, Maura." My eyes quit roaming around the room and quickly snapped back to Shannon.

"What?" I asked.

"You flirt with everyone," she said again.

"I do not!" I denied.

"You do too! You may not realize it, but you do. Am I right?" she asked the other girls.

"Yes," they all replied.

"You flirt with Shannon and I all the time," Tamra said.

"Me," I said.

"What?" Tamra asked.

"Me. Shannon and me," I corrected her.

"Damn it, Maura! I'm trying to make a point here! You flirt with everyone, and you don't even realize it. It's just in your nature. It's alright, though. Shannon does it too." Shannon scoffed.

"Do not," she said.

"Do too," Riley, Heather, and Tamra all replied in unison.

"You know what guys?" Shannon said angrily, although she was smiling. "Tonight is not about me. Tonight is about Maura. Say it, Maura. Tonight is about—"

"Jane?" I said. My eyes caught the back of the familiar unruly curls of the tall, lanky woman. I wasn't certain it was Jane, but her form was exactly like Jane's. It was only when the brunette briefly turned around that I was her face. It was Jane.

Was she simply here with friends, just like I was? No one is over there with her. Perhaps her companion went to the ladies' room.

No. No, she was definitely not here with friends. She was eyeing that little redhead over in the corner. She was looking at her the way that many of the other women in here were looking at me.

"What?" Tamra asked. "Who the hell is Jane?"

"What?" I asked. "Nothing. Oh, no one. No. I just—me. Tonight is about me."

"Good," Shannon smiled. "Now, let's go get some drinks."

Good.

"We all know you could use one," Tamra said. I smiled.

Or several. I could use several. Bottles. I could use several bottles.

We walked over to the bar, and the bartender, a petite blonde, kept staring at me cleavage as she talked to us and poured our drinks. We sat down at a table and sipped our drinks. Luckily from where I was sitting, I could keep an eye on Jane. I don't know why I'm being so paranoid. Jane's here just like I am, and—

Oh. Oh, no.

Jane just touched her arm. That was one of the number one signs of flirting (or so Shannon had told me).

"What are you staring at, Maura?" Shannon asked, taking a sip of her wine.

"Oh, nothing," I lied. Jane was keeping eye contact with her and laughing and smiling brightly. She bit lip once, smirking, and put her hand on the younger girl's hip. That was it.

I was suddenly up from my seat and ignoring the girls asking me where I was going. I was suddenly overcome with a rush of confidence and felt bold as I neared Jane, the redhead's blue eyes meeting mine as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"What the hell?" she asked. Jane turned around, and when our eyes met, hers widened. She looked terrified.

"M—Maura?" Jane stuttered. I raised my hands up as I neared her and took her face into mine, pulling her into a kiss. I crashed my lips hard onto hers, probably hard enough to bruise, our teeth clashing and making a painful noise. I closed my eyes as Jane stumbled backwards and caught her balance, not yet kissing me back. I kept the kiss going for a few more seconds before pulling away, staring into Jane's eyes.

"Who the hell are you?" the redhead asked me, her expression angered. Jane's face was unreadable.

"I'm her girlfriend," I said angrily. "And who the hell are you?"

"What the fuck, Rizzoli?" the redhead asked Jane. "You never told me you had a girlfriend. The other day when you were at the boutique, I swore you were flirting with me. Is this who you were going out with?"

"Y—yes," Jane said, not really sure what was going on yet.

"Well," the redhead said, sighing deeply. "It was nice to meet you, Jane's girlfriend. Glad you caught us before we went too far. Have fun," she said, glaring at Jane.

Wait, what did she just say?

Jane's girlfriend?

Oh shit. I hadn't really processed anything that had happened in the past few seconds. I reacted on impulse. I don't even remember getting up.

"Oh god," I cried. I looked up at Jane and then at my friends, who were staring at me wide-eyed and slack jawed. I guess the redhead's outburst had attracted attention from the other club goers, and there were several pairs of eyes on me right now.

I made a beeline for the exit and cursed myself as I ran away. I couldn't face what was happening in there. Jane probably hated me and my friends were probably disgusted by me.

"Maura!" Jane called out after me as she looked around, and I hid behind a wall. "Maura!" she called out again. I heard heavy footsteps approaching me, and squeezed my eyes shut tightly.

"Maura, just because you can't see me doesn't mean I can't see you." I slowly opened my eyes, and Jane furrowed her eyebrows.

"What the hell?" she asked.

"I—I don't know," I said. "Honestly, I—I was just sitting there enjoying myself, and next thing I remember I was walking up to you and kissing you."

"What are you even doing here?" she asked, shaking her head. "You're married and straight."

"Well so are you!" I said, defending myself. "Well, the straight part. Or so I thought. Jane, are you a lesbian?" Jane scoffed, and I suddenly felt bad. "Jane, I'm sorry, I—"

"Yes."

"What?" I asked, suddenly surprised.

"Yes, Maura. I'm a lesbian."

"What? Jane, I—why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, Maura! People can be judgmental." My face dropped.

"And you think I would judge you?"

"Well yeah."

"Why?" I asked, the thought obviously upsetting me. "Jane, ever since I met you I've been feeling things I've never felt. I've made such a connection with you in less than 72 hours than I've ever had with anyone in my entire life. We're so different, but yet we're so alike in so many ways. I don't care if you're straight or bisexual or a lesbian, black or white or purple. I just want you, Jane. That kiss was... it was the most amazing thing I've ever felt. I want you."

"Maura," Jane said, her face dropping. "Don't say something you don't mean." I eagerly grabbed her hands and took them in my own, looking up into her eyes.

"But Jane, I do mean it. I do. These feelings are scaring me, but I... I don't know what to do. I just want you." Jane stared into my eyes before slowly leaning in.

"Maura?" I quickly jumped away, turning towards the voice. Shannon, Heather, Tamra, and Riley were all standing there, staring at me and Jane. I let go of her hands and backed away.

"What the hell is going on?" Riley asked.

"I—I don't know," I said. "Guys, this is Jane Rizzoli, my new nurse."

"Hi," Jane said sheepishly.

"Maura, are you bisexu—"

"I don't think so," I said, cutting off Heather. "I—I don't know. All I know is that ever since Jane and I became coworkers, I haven't stopped thinking about her and I always want to spend time with her. I've... Felt things the past few days that I've never felt before. Not even with Garrett."

"God, Maura," Shannon said. "When I brought you here I didn't expect you to randomly kiss some stranger."

"She's not a stranger," I said defensively. "I—I mean, at least not to me."

"Maura, Garrett will—"

"I don't want to talk about Garrett," I interrupted Riley. "At least not right now."

"Maura, we need to get you home."

"I can take her," Jane suddenly said from behind me. I turned around to look at her, and her eyes met mine. "I—if she doesn't mind."

"No, of course not," I smiled.

"Okay..." Shannon said hesitantly.

"We'll see you later," Tamra said. They all hugged me and we kissed each other on the cheek, and they soon left Jane and me alone.

"Maura, do you want to... go to my place and talk about this?"

"About what?"

"This... us."

"Yeah," I said, nodding. I like the sound of that... us. "Yeah, okay."

Jane grabbed her keys out of her pocket and fumbled with them until she got them into the lock, unlocking the door and letting me in.

"Oh!" I said as a small white dog ran up to me and jumped on me, and Jane shut the door behind her.

"Jo Friday, down!" she instructed, and the dog complied, jumping down off of me and sitting down at my feet. I bent down to pet her, and Jane smiled.

"That's Jo Friday. This detective from the cafe where my mom works always rescues old dogs. He's basically like a Dr. DoLittle incarnate. Anyways, he found this little guy on the streets and couldn't take care of her because he was taking care of another dog, Elsie, and a few others, and so I offered to take her in for a few weeks. I fell in love with her and Korsak said I could keep her."

"Well she's adorable," I smiled up at Jane as I bent down to pet Jo Friday.

"So, uh..."

"I have a question," I suddenly said, quickly standing up. Jane was startled and stepped back. "Is Tanner... a girl, or did you really date a guy?"

"Tanner is really Tara. Uh... I dated her all through college. She was the love of my life... or so I thought."

"What happened?" I asked. Jane seemed distant. "Jane?" She looked at me. "What happened?" I asked again.

"She, uh... she died." My eyes widened. "It was my senior year of college, she was 2 years older so she was already done. I lived with her and although she was older, I was the more mature, butch one. I was gonna propose."

"Oh, Jane," I cried. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"I didn't want you to," she said. "I'm sorry... I just—I like you, okay? A lot. I like you a lot, lot, Maura. I didn't want to risk losing you by telling you about me." I took her hands in my own.

"You'll never lose me." Jane smiled, and cleared her throat.

"You wanna go lie down?" I pulled my hands away.

"Uh..."

"No, Maur. That's all. I mean, just lie down. In my bed. As friends."

"Oh," I said. "Yeah, sure." We walked into her bedroom, and as we laid down side by side, Jo hopped up onto the bed and settled in between the crook of Jane and my sides.

"So, uh... I have a question of my own," Jane said.

"Yes?"

"Have you ever... y'know... kissed a girl?" Jane asked, her voice cracking. "You know, before me?"

"No," I said, staring up at the ceiling.

"Not even as a dare?"

"No."

"Drunken one-time thing?"

"No."

"Wow," Jane sighed. "I was Maura Isles' first."

"And my last," I said. I heard the pillow shift under Jane's head as she turned to look at me. I looked at her.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"You're the only girl I want."

"But Maura, you're married and—" I slowly leaned in and left a sweet, chaste kiss on her lips before lying back down.

"I know," I said. "But none of that matters right now." Jane smiled, and nodded.

"Has a girl ever even touched you? I mean, intimately... sexually?" Jane asked.

"No," I said, shaking my head, or the best I could seeing as I was laying down.

"Have you ever... wanted one to?" I looked at Jane.

"I never met the right girl," I said. She looked at me. "Until I met you."

"You... you want me to touch you?" Jane asked nervously.

"Yes," I said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Jane."

"Where?" she asked, sitting up. Jo Friday whined and got up, trotting back into the living room.

"Anywhere you want to," I said.

"I—I don't know what you want." I looked down at Jane's hands. They were shaking.

"Don't be so nervous," I whispered, taking her hands into my own and kissing her knuckles. "If anything, I should be the one who's nervous. This is all new to me."

"Are you?" she asked. "Nervous, I mean."

"Oh, I'm terrified."

"Then I won't do it," Jane said, pulling her hands away, but I held onto them.

"No. I want to." Jane looked into my eyes and sighed, nodding. She ran her hand across my abdomen, slipping it up my shirt and grazing the bottom of my breast with it. A moan slipped from my mouth and I heard Jane's breath catch in her throat and her hand stop.

"Keep going," I said.

Jane kissed my neck as I arched into her touch, her hands running down my sides.