CHAPTER 10

He found Steph standing in the living room. Her back was towards him. Her face was buried in her hands and he could see her body wrenching with emotion. Damn, I did a good job of hurting her this time.

"Babe, I'm so sorry. I just wanted you to be happy." He reached out and turned her towards him. She's gonna kick me in my very sore nuts. I know she is.

"Well then, I guess you succeeded." She removed her hands from her face to reveal a huge grin. She hadn't been crying…she was laughing!

What the fuck? One of us has lost their mind! "You're LAUGHING? You think all of this is FUNNY?"

"DON'T YOU? My God, we've been killing each other with love!" Or at least balls-to-the-wall sex.

The lost-boy look on Ranger was just priceless. Steph watched as a dozen different emotions played across his face. Then 'the light went on' and with it, he began to laugh. They were embracing while holding each other up and both were laughing through tears. They made their way to the comfy couch and their un-finished wine.

Ranger regained composure first and in his best big-dog voice stated "You go first".

"The first couple of days were awful." Seeing the hurt look on his face, Steph quickly added, "not the sex. That was great. It was the constant horniness. I caught myself checking out Vini's ass! Please don't bring that up ever again. (This statement had a world of promised hurt behind it) If you hadn't been there for me I could have ended up in Trenton's 'Hooker Hotel Cell'."

Ranger was smiling. Babe, you would make a great hooker! If you want to live, Menoso, keep that thought to yourself. "Go on."

"Well, do you remember the Cherokee incident in the garage?"

Remember it! That's the straw that broke the camel's back and mine too. "Yes, yes I do. By the way, all that Yoga has made you very flexible. I didn't know that position was possible in a motor vehicle."

"Thank you. You should try Yoga. You're very stiff sometimes."

His eyebrows were all over his forehead and his eyes were saucers. "Well, yah!"

Steph giggled at her own double entendre. "No, not that! Honestly! Anyway, after that afternoon the horniness went away and I couldn't wait to get home and have a full night of sleep. But when I got to the apartment you were so 'ready'; I didn't have the heart to let you down."

"So you were faking it?"

"NO! When you make love to me, you always find my pleasure spots. The only thing I faked was the sleeping part in the morning. While you were sleeping, I kept peeking to see if your 'concealed weapon was armed'. Thankfully it wasn't loaded."

"That's because I didn't have any bullets left! I had to borrow bullets from the pharmacist."

"You really took Viagra? Why? Dear Lord, you are all I can handle on your own!"

Think like a stud and be that stud. "I didn't want you to think that I couldn't handle your problem, like Morelli."

"You just wanted to know that you were better than Joe, that you could out-last him." Men are such boys at times.

"Well, that too. But I wanted you to be satisfied. And I wanted to be the only 'satisfy-er' on your list."

"There is no list, mi Novio. You ARE my list. You are my whole entire list of lists. But you have to tell me…what was that like? You are so virile normally; you must have felt like Superman!" Or Batman.

Ranger took a long sip of wine and smiled. She thinks I'm virile. I still have it. Now, do I tell her the truth or change the subject. Hell, lies almost killed us. The truth couldn't be any worse. Besides, it was kind of funny now that I think about it.

"Honestly, it was like being possessed. My dick had a mind of its own and had found a way to completely bypass my brain. There wasn't a part of my body that didn't hurt and it didn't seem to matter. I prefer having some control but there was none with that shit in my system."

"That's just what I was going through; without the dick part. Now you know how difficult it was for me. You are the only person who can understand how awful it is to be hijacked by your libido! This is wonderful!"

If I live to be 100, I will never understand the thought processes of this woman. "Wonderful is how I feel about you, Babe." Jeeze man, right out of a tacky romance novel.

This got him a great big hug and kiss. Whatever works! "There's something else I have to confess." Steph had her eyes lowered and that sad puppy look. "I wasn't working today. I took the day off and went to my parent's house. I was so sore and tired after last night. I needed a hot bath and some sleep. I told mom and gram that I hurt my back and we only had a shower at the apartment. I needed a long soak in a bubble bath and some sleep. Are you disappointed in me?"

"As long as you are coming 'clean' (he watched as Steph did her trademark eye-roll) I guess I should tell you that I spent the afternoon at the Marriott in a Jacuzzi and in bed sleeping too. We have to work on our communication skills before we are either hospitalized or institutionalized."

"Oh no you didn't…a Jacuzzi! Without me, how could you?"

"Let me get this straight. You aren't mad that I took an afternoon siesta. But you are mad that I was in a Jacuzzi without you?" How can any man keep sane in a relationship?

"I'm not mad, just disappointed. I've had this fantasy of making love to you in a bubbly Jacuzzi."

"Some things should be shared…like that fantasy. We do have the week end to ourselves. It won't take but a minute to make reservations." Oh boy, oh boy. Suddenly I'm not that tired!

"We can just take our time and let things 'develop' on their own. What a wonderful way to celebrate my week of dieting. Speaking of which, you haven't commented on my flat belly that I worked so hard on." I can hold my stomach in a little while longer.

"What impressed me more, Babe was your tenaciousness. I know how hard that was for you. Proud of you, Babe." Funny thing is I AM proud of her for so many things. Teaching this old dog new tricks and new ways of thinking is quite an accomplishment. "Go pack us some overnight bags and I'll let the 5th know we are 'off line' till Monday."

"Roger that! Thank God no one knows about this week except us. Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be for other people to know what was going on? I wouldn't be able to show my face in public ever again. And what would the guys think if they knew about the Viagra? "Big Dog" would have a very different meaning!" She went into the bedroom to pack.

Sometimes silence is the best action. Tank would keep his secret. And with luck's help Steph will never meet Takeko. Discretion is the better part of valor. Besides there is a Jacuzzi waiting with our name on it. "Babe, when we get back remind me to see about getting you a big, bubbly bathtub."

Standing in the elevator on the way to the garage, hand in hand they looked like the loving partners of a week ago. They were relaxed and enjoying each other's company again. Through some miracle of true love they had survived a most unusual crisis.