The Romancing of Stephanie Plum
By
Luisa (MiamiBabe)
A/N: This started as a challenge response that doesn't want to go away. I've included the first two chapters that were previously posted for continuity sake since it has been so long since I wrote this.
Stephanie is sick and tired of being treated as second class citizen by the men in her life, and decides that she's tired of waiting around. Will she find a new man? Will the men in her life rise to challenge?
Something about the story line keeps buzzing in my head even while working mega hours on financial statements and filings. Which is why I'm continuing it…I figure if the idea is that persistent, then I owe it to the muse to at least try. I'd love to hear what you guys think.
Disclaimer: As always don't own anything, just borrowing for my amusement and hopefully for your entertainment. J
Chapter One
"Men!" she shouted to nobody in particular. Really, I thought, would it kill either of them to do something romantic once in a while? Maybe not flowers, but they could do something. Candy! Something! I mean really, a girl needs some romance in her life and I know just what I'm gonna do to get it.
She stomped to her car, reached through the window and grabbed her bag. Rummaging through it, she finally found the piece of paper she was looking for. She grabbed her phone and dialed the number scrawled across the paper.
As the phone rang, she bit her lip wondering if she was doing the right thing. During her last fiasco a hot new fireman had asked her out. She told him she was flattered but that she was sort of seeing someone. He smiled and told her that if she ever changed her mind, she should call him and he gave her his number. She'd thrown it in her bag, not seriously considering it. She just didn't want to litter. Yup, that was her story and she was sticking to it.
The phone had rung a couple of times and she was starting to have second doubts. She was about to hang up when she heard his deep raspy voice say, "hello."
Okay there's no turning back now. "Hi Jake, its Stephanie Plum."
"Wow. I didn't think you would call." He said surprised.
She chuckled. "To be honest, I wasn't sure I would either. Is this a bad time?" She asked uncertainly.
"No, this is a perfect time. How are you?"
She heard his smile over the phone and it immediately put her at ease. She could do this.
"I'm good. How are you?"
"I'm good, too. So did you change your mind?"
"Yeah, is the offer still open?"
"Hell yeah! I mean yes."
Cute she thought, a man that actually is excited about taking me out and romancing me. "How about tonight?"
"That'd be great. Does dinner and a movie sound good?" He asked.
She had relaxed and now was excited about what the night might bring. "That sounds great. Pick me up at 7?"
"See you tonight."
"Okay, bye Jake."
She was about to hang up the phone when he said, "Oh and Steph, I'm glad you changed your mind."
A smile lit up her face. Her day was getting better already. "I am, too. See ya."
"Yeah, see ya." He softly replied.
She had a goofy grin on her face as she hung up the phone. When she looked up she saw Ranger and Joe staring at her, both had scowls on their faces. Oops. I guess they aren't too happy with what they heard. Well too bad! It'll teach them to take me for granted.
Her indignation didn't last long as she saw them both stalking towards her. Oh boy! I better get out of here fast. She gave them one of her brilliant smiles and a finger wave and said, "Bye boys," and jumped into her car and hauled ass out of there. She was no fool.
Joe and Ranger came to a stop where Steph's car had been parked and watched as she peeled out and finger-waved at them.
"What the hell just happened?" Joe asked.
"I don't know, but you must've fucked up. That sounded like she made a date with someone," Ranger said with a smirk.
Joe whipped his head around to look Ranger in the eye. "I haven't fucked up. I've barely talked to her in the last two weeks."
Ranger scanned his memory searching for something he'd done lately and came up empty. He shrugged, "I've got nothing."
"Do you know who she was talking too?" Joe asked.
"No. I've never heard her mention a Jake. He's not someone from the 'Burg?"
Joe shook his head.
Ranger opened his phone and pushed a speed dial code. "I need a team on Steph." Pause. "No." Pause. "One. I want to know her location at all times and if anyone is with her. I want you to find out who they are and everything about them." Pause. "Now." He shut his phone.
Joe had been watching him with his mouth slightly open. What the fuck? Steph was his girlfriend. What the Hell did Rambo over there think he was doing?
"What the Hell are you doing putting a tail on MY girlfriend?" He shouted.
"You want to know who he is, don't you?" Ranger spat.
"I can find out myself. You and your goons stay the fuck away from her." Joe was turning red. He was furious Ranger's arrogance, thinking he could just take over and put a tail on her.
Ranger snorted. "Yeah maybe, but I'll know everything about this Jake person before the hour is up. Can you say the same?"
Shit he was right. It would take a while to get through the 'Burg grapevine before I could run the guy through the system, and then another thought struck me. It sounded like there was a standard procedure when it came to Stephanie. How often did this guy call his team into action to tail her?
Joe clenched his jaw. Who am I kidding? They were probably on standby 24/7. They probably fought for a place on the team, because he was sure that whichever men ended up assigned to her probably got more action than any of the others.
His stomach began to ache. Dammit now I need Maalox even when she isn't in danger!
Chapter Two
Ranger needed to get out of there. He'd had enough of Morelli. Let him chase his own tail, if that's what he wanted. He hopped into the Turbo and appeared to aimlessly be driving, but unconsciously he'd hit every spot he thought Steph might have gone to: the bond office, her parents, the bakery, even her apartment. But he struck out at all of them. Shit where the hell is she?
He flipped his phone open and pushed a speed dial number. "Report."
Hal was on monitor duty. "Manny is on Bombshell duty. He just picked her up heading towards the mall."
"Okay, good. Make sure he stays as close as he can without being seen. And tell him to keep his ear to the ground and report back anything he hears…even if it seems insignificant. Anything else?"
"We've put feelers out and Tank even talked to Lula. No one seems to think anything unusual is going on or that she's in any trouble or danger." He hesitated for a second and then he said, "Except for something Lester said a few minutes ago."
"What did Santos have to say?" Ranger asked impatiently.
Hal didn't know what was going on, but what he did know was that the boss didn't do well when Steph was in danger, so he'd better spit it out fast. "He said that a couple of weeks ago when you were in Boston, he responded to a Bombshell alert. He saw her talking to a fireman at the scene. He didn't recognize him but didn't think anything of it at the time because Steph always seems to know everyone in the 'Burg."
Ranger frowned. "Wasn't Morelli there?"
"No, he was on assignment that week in Philly so she was on her own. That's the reason Lester swung by."
Ranger was processing the information. But if he's a fireman, wouldn't Morelli know him?
"I want you to get a roster of all of the fire departments in the area and check to see if any of them are named Jake. And I want the information yesterday."
"Got it," Hal replied, and then his voice hesitated, "Boss, has she picked up another psycho?"
He shut the phone on Hal. Shit, he was losing control. His stomach had tightened and all his muscles were taut. Fuck get a grip on yourself, Manoso. When did this woman get you so wound up? She's not even in danger. A little voice in his mind immediately replied back, "But you are. You're in danger of losing her because you refused to step up to the plate you coward."
Fuck. Was he too late? Had he lost his chance? While Morelli was the competition, he wasn't too worried because he knew that in the end Steph couldn't deal with his ultimatums. But what if this guy was different? What if he was the best of both him and Morelli? Then what?
Shit…he was screwed. Ranger knew he couldn't lose her. Steph had brought fun and laughter back into his life. To remind him, that there was more to life than money and power. The voice in his mind came back. "So stop hiding behind all the bullshit excuses you've given her and tell her how you feel. Stop being a wuss, because it looks like your playing days are over."
He turned the Turbo around and hauled ass to the mall. He wasn't going to wait anymore—to Hell with always playing it safe.
He pulled into the mall twelve minutes later, drove around looking for Manny and waved him off.
Okay soldier, let's see what you're really made of. He got out of the car and headed towards Macy's.
Right before he pulled the door open. He straightened his shoulders and put on his best game face, determined to win her over. She's mine, Ranger thought to himself, and I'll be damned if she was going to be buying a new dress for some fire boy named Jake.
Chapter Three
As he stepped into the store, he immediately went into recon mode, methodically moving through the floor and scanning the crowd with the same determination he had when he looked for the enemy, but he came up empty. He quickly moved towards the escalator and took two stairs at a time and continued his search of the second floor, but she wasn't there either. As he walked toward the escalator to go to the next floor, the store directory caught his eye and he saw that the fine dress department was on the third floor. He instantly knew that's where he'd find her.
He jumped on the escalator. His face was so intent on his goal that he didn't notice how people were cowering out of his way while he jogged up the stairs. The only thing he was focused on was finding Stephanie, and then he saw her. Her back was to him but he could see she had her hands full of dresses and she was laughing at something the saleslady was saying to her.
He just stood there watching her, immobilized by the fact that for the first time in his adult life, he wasn't sure of what to say or do. How did he get here? He was used to acting quickly and decisively regardless of the situation and yet with her, he was at a loss. It was the reason that he kept her at a distance. Always saying things he knew would stop her from getting closer to him. He'd always justified his hurtful actions by convincing himself that it was about protecting her from his enemies, but he knew that was a lie. The truth was he kept his distance for his own protection, because he didn't know what to do about the unfamiliar feelings she brought out in him.
He saw her go still and then touch the back of her neck. She shook her head and started walking towards the dressing rooms, but before she went in she couldn't resist scanning the floor. He smiled. It still amazed him how she was always oblivious to her surroundings, yet she always knew when he was around.
She slowly turned around looking across the floor until her gaze met his. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. He chuckled. Not wanting to waste any more time, he quickly made his way towards her. Still not sure what to say to her, but knowing that if he didn't do something now he could lose his advantage.
"W..what are you doing here?" She asked.
"I was looking for you," he said.
"Me? She squeaked out. Why?"
"I needed to talk to you."
"You could've called."
He came determined to tell her how he felt about her but now he was having a hard time verbalizing his feelings, so he went back to a response that had served him well so far, "Babe."
She rolled her eyes. "So what was so important that Batman actually stepped foot in the mall? Do you have a distraction job you need help with?"
No! I'm not here for a fucking job. I'm here because you're making me lose my mind!. He took a deep breath while he gave himself a mental nudge. Okay soldier it's now or never. Are you going to leave the door open for fire boy or finally be a man and go after her?
Her brow was furrowed as she watched Ranger. He looked like he was giving himself a mental pep talk. She rolled her eyes. Yeah, like Batman ever needed a pep talk. But the visual wouldn't go away and a giggle bubbled out of her.
He honed in on her with his laser stare. "What's so funny?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Nothing, I just never pictured you here," as she pointed around at the gowns.
He shrugged imperceptibly. "I go where I need to go."
"So this job must be pretty important to have you braving the fine dress department," she said.
He closed the gap between them and reached out to tuck a loose curl behind her ear, leaning in and whispering, "very important."
"W..what do you need for me to do?" She nervously asked wondering what role she could possibly play on such an important job.
With his lips still brushing on her ear he huskily said, "Will you have dinner with me tonight?"
She pushed away from him so she could see his face. "T..that's what was so important you came hunting me down at the mall?" She asked incredulously.
He fought his reaction to slam down his blank face. If you want her then you have to stop hiding. Stop being such huevon and take a risk.
"Yes. Is that a problem Babe?" He said with more bite than he intended.
"No!" She was elated and confused. She couldn't believe Ranger was asking her out on a date. You have dinner with him all of the time. Don't read more into it than there is. "I mean…of course not. Why would there be a problem. We've had dinner before. What ti…" and then she remembered, she had a date with Jake.
Shit now what. She'd never said no to Ranger before. She would just call Jake and reschedule. Are you nuts? What happened to wanting to find romance? What about being tired of being taken for granted by the men in your life? God you're pathetic! All he has to do is show up and ask you to have dinner and you're going to drop everything? No wonder they take you for granted. And don't you think it's odd that he's asking right when you have a date with someone else? So what is it going to be Stephanie? Are you going to just drop everything for him or finally do something for yourself?
Before she lost her inner Wonder Woman she replied, "I'm sorry Ranger but I can't tonight. I…ah," she cleared her throat, "I have a date tonight."
He already knew that but he was hoping she would cancel for him. She'd never said no to him before. Not even for the cop. Shit this was worse than he thought. He needed to find out who this guy was and fast.
"With Morelli?" he asked.
"No." Ha she could do one word answers.
He raised his eyebrow. "Are you and the cop off again?"
Crap. She had been so mad about the lack of romance in her life that she hadn't even thought about the fact that she was technically still with Joe. Even if they both knew their relationship had been dying a slow death and it was only a matter of time before they were done for good.
"Ah…technically no, but we might as well be. He isn't going to change and neither am I and frankly, I'm over being taken for granted." As she spoke her Jersey girl attitude was resurfacing and she was feeling liberated to speak her mind. "So I've taken matters into my own hands and I'm going out with someone who's actually excited about taking me out."
"So you won't have dinner with me?" He asked while his lips brushed against hers. She was finding it hard to think with his presence invading all of her senses. Is that all it takes for you to drop everything? No! Dammit! I'm tired of making it easy for the men in my life.
She pushed hard on his chest. She caught him off guard so she was able move him and give herself some room. "I'm sorry Ranger, but I already have plans. Maybe another night?"
His body tensed and his blank face slammed down. "Yeah whatever."
He turned and began walking away, "Later Babe."
Her shoulders slumped as she saw his reaction. I told you not to make more of it than it was.
"Yeah later," she softly said.
But as she was going towards the dressing room, she felt a gentle pull on her arm. When she looked up she was shocked to see Ranger.
"Can I ask who you're going out with?"
She couldn't believe he came back. "H..his name is Jake. He's new in town and just transferred to the Trenton fire department."
He gave her a small smile and gently kissed her forehead, and said, "I hope he knows how lucky he is."
She was speechless as she watched him walk away for a second time and then as if she wasn't thrown off enough, he turned one last time towards her and asked, "Dinner tomorrow?"
Not able to find her voice, she nodded her assent. And then he gave her one of his rare full blown smiles that made the ladies behind Stephanie gasp. "Good, I'll pick you up at 7. And Babe…wear something nice because I have plans for you."
Oh boy!
Hopefully TBC