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Regrets, I've had a Few
By Debbie
Kalinda walks into a bar and immediately sees her: Lana Delaney, in a dark red dress with legs up to here and looking as hot as ever. Kalinda feels the proverbial 'thud' and smiles wickedly; this is her skill, this is her game now. She strolls up behind Lana and, leaning forward, murmurs in her ear, "Hey, FBI lady."
Kalinda feels Lana shiver and knows she is having the same effect as always. She nods, knowingly. She has her; Kalinda never fails at this game.
Lana's voice, however, as she spins around, is cold and hard. "Kalinda, what can I do for you?"
Kalinda lifts her head at the tone, expecting to see warm eyes pleased to see her – Lana never could hide her joy when her eyes first alighted on Kalinda appearing as if from nowhere - instead, today, all she sees is dismissal.
Employing her best seductive tone, Kalinda says, "Let me buy you a drink, and I'll explain everything."
"No need." Lana nods towards her full glass.
Too late, Kalinda sees another hand resting in Lana's lap; a hand that belongs, she notices, to a gorgeous blonde whose eyes are currently staring daggers towards Kalinda.
Kalinda shrugs, indicates the hallway, and tries a request. "A word, please?"
Lana sighs, squeezes the blonde's hand, and leans forward to buss the other woman's cheek. She says, not quietly, "Give me a minute, huh?"
Kalinda sees the hand squeeze and the gentle kiss of apology; she is shocked at the bolt of hurt that thrums through her, she thinks this may be jealousy. Lana follows her out and, with ice in her tone still, says, "Well?"
"I'll come by later when you've finished here, so we can talk properly," Kalinda tries to connect with Lana.
Lana laughs. "No, you won't."
"Tomorrow then; we can have all day together."
"No, I've got company, Kalinda."
Kalinda looks back towards the bar and sees the blonde, her eyes intent on Lana. She nods towards the woman. "Her?"
The smile on Lana's face is finally warm as she answers immediately. "Yeah."
Another bolt of jealousy floods Kalinda; it's a feeling she can't ever remember, a feeling she doesn't know how to handle. She does not know needy either but she has to ask. "What about us?"
Lana's hand reaches up to touch Kalinda's face and, with a gentle caress, she says, "Oh, but, there isn't any us; there never was any us." With one last, sad smile, she turns and walks away.
Kalinda can only watch as Lana slides back onto her barstool and takes up where she left off, as if Kalinda had never been there. It feels alien to her, as if she's been stabbed through the heart with the sharpest of daggers. And yet, she knows this feeling is beyond her, isn't it?
Finally, Kalinda knows what her conquests must have suffered. She knows what it's like to be Kalinda's woman; to be the other woman. It's a feeling she doesn't like.
The End