Previously…
"Si Mama, Steph works for me at Rangeman" Oh Shit! This won't be good. Ranger is going to hate me! I could feel my eyes getting big because even though my heart was pounding out of my chest, the sound of the wheels turning in Maria's head overrode it. I could see confusion in Ranger's expression and understanding in Maria's. The next thing I knew Maria moved so fast that I wasn't sure what was going on. Then Ranger was rubbing the back of his head.
"Ow Mama, what was that for?" He asked looking back and forth between me and his mother.
"You're Batman!" she accused loudly, and with that all the color drained from my face. Yep kill me now! "How could you?" Maria scolded him.
I was shocked and wanted to run to the closest exit far away from the prying eyes that seemed to surround me. However, my feet wouldn't listen to what my mind was telling them. Instead I was listening to something much stronger; my heart. Unfortunately, my heart wanted to take in every detail it had been without for almost a year.
Looking back on that scene the first word that popped into my mind looking at the expression on Rangers face was shock. Looking back and forth between his mother and me, he was not his typical calm blank face self, I could see he was running every possible reason for my untimely appearance (especially when he was spending his time with another woman, you know me trouble follows). During his internal dialogue, I did a quick glance of his "lady friend", her dress was two sizes too short, and made her look like she was out for fun. Her posture was stiff but her smile was even more so. She was not happy. Fuck her neither was I. Shit I don't even know this girl and I was already hating her. Ranger associates with no one who isn't trustworthy so I knew she was probably a good person, even if she is with the man I love.
To get over my spout of jealousy, I focused my attention back on Ranger. I knew the exact moment when he realized that I had spilled the beans about our "nonexistent" relationship. I really hoped he would put a pillow and food in my crate to Siberia. Ranger's face which was usually the color of caramel macchiato hold the whip, now looked like he asked for extra. His eyes went to Maria and they were pleading with her. It was like I was in a time warp and everything was moving 10 times faster in my mind. Ranger was about to defend himself when my attention was deferred to a commotion over his shoulder. A familiar figure was walking towards us. When his eyes landed on me, I received the biggest smile and he started to run towards us. I looked over at Ranger quickly and saw confusion again cross his face as he turned around for his answer.
"Beautiful!" Lester yelled as he ran past Ranger and scooped me up in his big strong arms. He spun me around in a circle and away from ground zero. Thank you Lord! Lester was spinning me so fast I was squealing with delight.
"What are you doing here?" He managed to slow us down and placed me on my feet, but he still had his arms around me in a loose embrace. "I thought you were going out with a friend tonight so you couldn't come out with me?" His smile was so genuine and contagious that for those few brief moments in his arms I forgot about my impending doom in the near future.
"I am, Les. I met Maria about six months ago at the park, and we had such a great time we continued to meet up since we both went there so frequently. She has become such a very dear friend. So…I'm guessing this is your family gathering you invited me to?" He just smiled at me "I'm guessing Maria is the family member you were honoring since she's your aunt and all?" Tonight had definitely turned out to be unexpected.
"Yeah, Beautiful, this is my family." Lester looked around at everyone. His eyes landed on something or someone with an apologetic smile then, in the blink of an eye, it turned into a smirk. He turned back to me and kissed my forehead as he grabbed my hand. "Let's dance!" he yelled for all to hear.
Oh shit this should be interesting.
Lester was the only person besides my family who knew I could dance and how much I loved it. I could see the mischievous smile plastered all over Lester's face. I knew what he was going for: Jealousy. I also sensed Lester did not like this girl Ranger was with so that was very intriguing. I was just pissed off enough to play along. If he wanted to be with someone else, I needed to get over it. Who knows? Maybe Lester would be the perfect stepping stone. He didn't want anything serious and it's not like Ranger would even care, but maybe just maybe, if he saw me enjoying myself; it might sting just a little. I am not a vindictive person, but after years of hearing his sorry excuse for not wanting a relationship and my even sorrier excuse for pining after him, it was time for a little fun.
Once we got to the dance floor Lester leaned in and whispered in my ear. "Just try to keep up with my moves, keep smiling and laughing, and if you feel comfortable add some of your own moves especially if they are sexy."
Again, I knew what he was doing. I'm not stupid. I reached into my arsenal of womanly wiles and played innocent. "What are you up to Lester Santos?" I asked him with fake surprise.
"Trust me; we will have this whole place fanning themselves, and one very jealous Ranger by the time we are done." He winked at me and then turned to the DJ. After a quick exchange between them, Lester returned to me with the biggest smile. "I chose a song in Spanish that is going to piss Ranger off. It's Aventura "Solo por un beso". The song talks about the ultimate kiss of another man's women," he whispered. My eyes practically popped out of their sockets. I couldn't help but laugh. The fact that Lester was so willing to do this and went the extra mile to make it memorable, made me feel like a kid in a candy store.
"Let's do this, but it's been years so don't let me fall on my face."
"Never." He placed us in first position, nodded to the DJ, and the music began to play. He led me into a seductive version of the 'batacha', a dance known to be very fast and 'muy caliente'. Lester was a very skilled dancer. His hip lifts where precise and made my 'doodah' quiver heavily. We moved around the floor with precision and I was having the time of my life. Lester would whisper in my ear frequently reminding me to look over towards Ranger, but his advice wasn't really necessary. Lester let me know when the last line of the song was coming, so I decided to add a little extra. I bent from my waist and moved seductively up against his body. I trailed my fingers up the entire length of his body. He gave me a wicked grin and pulled me into his warm embrace.
Something in my peripheral caught my attention. I saw Ranger and Tank. Tank had Ranger by the shoulder and they were now closer to us at the edge of the dance floor. Ranger didn't look happy. He shook his head and walked away from the dance floor towards his parents. He stood with his back against the wall so that his eyes were still on the dance floor. Occasionally his gaze would meet mine and a look of scrutiny would cover his face. I thought not only that I saw scrutiny but also yearning although I was sure my mind fabricated it.
"Damn Beautiful!" I heard Lester say as he pulled me from my thoughts. "You were hot! If you were not my best friend, and my cousin was not in love with you; we would be leaving right now so I could see what moves you have in bedroom," he said in a very deep sensual voice that made me believe that he wasn't joking. I knew I had to lighten the mood.
I rolled my eyes. "Right Les, Ranger only loves me "with a condom"," I responded using air quotes.
"I still can't believe that he said that to you. He is such a FUCKING IDIOT! See the thing is, Steph, I know him better than he thinks. He can't hide the fact that he loves you. He's just scared to try and then lose you." Yeah right, Lester needs to go to a doctor. I think his head is clogged. Why would Ranger want to be with me when he's obviously into someone else, who looks to be perfect for him?
We continued to dance and this time it was the salsa. I was enjoying myself and I'd have to say Lester was too by the broad smile on his face. Occasionally I would look over towards Ranger. He was still in a heated conversation with his family and Tank. His eyes tracked our movements and his shoulders were stiff. At one point he bowed his head as if in defeat. If ever I wished to be a fly on the wall, this was the moment. I had never seen Ranger so unsure of himself.
I tried to force myself from dwelling on Ranger's obvious dilemma. I focused on the dancing and the crowd around us. I think everyone in the building was watching us in awe…well everyone, but Ranger's girlfriend. Her face was filled with disdain, her jaw was locked and her attention seesawed from Ranger to Lester and me. Great there goes my new BFF! Sheesh! I don't even know the girl and she already hates me. She's the one with the love of my life. I should be the one who is pissed, not her!
After my steamy dance with Lester, he grabbed my hand and escorted me towards the bar. We got about halfway there when Ranger's dad, Ric, approached us sporting a Ranger like 200 watt smile.
"You are a beautiful dancer Estefania. May I have the honor of this next dance?" He extended his hand out to me.
"I would love to," I replied as I placed my hand in his. He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it gently. I couldn't contain my smile.
We also danced the bachata, however it is was more reserved than sexy, which gave me time to collect my thoughts on the evening and the unexpected surprise. Dancing with Ric was very enjoyable. We were dancing and laughing at the dramatic moves each of us was trying to pull off until our fun was cut short by a tap on Ric's shoulder. Gio wanted to cut in, YAY ME! Mental eye roll. Ric conceded and kissed my cheek. He whispered, "Thank you for the lovely dance. I have a feeling I'm going to be seeing a lot of you in the future." Then, in a gentlemanly fashion, he passed my hand to Gio. I could feel my whole body tingling, and it was not in a Ranger way. Gio turned my stomach. He could be nice enough if he would just dial down his 'charm'.
Gio's idea of dancing was much more "hands on". I had to retreat to my happy place in my head. However, the closer his hand got to my ass, the more uncomfortable I became. During the excruciating dance I noticed that Ranger had gone to the DJ. I did not want to see him dance with his girlfriend, nope, not going to happen. When the music ended I was quick to high tail it to the nearest exit. Fight or Flee was the question. Do I love Ranger? Yes! Does he want me? No! With that decision made I fled. 'Retreat, escape, fast!' was the mantra I repeated in my head.
My foot hit the end of the dance floor and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I was over Gio and his sordid advances. I swung around to put him in his place.
"Listen..." my words caught in my throat. In front of me was Ranger wearing a very nervous expression. Well that's a first. My heart started to pound and my palms started to sweat.
"May I please have this dance, Babe?" Damn! He knew I could never say no to him, and to top it off, he had to throw in a 'please'. He was playing hard ball. I had no idea why he wanted to torture me. The closer I got to him, I knew the harder it would be for me to walk away. Just as I was thinking this, I got a whiff of his Bulguri. It turned my mind to mush and melted my heart. I took a deep breath knowing I was plunging the knife deeper into an already deep wound. I was going to suffer for one last moment just to be with Ranger one last time.
"I would love to." I smiled at him. He rewarded me with a smile so big it would light the night sky. He grabbed my hand and our fingers entwined. He raised our clasped hands up to his lips and kissed our joined knuckles. Without releasing my hand, he placed them over his heart pulling our bodies together. We walked to the middle of the stage. Once there we stood in our ready position and waited for the music to start. The quarter-note step was made and we were off on a very sexy ride with the Tango. At first the steps were basic - slow, slow, quick, quick, slow. Once Ranger was sure I knew the steps, we added extra steps turning this into the Argentine Tango.
I loved this dance because one could rely heavily on improvisation. It reminded me of Ranger and his one word conversation; this dance was non-verbal but spoke volumes, just like him. Our bodies were inches apart; our hearts were racing a marathon. My leg wrapped around his in elaborate moves. This was heaven. I wanted him. Everything about him turned me on. I just wanted to throw him down on the ground and take him one last time. The song ended ultimately ending my fantasies and forcing me to endure real life. I kissed his cheek and turned to walk away. I realized quickly that all eyes were on us, so I averted my attention to the ground. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my arm, and I spun slowly to face Ranger again. He had a sensuous look on his face. He pulled me to him and the music began again. We started to dance the bachata, and this one was very different from the other three, this one was sensual. Ranger held me close and whispered into my ear, saying the most beautiful things. It took a moment for me to realize that he was translating some of the words into English.
Time passes and passes and I keep loving you in my
arms without being able to have you.
And I look for an exit so that I don't keep seeing how far
your love is from my side.
I cry when I think that you are not there.
With my lips, look girl, I want to kiss you and I try
And I try not to feel like this,
But it is so hard to know that I don't have you.
Look at how I am suffering; I am burning inside for your love.
Girl, don't do this to me, you know that I love you with my heart.
I love you and I miss you.
I want to see you with me holding hands and to be with you but it kills me to know that you are not here.
Oh baby why you gotta be doing this to me.
It hurts me so much to know that you're not with me.
And this beautiful body that you shared with me, it hurts me to know that you are not with me.
I miss you...Oh my love...How it hurts me to be without you.
Look at how I am suffering; I am burning inside for your love (for your love).
Girl, don't do this to me, you know that I love you with all my heart...
Oh I love you, how it hurts me to be without you.
Look at how I am suffering; I am burning inside for your love (for your love).
Girl, don't do this to me, you know that I love you with all my heart...
Look how I am suffering; I am burning inside for your love.
*(Song by Extreme called Te Extraño ( I miss you) ) this is the translated version.*
I couldn't believe he was saying these words to me. I swear the things this man does to me, pushing me away, and then pouring salt over an open wound by whispering these words. By the time he finished a tear trickled down my cheek. Ranger lifted his thumb and gently wiped it away, and then he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.
"Babe I …" Ranger said looking into my eyes. I cut him off by holding my hand up. I couldn't bear to hear any more excuses.
"Ranger, please don't. I…I can't take this anymore. I can't continue to be torn in two." I choked out as I retreated to the restroom.
"Babe!" I heard him yell after me, but my attention was focused on the safety of the bathroom doors. Once inside I breathed a sigh of relief. I headed to the sinks. I stared at myself in the mirror. I thanked God I had chosen waterproof mascara. As I rinsed my hands under the cool water, I closed my eyes relishing the quietness of the restroom. I guess the walls were well insulated because the only thing I heard was the slight sound of the base from the music.
How could I have not realized the resemblance between Ranger and his family? It was agonizingly obvious. They all had the same smile, same beautiful complexion, and all warmed my heart. UN freaking believable; I am so fucking stupid! Well they did say their last name was Gonzales, but knowing Ranger he made them all go by another name. Safety was Ranger's numero uno motto. Just as everything was calming in me, I heard the door open. I turned around to find myself face to face in what could only be a very interesting situation.
Sooooooooooo sorry this took forever. So crazy getting the kids everywhere they needed to be. Then when I turn on the computer I pull up FF and read everyone new story or chapter to previous stories posted and can't get motivated on writing. It's an addiction and just like Barb4psu stated we need a twelve step program! Nancy Lebrun again the best without your editing I would have slaughtered. Thanks so much… Babe! On my profile page I have put a website to Ranger and Steph's Bachata to the song he sang to her. Check it out I think you will love it!
