Chapter 35 - Meeting Mandy


“Hey Girl.”

Cate looked up and grinned as Mandy strolled into the office and flopped onto the couch. She was glad to see her Gal Pal. They hadn’t had much time together of late.

“Hey yourself,” Cate answered. “Sleep in this morning?”

Mandy nodded. “We didn’t get done with crime scenes until almost midnight, so I took the morning off.” She grabbed one of the throw pillows from the end of the couch and hugged it to her stomach. “I would have taken the whole day off, but you promised me Jonny-Hotness.” She looked around the office. “So where is he?”

“He’s in Bobby’s lecture.” Cate answered. After leaving the mat room, she had walked Jon over to the classroom and left him with Bobby, then returned to the office to shower and change. “Should be back here for lunch in about 20 minutes or so.”

She made a goofy face at Mandy, wrinkling her nose. “Don’t think you’ll be too impressed, though. He’s in PTs and is all sweaty and smelly from DTs this morning. Looks pretty rough, really,” she teased her friend.

“Ha! That man could be covered head to toe in pig shit and he would still be sexy as hell.” Mandy laughed. She knew Cate agreed. “So what did you do in DTs this morning?”

“Apprehension and searches.” Cate answered. She couldn’t keep a satisfied little smile from her lips.

Mandy noticed. “Damn, that must have been fun!” Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “So, did you grab his package?” She saw from Cate’s blush that she did. “Holy Hell, woman! Spill!” Mandy ordered.

Cate gave Mandy an abbreviated narrative of her training session with Jon, leaving out the fact that the searches had become so overtly sexual. Mandy giggled as Cate repeated Jon’s comments about her buying him dinner and about him getting to second base. She nodded understandingly at Cate’s admission to being completely turned on by Jon throwing her on the floor when they practiced takedowns. She arched an eyebrow. “And?”

Definitely more than a handful,” Cate grinned. “Or a mouthful,” she added dirtily.

“I KNEW it!” Mandy exclaimed. Both she and Cate burst out laughing. They laughed long and hard, as only girlfriends with very dirty minds can do. Finally, gasping for breath, they settled down.

“Damn, I wish I had been there to see it,” Mandy chuckled, shaking her head.

Oh, what you would have seen… Cate thought, still quieting her giggles. She decided not to tell Mandy the best part…about how Jon had so sweetly held her hands and so sexily nibbled her ear. She wanted to keep those details to herself, at least for now.

“What on earth is going on in here?” Cate turned her gaze to the doorway of her office and saw Bobby peeking around her half-open door, an amused look on his face. “Hey Mandy,” he said to Cate’s guest.

“Hey Bobby. Just a little girl talk.” Mandy answered, still giggling softly. Her giggle turned to a surprised squeak when the door opened and a handsome, blonde rock star sauntered into the room.

Now it was Cate’s turn to laugh at the awed expression on Mandy’s face. Jon glanced at Cate and gave her a little wink, then gave Mandy a huge grin. “Well, well, well,” he said. “You ladies aren’t talkin’ about me, are you? Having a good laugh about the Rock Star who gets his ass kicked every day by a girl?” he teased.

Jon stepped closer to Mandy and held out his hand to her. “Hi,” he said, more gently. “I’m Jon.”

Mandy recovered quickly, sitting up and pressing her hand into Jon’s. “I’m Cate’s friend Mandy,” she smiled back at him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Ah, Mandy. You’re the CSI, right?” Jon asked. “That’s really cool. I’ve always been fascinated with that stuff.”

“It IS cool,” Mandy grinned. “Best training program on the center!” she needled Cate. “We may not play with guns, but we have blood and crime scene tape and lab coats!”

Jon chortled. Now, she’s a spitfire! he thought. It was easy for him to see why Cate and Mandy were friends. They were both smartass tough chicks who could definitely hold their own against the boys. “I’d love to see what kind of training you do,” Jon said. “If we have time in the schedule, that is.” He gave Cate a sly smile. “I think we have more DTs sessions planned for next week.”

Cate felt her cheeks warm as Mandy gave her a saucy grin. “Well, Jon,” Mandy answered brightly, “You can never have enough practice at defensive tactics.” Cate saw that Mandy could barely contain her laughter.

“Do you have time for lunch?” Cate quickly asked Jon, changing the subject before he picked up on Mandy’s suggestive tone.

“Yeah, just a quick bite. I need to shower and change for the raid house exercise,” he answered.

“Don’t bother to shower,” Cate told Jon as an image of him standing naked and soapy in the locker room shower flashed in her mind. “You’re gonna get pretty sweaty and dirty at the raid houses. There’s no A.C. and you’re gonna be wearing a bunch of gear. You’ll just need to shower again at the end of the day.”

Jon considered that for a moment. “Okay,” he shrugged. “In that case, let’s grab something to eat before I change.”

“Danny just made a deli run,” Cate answered. “I had him pick something up for you.”

Jon grinned. “Thanks, Teach.”

Cate rolled her eyes and looked at Mandy, who was grinning like a fool. “C’mon, Girl. I’m sure there’s plenty for you, too.” Cate said to her pal.

Jon, Cate, and Mandy all filed out of Cate’s office and went down the hall to find a huge spread laid out on the conference room table. They filled plates, grabbed sodas, then settled into chairs to eat.

Cate listened quietly while Jon and Mandy talked about forensic science, law enforcement, and Mandy’s personal history. She smiled as she once again saw the sweet, humble, down-to-earth Jon as he conversed with her friend. Danny was right, I really AM lucky. I bet not many people get to see him like this, she thought.

She made a mental note to be extra sweet to Danny when they went out together tomorrow. Always looking out for me, Big Brother, she thought, glancing across the room at her buddy. Thank God.

“Hello...Cate?” Mandy’s voice interrupted her musings. “Where’d ya go, Girl?”

“Sorry,” Cate said. “Just thinking about this weekend.” she answered. Cate saw Jon tilt his head slightly, interested.

“You’re not gonna back out on me, are you?” Mandy asked warily. “C’mon, we need some girl time.”

Cate shook her head, smiling. “No, nothing like that. Just running through the schedule in my mind, that’s all.”

“Girl time?” Jon asked. “Sounds dangerous,” he chuckled.

“Oh yeah, sure.” Mandy answered. “Very dangerous. Cate and I are doing the spa thing in the morning. A little pampering never hurt anybody, right?” Cate nodded in agreement as she took a drink of her Diet Coke. “Then she’ll be all ready for her hot date tomorrow night.” Cate sputtered a little as she choked on her soda, trying to keep it from coming out of her nose.

“Really?” Jon raised his eyebrows in surprise and gave Cate a faux-jealous look. He already knew that she had dinner plans with Danny, but Cate didn’t know that he knew. “You mean I’m not the only man in your life this week?” he kidded.

Cate shook her head and coughed, still trying to down the soda. Mandy answered for her. “Cate and Danny have this tradition. Independence Day,” she looked pointedly at Cate, silently telling her to pick up the explanation.

Jon looked to Cate expectantly. Shit. Cate thought. She assumed Danny had told Jon that she was divorced, but she felt a little strange telling him that she celebrated the anniversary of the day Kevin left her.

She cleared her throat. “It’s not a big deal, really. Every year Danny takes me out to dinner to celebrate the day my ex got the hell out of my life. He calls it my ‘Independence Day’.” She gave a small smile, glancing across the room at Danny, then back to Jon. “He was never a fan of Kevin’s.”

Jon saw a hint of sadness in Cate’s eyes. He gave her a gentle smile and nodded. He understood completely. He had his own little ritual to memorialize the anniversary of his divorce. “I see,” he said softly, then sighed dramatically. “Guess I’ll just sit home, all alone in the dark, while you and Danny go out and paint the town,” he pouted teasingly.

Cate frowned slightly. She had been so wrapped up in the week’s schedule that she hadn’t even considered whether Jon planned to train through the weekend. “We can postpone if you would prefer to work Saturday and Sunday,” she said quickly. “I’m sure Danny wouldn’t mind.”

“No! I was just kidding.” Jon answered hastily. He hadn’t meant to make Cate feel guilty. “Besides, I have to fly to Philly tomorrow. I’m speaking at an event for Project HOME.” He gave Cate a reassuring smile. “I have my own date, with Sister Mary.”

Cate chuckled at that. But inside she felt her heart tighten a little bit with disappointment. She hadn’t even thought about spending time with Jon this weekend, but somehow knowing he wouldn’t be nearby made her sad.

Jon read her expression, and his heart warmed. She was going to miss him. He couldn’t wait to see how she reacted when he showed up on Saturday night.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back in plenty of time for training on Monday,” he assured her. “In fact, I’m having dinner at the Director’s house Sunday night. And I promise I’ll do my homework.” Jon grinned and gave Cate a wink, the little lines around his eyes crinkling sexily.

Cate nodded and returned his smile. She picked up her sandwich. “You’d better finish your lunch,” she directed Jon. “I think Bobby’s about ready to go.”

Mandy watched the exchange between Jon and Cate silently, with great interest. She knew they had been spending long hours together the last few days, but there was a subtext to their interaction that indicated a more personal connection.

A slow smile crept to Mandy’s lips. Maybe her teasing wasn’t so far off the mark. Could it be possible that Cate was considering a little tryst with her rock star student? It certainly appeared to Mandy that Jon was interested – very interested – in her friend.

Mandy made a mental note to ask Cate what was going on during their spa morning tomorrow. She hoped she was right. Cate deserved a little fantasy after what she had been through in the past few years.

Jon, Cate, and Mandy finished their meals and tossed their trash in the cans, then Jon excused himself to change for his afternoon’s training. Cate and Mandy went back to Cate’s office and grabbed their sunglasses and keys, then headed out to run a couple errands on the Center before going to the raid houses.

1 comment:

  1. “So, did you grab his package?”
    “Definitely more than a handful,” Cate grinned. “Or a mouthful,” she added dirtily.

    So we have established that he is NOT hung like a "second grader"!!!!

    More Catte!!! I NEED MORE!!!!

    ReplyDelete

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