Chapter 3
All characters are JEs. I am just having fun.
I need to relax. After all, these people have seen me at my very worst and my very best. They know me so well, but somehow I feel uncomfortable. I really hope they do not. Everyone knows about Ranger and me, but hopefully we can keep that out of tonight's conversation. Not a good mix for me to be drinking and talking about Ranger. Oh god, there is a high potential for embarrassment tonight.
WTF…there is the RangeMan SUV, parked right in front. Shit, no matter how many years I work for him, I will never get that skill! They do not even go shopping, that skill is wasted on them.
As I walk into Pino's I see a whole group in the back corner, all dressed in black, waving at me. I give them a great, big smile and walk over. The stares from some of the women let me know what a lucky girl I am!
"Hey guys!"
"Hey, yourself. Saved you a seat by me." Tank pats the seat next to him and gives me a hug around my shoulders. This is a good, secure seat for me tonight. I know he will try to look out for me.
It looks like most of the inner circle could be here: Lester, Cal, Hector and Tank. Guess the others had to work. Not the end of the world, I will just have to do this again so the rest of them can come along. Never can get too much pizza and beer, or hot men.
"Pretty tonight." Hector said, with his eyes fixed on my breast. Nothing new here! Not too subtle. Glad he is sitting across from me. He would have had his hand up my skirt by now. Nope, not going to think about that. Geezz, I need a cold drink.
"Thanks, Hector. Glad you could come tonight."
Lester grabs my mug and pours some beer for me.
"Thanks, Les. I have not had any time to spend with you guys since this whole "thing" happened 3 months ago. I really missed all of you and I do not want to lose our friendship because of Ranger. I know he can make our lives miserable if he wants to, but I am not going to give him a reason to interfere."
Lester gives me a big smile.
"Don't worry about us and Ranger. We can handle anything that he dishes out. However, this is not anything that should concern him. You are just spending the evening with four single men. What's to worry about?" Lester laughs and gives me a warm smile.
Oh god, he is so hot! Friends, just friends…remember that tonight. No funny stuff!
Cal gives me a playful look. Oh boy, I hope he is not reading my mind.
He looks at the other men around the table. "You guys are such losers! I have had her all to myself for 3 months and enjoyed every bit of it. Of course, you all know what it is like to be with Steph when she is going after a FTA. All I can say, is it was never boring. I could get used to working all the time with a beautiful woman. Beats the hell out of you guys!" Cal smiles at me.
"Thanks, Cal. We do make a pretty good pair."
G..r..o..w..l. Oopps, my stomach is making itself known!
"Sorry about that. I am starving and I think I need to feed the beast." Ranger used to talk about feeding the beast. I wish I had not just thought of that. Why does he always pop into my head?
Tank smiles. "We know enough to keep you fed. You can be dangerous if you aren't full of pizza, or cake, or donuts, or coffee, or Tasty Cakes, or…"
"O.k., I get the point. You would think I eat all the time. Well, o.k., I guess I do put away my fair share." I just smile and attack the pizza that just arrived at the table.
"Go ahead, Steph. We will wait for you to get yours. Don't want to lose a hand reaching for anything that you are going after." Tank just looks at me with one of those blank faces. I must have missed getting one of those faces when I signed up with RangeMan. It certainly would come in handy!
Everyone is quiet while we eat. This is the most comfortable I have felt in months. No matter what happens between Ranger and me, I know I will have these guys in my life. What more could a girl ask for?
I hear a cell phone chirp and Tank grimaces and looks at the ID. A smile would mean Lula. A frown would mean Ranger.
"Yeah." Tank is good with the one word thing.
"Be there in 10." Click. No byes, just click.
"We have to go. There is a situation we have to handle and Ranger wants me, Cal and Hector in 10. Lester can stay here with you and we can come get him later or you can drop him off at RangeMan. What's it going to be?" Tank is all business now.
"I can take him back to RangeMan later tonight, no problem. Sorry you all have to go, but thanks so much for tonight. You guys know how to make a girl feel special!"
I get up and hug each one before they leave.
"Be safe guys. Love you!" I really mean it, too.
"Well, Steph, it is just you and me. What do you want to do for the rest of the night? I am all yours." Lester gives me a wicked smile, but it is more like a smirk!
"Well, I don't know what you have in mind, but I would like to go somewhere and just walk and talk. How about a park?"
"Fine with me. I have the perfect place. It will be a surprise!"
Oh boy, I may have just bitten off more than I can chew. Lester at night in a park. Hmmm, should be interesting!
He puts money on the table and we leave.
"Hope you don't mind riding in my latest POS car, but it is all I can afford right now. I did not want to take up Ranger's offer for one of his cars. He doesn't have to know where I am all the time."
"Would you mind driving, since you know where we are going?"
"O.k., Steph, be prepared to be surprised." Lester squeezes my hand and smiles at me. He is so sweet and so sexy, and this is so not a good idea right now, but I do not want to say no. It is just a simple walk with a good friend.
Before I know it, we are off onto a dirt road with nothing around us but trees. Where am I? The whole ride was spent in silence. I was thinking about Ranger and I tend to loose track of time when that happens. I wonder if he is with Leah tonight. Well, this is not what I need to be thinking about right now. I need to focus on the present, not the past.
"We are here." Lester looks over at me with a smile.
"We are? What is this place and where is this place?" All I can see is a path into the woods. Crap, this is not looking like a good idea at all.
"Don't worry Steph, I am not going to jump you or get you to do anything you don't want to do. Let's get out and get this walk started."
Lester takes my hand and we start walking into the woods. It is beautiful out here. The full moon is illuminating everything around us and it casts lovely shadows along the path. The path is well worn, but not wide. This is a place that must be known to others besides Lester, but what is it!
"Curious, aren't you. You know you can ask me questions, rather than just talk to yourself!" Lester smiles.
"Did I say something aloud?" I give him an embarrassed look.
"Don't worry. Your secrets are safe with me." He smiles.
I can see it getting lighter ahead, as if the path is opening into a clearing. Oh my god, I do not believe this. It is beautiful.
"Surprised, aren't you? Before you start with questions, I will answer the obvious ones. This is the property of one of our clients. He lives in New York, but keeps a house down here. He likes the secluded life style and very few people know there is anything like this back here. As RangeMan employees, we have permission to come here anytime we like. I'm surprised you never came here with Ranger."
"No. I never came here with him. However, I am here with you. Tell me more." I need to steer this talk away from Ranger. The full moon and my emotions could easily ruin a good time.
"This is the private garden of the owner. He set it up away from the house so he could come here with his wife and not be bothered. The gazebo is even heated, so he can be down here in the winter. Nice, huh? The fountain was a gift to him from his wife." He stops talking and looks at me.
"Lester, this is unbelievable. It is kind of hot tonight, want to get into the fountain pool?" I did not wait for him to speak. I kicked off my shoes and stepped in. The water is perfect. Good thing I have a short skirt on. At least I will not get wet.
As I turn around, I see Lester taking his pants off. Oh shit, now what.
"Steph, don't worry! I do not want to get my pants wet and I have on boxers. No problem, relax!" He smiles in a way that says his mind is not in agreement with his words. Thank god, he wears boxers and does not go commando like Ranger. That would have made for a very interesting moment!
"Sorry, it just surprised me. Come on in, it is great."
Lester steps into the pool and comes towards me. Standing next to me, he takes my hand and gently kisses it. Our eyes meet and we just stand there looking into each other's eyes, not needing to say anything. I am glad to see that it is more friendship than lust, but a little bit of lust can be a dangerous thing.
We walk hand-in-hand around the fountain, looking at all the mosaic tiles and carved figures. There is a bench along the edge of the fountain and we sit down, facing the fountain. The center fountain is lit with recessed lights from the bottom of the fountain. This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.
Lester turns my face to his and lightly kisses me. I know I should not be doing this, but I kiss him back. No tongue, or moans, just a kiss. A nice kiss.
"Thank you for this, Les. I like being somewhere new. No bad memories to be found here!"
"Glad you like it. This can be our special spot. I won't tell, if you won't." He smiles and squeezes my hand.
"Want to walk around the gardens? " I am afraid if I sit here with him any longer, I am going to do something I should not.
He puts his arm around my waist and leans over to kiss me. This time I cannot stop the desire to deepen the kiss. He responds quickly and our mouths are locked together. We shift slightly on the bench so we are facing each other. Our eyes meet as we kiss. We both pull away slowly.
"Les, I'm not sure we should be doing this. I am not very stable right now and it would be easy for me to let this go farther than it should. I'm not just saying this because of Ranger, because he really doesn't care what I do."
He looks at me for a few seconds without saying anything.
"That was a loaded statement. I will not do anything you do not want to do. You were not brought here for that, I promise. Next, Ranger does care about what you do. How you two deal with that is not my problem. I will be around any time you need me."
He hugs me and kisses me gently on the lips. What a guy!
I grab his hand and stand up.
"Let's explore! I have some energy I need to get rid of." Oh boy, that was an opening!
"Don't push your luck, girl. I could change my mind about why I brought you here!" He smiles a wicked smile that says more than words could say.
As we are stepping out of the fountain, my foot slips and I fall backwards into the water, pulling Lester down with me. Oh my god, we are both soaking wet! Lester just sits there and looks at me. He is not mad; he just has a funny look on his face.
"Les, I am so sorry, really. There was a slippery spot by the bench and I just lost my balance. Good thing you didn't have your pants on." I try to give him a big smile but all I can do is laugh. He looks so funny sitting in the water.
"Steph, the night would not have been complete without something happening like this. We all just come to expect it. We never know what or when, but it always happens. We love that about you."
He takes my hand and pulls me up. I am wet from my top all the way down. I take off my jacket and squeeze the water out of it.
Lester is eyeing me from head to toe. My skirt is stuck to me like glue and it is bunched up between my legs. Not much is being covered at this moment. Then there is the wet shirt that is not doing a good job of hiding my nipples. After all, it is a little chilly out here when you are soaking wet.
I cannot help but look at him. His shirt is clinging to his beautiful chest and abs. Wow, what a sight. Then there are the wet boxers that are not leaving anything to the imagination! I really need to stop looking, but I cannot break by stare.
"Steph, are you staring at me?" He laughs and enjoys the red color that comes into my checks. Oh god, how embarrassing!
"Come on, girl. Let's get out of this water before you take us down again." He guides me out to the walkway around the fountain and we go over to the bench.
"Les, I think we should probably be going back now. Is that o.k. with you?" I watch his face for a clue as to what he is thinking.
His face is hard to read. Slowly a very devious little smile starts to form and I know I am in for something interesting.
"We could always take our clothes off and hang them on a tree to dry. Not healthy to be in wet clothes too long." He cannot hide the bad-boy smile he is giving me.
"Definitely not healthy, for a lot of reasons. Thanks, but I think we better go now before I don't have any clothes on!" The thought of us both naked here is one that I could so get into right now. However, I also know I do not want to do something that would harm our friendship.
I find my shoes and sit to put them back on. Not easy to do with any modesty when my skirt is glued to me and riding up to my crotch every time I move. Les does not mind the show. He puts on his shoes, but just carries his pants. Guess you cannot wear pants with water dripping off your boxers.
He pulls me up and takes me into his arms. He kisses me gently on the cheek and we start walking back to the car without saying anything. I wonder what he is thinking right now? I am afraid to think too much, because I may say it aloud.
"Steph, you want me to drive back?"
"Yeah, that would be nice. I just feel like sitting and enjoying the scenery." I shoot him a smile, a little bit of a bad girl smile. I may be playing with fire!
He kisses my cheek and closes my door.
Our drive back is quiet and peaceful. Lester is a great friend. There isn't any denying there is some sexual attraction, but we both know my stuff with Ranger has to be worked out. For now, I am just glad I have some friends to hang out with!
"You want to go to your apartment, or do you want to go to RangeMan and drop me off?" He looks at me carefully.
"Better go to Haywood. I need to get home and get a shower and go to bed. Busy day tomorrow." Besides that, I have a feeling it would be hard to stop any action once we got to my apartment.
As we pull into the garage, I notice Ranger's Porsche parked by the door to the building. I wonder how the job went and if they are all back yet.
Lester pulls my car up to the door and puts it into park. He looks over at me and kisses me on the cheek.
"Thanks for a great night, Steph. You never disappoint!" He smiles and gets out of the car.
All I can think about is Ranger telling me the same thing. "Babe, you never disappoint." He would say that all the time. I wish I had not just thought of that.
I get out of the car to walk around to the driver side. Lester is standing there in his wet shirt and boxers, holding his pants. I am in a wet cami that is almost see through, with a short skirt that wants to bunch up between my legs. I keep tugging at it to try to hide my thong, but every time I walk, it rides up to show the lower part of my butt. What is a girl to do?
Oh, crap, the cameras! I cannot believe I did not think of this before we got here! This looks so bad. Someone is going to hear about this in the morning. Well, I guess we have nothing to lose. I give Lester a kiss on the check and a hug.
"Guess I will see you in the morning." I give him a smile and a little wave. As I turn to go around the car, I am completely aware of the rear shot the control room is getting, but there isn't too much I can do about it. Nothing like getting some attention!
"Drive carefully. You can't have more than one calamity in one night!" He smiles and turns to go into the building.
My drive back to the apartment goes quickly. This was a good night and it seems to be a start towards me getting myself back together.
Hmmm, I wonder what Ranger will say when he sees the video from the garage. Part of me thinks he will not care because he has moved on, but there is a chance he will not react well. I think he still cares about me, but how much? I guess Lester and I will find out tomorrow.
For now, a warm shower and my bed are the only things I need. Tomorrow should be an interesting day.
