Manny Reasons
SapphireJ
Chapter 2
Previously: Ranger pulled Steph into a hug and rubbed her back. "I need to get my stuff together and get ready to leave. My plane takes off in two hours. Don't go crazy while I'm gone."
She kissed him gently on the lips. "Don't get shot."
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Stephanie had been working at RangeMan fulltime for two weeks. Binkie had moved all his stuff out of his apartment the week prior and was crashing in Lester's apartment. Stephanie had moved into the fourth floor apartment, including almost everything she owned, since she'd given up her place to Grandma Mazur.
It was the night of Binkie's going away party, and all of RangeMan was going. Tank had called in all the contractors to keep an eye on the monitors and as backup in case there was a problem. Stephanie was getting ready, pulling on jeans shorts and a tank top. None of the guys were dressing up, and she didn't want to feel out of place.
Just as she finished her lip gloss, she heard a knock at the door. Opening it up, she saw Manny standing there in black jeans that hugged his ass and rode low on his hips, and a button-down, white shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
Manny's eyes looked Stephanie up and down before he whistled and commented, "Looking good there, Wifey."
"You're not so bad yourself, handsome." She walked into the kitchen area, put on her blue, button up shirt to hide her gun, and grabbed her purse. "Ready?"
Manny smiled and held the door for Stephanie. He closed the door behind them and ushered her to the elevator. When the doors opened, Lester, Bobby, Tank, and Hal were waiting. Steph and Manny stepped on, and they all rode the elevator to the garage.
Standing next to the vehicles, Lester spoke up. "Bobby, Tank, Hal, and I are in one vehicle. Manny, Steph, Cal, and Hector are together in the second. Zip, Zero, Vince, and Junior are in the third. Everyone else is either not coming or found their own transportation. Double D's for tonight are Tank, Hector, and Junior. Let's go."
They all split to their designated vehicles. In Steph's SUV, Hector got in the driver's seat and Cal grabbed passenger, leaving Steph and Manny in the back. Before they were even out of the garage, Steph just had to ask. "Guy's, umm, what's Double D's?"
The three guys busted out laughing. "Not what you think, Steph. Designated Driver… Double D's."
"Oh, okay," she replied with a tinge of pink in her cheeks.
They pulled up to the club shortly after seven pm. Manny opened the SUV door and helped Stephanie down. They all walked in as a group, and made quite a sight… eleven men and one woman. The guys knew the bouncer, so they all walked right in. Binkie and his wife were already there, and had secured several tables for the night.
Once introductions were made all around for Binkie's wife, Miranda, Steph sat down, and a few of the guys went to go get drinks. The music was pumping, the drinks were great, and the company was even better. Shortly after getting some food, Stephanie was out on the dance floor; first with Lester, then Bobby, followed by Hal, Cal, Junior, and finally, Manny.
Looking up at Manny, Stephanie smiled. "I need a break. There is only so much dancing I can do before I'm worn out. I need energy."
Manny laughed and pulled her off the dance floor. A few more guys had shown up, and there was only one seat left. "You can have it, Steph. I can stand for now."
"Nonsense." Steph gently shoved Manny down onto the chair and took a seat in his lap. He looked shocked for a second, but quickly relaxed.
Everyone was joking, laughing, drinking, and eating. Soon 'Binkie stories' started, and Binkie was looking very red. He pulled his wife off to the dance floor, hoping to avoid more stories.
Stephanie had one more beer before she decided she wanted to dance more. Standing up, she took Manny's hand in hers. "Care to dance?"
He nodded and stood up. Just as they reached the dance floor, Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts started playing.
Manny had his arms around Steph, his hands rubbing up and down her back. Stephanie's arms were around his neck, and she was absentmindedly running her hands through his hair. Her head was on his chest, and their bodies were molded together. Stephanie's eyes had fluttered closed as she listened to the song and Manny's heartbeat.
Back at the table, Lester elbowed Bobby. "Check it out… Looks like they're having a good time."
Bobby looked out at Manny and Steph and smiled. "'Bout time, man. They both deserve happiness. I just hope he doesn't keep secrets from her."
Lester looked at him and shrugged. "Don't know, Bobby. He doesn't talk about it anymore. He might not tell her."
Tank leaned across the table and glared at them. "Neither of you will tell her anything, either. That is for him to tell if and when he is ready. Right now, they are just starting out as partners; don't try to push them into anything neither is ready for."
Tank sat back when he saw Manny and Steph approaching. Manny sat in the chair and pulled Steph onto his lap, even though there were open seats. She didn't protest, but leaned into him instead.
After another round of drinks and dancing, Steph was ready to call it a night. Unfortunately, none of the rest of them were. Manny held her in his lap, and she laid her head on his shoulder. After two minutes, he felt her go limp and knew she was asleep. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close so she wouldn't fall.
About an hour later, everyone decided it was time to head home. The guys all said good luck to Binkie and Miranda. Binkie leaned down, kissed Steph on her forehead, and told her goodbye, even though he knew she couldn't hear him.
Manny stood up, carrying Steph in his arms and walked out to the SUV. Hector opened the door and watched him slide in the back with Steph still in his arms. After shutting the door and jumping in the driver's seat, he saw Cal was practically passed out as well.
Once they pulled into the RangeMan garage, Manny got out and shifted Stephanie a little so he could have Hector get her keycard from her back pocket. When he moved her, Stephanie's arms tightened around his neck, and he felt her breath across his earlobe.
Hector opened the door to Steph's place, and Manny carried her to her bedroom. He and Hector worked to get her shoes and socks off. Hector found a t-shirt for her and left her bedroom. Manny unbuttoned her shirt and slid it off, but left the tank top on. He slipped the t-shirt over her head and used a trick he'd learned as a teenage boy to get her bra off. He slipped her out of her jeans, grabbed her gun off the bed, and tucked her under the blankets.
He set her gun on her nightstand and kissed her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Wifey." He picked up her clothes and put them in the hamper before turning off her bedroom light and shutting the door.
Hector was in the hallway waiting for him. Everyone at RangeMan knew Hector had a soft spot where Stephanie was concerned. He cared for her like a sister, and had no problems hurting anyone that hurt her. He looked Manny in the eye before he spoke. "You will not hurt her, or you will deal with me."
Manny stood there, shocked, and watched Hector walk away. What the fuck was that? All I did was dance with her and let her sleep on me. Damn, she's my partner. I won't hurt her; I'd protect her with my life.
Manny shook his head and left Steph's apartment for his own across the hall. He hopped in the shower before bed. He wasn't drunk, but not totally sober, either, and sleep was looking very inviting. When he was finished in the shower, he dried off, turned off his lights, and slipped under the covers. Sleep took over instantly.
Stephanie woke up the next morning to hobbits using jackhammers on her skull. She tried to open her eyes, and immediately regretted it. She pulled the blanket up over her head and fell back to sleep.
The next time she woke was to her bed dipping. "oway." She heard laughing, and felt the bed move again. This time, the cover was pulled away from her face, and she got a wiff of grease and salt. Her hand dashed out from under the blanket. "Immie." She felt the fry container in her hand, so she pulled it under the blanket. After a few more seconds, she moaned.
She sat up and looked for the coke and messenger. She saw Manny sitting on her bed, holding her coke, smiling at her. He handed it to her, and watched her inhale almost half of it at once. He chuckled when she stuffed more fries in her mouth before speaking.
"Ank ou." She swallowed the fries and finished off the coke. "Mmmm, thank you so much, Manny. I really needed that."
He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "No problem, Steph. I knew you'd need it. You had quite a bit to drink last night." He took her trash from her and threw it away. "How are you feeling now?"
"Better." Steph looked at how she was dressed. "Um, who changed me?"
"I did. Hector helped with your shoes and socks, and found a t-shirt in your drawer. I changed you and put you to bed."
She looked at him and blushed. "Thank you."
"Go. Get your shower and get dressed. We just got a lead on a skip." Manny stood up and pulled her out of bed. "Make it fast."
As Manny left, Steph headed for the shower. Ten minutes later, she was dried off and grabbing her uniform. Stepping into her kitchen, she put on her belt and accessories, dropped a grape into Rex's cage, and headed up to the fifth floor.
When the elevator doors opened, she saw Lester and Bobby standing there in full SWAT gear. Holy Hell, it is too early in the day for them to be looking that sexy.
She walked past them towards the break room, and grabbed a bagel and cream cheese.
"Bombshell." She jumped and turned around to see Tank grinning at her. "Gotcha."
"Shit, Tank. Make some fuckin noise, will ya!"
"Nah, it's better to see you jump." He slung an arm around her shoulders and hugged her. "How ya feeling this morning?"
"I'm getting there. Manny brought the cure, so that helped a lot." She looked up at him and tilted her head. "How much did I drink last night?"
"Hell, I don't know. I stopped counting after your fifth."
"Shit. Remind me not to go out drinking with you guys again." She took a bite of her bagel and thought a minute. "Did I do anything to embarrass myself?"
Tank looked up at the ceiling and then the floor, "Umm…well…I wasn't going to say anything."
"Tank, what?" She was getting nervous; she didn't remember doing anything, but she also hadn't remembered how much she'd had to drink.
"You were dancing on the bar."
"Oh shit. Why did you guys let that happen?"
"Bombshell, there was no stopping you. Hell, Lester was up there with you." Tank was trying hard to hide his smile, but it wasn't working.
"Damn it…I'm surprised my mother hasn't started calling yet. How bad was it?"
"How bad was what, Beautiful?" Lester came up and kissed her temple.
"Les, Tank was telling me that you and I were dancing on the bar last night." Her face was red, and she kept moving from one foot to the other.
Lester looked horrified at what Tank said they had done. He didn't remember anything after the dance with the busty brunette.
Tank busted out laughing. "You two are too fucking easy. I was kidding." He had to stop talking, he was laughing so hard. "Bombshell…your face…priceless. You didn't do anything wrong last night. But, damn, that was good!"
Stephanie slugged him in his arm. "Damn you, Tank. Don't do that to me." She grabbed her bagel and headed to Manny's cube to see when they were leaving.
Tank stood in the break room laughing. "Man, that was easy. I can't believe you bought it, too."
"Fuck you, Tank." Lester walked out of the break room, wondering if Tank really was joking or not.
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