I realise that this story is going to be a little different than some of you were hoping or expecting. I know you thought that I'd continue with the present day Stephanie and Ranger, but I wanted to do something a little different. This is a what-if sort of story. What if they met when they were younger. It's clear that they have chemistry when they're older, but would it have been as strong when they were younger and had less life experience?

I might eventually write a proper sequel to The Stakeout Revelation, but not until this story is finished and the next RangeWoman story is complete. I have about 15 other stories that are partially written, but who knows what will happen down the road. :) I tend to get an idea and start a story and then get another idea and start another story. As a result, none of them are actually finished or polished enough to publish. If my free time was infinite, maybe I'd spend more time writing, but it's not. I do what I can, when I'm in the mood and have time.

I also wanted to clarify something about Stephanie and Ranger's ages in The Stakeout Revelation. I know that in the books that they are the same age (2 months apart), but I needed Stephanie to be younger in order for the whole fast-tracking through high school overlap thing to work. Also, it helps later in the story. So to clarify, when this story starts Stephanie is almost 18 and Carlos is almost 20.

I own none of these characters, they belong to JE!

Please enjoy and when the comments get to a sufficient number, I'll update with the next chapter.

Chapter 1. When One Door Closes

I don't know if it was a habit or if it was just a routine that I needed to get my day started. I met a small group of friends every day in the college cafeteria and we sat at the exact same table. It was after the breakfast rush, so we were always able to sit there.

Today of all days, I needed that routine. I had my last exam of the year, I had a fight with my boyfriend last night and he stormed away from me, and now I can't seem to find the jerk and he has some of my notes for our exam later today. I put my bag on my usual stool and made a quick trip to the restroom.

When I returned from the bathroom, none of my friends had arrived, but a guy I'd never seen before was sitting in my spot. He'd moved my bag onto the stool beside him and was intently staring toward the door. I couldn't see who it was, but I didn't recognize them either. I was more annoyed that he took a seat that I was obviously saving for myself, rather than worrying who he was.

I marched over to him and stood directly behind him, looking to see where he was staring. It appeared that he was either waiting for someone, or hiding from them. I didn't care either way. All I cared about was the fact that he took something that was clearly mine. I needed to sit there to control my nerves and get a little calm in my life before sitting my hardest exam later this afternoon.

I cleared my throat behind the guy and he didn't move or even acknowledge my presence. That annoyed me even more, so I started talking. "I don't know who you think you are, but you are sitting in my seat. You picked up my bag and moved it to another stool and stole my seat. I would appreciate it if you would move."

The guy didn't move to look at me. He kept his gaze at the door and said, "I'm sorry that I have borrowed your spot. Unfortunately, this is the only spot in the whole cafeteria that gives me this advantage point and I need it for another 15 minutes. Could you please just sit in one of the other stools at this table for the duration of my visit?"

I was surprised at reply, so I asked, "Can you tell me why you've commandeered my seat? It might make me more flexible in my seating arrangements today if I understand the urgency of your dilemma, because you're clearly hiding or on the lookout for something."

He turned his head slightly in my direction and sighed before replying. "It's not something I really want to talk about, but since I've inconvenienced you, I suppose you do deserve some sort of explanation.

"I was seeing this girl, and it seemed to be going really well. She wasn't as annoying as some of the girls that tend to go for me, and we got along really well. We were supposed to meet last night at a club on the other side of campus, but I had to call and cancel because I was worried about an exam I have coming up and I wanted to get in a few more hours of book time to prepare myself.

"Around 11, I was feeling a little book crazy, so I decided to take a break and head over to the club. When I walked in, it took me less than 30 seconds to find my girlfriend. Unfortunately, she had her tongue down some other guy's throat and he had his hands all over her ass. When I asked around about the guy, I was told to be here this morning and wait for the guy who orders plain toast with no butter and nothing else.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I see this guy, and now that I've spoken things out loud, it's starting to sound like a really bad idea. I don't want her back, but I want the guy to know that it's not OK to hit on a girl when she's already in a relationship."

When he finally turned to look at me, I wasn't paying him any attention. I was reeling over what he had said. I knew a guy who ate his toast just like that, and it was my boyfriend. I reached out to grab the stool to my right, and must have stumbled, because the stranger grabbed my arm, looking at me with concern.

"Are you alright?"

I looked at him for the first time, noticing that he had a nice face, but I was too in shock at the time to truly appreciate his physical beauty. I shook my head and a squeaky whisper was all I was able to get out. "The guy that eats his toast like that just happens to be my boyfriend Ryan, or he will be until 5 seconds after he walks into this room. You don't have to do anything to him because I'll kill him myself.

"The stupid bastard got mad at me last night because he saw me hugging another guy. We are in a class together and had just finished an extremely difficult exam. Before the exam, I gave him a tip to help him remember something that he had always struggled with in assignments. He was simply thanking me for my help and Ryan flew off the handle about inappropriate displays of affection with other men.

"Now you're telling me he was sucking face with another girl? What a hypocrite! And the bastard has some of my notes for my exam today. I just hope he is willing to give them back so I can do some last minute cramming."

I stared off into space for a few minutes before I started to pull my bag towards me and rummage through it. I had an exam later today, and I had to push my emotional trauma away so I could focus on something else.

The guy sat there and watched me unpack my bag, organize my books, and finally pull out a sheaf of loose notes before he asked, "I should probably introduce myself. I'm Carlos. I'm really sorry that I've caused you distress. Can I make it up to you by buying you a coffee or perhaps breakfast?"

I turned and looked at him and saw him for the first time. I could have easily started at him all day, but I also knew that my exam was approaching, and there were a few things that I wanted to review. I blinked and then looked down at my notes and replied, "Hi Carlos, nice to meet you. I'm Stephanie." I had noticed Ryan walk into the cafeteria out of the corner of my eye, and since Carlos was not looking, he hadn't noticed. I continued by saying, "I like the idea of breakfast and coffee, and if you go now, you can order my extremely specific morning usual right behind the jerk who orders his toast plain." I said this while writing my typical breakfast order on a scrap of paper.

He nodded and I handed him the paper and watched as he went and stood behind Ryan. I watched as Ryan ordered his plain dry toast and a coffee. I also watched as Carlos ordered my breakfast, something for himself, and two coffees. Ryan looked a bit confused and leaned over to Carlos to say something to him. Carlos replied, making Ryan turn very white, but since I was so far away, I couldn't hear what he said.

A few minutes later, Ryan stomped over to our usual table, slammed his coffee down, spilling a little over the rim and rummaged through his bag. He pulled out a handful of papers, slammed them on the desk, and then walked away, never saying a word. I watched him leave, and couldn't stop myself from laughing.

I was still chuckling when Carlos carried a tray filled with breakfast-y goodness to our table. He was looking at me with an odd expression and once he laid down the tray, he asked, "I don't know why, but I expected some yelling and screaming from you when you confronted Ryan. I didn't expect laughter."

I smiled and nodded my head, replying "I had planned on calling him a bunch of names, but in the end, I think my energy is better focused on preparing for my exam this afternoon. What did you two talk about in line?"

"He asked me who I was and why I was ordering his girlfriend breakfast. I simply replied that since he had his tongue down another woman's throat last night, he no longer had the right to call you his girlfriend, so in the end, it didn't matter who I was and why I was buying you breakfast. I also mentioned that he needed to give your notes back or the rugby team might be upset with him that he made time with one of their ladies last night."

I looked at him and his serious face, trying to supress a laugh. My control lasted about 5 seconds before I burst out laughing so hard that I needed to grip the table so I wouldn't fall over. Carlos was smiling, and even though I realised he was a good looking guy earlier, his smile lit up his face even more. He was a sight to behold, but luckily, I was paranoid about my exam enough to tear my eyes away from his face.

I watched as Carlos placed my plate and coffee in front of him and put his plate across the table from him. He then stood up and moved around to the other side of the table saying, "Please take your seat. I am sorry I caused you distress this morning, and I hope you won't hold it against me for long."

I scooted over onto my regular stool, sighing as the world seemed to feel better immediately. I pulled the coffee towards me, took a sip, and then dug into my breakfast with gusto. In case you're curious, my regular breakfast order that I got on special occasions at the cafeteria consists of 2 fried eggs, 3 pancakes, hash browns, a carrot cake muffin, and a small bowl of fruit salad. I felt like I needed the extra comfort today so I could focus on my exam and not on my failed love life.

I looked up part way through my breakfast to find Carlos staring at me, with his fork in hand, stalled on the way to his mouth. I blushed at his attention and asked, "What? Do I have something on my face?"

He shook his head slightly, as if trying to shake something loose and said, "No, but I was kind of hypnotised by how much you seemed to be enjoying your food. I've never met anyone, let alone a woman who is as vocal about her food."

I looked at him with shock and continued to blush asking, "What do you mean vocal? Nobody has ever said something like that to me before."

Carlos smiled slightly and said, "Did you know that when you put a bit of food into your mouth, you close your eyes? You sigh when you swallow, and if something tastes particularly good, you give a very soft and barely detectable moan. As I said, it was hypnotic. If nobody ever said anything to you before, they probably never noticed. Either that or you've never done it before today."

I was a bit confused, because I didn't remember doing anything differently, but nobody had ever mentioned it to me before. I didn't know what to say so I just shrugged my shoulders and continued to eat.

When I finished eating, Carlos asked, "What time is your exam today? And what subject it is?"

"Economics at 4PM. That reminds me, I should get to studying. It was really nice to meet you Carlos, too bad it was under such crazy circumstances."

Carlos took my hint and gathered the dirty dishes from the table and put the tray away. When he returned to the table, he asked, "Since this is your last exam, why don't you join my friends and I this evening to celebrate the end of our second year at Rutgers. I know you're a Douglass student, but the two colleges are really one big happy family. We're meeting at 8:30 at Grifters and we'll likely stay there for the rest of the evening if you're interested." Without waiting for my reply, Carlos left, passing by my friends Christie and Molly on the way out.

When they reached me, Molly was practically drooling and Christie tripped over the stool that Carlos had been using. Molly looked at me and asked, "Who on earth was that fine specimen of a man?"

I had noticed Carlos' good looks, but I didn't think much of it at the time, but seeing the reactions of my friends to his appearance made me laugh.

"You won't believe this, but some stupid woman decided to blow off Carlos" I said, pointing at the back of the man who had just departed, "and hook up with Ryan."

The girls stared at me for a moment, so I figured I might as well continue with the rest of the story.

"Carlos came here this morning hoping to confront Ryan, and accidentally told me that my now ex-boyfriend was cheating on me with his girlfriend. Instead of confronting Ryan, Carlos bought me breakfast and encouraged Ryan to give me back my study notes and leave. You guys came after we finished breakfast and he left to allow me to get in some last minute studying."

"Wow." Was all that Molly was able to say, still looking towards the direction Carlos had exited. She had a dreamy look on her face and I was forced to clap my hands in her face to snap her out of it.

"Sorry Steph, I was just a bit overwhelmed by the shock of seeing such a handsome guy. And then you tell us that his apparently brain damaged girlfriend preferred Ryan's company over his? I'm shocked, but I'm happy to see that Ryan will not be here for our final cram session. He always talked more than studied, and I'm ready to get down to business so we can ace this exam."Christie nodded her agreement, and we spread our notes and books out on the table and got to work.

We spent the next several hours going over our course work and preparing for our exam. We'd quiz each other, do sample questions, and evaluate where we went wrong by passing our work back and forth.

By the time I walked into the exam hall at 3:50, I was feeling confident that I would perform well, but something was nagging me about the exam, and I wasn't sure what. I looked over at Molly and Christie and told them to ensure that they spent time at the beginning of the exam reading through it before answering any questions. I wasn't sure why it was so important this time around, but I was sure it would help with the exam. I wished my friends good luck and walked into the hall to take a seat.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you thought. I don't want to hold the next chapter hostage but I won't post it until I get sufficient evidence that there is enough interest in this story. I don't need 100s of reviews, but I need some.

Cheers!