Reunited

Her rage returned, and that's when impulse took over as she grabbed her phone and dialed the three most well known numbers in America.

Less than 15 minutes later, two uniformed officers and a detective were at the hotel and then in her room taking her statement.

The detective had more unanswered questions than answers, so she asked Nina to start over from scratch. That happened a third time before the female detective made her way down the hall and knocked on the door of the man who'd just been accused of sexual assault.

Dean had just fallen asleep, so it took his brain a few seconds to realize where he was and what the noise he was hearing might be. And when it did, his first thought was that Danika had decided to....

He opened the door slightly and saw a large police shield in his face.

"Mr. Norton? I'm Detective Woods with the Seattle Police Department? May I come in?"

"What time is it?" he asked rather than why she was there.

"It's just after three in the morning."

He reached for the robe that came with the room then said, "Please come in."

The detective propped the door open then walked inside.

"May I turn the light on?" she asked.

"Um...sure," Dean told her knowing how bright it was about to get.

He squinted for a few moments as his eyes adjusted then finally asked why she was there.

"Mr. Norton, what time did you get back to your room tonight?"

"Let's see. It was...about 2am, I think. What's going on? Has someone been hurt?"

She ignored his question and continued.

"And have you left your room since getting back for any reason?"

"No. I was exhausted. I brushed my teeth, got undressed, then went to bed. What's going on?"

"So you had no contact of any kind with anyone after coming back to the hotel."

"No. None."

There was a knock on the door, and a uniformed officer stepped in.

"Detective? We have the hotel video for you."

The police officer brought in a government-issued iPad and handed it to her. She hit 'play' and saw Dean Norton enter the lobby at 1:59 am. The security camera switched to the elevator then to the floor they were on. She watched him pause and look to his right before going into his room then hit 'fast forward'. The next thing she saw was herself knocking on his door.

She handed the iPad back to the officer then said, "I'm sorry to have disturbed you, Mr. Norton."

"Wait. That's it? You come into my room in the middle of the night, ask me where I've been then...leave?"

She stood up then told him, "We received a call in which the alleged victim claims you sexually assaulted her."

"Wait. Me?" he asked, unable to conceal his disbelief.

"Yes."

"When?" Dean asked.

"Around the time you returned this evening. Or rather...this morning."

"But...I haven't even seen anyone, let alone...."

And that's when he remembered seeing Nina pop her head out of her door as he was entering his room.

"That's not true. I did see one of our flight attendants for the briefest of moments. She seemed to be looking for me or something. But as I said, I was very tired, so I only nodded to her then came inside."

"And the closed-circuit video supports your version of the story," the detective told him.

"My version?" he asked, now even more confused.

"That's all I can tell you until I talk to the alleged victim again."

"Nina? Is she the one who called you?" he asked, the disbelief even stronger.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Norton," the detective said before removing the doorstop and leaving the room.

"What the hell just happened?" Dean said to himself once he was alone.

Now unable to sleep, he turned on the television but had no idea what was on as he tried to make sense of what was going on.

It was around 3:20 when he heard another knock.

It was Detective Woods again, so Dean opened the door.

"Come in, please," he said.

"That won't be necessary," she said very quietly. "I just wanted to let you know that the alleged victim recanted her accusation. There won't be any charges brought against you. However, you may have grounds for filing charges for making a false statement. If you choose to do so, you or your attorney can request to see the report I'm filing on the incident. Other than that, I'm not at liberty to say anything else."

Too stunned to speak, Dean thanked her, although he wasn't sure what he was thanking her for, then watched her walk away.

He eventually fell asleep and didn't wake up until around ten in the morning. He was groggy but the memory of what happened returned within seconds of his waking up, and he sat up in bed and tried to clear his head.

"Wow," he said out loud as he threw his legs over the bed.

He looked up at the same time he stood up, and saw an envelope under the door. He wasn't checking out, and hotels didn't leave paper copies of bills anymore, so he walked over to see what it was.

He opened the envelope, and saw a note written in cursive in a woman's handwriting. He flipped the bright light back on then sat back down on the bed and started reading.

"Dear Dean, I'm writing this in hope's of clearing my conscience, and to give you the evidence you need to press charges if you so choose. Lord knows I deserve that, so this is also a confession of sorts.

The truth is I've had a terrible crush on you since the first time I saw you. I've done everything in my power to seduce you, but you're too good a man for such things. Last night, I was so angry and so hurt I lashed out. I wanted to hurt you back, and I called the police. I no sooner finished telling the detective the story I made up than I felt the worst kind of guilt and shame I've ever experienced.

I didn't have the nerve to tell her I made the whole thing up. Not even after she came back to my room. But after she told me the evidence clearly showed you never came to my room, she also informed me you could press charges against me. That scared me so badly, I couldn't sleep. All I could think of was my family that's done nothing wrong. My husband adores me, and so do my kids. But I'm easily bored, and I like to flirt. With you, it got carried away, and had you given in, I'd have done the same.

But as I said, you're an honorable man, and you kept me from making the second biggest mistake of my life. The first was accusing a fine man like yourself of something you didn't do. I can't even ask for your forgiveness, but I have to offer my apologies.

I'm heading back to Minneapolis, so if you're going to take me to court, I will expect a visit from the police in the near future. I can't ask you not to do that because I was willing to destroy your life and your reputation out of petty jealousy, but should you be able to forgive me, I promise you I've learned my lesson. That in no way makes what I did right, and it hurts all women who really have been assaulted. So while I may have already destroyed my family, I can assure you the guilt I feel is deep and very real.

Dean, I am truly and deeply sorry.

Nina"

He reread it then laid the two-page letter on the bed.

He wasn't a vengeful man, but she was right. She'd put everything he'd ever worked for at risk. She could have ruined his career and made it impossible for him to ever fly again, the one thing he truly loved doing.

He needed time to think and there was someone he needed to talk to; someone who could provide him with a woman's perspective. Someone whose opinion he very much valued. And he also needed something nearly as bad. Coffee. Strong, hot, black coffee.

After a long, hot shower, he got dressed and went downstairs and had that first cup then ordered breakfast and had a second.

It was almost 11:30 when he finished, and after going back upstairs and again brushing his teeth, he picked up his phone and dialed her number.

"Good morning," the sweetest voice he'd ever heard said.

"Hi. Did you sleep okay?" he asked, not sure why that was his first question.

"Honestly? I had a rough night."

"Yeah. Me, too," he replied without explanation.

"Am I to blame?" she asked in way that sounded a little like pure, genuine concern and also...hope.

"No. Not at all," he told her. "Why? Am I?"

"No. Of course not. You did nothing wrong. It was my inability to stop thinking about you and what happened that made it impossible to sleep."

"Danika? I just wanted to tell you I had the best time in, well, many years last night."

"That's funny. So did I," she told him sweetly.

"Is it too much to ask to maybe be able to see you again today?" he asked rather gingerly just in case it was.

"No. Not at all," she told him without hesitation. "In fact, I can't think of anything I'd like more, Dean."

It was Saturday, so she was home for the weekend, and he still had several days off, so they agreed on a time to meet before he asked her where.

"You're welcome to come to my place," she said.

"Do you still live...."

"No. I...I moved years ago. I have an apartment now. It's not great, but it's nice enough."

She told him where she lived, and they agreed to meet at 2 o'clock.

Dean's head was still swimming from the events of the last 24 hours. He'd reunited with the only woman he'd ever really loved and couldn't get her out of his mind. He'd also been accused of sexually assaulting someone he'd never even insulted let alone harassed, and God forbid--touched inappropriately.

The mental swirl slowly turned placid when he finally saw her. She'd opened the door just as he was raising his hand to knock, causing him to stop in mid-motion.

"Hi," she said with a warm, bright smile. "Come in."

He'd thought she was beautiful the night before...because she was. But she looked beyond beautiful to him at that moment. She wasn't any more physically attractive, but she was once again the only person on earth who'd ever truly mattered to him. Danika was the one person who'd helped him make sense of the often crazy world in which he lived before and after meeting her.

For those reasons and many others, he didn't say a word. He just pulled her to him and kissed her. Taken by surprise, Danika only stood there, but that reaction lasted less than a second before she put her arms around him and kissed him back. His passion ignited hers, and within seconds clothes were shed and bodies pressed against one another as he made love to her for the first time in fifteen years.

She responded to him the way she had all those many years ago, but this time, there was an animal-like hunger he'd never felt before. Their first time had been tentative and halting as she struggled with strong, conflicting feelings of passion and guilt. For his part, Dean had never been with a woman before, and had only the vaguest idea how to please one.

As kissing turned to petting, Danika patiently taught him how to love her; to love her in a way she'd dreamed of but never been loved by the man she'd married. It was awkward, slow, and yet, on some level, delicious. But what just happened between them was driven by raw, unabated desire; needs that had built up after a decade and a half of separation--separation neither of them wanted but which both knew had to be.

"I won't ask you where that came from," Danika said as she lay in his arms.

"There's no need to, is there?" Dean asked, knowing it was rhetorical.

"No. I don't suppose there is."

She raised her head and smiled at him before saying, "That was...unbelievable."

"Yes, it was, wasn't it?" he replied, knowing that, too, was pretty much rhetorical.

There'd been a fair number of other women since her, but none of them had ever done to him what this older, amazing woman had done for him either then or just now.

"Dean?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Will you tell me something?"

"Of course. Anything."

"Were you...disappointed?"

Before he could reply, she clarified what she meant.

"Not with the sex itself, but with me."

Dean gently pushed her away then sat up.

"What are you talking about?"

"I love that you feel you have to ask," she said, only confusing him all the more.

"I'm lost," he told her.

"The last time you saw me undressed, I was 32."

"Um, well, I kind of already knew that," he replied, one eyebrow raised a bit.

"You don't notice the difference? Or rather, all the differences--plural?"

"Danika, all I notice is you. You're the same beautiful woman I loved 15 years ago. Time has passed, but nothing else has changed. Not to me anyway. Are you saying things are different to you?"

"There are a lot of things that are different, but I only needed to know you don't look at me and think...."

When she said, "That I look like...a grandmother", Dean started laughing.

"Stop! You're being mean! I'm very sensitive about how I look to you."

He climbed on top of her then said, "Well, don't be. Don't be because you're so beautiful it kills me."

She knew him well enough to know when he was telling the truth or not, and everything she knew told her he was being completely honest.

When she stared tearing up again, he said, "You're not gonna get all blubbery, are you?"

She wiped her eyes with the sheet knowing it would be black with mascara, but she didn't care because, for the first time in 15 years, she was happy again.

"Not if you really still think I'm...you know."

"Yes, I do know, and yes, you are. And the word is 'beautiful'...honey," he told her as his eyes stared into hers.

"As much as I enjoyed the lovemaking--and it was fabulous--hearing you call me that was even more special."

"Time has passed, but that's all. Okay, we're both..."

He looked around then whispered, "Older," drawing a playful slap on the chest from the woman he loved, "but we're also wiser, and as you learned, I even have a job now."

Danika smiled then said, "I have two requests. One, will you please stop teasing?"

"Sure," he agreed. "And?"

"And...will you make love to me again? Please?"

He was already hard, and without saying a word, he slid back inside her, filling her both physically and emotionally as she tried to accept that the gorgeous boy she'd once loved was now a handsome man who still loved her and thought she was beautiful. She hid the pent-up tears that had to be shed from him by burying her head in the crook of his neck as he loved her, reveling in every sensation her body was experiencing as they made love again like it was the first time.

The tears were a physical necessity. A kind of outlet for her mind's inability to cope with the incredible amount of emotion it had dealt with over the last 48 hours or so. There was no sadness. Danika just had to cry. And by the time he came again, she'd gotten it all out and even managed to come again at the same time.

Fully satisfied, Danika was curled up beside her lover and said, "Was there something you wanted to talk about?"

Dean sighed then said there was.

"Okay. I'm listening."

He opened up and told her about Nina, starting from the day they first met three years earlier, and how she'd begun making subtle hints which became less subtle over time and ending with her call to the police.

Danika was so shocked she sat up in bed.

"I...I can't imagine ever doing that to anyone for any reason," she said. "What in heaven's name was she thinking? Doesn't she know how that cheapens every real incident of abuse?"

These were also rhetorical questions, and considering her past, Dean knew why she was asking them.

"Nor could I," he told her. "And if that ever happened to you or any woman I care about, I'd want her to feel confident in coming forward, and I'd expect the police to believe her."

"I'm not a police officer, but it seems to me their job is to hear a complaint and withhold judgment. Otherwise, they might be prejudiced against the person accused without knowing the facts."

"You see, we are wiser," Dean said with a smile. "Well, one of us is, anyway."

"You know what happened to me, and even with that in mind, I don't think it's fair to believe the accuser until the facts are known. What if, say...a male student accused me of sexually assaulting him. I'd be scared to death if law enforcement believed the accuser just by virtue of making an accusation."

"No, you're right," her younger lover agreed. "There has to be a balance between making women feel safe to bring an allegation and declaring the man guilty via declaration."

"It isn't just men, you know," Danika reminded him.

"How quickly we forget, huh?" he said with a warm smile.

"And how quickly we remember," she replied, causing him to ask what she meant.

"This will sound contradictory, but bear with me. I've never forgotten what it was like to make love with you, but I couldn't really remember it. But within seconds it all came back to me, and I must say it was pretty wonderful."

Dean rolled over and smiled at her as he said, "It's not contradictory. I feel the same way. And for the record, you're wonderful, Danika."

"That's funny. I was laying here thinking you were the wonderful one."

Dean got overly serious then said, "You know what? You're right. I am pretty wonderful, aren't I?"

Danika laughed then pushed him off of her as she rolled over and assumed the top position.

"And modest. You are very, very modest."

"But you love me anyway, right?"

She looked down at the younger man, and as the smile faded from her lips, she told him, "Yes, I do. I do love you."

"I love you, too, honey," he told her.

"I don't think I ever stopped loving you."

"Hey, that was gonna be my next line," Dean said, doing his best to sound pouty.

"I'm so happy you're back in my life."

"Big-time dittoes to that."

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

"I'm getting there."

"Come on. Let's go shower and get something to eat," Danika suggested.

"Good idea," Dean said as he sat up.

"After all, tube steak isn't very filling," she said, trying not to laugh.

Dean tried not to give in, but it was so corny he couldn't help it.

"Yeah, well...eating you...out...didn't exactly fill me up, either, okay?"

Danika laughed like she hadn't in forever as she stood up then waited for her long-lost boyfriend to join her. When he did, she kissed him softly then took his hand and led him to the shower where they made love again while getting squeaky clean at the same time.

During dinner, Dean asked what she thought he should do regarding Nina.

"Do you think she's some kind of habitual false accuser?"

"I have no reason to think that," Dean replied.

"You mentioned her letter. Didn't she say her husband adores her?"

"Yes. She did say that."

"And she has children I'm sure she loves dearly. Unless you think this is a pattern, I'd think very carefully about pressing charges."

"It could potentially destroy her marriage and end her career."

"I don't know her, but it sounds like she's learned her lesson."

"I agree. I think she was just frustrated and lashed out."

"On some level, I really can't blame her. I mean, you're a very handsome man. That doesn't make it right, but I can see why she was pursuing you so hard."

"No one's ever made me feel so good about myself, Danika," Dean told her as he reached for her hand.

"I'm just telling the truth," she replied.

Dean smiled at her then said, "I think I have some idea what it's like to win the lottery now. I mean, what are the odds you'd be on the same flight as me?"

"One in a million?" she said, venturing a wild guess.

"I'd say less than that. Way less," he mused. "It almost seems like something was guiding us toward some kind of...destiny."

"I don't know about that, but I do know I've never been happier in my entire life," Danika told him with total sincerity.

He reached over and took her hand and said, "And this time there's nothing wrong about what we're doing."

"I was thinking that myself," she told him as she smiled back.