CHAPTER 12

Him -

While July flew by, August crept by so slowly they both thought they'd lose their minds.

He was gone about half the time, and stuck on a "monitoring" op, which was mind numbing and gave him plenty of time to think about and miss Steph.

When it was finally almost time to head to Trenton, he gave up the fight and hopped on an earlier transport. He'd get there about 2 hours sooner than she was expecting him.

Her -

She'd had a long, brutal month. She agreed to an early happy hour because it would keep her mind off the last few hours until Carlos and the guys arrived.

She sat at their regular bar with a beer, listening to everyone tell stories about the ridiculous shit that had happened to them that week. As relatively new lawyers, there was never a lack of fun material.

When her phone rang, she saw it was Carlos. Please don't be canceling, please don't be canceling, she repeated in her head. She answered, "Hi!"

"Hey, Babe. How are you?"

"Good. Unless you're calling to tell me you can't come."

"Nope. In fact, I'm here early. I'm on my way to you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Are you home?"

"No. I'm at a bar close to home though. I can be home in 10."

"What's the bar? I think I'm close."

She gave it to him, and sure as shit he was walking through the door two minutes later. She was up and running to him a second later.

"I can't believe you're here finally! I missed you!" She hugged him, and he leaned down to kiss her while holding what was clearly an army duffle bag. Traveling light, like her, she thought, smiling.

"Come with me. I'll introduce you to a few people, grab my bag, and we can get out of here."

"Sounds good."

She took his hand, and then paused again. "Ummm, a little warning - Dickie is here."

She smiled when Carlos just smirked.

She pulled him the rest of the way across the bar, and introduced him to some of her best friends. The guys stood up to shake hands with Carlos, and the girls worked to keep their mouths from falling open. She'd told them he was hot, but she guessed there were a lot degrees of hotness - and Carlos was off the damn chart.

Dickie stood, looked at him, and shook his head. "Nice to meet you, man. I'm glad to see Steph so happy."

Carlos thanked him, and it was all good. Even Dickie could see the difference between them. Dickie was standing there in his Brooks Brothers suit, and looked, well, kind of ... dinky next to Carlos, who dominated in just jeans and a long-sleeved white button down with his sleeves rolled up.

They excused themselves, saying they'd see all of them later that night. Steph had arranged a bar/club night, but they had a few hours before that. And the other guys would be there in about two hours.

They almost made it to the door when she bumped into someone. Damn it, she thought. She looked up and saw Judge Smith. "Hello, Ms. Plum."

"Hi, Judge Smith. Umm, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend Carlos Manoso."

He looked at Carlos' duffle and asked "Army?"

"Yes, sir."

"Where are you stationed?"

"Fort Benning."

"Rangers?"

"Yes, sir."

"How long are you here?"

"I fly out Tuesday morning."

"Well, enjoy your visit. Nice meeting you. See you soon, Ms. Plum."

When they finally got outside, they looked at each other. Finally Steph said, as they walked down the street, "Well, that was a little odd."

"Yeah." He tugged on her, "People in Trenton are weird."

"Hey!" A few minutes later, she stopped in front of her townhouse, keyed open the door, and then jumped him.

Him -

Her friends seemed nice enough. The judge was a little weird. Her neighborhood was beautiful. He shook his head as they walked up to the largest townhouse on the street. Babe, he thought.

He dropped his bag to catch her when she jumped. He didn't look around much except to find a chair. He sat, brought her down on his lap, undid his pants, slid her skirt up, pulled her underwear aside, and pushed inside her. "Ugh." She rode him until they both exploded.

"Welcome to my house," she said.

"Thanks. I hope that's not the welcome all visitors get."

"Ha! I've never had sex in this house. Can you believe that?!"

"Glad to hear it. Now you have." He flopped his head back, "Without a condom again."

"Come on, I'll show you the bedroom." She stood and straightened her clothes.

"Are there condoms in there?"

"Yep."

"Let's go."

Her -

An hour later, they were in her kitchen having a drink when they heard a car door shut. Steph ran out, and hugged Tank, Bobby, and Lester.

"Wow, nice place, Steph," Lester said.

"Thanks for having us, Stephanie," Tank said.

"I saw a bakery up the road, Steph." Bobby, remembering their last donut run.

"Duh, why do you think I moved here! Come in!"

She ushered them in, showed them their rooms, and got them a drink. They had a little while before they were going out, so she gave them each the keys she'd had made.

They all stared at it, and then at her. "Well, two things - first, I don't want you ringing the bell in the middle of the night if you stay out later than me; and second, I want you guys to come and go as you please. This weekend and whenever you need a place to stay. Door is always open. Or, well, it will be with that key."

"Thanks, Babe," he said kissing her lips. And then each of the others kissed her cheek and thanked her, too. They each carefully put the key in their pockets.

Tank -

Well, holy shit, he thought. Ranger's woman just gave us all keys to her house. He felt like he'd been adopted.

Lester-

Maybe Ranger will get hit by a bus, and then he could have her. Nah, he thought, she's too good for him.

Bobby-

She's a keeper. Terrible eating habits and all. Lucky bastard.

Him -

He didn't know if Steph could fully appreciate what her gesture meant to a group of military men constantly on the move. The promise of a place always open to them - he was a lucky bastard.