The Weekend

I rounded the corner heading to Vinnie's Bail Bonds office. I spotted Ranger, my mentor and fellow bounty hunter, and Joe Morelli, my sometimes cop boyfriend, talking. I stopped and watched before they spotted me…I think. Anyway, they shook hands and went their separate ways. That was odd. They don't have that kind of relationship. I wondered what was up. I was torn between these two guys. They were so different, yet so similar, in the best way.

Ranger had gone into the office and Morelli was walking toward his car, across the street. He spotted me and turned around. He gave me a big hug and a kiss. We were trying to patch things up after another breakup in a long string of them. "Take you for pizza tonight?" he asked. "Sure. See you at Pino's at six?" I responded. "Okay, Cupcake. See you then." Another excellent kiss and then he was gone to solve the world's problems.

I continued into the Bail Bonds office. Ranger was done with his business here. He said "yo" on his way out the door. That was it. No flirting, innuendo, or anything. Hmmm. That was odd. He usually at least breathes on me a little.

I finished work and thought I should clean up for my dinner date with Morelli. I'd missed him and figured I'd probably stay at his place tonight, so I got dressed in some sexy undies, a cute little top and skirt and heels. I packed a little bag. I'm such a slut. I'm packing a bag when all he did was ask me to eat pizza with him. Well, it's good to be prepared. I stashed the bag in my car and headed for Pino's. He was already there. He'd already ordered so the pizza came shortly after I sat at the table with him. He looked and smelled even better than the pizza.

After a few minutes of small talk we settled in to eat. I could tell he was really thinking about something. He was just being really quiet. Finally he said, "Hey, let's go away for the weekend. Can you take Friday and Monday off so we can have a nice, long weekend?" He'd never taken me anywhere for the weekend. We were both sort of homebodies. "Well, sure. I think I can take some time off. Where do you have in mind?" I quizzed him.

"A beach. I haven't been to the beach in ages. I'll pick you up Thursday night and we can have all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We'll come home on Monday and be back to work on Tuesday. How's that sound?" He seemed excited as he said this. "Sounds fine." I think I said. "What will we do with Bob? Will he go with us?" I asked. Bob was Morelli's dog. "Nah. I'll find a dogsitter."

We talked and finalized our plans. He'd pick me up at 4pm on Thursday evening. He never invited me to come to his place. What's that all about? We went our separate ways. I assumed he was working or he'd have asked me to sleep over. I went to the mall. If we were going to the beach, I needed some clothes. Especially a bathing suit.

Today was Tuesday, so I just had a couple of days to get ready.

By Thursday, I had two new bathing suits, some cute shorts, sandals, a hat, sunblock and a nice little dress I could wear if we went somewhere nice. I was packed when Bob burst through my door at 3:45. Morelli was right behind him. He looked tired. "Are you sure you want to do this? You look beat." I said. "Absolutely. I need to get away from all the wackos in this city. I figured we'd drop Bob off at my brother's house on the way to the airport. Tony said he'd watch Rex, too if you wanted." He said.

"Airport? I thought we were going to the beach. Just the shore here in Jersey." I said. "Nah, we're going to Cancun. Well, a little resort town just South of Cancun, actually. I used to go there all the time but haven't been in a few years." He responded.

He grabbed my bag while I locked my door. I'd already made arrangements for Rex to stay with Lula. He would probably come home with a lot of stories to tell me about how vermin live on the other side of the tracks. "Don't we need passports?" I don't even know where mine is. "I've got yours." He said. "Remember, you ordered it when you were living with me because you thought you should have one for chasing skips out of the country. Anyway, it came to my house and I still had it so I grabbed it when I packed mine."

"Wow, you have thought of everything." I said, in my flirtiest voice. "Wait a minute. Bob's staying with your brother Tony? Isn't he the one who is married to Medusa and they have like 11 kids?"

"Amanda just has a strong resemblance to Medusa sometimes and they only have 4 kids but they are brats and it seems like 11. I figured Bob would probably enjoy playing in a crazy house for the weekend. They are thinking of getting a dog and I think Bob could change their mind." Joe said.

After dropping Bob off, we shot to the airport, hopped a plane and were in Cancun by midnight. I didn't know Joe spoke Spanish but he managed to get us into a scary taxi and to the resort so I guess he did well enough. We walked into our little cottage around 1:30 a.m. Trenton time. We could hear the steel drum band still playing on the beach. Our room was clean and quaint. Mexican tile floors supported a nice king sized bed. An air conditioner whined ineffectively in the background. There was no TV or telephone. This was remote. There was a small bathroom with a big shower on one end of the room and a little patio outside on the other end. I'd never been anywhere like this. Seemed like fun.

Chapter 2 – Friday

We were both bushed so we didn't even fool around that first night. We just went to sleep and stayed that way until the birds singing woke us up on Friday morning. The room was cool and dark. Joe was warm and sexy. He knew how to make me really happy that I had taken the trip with him. When he finally got out of the bed and threw on a t shirt and shorts, my head was hanging off the foot of the bed. I was face down and my fingers were skimming the floor. He shoved his feet into flip flops, threw a cap on his head and went in search of breakfast. I don't think I had moved a muscle before he returned. I was hoping this place had donuts. He threw me a big t shirt I planned to use as a beach coverup and told me to come outside so we could have breakfast on the patio. It was gorgeous out there. We had a great view of the beach, and our own hammock next to the deck. It was shaded by large palm trees and hibiscus bushes that were blooming profusely.

He'd found the Mexican equivalent of Boston Cremes. They were hot, fried squares filled with some gooey vanilla flavored stuff and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Yum. I sat with my feet up in another chair, not remembering that all I had on was the t shirt so the view must have given Morelli some ideas to follow up on before we hit the beach. Afterwards, we took a quick shower and dressed in swim trunks and flip flops. We headed out the door and walked the short distance to the water. The sand was fine and light. Joe had gone earlier and claimed a little beach cabana for us to use for shade.

By the time he got me all rubbed up with sunscreen I would gladly have gone back to the room with him for another roll in the hay, but he said he was going for a run on the beach. I declined to join him; happy to stay in the shade and relax. He kicked off his flip flops, put on his shades and hit the trail. He was gorgeous. Every woman within 5 miles was watching him run. I felt really lucky that he was coming back to share a cabana with me and thankful for the 3 orgasms he'd already had this morning because he could have taken his pick of lovlies on the beach.

He returned about an hour later. I was well into my magazine stack and he was sweating and glistening in the sun. He was drinking a Corona and brought me a frothy pink tropical drink with a pineapple garnish. He also had a little collection of coral pieces and shells he'd picked up during his run. I knew he was happy. He was like a little kid here. We hung out a little while longer and before lunch started calling my name. We strolled down to a little beach bar and had burgers and beer.

"Let's take a swim," he suggested. "Oh, I'm not much of a swimmer. I'll just watch you." I said. He had no idea how terrified I was of the water. "Oh, come on. Take off that cover up and come with me." He urged. "Okay – but don't splash me or try to drown me." Because you'll probably succeed, I thought.

Morelli was so sweet. He grabbed a floating raft and helped me get on. He then waded out to about chest height and just paddled around with me. He was talking about the water and pointing out different types of boats and things. I really liked this side of him, but I'd never seen it in all the time we'd been together. He's a great kisser and of course we got carried away and I fell in the water, but he rescued me and helped me back on the raft. We played for a while and then headed back for dry ground. He parked me at the cabana and went back to the bar for another pink drink for me. I couldn't taste the alcohol so he was either getting them without or I would be wasted in no time.

We hung around for a while and then retreated to the room for a shower and a nap. Of course, Morelli never sleeps long. He was ready to go outside again in no time. I told him to go ahead while I slept.

It was relaxing, just being here with him. Nobody else. No confusion. No competition. No FTAs. No gun wielding maniacs. Speaking of guns, I guess we didn't even have one with us. Hmm, that was sort of a strange feeling. We always had guns with us. They were just a part of our lives. I was sort of getting a creepy feeling. What if I needed a gun? Where would I get one?

My panic was interrupted when Morelli knocked on the patio door. I went to let him in. He was wet from swimming again. He grabbed my hand and said, "Let's take a walk. There's a little village up the road a little bit. We can check out the local cuisine and find something to do tonight." "Let me put on some shoes and do my makeup." I said. "No makeup. This weekend, it's just you and me. I like you without makeup." He was smiling that wonderful smile and I knew he meant what he said. I grabbed my shoes and put them on while walking toward the road. I was wearing a tank top and shorts with sandals. He was still in his swimming trunks, which were drying in the hot afternoon sun. He had tossed on a t-shirt and was wearing deck shoes that looked like they'd seen a lot of decks. I was terrified what my hair looked like since I'd just put it in a pony tail after the shower. His was curling over his forehead and around his ears. Very sexy.

There was a nice little village market where the locals were selling their wares. In one of the makeshift huts there was a woman selling beautiful silk sarongs. Morelli steered me over and said, "Let's pick one out. You'd look great in one of these. I like this blue one – matches your eyes." The woman showed me how to tie it into a little dress and I felt pretty. Morelli was holding my hand as we stolled through the rest of the little village. We ate fish tacos while sitting on a low wall and drinking Corona. By now, the sun was starting to set. The view on the water was breathtaking. We just sat in silence for quite a while. His arm was around me and I was sort of snuggled into his neck. We heard the band kick into gear. Probably the same one we heard the night before. Today had been great.

The mosquitos were biting and we headed back to the room to get some repellent. Morelli stopped along the way to buy a couple of bottles of water to keep in the room. "Can't get dehydrated. When you are drinking a lot of alcohol, even over a long period of time, you have to drink at least the same amount of water or you are in trouble, especially with this kind of heat." "How did you learn that?" I asked. "I learned a lot about alcohol in the Navy and even more in private research studies." He grinned.

We sat on the patio outside our cottage. It was nice out here and we could hear the water lapping at the beach even though it was too dark to see.

"You don't talk much about the Navy." I said. He blew out a big sigh and replied, "I was a dumb kid when I went in. You know that from firsthand experience, unfortunately. I grew up a lot while I was there. I found some mentors and guys I really looked up to. That's when I decided to be a cop. I needed the structure and the rigidity. Took me a while to get my head on straight personally so at least my work was solid and I found things that I was good at like organization, reading people, research, and investigation."

Morelli moved to the hammock and I joined him. He nestled me into him and I felt secure and happy. The night creatures were singing. "Do you feel sort of naked without your gun?" I asked. "No, but I intend to help you feel naked." He said as his fingers started untying my sarong. I'd never done this in a hammock. Or outside. I felt a bit vulnerable while he continued to undress me. Oh well, it is dark, and there's no other cottage like right next door, they are a good 100 yards apart or so. And there's all these trees. What the heck.

Chapter 3

Saturday

Saturday was much the same as Friday. I felt more rested so I wanted to get out and explore more. I even swam without benefit of flotation devices. I felt a rush of excitement every time I saw the hammock. I never thought about there being places in the world where you could make hot monkey love outside without getting arrested. No doubt about it, Morelli was a different guy here than he was at home. He was playful, and intense at the same time.

By the end of the day, the little pile of shells and coral between our towels had grown larger and more interesting looking. Each item was so unique. So pretty. Just the wonder of nature was pretty cool.

"I'm going diving in the morning." Joe told me. "Do you want to go?"

"I don't know how to dive. I think I'd be scared to do it." I said.

He replied, "You could just go on the boat and hang out on deck if you want. Do you like boats?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't been on many of them." I responded.

"Think about it. I'd like for you to come. We are going to some really nice spots. You won't be in the way."

I would have to think about it. As freaky as I am about the water, did I really want to be out there in a boat? Surrounded by fish and assorted sea creatures? Isn't that what they look at when they dive? This didn't sound fun to me.

We wandered into town to hunt down the band we'd been hearing. They were in full swing when we got there. It was a sort of a night spot on the beach. Joe paid the cover charge and got us some drinks. Mine was another fruit concoction. "How come I have been able to drink so much and not lose it like I do at home?" I asked. "I just have them make it with half the alcohol they normally use. I want you to have a good time and be able to remember the trip when we go home. You couldn't do that if you were drinking full force." He admitted.

After a couple of half the alcohol drinks I was still feeling pretty good. I was wearing my sarong dress and Joe had some khaki shorts and a silk print shirt on. He looked great. There were couples dancing and I surprised even myself when I got lost in the music and grabbed Joe's hand to dance. "Hey, you are good at this," I cooed in his ear as we swayed together, no space between our bodies. "I would tell you I learned how to do this in the Navy, too, but that sounds funny. I think I'll go with the 'private research' line on dancing." He said with a big smile.

We stayed late. I hadn't been out this late in a long time – at least not on a date. Doing surveillance or making late night cookie runs are the only reasons I tend to get out after midnight. Joe was charming and smart. Why had I ever thought we couldn't make this work? Oh, yeah. Work. That's right. This isn't the real world. This is just a weekend. Don't get carried away, Stephanie. I had a feeling that if he didn't pop the question this weekend I may beg him to marry me before we went back home. Surely, that's not what this is all about. I dismissed the thought.

"Do you still think about us getting married?" Oh, shit. Had I said that out loud? "Only every day." He said, smiling down at me as we walked hand in hand back toward our room. Well, this is awkward, I thought. Why did I say that? What should I say now? He wasn't saying anything either. Maybe if I stay quiet he'll forget I said it. "Do you?" he finally prompted me to speak. "Well, sometimes. I have been thinking about it a lot today…" I admitted.

We were passing the resort's pool about this time. Morelli guided me to a chaise lounge and took a seat in the one next to it. We laid side by side and stared into the beautiful stars in the night sky. They were so bright and brilliant out here in the darkness. You just don't seem them look this way in the city.

"Well, I wasn't going to bring up marriage on this trip. If it's right, I think you'll know it. The last thing I want to do is pressure you into making a decision you can't live with. I love you and you know that. I don't want to wreck it by forcing the issue. You don't like pressure so I have tried hard to stop pushing. I hope you've noticed. I think marriage can be heaven or hell. If we find ourselves in hell I don't want it to have been because I pushed you through the door. I want you to walk willingly through it on your own two feet. That's the only way a couple can make it through those hellish times and work their way back to the heavenly side."

"Wow." That was a pretty profound speech for 1 a.m. on a Sunday morning. "I think you've thought about that for a while." I said.

"Oh, I have. I've witnessed it with my own family. My dad died when I was really young but I do know that one person wanting a marriage doesn't work. Both people have to work at it every day or it can be miserable. I hate to say it, but my mom had to be relieved when my dad died. He wasn't out running around on her anymore. He wasn't racking up debt that he couldn't service anymore and he wasn't beating her up anymore. I think that's why I made the decision to live my life my own way instead of the way most of the guys in my family do. I don't know why a man would marry a woman if he didn't intend to treat her with respect and love. I know some of my relatives who have been with their girlfriends longer than they have been with their wives. Why would you do that? You can't be happy all the time, but there has to be enough foundation of love between you to make it worth hanging around." He paused, "I must have had more to drink than I thought. I don't think I've ever talked to anyone about stuff like that."

I was speechless. I'd never thought about Morelli's life and why he felt so strongly about his convictions before now. My life had been peachy even with my divorce from Dicky.

"Let's go back to the room, okay?" I asked.

When we made love that night, Joe was gentle and patient. He was almost vulnerable feeling. Emotions can do some bizarre things to a person. He was still incredible.

Chapter 4

Sunday

"What is that noise?" I asked. "Travel clock" Joe replied as he rolled out of bed and shut off the alarm. "Why? It feels like we just went to sleep." I said. "My dive is at 6:30. We've got to get ready." He said.

"No wonder it feels like we just went to sleep. It was like 4 a.m. when we went to sleep and now it is 6. Are you crazy?" I asked. "Nope. I just like diving. We can sleep when we get back. Come on. Please?" He was asking nicely.

I drug myself up. I stepped into the shower automatically. I don't know why. I was just going to go sweat on an icky boat. I put on a swim suit and threw my hair up in a knot under a cap. "Ready." I said, begrudgingly. He gave me a wonderful kiss and said "Thanks for coming with me. It will be fun."

It was fun, sort of. I liked the boat as long as I avoided thinking about the fish in the water. There were 8 passengers and 2 crew members. The crew bustled around. Joe was a pretty experienced diver, I guess. He didn't need help like the others so he was out of the boat and gone with his assigned partner pretty quickly. I had stripped off my coverup and was just laying out on the deck. There was a little blonde trophy wife who was also not diving. She had been flirting with Joe like crazy since we had left the dock. I think her elderly husband was deaf and didn't know what she was doing. He was still diving, however, so he probably wasn't as old as I thought. Another couple was on their honeymoon so they made out all the way to the dive site. I figured if they could, they would do more underwater.

After a couple of hours, we were ready to head back. Joe settled in beside me and brushed the stray hair out of my eyes. Again, he looked happy and relaxed. I was sure I loved him. I was still thinking about his speech last night. Wow. How did I feel about this? While the boat sped and bumped across the water, I nestled into Joe. He was smiling and talking to the others on the boat. He is just a nice guy isn't he? I thought. What's not to love?

We showered together in the big, open shower in our room. I'm pretty sure there are still marks on a towel rack from where I gripped it while Joe made himself useful. There may even be teeth marks on it. I really can't remember. We took a long nap afterwards.

The last night there was heavenly. We danced, and drank, and ate, and made love in the hammock again. It was perfect.

Chapter 5

Monday

We had to leave at 9 a.m. to catch our plane home. I didn't want to go. Bob was waiting for Morelli and was thrilled to see us. Surprisingly, Joe dropped me off at my apartment. He gave me a kiss that wouldn't be forgotten. As he left he'd handed me a little bag. I looked inside. It was full of shells, and bits of coral. His treasures from the beach.

"I had fun. See you later, Cupcake." And then he went home.

What was this? I expected him to ask me to move back in with him. I probably would have gone. I was ready to marry him. Today. Tomorrow. Anytime.

I was bewildered. Not for long.

Chapter 6

Tuesday

Ranger stepped up behind me in the Bail Bonds office. "Yo, Babe." "Yo, Ranger." I said, smiling. I wasn't flirting. I will not do that anymore. That will not get me anywhere with Morelli except into that hellish spot he talked about. The flirting with Ranger was definitely cheating. I was not going to cheat anymore.

"I'd like to take you away for the weekend." He started.

"What? Where?" I questioned. "To the city (NYC). We could have some nice meals, see some shows, and just talk." He said, with a big smile on his face.

"Did you and Morelli make a deal? Is that what the handshake was about last week?"

Another smile from Ranger, "May the best man win. We each get one weekend with you and you have a decision to make when we get home."