Disclaimer: I own no one except Richard, Michael and Madeline.
Ok, so this is just a little story inspired by a conversation about 10 min ago between me and my friend, Ally. I think that all men should read romance novels so they don't act like morons and hide all their feelings until they risk losing their true love. So, that's what this is based on. And I'm sorry if you hate the idea of giving Ranger a romance novel and him actually reading it. I'm not sure if he ever would read it, but it was necessary for this fanfic.
Her Knight in Shining Armor
Ranger's POV
As my phone rang, I checked the caller ID and saw that it as Stephanie. Smiling, I answered. "Yo."
"Yo yourself. I'm in the elevator, will you let me up?"
Since I was at my apartment, I could only assume she meant the RangeMan elevator. Going out into the foyer, I pushed the button that would call the elevator up to me. "Alright, you should be coming up." Then I hung up.
A few seconds later, the doors opened to reveal Stephanie with a huge smile on her face and a book in her hand. I couldn't see what the book was, but something had obviously made her very happy. Since she and Morelli had broken up several months ago, I could safely assume it wasn't that she was getting married, unless there was a third guy I didn't know about. The smile, however, was the same kind of smile my sister had had when she announced that she was getting engaged. It was the same kind of smile she'd wore the entire wedding and reception.
On Celia, it made me happy, because it was good to know she was happy. On Stephanie, it made me suspicious.
I raised an eyebrow. "What're you so happy about?"
"I just read a good book. Now, I'm going to give it to you. I want you to read it and learn from it." She held out the book to me.
I looked at it and recoiled as though she was holding out a poisonous snake. The book had Her Knight In Shining Armor written across the top in large, curly letters. Even without seeing the rest of the cover, the font, not to mention the title, told me that she was trying to give me a romance novel. The picture confirmed it. A tall, dark haired, muscular, shirtless man had his arms wrapped around a woman with blonde hair, a low cut medieval looking dress, and an adoring expression on her face as she gazed up at him. And, of course, both of their hair was blowing in the wind.
"You want me to read a romance novel?" I said it with the same tone as I might ask 'you want me to castrate myself with a pair of safety scissors?'
She gave me an annoyed look, although she still had the huge smile, so it lost some of its effectiveness. "Don't think of it as a romance novel. Think of it as an instructional pamphlet, if it'll help." Grabbing my hand, she put the book in my hand by force. "Now, go read it. I'm never going to talk to you again until you've read that book. Once you're done with it, come talk to me. And I'll know if you haven't read it."
Before I could respond, she turned and flounced back into the elevator, still smiling broadly. Looking down at the book in disgust, I flipped it to the back, reading the back with the same detached interest that I'd read a copy of Cosmopolitan or some other women's magazine. Just to see what was so great about it, but not actually because I wanted to read it.
Two families. One Love.
For years, the Blackwells and the Bennets have hated each other, and the years have been marked by battles and death. Finally, it is decided that enough is enough. The hatred and the violence must no longer dictate the lives of these two proud families. So, when Madeline Bennet reaches the age when she may marry, she is given to Richard Blackwell to be his wife.
When Richard sees his bride on their wedding day, he is instantly attracted. But the prideful Madeline wants nothing to do with a Blackwell, and Richard sees Madeline only as a beautiful body that belongs to him. With the future of their families resting on their shoulders, will these young lovers find true love? Or will their pride not only tear them apart, but reignite the flames of hatred between their two families?
I'd walked back into my apartment as I read. Throwing the book onto my couch with a sound of disgust, I grabbed my phone and called Stephanie. My call went to her answering machine after the required rings.
"If this is Ranger," the prerecorded message said, "hang up and read the book. I was serious. I'm not talking to you until you've read it. And by calling me, you're proving that either you haven't read it or you didn't get it. So, go read it, again if necessary. If it's anyone else..." I hung up before hearing what she had to say to anyone else.
I looked over at the book as though it would suddenly attack me, then I walked cautiously towards it. I picked it up, then paused and dropped it again, going to my door and locking all the locks. It would definitely suck if Tank walked in while I was reading the book. Then, having ensured that no one would catch me reading Stephanie's 'instructional pamphlet' I lay down on my couch and opened it to the first page. If I had to read this crap, I might as well be comfortable.
With the wind blowing in her hair, Madeline Bennet looked sadly out of her bedroom window. Today was her last day of freedom. For tomorrow, she was to wed Richard Blackwell. Not only was he a Blackwell, which was bad enough, but she'd heard that he was a prideful, self-centered fool. Heaving a sigh, she turned to the large door of her bedroom as she heard a quiet knock. "Come in."
45 minutes later...
I raised an eyebrow as I read the next line on the page. By now, Madeline and Richard were married. It actually hadn't taken that long, only about 25 pages, but the party afterwards had taken longer. Now, Madeline and Richard were alone in their bedroom. And Richard wasted no time in taking advantage of that fact.
Though Madeline raised her chin proudly, she was secretly terrified as Richard walked towards the bed on which she sat, clad only in a thin shift that did little to hide her from his view.
I skimmed ahead a few pages. Yep, typical romance novel. Basically pornography in word form. I was hoping this wasn't what Stephanie wanted me to read and learn from. I reached over and picked up my phone, calling Stephanie. Hopefully she'd answer this time, and if not, I'd leave a message. She didn't answer, but this time the message was different. After telling me to read the book, the answering machine continued to speak to me before moving on to 'anyone else.'
"Oh, and Ranger. I don't know how fast you read, but I just realized that there could be a possible misunderstanding. The part right after the party? Where Madeline and Richard are alone? That's not what you're supposed to learn from. Or any other part along those lines." She sounded embarrassed, which I could understand. Leaving a message that anyone who called could hear, telling someone that a graphic description of sex wasn't what someone was supposed to learn from, could, I guess, be pretty embarrassing. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. Now I'm not talking to you. If you're anyone else, completely ignore that whole thing..."
Again, I hung up instead of listening further. Skipping past the graphic sex scenes, I jumped to Madeline and Richard lying in bed, "their lust for each other temporarily quenched."
A/N: Ok, so this was going to be a one-shot, but I have to go to bed in 9 seconds (not going to happen, since I'm still typing this :)) and I'm not done. So, I'm posting this much now and I'll post the rest later.
And Ally, I'm sorry I couldn't post the whole thing, as I said, I have to go to bed, so I can't finish it, and I figure posting some is better than posting none. BTW, notice the Nicole reference (castrating someone w/ safety scissors) :) Fun times. I'm sad I had to cut that part out of the real book, but I think the cops would sort of investigate if someone did that. So, I'll have to work it in differently, like with Nicole using it as a threat towards Eric, or something. Anyway, gl with Malcolm X (if you're not done). And I'll post the rest tomorrow. Goodnight.