Title: The Dating Game
Author: RobinL
Spoilers: This takes place after EOT, so anything through that is fair game.
Disclaimer: I worship at the altar of Janet Evanovich. I own nothing and am making nothing from this. Please don't sue.
About six months following Stephanie's final encounter with Constantine Stiva.
Chapter One
"Hey Beautiful."
I looked up to see warm green eyes smiling at me from over the top of my cubicle's grey walls. I rolled my eyes at the nickname and answered, "Hi, Lester. What can I do for you?"
Lester moved into my work space and perched his 6 foot 2 frame on the corner of my desk. "The guys are going for pizza at Shorty's tonight. You wanna come with?"
Hmmmm. This was new. The guys were all nice, perfectly polite in fact, but they usually kept a professional distance.
"I don't know. I wouldn't want to cramp your style."
Lester's brow furrowed in confusion. "We wouldn't invite you if we didn't want you there. Come on it'll be fun." Lester's tone was cajoling and I suddenly had an image of a handsome little boy wrapping his mother around his little finger. I bet he'd been a handful.
"Well…" I was stalling; I mean what if Ranger was there. The man and I hadn't exchanged more than inane pleasantries in ages: 'How are you?' Heartbroken. 'Fine, and you?' 'I'm good.' 'Good.' 'Good.' When did my life become shit? I hesitated, thinking that I wasn't sure I was up for an entire evening of pretending that I was unaffected by Ranger.
"What, you got a hot date?" Lester asked, completely oblivious to my inner turmoil.
"No," I answered with a snort, a little too quickly. Whoops, that sounded a little pathetic, Steph.
"No," I repeated, a little more calmly, less panicky. Better. Of course I didn't have a date. I was living the celibate life of a Buddhist monk, without the enlightment. What the hell, I really had nothing better to do, my Ghostbusters tape could only take one or two more viewings before it started to disintegrate from over use.
Feeling Lester's eyes on me, I took a fortifying breath and said, "I'd love to come."
"Great," Lester answered with a smile that could stop traffic. "We're heading out in about an hour."
About an hour later I had emptied my in-box and was putting on a coat of lip gloss and checking the state of my curls when Lester popped his head back into my cubicle.
"Beautiful, you ready?"
"Yeah Lester, I just have to grab my stuff," I said as I threw my lip gloss, compact, keys and Sig into my purse. I always carried my gun now, because I didn't want to give Ranger the chance to make good on his threat to fire me and frankly I wasn't sure if he'd let me keep his apartment key at this point.
Switching off my monitor I stood up and moved toward the elevator. I was surprised to see Lester waiting for me, leaning against the wall in the hallway outside my cubicle.
"I do know how to get to Shorty's, you know," I said with a small smile.
"You want to drive over with us?" he asked while nodding his head toward Bobby who was waiting for the elevator.
"Uh, sure," I answered, the question evident in my voice while I gave Bobby a little wave, hello.
"We usually carpool, it makes it easier to catch a sober ride home."
"You planning to get me drunk, Santos?" I gave him a smile and got into the waiting elevator.
"Maybe," he replied, moving to stand beside me.
Once we were on our way to the garage, I blurted out the question that had been itching in the back of my brain for the past hour.
"So, why did you guys decide to invite me tonight?"
Lester shot Bobby a look that I couldn't read and I cleared my throat.
"What do you mean?" Lester asked with feigned innocence.
"Well…" I rolled my eyes. "I've been working here for over six months and you guys have never invited me to hang out before now."
The elevator stopped in the garage and we walked toward a black RangeMan Bronco. Lester opened the passenger door for me and gave me a hand into the vehicle.
"So," I raised an eyebrow at them.
"We weren't sure… well… we didn't know if you'd be interested," Bobby replied sounding a little unsure.
Huh. Insecure Rangemen? Doubtful. Deciding to drop it for now, I smiled at them and said, "I think it is about time."
When we arrived at Shorty's, a quick glance told me that Ranger would not be joining us tonight. I quickly squelched the disappointment that rose from my gut and flashed a bright smile at the six very attractive men that were to be my dinner companions. Bobby, Lester and I were last to arrive and we squeezed in around a round table in a dark corner at the back of Shorty's. When I say squeezed, I'm not kidding. I mean these guys were twice the size of your average linebacker. I was practically sitting on Vince's lap and my right side was pressed up against Woody's muscular arm in a manner that was way too familiar for co-workers. Lester and Bobby shoved in across the table from me between Tank and Hal.
"Hi guys."
I chorus of happy greetings from the guys immediately put me at ease and we fell into eating as if it was our last meal.
At first, I just took everything in. These guys were so alive and boisterous, I found myself laughing aloud at their stories about takedowns gone amuck and their most embarrassing moments. Who knew that I wasn't the only one who'd had to wrestle a skip covered in Vaseline?
The beer flowed liberally from frosty pitchers and the pizza had the perfect combination of cheese and grease and tomato sauce. It was almost as good as Pino's, but not quite. As I enjoyed the last piece of pepperoni, I looked up to see six pairs of eyes looking at me.
"What?" I asked.
"Uh, do you always enjoy your food so, um, vocally?" Tank asked, swallowing audibly.
"Christ Beautiful, give a guy a heart attack why don't ya," Lester added.
What, so I like pizza. What's the big deal? I glanced around the table and saw the guys shifting and tugging at their collars.
"Sorry," I said.
"Hell, don't be sorry. Where's the waitress, lets get some more pizza over here," Woody said jokingly, looking over his shoulder for the girl who'd been waiting on us.
The guys laughed and I could feel the blush creeping over my cheeks. I was suddenly conscious of the fact that I was the lone female among six virile men who were all looking at me as if I would make a good meal. Oh boy. And I haven't had an orgasm with company for months. I became acutely aware of Woody's arm which now rested behind my shoulders on the back of my chair and the way my left thigh was pressed against Vince's muscular leg. I needed a cold shower before my Hungarian hormones made me do something I'd regret, like having six Merry Men for dessert.
Bobby saved me from myself when he pushed back from the table and asked, "So, who's up for pool? Come on Sexy, be my partner?" He extended his hand out to me and I took it, allowing him to lead me to a side room that had two pool tables that were serviceable, but had definitely seen better days. Hal and Vince followed us in to play against us, while the others congregated around the second table.
"Bobby," I said in a low voice, "I haven't played pool for a really long time."
"It's alright, Sexy, I'll take good care of you."
On the break, Bobby managed to sink two solid balls and had an easy shot into the side pocket for his second shot. He was really good, which is a good thing, because I'm definitely not.
When it was Hal's turn, he made the mistake of glancing my way while I was stretching my arms over my head. Naturally, my cropped RangeMan shirt had ridden up exposing about four additional inches of my stomach, which I am proud to say was looking much more toned since I'd started a regular exercise program at RangeMan. Hal scratched and the cue ball sailed off the table and into a dark corner of the room.
"Fuck. That's not fair," Hal groaned and covered his face with his hands while Bobby and Vince burst into laughter.
"Sorry, Hal." Really, it had been almost entirely unintentional.
It was now my turn and I looked at the table trying to see which shot would be easiest for me to make. I hadn't played pool since my college days and I'd had a couple drinks which meant I was feeling no pain and not exactly seeing in straight lines.
I leaned over the table to take my shot and Bobby came up behind me, pressing in close to help me aim and adjust my grip on the stick. "You should practice your shot first so that you hit the cue ball with a firm stroke."
There will be no thoughts of stroking, Stephanie! I gave myself a mental head shake. What's wrong with me? I swallowed and nodded in acknowledgement of Bobby's advice, trying not to dwell on the fact that I had six feet of fine muscular man pressed against my back. He guided me through the motions and then stepped back so I could make my shot. The shot wasn't too bad, but the ball hit the corner of the pocket which kept it from sinking.
My shoulders slumped. "Don't worry," Bobby said throwing an arm around my shoulder. "You didn't hit any balls off the table, so you're already a step ahead of Hal. Plus, now I get to keep giving you pointers." Down hormones. Sit. Stay.
As the night wore on, we managed to win two out of three games, thanks in part to the fact that Bobby was an excellent player and also in part to the distraction techniques I'd managed to hone on several RangeMan jobs where my sole purpose was to be sexual bait. It was an amazing coincidence that I had to bend over to pick up the chalk whenever Vince was about to shoot. And I could make drinking through a straw an X-rated event. I was being naughty and it felt so good.
I was also starting to feel mighty flirty, must be the beer, so when Lester came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, I simply leaned back against him and started to sway to the music coming out of the old fashioned jukebox in the corner. Lester swayed along with me, his head bent down next to mine.
"I'm glad you came tonight, Beautiful," he whispered in my ear.
"Me, too. Thanks for inviting me. I really needed this."
"Anytime, Beautiful. The guys and I, well we thought that it was time for you to get out and have some fun."
"You are too right. I've been hiding for a few months now, but it's time to live a little."
"I'm glad you feel that way. That brings me to my next topic. The guys and I have a proposition for you."
Proposition? I froze in his arms, and a heady mixture of dread and excitement fluttered through me at his words, settling in the pit of my stomach.
I waited, holding my breath. Lester cleared his throat and hesitated as if searching for the right words.
"Will you go out with us?"
