Nocturnal Obsession

After what seemed like an eternity, the time finally came. Wearing a rather seductive black dress that was short in length as well as backless, she headed out, flinging her long, bouncy hair behind her. Her breath caught once Sabrina’s shadowy form came into view. For a minute, she considered chickening out for fear of her asking about the phone call Carly received the night before. Yet she sucked in a deep breath and trudged forth, determined to do the work necessary to accomplish her goal. Sabrina looked up at Teresa just as she approached the station. She thought she looked a bit slutty in the dress she wore and with the amount of makeup she had plastered on her face. Definitely not her sweet, wholesome Carly. “Hi there,” said Teresa. “It’s your favorite little redhead come to visit.” “Hi, yourself. Got a hot date tonight or what?” asked Sabrina. Teresa didn’t know whether to be offended or flattered by the question. She chose to ignore it instead. “Been a busy night?” “No, not too bad.” It bothered Teresa to see that Sabrina’s eyes spent more time roaming through her papers than roaming through her. Couldn’t she at least take the time to really notice her? After all, she’d spent a lot of time doing her makeup and her hair and getting it just right—and all for her. “Like my new dress?” Teresa prompted, twirling around so she could see the back of it as well. “It’s nice,” Sabrina said politely. Nice? Couldn’t she do better than that? “So tell me about yourself. Your family lives here, too?” asked Teresa. “No, just my dad and Amanda.” “Amanda?” “Yeah, she’s my sister. She just turned twenty-three. She has a baby daughter now.” “Yeah?” Sabrina nodded. “Dad moved here after he and Mom got divorced, but Candy and the twins are still in California.” “Sounds like you have more siblings than I do.” Sabrina nodded again. “Candy’s the youngest. She’s sixteen. Then there’s Lonnie and Johnny. They’re twins. They’ll be twenty next month. What about your family?” “My parents are married. So is my older sister, Tracy. I have a younger brother and sister too, Billy and Tessa.” “No nieces or nephews?” “Nope.” “They all live in Maine?” Teresa nodded just as the phone rang. But it wasn’t the phone in the guard station. It was a cell phone, which Sabrina pulled from the pocket of the light jacket that hung on the back of the stool. “Hello?” she said. Then, “Oh, hi, babe.” A broad smile broke out across Sabrina’s face at the same time a knot began to form in the pit of Teresa’s stomach. Sabrina turned to face her. “It’s my girl. Sorry to cut this short on you. Why don’t you come back later if you’re still up?” Teresa nodded and smiled weakly, trying to keep the disappointment from showing on her face. She turned and headed back to her place, her disappointment turning to anger. Damn you, Carly! Then an idea came to her. Why not kill two birds with one stone? Hope, happiness, and excitement replaced her anger. An hour later, she returned to the guard station. Sabrina was humming to the portable radio that sat on the station’s table. She turned to face Teresa as soon as she approached. “You changed out of your dress, I see.” Teresa nodded, pleased that she had noticed. She was now clad in a bikini with a towel tied around her waist. “Thought I’d go for a swim once we got done chatting.” “Ok,” said Sabrina in a very business-like tone of voice. “What would you like to chat about?” “Oh, I don’t know. You pick the topic.” Sabrina opened her mouth and was just about to say something when the station’s phone rang. Teresa wanted to smash it to pieces. “Hello?” said Sabrina as she turned away from Teresa. “No, sorry. You got the wrong number.” She hung up and gave Teresa a brief smile. “So what do you like to do for fun?” Teresa asked her. “I mostly hang out with Carly during my free time.” Teresa was sorry she had asked. Even so, she decided to politely ask, “What does she do?” “She’s a waitress.” “But with you working all night, how do you find time for each other?” “She works second shift, so she only leaves a few hours before I do, and she’s home when I get home.” “Oh.” “Teresa, I don’t mean to cut this short, but I’ve got to catch up on this paperwork.” “That’s ok. I’m going to take my swim now anyway.” Teresa started backing away. “Wait. One more thing before you go.” “Yeah?” Sabrina stood up and pulled a small can of mace from her pocket. “Take this with you.” Teresa took the can and smiled. “You remembered.” “I said I’d get it for you.” “Thanks. I like a person who puts their actions where their mouth is.” Sabrina chuckled, and the two said their goodbyes. Once Teresa was swallowed up by the darkness, Sabrina once again pondered the situation. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Teresa was still determined to win her over, and it was obvious that she had dressed to try to turn her on. Maybe if she kept coming up with enough excuses to cut their meetings short, Teresa would grow frustrated on her own and not want to bother with her as much. Meanwhile, she hoped that giving her the mace wouldn’t be seen for anything it wasn’t. The last thing she wanted to do was lead the poor girl on. Teresa may be harmless, and she may have a cute little body, but she was becoming a pest as well as increasingly pushy and persistent, more so by her body language than by anything else. She doubted Teresa realized she had noticed, but even so, she saw how much it had irritated her when the phone rang, especially when Carly had called. Teresa chose the north pool. It was closer to the guard station. After she swam a while, she climbed out and then down into the roaring jacuzzi. After a while, Sabrina passed by without so much as the slightest glance toward her. That’s ok, Officer, thought Teresa. You’ll notice me yet. In fact, I’ll be all you’ll ever notice. For the rest of the night, whenever Sabrina would do her rounds, Teresa was the one to do the noticing from her darkened window. Once, Sabrina even glanced back behind her with a frown as she passed by the window, as if she could sense Teresa’s eyes on her.