Alex moved her queen the same distance. “No. You knew I’d check you out, though, didn’t you.”

“Of course.” Teren used another pawn to take Alex’s bishop. “I knew you wouldn’t trust me. It’s always a good strategy not to trust.”

Alex replaced Teren’s rook with her own. “I’m not sure I agree with you, but I’m sure you have your reasons for believing that.”

“I do.” Teren moved her pawn onto the square with Alex’s queen and paused before removing the piece. “Just like you had reason not to trust me.” Her eyes were focused on Alex’s as she spoke.

Alex returned the look. “You were following me Monday night.” Alex looked back at the board and took Teren’s queen with her rook. “Check.”

Teren nodded. “I was.” She took the rook with her bishop. “How did you know I was there?”

“I didn’t know it was you.” She studied the board. “But I got an itch on my back that said someone was watching me.” Alex used her knight to take another pawn. “You were pretty good. I never even caught a glimpse of you. Check.”

Teren nodded, and moved her king forward one spot. “You weren’t supposed to.”

“Why did you do it?” Alex moved her knight to the left and back.

“To test you. To watch you.” Teren cocked her head and looked at Alex. “You were right, you know. We are kind of on the same side, I suppose.” She moved her king’s bishop to the other side of he board. “But the last time I trusted someone who was supposed to be on my side, I got shot, and my partner died.” Teren shrugged. “I choose to be very cautious now. Check.”

In the kitchen, the table had been clear for several minutes, and the dishes were in the dishwasher. Sarah had wiped down the table several times, while Maggie had not only wiped out the kitchen sink, but had polished the faucet. They were trying to keep the giggles to a minimum as they listened to the soft rumble of voices in the other room.

“At least she’s talking to this woman. Last time she begged off right after eating.”

“I remember. We were left trying to console Laura because Alex gave her the brush off.”

Sarah swept the floor one more time, and opened the closet to put the broom away. She stopped when Maggie took hold of her arm.

“Do you hear that?”

Sarah listened. “I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly. They stopped talking.”

They looked at each other.

“Okay. Either they’re really concentrating on the chess game, or …”

“Maggie, I don’t want to think about ‘or.’ We better get out there.”

Maggie leaned over and kissed her partner. “I think they like each other.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. Not that either of them will say so.”

“I know. They’re a perfect match, you know. Two very stubborn women.”

“Sweetheart, people could have said the same thing about you and Alex when you were together.”

“No. Alex and I were good for each other as lovers for a while, but we’ve been even better for each other as friends.” Sarah kissed her partner back. “Besides, I’m not stubborn.”

“Oh, really. And who, pray tell, is constantly insisting that she’s got to find someone for Alex?”

“That’s different. I’m her best friend; it’s my duty. Says so in the contract.”

Maggie shook her head. “Well, come on, best friend. Let’s see if they’re just really concentrating or if they’ve committed hari kiri on each other.”

“Wait. Listen. They’re talking again. Maybe we should give them another minute or two.”

“Sarah, if we wait any longer, Alex is liable to come in here and yell at us.”

“Well, then, let’s give her a reason to yell.” Sarah pulled her partner closer, and kissed her. Neither of them paid anymore attention to the voices in the other room.

Back in the living room, the chess game had continued silently. Occasionally, Alex would raise her head and examine her opponent as Teren studied the board. After her move, Teren would study Alex, contemplating the situation.

Finally, Alex used her queen’s bishop to take Teren’s king’s bishop. Teren countered by taking Alex’s bishop with her knight. In turn, Alex moved her knight back once more. Tern placed her bishop two squares from Alex’s king.

“Check.”

“Yeah.” Alex reached up and knocked her king over. “I concede. You’re very good at chess, Teren.”

“Thank you. I have to be.”

They started placing pieces back on their original squares.

“What do you mean, you have to be?”

“Well, the way I look at it, chess is made up of two parts: defense and attack. You have to balance the two. If you concentrate on only attack, you’ll probably lose your king quite oftent. If you concentrate solely on defense, you may not lose, but you certainly won’t win.”

Teren placed the last of her pawns on the board. “I have to do the same thing. If I protect too much, I can’t complete the objective. But if I risk too much, I’ll die.” She shrugged. “It’s a game of chess.”

Alex nodded. “You make a good analogy. However, in chess, there’s only you controlling the men on the board. If you need help, there’s no one to turn to. That’s not true in life.”

“Isn’t it? Even if I ask for help, the final decision is still mine. People could live or die depending on what I decide to do. If I ask help from someone, and it’s the wrong person, it could mean disaster. In chess it’s just a game, and I might lose my king. In life,” Teren’s eyes looked haunted for just a moment, “it already cost me a partner.”

Neither of them could pull their eyes away from the other.

Sarah and Maggie chose that moment to join them in the living room.

“Sorry we took so long. Had to load the dishwasher and everything.” Maggie stopped talking when she realized that Teren and Alex hadn’t heard a word.

“Anyone up for another glass of wine?” Sarah appeared with the bottle in her hand.

Teren pulled her eyes away from Alex’s. “I’m sorry, Sarah, but I’m afraid I’ll have to call it a night. I’ve got a long day tomorrow, and I should be getting home.”

“Oh, no, Teren. Please stay.”

“I’m afraid I can’t, Maggie.”

Sarah turned to look at Alex, wondering what her friend might have said to make Teren leave.

Alex, for her part, stood as soon as Teren did. “Yeah, I should be going, too. David’ll go ballistic if I’m not on time.”

“Alex, you know you can stay. We’ll drive you home later.” Sarah really wanted to talk to her.

Alex knew it. “No, I really should go. Hey, Teren, you think you could give me a ride? If DuPont’s not too far out of your way, that is?”

Maggie’s eyes went wide, and Sarah’s jaw dropped.

“Sure.” Teren wasn’t sure why Alex had asked, but she wanted a chance to talk in private with the agent.

“But —” Sarah started to object and Maggie quickly broke in.

“That’ll be great, Teren. We would have worried about Alex going home on the Metro.”

” It’s no problem. I’d be happy to give Alex a lift home.”

“Well, good. I’ll just go get your coats. Alex, why don’t you help me?”

Alex rolled her eyes and followed Maggie out of the room.

Sarah was still looking shocked.

“Sarah, I want to thank you and Maggie for having me over. I don’t get a chance to socialize much, and tonight was good.”

“Well, we’re glad you came, Teren.” Sarah had finally gotten her brain unstuck. “I hope you enjoyed yourself.”

“I did. And you’re right, Alex is a special person.”

Sarah just smiled, but in her mind she yelled, Yes!

Alex followed Maggie into the spare bedroom.

“Okay, Mags, what did you want to talk about?”

“What makes you think I wanted to talk?”

“It doesn’t take two people to get two coats. Come on, I don’t want to keep Teren waiting.”

Maggie took her arm. “You like Teren, don’t you?” It wasn’t really a question.

“She’s not bad. A good chess player.” She has to be I suppose, Alex thought.

“Come on, Alex. I know that look in your eye. You do like her.”