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Chapter Two
"Oh hi Steph!" Barry greeted her with a smile and a small wave as he opened his door.
She gave him a grin. "Hey Barry."
"You got Pino's?" He asked with narrowed, questioning eyes.
That made her chuckle softly as she nodded. "I do. It's in the car."
He rubbed his hands greedily. "I love Pino's." He admitted with a grin. "Let me turn off my tv."
She nodded but he was already gone. They went through this every time. She was beginning to wonder if he didn't appear to his court hearings on purpose. Just so she would bring him Pino's. She watched with a sad smile as he turned off his television, his coffee pot, grabbed his keys and headed her way. He got to the door and then stopped.
"Let me change my t-shirt. I can't be showing up at a cop shop with a rainbow on my shirt." He turned quickly and ran towards his bedroom. Steph just shrugged and waited. She hadn't noticed his shirt but he was right. Showing up with a rainbow on his shirt would mean trouble for him once they locked him up.
He popped back up a minute later with a white t-shirt on. "You can never go wrong with a white shirt." He muttered as he locked his door. Together they walk towards her car.
"What did you bring me today, Steph?" He asked as they climbed in.
"I think it's a cheese steak sub. I thought I would change things up." She replied.
Barry nodded and dug in with glee. Truth was, after seeing his picture yesterday all the memories came flooding back and once again she couldn't bring herself to eat anything. Just walking into Pino's earlier caused a turning in her stomach and she almost threw up. Not that there was anything in her belly because there wasn't. She just didn't think she could stomach the smell of a meatball sub at the moment. Or ever.
They arrived at the cop shop just as Barry finished his sub. Licking his fingers, he climbed out of the vehicle and together they headed inside. They took Barry in cuffs, laughing as he described his sub. After getting ribbed by some of the guys about blowing up her next car or what she was gonna get dragged through next, Steph, a scowl on her face, grabbed her receipt and headed out the door. Just as she reached it, Barry called out.
"Hey Steph!"
Steph turned around to look at him. "What?"
"Whatever it is that's going through your head, I hope you're okay. You're a good person and I like you."
Steph felt the tears well up in her eyes and she choked back a sob. "Thanks Barry. I like you too."
He gave her a lopsided grin which she returned. She practically ran out of the cop shop, trying to keep the tears away. How is it that he barely knew her but he knew she was dealing some serious shit? How is it that none of her friends knew, but an almost stranger did.
She arrived at the Bonds office, finally having got her tears and nerves under control. It wouldn't help her if Lula or Connie suspected something.
"Hey white girl! No donuts today?" Lula asked as she flipped through a Vogue magazine.
Steph flashed her receipt. "Just brought in Barry. No donuts today."
"What did you bring him today?" Connie questioned, smiling.
"Cheese steak I think." She replied.
"That man has a serious thing for you." Connie told her.
"Nah. It's the food he's after."
Lula and Connie laughed at that, at her, but it didn't faze her. After all, she was used to the ribbing. She took her check, gave them a wave, and walked out the door. She still had one more skip. And she no idea if she could do it.
"Stephanie?"
She looked up when the deep, accented voice called her name. She came face to face with Hector. She never really spent a lot of time looking at Hector. Maybe it was because he was gay or maybe it was because she wasn't around him a lot or maybe because it looked as though he could kill her with his bare hands. Okay, so all of RangeMan could do that last one, but there was something about Hector that screamed murderer. But she knew he would never hurt her, called it her spidey sense. So as she looked at him, she really looked at him.
Only a few inches taller than her, he was lean with wide shoulders. His biceps were thick as his thighs and tattoos covered his arms and most of his upper chest, creeping their way up his neck. The two tear drops under his right eye only added to his aura of danger, his badassery. His dark blue jeans and black t-shirt only added to his… sexiness. And it made his dark Latin skin stand out.
"Have you looked your fill, Querida?" Hector's deep, teasing voice pulled her from her ogling and she jerked her head up in surprise.
"You…" She stuttered before shaking herself. "You speak English." She stated. Like he didn't know.
He casually walked over to her with a grin on his face. "That ain't my only secret, florecita." He replied with a wink and a cocky grin before walking past her and into the bonds office.
Steph was speechless. She didn't know what to say or think at the moment. And she didn't a clue what he just called her but it sent chills down her spine and not the bad kind. She liked him. She found him attractive. Well, of course he was attractive. All of RangeMan was, but somehow this felt different.
Suddenly she shook herself. She climbed into her car with an aggravated sigh. Why was she all of sudden attracted to Hector? And why now? Why now when she had lost herself?
"Ugh!"
She was losing her mind… unless… maybe… it was because he was safe. He was gay so he was safe. Yeah. That made sense.
"That's my story." Steph muttered to herself as she pulled out of the parking lot and headed for her apartment.
Tart Story – Tart Story – Tart Story
Steph crinkled her nose and turned her head. She yanked the ball cap off her head and tossed it into the corner of the bathroom. She needed to look different. He couldn't recognized her. She wasn't even sure if she would be able to look at him, to get close to him. She could barely think of him without throwing up. She tried to choke down a peanut butter and olive sandwich when she got to her apartment and the first thought of facing him, she threw it back up. It was pointless. Useless. She was a failure.
"Ugh!"
She threw herself down on the couch and once again, let the tears fall. She was so damned sick of crying. She was so damned tired of being afraid of her shadow. She was so tired of the nightmares, of waking up screaming and having no one there for her. She just wanted someone to hold her, to comfort her, to tell her that she would be okay. She wanted someone to help her through this, to kick Benjamin Kenny's ass. NO! She wanted someone to help her kick his ass. She needed that silent support. Support she haven't had in the last six months.
But she didn't have that. All she had was herself and damn it, she refused to fail.
She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up. She went back into the bathroom and went to taming her hair. She plugged in her hair straightener and waited for it to warm up. She loved her curls, but with straight hair, he wouldn't be able to recognize her curly hair. Then she would pull on the baseball cap and don a pair of dark sunglasses and her disguise would be complete.
Once the flat iron was warmed up, she slowly straightened her hair. Once she was finished, she barely recognized herself. She then pulled her newly straight hair into a ponytail and then pulled it through the hole in the cap and covered her eyes with the bill. She then grabbed a pair of sunglasses and hid her blood shot blue eyes. She looked in the mirror for the hundredth time that day and actually smiled. She didn't recognize herself so she hoped that he didn't either.
She turned this way and that way and her confidence went up. She put on some really dark lipstick, covered her cheeks with some dark blush and she knew she had it. He wouldn't recognize her. Now the only question was…
Could she do it? Could she see him without breaking down? Could she breathe the same air as him without throwing up or having a complete mental break down? Could she?
What if she couldn't? What if he saw through her disguise and knew it was her? What if he tried to…
Steph shuddered in horror and took a deep breath. Black spots were dancing in front of her eyes and she was about to throw up. Tears spilled down her cheeks and her breathing hitched.
A knock on her front door pulled her away from the near panic attack she was heading towards. She took another deep breath, washed her face, took off the hat and sunglasses and walked down the hallway, towards her front door.
Tart Story – Tart Story – Tart Story
He grinned as he climbed back into his truck and pulled away from the bonds office. He was able to keep the goofy, stupid smile off his face at the bonds office, but it was tough. She was checking him out. And while she was checking him out, he was checking her out. He noticed her jeans were no longer tight, but hanging loosely on her narrow hips. Her dark blue sweater, which made her blue eyes even darker than normal, hung off one shoulder. Her cheeks were sunken in and he knew she wasn't eating. Her eyes were dark and cloudy with bruises underneath them. She wasn't sleeping either. Her hair didn't have the same bounce as it always did. She had lost her spark and Hector had to admit that she was breaking what was left of his cold heart.
He wanted to see her again. He wanted to see her eat. So after running a few more errands for RangeMan, he dropped by the Tasty Pastry and grabbed a few Boston cremes and a few others for variety. He pulled up to Steph's apartment and climbed out of his truck. He locked the doors and headed upstairs. He looked out for any threats but her street and her apartment building were quiet. He knocked on the door and waited.
When she opened the door, he immediately noticed two things. One, her hair. She had straightened it and while he preferred her curls, the straight look was sexy as fuck. And two, she had been crying. Then he noticed the thick make up covering her cheeks and lips. He liked her make up free but she was still sexy. But with that thick make up, he had a feeling she was gearing up for something. For what, he wasn't sure. So he could comment on her tear streaked face or make her smile instead.
He gave her his cocky smirk while biting his lower lip. "Dayum, Florecita."
