Chapter 3
When I came home from work one day a couple of months later to find Rex lying too still on the bottom of his exercise wheel, my new best friend was the one I called as I tried unsuccessfully to fight back the sobs.
"L-l-les," I wailed into the phone.
"Stephanie! What's wrong?" he demanded, instantly on edge.
"Rex died," I managed to blubber.
"Oh fuck, Beautiful," Lester whispered. "I'm sorry."
I just sniffled into the phone.
"I'm on my way. You need anything?" he asked softly.
"No," I finally said, knowing that he would be there soon and he would help me deal with everything.
I went into my bedroom, unable to stomach seeing Rex's cage on the kitchen cabinet and knowing that I'd never hear his little wheel squeaking again.
Lester found me ten minutes later. He just gathered me into his arms and held me while I sobbed. "Oh, Beautiful," he said as he rubbed my back. "I'm sorry. He was a good rat."
"Hamster," I choked out.
"Right, he was a good hamster."
I sobbed myself to sleep in his arms. When I woke up, I was alone. I rolled over on my back and stared at the ceiling. The door opened softly a few minutes later and I heard Lester sneak back into the room.
"Hey," I said, causing him to jump about four feet. If I wasn't completely devastated about Rex, it would have been amusing.
"Sorry, Beautiful," he said apologetically. "I didn't mean to wake you up."
"You didn't. I was already awake."
He sat on the edge of my bed and watched me with concern in his peridot green eyes. "How're you doing?"
I sighed. "I don't know. I knew it would happen eventually, he was way past the average age for a hamster. But I love, loved, that little guy so much!" A few tears popped out even though I fought to keep them back.
Les just flopped down next to me and pulled me into his arms. "I know, Beautiful. And I'm sorry."
He was warm and safe and I was a basket case, so I just kept my mouth shut and tried to absorb some of his strength. God knows I didn't have any left after today.
Lester was whispering softly in my ear in Spanish. Ranger used to do that, and it made my stomach all swirly. But hearing Lester's baritone voice in my ear whispering was just about the most comforting thing I could imagine. I felt safe, like nothing else bad could ever happen to me.
"Les?" I asked hesitantly.
He stopped talking instantly. "Yeah, Beautiful?"
"What were you saying?"
"What?"
"I don't understand much Spanish, but it sounded beautiful. So what were you saying?"
"Um…" he trailed off. I lifted my head off his chest and was stunned to see his dark honey toned skin taking on a pink tinge.
"Ohmigod, are you blushing?" I demanded.
The pink intensified and Lester wouldn't meet my gaze.
"You are! Oh, holy crap! You're actually blushing! I didn't think Merry Men could blush!"
He rolled his eyes at me. "I'm just a man, Beautiful. I can blush."
"Why?" I asked.
"I think it has something to do with blood vessels dilating, but we could ask Bobby."
"Smartass."
"You'd love my ass if you'd only give it a chance."
My turn to roll my eyes. "I'm sure your ass is absolutely fabulous, but I wanted to know why you're blushing, not how you're blushing."
He cleared his throat and looked away, refusing to answer as his cheeks turned a darker pink.
I stared at him in utter fascination. I'd seen Les in a lot of weird and awful shit before, but I'd never seen him look as uncomfortable as he did now.
"Were you whispering dirty things out of habit?" I finally asked. He was the playboy of RangeMan, after all.
He met my gaze and looked offended. "No!"
"Then what?"
He sighed. "Just whispering junk, okay?"
No, not okay. Inquiring minds want to know, and right now I wanted anything that would get my mind off of Rex.
"Was it about the junk in my trunk?" I teased.
Lester looked at me and flushed a bit again. "No, Beautiful, I wouldn't disrespect you like that."
Well, that took nearly all of the wind out of my sails.
"But you won't tell me what you said?" I tried again.
I got the patented crooked grin that always made me smile. "Not even Al-Queda would get it out of me."
"Maybe I'm more creative."
His smile wavered before coming back even bigger. He flopped over this his back, spread eagled on the bed. "Give it your best shot!"
"You sure you can handle my best shot, big boy?" I asked with a grin.
His smile grew cocky. "Beautiful, I can handle anything you can throw at me," he said. Well, when he puts it like that, we'll just have to find out, won't we?
I smiled and his eyes went from joking to wary. "Beautiful," he said as he started scooting away. "I don't like that look in your eyes."
I grinned as I sat up and then straddled him, my legs on either side of his waist. He froze after his hands flew to my waist.
"Stephanie?" he said in a strangled voice.
I grinned, leaned down with my hands at his ribs and whispered into his ear. "Game on, Santos."
Then I started tickling.
Almost instantly, Lester was convulsing in laughter and I had to lock my legs around him as he writhed on the bed. He was jerking so hard that I almost toppled off of him a couple of times, but I managed to keep my balance and continued to torment him until I was concerned that he was going to pee in my bed. That was sufficiently worrisome that I stopped.
He quivered under me, sucking in ragged gasps as he fought to stop laughing.
"You going to tell me now or do I have torture you more to get answers?" I grinned.
He looked up with wide green eyes as I wiggled my fingers at him. "No!"
"Then tell me."
"No!"
"You asked for it, then," I said with a grin as I tickled him again. He started laughing again but then I was pinned on my back by an amused Lester. He held my arms above my head with one big hand while he tried to tickle me. Too bad for him that I'm not really ticklish.
"I'm not ticklish, dude," I told him.
"Fuck that."
I had to grin at his totally disgruntled tone as he let go of my arms and sat up.
"How the hell did you know I was ticklish, Beautiful?" he asked with consternation in his voice. "I've managed to keep it from all of the guys for years."
I sat up next to him and put one arm around his shoulder. "Little things. You'd stiffen slightly and smile a little if I brushed up against your side. You always keep your boots on even when we're just hanging out on the couch. I figured you must be a little ticklish."
"Holy hell, Beautiful," he said wonderingly. "You figured it out from that?"
I grinned. "Yep."
"You're amazing, you know that?"
I looked down. "Um…?" How do you answer a question like that? Come on, it's impossible!
His hand lifted my chin. "No, really. You are amazing."
"Amazing enough to get you to tell me what you were whispering?" I asked to change the subject.
He grinned at me. "Not a chance."
"Les!" I whined, giving him the puppy dog eyes and making my lower lip go all pouty. I'd try new a tactic. "Please?"
He had a deer in a headlight look for a minute before he grinned at me. "Not going to work on me, Beautiful."
"Fine," I huffed. "But I'm going to get one of those learn Spanish CD sets! I want to know what you guys are saying when you switch into Spanish."
"I'll teach you Spanish, if you really want to learn it," he offered.
I smiled. "Great! Can we start with what you were saying earlier?"
He laughed. "No. You have to work your way up to advanced Santos sayings first."
"Damn."
He grinned and pulled me close, kissing my temple. "Get packed."
"What?"
"Get. Packed." He repeated in agonizing slowness.
I rolled my eyes. "I understand the words just fine, but I don't get the rationale behind them."
"We're going on a field trip, help you get a little happy back."
That got my attention. "Where are we going?"
He leaned back to look at me. "Vegas, baby!"
I blinked at him. "What?"
"There's no place more fun than Vegas, and you need a little fun after today. So pack your g-string and let's hit the road!"
I laughed. "I love the idea, but I can't afford a field trip right now. But thanks."
"Not optional, Stephanie. I've got plenty of money and a freaking ton of vacation time saved up, and we're going to have a fun week. So get packed or you can do Vegas naked. Which I'm completely fine with, by the way."
"Les, I can't let you do that!"
His eyes turned serious. "Why not?"
"Because… because I can't!" I retorted. Not my most convincing argument ever, but it was the best I could come up with on short notice.
"Beautiful, please? Let me do something nice for you."
Aw hell, he knows I can't refuse when they say please. "Les…" I started before trailing off. "I can't take your money like that!"
"You're not taking anything. I'm offering. I need a vacation in the worst way and I think you could use one too. So let's go for a long weekend, hell, for a long week, and just have fun! Do a little gambling, see some shows, eat bad for us shit. Come on, Beautiful, live a little!"
I nibbled on my lower lip. "Sure you don't want to take one of your myriad conquests instead? Hanging out with me won't be as much fun!"
He smiled and tucked a curl behind my ear. "No one else I'd rather hang out with than you. Haven't you learned that by now?"
I twisted the sheet in my hand. "I don't know."
"Well, decide fast 'cause Bobby will be here in an hour to get us to the airport."
I looked at him. "What?" I shrieked. "An hour?"
Lester winced at my shrill yell. "Plane leaves in three hours and we have to get to the airport and through security and all that shit," he said. "Bobby's packing for me."
Then his face took on a distinctively lecherous look. "Want me to pack your lingerie for you?"
I rolled my eyes and leaped off the bed. "No!"
I stood in the middle of the room uncertain for a minute. "I can't go, Les," I finally said with a sigh.
His arms circled my waist and he rested his chin on the top of my head. "Do you not want to go? I won't make you if you don't want to."
I turned so I was facing him. "Les, of course I want to go! But I need to stick around and keep working or Rex and I…" I trailed off at the realization that I didn't have to worry about keeping Rex in hamster nuggets anymore. I won't deny it. It hurt like hell.
I sucked in a breath as Lester's hands rubbed my back and he started murmuring in Spanish in my ear again. "Or I will be homeless," I finally finished.
"Beautiful, as long as I have a roof, you have a roof. Got it?" he said.
I smiled at the vehemence in his voice. "And what do you think are the odds of getting me to move into RangeMan after everything that happened?"
He laughed. "Just because I spend most of my time there doesn't mean it's the only place I have, Beautiful."
I looked up at him. "Spill."
He grinned at me, his eyes dancing in the afternoon light spilling in through the dingy and dusty mini-blinds. "When we get back, I'll show you." I narrowed my eyes at him. "I promise."
I sighed. "Thanks. But I won't be able to make the rent and pay my bills and stuff if I go off for a whole week."
"It's open ended tickets. We'll come back whenever you want. But don't worry about bills, I'll take care of it."
I narrowed my eyes at him and he rapidly retreated verbally. "Just a little loan between friends until you're back on your feet. But I think you need to get out of here for a little bit."
I rubbed at my head where a headache was building. He brushed my hands away and rubbed my temples. I nearly started purring and I'm pretty sure the bones in my body were dissolving.
He chuckled and kissed my forehead. "So get packed, Beautiful. I have to go take care of a couple of things and then I'll be back. We have," he paused to look at his watch. "We've got fifty-five minutes now."
I blinked at him for a second before dashing towards my closet with muttered curses and I start pulling out shoes and clothes and flinging them on the bed. Lester laughed, patted my ass and then walked out.
I took it down to the wire packing. Good thing I used to be damn good at Tetris or I would have never gotten everything squished into the one checked bag and one carry on bag I was allowed.
Lester came in and easily grabbed the heavy bags. Show off.
I grabbed a big canvas tote bag and shoved my regular purse into it as I followed Lester into the living room. Bobby pulled me into a warm hug when I walked in the room.
"I'm sorry, Bomber," he whispered.
I just nodded, fighting back the tears.
Bobby just squeezed me tighter. "We'll take care of everything here. You two just have a good time."
"'Kay," I replied, gazing in sorrow at the bare spot on my kitchen counter where Rex's cage had sat for years. I guess Les or Bobby had already removed it for me.
Lester handed the bags to Bobby and scooped me up in his arms. I squeaked in surprise and he just chuckled. I tucked my face into his neck as we walked by the kitchen. I didn't want to see the empty spot anymore.
Bobby followed behind us with the bags as we headed down to one of the black SUVs. I blinked when I saw several other men in black waiting for us.
"Sorry about your little guy, Bomber," Cal said as he hugged me. I blinked back tears at the thought that these guys had stopped by to let me know they cared.
I kissed Cal in the center of his tattoo. "Thanks."
Binkie, Hal and Zero were also there and either patted my back or hugged me. I turned back to all of them with a tremulous grin. "Thanks guys. This means a lot to me."
"He was kind of the RangeMan mascot," Binkie said. "We'll miss him too."
I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from crying at the concern in the guys' eyes. "You guys are the best friends a girl could ever have. Thank you!"
Then I threw myself into the back of the SUV before I could start bawling and freak out the men in black. They do not, as a rule, deal well with tears.
I heard a couple of chuckles before the door slammed behind me and I took several deep breaths to regain my composure.
Lester popped in the other side of the backseat a few seconds later. Bobby opened the back and shoved my bags in. Lester wrapped an arm around me and I took a shuddering breath.
"You okay?"
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
There was a knock on the window next to me and I jumped before hitting the button to roll it down. Cal leaned in with a grin. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Bomber!" he said.
"Which leaves out what, exactly?" I asked.
He just grinned wider. "Not much."
I snorted.
"Have fun!" he yelled as Bobby pulled away. The other guys were yelling too so I stuck my arm out the window to wave goodbye.
We drove in silence for a few minutes before Bobby handed back a big white box. Tasty Pastry!
"Bobby Brown, I love you!" I told him as I snatched it out of his hand. He grinned.
"Hey!" Lester said. "I told him to stop and get them!"
I grinned at him as I shoved a Boston crème into my mouth. "Then I love you too."
"That's better," he said with a grin as he leaned over and snagged one of the donuts.
"You want one, Bobby?" I asked.
He looked at me in the rearview. "Nah, I already had one."
Worked for me. That meant more for me.
I nibbled happily on donuts while we drove to the airport. Bobby and Lester were joking around with each other and didn't seem to need any input from me. That was good because I was still a bit emotional and I didn't really feel much like chatting right now.
Before I knew it, we were at the airport. Bobby pulled smoothly to the curb outside of the terminal. I clambered out, dusting off my hands and trying to wipe my mouth and clean off the chocolate that I was sure was on my lips.
Lester handed me my tote bag and kept control of my checked bag and carry on. He only had one carry on bag. "Where's the rest of your stuff?" I asked.
"I travel light, Beautiful," he said with a grin as he reached out to wipe a bit of chocolate that I'd obviously missed. Then he stuck his thumb into his mouth with a wink at me.
Bobby gave me a big hug before pushing me towards the door. "See you when you get back," he said before slapping Lester on the back and climbing back into the SUV.
We checked in at the little kiosk and then headed towards the security checkpoint. After having a TSA guy make it to second base, we were cleared to continue.
Lester checked his watch and then pulled us over to a restaurant in the concourse.
"What do you want?" he asked as he perused the menu.
"I ate donuts."
"You need some real food too or you'll have a sugar crash a thirty-thousand feet and that won't be pretty."
I grumbled a little but finally ordered a hamburger and fries. It was ridiculously overpriced, as is most airport food, but I figured Lester might be right about the sugar crash. Money had been kind of tight lately, and I hadn't eaten anything other than the donuts today.
Then we hurried up and waited at the gate before our flight was called. A few hours later, we were in Las Vegas!
Author's note: Thanks for the reviews and private messages! I truly appreciate all of them, and I'm so glad that you're enjoying my Lester lovin' story. I had a blast writing it.
Please review! Pretty please with a cherry and sprinkles on top? (Hey- it worked when I was a kid!)
