Ali Vali - Love Match

Barry came back and put the mug in front of her and took her order. When he left, she opened the leather bound book she had brought with her and started reading as she took sips from the cup sitting on the table. Parker tuned out the whispers being said about her from most of the patrons in the restaurant that night. Some of them wanted to come over and wish her luck, but her engrossment in the book and the fact she was sitting with her back to most of them kept them in their seats.

"You're staring." Bobbie took a sip of her mixed drink and tried to engage Emily in conversation again. They were out having a celebration dinner after Emily had found an apartment she liked. The pilot would be moving as soon as the furniture she had ordered was delivered.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Emily answered but kept her eyes glued to the woman drinking hot chocolate three tables away from them. She and Bobbie were sitting by the windows too, but Parker had never looked in their direction since she had sat down.

"I said you're staring. I didn't take you for a starstruck tennis fan, Em. The precocious Ms. King and I met not that long ago, if you want I can introduce you." Bobbie took a sip of her drink and tipped her head back in Parker's direction.

"You know Parker?" Emily finally moved her eyes from Parker to her dinner date.

"Parker? My, I may have over emphasized my relationship with the pin up girl of tennis. Do you know her?" Bobbie put her drink down and reached over to hold Emily's hand. The pilot had been sulking for the last couple of weeks and no amount of trying on her part would make Emily tell her what was wrong.

"Yes, we've met. How do you know her?"

"I wished her luck in the park one morning when I saw her stretching for a run. She thanked me then took off like Satan was chasing her through Manhattan. Ms. King actually gave me the run of my life when I tried to keep pace with her, after that morning I had to take a week off to recover. If she does that every morning no wonder three sets of tennis seem to be a breeze for her."

"Yeah, Parker seems to take on everything in her life with the same type of vengeance." Bobbie arched her brow at the statement, as Emily's attention went back to the lonely looking player.

"I saw her looking at us that night at Gotham too. It seemed to be fate that I would run into her again after seeing her that morning. As intently as she was looking, I chalked it up to her thinking the same thing, but if you know her, maybe she was looking at you."

"What do you mean, she was looking at us?" Emily forgot Parker for a minute and turned her eyes to Bobbie. All she could remember from that night was the blood coming through Parker's fingers when she went to get into the cab.

"I was looking at her when you walked in and her eyes followed you to the bar. She was watching us say hello before that Alicia girl gave her a wine bath. You know you read about stuff like that but you never think you will actually ever see them play out like that." Before Bobbie finished her observation she found herself sitting alone as Emily moved to the table where Parker was sitting.

"You hurt my feelings," said Emily in a soft voice as she stood next to the empty chair at Parker's table.

That must be the mantra I instill in women, thought Parker as she looked up from the book in her hand to the woman that had now taken a seat at her table. "How pray tell, did I do that?" Parker looked up from the verse she was reading passed Emily to the tall blonde that seemed to be her constant companion. She lifted her mug of hot chocolate and saluted the now shocked looking woman that was watching her dinner date sitting with someone else.

"You never called me this summer." Emily played with the napkin in her hand that she had inadvertently brought with her from her table. She was taking deep breaths trying to organize all the thoughts running through her head. It was the stuff she had wanted to talk to Parker about and now it was coming out as accusations.

"That's right, I didn't." Parker took a long look at the woman that had taken up most of her thoughts when she wasn't immersed in playing tennis over the past summer.

"I thought that you would at least once, after well, after the time we spent together."

"I thought so too, Captain, but you didn't reciprocate and give me your numbers so I didn't know how to get in touch with you. If you wanted to talk to me, you have every single number that will find me at the other end. Virgin Airlines is very accommodating, but giving out employee information is not part of their customer service. So you see, I tried, but you apparently didn't want to be found." Parker hadn't closed the book she was reading and hadn't really asked Emily to join her. The fact that she was getting pissed hadn't escaped her notice either.

Emily didn't make her any promises when she left so there was no reason for her to be mad now that the pilot was here with someone else. The someone else that had been kissing all over her two weeks ago in the other restaurant she had seen them in. You reap what you sow, Parker, and since you have planted row after row of miserable women all over the globe this is what you get.

"I did too give you my numbers." With Parker's clipped tones, Emily wasn't sure what to do.

"Captain, I am not going to sit here and argue with you, but no you didn't. You stayed at my house, you played with my dog, but there was no information on yourself that you left behind. Besides, I see that you are getting on just fine with your life. I don't see a purpose for us to talk unless you just want to gloat, and that, my dear, seems a little beneath you." Parker lifted the mug and saluted Bobbie again. The woman was sitting at the table with her chin resting on her palm watching the action taking place not that far from her lifting her glass to Parker again. Her eyes went from Parker to Emily like she was watching a special type of tennis match.

"What in the hell, is that supposed to mean?" Emily sat back and tried to figure out why Parker was being so obnoxious.

"Your date is getting lonely, Captain."

"I'm sure that my friend doesn't mind sitting alone for a minute while I'm over here telling you hello. Not that I'm sure why I bothered since you seem to have some sort of bug up your ass about something. Bobbie is who I've been staying with, she is not my date, well not technically."

"Is there a problem, Ms. King?" Barry came back with her appetizer and noticed the woman sitting with Parker. He and everyone around them noticed that neither one of them looked very happy.

"No problem, Barry, just an acquaintance that wanted to wish me luck." Parker smiled up at the waiter then at Emily. "Thank you, Emily, you have done your duty and are free to go."

"Why, is Alicia going to be here any minute?" Why in the hell am I talking like she owes me something? Get up and leave, Em girl, before she calls security , thought Emily as her feet refused to move back to her own table .

"I've told you once before, Captain, don't believe everything you read in the paper. If there is something you are dying to know, then ask me. I'm a dog, but honesty is not my problem," said Parker as she leaned forward. She made the statement sound as menacing as she could through a whisper.

"Did you sleep with her since I've seen you last?" The book finally snapped closed and Parker noticed that Barry wasn't moving after hearing Emily's question.

"Is there something else you needed to ask me too, Barry?" Parker looked up and asked the waiter. She did so not need this shit tonight.

"No, I'm sorry please excuse me." He looked disappointed that he had been dismissed before Parker answered the question.

"Now to answer your question, yes I have." The one good thing she reflected on later was that the hot chocolate she had been drinking had come to room temperature and there wasn't that much left in the mug. Parker took her napkin and wiped her eyes off so that she could see the shrimp cocktail Barry had put down.