Fool Me Once
I started writing this after I saw a few posts on facebook so I thought I would try my skill at funny, I don't write funny very well. As always, this story took control and turned out to be a Babe and Ranger HEA. What can I say I am a hopeless romantic, as always constructive criticism is appreciated, if you don't like it, please be kind in your reviews.
I don't own the characters and am not earning any money from this story. Storyline and mistakes are all mine.
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Hal and I were on one of the most boring nights of surveillance I have ever experienced, we were laughing about some of our past April Fools shenanigans, and it brought me back to one of the best pranks. Oh my God, it was the funniest thing I have seen. Lester deserved it for all the pranks he's pulled on me. OK, OK, so let me backtrack by introducing myself before I go any further
My name is Stephanie, aka BABE, Wonder Woman, Bomber, Bombshell, Beautiful, Angelita, Little Girl, Sweetheart and Cupcake and when my mother is angry which is usually 90% of the time, I am Stephanie Michelle Plum, yikes.
I have been in a long term dysfunctional relationship with one of Trenton's finest, Detective Joseph Morelli, who is the owner of my nick name, Cupcake. We've known each other for over 20 years growing up and going through school together, he is two years older than I am. I think my mother had promised me to Joe on the day I was born, you know how they did that in the old aristocratic days. She has spent the majority of her years pushing Joe and I together.
After so many failures, we finally decided to call it quits for good and parted ways as good friends. Now he is happily married to a wonderful girl named Marianna and they are expecting their first child. I couldn't be happier for them. Marianna is the perfect Italian Burg girl for him and she is everything I never wanted to be. It took a while for dear old mom to get over it but after a few bottles of booze, she's ok with it now.
I, on the other hand have sworn off men. I dated a few of the Trenton losers. Those who weren't losers were very overbearing and professed their undying love for me after date number three, well I quickly tossed them aside. My social life consists of a bi-weekly girls' night with Connie, Lula, Marylou and my sister Val as well as Friday nights with my Rangeman gang.
I work for Rangeman, an elite security company that does much more than just your typical security. It is an extremely well-run machine, military style and a no nonsense top of the line professional company that only hires the best of the best, no slacking in that department. How the hell was I hired you ask? Well let me tell you.
I previously worked for Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, my weasel of a cousin. I blackmailed him a few years ago into hiring me as a bounty hunter. The company was purchased by one Ricardo Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger, Carlos, Sexy Cuban, Man of Mystery, Walking Sex God, Man in Black and last but certainly not least, Batman who also happens to own Rangeman.
Vincent Plum Bail Bonds is now S.P.M Bail Bonds; let's see how long it takes you to figure it out. When Vinnie owned the office, Connie and Lula worked there. Connie, the Annette Funicello of Trenton and Lula a big brown fluff ball, as wide as she is tall and she is not that tall. Lula's attire consists of neon and animal print spandex leggings and skirts, boobs falling out of her tops and knockoff Spiga shoes and boots bought out of the back of some guy's car on Stark Street. Lula previously a hooker turned file clerk works on two things, her nails and stuffing donuts in her mouth, the rest of the real work is tossed haphazardly into a drawer.
When Rangeman bought the bonds office Lula and Connie were told that they had to wear uniforms. Connie was ok with that, Lula not so much. She is now the office clerk for S.P.M. Bail Bonds which means she really has to work, no getting around it at all.
So everything was going smoothly and business was great. Connie as the office manager writes up the bonds. Vinnie retired and is under careful watch by his wife Lucille, a very sweet and wonderful woman, how the hell she fell in love with that weasel is beyond me. Lucille and Vinnie are on a world cruise. This was the only way Lucille could break her sleaze ball husband of his animal fetish, that is another story entirely.
Now let me get on with what's been happening. April fool's day around here isn't restricted to just one day, it's a month long process and that's not all my fault. I am a pretty good contributor, but Lester Santos aka Man Whore, Jackass, dumbass, and all around company prankster is the biggest culprit. Friday nights are social night at Rangeman, we either go bowling, dinner, play pool, dancing or play cards. The building has an awesome game room / break room which we use for our Friday game nights.
It was the middle of March and we were all playing cards, we started talking about April fool's day and what shenanigans we could come up with, we would draw names and one name was the prankster and the other name was the prankee.
We chose names and of course I was the prankee and Lester was the prankster, great I was going to be in a shit load of trouble. The first and the only rule was we didn't know when this trick would be played so we all had to be on our toes because nothing was off limits.
Every day I continually looked over my shoulder and trying to be aware of my surroundings, never knowing when Lester would strike. April 1, was your typical ha-ha April fool's day, mild pranks, nothing too bad, so I thought I escaped all the bad stuff.
Ranger was out of town and we arranged a morning of donuts. I love donuts, and I could eat an entire dozen on my own. We decided to meet for breakfast and I saw a few boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts sitting on the tables. We all gathered around and got our coffee.
"Come on Beautiful, you're the one who loves the donuts and as always ladies first, go ahead choose your poison" Lester said so sweetly. I should have known right then and there not to trust that face of his.
I was licking my lips at the thought of chomping into one, two or even three donuts. I opened two of the boxes and found vegetables, FREAKING VEGETABLES, carrots, celery, broccoli, tomatoes and pea pods with plain yogurt for the dip. I opened the rest of the boxes and they were all the same, not one damn donut in the bunch, Lester had written Happy April Fools Beautiful on the inside of the boxes. I was pissed and pissed was an understatement, Lester of course was laughing so hard he was on the floor rolling, and the guys were laughing too, my sweet Hal was the only one who was not laughing at me.
Well needless to say I was not very happy with Lester so Hal and I went out to get a couple skips and then headed to Tasty Pastry for donuts and we stuffed our faces without taking any back to the office.
"Hal, I have to pay Lester back for the donut prank, what can we do? Help me think of something." I was not above pleading for any help I could get. "Ok Bomber let me think of a few things and I'll email you ideas and you do the same." Hal replied with a sneaky look on his face.
When one of the area's huge warehouse stores has a sale they call Rangeman and arrange for security because people steal shit all the time when a particular item is on sale which could be dog poop in a box people would get greedy. Hal, Lester, Cal, Woody, Ram, Manny, Jr. and I were scheduled for the 3-8 shift and we were responsible for walking around and being visible to discourage people from stealing.
Hal and I were on surveillance when the schedule popped up on our calendars for the warehouse sale and it hit me. "Hal I've got an idea that will be the ultimate payback for Lester." I said excitedly.
"What is it Bomber," Hal said laughing at my sneaky face.
"How about we get four little pigs and we paint numbers on their backs, numbers 1, 2, 4 and 5, we let them loose in the aisle where Santos is working. The guys will run around looking for the pigs but they will only find four and realize they are numbered so they'll try to find piglet number 3 without any luck. Meanwhile, Hector can be up in the office recording the entire thing."
"Bomber that is freaking awesome. I love it. OK it's a plan, we don't tell anyone but Hector alright, wait, where are we going to get the pigs?" Hal asked worried.
"Don't worry Hal I've got it covered." I was cracking myself up just thinking about the mayhem and chaos this would cause, paybacks a bitch Santos and you're toast, I thought to myself. All the arrangements were made for the pigs to be dropped off. Mooner and Dougie were my go to guys, and they came in with carriers, unknown to me, they decided to grease up the piglets.
Hector made up some story about observing the Rangeman employees for evaluation purposes. He explained to the manager about the pigs and said that he had to be in the office to observe the training exercise.
Hal and I were standing at the end of the aisle when Dougie and Mooner let the pigs loose. Lester almost shit in his pants when he saw them, the pigs were running around squealing and the guys were chasing them. It was hysterical every time Lester caught one of the piglets it would slip out of his hands and Les would fall flat on his face, he was sliding on the floor trying to grab them. The guys were bumping into displays and items were falling off the shelves. But the funniest was when Lester and Woody ran after two pigs and collided with a huge display of crackers they were laying on the floor with crackers all over the place.
After about 2 hours of chaos and craziness my sides were splitting from laughing so hard, the guys were all proud of themselves when they found the pigs and were holding on to them very tightly. I noticed Lester had an oh fuck look on his face.
"Lester what the heck is wrong with you?" I asked him "Beautiful, the pigs are numbered 1, 2, 4 and 5 we're missing pig number 3, what are we going to do now?"
"Go look for them, don't just stand here, all you guys go look for piglet number 3" I said trying so damn hard not to laugh. It was fun being team lead on this assignment because I get to play boss.
I told the rest of the guys to clean up the mess they made in the aisles, while Hal and I looked at each other and laughed, they finished cleaning up and joined the others to look for piglet 3. After about 45 minutes of watching the hysterical scene I decided it was time to come clean.
Hal sent a text to the troops saying to return to our area and I called Hector telling him what was going on but to keep recording. The men gathered around curious as to why they were called over when they should be searching for the pig. I was trying so hard to control myself and stop laughing, it was hard but I finally managed.
"Men, there is no piglet 3, you've been pranked." I began cracking up and I looked at Hal, he started laughing right along with me.
"Stephanie, what did you just say?" Lester asked with venom in his voice.
"I said there is no piglet 3…." Lester interrupted me.
"I heard what the hell you said PLUM" Yikes, he called me Plum; he is pissed like I've never seen before.
"Then if you heard why did you ask me?" I replied with a snarl.
"Because I wanted to make sure I heard you correctly, so this was your damn plan to get back at me for the donut prank. OK PLUM, the war begins. Be afraid, be very afraid." Lester was stone faced and he walked away. I on the other hand did a touch down shuffle because I was quite proud of myself, I mean really really proud.
Hal and I bumped knuckles with each other and smiled. "Stephanie 1 / Lester 1" I said with pride, I met with the manager quickly to have him sign the paperwork and we were heading back to Rangeman. It was a good thing Hector, Hal and I drove separately since the guys didn't wait for us.
We arrived back at Rangeman and I quickly finished up the billing paperwork to leave in Tanks box on his desk. "Little girl, why are the men so grumpy, is there something I should know about?"
"There were no issues, the guys are pissed at me." I replied trying not to laugh.
"They were mumbling something about Plum, Hector and Hal but they didn't elaborate, so talk to me and fill me in." Tank looked at me suspiciously. Then I completely lost it and began laughing hysterically, I finally managed to say call Hector and Hal.
I couldn't tell the story because I was snorting through my laughs so Hal explained what took place. I thought Tank would get pissed but he had this huge smile on his face, I tried to tell Hector to show the video but again nothing would come out. I was trying so hard to stop myself from laughing but all I could do was point to the phone and wipe the tears from my face.
Hector finally figured out what I was trying to say and showed us the video, as I was watching I laughed even harder, oh my gosh watching it was even better than being there, I laughed so hard I had the hiccups. Hal and Hector were cracking up and Tank had tears running down his face. I laughed so hard I fell off the chair which made the others laugh even harder.
"Steph, why did Santos bring up donuts?" Tank ask confused.
"Oh that's right you and Ranger were out of town." I proceeded to tell him that story and he laughed and understood my reason for the prank today.
"You know little girl, he's going to get you back big time, you better watch your back." Tank warned me in midst of laughter. Thinking to himself that he wanted to send a copy to Ranger and keep one for himself.
"Oh I know he will. I am quite sure he's plotting my demise as we speak."
The week was quiet; Lester and the other men didn't really talk to me very much. I know they gave Hal a hard time and they were afraid to even approach Hector because he happened to be walking by when they were ripping into Hal and Hector put them in their place telling them to stay away from Hal and I.
After a long week spending the majority of the time looking over my shoulder, checking for spiders, broken chairs and other pranks that Lester is good for, I was relieved it was Friday. It was my turn to choose our social night. I decided on pizza and a game, one that I made up '20 questions & tequila' we roll a dice and after the third roll whatever number the dice lands on is how many shots we have to drink and we answer questions.
We all went out for pizza to Pino's and back to Rangeman for the game. Ella had set up the large table with bottles of tequila, shot glasses and dice, along with bowls of chips and baskets of chocolate M&M's and various candy bars, we were all set. Tonight the gang consisted of Hal, Lester, Bobby, Manny, Cal, Ram, Woody, Hector and me. We rolled the dice and who ever had the highest would go first. I rolled a 6 so I was first, of course all the guys were happy because they know I can't handle alcohol very well. I rolled a 1, I drank my shot and Manny asked me a question.
"Wifey, what color bra and panties are you wearing right now?" That surprised me because Manny isn't like that. "Red lace" I replied.
We all took a turn, the one nice thing about having this many people playing is that it takes a while in between shots which is perfect for me. It was my turn and my third roll was 4, crap. I took my shots like a good little girl. Bobby decided to ask a question.
"Stephanie, have you ever had a threesome?" He looked at me with evil in his eyes. "Nope" I answered with emphasis on the P. It was Lester's turn to roll and as he was about to throw the dice for his third roll Ranger walked in. He had been out of town again and was unaware of all that had gone on. We all said hello to him and he came up behind me, the back of my neck was tingling like crazy. "Babe, can I talk to you for a minute," he rolled my chair and helped me out of my seat.
I stumbled a little bit, and I followed him out of the break room making our way upstairs to his apartment, he put his bags down and removed his jacket and draped it across the dining room chair then began to undo his tie, I decided to help him.
"How was your meeting, was it productive?" I asked him as I slid his tie from under his shirt collar.
"Yes it was Babe thankfully." He answered as he pulled out a long black velvet box from the pocket of his jacket.
"What's this?" I asked him surprised.
"Open it and find out." I opened the box and it was a beautiful necklace with little diamonds embedded in a pear shaped pendant,
"Ranger, this is beautiful, what is it for?" I asked looking at the necklace.
"No reason, other than I missed you." He replied against my ear.
"It's a tracker too isn't it?" I said suspiciously.
"Well that too, but don't hold that against me" he answered with one of his 200 watt smiles.
"The only thing I want to hold against you is my body. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him so close that a piece of paper could not slip through and I kissed him with all that I had in me. Oh yeah, the tequila was kicking my ass now.
"Thank you Ranger, the necklace is beautiful, will you put it on for me?" I turned my back to him and he put the necklace around my neck as he nuzzled my ear lobe and kissed my neck.
"Why don't you change and come downstairs and join us, you've been traveling a lot lately, you need to relax." I said to him excitedly.
"OK Babe let me go shower and change then I'll come down. You go back to your game give me about 15-20 minutes." He walked me to the door, kissed me and I went back down to the break room. When I walked in the guys were busy drinking and answering questions.
"Bomber, is boss man joining us?" Manny asked.
"Yeah, he's taking a shower, he'll be down soon." I replied, looking at them suspiciously knowing they were up to something. It was my turn so I rolled a 4, great, just what I didn't need. I drank my shots, sucked on as much lime as I could to kill the taste and waited patiently for my questions.
Apparently, they decided to change the game a little while I was upstairs, instead of one question, you now had to answer the same number of questions as your shots, with different people asking the questions, sort of like an inquisition.
First to ask was my old faithful friend Bobby. "Sweetheart, do you have a sexual fantasy?"
This round of shots now had me feeling very very loopy and I wasn't sure I could answer without sounding like that old comedian Foster Brooks.
"Hmmm, uh, oh, uh I do, ha ha, yep I sure do." I answered in the midst of giggle and blowing the hair off my forehead, that wasn't too bad of a question, thinking to myself feeling like I squeaked by something horrible.
"Wifey, have you ever acted out your sexual fantasy?" Manny asked me while giving me a hard look.
"Oh, uh, hmmm, boy oh boy, it's hot in here, NOPE." I replied making a loud popping sound. Manny's grin became cold.
"Bomber, what is your sexual fantasy?" Cal asked me with a strange grin.
OK so I can't really share my true sexual fantasy but I can give a tamed down version so I don't get razzed for the rest of my life about it.
"Well, I, uh my sexual fantasy is to be stranded on an island with a guy and have mad passionate sex, trying out every position in the Kama Sutra book." There I said it, that wasn't too bad, in the middle of my revealing my fantasy Ranger had joined us and was sitting across the table from me. I felt myself turn one hundred shades of red when he stared at me.
"Beautiful, name the person who is stranded on the island with you " Lester asked, revenge written all over his face.
"No one in particular." I replied thinking I was able to dodge that bullet.
"OH, no, no, no, sweetheart, that answer is not acceptable. Answer properly or another 4 shots for you." Bobby threw out quickly.
"Oh, hunh, umm, whew, ugh, Ranger." I whispered while I tapped my finger on my head.
"What was that Wifey, we didn't hear you." Manny asked with a sadistic look on his face.
"Babe, you don't have to answer, come on guys how many shots has she done?" Ranger interjected.
"Oh its ok Batman, if I want to play with the big boys, I have to follow the rules of the game." I answered slurring my words and lifted up my hair off my neck because I was starting to get very hot.
"Wifey, come on spill." Manny said impatiently.
"OK, ok, ok, chill," I looked around the table at the sea of faces staring at me looking so mean with the exception of Ranger, Hal and Hector.
"RANGER, OK are you all happy now, Ranger is who I want to be stranded on the island with. You didn't think I'd answer did you ass holes?" I shouted back nervously not looking at Ranger.
It was now Ranger's turn, he rolled a 2, oh of course he did, parking karma now dice karma.
"OK boss man, here's your question, have you recently kissed a woman other than Stephanie?" That question was asked by smart ass Lester. I swear when I sober up from this hangover I was going to have he was a dead man.
"Yes" Ranger answered quickly looking straight into my eyes. I felt my heart drop 100 feet and wanted to run out of the room and cry. Hal grabbed the dice and said it was his turn to ask a question.
"Boss, who was the woman you kissed?" Hal asked ever so sweetly while glaring at Lester.
"My Grandma Rosa during my recent trip to Miami" Ranger answered with a 500 watt smile staring me in the eye again. I was relieved to the point of light tears. It was now time for Lester to roll, and he rolled a 4, oh this was going to be good.
I told everyone I was going to ask all the questions, after a few grunts, complaining and yelling no, they all agreed, I guess it was because Hector pulled out one of his knives.
"Lester, have you had sex with triplets at the same time?" He looked at me with an evil smirk as if I didn't know the answer to this one.
"Yes I have, yes I have indeed." He answered proudly
"OK question 2, have you ever recorded you and your partner having sex?" I asked giving him a glare.
"Yes Beautiful, I have." He answered without hesitation or embarrassment.
"Question 3, all the time, some of the time or once in a while?" I asked
"Some of the time" He again answered without hesitation.
"OK, Lester, question 4, have you ever had a problem with not being able to perform during sexual activity?"
"Oh Bomber, that's hitting below the belt in more ways than one." He answered hesitantly.
"Sorry Charlie answer the question, come on let's hop to it." I replied grinning.
"Well, uh, ummm, ah, ughhh, YES." He answered turning bright red.
We went around a few more times and when it was Rangers turn, they would ask simple questions they knew they'd be on the mats first thing in the morning if they asked the wrong question. Ranger was getting a little bit tipsy and his words were slurring then it dawned on me, I remember him saying some time ago that he doesn't handle tequila well.
So now it was his turn again and he rolled a 4 and Lester and Bobby where going to be the ones asking the questions.
"Boss, do you have sexual fantasies?" Bobby asked without any fear or worry.
"Yes, I do." He replied looking me straight in the face.
"Boss, what is your fantasy?" Lester asked also without any shame or fear.
"To be on a yacht in the middle of the ocean with a beautiful naked woman" Ranger answered matter of factly and looking at me.
"What would you be doing to this beautiful naked woman?" Bobby asked with an evil grin.
"Making wild passionate love to her over and over" Ranger answered smiling still looking at me.
"Last question boss, who is this naked beautiful woman on the yacht with you?" Lester asked with a smug look on his face.
"That beautiful woman would be one Stephanie Michelle Plum." Ranger answered again smiling never taking his eyes off me. Lester was not happy with the quick responses and lack of hesitation from Ranger.
"Santos, Brown mats tomorrow 0430" Ranger barked without taking his gaze off me. I was totally shitfaced by now and I think that my man of mystery was right there behind me. A few more rounds and it was my turn again thankfully I rolled a 2, and Cal was going to ask me the questions.
"Bomber, do you love someone in this room?" Cal asked with a snarky tone.
"Yes I do" I replied without any hesitation.
"Who is it?" Cal asked grinning from ear to ear.
"All of you, I love all of you." Hah, got him on that one I knew where he was going with that question but he didn't ask the question correctly. Ranger and I looked at each other smiling, while Lester and Manny smacked Cal on the back of the head saying that he made a dumb ass move.
It was clear that they were up to no good, but I was now too drunk to think coherently so I was going to have to take the questions and answer them as best as I could without revealing too much information to the enemy. The dice went back around the room now to Bobby who rolled a 3, Ranger was going to ask the questions, Bobby drank his shots and was ready.
"Bobby, do you fantasize about a three-some?" Ranger asked with a smirk.
"Yes I do" Bobby replied without any embarrassment.
"Bobby, do you fantasize about you, a woman and another man or you and two women?" Asked Ranger with a smirk on his beautiful face.
"Me, and two women boss." Replied Bobby.
"Who are the women?" Ranger asked Bobby who was looking very nervous about now.
"Uh boss, maybe we should go with another question, I don't feel comfortable answering that."
"NO, you made Stephanie play by the rules, now it's your turn, answer the question." Ranger grunted at Bobby.
"Oh, huh, um, crraaap, hmmmm, that would be Bomber and Marylou." As dark as Bobby's skin tone is, I could see various shades of red on his face and he couldn't even look at me, he looked at his hands as he was twirling his fingers.
I was shocked as hell, Rangers nostrils flared and the guys started laughing.
"Bobby, what do you want to do with Stephanie and Marylou?" Ranger asked with a sly tone..
"Come on boss, do we have to go there? This isn't fun anymore." Answered Bobby.
"You all brought this on yourselves, you wouldn't let up on Stephanie or I, so turnabout is fair play, answer the damn question."
"Son of a bitch, I um, well, it's oh hell, I watch them as they go at it with each other, and then I take my turn. Are you fucking happy now?" Bobby was pissed, he couldn't even look at me. It was my turn again and now Mr. Smart ass Lester was going to ask the questions, I rolled a 2, whew thankfully. I was still very loopy and had an idea as to what he was going to ask so I needed to prepare myself.
"Stephanie, are you in love with someone at this table?" He was staring a me trying to intimidate me. I stared right back at him without any hesitation or fear. "Yes Lester Santos I am in love with someone at this table."
"Who is it and you can only name one person." he asked with a shit eating grin on his face. I thought, you know I have nothing to lose; I can always push it off as being drunk and not in control of my senses.
"Lester that would be one Ricardo Carlos Manoso and don't ever forget that." I looked away from Lester to Ranger staring him in the eye trying to read his face and gauge whether he was pissed or not. The rest of the guys all took in a breath or grunted while Hector, Hal and Ranger had smiles on their faces.
"Shit" Lester snarled as he looked at his fellow cohorts.
I just laughed, "Les is there a problem with my answer?" He didn't answer right away but took his eyes off the guys and looked at me then Ranger.
"No Steph, no problem at all."
It was Manny's turn and I was going to ask the question, Manny rolled a 3, I knew exactly what I was going to ask.
"Hubs, how often do you date?" I asked innocently. "Oh a couple times a week." He replied looking like he was safe.
"How often do you get lucky on the first date?" I looked him square in the eye, he and I have talked about this before.
"Wifey, that's dirty and you know it, but I'll answer it, three out of four dates I score." Manny offered.
"Last question, how often are you unable to perform and wish you had a little blue pill with you?" I asked laughing my ass off.
"Wifey, you are really pushing it now." He answered with aggravation. "Oh I'm sorry hubs, I guess you can dish it out but can't take it huh?" I threw back at him.
"Alright you smart ass brat. I would say one out of four dates is a total bust." Manny answered with shame.
It was back to me and I rolled a 3, Hector wanted to ask the questions, but Lester slammed his hand on the table calling it first.
"Beautiful, do you want to have a romantic and physical relationship with someone in this room?" Lester asked all proud of himself. I decided it wasn't worth hiding or skirting around the answers as drunk as I was.
"Why yes Lester I do." I answered frankly.
"Who is it?" He asked smiling.
"Ranger" as I looked him straight in the face.
"Do you think Ranger loves you?" Now Lester was being evil and I wanted to clobber him with the bottle of tequila.
I suddenly felt sad thinking about the answer. "No Lester, I don't think he loves me." There was silence in the room and all eyes were on me. I think Les regretted asking me that question because he couldn't look me in the face. I turned to face Ranger and he looked hurt.
Ranger grabbed the dice off the table and looked at Hector then at me, rolled a 3, drank his shots pretty quickly and Hector slammed his hand on the table indicating he was going to ask the questions.
"Boss, are you in love with someone in this room?" Hector asked quickly.
"Yes Hec, I am." Ranger answered looking at me with the corners of his lips tipping towards a slight smile.
"Boss, does this person know your feelings?" Hector threw out.
"Nope, I have kept my feelings hidden." Ranger answered with remorse.
"Boss who is this person that you are in love with?" Hector asked grinning from ear to ear.
"Stephanie is the person I am in love with." He answered without any hesitation what so ever and with so much sincerity. I couldn't help but look at him in shock, I had tears falling down my face. Ranger got up from his chair walked over to me and rolled my chair back spinning me around to face him. He picked me up out of the chair and carried me out of the break room, he stopped halfway through and turned to the men at the table glaring at them.
"If you think for one second I was drunk at any point in this game, you are all clearly mistaken. Every one of you with the exception of Hal, Hector and Tank have appointments with me on the mats, and Tank will set the schedule. Your goal was to make a fool of me and get back at Stephanie. Well I hope you're happy because it all backfired in your smug faces."
Ranger kissed me on the forehead and walked out of the break room as he shouted "Tank, Stephanie and I are off line for the next 72 hours, family emergencies are the only reason for interruption do I make myself clear?"
"Yes boss, perfectly clear." Tank answered with as much joy as he could muster. Hal and Hector were knuckle bumping each other, while Manny, Lester, Bobby, Woody, Cal and Ram all grunted slamming their hands on the table.
Batman carried me to the elevator to the penthouse, while placing soft and gentle kisses on my lips. We walked into the apartment straight to the bedroom and he put me on the bed, took my shoes off, then my pants and shirt and covered me with the luxurious sheet and blanket, stripped off his clothes and crawled into bed with me.
He wrapped himself around me kissing me repeatedly before we both fell asleep. I woke up Saturday morning with one heck of a headache and having to run to the bathroom. I came out to an awaiting Ranger waving a McDonalds bag in front of my nose, the aroma of the french fries was slowly making its way to my senses and shaking the large coke calmed my brain knowing that within minutes of consumption I would feel human.
I was in a fog as to what happened last night and how I ended up in Rangers bed with just my bra and panties. I recalled playing the game and drinking shots but really other than that, nothing more came to mind.
"Babe, take your time with the cure no need to rush, we have the next three days to get things straightened out" Ranger said as I sat on the bed and he sat behind me pulling my back to his chest wrapping his arms around me while I ate my fries and drank my coke.
"Ranger, did you to take your Batcopter to McDonalds this morning or did you somehow manage to arrange for special delivery?" I asked him as I stuffed my face. I felt him laugh a little as he put his chin on my shoulder.
"No Babe, courtesy of Hector and Hal, you know they adore you." He answered proudly as I laid my head back against his shoulder and my body began to relax my pounding headache was beginning to soften.
"Ranger?" I figured I might as well find out how much I should be embarrassed.
"Yeah Babe."
"What happened last night?"
"Finish up with the cure. We can talk about everything once you are taken care of ok?" He answered sweetly. I just smiled and nodded.
When I finished my fries and coke, Ranger took the bag and drink into the kitchen. I had already laid down when he got back joining me in bed. I was in a Ranger cocoon and it felt pretty damn good. Between his calm breathing, arms wrapped around me and him rubbing my arm softly, I was completely relaxed and couldn't help but fall asleep again. I woke up a few hours later still in my Ranger cocoon; honestly it's the best way to wake up.
I purred like a kitten and stretched turning to see a beautiful face with a 1000 watt smile, eyes sparkling and the most delicious lips waiting to be kissed. I reached up for his face and kissed him fervently and after finally coming up for air I announced I was going to take a shower.
Ranger pulled me into him as I was trying to roll out of bed, "Babe, what do you want to do for the next three days?" I smiled because I knew exactly where I wanted to go and so did he. "Ok Point Pleasant it is your highness."
I rolled out of bed but not without grabbing another kiss and receiving a loving smack on my ass. I wasn't going to rush our talk because I was afraid of what I would hear so I thought I'll just settle for a great weekend and enjoy everything it had to offer before I hear "my life doesn't lend its self to a relationship."
As I finished up in the shower, I heard Ranger talking but couldn't quite make out who it was until I came out of the bathroom to a freshly made bed and clothes laid out on the bed. Knowing Ella was in the apartment; I quickly put my robe on and went out to greet her. I love this woman and I no longer was embarrassed when she saw me in the apartment after being here for the night.
"Hi Ella, how are you?" I asked her as she came towards me for a hug, she wasn't a tall woman, I pretty much towered over her.
"My dear, I am perfectly well. Carlos was explaining to me about the little game the boys decided to play last night, are you feeling ok?" She asked me in a motherly tone, I just love this woman.
"Yes, the hangover is slowly going away, the shower felt so good and I am looking forward to a weekend at the beach." I answered with the excitement of a child.
"We were just discussing your trip to the beach. I am going to pack some food and drinks for you to take with you. Carlos, I will have everything packed in a cooler and have Louis put everything in the vehicle, which car will you be taking?" Ella the ever efficient and organized angel asked.
"We'll take the Cayenne, the weather is still uncooperative." Ranger replied as he kissed her head and she walked out of the apartment.
"Are you feeling better Babe?" he asked walking towards me and wrapping me in his arms.
"About 75%, but much better than before." It felt wonderful to be held in his arms.
Ranger was taking a shower as I walked back into the bedroom to change. It still amazed me that I have a supply of clothes in his closet and he has yet to pack them up, actually I think he adds to them because the selection seems to grow. It was still chilly out so there were some leggings and a sweater on the bed. I don't remember buying these but who knows anymore, I wasn't sure about bras and panties since I didn't see any. Just then Ranger came out of the shower as I was wondering what to do.
"What's the matter Babe?" he asked as he wrapped the towel around his hips and dried his hair, boy oh boy, those muscles on the sides of his body leading to all that is pleasurable were killing me. I have to find out what they're called.
"Well it seems that I only have outer garments to wear," I pointed to the clothes on the bed and he took my hand leading me to the dressing room. We stood in front of a tall four drawer skinny dresser next to his dresser.
"Open it up Babe, everything you need will be in here." To say I was stunned is an understatement. I was flabbergasted as I opened the drawers to find panties in one, bras in another, camisoles and other lingerie in the third drawer, stockings and socks in the bottom drawer.
"Ranger, what is all this and when did it all get here, don't tell me this is another Hal and Hector surprise?" He laughed at me, "No it's been here for a while, just grab what you need and we'll talk about all of it later."
I pulled out a duffel bag big enough for both of our clothes and put on a pair of leggings with a sweater and boots, packed up the other outfits and a pair of black jeans with a silver sweater and ankle boots. I packed Rangers black jeans, dark grey jeans and running shoes. I left jeans, black shirt and socks and boots out for him to wear. I also packed bras and panties, yoga pants, t-shirts and men's yoga pants, running shorts and t-shirts for Ranger. I have seen these yoga pants in catalogs and they look so sexy on men.
Everything was packed and we were ready to go, "OH NO, Ranger what about Rex?" I asked worried.
"Don't panic Babe. Ella will send one of the men over to pick him up and bring him here. She will take care of him for you while we are at the beach." I ran straight into his arms and kissed him, "thank you, thank you, thank you." He took the bag and we walked out to the door. I grabbed our coats and we were ready to spend three days at my favorite place. No matter how bad things get, the beach will cure it all.
The drive was peaceful and filled with talk about his recent trip. He wanted to know what all this pranking was about and how it all started. I told him about the donuts and vegetable prank that Lester pulled on me. When I told him about the piglet prank, he immediately called Hector and told him to send the video to his computer.
I was starting to get hungry, realizing we had not eaten breakfast or lunch, my stomach was growling pretty loudly, so we stopped off at a sandwich shop and shared a sandwich and soup. I didn't want to ruin my appetite for some of the scrumptious food that Ella had packed for us.
We arrived at the beach house and as always it took my breath away. The huge picture window taking up an entire wall facing the ocean was beautiful. I always felt at such peace here. If I am going to hear the famous 'I don't do relationships speech', at least it was in a breath taking location.
"Babe, why are you working yourself into such a frenzy, stop it, there is nothing for you to freak out about." Ranger said as he turned me to face him, I didn't say anything. He took our bag upstairs to the bedroom which also had a large picture window facing the ocean with French doors opening to a balcony.
The ocean was very vocal today, I stood on the back deck looking at the water, the waves sounded angry but relaxing at the same time. I was looking forward to resting in the hammock or sleeping in the big bed with the doors open listening to the ocean.
It was chilly and gray outside, as I unpacked our bag; Ranger unpacked the cooler with the food and drinks and put them all in the refrigerator. I hung our clothes in the closet and put things away in the dresser. This all felt so strange and comfortable at the same time, I wasn't sure what to expect.
I pulled my hair up in a clip and went downstairs. I saw Ranger turning on the hot tub that was on the back deck and he came back inside the room. He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling my ear and neck. He then walked me to a chair and sat me down.
He began to take off my boots and rubbed my feet, "how you can walk in these things is beyond me Babe"
I laughed at him. "Ranger, I've hardly done any walking in these maybe all of twenty minutes but the massage sure feels good."
He stood up and slowly took off my sweater, and stood me up and began to take off my leggings. With smooth handling, he made it an art form to strip off my clothes. I stood there in my black lace and satin bra and panties as I sat him down and took off his shoes and socks, rubbing his feet. For a man he had incredibly sexy feet, but then he is sexy from head to toe.
We stood up and I unbuttoned his shirt, slowly taking it off him as I kissed his temples, then his face and made my way to his lips. I kneaded his shoulders and kissed my way down his neck, his glorious chest and unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants and took his jeans off. He was wearing his black silk boxers; yummy is all I could think. After he stepped out of his jeans, I kissed my way up his belly, chest and back to his hot waiting lips, even though it was chilly outside, I wasn't feeling it. We kissed passionately and deeply. He lifted me up and carried me to the hot tub putting me in gently and he joined me, the water was warm and the jets hit the right spots.
Ranger and I sat huddled next to each other, I watched and listened to the ocean roar and cry out in anger which was the only way I could describe it.
"Doesn't the ocean sound angry right now?" I asked as I was wrapped tightly in strong arms
"Yes it does Babe." He lifted me up and put me on his lap facing him and kissed me so hard, biting my lips and I fought back with my tongue. I could feel his excitement under me and he lifted me up and I was lost in the crashing waves, the sounds of the jets in the hot tub, my own screams and Ranger inside me. The hot tub frolicking and Ranger induced orgasms were pretty damn awesome, we sat in the warm water relaxing watching the ocean.
"Babe, do you want to go out for dinner, I could go for some seafood." I didn't want to leave the warmth of Rangers arms but dinner sounded really good. "Yeah, that sounds great" I answered saying I was going to go up and take a shower. Ranger followed me upstairs and joined me in the shower and the fun continued.
We finished getting ready and headed out the door to a restaurant about 10 minutes away. It was a nice restaurant with a wide variety of items on the menu. As we were seated at a table for two Ranger ordered us each a Corona and a calamari appetizer to start off with.
"Babe, I want to talk about last night…." I interrupted him because I knew where this was headed and I would rather stay in my own private island of denial.
"Ranger, please it was all in fun, we were drunk and said things that we may regret." I said with some sadness.
"Stephanie, listen to me, stop making yourself crazy about what you think is going through my mind, just stop and hear what I have to say." He stared at me and held my hand.
"First of all, Santos planned the night to get back at you over the piglet prank and my guess is that the info you fed to the enemy was going to be stored in that crazy mind of his for future use against you. The dynamics changed when I joined in the game and Santos and his gang thought they would get the best of me, knowing that tequila and I are not friends."
I knew that Lester was paying me back for the piglet prank but I didn't even think for one second he would use any of that info as blackmail. Ranger started massaging my hand, he could tell I was nervous.
"Stephanie, I was not drunk at all last night. I knew full well what I was saying and answered every question truthfully. I did not hide behind the tequila, trust me on that." He was looking deeply into my eyes. It was as if he was looking directly into my soul.
"I know you were drunk Steph, did you mean all the things you said? Do you regret any of your answers?" I was in shock over what he revealed about his answers.
"Ranger, I do not regret any of my answers. I too spoke the truth." I answered without hesitation or denial, it was time for the island of denial to be blown up and buried in the ocean.
"Babe, when you asked about my meeting, I told you it was very productive. Do you want to know what my meeting was about?" I couldn't believe he was asking me that question, hello who is he talking to, doesn't he know that I must and need to know all things involving my man of mystery?
"If you want and can share, then yes I'd like to know what happened at the meeting." I answered as maturely as I could, oh boy that's a stretch.
"I was called to D.C. to discuss my government contract." When he said that I felt a huge lump in my throat and I felt myself start to panic and as always the ever intuitive man sitting in front of me felt my panic and he began to rub my arm. "Babe, calm down, I did not renew my contract, and I'm done, no more missions, no more going in the wind and no more being away from you."
I looked at him in shock as he gave me a 500 watt smile assuring me that he was being serious.
"I will no longer feel the need to sneak into your bedroom to watch you sleep and savor every inch of you in my mind before a mission because I may not make it back. I will enjoy watching you sleep because you bring calm into my life."
The tears were welling up, I really didn't want to lose control of my emotions.
"I want our 'SOMEDAY' Babe and I want it now, today, right here and now. I don't want to wait anymore. I have wasted too much time fighting my feelings, keeping you at arm's length."
"Ranger, for the first time in never, I am speechless." I couldn't say anything else because I was still trying to absorb the fact that there will be no more missions.
"Stephanie Michelle Plum, will you start our 'SOMEDAY' here today right now?" He took my left hand and kissed my ring finger.
"Carlos, I would love to begin our 'SOMEDAY' with you right here and now, for as long as you want me and for whatever you can give me." I answered with a few tears, I was still trying to stay in control.
"Babe, it's for always, I will give you everything that's in me, my emotions, my feelings, my love, my life, it's all yours until I take my final breath." Of course the tears flowed and I lost all control of my emotions, how could I not when he spoke those words. "Stephanie, I fell in love with you from the moment we first met."
"Ranger, I…."
"Babe, please call me Carlos, I love the sound of my name coming from your lips."
"Carlos, I love you and have loved you from the day we met. At first I thought it was because of your badass attitude and something that was out of my league but when you came that night to unlock the handcuffs and release me from the shower rod, I fell in love with you and there was no turning back." I proudly confessed to him.
"Out of your league Babe, no way." He said with a raised eyebrow.
Ranger was starting to act all nervous and weird, very unlike him, almost like he was afraid, which is crazy because he is never afraid of anything what so ever. He pulled a jewelry box out of his pocket and put it on the table. I laughed because I thought yet another tracking device cloaked in gems. He opened the box and the most brilliant diamond ring sparkled out at me, colors dancing all around.
"Stephanie Michelle Plum today is our 'SOMEDAY' will you do the honor of making it last a lifetime, to love me and put up with me until we take our final breath. I love you with all my heart and want to spend the rest of my life with you." I could hardly see through the tears in my eyes.
I no longer had any control of my emotions, the tears were flowing like the Hoover Dam just burst and again for the second time in my life I was speechless.
"Carlos, are you sure about this? Are you still hungover? Am I still drunk, have I died and gone to heaven, are pigs flying, is the world coming to an end?" I just babbled on and on, not sure what was coming out of my mouth. He just looked at me, not knowing what to do.
"Babe I am sure. I was not drunk, I am not hung over, and the world is still very much here. You are still alive and I don't see any pigs flying around, although I am sure you have piglet connections so I can make it happen if you want."
I laughed at him as he wiped the tears from my face. "Stephanie, you are scaring me here, are you avoiding answering my question?"
"OH MY GOD Carlos you seriously are asking me to marry you, no qualifiers, no exceptions. You are straight out serious?" when I realized he was serious, Hoover Dam burst again.
"Stephanie, I am dead serious, no qualifiers, no exceptions, I. WANT. TO. SPEND. THE. REST. OF. MY. LIFE. WITH. YOU. What is confusing about that?"
"Ricardo Carlos Manoso, YES. YES. YES. I. WILL. MARRY. YOU. I will be honored to spend the rest of my life with you, to love you, spoil you and drive you crazy. To wake up every morning with you and go to sleep in your arms every night until we are both 250 years old." I was laughing and crying at the same time.
He took the ring out of the box and put it on my finger. It was a perfect fit, I mean come on he's Batman, he gets nothing wrong. He stood up taking me with him and kissed me as he turned us around, talk about a public display of his affection, so unusual for my man of mystery.
I guess the other customers in the restaurant figured out what just happened and they all stood up and applauded. Some men whistled, but they all congratulated us, we both realized we were the center of attention and quickly sat down and finally the clapping quieted down. The server brought our food, seriously who could eat at a time like this. We barely touched our calamari or beer. We ate our food and I wanted to hurry up and go home so we could call our family and friends and as if his proposal wasn't enough he sprung another surprise on me.
"Babe, I don't want to wait to get married, how about tomorrow evening we get married on the beach, a very small and intimate wedding, the two of us with Tank and Marylou. We can have a quick honeymoon here on the beach then go home to straighten things out and go on a proper honeymoon. What do you think of that?" He asked me anxiously.
"Carlos, can we pull it off so quickly? Oh what the hell am I saying, you're Batman of course we can. Yes I would love to marry you tomorrow, on the beach with the ocean playing the back ground music." When in the hell did I become so mushy and say things like that and Carlos picked up his phone and dialed 2 on his phone.
"Yo, it's on for tomorrow night, beach house 5:30pm. Ella has everything Steph and I need, call Marylou and Mrs. Mazur, let them know what's going on and pick them up. All the contact info for the judge is in the file I emailed you this morning."
I was in total shock, I had no idea what just happened other than I am engaged to Batman, Ranger, Carlos, and every other name I have for him. Tomorrow night I will be marrying the man who has been my best friend, protector, my guardian angel and my rock. I will have a new name to add to my aka Mrs. Stephanie Manoso.
Our server came to take our plates away and the owner of the restaurant came out with a plate that had a brownie tower. It was so cute with three layers he called it a mini wedding cake on the top layer was a small dollop of vanilla ice cream with red syrup, along with a bottle of wine. "Thank you for sharing your special moment with us, congratulations on your engagement" said the owner as he poured us a glass of wine and walked back to the kitchen.
We got back to the house and Carlos sat us down on the couch, "Babe, are you ready for our SOMEDAY?"
"Yes I am, this is all happening so fast are you sure you want to get married so soon?" I asked because I was very nervous about the speed of everything.
"Stephanie, without realizing, we have been in a relationship from day one, what purpose does it serve to wait?" he asked smiling at me. "I know Carlos, you're right there is no reason to wait." I replied and my very soon to be husband kissed me.
"Babe, let's go make the most of our last night of being single." He carried me upstairs and I let the gorgeous man have his way with me.
We had a relaxing morning in bed and it was after lunch when Tank, Marylou, Ella, Louis and Grandma Mazur walked in the door. I was so excited to see my Grandmother.
"Honey I am so excited and happy to be included in your special day."
"Grandma me too, I'm glad you're here." Ella and Louis were busy setting everything up on the beach, we had a gazebo, flowers all around it, candles and torches that lit up the area. Grandma Mazur was going to walk me down the aisle, Marylou and Tank were our witnesses and Ella was going to help with my hair.
"Honey, why are you so sad?" Ella asked.
"I don't have anything to wear" I answered and saw a big smile appear on her face.
"Honey, this is Carlos, you know he never misses a beat." She walked to the closet and pulled out a garment bag, she unzipped the bag and pulled out a beautiful blue and silver ankle length dress with long flowing sheer sleeves, perfect for the weather and the beach.
Ella worked on my hair and Marylou put on my makeup and I was all set, all I had to do was put on my dress. Naturally it was a perfect fit, how does he manage these things? I walked down the stairs to Grandma Mazur proud as can be, she handed me one perfect long stem white rose and we walked out to the beach.
I walked out to Carlos who had a smile that lit up the dark sky, he was wearing a pair of light gray linen pants with a silver shirt, and we were both barefoot. Grandma handed me to my gorgeous man, he kissed her and we walked hand in hand to the judge. The judge greeted us and asked if we wanted to share a few words we said yes.
"Folks, we're gathered here to celebrate the union of Carlos and Stephanie, as they start their 'SOMEDAY'. I've known Carlos since he was a teenage boy and he's not the type of man that makes decisions lightly and on impulse. When he commits to something it's for the rest of his life. I have not had the pleasure of meeting Stephanie prior to this evening but Carlos has spoken of her many times over the last few years and I can see why she is so special."
Judge Morales asked Carlos to share a few words.
"Stephanie, you walked into the diner three years ago and rocked my world. I knew you would play a part in my life but never realized how important of a part it would be. I fell in love with you on that day and have never stopped loving you. My love for you grows more and more every day. I am excited to begin the rest of our lives together."
The judge looked at me nodding for me to take my turn.
"Carlos, you have become my best friend, you have shown me every day how much you love me. You have been by my side through all my ups and downs, blown up cars, stalkers and everything else that comes my way. I too fell in love with you the moment I laid eyes on you and I promise to love you until I take my last breath, today is our SOMEDAY Batman."
The judge recited the traditional wedding vows and we were now husband and wife, just like that, a whirlwind courtship and wedding. A day I never imagined would happen but here we are.
Carlos took my face in his hands and kissed me and the judge cleared his throat, there were on lookers watching the ceremony and they joined our family in clapping and whistling while we were still kissing each other. When we finally came up for air, the judge introduced us as Mrs. Manoso to our guests and we walked back inside the house.
We all went out to dinner at the same restaurant where Carlos proposed. The owner apparently already apprised of the plans seated us in a private decorated area. The center piece of the table was a small two tiered chocolate cake with a variety of colored baby's breath serving as decorations. The cake topper was Batman and Wonder Woman figures. As soon as we saw the cake Carlos and I both laughed. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and dancing then headed back to the house. Tank, Marylou, Ella, Louis and Grandma Mazur kissed us, congratulating us and headed back to Trenton while we relaxed and talked about the day.
"Babe, when we get back home, we'll shop for wedding bands ok?"
"OK" I answered back while kissing him.
"Babe, you know that this is going to be the ultimate April fools prank for Lester..." Carlos started to say.
"WHAT" I cut Carlos off mid-sentence and shouted in horror. "OUR WEDDING WAS A PRANK, YOU MEAN….."
"Stephanie, NO this was not a prank, it was real, all of it, I promise you, look the marriage certificate is a legal document." He interrupted and wrapped me in his arms showering me with kisses and I melted into his arms. "Anyway, when we get home and tell everyone we finally got our act together and got married, Lester will think it's all a joke, won't he be surprised when we show him the Marriage Certificate." My new handsome, sexy husband let out a huge laugh and I joined him, both of us laughing hysterically knowing this would drive Lester insane.
"Mr. Manoso, I believe we have some celebrating to do, let's forget all about Lester and his shenanigans and have our own fun."
"Mrs. Manoso, I agree with you, we have much to celebrate." He picked me up and carried me bridal style upstairs to our bedroom, to a room full of flameless candles, red and white rose petals on the bed, along with one beautiful long stem red thorn less rose with a little note in my husband's beautiful handwriting 'Love at first sight'. I had tears filling my eyes.
"Carlos, when did you do all this? I mean I know you didn't do it, I am sure Ella took care of everything but did you plan all this?" I asked him looking at his beautiful face.
"I told Ella what I wanted and she took care of everything" he answered kissing me.
"Everything is beautiful. There is a true romantic hidden behind that badass persona and I am the lucky woman who gets to see it and experience it. I love you Mr. Manoso." kissing him back.
"I love you too Mrs. Manoso."
Our honeymoon at the beach was awesome. We didn't really venture out too much other than to our favorite restaurant for dinner. For the most part we had food delivered and spent the entire honeymoon getting to know one another very intimately. Carlos promised he would plan a much better honeymoon for us, to be honest our 2 ½ day beach honeymoon was perfect.
It was time to head back home. We had a lot of things to do in the upcoming weeks; I had to move out of my apartment. I have a feeling that Grandma Mazur will want to take my apartment, she's made up many excuses in the past to stay over a few days here and there.
"Babe, when do you want to tackle packing up your apartment?" My ever so organized husband asked me on the drive back home.
"Do I have to give up my apartment?" I replied with a snicker.
"Oh yeah, you most definitely have to give it up. No moving back to that place and no running when there are problems, got that?" Carlos answered with a stern authoritative tone.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, married 72 hours and you're already bossing me around." I replied laughing. "As a matter of fact I was thinking of asking Grandma Mazur if she wants to move into the apartment, she's always looking for excuses to stay over and I think this may be good for her and my parents."
Carlos was suddenly quiet then he pulled over to a rest area and turned in his seat to face me. "Steph, I know we really haven't talked about this but you know I'm in this for life, no running when we have disagreements, if there is a problem we work it out, none of this crap you had with Morelli." He looked me dead in the eye as serious as can be.
"I know Carlos. I promise I too am in this for life, if you think I'm going to run I give you permission to handcuff me so we can work out the issue." I told him in earnest.
"Babe, then keeping the apartment is really for your Grandmother and not a place to escape to?"
I looked at him putting his face in my hands. "Yes Carlos, I promise it's for my Grandmother and that is all, nothing more." We kissed and he took my hand kissing my ring finger and drove away back to the interstate.
"Mrs. Manoso, this ring finger is not going to remain without a band before we go anywhere, we're going to take care of it." Carlos made a phone call saying that he was ready to take care of business and we would see who ever was on the other end in about 1½ hours.
We arrived at a jewelry store and the sweetest couple was waiting inside for us. Carlos introduced me to the owners of the store Mrs. Valdez, they congratulated us both. Mrs. Valdez walked us over to a table, we sat down and she brought out coffee and cookies while Mr. Valdez brought out trays of wedding bands.
We picked out a beautiful band that matched my engagement ring for me and a black titanium ring for Carlos. We wanted Someday and our wedding date inscribed inside the bands. The rings wouldn't be ready for a couple of weeks, in the meantime Carlos bought me an eternity band to wear. We left the store with smiles on our faces. I still can't believe we are married it all seems like a dream.
I suggested to Carlos we stop off at his parents and let them know we got married. They were completely shocked, happy but shocked. Mama Manoso quickly called the rest of the family and told them to come to the house. Within 45 minutes the house was full of family, there were plenty of hugs and kisses passed around. There was a lot of commotion but the entire family was very loving and sweet.
We had to promise that we would have a reception in a few weeks or Mama and the family would take care of planning it, so Carlos promised we would take care of it.
Next was my family, of course Grandma already knew. Mom and Dad were also shocked and Mom quickly called Val and her family to tell them to come over. More commotion ensued, of course my mother started rambling on about a reception at the VFW hall. Carlos and I looked at each other both shouted, NO we'll take care of it and I thought this was the perfect time to bring up the apartment to Grandma.
"Hey Grandma, how would you like to take over the lease on my apartment?" As if I didn't know her answer, her entire face lit up and without hesitation she stood up yelling "yes, yes, yes I would love it." My mom put her hands over her face and my dad had a grin from ear to ear.
"Honey, I may not be able to swing rent, how much do you pay?"
She looked so sad, I was just about to tell her not to worry about it but Carlos beat me to it. "Mrs. Mazur, please don't worry about the rent, Stephanie and I will take care of that, all you need to worry about is moving in" and poof it was all settled.
"Sonny, you're family now, I walked my baby girl down the aisle to you, call me Grandma, none of this Mrs. Mazur stuff, got it?" Grandma shot him a look.
"Yes Grandma, I got it" Carlos replied with a smile.
We left my parents' house and headed to Rangeman. We pulled in the garage and there was a new car parked next to the Porsche. It was a dark blue Porsche Cayenne. Carlos parked next to his truck and opened my door leading me to the Cayenne. "Babe, this is my wedding gift to you, it's equipped with all sorts of safety features and bells and whistles. When you're ready Hector will give you a run through."
I stood in shock, "this is for me, that's not fair, I don't have a wedding gift for you." I told him as I walked around the car, "you're all the wedding gift I want Babe." He kissed me and carried me bridal style to the elevator that we took to the fifth floor.
A sea of Merry Men were waiting in the communication room for us. We greeted everyone and Carlos announced that we got married. Shocked was an understatement, disbelief and confusion were written all over their faces, I'm not sure they believed us but I was given congratulatory kisses by all. Lester and Bobby were missing; apparently they were in the middle of apprehending a skip.
We went to the seventh floor and my drop dead gorgeous husband carried me over the threshold kissing me. I was looking forward to spending the rest of my life with my husband, which sounds so weird.
We took a shower and Ella came into the apartment with cheese, rolled up meats, fruit, small pastries chocolate truffles and dark and white chocolate covered strawberries with a bottle of champagne two long stem thornless roses. She kissed us both hello, congratulated us again and walked out the door.
"Carlos, why are the roses missing the thorns?" I asked out of curiosity "Thornless roses mean love at first sight." He replied sweetly as we nestled onto the couch feeding each other we drank champagne to celebrate our new union.
It was 7:30 when the alarm rang on our phones the next morning. Carlos picked me up took me to the shower where he decided he needed to take a tour of my body and one thing led to another. We got dressed then walked to the breakfast counter to an awaiting breakfast compliments of Ella.
There was no need to spring the news to Lester and Bobby as we were both sure that they already have heard about our being married. We got to the fifth floor to Lester and Bobby waiting for us as the door opened.
"Well what's this we hear about the two of you getting married?" Lester blurted out. "Yep we are" I said as I waved my hand in his face showing him my eternity band.
"Is this for real or one of your pranks bomber?" I took Carlos by the hand "Ahh my friends that you'll have to figure that out on your own now won't you?" we laughed and walked to the conference room.
It took a few weeks to get my things packed and moved over to my new home. Grandma wanted to buy new furniture and my ever so generous husband took her furniture shopping. It was the official moving day for Grandma Mazur, she was so excited, dad was thrilled and mom, well she was drinking. Grandma was assigned her own body guards. Carlos made her promise that she would not touch them at all or else he would move her to one of those assisted living facilities, from that moment on she was on her best behavior.
We went on a fabulous honeymoon. We took an Alaskan cruise for 10 days, and then spent a few days in San Francisco after that we went to Hawaii for 10 days. Carlos spoiled and pampered me more so than he does on a daily basis.
Life in Trenton was wonderful, my Grandmother was having the time of her life, and my parents were lovey dovey all the time as if they were on their second honeymoon. For their wedding anniversary, we sent them on the same Alaskan cruise we took.
Val and her family were doing well. Albert was busy with his law practice, thanks to Carlos. I still worked as a bounty hunter but I was much more efficient and a hell of a lot better than I ever was. I was assigned to be the team lead for another big warehouse store sale. Lester and Bobby still haven't figured out whether or not our marriage is a prank, they've been doing some digging but haven't quite found the information they need.
Hal and I were getting ready to meet with the store manager for the details and on the way I came up with another prank. I started laughing out loud just thinking about it when Hal pestered me to tell him what I was cracking up about I had to tell him.
"OK so Hal, you and I will get to the store a couple of hours early and we'll glue quarters and a few bills on the ground and see what Lester does, it will be almost as funny as the piglet prank, what do you think?" I asked.
"Bomber, that's brilliant and I'm all in." Hal replied with an evil grin. Hector was recording again for "training purposes". Hal and I were walking around watching Lester and Bobby. They would bend over to pick up a bill and it would rip in pieces, they tried so hard to get the money but nothing would budge. Hal and I were cracking up Bobby caught us and they finally put two and two together. They chased us through the store and they confronted us about the money. We had to admit what we did.
Getting back to the office Hal and I were reprimanded by Tank and Carlos. We had to promise the April fool's Day shenanigans would stop immediately and had us sign a cease and desist agreement that would be posted on the board in the break room.
My sleaze ball cousin Vinnie was presented with a proposition by his father in law, Harry the Hammer that he either buy Harry out or Harry was going to sell the bond agency. Vinnie had nowhere to turn except to Carlos. They decided that Carlos would give Vinnie the money to buy Harry out and the bonds agency had a new owner. S.P.M. Bail Bonds is owned by, I'm sure you figured it out by now Stephanie Plum Manoso with Hal as my partner.
Lester and Bobby finally figured out that Mrs. Manoso was real but it wasn't until they received the invitation to our reception. They came storming into my office with their invitations in hand "Beautiful, you two really are married; no pranks so this reception is on the up and up. You're not using this as the ultimate prank?"
"Les, Bobby, I swear it's true, here is a copy of our marriage license and certificate, it's really true." Les ran over to me, grabbed me held me up in his arms and twirled me around I swear I saw tears in his eyes.
"Beautiful, I am so happy for you both but especially you, both of you deserve all the happiness in the world and you deserve it after the years of heartache my bonehead cousin put you through." You could hear the happiness for us in his voice.
Bobby walked over and took me from Lester and did the same thing, twirling me around congratulating me and kissing me. "Sweetheart, I am so thrilled for you, this is what we've all been waiting for. Les is right, you deserve all the happiness. The two of you side by side will be a force to be reckoned with."
Our reception was the highlight of the year; between the Manoso and Plum families and our friends we had quite a few people join us for an elegant dinner reception. I wore a champagne and soft blue silk and lace dress, with Manolo Blahnik shoes. My mother and father in law presented me with a beautiful diamond necklace, the Manoso siblings presented me with matching diamond earrings and the young Manoso nieces and nephews presented me with a diamond bracelet that completed the set. I guess it's a Family tradition to present the bride with jewelry. I wore my hair in curls with flowers spread throughout and pinned to the side. I must admit I loved the way I looked. Carlos wore a sexy custom Armani charcoal suit with a pewter shirt and champagne and soft blue tie that was made from the material from my dress after alterations. He looked scrumptious.
We had a wonderful time, dancing, drinking, great food and the love of our family and friends celebrating with us, it was a wonderful evening. We had the reception at a resort and we celebrated the entire weekend with our families and close friends. Joe and his wife spent the weekend at the resort with all of us and Joe and I danced. He was truly happy for me and our friendship has grown stronger. Carlos and I have actually gone out with Joe and Marianna and surprisingly we had a good time. There is still a little hesitation between Carlos and Joe but for my sake they put up with each other.
So not only am I married, but I am also a business owner with a partner. Lula thinks that Hal is the majority owner, this way she has to follow the rules because we all know that she'd ignore everything if she knew I was the majority owner.
Our one year anniversary was very special. Carlos and I celebrated early at the beach house for the weekend and we went to dinner at our restaurant, but this time I called ahead to tell them I was going to have a bakery deliver a cake for me. I ordered a small two tiered Batman and Wonder Woman cake, the cake topper was going to surprise the hell out of Carlos.
We went to dinner, the owner took such great care of us and after dinner, they brought us some fresh fruit, a bottle of bubbly and the cake. When they rolled the cart to our table Carlos laughed when he saw the cake. He looked at the cake topper which was a pair of baby booties, pink and blue booties, on the base of the cake "we're having a baby" written in while icing. Carlos was the one who sat with his mouth wide open, he had tears in his eyes as did I.
"Babe, seriously this isn't one of your pranks is it?" He asked with a mix of excitement and uncertainty in his voice.
"Yes my dear husband, I signed the agreement remember. Our baby will be here in 7 ½ months, I've been dying to tell you but I wanted to surprise you, are you happy?"
"Stephanie, this is the best anniversary gift I could ever imagine, yes I am extremely happy, I promise you." He pulled me into his arms and kissed me; the owner and the staff were clapping and grinning. This restaurant has become a very special place for us and we will be celebrating many of our special moments here.
I had tears falling on my face, Carlos wiped them with his thumbs and told me repeatedly how happy he was. "Babe, I can't wait to see your belly grow with our child and you waddling. Let's wait until we celebrate our anniversary with our family and friends before we announce it OK?"
"That's perfect honey, Bobby knows because I had to make sure the pregnancy test I took was accurate so he ran a test before I scheduled an appointment with the Dr. and Bobby has sworn not to say anything to anyone."
Our celebration with our family and close friends was held at Rossini's. Carlos booked the entire restaurant for us. Hector and I came up with a slide show of Carlos and my years together, pictures from various distractions, blown up cars, then some from our wedding and our reception. The very last slide was fireworks shooting out the words "We're having a baby" you could hear a pin drop in the room, the silence and look on faces of our guests was priceless.
Alejandro Francis Manoso and Antonio Ricardo Manoso made us a family of four, yep twins. We bought a beautiful house, well for Carlos it's a house for me it's a mansion. It's a huge estate home that one of Rangeman's clients owned who wanted to sell and move to an island. Carlos made him an offer and the owner jumped at it and it's ours now.
My life couldn't be any better, I am a wife, a mother with a man who is a wonderful and loving husband, a great father and I wouldn't have it any other way. If anyone would have asked me three years ago if I pictured me living this type of life, I would have said no way, not for me.
The April Fools pranks have resumed and Hal and I still come up with various pranks and we all have lots of fun. Business for both Rangeman and S.P.M Bail Bonds are doing extremely well, government contracts are huge and no more missions for Carlos or any of my Merry Men. The entire married life, having babies and a house was something that I always said was not for me, but I love every minute of it. Funny how things turn out, I wouldn't change my life for anything in the world and this is exactly where we are supposed to be in life.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed the story, I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for taking the time to read my attempt at funny, I appreciate it.
Thank you Natalie Pyles for pushing me into writing a funny, you know I still think I don't do funny but thank you for helping me out of my comfort zone.
Susan Peters, You are awesome as always. Thank you for making my story pop and for always being so honest with your suggestions and comments, I appreciate it.
There may be a squeal, you never know, but I have to work on my other stories.