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Myka was seriously distracted and she didn’t think anyone in their right mind would blame her. Heck, a lot of people not of sound mind wouldn’t blame her either. Helena was...pleasant enough to look at on most days, but today...tonight…well, no one would blame her. She tried to keep her mind on the job, in scanning the room, in paying attention to the other patrons in the bar.
Which, now that she thought about it, there was something quite odd going on. She looked around the room, trying to determine what had stood out and set her on alert, but before she could figure it out, Helena walked up her, leaning in close so they could talk, or rather shout, well enough to hear each other over the music blaring out of the speakers.
“Not a lot of men here tonight,” Helena observed. “Is this typically a ladies only establishment?”
Myka frowned, trying to recall the notes they’d gone over a couple of hours ago and realizing this was the something odd she’d been trying to pin down before shaking her head in the negative. “No, this isn’t a gay bar. In fact, they have a ladies night every Tuesday. This is unusual for a Saturday. There should be at least some straight couples out there two-stepping on the dance floor.” She nodded her head towards the dancers noticing for the first time that all the pairings were women.
“Well, that’s a clue then. Something that attracts women in large numbers.” She tilted her head towards the manager’s door. “I’ll go see about having a word with management, shall I? If you’ll go talk to the bartender?”
Myka nodded her head in agreement, yet made no move to go towards the bar when Helena walked away, instead, standing still and watching her retreating form before people passing by broke her line of sight. She shook her head vigorously to clear it before finally going towards the bar.
An hour later and they were no nearer to figuring out what the artifact was and finding it. But Helena had been darting around the room quite a lot, going to talk to this person and that, going to investigate some random object. Eventually Myka figured out that the jig was up when she caught the small knowing smirk on Helena’s face when she went to “check on that potted fern” to see if there was anything suspicious about it.
She looked ruefully at Helena when she came back. “I wasn’t being subtle, was I?”
Helena grinned. “No, but your regard was not unappreciated. I especially enjoyed your expression every time I turned around to walk away.”
Myka blinked, startled. “How could you see my…” She trailed off, just staring at the wall of mirrors that circled around the room near the ceiling. “Ah, yes, that would be helpful.”
“Yes, quite.” Helena agreed solemnly, though her eyes sparkled with mischief. “You have been particularly distracted this evening.”
Myka was flustered. “Well, who could blame me. Your...costume for the evening is...well, it’s…”
“Distracting,” Helena suggested, leaning in close to whisper in Myka’s ear, “it’s supposed to be,” before pulling back and watching Myka’s face intently.
Myka stood stock still for a moment, trying to remember how to breathe. “You wore jeans so tight they look like they were painted on specifically to distract me?”
“No, I wore jeans so tight they show off my assets in fine form in order to entice you, Myka. How am I doing so far?” The glint in her eye suggested she knew the answer.
“Dance with me?” Myka blurted out, surprising them both, but it only took Helena a moment to respond. She was always ready to seize the moment, which she did now by grabbing Myka’s hand and dragging her towards the dance floor before she could renege on the offer.
Myka had been to enough cowboy bars to know the basics and Helena picked things up quickly enough and soon they were two-stepping their way around the room.
When the music changed to a slow song, they waltzed, neither surprised that the other knew how, pulling closer, the world fading away around them as they forgot the job, forgot the artifact, and leaned towards each other, their lips about to...WHAM!
Their distraction had been shared by others on the dance floor and unfortunately, Myka’s brain put together all the clues around the room, the music, the women, and with much regret, they were forced back on the job.
They did not explain to the others how they managed to retrieve the artifact. They also left out any mention of the dance, the hotel room that followed, and all other non-pertinent details (like how much better the jeans had looked on the hotel room floor the next morning). The chaos of an artifact wreaking havoc inside the Warehouse when they returned helped the others forget, but eventually Claudia did remember to ask, “so what did that artifact end up being anyway?”
“One of k.d. lang’s button downs,” was all the answer she or anyone else ever got on the subject.