Flameout – Chapter 15
As Jane drove away from Maura's house, she couldn't believe that Maura had asked her to kiss her. She had dreamt about kissing Maura but the real kiss was far greater than any kiss that she had dreamt. The fact that Maura asked her to kiss her meant so much to her. It verified that Maura cared for her and wanted to be in a relationship with her.
Jane had only dreamt of being in a relationship with someone like Maura. She had come to the realization that she was going to settle for Nikki because she was tired of the one-night stands and the lack of being in a committed relationship. She wanted to come home to someone every night instead of going to her empty apartment. She didn't want to settle but until she met Maura, that is what she thought she would have to do.
Initially, she thought that Maura might be a little out of her league, but then she thought that she deserved the best and Maura definitely was the best. Maura wasn't like any woman she had ever met. She definitely wanted to know more about her. They had spent the last six months texting each other and getting to know one another. She was so happy that Maura was now living in Boston.
She had told herself that the next time she went back to Syracuse for guard duty, she was going to ask Maura out. Now she didn't have to wait, Maura was here and she had asked her out. She didn't find it as hard asking her out as she initially thought it would be. She felt comfortable with Maura, a little nervous still but comfortable. She knew the more that she was around her, the less nervous she would be.
Maura
Maura had stood with her back resting against the front door as she let her fingers lightly touched her lips. The lips Jane had just kissed with such passion. Maura had never been kissed like that, not even by her husband who truly loved her. She had loved Sam as well. Their kisses were passionate but not as passionate as the kiss she just shared with Jane.
She knew already she wanted to be with Jane, she wanted to make love with Jane. She had researched how women love each other and make love with each other. She didn't want to rush her relationship with Jane but she wanted to be in a romantic relationship with Jane. She wasn't sure how long she would have to wait, she would just let things happen.
Maura took her cold shower and went through her nightly routine. It was almost midnight before she went to bed. She laid in her bed wondering where Jane would take her tomorrow and when she would be able to kiss Jane again. She wanted to kiss her. She wanted to kiss her a lot. She sent a text to her, wishing her a "good night and I am looking forward to our date tomorrow."
It didn't take long for Jane to text back, "I enjoyed our time tonight, especially the kiss. Good night beautiful. I will see you at 4 PM tomorrow." Maura smiled and put her phone on the charger. She wasn't sure if she would get any sleep, she did know that she would definitely dream about Jane. After about thirty minutes of lying in bed she entered a deep sleep dreaming of being with Jane. Dreaming of kissing Jane. Dreaming of the two of them with the children at Disney World. She had dreamt of taking the children to Disney World before but she was always by herself, never with someone else. It was nice to have Jane in that particular familiar dream.
Jane
Jane decided to go for a walk before attempting to go to sleep. She had moved into an upscale apartment building about five months ago. She had a long talk with Frost and they decided she needed a more secure building. They had spent almost two weeks searching and finally found a nice two-bedroom apartment in a newer building.
One of the main things that Jane loved about the new apartment was that it had security cameras all around the building and in the parking garage. The building had a concierge on duty 24 hours a day, so someone was always on duty at the front entrance of the building.
Jane's apartment came with two assigned parking spots. Jane loved this because she had her mustang and her cruiser, so having two assigned spots meant she didn't have to worry about finding a parking spot when she got home from work. Because she was limited in movement when she had signed her lease, the management company secured two parking spots for her next to each other towards the garage entrance of the building.
Frost and her brothers moved all of her belongings into the new apartment in two days and Jane gladly handed over the keys to her old apartment to her former landlord, she was happy to be moving out of that building. She wasn't even able to go into the building because of her injuries, she had been staying with her mother. She loved her mother but at 40, she needed to be on her own and the new apartment would allow her to be independent once again.
The management company gave her a huge discount on her rent and that was the deciding factor of selecting that building. The pool, tennis and basketball courts were an added advantage. The management company saw the advantage of having a high-ranking police officer living in their building.
The management company ensured her the discount would apply as long as she rented from them. She did not have to worry about her rent going up to the asking price. As with all apartments in the building the management company could raise the rent up to three percent of the current rent if the need arose. They put this stipulation into their rental agreement with Jane.
Because of the discount, Jane ran the rental agreement through BPD's legal department to make sure she would not be violating any rules by accepting the discounted rate. As soon as BPD's legal department told her that the deal was approved, she didn't hesitate signing the rental agreement. She moved in the next weekend.
Jane enjoyed having an elevator that actually worked. Her old building had an elevator but it seemed to be out of order quite a bit. When she was using her motorized scooter, the elevator made it nice reaching her floor. The apartment had an open floor plan which made it was easy for her to scoot around in it. She was on the tenth floor, she had quite a view of downtown from her living room's floor to ceiling windows.
After twenty minutes of walking Jane decided she should go home and get ready for bed. It was after midnight and she had a date to plan. A date that could possibly change the course of her life if she played her cards right.
Before she went on her walk, she had sent a text to Frost letting him know that Maura was in town. She also mentioned that she had just spent a few hours with her and that she would be taking her out on a date tomorrow. She asked for some ideas for him. She told him to think about it and call or text her tomorrow morning. Frost replied back, "Awesome, congrats and I will call you around 10 AM tomorrow."
Jane had no such luck, she looked at the time and then calculated what time it was in Italy. Italy was seven hours ahead. Great she thought to herself, she could call her cousin. She facetimed her cousin, Arianna. Arianna connected the video call on the second ring, "Hello, Jane."
"Hey cuz, do you have a few minutes?" After the words left her mouth, she knew it was a silly question. If Arianna didn't have the time, she wouldn't have answered the call.
"For you, always, what can I do for you?" Arianna loved talking with her cousin, she missed her. They didn't get to spend as much time together as she would've liked.
Jane smiled and frowned at the same time, "You know the gorgeous doctor I was telling you about from Syracuse?"
"You mean, the one you wouldn't shut up about for the past six months?" Arianna couldn't help but tease her cousin.
"Ya, that's the one. Well, it seems she has moved to Boston."
"Oh, that is great, have you seen her and talked to her?" Arianna had heard so much about Maura from Jane, she felt like she knew her already.
"Yes, we literally bumped into each other at the precinct. She is the new Chief Medical Examiner, she starts work on Monday. I kinda kissed her last night and I am going out with her this evening."
"Wow, Jane, you don't waste any time. That is kind of fast even by your standards."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Jane paused and then continued, "You know what, don't answer that. She asked me to kiss her, so I did. She agreed to go out with me and now I have to figure out what to do for a date." Arianna could tell that Jane was nervous.
"Let me guess, you just don't want to take her out to a fancy restaurant, you want to do something different, something special."
"You know me so well, yes, I want our date to be special. This date will set the foundation for the rest of our relationship. So, it has to be great. No, not just great, it has to be spectacular."
"Oh Jane, I can tell you have yourself all worked up, I wish I was there, I could have helped you. You can have Aunt Angela help you cook a nice Italian dinner and bring her back to your apartment and have dinner overlooking Boston. The awesome view from your apartment is perfect for a nice romantic dinner. If it isn't too cold, you could have dinner on the balcony."
"It's December, Ari, you know it is cold here." Jane shook her head, she knew her cousin knew how winters were in Boston. She used to live in Boston after all.
"I know, but you have those nice outdoor heaters, that we picked up a few months ago when I was there. You could rearrange the furniture on the balcony a little and put the heaters closer together to heat up the table area and still have the romantic outdoor meal. Just make it an early dinner before it gets too cold."
"That could work." Jane really believed that could work. Those heaters were great and put out a great deal of warmth. She could do this, she could have a nice romantic dinner right in her own apartment, she didn't have to take Maura to a fancy restaurant like all of her other dates would.
"You know what, I know what you are capable of cooking. Why don't you go to sleep for a few hours and then contact me again. I will work up a shopping list for you and we can facetime and I could cook with you."
"Oh, that sounds great, we haven't cooked together for some time." Jane loved when she and Arianna used to secretly cook at Arianna's house. Jane's mother always tried to teach her but Jane had a problem staying still long enough to listen to her mother. She could stay still enough to learn from Arianna though and so that is how she secretly learned how to cook without her mother knowing about it. Jane and Arianna would cook when no one else was at Arianna's house.
"I know. I also realize it will be different cooking together via video but we can make it work. We will make it work. Does Maura have any food allergies?"
"I'm not sure, I will have to ask her. It is too late her for me to ask her. I will text her in the morning and then let you know. Thanks Ari."
"You are welcome, call me back in a few hours, after you get some sleep."
"Okay, thanks again."
"Everything will be okay, Jane, just get some sleep. You want to be at your best tonight. Goodbye."
"Bye, Ari, talk to you in a few hours." Jane plugged in her cell phone and then laid on her bed, she closed her eyes and immediately started thinking about Maura. She also tried to picture her balcony as Arianna had described it, she felt strongly that it could work.
Maura
Maura felt so refreshed when she woke up in the morning. She had a huge smile on her face. She missed her children however, they were in her dreams. Jane and the children were all that Maura had dreamt about. After the dreams she just had, she had a strong feeling that she could have a successful relationship with Jane. Her children already loved Jane, it would be different with Jane being her girlfriend, however she was sure that her children would be okay with the change in her life.
She called the nanny and was able to speak to the children. They were having a great time and although they missed her, they were okay spending the rest of the weekend with their nanny. That fact made Maura feel better about her date with Jane later that day.
She completed her morning yoga routine and then fixed herself some oatmeal and cut up some fresh fruit. She lit the fireplace and sat down and pulled out a medical journal that she wanted to read. At 9:30 she received a text message from Jane, "Do you have any food allergies?"
Maura smiled and quickly replied, "No, thank you for asking though. That is very considerate of you."
"You are very welcome, Maur, I will see you later." Jane texted back and then hopped in the shower after texting Arianna to let her know that Maura didn't have any food allergies.
Jane
Frost didn't call, he knocked on Jane's door at 10 AM, he had a key but he didn't use it unless he had to. He told himself it was for emergencies only. The concierge knew him and had let him in, Jane had given permission for Frost and Frankie to be granted access at any time. For her own sanity, the concierge would call if her mother showed up. Jane didn't grant full access to her mother, she knew that could be a disaster.
Jane wasn't surprised to see Frost at her door. He knew how much Jane liked Maura and he knew that Jane would be panicking over the date. Jane let him in and then told him about the plan that she was hatching out with Arianna. Frost was glad that she had called Arianna and that she had gotten some sleep. Arianna knew Jane quite well and knew that if Jane had stayed up all night, she would be a basket case by the time she picked up Maura.
Arianna was happy to see Frost when Jane facetimed her back. Frost could help keep Jane sane and help her shop for the needed groceries. Arianna knew that Jane didn't cook that much for herself, even though she had a state-of-the-art kitchen with Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances. Arianna was jealous of Jane's kitchen, she wished her house had the same setup.
Arianna sent a text to Jane with the grocery list. They talked for a few more minutes and then disconnected the call once they had agreed on a time for Jane to call back to start cooking the dinner. Jane and Frost set off to go shopping.
Frost was admirer of a well-dressed woman and insisted on helping Jane pick out what she would wear for the date. "Jane, you don't have too much for me to work with here." Frost stated as he looked over the clothes hanging in Jane's closet. "You really must go shopping and purchase some nicer clothes."
"Yes, I know. Someday, I will get to it." Jane was always a little upset when anybody pointed out the way she dressed. She loved wearing comfortable clothes, she was not one for dressing up.
"Maybe your new girlfriend will help you dress nicer." Frost said as he giggled at Jane.
"Hey, she is not my girlfriend." Jane said as she glared at Frost.
"Not yet. I have seen how she looks at you, Jane. She likes you and you like her. Just take your time and let the relationship progress, don't rush it. She moved here so she isn't going anywhere."
"Thanks, Frost."
"You're welcome. You got this Jane. But right now, I am going to go out and get you a Christmas tree and some basic decorations. It is almost Christmas and you have no signs of Christmas in this apartment."
"Whatever, you know I have been a little occupied lately."
"Yes, but you want to impress Maura so I will be back in a little while with a tree and some decorations. I will take care of decorating the apartment while you work on yourself and the dinner."
Frost left and two hours later he returned with the tree and some a few decorations. He did as he said he would and decorated the apartment. Jane had been cutting up vegetables and rolling dough while facetiming with Arianna.
As Frost went to leave, he said, "I will see you on Monday. Enjoy your date."
"Yes, Monday morning, unless we get called in for something sooner and thanks for all of your help. The apartment looks great."
"Don't jinx the rest of our weekend, Jane, and it was my pleasure to help you." Frost stated as he let himself out.
"That is not my intention. See ya!" Jane said and then she heard the door click shut. She was enjoying facetiming with Arianna to cook the dinner. The plan was to have everything all prepared and then cook it once she and Maura arrived back at her apartment. When they finished all the food preparation, Jane ended the facetime call with Arianna and went to take a shower. It was time to get herself ready for her date.
Frost had picked out her nicest pair of black skinny jeans and a deep purple button down for Jane to wear. He had found a light purple tank top for her to wear under her button up. He didn't dare touch her underwear drawer, he would let her figure that out for herself. He really hoped that Maura would have an influence on Jane's future clothes selections. He knew Maura liked fashion. She was always well dressed when he had seen her.
Jane figured it would take approximately fifteen minutes to get to Maura's house from her apartment. She left her apartment at 3:30. She wanted to be early, she would rather be early and sit in her car then be late. She arrived at Maura's house at 3:50 and sat in her car for eighteen minutes before getting out of her car and walking up to Maura's front door.
Maura
After receiving and replying to the text from Jane, Maura spent the next hour glancing through the excessive amount of clothes in her closet to figure out what she would wear for their date. She selected a nice emerald green knee length dress and a pair of black 3-inch heels. She knew that the emerald green dress would bring out the green in her hazel eyes.
She spent another half hour in the shower and then styled her hair. She decided she would put on her make up at 3:30 so that it would be fresh. She put on some lounge wear and went back out to the couch in front of the fireplace so that she could finish reading the journal article she was reading.
Once she was ready, she sat on the couch and waited for Jane to arrive. At exactly 4 PM there was a knock on her door. She smiled, she knew it would be Jane. She walked briskly to the door and gave Jane a huge smile when she opened the door. She invited Jane in while she grabbed her jacket and purse. Jane greeted Maura by kissing her the cheek. They smiled briefly at each other, neither one moving. Then Jane placed her hand in Maura's and asked, "Are you ready?"
"Yes, Jane, I am ready for our date. Are you going to tell me where we are going or is it a surprise?"
Jane smiled at Maura and informed her, "It is a surprise." Jane led Maura to her cruiser. She opened the passenger car door for Maura and once Maura fastened her seatbelt Jane closed the door and walked quickly over to the driver's side of the vehicle and hopped in. She started the car and decided she couldn't keep the surprise. "I wanted to take you some place different then probably all of your other dates had taken you. We will be going to my apartment where I have prepared a nice Italian meal for us. If you are uncomfortable with this please let me know now and I can change our destination."
"Oh, Jane, I would love to go to your apartment and see how one of Boston's finest lives."
"It isn't anything too fancy. I am still getting used to the apartment myself. I just moved into it about five months ago. I wanted us to be able to talk and actually hear each other." Jane started driving home as they continued to talk.
When they pulled up to Jane's parking spot in the garage, Maura saw the mustang. She was admiring it when Jane told her, "That is my mustang. I have had it since I was a teenager."
"It is beautiful. I heard mention of it while you were in Syracuse. I believe Frost was arranging for Gen to drive it back to Boston for you."
"Yes, Gen drove it back for me. I drive it to Syracuse every month when I have guard duty. Next month will be the first time I will be going back to Syracuse for guard duty. I will be gone for a week, as I have some duty to make up for. Actually, for the next three months I will be going to Syracuse for a week and then I will go back to my normal weekend only trips."
Jane escorted Maura into the building. She waved to the concierge as they walked to the elevator. The concierge waved back. They rode the elevator to the tenth floor and then disembarked and walked a few feet to Jane's apartment. Jane opened the door and let Maura walk in first. Maura stood in the entryway and waited for Jane to come in and shut and lock the door behind them. She then followed Jane further into the apartment.
Jane offered to hang up Maura's coat as she hung hers up. They walked into the living room and Jane told Maura, "Please make yourself at home while I put dinner in the oven. It should be ready in 40 minutes."
Maura didn't sit down right away, she walked over to the mantle of the fireplace where she saw some pictures on display. She looked at the first picture, it was a picture of Jane, Ace and a few other pilots. She figured this must be some pilots from her unit. The next picture was of a young Jane, Frost, Frankie and an older detective. She figured this must be Sergeant Detective Korsak, Jane's former partner. The next picture was of Jane, Frankie, Tommy and Angela and a man that looked as if he could be Jane's father. The next picture confused Maura, it was of Jane and someone that looked as though they could be Jane's twin sister. Maura knew that Jane didn't have a sister so she was curious as to who this woman was.
Jane walked into the living and stood next to Maura as she was looking at the picture of her and Arianna. "Oh hey, that is a picture of me and my cousin, Arianna. She is like a sister to me. When we were growing up everyone had trouble telling us apart. It was fun sometimes fooling the teachers at school."
Maura turned towards Jane and told her, "I can image that the teachers weren't too happy when they found out about the two of you trading places."
Jane slightly laughed as she replied, "They were a little upset. One time we had lunch time detention for two weeks. The next semester they tried putting us in the same classes so we couldn't pull that on the teachers again."
Jane reached over and pulled Maura's hand into hers. "Let's have a seat so we can talk while we wait for our dinner to cook."
"That sounds wonderful, thank you Jane." Maura stated as Jane led her over to the couch so that they could sit down and enjoy their conversation. Jane had poured a glass of wine for both of them.
"What are you thanking me for?" Jane asked as she was curious.
"For setting all of this up and for not being like anyone else that I have dated before. It has been a long time since I have dated anyone. Everyone tried setting me up with someone about two years after Sam had passed away but I never felt comfortable dating."
Jane frowned a little and when Maura saw the frown she continued, "Until I met you. There is something about you that I am drawn to. You are the first person I have wanted to go on a date with." Jane smiled she was happy hearing that from Maura.
"I feel the same way, I am not proud of my dating history. I am honest about it though. You know about Nikki already. I firmly believe I was settling with her. I was tired of all the one-night stands. Nikki was different when I met her. She changed about ten months or so ago. I am not sure what happened, however I am happy that she is out of my life."
"I appreciate your honesty. You know from our past conversations that I have never dated a woman before, you are my first. I haven't dated anyone since Sam died. I was busy with the children and really not interested in anyone that I had met. You, Jane Rizzoli, interest me. I want to get to know you and I very much want to date you. I also want to kiss you. I enjoyed our kiss last night and wish for that to continue."
Jane smiled and leaned in and kissed Maura. They continued kissing until the timer went off, announcing that dinner was ready. Jane pulled away from the kiss and said, "Excuse me, I must pull our dinner out of the oven. Please come with me." Jane stood and offered her hand to Maura. They walked into the kitchen and Jane placed their wine glasses at the dining room table which had been set already. She pulled out a chair for Maura and then went to the oven to turn it off and remove their dinner.
Maura was enjoying the smell coming from the kitchen. It smelled divine. She couldn't wait to taste the food. While Jane was pulling the meal out of the oven, she explained that her cousin, Arianna had taught her to cook certain Italian dishes and that she had facetimed with Arianna while preparing the meal. Maura smiled she thought that was nice that Arianna had helped Jane even though she was in Italy.
They enjoyed light conversation as they ate and then washed the dishes together after putting all the leftovers away. Maura thought that Jane had cooked way too much food but she understood that Jane had made several dishes in hopes of finding one that Maura would enjoy. Maura enjoyed all of the dishes and Jane offered to pack some up for her to take home and share with the children. Maura liked that Jane was not put off by the fact that she had children. She knew that could be a turn off for some people. That was another reason she really didn't date.
Jane didn't want the evening to end so she asked, "Would you like to watch a movie or we could go out and go dancing?"
"A movie sounds great. Do you think we would be able to agree on a movie to watch?"
"Yes, I do. I think we can come to an agreement."
"Okay, lets watch a movie." Maura stated, she really just wanted to cuddle on the couch and continue kissing Jane.
Jane opened up Netflix and they thumbed through the selections and agreed upon a new movie entitled, 'Your Place or Mine' starring Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher. Neither one of them was a fan of Ashton Kutcher but the preview looked funny and they both loved Reese Witherspoon so they thought it would be a great selection.
Before the movie started Jane asked, "Would you like me to pop some popcorn and switch or drinks to water or soda?"
"Yes, popcorn and soda would be great. Is it okay if I pull this blanket from the back of the couch?"
"Yes, that is fine, if you are cold, I can start the fire and turn up the thermostat to warm the apartment up."
"No, I just like having a blanket over me when I sit on the couch and watch a movie. Just a habit I got into. Normally, I have a child on each side of me and they tend to fall asleep while watching a movie at night."
"Oh, I understand. That sounds like a cute situation. You really love your children."
"I do, they are so well behaved and still enjoy spending time with me. I want to enjoy that feeling for as long as I can. One day they will want to spend time with their friends and not their dear old mother."
While the popcorn popped Jane brought the soda over and helped Maura place the blanket over her. When the popcorn finished popping, Jane put it in a bowl and grabbed some napkins and joined Maura on the couch.
After a minute, Maura raised the blanket on the side that Jane sat and invited her to share, "Join me, Jane, unless it will be too hot for you."
Jane didn't hesitate to scoot closer and Maura and wrapped the blanket around them. "I won't be too hot." They settled in and Jane pushed play on the remote. They laughed and hugged each other as they watched the movie. By the end of the movie, Maura's head was firmly planted on Jane's shoulder. Jane didn't mind at all. She was enjoying having Maura snuggled up to her. "Would you like to watch another movie?"
"Yes, I would love to." Maura replied as she didn't want this evening to end, she was enjoying being snuggled up with Jane.
"I have to use the restroom, you can pick the movie. I will be right back." Jane untucked the blanket and rose to go to the restroom. When she came back, Maura had a movie all picked out and queued up and ready to go. She had selected, 'The Notebook.' She had seen the movie quite a bit but she loved it.
"I hope that this movie is okay. I have seen it quite a few times, however, I love it and would like to see it again."
"It's fine, I love this movie also." Jane said as she once again snuggled up with Maura under the blanket. Jane pushed play and Maura nuzzled her head onto Jane's shoulder. They both had fallen asleep while watching the movie. At some point Jane had pushed off on the remote, probably out of habit and just snuggled more into Maura, not realizing what she was doing.
In the morning when Jane woke up, she felt a weight on her and realized that she and Maura had fallen asleep and were now laying down with each other on the couch covered up by the blanket. Jane was on her back with Maura half on top of her, wedged between Jane and the back of the couch. Jane just smiled, she turned her head so she could kiss the top of Maura's head. Maura stirred and then felt embarrassed for having fallen asleep on Jane. She quickly sat up, "I'm so sorry Jane. I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was just so comfortable …"
Jane knew Maura would keep apologizing so she took matters into her own hands, she sat up and kissed Maura. After a few seconds Maura kissed her back. When the kiss broke so they could breathe, Jane said, "I am not sorry. I rather enjoy your company, Maura. Shall we get up and fix ourselves some breakfast or do I need to take you home now?"
"I …" Maura hesitated and then continued, "I don't have any plans today so breakfast sounds like a great way to start the day."
"Would you like to change into something a little more comfortable? Not that your dress isn't comfortable, I just mean, well we managed to wrinkle your dress. I have some sweets you can change into. If you would like to take a shower, the guest bathroom is fully stocked."
"Oh, a shower and a change of clothes would be great, thank you, Jane."
Jane laughed, "Normally, I don't do sleepovers on the first date, but you can be the exception to any and all rules I might or might not have."
"Thank you! I don't normally sleep over on first dates or I would have come prepared. Why don't we have breakfast and then you can take us to my house. I can get changed and we can figure out something to occupy our time for the day. The children won't be back until this evening around 6 PM."
"That sounds great, so would we consider this our second date or a continuation of our first date?" Jane didn't care, she was just curious again. She wanted to see what Maura would say.
"How about we count it as our second date. Once you kiss me goodbye at my door, that will officially end our first date. I will of course ask you in and that will begin our second date. How does that sound?"
"You got yourself a deal, doctor." They both went upstairs and showered and dressed. They met downstairs half an hour later and work together flawlessly to cook themselves some omelets. They moved throughout the kitchen as if they had been cooking together for years.
They laughed and joked and after breakfast they did the dishes together. Jane couldn't help wrapping herself around Maura as they dried the dishes. Maura had to push her away, "Jane, stop or we will never get to start our second date, come on, let's get going."
"So, bossy." Jane said as she grabbed Maura's hand and headed out of her apartment, they had a second date to get to.