While waiting for Shayne at the door of the pizzeria the minutes seemed like hours as Silk started to second guess herself. Just minutes earlier she was full of bravado as she burst into the crowded little pizzeria and found Shayne. That boldness was slowly slipping away as her head filled with one very loud thought, ‘I can’t believe I have a date with a woman!’

Although Silk was surprised, unsure and felt slightly crazy about dating Shayne it didn’t compare to how she felt when she woke up a week ago after a long night of drinking. It was so easy to blame the alcohol…

When she opened her eyes Silk knew from the pounding in her head she was hung over. It was a familiar feeling. Late nights, a few too many drinks and hangovers were regular occurrences in her life since she started working for the mob in Las Vegas. What she didn’t expect that late afternoon was waking up next to someone. It occurred to her she wasn’t alone when she stretched and her arm bumped into the person next to her.

‘Oh my God!’ Silk thought and quickly pulled her arm away. She put her hands over her face and silently scolded herself for being a tramp. She felt so stupid and cheap. The worst part was she didn’t know who was next to her. It was terrifying to think about what man it could be. If it was Bjorn in her bed Isabella would kill them. She hoped it wasn’t Chaos-Spike because working with him would be uncomfortable after a drunken one night stand. More than anything she didn’t want it to be JimmyNapoli. She didn’t want to be another notch on his list of showgirls and cocktail waitresses.

It took Silk a few minutes to work up the courage to move her hands away from her face and look over at the person next to her. When she saw who it was her eyes opened wide with shock. It was a woman! Silk quickly jumped off the bed and looked for her clothes. They were everywhere around the room. She couldn’t believe she spent the night with a woman. She didn’t even know it was possible for two women to… “Damn it!” The mumbled curse from her mouth stopped her thoughts. This was overwhelming and too much to think about. All she wanted to do was get dressed and get the hell out of there.

With her clothes finally on, one hand holding her purse and her other hand on the doorknob Silk was about to make her escape. The quiet sound of the blankets moving on the bed stopped her dead in her tracks. The woman on the bed was awake and appeared to be as confused as the woman at the door. It was a small relief to Silk when she remembered the woman’s name. It was Shayne. Thankfully Shayne didn’t say anything. Silk didn’t want to talk about what happened anyway. She didn’t know what to say other than ’What the fuck?’ and that didn’t seem appropriate or respectful directed towards the young mobster from Chicago.

“There’s food in the icebox. Orange juice too. Help yourself.” Silk babbled, hoping she sounded polite and not like an idiot. “I have to go to work.” Without another word Silk left the room and slammed the door shut behind her. As she left her apartment she wanted to forget about what happened. It was a mistake and wouldn’t happen again. Luckily for her Shayne worked out of Chicago and their paths would rarely, if ever cross again.

Despite freaking out over that night Silk was in Chicago and about to go out on a date with Shayne. It surprised her that she agreed to this. Over the past week Shayne called her everyday asking when they could see each other again. At first it was easy for Silk to tell Shayne she was busy with work. The persistent phone calls, a profitable drug run from Las Vegas to Chicago and something about Shayne made Silk agree to the date.

“Sorry for interrupting your conversation with the gentleman.” Silk said as Shayne approached her. “Were you talking about business?” Shayne smiled and shook her head. The two women turned towards the door to leave the pizzeria and all hell broke loose. Gun fire erupted. Everyone immediately went to the floor on instinct. The shots were fired nonstop. Silk reached into her purse for her gun, but it wasn’t there. 

“Fuck! I lost my gun.” Silk mumbled and felt helpless. Next to her Shayne wasn’t armed either. “We need to get out of here.” Silk shouted over the sound of the gun shots. Shayne nodded to agree then grabbed Silk’s hand and lead her quickly through the building. They went  out the back door that lead to a dark back alley. A car speeding through the alley made them duck down behind a dumpster. When the car passed them and continued going Silk looked over at Shayne and said, “This is an exciting start to a date. Where to next?”

Shayne's heart was pounding from the gun storm they just barely escaped from. Looking towards Silk, she gave an uneasy smile but tried to keep her composure. She let out a sigh of relief as she straightened out her shirt, pulled down her jacket and tousled her hair. Shayne grabbed Silk's hand, "An exciting start for sure. Well...first...let's get away from the pizzeria and get out of the alley." With that, Shayne lead them both hastily in the opposite direction of the guns and down the alley back to the busy streets of Chicago. Shayne stopped on the sidewalk and cautiously eyed the streets up and down and looking past the crowds as they walked by.

'You okay Shayne?' Silk's voice brought Shayne out of her daze as she heard concern in her words. Tuming her head, Shayne smiled, "...of course. Why do you ask?" 'You're kind of crushing my hand...' Finally noticing she was tightly gripped, she let go and also noticed her hands were clammy. Quickly rubbing her hands on her jeans, she chuckled to herself and grabbed Silk's hands again. "Sorry about that." Seeing Silk smile gave her butterflies. She couldn't get over the fact that Silk agreed to the date. Shayne could feel her face becoming warm as she smiled back. I'm blushing...please don't notice, please don't notice... Clearing her throat Shayne finally broke her silence. "Okay...okay...I know! Let's go to this little lougne that has live music just a few blocks from here. Get this date on a better note and a couple drinks should do us both good."

***Shayne had only just reutrned home Las Vegas a couple hours ago, but pulled the napkin that Silk had written her number on from that previous night. It was only just that afternoon she left her apartment for home. Folding and unfolding the napkin, she finally brought up the courage and picked up the phone. It rang a couple couple times. One more... Just than Shayne heard a click and a soft voice on the other line, 'Hello?' Shayne gulped down her nervousness, "It's Shayne.." After a couple seconds, Silk responded '...oh hi Shayne. I'm sorry I can't talk right now. Very busy right now.' Shayne only mustered out a faint "...okay." and swiftly hung up. Knowing she couldn't give up, she phoned for the next week. Silk must have thought she was crazy or something. Shayne was used to it by now. Everyone had a thought or two that she was a little off. So when the phone rang afternoon, Shayne picked up it up without thinking anything. '...Hi Shyane...I'm gonna be in Chicago...'

'Sounds like a fabulous idea,' Silk happily agreed to the idea. After finally getting her head in order, Shayne lead Silk down the busy street of Chicago hand in hand. Dusk was settling in and a cool breeze was making this a perfect night for a date. Smiling to herself, as everything was falling into place. Just than Shayne felt something blunt and hard hit her in the middle of the back. She felt her body freez as a whisper flooded her ear from behind. "Don't move bitch!"

Fuck.

A couple of drinks sounded like a good idea to Silk. Between the craziness she felt about the date and the gunshots they just escaped her nerves were frazzled. A drink or two would calm her down, but no more than that. She didn’t want their night to end up like it did last week when they drank so much she couldn’t remember how they ended up in bed together.

“You don’t remember anything?” Shayne questioned Silk during one of their phone calls since that night. “That hurts my feelings!” The tone of her voice indicated she was joking. It made Silk laugh for the first time in days. It was hard to believe the person on the phone was the same person Silk never wanted to see again. After a few late night conversations over the phone Silk started looking forward to the daily calls.

As they walked down the street it took Silk a few seconds to realize Shayne stopped. By the time she turned around a man was running away and Shayne was on the ground. “Oh My God! What happened?” Silk asked. The look on Shayne’s face was devastating as she answered, “He took my money.”

“Son on a bitch!” Silk snapped and shook her head as Shayne stood up. “Well, I’ll cover our tab at the lounge. You can pay next time we go out.” 

‘Next time?’ Silk repeated in her head. ‘Where in the hell did that come from?’ She couldn’t believe she just suggested they would have a second date.

Before the women got to the corner a police car screeched to a stop next to them and two police men got out. They approached Shayne and the taller one said, “You’re under arrest.” Shayne was quiet as he put cuffs on her. Silk opened her mouth to protest, but changed her mind when she realized arguing with the police would be a waste of time. It was smarter for her to figure out how she was going to bust Shayne out of jail so they could get on with their date.

After Shayne got up off the ground and dusted herself off. Great. Checking her pockets after Silk asked what happened, she knew right away that she had been robbed. Shayne was caught off guard though by the words that Silk would take the tab until next time. Next time? Cocking her head a little and gave a puzzled look, she rapidly shook the face and laughed. "Well thank-you. That's very kind. Guess we shant waste our time."

Just as Shayne shook off the robbery, she heard a police car screech. Oh good, they can get that bastard! She turned to look only to see two police officers with a stern look on their face and charging for her. You gotta be kidding me... 'You're under arrest" Thay grabbed her forcefully but Shayne knew better than to fight back. While handcuffing her caught eyes with Silk and gave her this confusing look. They brought her to the police car and threw her into the back and closed the door. Silk was talking to the other police officer, but couldn't hear what was being said. Sitting there with her head hung low, Shayne had only one thought, this is no way to bring a woman on a date...how am I gonna get myself outta this one?

Less than an hour later Silk and Shayne were running away from the jail in downtown Chicago. They went through an alley where Silk heard music. It got louder as they got to the end of the alley. Suddenly they were in the middle of a street festival. There were people everywhere. On the corner a band played and lined on the sidewalks venders sold food and drinks. Every vender booth had a string of lights across it. It wasn’t Las Vegas, but Silk liked it.

“This looks fun.” She commented to her date. Next to her Shayne looked out of breath from the long run after being busted out of jail. “Let’s get a drink.” Silk suggested and pointed to one of the venders selling beer. As they walked over to the long line in front of the vender’s booth Silk enjoyed the music and wondered if Shayne liked to dance. Before she could ask her a man came out of the crowd and approached them.

“Shayne, I need your help.” He said and looked from Shayne to Silk then back at his associate. He gestured at Silk and asked, “Who’s she?” 

“She’s okay.” Shayne answered then further confirmed it with a few more words, “She’s a friend of mine.” That let her associate know Silk was connected to the mafia, but not part of a local family. “What do you need help with?” Shayne asked.

“Tony Jr. got gunned down about an hour ago.” The man explained. “Poor guy is sleepin’ with the fishes. We gotta find out who did it and tell the boss.” Shayne nodded in understanding and regretfully looked over at her date. Silk didn’t want their time together to end yet, but knew this was important. She glanced at the man then asked Shayne, “Can I help?” 

The man pulled Shayne close to him and whispered in her ear. 'She know how to handle a gun?' Shayne didn't hesitate to answer with a yes. He let her go and nodded to them both. "I need my pistol. Can you give us a ride to my place?" 'Sure can girl.' Shayne smiled at Silk and took her hand and follow the man to his car just around the block of the festival. They got into the back of the car together and speed off towards Shayne's apartment. "I guess I'm bringing you home to my place unexpectedly. Sorry we couldn't get the festives. I'll make it up to you on our next date."

Next date? Shayne may have jumped the gun with that one. But she brushed it off since Silk had made the same comment early that night. Thay pulled up to the apartment and Shayne jumped off. "I'll be right back." Running inside she grabbed her car keys and ran to her bedroom to get her dual pistols. Running back outside she motioned for Silk to get out of the car. "You can ride with me." Shayne got into the car and started it. Silk got into the car too. Handing her a pistol, Shayne smiled. "Some date uh? Well, we'll see what happens next. Were gonna follow him right now and see where it leads us. Get ready for an adventure girl." Shayne chuckled and backed out of the parking spot and followed the other man.

What in the hell have I gotten myself into?’ Silk thought when they were in the back of the man’s car. Although Shayne was talking and mentioned another date Silk barely heard a word. She was worried about the sudden turn of events. They were tracking down a killer and she was unarmed. When Shayne came out of her house and gave her a gun Silk was relieved.

The car Shayne’s associate was driving stopped on a dark corner in a quiet neighborhood. He got out of the car and gestured for the woman to get out. “I heard Tony Jr. did some business in this neighborhood tonight before he got wacked. He sold a load of coke to somebody in that house over there.” The women looked at the house he pointed at. It was the second home on the block. “You gals cover the back. I’m gonna knock on the front door.”

A few minutes later Silk and Shayne were waiting near the backdoor of the house. They didn’t have to wait long. There was shouting in the house followed by two gun shots. The door opened quickly and a man ran out. Before Silk could pull the trigger she heard a shot. She was impressed by how fast Shayne fired. “Wow! Nice shot.”

When they stopped in what looked to be an alley or something, she turned off the lights and turned the key to silence the engine. In an instant the area they were in was dead quiet. She leaned forward to look out the windshield and saw that he had gotten out of the car. Shayne look to Silk in the passenger sear and saw that she looked a little shaken. Shayne put her hand on her thigh, which got her attention and looked her in the eye. "Don't worry...I won't let anything happen to you."

Walking up to her associate, she was checking over her pistol to make sure it was loaded and ready to fire. 'I heard Tony Jr. did some business in this neighborhood tonight before he got wacked. He sold a load of coke to somebody in that house over there.' Shayne nodded and made her way to the back just as Bud said 'You gals cover the back. I’m gonna knock on the front door.'

Shayne put her back hard against the side wall next to the back door and pulled Silk to the far side of her. Just as fast as Shayne settled, there was gun fire at the front. The back door swung open and a punk dashed out the towards the darkness. Without hesitation Shayne aimed and shot him in the leg. Her gun raised she ran towards the punk on the ground. He was still alive but when he fell he hit his head on a rock and was out cold. He was unarmed. Thank god. Shayne made her way back to the house and crouched down.

"Stay low just incase and stay behind me." Giving stern directions as to what to do for Silk, she slowly slinked her way into the house. Just than Bud shooted from the front of the house. 'It's clear!' It sounded faint in Shayne's head from her heart pounding in her chest. She lightly grabbed Silk's free hand as they made their way to the front door. Shayne didn't expect to see Bud with a man in his hands lifeless.

'He's still alive. I'll throw him into your trunk. He's coming with us.' Bud than left out the door and walked to the cars casually. Silk faintly said, 'Is he crazy to go out with him like that?' "He does it all the time." Still holding her hand, Shayne led them back to the cars. Shayne put her hand on her head and looked at Silk. "I hope this doesn't change your thoughts on me?" 

The swift work by Shayne and her associate didn't surprise Silk. The organization they worked for had a good reputation. Silk appreciated mobsters who were efficient and professional.

"No it doesn't change my opinion of you." Silk responded to Shayne. "Good work." She was so focused on work it took her a few seconds to realize Shayne's question was about her personal opinion, not professional. Silk wanted to tell her not to worry, but those words didn't seem like enough. After a week that included a wild night in bed, long chats on the phone, hours of analyzing her feelings and this unusual date Silk still didn't know the words to describe how she felt about Shayne. 

Instead of thinking about it another moment Silk threw caution to the wind and put her hands on Shayne's jacket to push her against the car. She followed the aggressive move with a kiss that made her head spin. For a few minutes the world seemed to vanish like it did in dime store paperback novels.

When she felt Shayne pull her closer Silk panicked, broke their kiss and quickly stepped back. "Stop! I'm not that kind of girl." She couldn't look at Shayne as she rambled on, "Well, maybe I was last week, but not now. Just because I kissed you and you look incredibly hot in that jacket doesn't mean you can take me to your place and have your way with me." Shayne stood there in shock as Silk ranted like a lunatic. Finally Silk stopped when she realized she was standing in the middle of the street and her tantrum was going to attract attention.

"We should take the guy in the trunk somewhere to talk to him." Silk suggested. "If my boss hears I'm in the middle of this mess he's going to want answers."

Shayne lost herself as she felt Silk push her hard into the side of the car. She put her hands around her waist and pulled her in. Oh. My. God. As fast as it happened, Shayne found herself being scolded for kissing this girl back. Cocking her head and bewilderment written up and down her face, Shayne could only be frozen with her hands still in the air as Silk ranted on about her.

'Just because I kissed you and you look incredibly hot in that jacket...' Shayne looked down slowly and pulled her jacket open a little confused. Looking back up at Silk who was still going on, '...doesn't mean you can take me to your place and have your way with me.'

"Whao, whao, whao, whao..." but before Shayne could get any word, Silk stopped and walked to the passenger side of the car. Shayne didn't catch what she had said because Shayne was still in shock. Silk got in and slammed the door. Turning around she saw Bud standing there looking with the same puzzled look on his face as Shayne. She shrugged it off, making it look like it didn't bother her. Opening the car door and turned the key starting the engine. Not looking over at Silk, she speed off towards their next destination.

It was like taking a silent cross country trip. No word was spoken. Shayne looked over a couple times to try and say something, but she just continued driving. When they finally stopped at the family's houses, Shayne stopped and turned the engine off. Took out the keys violently and looked at Silk. "What the fuck was that about? You honestly thought I was just gonna being you to my apartment to have my way? You have serious issues girl...don't assume next time." With that Shayne got out the car and went to the back of the car to the trunk.

“Issues.” Silk repeated after Shayne got out of the car. “I’m in Chicago in the middle of the night, there’s a guy in the trunk and I’m on a date with a woman. No shit I have issues.” She shook her head and mumbled, “And now I’m talking to myself.”

Instead of staying in the car mentally beating herself up Silk got out and followed Shayne in the house while Bud carried in the man from the trunk. Within minutes the man was tied to a chair and waking up. Bud waved a wallet in front of the man’s face and said, “I found this in your house. It belonged to a friend of mine, a Made guy who got wacked tonight. What do you know about it?”

“Go to hell.” The man answered and earned a punch on his jaw from Bud.

While the questioning and beating continued Silk and Shayne stood near the door watching. Silk glanced over at Shayne a few times through out the interrogation. She felt like an idiot for kissing her then throwing accusations at her. “Shayne.” She said quietly, hoping to get the younger woman’s attention away from the business going on in the middle of the room. “I’m sorry for the mixed signals. Can we start over?”  

While standing and keeping an eye out while Bud went on the with interrogations, she noticed Silk was right by her side standing with her. She her heard Silk softly utter her name. She didn't look, but just turned her head towards her. "I'm sorry for getting you into this mess. This is not what I expected for a date. As far as mixed signals...you know how to throw me for spin girl. I just wanted to show you a good time...we can start over..."

A loud bang made them both jump at the same time. Shayne swiftly turned her head, gun already drawn to find that Bud had shot the guy in the head. 'We got the information we needed. You can either come along or you two settle your differences...your call. I'll be outside."

"Well...what would you like to do with the rest of the night? I haven't asked you that yet...I figure I could be a gentleman and ask." Shayne smiled as she looked at Silk and lightly touched her hand looking for an answer.

It was a relief to Silk that Shayne was willing to start over and overlook her craziness. She thought it was sweet when Shayne asked her what she wanted to do. “I’d love to have a cup of coffee.” Silk said. “Is there a coffee shop around here that isn’t full of mobsters? We deserve a break from business.”

They left the house and walked across the street where Shayne’s car was parked. Halfway across the street Silk heard a car race towards them. A gun shot made her reach for her gun and protectively stand in front of Shayne. She returned fire as the car sped past them. Another shot was fired from the driver. Silk shot another round, hoping she hit, but the car continued going. 

“You’re shot.” Shayne said in panic. The adrenaline from shooting made Silk not notice the blood on her side. When she looked at it the pain hit her. She dropped her gun and put her hand over the wound. “Damn it!” She cursed then fell to the ground.   

Shayne waved Bud off as she smiled and agreed to go for coffee. Glad all that was over. As they walked towards her car, Shayne felt something strange. Just than a car raced out of the darkness towards them. Reaching for her gun, she was about to draw when Silk jumped in front of her and returned fire as the car shot at them. "Are you..." but before Shayne could finish she saw blood begin to pour from Silk's side. "You're shot!"

Just before Silk fell to the ground, she caught her and pulled her to the back seat of the car. Looking up, the car that had attacked had vanished. Son of a bitch! "You got balls girl." Shayne grabbed a blazer laying on the back seat and put it on her wound. "Keep the pressure on that. I'm gonna bring you to an old friend." Without another thought, Shayne closed the door and jumped into the driver's seat and speed off like a madman.

Driving down the highway at high speeds, she noticed a car gaining on them. You got to be fucking kidding me! Putting her gun on the seat beside her, she pulled into and alley until coming to another street. Trying to lose the car that was following them. After reaching the house, she turned off the engine and sat there for a second looking around to make sure they weren't tracked. Dashing out of the car she opened the back door. "Let's get you some help."

When Silk opened her eyes she didn’t know where she was. It was a bedroom where she was on the bed and Shayne was asleep on a chair nearby. A sharp pain shot through her the moment she moved. It instantly made her remember being shot. She lifted the sheet covering her body and saw gauze taped to her side. With a sigh she shook her head. Although she was glad to be alive she felt stupid for getting shot.

“I don’t know how I’m going to explain this when I get home.” She mumbled to herself.

“Are you okay?” Shayne asked and rubbed her eyes to fully wake up.

“My pride is hurt more than anything.” Silk answered. “Where are we?” Shayne explained they were at the home of a nurse who was a relative of a mobster in Chicago. As Shayne talked Silk glanced out the window and saw the sky wasn’t dark anymore. It was morning. “Oh shit!” She cursed. “What time is it?” Without waiting for an answer she looked at Shayne’s watch. “My flight home is in less than an hour. Will you take me to the airport?”

“Of course.” Shayne answered and stood up. “Just take it easy and see a doc in a week or so to check the stitches.”

Silk nodded then slowly stood up. “Umm Shayne.” She said and pulled the sheet around her. “Where are my clothes?”

"Uhhh...you close were kind of ruined from all the blood. I tossed them. You can wear some of mine. Hope you don't mind a man's dress shirt and jeans." Shayne tousled her hair around and gave her a grin. "Don't worry. I was in the livingroom the whole she was sticthing you up." Reaching over she grabbed her clothes and put them on the bed, all folded neatly.

"I'll give you some privacy. Just come in there when your done getting ready, than we can go." Shayne gave a slight wave and walked into the other room closing the door behind her. She walked into the kitchen and got a glass of water. After a couple minutes, Silk walked into the kitchen. She looked pretty good wearing her clothes. "Not bad." Smiling she grabbed her keys and got up. "Well, let's bring you to your flight."

They both got into the car and drove off fast towards the airport.

They arrived at the airport faster than Silk expected. She was anxious to get home, but disappointed the date with Shayne was a disaster. As they walked into the airport Shayne apologized several times. Silk insisted it wasn’t her fault. In their line of work life was unpredictable.

“I guess this is good bye.” Shayne said near the gate where passengers were boarding the flight leaving soon for Las Vegas. “I’m really sorry…”

“Stop.” Silk said and held up her hand. She didn’t want to hear another apology. “Let’s just say good bye.” That was easier said than done. Silk didn’t want to say bye. She doubted Shayne would ever call her again because she felt guilty about their date from hell. The ball was in Silk’s court and she wasn’t sure how to make the next move. “Ah..” Her mind was cluttered, confused and still unsure about this, but she was certain she wanted to spend more time with Shayne. “There’s a great diner in Vegas to get breakfast. Do you want to go?”      

Standing with her hand on her head playing with her hair, trying to hide her uneasiness with the night before and Silk leaving. When Silk said she wanted to go to a diner, Shayne stopped and froze in spot. Me? "Umm...sure...yeah...Yeah! I would love to go." Shayne could feel a smile permantly making it's spot on her face. Look like an adventure is in store for us in Vegas now...