Hey, everybody!

Thank you for all of the reviews, they were greatly appreciated and have helped a ton! I'm glad you've decided to tune into the second chapter of Step Up! And another huge thank you to Sare for beta-ing this chapter. You've been such a big help! Hope you all enjoy...

Lester's POV

Stephanie's mouth was full of chocolate chip pancakes when she countered, "So why were you looking at my boob earlier?"

I turned on the Santos Charm and grinned before sipping from my bottle of orange juice. "Because," I replied. "It's cute how you're trying to hide that jelly donut stain." I capped my juice bottle and waggled my eyebrows at her, causing her to blush and frown. "Besides. You know how when you were a kid your parents always wrapped up your Christmas and birthday gifts before giving them to you? And how you'd stare at the wrapping paper and wonder just how awesome the stuff inside the boxes really was? It's kinda like that."

I forked a piece of sausage into my mouth and waited for the tirade, grimacing.

Surprisingly, all I got was a muttered, "Pervert." I even thought I detected a hint of a smile in her voice.

I was shocked. "What, no smack upside the head and a reminder that you've got a boyfriend?" I asked her.

"What boyfriend?" Stephanie set her fork down and scoffed.

"Well," I replied uneasily. "There was that guy you were seeing who works the Geek Squad counter at the Best Buy in Princeton...and hey. What ever happened to the lawn sprayer?"

"Both dead-ends," she replied on a sigh. "Geek Squad stood me up on a date at Rossini's and Connie seems to think it was because he really couldn't afford to take me there and was too embarrassed to admit it, since I'd been the one to suggest that place to eat. And Lawn Sprayer somehow got his own pest control chemicals in his eyes and I haven't heard from him since he got out of the hospital last week."

I grimaced again. "Ouch."

"Tell me about it." Stephanie stuck another forkful of pancakes into her mouth and chewed. "Joe Morelli got married last month."

"I heard," I said. I bit off a portion of my cinnamon danish. "What's up with that?"

Steph shrugged. "I have no idea. I haven't seen him since the wedding. I went to it, like an idiot. I figured that if I could stand to watch Lauren Marie prance around RangeMan with Ranger's baby growing inside of her, I could certainly muster up the strength to watch Morelli marry Robin Russell. She's such a nice lady, too. And a great cop. But watching both of the men in my life move on without me surprisingly hasn't been the hardest thing to deal with."

"So what has?"

"The fact that I have no one to move on to."

"I hear you, beautiful. But let me ask you this: if you would have met the man of your dreams during all this and had fallen totally in love with him, would both of those events have been easier for you to handle?"

"Probably a lot easier."

I sighed. I really didn't know how to help Stephanie other than to continue to be a good friend and a shoulder for her to lean on, which were two things that I knew she really needed at the moment. I knew I could definitely give her both of those but as far as relationship advice and love-talk went, I was probably the wrong guy to seek assistance from.

I peered intently at Steph. "Are you still in love with Ranger?" I asked her finally.

Steph shook her head. "No. True, it did take me awhile to finally accept the fact that all Ranger and I will ever be are just friends. I realized that I'd rather have him in my life as my work partner and close friend than have him vacate my life completely, and he felt the same way. And as for Joe, things between us had fizzled out a long time ago. He wanted me to be something I wasn't, and I'd wanted him to accept that. Which he couldn't. But we're still friends."

"That's good," I agreed, before biting into my danish. "Feelings were mutual for all of you, then."

"Yeah." Steph's eyes filled with tears and she looked down at her half-eaten plate of pancakes. "So then why is this so hard?"

Shit. Time for some damage control. I scooted my seat next to Steph's and took her in my arms to let her get it all out. She snuggled up against my chest and I heard the ID sticker on her boob crackling against my tee shirt, and I stifled a laugh as I put my chin on top of her messy curls. As tired-looking and upset as she was, that sticker picture didn't do her true inner and outer beauty any justice.

I've seen Stephanie at her worst: with hacked-off portions of hair, singed eyebrows due to a chicken grease fire, skin dyed blue from a briefcase bomb, covered in garbage, food, mud, Vaseline, marinara sauce, dog shit, you name it. I've seen her at her best. And hot damn her best was a sight for sore fucking eyes. When her curls were shiny and bouncy and her makeup was flawless, she could stop traffic. Stuff her curvaceous, lithe body into a skin-tight cocktail dress and expect a riot.

But stick a pair of four-inch FMPs on the ends of her mile-long legs and you'll have to call the fucking Marines out here to get things functioning again.

If I haven't said it before, Ranger is a fucking idiot.

I held Steph to me and listened to her little sobs and sniffles. I sighed. I absolutely hated this shit. "Gorgeous," I began softly, smoothing Steph's unruly curls. "Someone who you used to have strong feelings for just had a baby with another woman. And a guy who's been in and out of your love life since childhood just got married. I think it's perfectly okay for you to be pretty bummed out right now. I know I'd be."

"I knew this day was coming but I guess my Queen of Denial crown's been on too tight for the past six months. I just kept forcing everything further and further out of my brain." Steph looked up at me, her big blue eyes shiny and bright. "If it weren't for you and the guys keeping my spirits up, I don't know what I would have done." She threw her arms around my neck and hugged me. "Thank you."

With my finger under her chin, I moved her face so that she was looking up at me again. "Baby, you don't have to thank me. I did it because I care so damn much about you. We all do, Steph. Believe me, this hasn't been easy on us, either. For what it's worth, Ranger's behavior shocked the rest of us just as much as it did you. I mean, come on. She was a client's daughter, for fuck's sake. Where the hell was his irreproachable self-control? And how irresponsible do you have to be to accidentally get pregnant these days? There are things you can do to prevent that. Unless precautions are taken, pregnancy is almost always possible. You know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah."

"Look. Ranger's my boss and one of my best friends. All I want is to see him happy and doing what we all know is the right thing. If a relationship with Lauren Marie is what he wants and is what makes him happy, then I'm all for it. Their baby boy is finally here and I'm a hundred percent positive that they'll be great parents. We can all start to move on and finally accept what's happened. I know you'll be hurting for awhile, but that's to be expected.

"No one expects you to just bounce right back from this, Steph. No matter how you look at it, everyone's lives have changed around here, not just Ranger's. Tank, the guys, and I will have a huge responsibility on our shoulders starting on Monday. We're taking over the main business of RangeMan while the Bossman stays at home and plays house. We're counting on you to help us out, Steph."

Steph dried her eyes and nodded. "I will, and you know it. Whatever you guys need from me, I'm game. Distractions, computer searches, monitor duty, surveillance, take-downs, stake-outs. Starting Monday I'm throwing myself into my job so that I can get my life back in order. It's time I start thinking about myself and my own quest for happiness."

I smiled and hugged her to me again. "Damn right, beautiful."

"I'm serious, Lester. You know that I've been doing physical training with Tank and Cal, so I should be able to tackle my skips with more ease. Maybe next time crazy Caroline Scarzolli won't slip through my fingers," Steph muttered.

I laughed before growing serious again. "Give things some time, gorgeous. Everything should fix itself on its own. You have an awesome relationship with the boss right now and I'd hate to see that get wrecked over something stupid. You know he still cares about you and loves you as a friend, in his own way. Things certainly won't go back to being the same as before he met Lauren Marie, but hopefully what's left is a deep and meaningful friendship that you'll both have forever."

Stephanie nodded and we fell silent for a few moments. Finally, she took a deep breath before quietly asking me, "Was I not good enough for him, Lester?"

My fucking heart broke into pieces. How could she even think that? At that moment, I hated Ranger's guts for even causing Stephanie to ponder the thought of being inadequate as a lover or not up to his high, high standards. Because we all knew that she was. In fact, I sometimes thought she was too good for him.

I sighed. "Beautiful, in my eyes, he's the one who was never good enough for you."

Our breakfasts went abandoned as Steph sat slumped against me, sobbing quietly, twirling a rogue brown curl around her finger and periodically bursting into fresh tears. I was fucking dying to wolf down the rest of my danish and sausage, but the position we were in had my back to the table and my fork just out of reach. Besides, how fucked up would it be if I pigged out and left Steph sitting against me, crying? I'd never in a million years do something like that to her. I was going to hold her until every last tear was dried up.

When Steph's sobs died down to sniffles, she croaked, "You can eat, Lester. I hear your stomach growling."

I hesitated. "You sure?"

"Of course." Steph sniffled and pulled away from me, smiling weakly.

"Christ, thank you." I pulled her forehead to my lips for a fast kiss and immediately dug into my sausage and scrambled eggs. Everything was cold, but I was so hungry that I really didn't give two shits.

"I can't wait to get home and scrub away all the sweat and tears of the last few hours in the shower," Steph remarked, blotting her eyes with the paper napkin. "And burn these clothes. My shoes are giving me blisters."

As I chewed cold eggs, I stole a glance under the cafeteria table and checked out Steph's kicks. They weren't even close to being as sexy as the FMPs I loved to see her in, but I'd take them, anyway. They appeared to be some type of boat shoes, brown with little tan laces. They were kinda cute, but they didn't push my sexual buttons or warrant me to want to untie the laces with my teeth, either.

"I see that you're looking at my shoes," Stephanie mumbled. Shit. Busted. She sniffled back a few leftover tears. "My mother calls these my 'birth control shoes.' Maybe Lawn Sprayer sprayed himself in the eyes with his own chemicals on purpose."

I couldn't help but laugh as I handed her another paper napkin to blow her nose. "Hell, no. Any man idiotic enough to stare at your feet longer than the rest of you doesn't deserve a date. And does that guy have a name?"

Steph sniffled into the napkin. "I don't want to tell you what it is. You'll have something to say about it. Lawn Sprayer is fine. Besides, that ship has sailed, Lester."

Seriously? She wasn't going to say what his name is? And all the shit she's got on me. "Steph, come on. You know that not too long ago I brought home a chick named Bambi. And that I lost my virginity, at fourteen, to a twenty-one-year-old girl named Crystal Chandelier. Now tell me, what's worse than that? What's the guy's name?"

How Stephanie managed to crack up and still be crying at the same time will forever amaze me. "Fine. It's Ferguson."

Holy fuck. "Ferguson?"

"See? I knew you'd have something to say about it."

"Come on, Steph. It doesn't matter, anyway. The poor fella's got bigger problems right now than his name."

Steph grimaced. "Yeah, like if he'll ever regain his eyesight?"

"That would be a pretty huge one." I forked the last bite of cinnamon danish into my mouth and pushed my chair back from the table. I glanced at my watch. It was quarter to six in the morning and I'll be damned if Steph and I weren't the only sorry souls eating breakfast at such an ungodly hour. Several white-coated doctors and green-scrubbed nurses were milling around in the breakfast buffet line, being served hashbrowns, eggs, and strips of turkey bacon.

Bobby, Tank, and Ranger appeared in the seating area's doorway and were loaded down with trays of food. Steph immediately saw them and waved them over to our table before quickly drying her tears. When Ranger sat down next to me, I noticed he had a blue plastic bracelet around his wrist and a special color-photo ID name sticker.

Steph saw it, too. "Hey, how come your ID sticker picture doesn't look like a prison photo?" she asked him, frowning.

Ranger just grinned. "Babe."

The plan was to drive myself home from the hospital, sleep for about twelve hours, and get ready for my date with this chick I'd met at the bank a couple weeks back. We'd been in the same teller line and had managed to strike up a conversation about pens on a chain before I'd finally gotten the chance to finagle her phone number and a sultry, lustful grin that promised the naughtiest of all dirty things.

Hell fuck yeah.

Her name was Eriana (I think) and from what I'd found out about her at the bank she was a fourth-grade teacher at Trenton Catholic Academy and just the mere thought of her in a school-girl uniform complete with thigh-highs and a ridiculously-short plaid skirt had me practically panting and painfully hard the entire drive back to my townhouse. Sure, I knew teachers didn't actually wear that stuff but at the Lester Santos Non-Catholic Sex Academy, they sure as hell did.

So we were going to Banzai in Hamilton Township for some wine and Japanese food. Me not so much for the wine, but I could definitely go for a juicy, tender filet and a bowl of that special miso soup people I know perpetually seem to rave about.

I didn't give a shit about dessert because if all went well I'd be licking whipped cream off of her luscious body, in my bed, before the night even ended.

I woke up at six and showered and shaved myself to near-perfection. After I threw on some baggy jeans and a white dress shirt, I spritzed on a little of my signature scent and was ready to go. My personal vehicle, a black Cadillac Escalade, sat ready and waiting in my garage when I hopped down the steps. I slid into the seat and started it up before backing out of the garage and down the driveway.

The night was cool and brisk and I was glad I'd kept the sleeves to my dress shirt rolled down. Since Eriana said she'd meet me at the restaurant because she was having a friend drive her there, I figured I'd park and wait for her inside. I went into the lobby and expected to see the usual decor of a Japanese hibachi-style restaurant, and Banzai's Asian atmosphere didn't disappoint.

What I didn't expect to see, however, was Stephanie Plum seated alone at one of the hibachi tables, sipping a glass of ice water and chatting with the chef. What was she doing here? Was she on a date? She didn't mention anything at the hospital earlier. Maybe the Lawn Sprayer got his eyesight back and gave her a jingle this afternoon. Or maybe Geek Squad got a bonus in his paycheck and figured he could afford fried rice and grilled shrimp for two.

Figuring Eriana and I could sit with Steph and her date, I asked the hostess if there was room for two more at Steph's table and she nodded, leading me over to where Steph was sitting. Steph's eyes lit up when she saw me.

"Hey, Les," she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm meeting a date," I said, sitting down in the empty chair to Steph's right and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Me, too," she replied. "Ferguson called me this afternoon. He said his eyes have healed and that he'd like to take me out to dinner, so I said I'd meet him at Banzai at seven-thirty." Steph glanced at her watch. "It's seven-twenty. I hope he gets here soon. I'm starving."

"Eriana said seven-thirty, too," I replied. As soon as the words left my mouth, I spotted Eriana near the entrance, speaking to the hostess. The hostess began leading her over to my table and my heart leapt. She looked damn fine in a black cocktail dress, her short black hair shining in the dim restaurant lighting. She saw me and waved, motioning for the guy who was standing directly behind her to follow.

Huh?

When Eriana seated herself at the hibachi table, the big guy in the black silk dress shirt and black dress pants followed suit.

"Hi, Lester," she exclaimed. She gestured towards the big guy next to her and patted his chest fondly. "I'd like you to meet my boyfriend Dirk. Dirk, this is the guy I was telling you about that I met at the bank a couple of weeks ago. Lester."

"Good to meet you," I said to Dirk, confused. I turned back to Eriana. "I was unaware that you had a boyfriend."

Eriana laughed. "I thought you would have picked up on that when we met at the bank," she chuckled, turning to Dirk. "We're actually looking for someone...together. You see?"

My stomach sank in supreme disappointment. Unfortunately, I did see. "Uh, I'm not sure I'd be into something like that," I replied slowly. "I don't like to share."

"That's too bad, Lester. I think you would have fit in perfectly. We're just looking to find someone to, you know, make our sex life a little more interesting. I figured you might be that type of guy," Eriana said quietly to me.

"What on earth would have made you think that?" I hissed.

"Never mind. It's really okay. It was nice to meet you, though." Eriana stood from her chair and Dirk did the same. "See you around, maybe?"

"I don't think so," I muttered, pissed off beyond belief. Eriana and Dirk shrugged and took off for the exit.

Steph had been quiet the entire time, probably more out of shock than anything else. "Seriously?" she whispered as soon as Eriana and Dirk had walked out. "What the hell was that?"

"I have no fucking clue. All I know is that I'm hungry, and I seriously need to eat now. And as long as you're here, I'm doing just that." With that being said, I unfolded my napkin and signaled for the waitress to take my drink order.

"I'm glad you'll at least get to meet Ferguson," Steph said. "I think you'll get along great with him."

I made a face, still sour about how things turned out with Eriana. "Is he coming with his girlfriend?"

"God, I hope not."

After a quick glance into the lobby and then to the clock on her cell phone, Stephanie sighed dejectedly and set down her salad fork. "Seven forty-five. Crap. This again."

"Are you really all that disappointed?" I asked her.

Steph frowned. "Lester, this is the second time in two weeks that I've been stood up at a restaurant by two different men. But truthfully? No, I'm not all that broken up about it."

"Why don't you call him? Find out where he's at?"

"Nah. I'm sort of glad he didn't show up. Who am I kidding, Lester?" Steph's shoulders sagged. "He isn't right for me, anyway."

"Clearly not," I agreed. "And if you ask me, he's a moron for standing someone like you up. You can do better than Ferguson. Hell, you can do better than Geek Squad, Ranger, Brad Pitt, Tony Romo, Vin Diesel, even the Pope. Listen to me, Steph. I'm telling you, I'm honored just to be sitting here, sharing another meal with you today."

Steph smiled. "Thanks. That means a lot, Lester. You want to know something?" She leaned closer to me and spoke low in my ear. "That Eriana's nuts if she'd rather still be messing around with that other ugly guy than have you all to herself."

I let out a bark of laughter and felt my cheeks heat up. "Damn, that's a serious compliment, Plum. Are you sure you're not trying to get in my pants?" I joked.

"Would I really have to even try all that hard?"

I immediately sobered and hung my head pitifully. "Sadly, no. No effort needed at all on your part."

"Didn't think so." Steph smirked.

The chef began our "food show" and nearly singed off his own eyebrows during an onion volcano mishap. He recovered quickly with an impressive shrimp tail trick and was awarded nervous applause from all seated at our table. When our food had been cooked to near perfection, Steph and I ate in companionable silence until our plates were clean, listening to the witty banter of the rest of our meal mates at the table.

"That was amazing," I said before letting out a discreet burp and coughing to cover it up. I ended up choking on some spit and had to have the waitress rush me another glass of water before I passed out face-first on the hot grill in front of me.

Slick, Santos.

"You all right there, Les?" Steph asked, clapping me on the back.

"Fine," I gasped. "No permanent harm done." I quickly paid both our checks and asked for a cup of water to go, in case I continued to choke to death on the drive back to my townhouse.

Steph said she had to use the bathroom before we left. She rose up from her seat and gave me an amazing view of her perfect, round ass and her silky-smooth legs that emerged from out the bottom of a red cocktail dress. I growled low in my throat and felt my pants tighten.

Down, boy.

"You'll be here when I come out?" she asked me.

"Of course," I managed to choke out.

Steph grinned and headed into the ladies' room, leaving me to my own devices. I checked my phone and saw that I had a text message from Eriana. Sorry you've decided to miss out, Lester. It would have been fun! -Eriana

I'm sure as hell it would NOT have been fun, but whatever. I'm not into dudes, and most likely wouldn't be all that into whatever nefarious activities Eriana probably had planned for the evening, anyway. As a Santos male, I'm genetically programmed to charm the pants off of any unsuspecting female who happens to cross my path. And I was not going to let this one little scofflaw get in my way. Onto the next one seemed to be my newest and most befitting motto.

Steph sauntered out of the ladies' room and I stood up from the table. "Ready, gorgeous?"

"Ready."

"I didn't see Big Blue in the parking lot when I came in earlier," I commented as we exited the lobby.

She sighed. "It's in the back. I'm hoping someone'll steal it."

I feigned horror. "You can't wish that! What will your grandmother say?"

"I have no idea, but I know I'd be ecstatic. By the way, thanks for dinner. You didn't have to pick up my tab."

"Yeah, but I wanted to." I put my arm around her shoulders. "I'm glad you seem to be doing better since this morning."

"Thanks." Steph smiled up at me. "Have you heard from Ranger? When are Lauren Marie and the baby coming home from the hospital?"

"I didn't personally get a call from him, but he called Tank earlier and Tank called me. Lauren and the baby are fine and they'll be home in a few days. Tank asked how you were holding up, and I told him you'll be okay."

"Yeah. I will be." Steph smiled.

"I know." My cell rang and I glanced at the readout. Bobby. I put him on speakerphone.

"Santos," I barked.

"Guess who Dominguez just spotted hanging out around Steph's apartment building?" Bobby boomed.

"Oprah?" I countered.

"Try again. Munson."

"Wait a second. Morris Munson?" Stephanie interrupted.

"Yep," exclaimed Bobby. "Went FTA again this afternoon. Munson left Steph's parking lot and Hal followed him to a bar on Stark Street. Munson went inside and he hasn't yet exited, so we have good reason to assume he's still in there since his wreck of a car's still in the lot. Dominguez has his eyes on the bar right now, but we need to get Munson out of there quickly before he leaves and we lose him. Plus, the maniac's no doubt armed. Dominguez needs backup."

"Did he violate his probation from the last time he was locked up? They shouldn't have given him a bond this time, then," I said to Bobby.

"The judge gave him one year in jail and ten years of probation for that vehicular manslaughter charge he'd racked up after he ran over his wife. He violated probation and didn't get a bond, but he'd somehow finagled a good attorney and was released for fifty grand after a bond hearing. Some loaded, distant relative of his fronted the five thousand to get him out."

Fucking awesome. "What'd he do this time?" Steph asked Bobby.

"Got his mitts on some white and was picked up for possession with intent to distribute."

"That lunatic skipped out on court a couple years ago and tried to kill me in the middle of the night at my apartment because I reminded him of his dead ex-wife," Steph said angrily.

"I remember that. You shot him in the foot." Bobby let out a bark of laughter. "After he got out on bond the second time, he spread the word around town that you owed him a new pair of sneakers. As to why he was at your apartment tonight, Steph, my guess is either he still wants to kill you or else he wants his new shoes."

"Yeah, well, he still owes me a new couch cushion! Ugh. I can't believe this. Munson hasn't bugged me in two years. Why does he wait until he's FTA again? And why tonight?"

I rubbed circles on Steph's upper back to get her to calm down a little. "Get a team together," I said to Bobby. "Let's annihilate this asshole."

"Ten-four. Steph, you up for a distraction tonight?"

"Count me in, Bobby."

"I need you both at h.q. in twenty." Brown disconnected.

I slid my phone back into the front pocket on my jeans and ran my hands through my thick, toussled spikes. Steph was flushed and clearly pissed off, blood-thirsty and vindictive. Finding out that Munson still wanted to tango with her was no doubt messing with her emotions, swinging her wildly through pissed, scared, homicidal, back to pissed again, and finally landing at don't fuck with me.

Stephanie stalked towards the passenger's side door of my Escalade in her red FMPs, swinging her hypnotizing hips on the way. She turned to face me and raised an eyebrow. Her eyes were dark and flecks of fire flashed through her dilated pupils. "I suggest you cancel any more plans that you may happen to have this evening, Lester. Because after we bag Munson, you and the guys are taking me out for a drink."

Shit. How could we possibly say no to that?