Random scene from TNG Book #1 – Remy
Shao stood at the sliding glass door, cradling a hot cup of tea in her hands and watching Spartacus sprawled in the middle of the yard. It was May in Arizona adn the sun had yet to rise, so she knew he would enjoy the coolness of the grass before having to take cover under a tree. Two years later they were both still trying to to adjust to the weather. They could take the dry heat, but it sure was nice to have a/c that worked on a consistent basis. She took a sip of her tea and smiled as Spartacus rolled around in the grass, stood up to shake himself, then settled in his usual Sphinkx-like pose. Two years and he was still vigilant, even on domestic soil.
You can take the military war dog out of the the war, but you can’t take the military war dog out of the dog, she thought. But she sure as hell was going to try. Taking one last quick look around the yard herself, she padded in to the kitchen. She swallowed the last of her tea and put the mug in the sink. Her sister and their friends teased her about drinking hot green tea. Even when it was hot outside. “You want crumpets with that?” was an inside joke with her sister and never failed to make her smile. Green tea was one of the many things she missed while over in Iraq. In it’s natural form, green tea leaves looked like weed, so there was no way Vi could send it in a care package. Now, it was pretty much all she drank, hot or cold—and she could make it in the special tea pot that had been given to her by the man who raised her.
Shao started making breakfast for herself, figuring she had a few more hours before her sister and their friends woke up. They’d all had a pretty fun night last night, the girls more so than she. She’d never been one to drink, so she’d been the automatic designated driver, and she still had been pulled into the middle of all the madness of her first ever male revue. Shao laughed aloud and shook her head at the memories of their girls night out. A full body shiver and a blush soon followed, remembering that one dancer.
Dante.
He’d stared at her like he was trying to see into her soul, dancing just for her, before pulling her up on stage. And then…yowza.
After all she’d been through, Shao didn’t think she could be shocked by anything. Boy, had she been wrong.
All wrong.
Pressing her hands to her burning cheeks, she chuckled to herself and willed her girly bits to calm down. Her libido had been taking an extended vacation while she served, but last night it sure had woken up with a quickness. Shaking the tension out of her fingers, Shao got to work making herself breakfast. Around ten, her sister, Violet, and their two best friends, Luna Deveraux and Severine “Rina” St. Clair, shuffled into the kitchen.
“Oh my God, I need coffee,” Vi moaned, shoving her hands through blonde hair cut in a bi-level bob.
“You don’t need coffee, you need (INSERT CHINESE HERBS FOR HANGOVER HERE),” Shao said with a glance over her shoulder from the couch.
Vi waved a shooing hand in the air and shuffled over the Keurig that Shao never used. She only kept it on hand for her family and guests. Twisting around, she crossed her arms over the back of the couch, placed her chin on her folded hands and watched the girls try to wake up with a grin on her face. Violet wasn’t her sister by blood, but they’d bonded like sisters when they’d met in the seventh grade. Back then, Violet hadn’t been her name. It had been Shao’s nickname for her because of the color of her eyes. But it had officially become her name the summer before their junior year in high school. And she’d legally tied herself to Shao’s family in the process. Shao’s smile momentarily faltered at the utter hell Vi had endured, but she was better now. More importantly, she was alive and knew how to protect herself. Dressed in a camisole and matching boy shorts, she tugged her favorite satin Tinkerbell robe closer around her and released a wide yawn that cracked her jaw. Wrapping her hands around her Tinkerbell mug, she shuffled over to the couch in her Tinkerbell slippers and dropped down next to Shao. It was safe to say that her sister was a huge fan of the cartoon fairy, a carryover from her childhood she knew, but fairies in general. And it was something she was slowly turning into a business. INSERT BUSINESS HERE.
“Last night was crazy,” she said after taking a fortifying sip of her coffee.
“Crazy fun,” Luna agreed with a coy smile.
“I think the cosmos helped out with that,” Rina said, popping in a K-cup.
“Not to mention the martini’s,” Vi mumbled, winced, then added a shrug. “They were hella good, though. Like a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure we can all agree that there was some equal opportunity scandalization going on, right?” Rina said.
All of them were sitting in the living room now and there was a moment of silence as they all sipped their drinks.
And then moments later, laughter rang out.
“Honestly, it was all a blur,” Vi said. “I mean, there was a group dance, SKIN!!, some solos, SKIN!, a couple of musical interludes, SKIN!, some girl had sex in public—”
“That would be Shao,” Luna interjected.
“Did not,” she shot back.
“Lap dances and so much SKIN,” Vi continued dramatically, waving her hand and nearly spilling her coffee.
All the women were laughing now.
“I was expecting G-strings, not strategically placed towels,” Rina said, her cat-shaped green eyes shining with amusement and remembered embarrassment. “I mean, it’s not like I haven’t seen the male physique before. I have a kid after all.”
“Me, too,” Luna said, tucking her legs underneath her. “But still, Mr. Asshole never looked like that,” she added, referring to the ex-boyfriend who’d abandoned her after finding out she was pregnant.
“Amen to that,” Rina saluted them with her coffee mug.
