She sat in his truck on a stakeout late on February 13th. He sat silently and motionless, staring at the warehouse. They'd been there for almost 2 hours, and had another hour to go.
She'd dressed for the freezing weather and was warm enough in her jeans and sweater, and Ella had sent along a thermos of coffee for her. But she was getting antsy. She started tapping her finger on her leg, then humming.
"Babe."
"What? I'm bored. We haven't seen a single living thing - it's too cold for anyone to be out. Even the criminals gave up and went home."
She looked at him, all seemingly relaxed, still staring at the warehouse. He had on a long-sleeved black Rangeman t-shirt and a thermal t-shirt poking out the collar underneath. He'd cut his hair a while ago, and it sat in semi-long spikes. They were back to Abercrombie Ranger, and she thought it was a good look for him. Ha, she thought - what wasn't a good look for him?
"One more hour, Babe. Then Lester and Bobby will come take over."
She smiled. She figured the Rangeman playboys started collecting notches on their bedposts the second the clock struck V-Day and continued til the last lonely female was satisfied. She thought it funny that they had to start a shift at midnight, and told him so.
He gave a quick half-grin, making her think maybe he or Tank had a part in that scheduling irony. He confirmed it with, "Sometimes it's fun being the boss."
"What about you, Batman? How are you spending the big day?"
"Working."
"Ugh. Lonely hearts club. I'm a lifetime member. What's wrong with us?!" She threw her hands up in the air.
"Babe. You have half the men in Trenton in love, or at least lust, with you."
"Yet, here I am, dateless - again. And, you're one to talk - you have ALL the women in Trenton walking into walls when they see you."
He ignored that, and focused on the information he really wanted. "Morelli?"
"Nope. Finished. Done. We mostly went through the motions to get through the holidays and deal with our families. We just kind of fizzled out after that. I'm surprised you missed the Burg gossip on this."
They lapsed into silence again. A few minutes later, he started to talk, still staring at the warehouse. "I try not to think about you and Morelli too much. It's not a picture I want in my head. So I don't usually ask about you and him."
She looked over at him. He didn't look as relaxed now. "Well, look on the bright side - now there's nothing to think about." She paused. "If it makes you feel any better, I NEVER think of you and another woman. I can't. My mind shuts down whenever the concept even surfaces."
After a minute, he shook his head and let out a sigh. A sigh! "There hasn't been another woman since your birthday."
Her mouth fell open. She let that sink in, and remembered how they'd spent her birthday while she and Morelli were "on a break." She felt the need to fan herself. It had been a one-time thing, and maybe the most spectacular night of her life. She'd known him for almost a year at that point, but they'd never pushed past the invisible boundary before or since then. Lots of flirtation, but nothing more.
"Really? I mean, okay. That's good. Well, I guess not good if you wanted to. So, ummm, me too.
He finally gave up his surveillance watch and looked at her. "What? You too, what?"
Suddenly having an interest in the warehouse, she looked straight ahead. "Morelli and I, well, we never had sex again after my birthday."
She eyed him from the side, and saw him looking at her like she had two heads. "What? I didn't want to." When he continued to stare at her, she finally gave up and laughed. "Okay, I know it's pretty bad. I may have been the worst girlfriend ever."
"Babe. That's a picture I like having in my head." She went to smack him, and he caught her hand and held it.
"Celibacy sucks. But I couldn't. I think you ruined me. At least you've been pining away for me, too." She told him, liking how he was rubbing his fingers over her hand.
"I don't think I was pining." At her look, he said, "Okay, maybe a little. And I didn't ruin you, Babe. We ruined each other - for anyone else. I'm betting we still work together."
When the clock hit midnight, Ranger put his hand behind her neck and pulled her towards him. "Happy Valentine's Day, Babe," he said before lowering his mouth to hers.
