Cayden shifted in her chair and put a foot up on the counter. The Fuzzy Belly Deli wasn't a particularly busy shop, but was never the less profitable. The long spells of quiet allowed the tall brunette to indulge in her favorite pastime, which was watching television. Currently involved with John Edward, the guy who talks to the dead, Cayden leaned back and munched absently on gummy bears, swaying her chair slightly back and forth.

Jodie came clamoring in the door with a lawn chair, a handful of tabloids and a quart of iced tea, huffing and puffing dramatically. "No, don't get up... I got it." she said sarcastically as she struggled with her load.

Cayden glanced at her friend briefly, then brought her attention back to the television.

"Yeah, so, it's Egypt hot out there, thanks for asking." the short, brown haired woman said to herself.

Cayden turned to Jodie with a bored expression. "Well it wasn't my idea to sit out there and bask in Hell."

"A little color wouldn't kill you, besides, I want to look healthy for my date tonight." Jodie replied, waving a fan fashioned out of The Enquirer in her face.

Cayden raised her eyebrows. "Another date?"

"Well, yeah." The shorter woman replied as if Cayden's question was ridiculous.

"Why do you do that?" I mean, don't you want some peace and quiet once and a while?"

"I get enough." Jodie shrugged, knowing this was the beginning of their usual debate. One she always got the last word in.

"I don't understand how you do it. New women almost every night... it would give me hives."

"Well some of us actually enjoy the company of others."

"I don't know.... " The tall woman said thoughtfully. "I don't think I could do it. Playing the mating game isn't my thing. It's bad enough having that awkward first meeting. Hi there, what's your name... blah, blah, blah... I couldn't fathom sleeping with a woman I just met."

"If you got out more often, it wouldn't be so hard to talk to women. Plus... Wade would have no reason to keep setting you up. And speaking of which, if you really weren't interested in meeting anyone, you wouldn't keep accepting his blind dates." Jodie said smugly.

Cayden shrugged. She has a point. "I suppose maybe I do want to meet someone ... eventually."

"It will never happen if you don't give it a chance."

"I get plenty of chances from those wierdo's Wade keeps setting me up with."

"Well, if you went out and pursued a woman you actually wanted, you wouldn't be stuck with Wade's wierdos." Jodie said with a self satisfied grin.

Cayden narrowed her eyes. "Shut up." She hated when Jodie was right.

"Score one for the sweaty girl!" Jodie laughed.

"Anyway... even though I don't want to wind up all alone, I loathe bars and clubs, and first dates. I hate second dates even more than the first ones." Cayden said as she stared at the television.

"Well, Cayden, the woman of your dreams isn't going to fall into your lap you know. You have to give it some effort, You can't be afraid."

"I am not afraid!" the tall woman said defensively.

"Then what is it?"

"Shut up." Cayden really hated it when Jodie was right.

"If you're not afraid, I want you to make a deal with me." Jodie was getting excited, she may have finally gotten Cayden to make an effort.

The tall brunette narrowed her eyes skeptically. "What kind of deal?"

"The next women who catches your eye, I want you to start a conversation with her."

Cayden considered it. Sounds easy enough. I come up with all sorts of stupid chatter for the most annoying customers... and she didn't say what kind of conversation it should be. "You got a deal."

"What?" Jodie raised both eyebrows in surprise. "You're serious?"

"Yeah." Cayden nodded surely.

"Shake on it then."

"I don't know where your hand has been." The blue eyed woman joked.

"Me? Have you been to the bathroom lately?"

Cayden blushed. "I don't make that a habit smart mouth. It was only that one time, and I was desperate."

"Oooo, someone got you so horny you had no choice?"

"Something like that." The shop keeper agreed. She wasn't going to admit she got horny watching the Playboy Channel. She'd never admit to anyone she watched porno.

"Well, at least that proves the blood still flows down below."

"Shut up."

************************

Brooke was exhausted by the end of the day. No amount of coffee was able to energize her. As she turned off her computer, she yawned so widely that tears sprung to her eyes. Damn, and I still have to tend to Fred. Brooke sighed and was getting ready to leave when the phone rang. She glared at it first, then picked it up. It was her mother reminding her about Fred. "I know Ma, I'm going there now."

"Brooke, Honey, are you alright? You sound wiped out."

"Yeah, I am, but I'm fine."

Unconvinced, Mrs. Hewitt pursed her lips. "Are you still unable to sleep?" She asked in concern.

"Ma, I'll be ok. Grant's taking me to the doctor on Saturday."

"The doctor! Honey, how bad is this?" She asked in alarm.

"It's pretty bad." Brooke answered truthfully, she could never lie to her mother.

"Oh, Baby!"

"Mom, don't worry ok? How's gramma?" She asked to change the subject.

"She's really fine now, but we're going to stay the extra night just to make sure."

"Well, that's great to hear. Listen, let me go so I can get out of here. Love you, Ma."

"Love you too, Brooke." Mrs. Hewitt hung up the phone, still concerned.

*********************

The small blonde was too tired to walk uptown so she took a cab. Being rush hour, the traffic was unbearable, and it frustrated Brooke to no end. She was already irritable, and paying to sit in stand-still traffic, just three blocks from her parents condo made her crazy. "Just pull over, I'll get out right here." she instructed, shoving money through the slot in the partition.

When she got out of the cab, Brooke grimaced from the heat, then looked at her surroundings. She found herself standing in front of a store she hadn't noticed before. The Fuzzy Belly Deli, she thought with a smile. The name alone brightened her cranky mood and she decided to check it out. How come I never saw this place before? she wondered, looking around. Must be cuz the subway lets me out one Avenue over, she deduced, opening the front door and glancing up at the bell that rang over her head.

The store wasn't very large and Brooke already liked it because it had air conditioning. Taking a breath of the cool air, she looked around. There was a large variety of pet toys, leashes, collars and supplies, but the majority of the shelves were lined with treats and food. OOOO! Fred would just love it here! she thought excitedly. Green eyes continued to wander to the short counter which was adorned with baskets of little colorful toys. A customer blocked her view of the person who worked behind it, but Brooke was sure she heard a television going somewhere. She walked around, touching things, picking them up and squeezing them, making them squeak. She picked up a few treats that were supposedly "gourmet" and after careful consideration, decided that Fred would like the peanut butter cookies over the chocolate chip.

Jodie and Cayden stood patiently, with smiles plastered to their faces as Paul, the single, obese, fourty something year old man, who still lived with his mother and her 6 cats, went on and on about everything under the sun. Cayden had long since drifted away to a happy place where flowers danced and the sun always shined, but still managed to nod and raise her eyebrow in interest in all the right places. She was, after all, a professional.

Brooke stood behind the prattling man, shifting impatiently from one foot to the other. Who cares about Mr. Winkles' extra toe. Come on! Let's move it Mister! Brooke's irritation grew and she sucked her teeth and exhaled loud, suffering sighs in hopes that the fat man would realize he wasn't the center of the universe and step aside.

Drifting back to reality for a moment, Cayden heard the impatient sounds eminating from behind Paul and elbowed Jodie discretely. She couldn't see behind the large man, but knew it was a woman, by her sighs. With Jodie's deal still fresh in her head, Cayden was eager to see who this was. "Well, Paul, you go home and give Mr. Winkles a kiss for me, ok?" Cayden cut in, hoping she got her point across.

Brooke stopped stewing at the smooth sound of a woman's voice. For some strange reason, the smokey timbre struck her as sexy. The blonde blinked a few times wondering where that thought had come from.

Paul stepped to the side briefly, giving Jodie a quick view of Brooke. Jodie's eyebrows shot up and she smiled uncontrollably. Oh, Cayd... wait til ya see this one!

Cayden quickly counted out the customer's change hoping the woman behind him was at least halfway decent. She'd strike up a boring conversation, prove to Jodie she could do it and go on with her life. Glancing over at Jodie while she packed up Paul's purchase, Cayden nearly laughed out loud at the ridiculous gleeful expression on her face. Her eyebrows were terribly arched and her smile threatened to split her face in two. Surely Paul couldn't have done that to her.

"I'll see you next week!" Paul said as he happily took the bag and turned away from the counter.

"Ok, Paul, I'll be here." Cayden replied with a patented, phony smile.

Brooke was about to mutter something impolite to the large man as he passed but when she looked up she forgot what she was going to do. There was a woman staring at her with the most ridiculous expression on her face. It reminded her of a Soundgarten video where all the people had distorted faces. The blonde took two steps to the counter and put her items on it, all the while feeeling very uncomfortable. What is she looking at? She thought with annoyance. After studying her some more, Brooke came to the conclusion that she was mentally challenged and felt bad for being irritated with her. The blonde glanced up at the taller woman behind the counter and furrowed her brow in confusion. This woman was staring at her slack jawed, like she had just grown a third eye. What the hell is this place? She thought, about to say something to these rude women when she really took a look at the tall one. Wow. Now those eyes are BLUE. The kind of blue you only read about... or see on movie stars. Damn, this is very unconmfortable... they're both staring at me. Maybe I should just leave. Suddenly, the retarded woman elbowed the tall gaping one and the tall one jumped.

"Oh!" Cayden said in frog-like croak.

Brooke raised her eyebrows. They're both retarded? Must be some sort of work program for menty challenged people. Surely they don't leave them alone?

Cayden blushed and cleared her throat. "Will that be all, Miss?" She asked in a controlled manner.

Hey! Brooke thought, slightly panicked. It was the same sexy voice from before and this time it made her shiver. Feeling awkward and confused, the blonde just nodded.

Jodie chuckled out loud. Cayden was obviously going to back out of the deal.

The tall shop keeper rang up the items and announced the total. She felt stupid for being so tongue-tied and was eager to hurry this up. "Cash or charge?" she asked.

"Umm.. charge." Brooke dug around in her bag, cursing herself for standing there like a moron. I really thought she was ill. How embarrassing.

"SO!" Jodie started loudly, "I've never seen you here before?"

Brooke was surprised, she really thought the woman was retarded too, but now she seemed perfectly normal. "My parents live a few blocks away, I'm dog sitting."

Jodie plucked the credit card from Brooke's hand and gave it to Cayden who was still staring like a fool. "Oh, really? What kind of dog do they have?"

Feeling less awkward, Brooke smiled. "A chihuahua... Fred."

Cayden ran the card through and looked at it. Brooke... that's a pretty name. Brooke Hewitt... sounds kinda uppity though... She handed it to the blonde and was surprised that when they made eye contact, a real smile came just as easy to her as a fake one.

"Hey, why don't you bring Fred over here sometime? We just love to spoil the babies." Jodie continued talking.

Brooke shook her head. "Oh, he's far from a baby, in fact he's really old and I'm afraid he won't make the walk." She said sadly, suddenly wanting to spend more time with this weird duo. "Maybe we will." she blurted out, then mentally smacked herself. She'd have to carry Fred the whole time and then she'd really smell like dog. Grant will hate that, she thought.

Cayden suddenly found her tongue. "I'd love to meet Fred."

Jodie glanced at her friend with mirth. "Yeah, Cayden just loves the tiny ones." she said as she gave Brooke the once over.

Cayden, huh? The blonde thought with a goofy smile, then caught herself. What is wrong with you? "Oh, well, I better get going." Brooke said holding up the bag. "I have cookies to deliver."

"So, don't be a stranger!" Jodie piped in.

Brooke smiled and left the store. For some reason she kept repeating the tall one's name over and over in her head.

*************************************

Jodie laughed herself stupid as Cayden just stood there and watched. "Oh god! That was too good! No wonder you don't like it Cayd... you suck at it!"

The tall woman rolled her eyes. "I'm not usually so idiotic, Jo. I don't know what the hell happened."

"Damn, she was fine!"

"Fine? She was gorgeous! Are you kidding?" Cayden said excitedly.

"You're just lucky that I'm booked all week or I would have asked her out myself. Damned cute she was."

"Jo, she wasn't just cute, she was edible." Cayden groaned the last word out.

"Need to use the bathroom, Cayd?" Jodie teased.

"Hardy har har." The tall woman drawled out, trying to hide her blush. Truth was, she found the blonde extremely attractive and it lit a spark in her groin. If Jodie wasn't there, she just might have used the bathroom. "Her name is Brooke. Brooke Hewitt."

"See, even her name is cute. Watch out, Brooke Hewitt just may be back with Fred."

"Don't scare me. Oh, and very funny making that crack about me liking the tiny ones."

Jodie snickered and gathered her belongings.

"Where are you going?" Cayden asked nervously.

"Home." The shorter brunette replied with a charming smile.

"I'm not closing yet." Cayden panicked.

"Translation: what if she comes back?" Jodie whined in immitation of her friend.

"What if I start acting stupid again?"

"You'll figure something out." Jodie winked, and was gone.

************************ Brooke filled Fred's bowl absently, inexplicaby distracted by Cayden's blue eyes. "Fred, you should have seen them. They were... electric. I swear I felt them look right through me." She said, then shook away her uneasiness. "Come on Brooke! You act like you've never seen blue eyes before!" Fred ate eagerly as Brooke gave him fresh water. "She had the sexiest voice too..." she started to confess then caught herself. "That's the second time I thought that." she said surprised once again with her thoughts. She crouched down and pet Fred as he ate. "When you're done, I have some cookies for you." She said, still distracted by Cayden. That's not so wierd, to think another woman's voice is sexy cuz it was! It was smooth and smokey... it fit her well. She was smooth and smokey... Cayden. Cayden with the blue eyes and sexy voice. Brooke didn't know how long she was lost in thought until she heard Fred whimper. Blushing at herself, she looked up to notice the teeny dog standing expectantly by the front door. Straightening out of her crouch, she grabbed Fred's leash and headed out. "Let's go baby."

*******************

Cayden's head shot up as the bell tinkled over the door. She visibly relaxed when she saw it wasn't Brooke, but cringed just the same.

"Hello my Angel Darling!" Mrs. Ida Friedman exclaimed, her arms wide and flailing.

"Hello Ida, how are you?" Cayden asked politely, hoping and praying that Brooke wouldn't come in now. Not with Ida.

"Oh, Angel, Sweetie, my beautiful mamala... I'm an old woman, you know that." Ida paused dramatically and swept her arms around in a large circle. "I shouldn't complain, god has been so good to me, blessing me with the most wooooooonderful babies!" She ended her statement in a high shrill squeak, raising her clasped hands to the ceiling.

"Well, I'm always happy to hear that." Cayden smiled, her eyes darting back and forth between Ida and the door. "What can I do for you?"

"Well... Honey... "The old woman started in her odd broken way of speaking, "I just came in..." Ida swallowed and took a huge breath. "Because my little sweetheart, you know my little Honey Pie who I found in a puddle exactly 73 days ago, she was so small you could drop dead..." Ida took another dramatic breath, this time with a little dance step involved. "Well, I should tell you how I fattened her up she was on the brink of death... OH I LOVE HER MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF!!!" Here, Ida became weepy and had to stop to gather herself.

Cayden forced a smile, all the while dividing her attention between Ida and the door.

Composed, as composed as Ida Friedman can be, the old woman leaned all the way over the counter. "You know, I get so verklempt over my babies... I love them so... they are my life... I'd be dead, DEAD without them, god bless every little hair on their bodies." The elderly woman wearing a floral housecoat and an orange beret, did a complete pirouette. "My Suzy Sunsine needs a new toy. You know the little balls with the bell in them, well I got a four pack for two dollars and fourteen cents last time, you remember don't you Sweetheart, Darling, you'd remember better than me, an old woman... well they came in all different colors... white with orange..."

*********************

Brooke took Fred outside and avoided touching him for Grant's sake. She led him to the nearest fire hydrant and waited while he sniffed around. It's not so wrong for me to think Cayden is sexy is it? Does that mean I'm gay? I should have asked Bev how Sam knew... no, that's none of my business and besdes, I should ask Sam not Bev and what am I getting so nervous about anyway? Just because I think Cayden is sexy? Hell, l I think women are sexy all the time. Take that woman from Witchblade... now, I think she's sexy, that don't mean I'm gay. Brooke snorted to herself. Honestly, it's not like I want to sleep with Cayden. I just thought she was attractive. Brooke's eyebrows went up. Attractive? Where'd that come from now? I only said she was sexy... actually it was her voice that made me shiver. The short blonde swallowed nervously. Is that normal? Her voice made me shiver. That's never happened to me before, not even from Witchblade. This whole line of thinking made Brooke very uneasy, but not as uneasy as how she felt when she looked at her surroundings. She was standing directly in front of The Fuzzy Belly Deli.

*********************

"So Cupcake Junior, not Senior, Senior died 3 years ago Wednesday in May, when Cupcake Junior pulled the bell out of the ball, and the lord in heaven only knows how she did it... a genious... A GENIOUS I TELL YOU. I was so upset I cried for an hour. Of course I had to call my doctor, Dr. Myron Fentziger, only the best Pshychiatrst around because you know I'm not a well woman Darling." Ida paused and looked around as if the walls had ears. "You know I lost my husband and child and had a breakdown honey, I was going to be a famous singer Sweetheart, Angel."

To Cayden's complete and total horror, the door opened and in walked Brooke carrying the tiniest dog she'd ever seen in her life. The tall shop keeper paled and swallowed hard.

"So, Cayden, Sweetie baby... Honey, my angel, the reason I'm here is because I need to get some more toys for my babies... the GENIOUS I SWEAR TO THE GOD THAT KEEPS ME LIVE SHE'S BRILLIANT!"

Cayden's gaze darted nervously to Brooke who had both perfect eyebrows raised comically high. Cayden would have given her a helpless look if Mrs. Ida Friedman wasn't standing there ranting and raving with an orange beret.

"Did I tell you, Angel, that my little Cupcake Junior saved my life? She understands English!" Ida broke into a fit of hilarious laughter. "I'm telling you! She knows every word I say!"

Brooke bit her bottom lip in an effort not to laugh. This woman is nuts! Certifiable! Poor Cayden! However, having this lunatic in the store allowed Brooke to study the first woman that ever made her shiver. Her eyes fell immediately to Cayden's hands as they lay flat on top of the counter. She traced the long fingers with her gaze, noting the short trimmed nails and the ring she wore on the middle finger of her left hand. The skin looked soft and she wondered what it would feel like. Suddenly embarrassed, she averted her eyes to Cayden's left arm, then began to slowly follow it's length, noting with a twinge of uneasiness that she was tracing the well defined muscles of her biceps.

Cayden felt a little thrill when she noticed Brooke giving her the once over. She decided right then and there, that with or without Jodie, she was going to pursue this further. Mrs. Ida Friedman raved and danced on and on just like she usually did, flailing her arms laughing at nothing. Where before this moment, Cayden actually didn't mind the eccentric old woman, now, she was finding her a little annoying. Brooke was standing right there, apparently interested in her or she wouldn't have come back and Ida Friedman was screaming like a crazy person.

"The mouse with the string for a tail? You know the one, well I can't have those in my house no more!!" Ida slapped the counter for emphasis. "I once found a mouse with no string, which means one of my precious babies ate it. OH THE NIGHTMARE!"

Cayden watched Ida twirl around in endless circles, shrieking her grief and began to get impatient.

Brooke's gaze dropped back down to Cayden's fingers as they drummed on the counter. For a split second she imagined those strong looking hands touching her. Not a sexual touch, but gripping her shoulder tightly. She gasped in surprise as butterflies began to flutter around in her stomach.

"OKAY, so, Ida" Cayden began, coming out from behind the counter and quickly running to a display. "These are the safest cat toys in the universe!" She declared, holding up a package. "If your little Cupcake Junior, not Senior manages to tear these up, they will refund you the entire three dollars!"

Brooke drank in the length of the tall woman's body, especially her legs, with envy and something else... something that made her blush. Oh my god! I think In have a crush on Cayden! she thought, horrified. No.. I DO have a crush on her!

"OH! My delightful, heaven sent, Angel!' Ida cried "You should live and be well! You sweetheart! Those are perfect!" She twirled around several times, clapped her hands together in joy and broke into a loud aria.

Startled by the old woman's sudden operatic talents, Brooke clutched Fred tightly to her, never taking her eyes off of the crazy woman.

Cayden ran back behind the counter to bag the toys then thrust the bag at the singing woman in the orange beret. "Here you go Ida. You make sure that they all get their own ball now!" She said excitedly, "Remember what I told you." she added, almost in a conspiratorial way to make Ida think they shared a secret.

"My sweet! I love you! God will be good to you!" She began whispering loudly. "You know I don't get my Social until next Thursday on the fifteenth, I swear I'm good for the money, where am I going? " She clutched her hands to her chest and looked upwards. "May he strike me down dead, a charred old lady right here on the spot if I'm lying!" Ida threw her arms out as if waiting for the bolt of lightening. "I will pay you next Thursday for the indestructible balls!" she laughed loudly at nothing in particular.

"You be well Ida." Cayden called after the old woman who she just noticed now, was wearing two different colored flip-flops.

Brooke couldn't help herself, and whether it was Ida or her nerves, she burst out in uncontrollable laughter, which in turn caused Fred to howl along with her.

Cayden raised her eyebrows and bit her cheek, but it didn't help. Fred's tiny little neck was extended to its very limits as he howled his heart out and Cayden joined in on the laughter too.

The blonde eventually clamped her fingers around Fred's snout and began to relax. Brooke's nerves were less frazzled from the release and when she finally got a hold of herself she had forgotten all her worries as she watched Cayden laugh.

"Ohh man.. I'm so sorry..." The tall woman apologized between chuckles. "Mrs. Friedman usually comes in on the first or fifteenth. She took me by surprise too."

"She was.... something." Brooke giggled.

Cayden puffed out her chest and came out from behind the counter. "So, this is Fred, huh?" She said, scratching the dog under the chin. "He's a cutie." she added when he began to lick her finger.

"I wouldn't say he's cute... he looks a bit like a rodent if you ask me, but you can't help but love him."

"So, what brings you back?" Cayden asked, quite sure of what Brooke's answer was going to be.

"Oh yeah... well... Fred wanted to thank you for the treats." She said, holding the small dog at arms length. Cayden's close proximity was making her feel warm.

"He did, did he?" The tall woman leaned her back against the counter and crossed her arms. "Is there anything else I can do for Fred?" she asked, realizing that this meeting chicks thing wasn't so hard.

"I don't suppose..." The blonde thought for a moment. "Oh! You wouldn't have some sort of doggie cologne would you?"

Cayden smiled toothily. "But of course." Hey, this is really easy! Hand her the cologne and ask her on a date. Piece of cake. she thought cockily. Walking over to a shelf, she thought of Wade and Jodie and how they'd react when she told them she picked up Brooke all by herself. "We have a lot of different kinds." she turned to show Brooke, but the small blonde was right behind her and she bumped right into her. "Sorry."

"That's ok, I snuck up on you." Brooke admitted with a blush, hoping that Cayden didn't notice that she was staring at her butt. Why am I acting like this? Thoroughly embarrassed, she cleared her throat. "You pick one, surprise me."

Why is she blushing? Oh come on, you know why she's blushing, she wants you. "Ok, I suggest CK-9. It's a knock off of CK-1. Or if he's neutered we have White Dalmatians." she joked, totally sure of herself.

Brooke giggled like a schoolgirl. "I'll take the CK-9."

"Okay, shall we give him a spritz?" Cayden asked, coming within inches of Brooke.

The blonde felt unusually shy and backed up a step. "Sure, go ahead."

Cayden sprayed Fred on his back then lifted his tail and sprayed his butt, making a funny face as she did. "All set." Ask her, ask her now... she wants you, go for it.

"Good, it smells great! My boyfriend just hates it when I smell like dog."

Cayden's bubble burst so hard that it was currently zooming in circles around her head, making rude fart noises. The word boyfriend echoed loudly in her ears and she suddenly felt offended. "Oh, I see." she said, trying not to let her emotions show. "It will be four dollars for the bottle." She said with a forced smile.

"Thank you" Brooke said with a genuine smile, catching herself once again looking at Cayden's butt as she walked behind the counter.

Cayden rang up the purchase quickly as she tried to hide her disappointment. "You have a great day now."

"You too!" The blonde replied happily. "Maybe I'll see you again?"

"Yeah, that would be great." Cayden nodded, swallowing her urge to sneer as she watched the blonde leave. She really had no idea why she was reacting like she was. She had no prejudices and held nothing against straight people but once Brooke said she had a boyfriend, Cayden felt hurt.

part 3

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