Tan Lines Chapter 2

Mailee sighed deeply and rubbed her forehead. This was getting nowhere. She glared at him and he was showing no sign of letting her out. He still had that smirk on his face and she wanted to do everything she could to wipe it off. She stepped back from the iron bars and decided that if he wasn't going to give her the benefit of the doubt, then she would show him that the Mailee he knew was no longer the woman she was today. She walked to sit down and hiked up her pant leg to show some of her calf and she saw his eyes darken as he stepped closer to her. Inside, she smiled, and she unbuttoned the first three buttons of her shirt. She made sure it was left open wide enough for him to get a sneek peak of her bright red lacy bra. As she predicted, he swallowed and the conscious her took a bow.

“Don't you have any air conditioning in here? It's so hot,” she said in a slow voice.

He smiled and she thought she was getting the top of the hand. Until he took her show into his own hands. “Well, you're already on the right path to getting more air, Shirley Temple. A few more buttons and you'll be free. Why stop now? It's not just me who is enjoying the show. You're on camera.”

Mailee felt her cheeks red and she got off of the bed. She buttoned up her shirt and walked to the iron bars where she grabbed them with a deathly force. “Get me out of here! I swear I will break you when I get out of here.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is that a threat, Mailee?”

She swallowed hard. If she rememberd correctly, the only time he actually used her name was when he was near losing his temper. But she was pissed and she didn't care. “Read it any way you want, Sheriff. I didn't do anything wrong and if you keep me here, I can put your little career in the dirt when I get out of here. Have you forgotten? My husband is a lawyer.”

He laughed and then crossed his arms. He bent his head toward her and his smile faded. “You're wrong there, Mailee. This is my town. You break a law and you pay. Now you may have ran off to Chicago and been all high and mighty there, but here, you're not the queen of anything. Don't you threaten me with talks of your husband, who by the way, should be labeled as your ex.”

The word “ex” hissed from his lips and she gasped so loud, the Gods must have heard it. So he knew she was divorced? Of course he should know. She should have thought of that when Randall was a well known lawyer and Randall had made sure the entire world knew it. But she'd hoped that her home town of Walnut Grove didn't read Chicago Times.

“Well, it doesn't matter if he is an ex or not, he's still my lawyer. So if you're not going to charge me, then get me out of here,” she said through clenched teeth.

“No, I'm still keeping you in there.”

“On what charges?”

“Drunk and disorderly!”he barked as he marched off.

Neng sat at his desk and thumbed through his paperwork while his mind ran with thoughts of the Mailee in the jail cell not five feet down. He shook his head, not believing that she had fallen right into his lap after a ten year absence. Last night when he went to the bar, he was off duty, and was looking for a tall pint to clear his mind. He never expected to have his past to rain down on him. When he saw her tumble in the parking lot, he thought she was just another drunk wanting to drive home. He didn't even notice it was her until he'd picked her up and stared at her face. The pain had caught in his chest and he was at a loss of breath as he stared at her. She'd grown more beautiful if he was completely honest. When she was younger, she was all skin and bones with extremely curly hair. That was how she'd earned her childhood nickname. He started calling her Shirley Temple, just to tick her off. She was small, skinny, and clumsy. He was three years older than she was and when his mother threw her famous parties, she'd always force him to invite her out of pity. When she came dressed in those mismatched socks and too large dresses, he'd make fun of her all night long. But as soon as she hit 17, something happened. The woman in her appeared and she became a full blown hot machine. He didn't even know when it was that he started to like her. He hadn't gone to college and stayed to work at the old factory. Most of his friends worked there and his best friend, Billy, had a younger sister, Karen, who was friends with Mailee. She'd tag along with Karen when she came by and each time he saw her, her skirt was getting shorter and shorter and her legs were longer and longer. It was getting hard to not notice her and one night, in the old factory, afrer a few drinks of beer, she ended up underneath him. Of course, right after he was done making love to her, she cried and he felt horrible. When he tried to comfort her, she only shrugged him off and ran away. He was full of guilt for letting his hormones take control over him that he ignored her for the rest of the year. Right after she turned 18, she packed and left. He found out when he had worked up an apology and walked to her house to find her grandmother alone.

Neng leaned back in his chair and a smile crossed his face. The woman in the jail cell was not the woman he remembered. She was a wild fire and when she hiked up her pant leg and undid those buttons, he'd wished she'd done a bit more than that. She had maintained her body and got rid of those curls, although he did like them. She'd also finally filled out in her chest area and was looking rather lovely. He knew why she was back; her marriag was over. He'd read it in the Chicago Times a few months back. He wasn't keeping tabs on her; he just happened to cross it one afternoon. Randall had enough and was giving his wife the thumbs out the door. The man was a fool and if he ever saw him, he'd let him know it. But until then, he had to decide what to do with Mailee. He got up, walked over, and found her sleeping on the bed with her back toward him. As she moved, her shirt moved up and he saw the top of a butterfly tattoo peeking from beneath her jeans. He sucked in a breath. When did she get that? It was sexy as hell as it played peek-a-boo with him. He wanted to see the rest of it and he ached to run his fingers—whoa! Hold on Neng! What are you talking about? Get your hormones under control before you make another mistake. The last time you touched her, she cried and it made a mess of your life. She moaned and he jerked his head up as she turned around. Her arm fell over the bed and he watched as the button on her shirt came undone. The swell of her breast came into view and he turned away. Damn! He shook his head and walked back to his desk.

The door chimed and one of his deptuies and oldest friend, Billy Lee, walked in wearing his uniform and carrying two cups of coffee. Billy worked with him at the factory and was the brother of Karen. He was married to his high school sweetheart, Jamie Chang, and they had three kids; all beautiful girls. Billy was a few inches shorter than Neng, but was as built and muscular as he was. In fact, for being a husband and a father, he looked pretty good.

“Hey. I heard you had a pretty wild night,” Billy said.

Neng pointed to the jail cell that housed Mailee. “Take a look for yourself.”

Billy smiled and walked off in the direction. He looked in there and then let out a loud whistle. He walked back and smiled as he set the cups down. “She's one hell of a looker. Who is she?”

“You don't recognize her?”

Billy took his coffee cup, took a long drink, and shook his head.

“Shirley Temple,” Neng offered.

Billy spit out his coffee and coughed. “What?”

Neng took the napkin from his desk and wiped the desk from where the coffee spilled. “I'm not even lying.”

Billy walked back to look at her and then he turned to face Neng. “You're telling me she's the one who used to come around at the factory with Karen?”

Neng nodded.

He shook his head and slowly strolled back. “What happened to her?”

“Chicago, marriage, and divorce.”

“Oh yeah, that will do it.”