Chapter 13
Val got frustrated when she couldn't find a parking spot at Pino's. She parked a few blocks away and walked towards the restaurant. Halfway there, Albert's mother called to say Lisa was running a fever. She'd have to wait to contact Stephanie. Lisa probably caught strep throat at the same time as Joey. Carol called her when Joey got sick.
Stephanie ran on the treadmill to burn off the meatball sub and three slices of pizza. She couldn't believe how much she overindulged. "I'm never going to eat that much again," Stephanie mumbled as she sped up the treadmill.
"You're killing me," April gasped. "I can't keep up with you. We already ran twenty miles." April pressed the cool down button to end her run.
"What are you watching, Manny?" Cal asked, approaching the monitors.
"Wifey ran twenty miles, and she doesn't look to be slowing down," he replied.
"Seriously?" Cal couldn't believe she ran that much. "I'm impressed."
Ranger took over April's treadmill when she left. "Babe?" he asked after a few minutes.
"Batman," Stephanie replied, smirking. She checked her distance to see she ran one mile farther than her last run. Stephanie selected the cool down option to finish her run. Ranger checked her total miles and time. He was impressed with the twenty-seven miles. She could work on the time, but he wasn't going to push her.
"Babe, you just ran a marathon," Ranger said, pulling Stephanie's sweaty body against him.
"That was my goal," she replied. She reached for Ranger's arm to read the time on his watch. "My TPD gang should be here soon." The men knew to let them into the gym.
Stephanie moved to the mats to stretch her legs. She tried to stretch her hamstrings but needed some resistance. Ranger kneeled by her feet. "Do you need help, Babe?" he asked.
"Please. April usually helps me, but I see she's busy with Hal," Stephanie pointed over her shoulder. Ranger saw Hal showing April how to use the free weights. "Push my knee as close to my chest as possible. I need the resistance to stretch properly, or I'll be in pain later."
Ranger did as Stephanie requested. "Babe?" he asked.
"Push harder," she moaned. "That's it. Just like that, Carlos." His eyes darkened as he helped his wife stretch. She got him to help with the other exercises she had done since she started physiotherapy.
"I'll show you the next one," April said as she approached them on the mats. April's blond hair was damp and sticking to her neck and face. "Mirror my motions, Ranger." April showed Ranger how to straighten Stephanie's leg and push the toe towards her head. "You've got it. Only fifteen reps per leg."
Stephanie felt her muscles relax. She let Ranger finish the stretches. "That feels so much better," Stephanie moaned. The men in the gym quickly got back to their routines.
"My goodness. It's really hot in here," Robin said, fanning herself as she watched Ranger pull Stephanie to her feet.
"Hey, guys. Thank you for coming," Stephanie said.
"I have to admit that was the most erotic stretching I have ever witnessed," Robin added, fanning herself.
"They must be dynamite in the bedroom," Carl said. "Ouch." Carl rubbed his arm after Eddie punched him.
"Robin, you're up first. Remove all jewelry, weapons, belts and shoes, then climb into the ring." She quickly followed Stephanie's instructions. "Don't pull your punches, but do not hit my face or jaw. If you do, I cannot control myself," Stephanie warned.
Stephanie got Ranger to wrap her hands while Tank wrapped Robin's. They shoved their hands into the boxing gloves. "Babe, please wear this," Ranger said as he passed her a safety helmet. She got him to secure it in place. Tank helped Robin with her gear.
After fifteen minutes of full out kicking, punching and sweeping legs from under people, Robin made the mistake of doing a roundhouse kick followed by an uppercut. "Ranger, stop her," April yelled, running towards the ring. She pulled off her earrings, watch and shoes, dropping them as she moved. Robin didn't move out of Stephanie's way fast enough.
Stephanie knocked Robin to the floor and started punching everywhere. She was in a haze, stuck between the present and Bianchi punching her. Familiar voices spoke around her, but all Stephanie saw was Bianchi. Her fists hit the person as she sat on them. Ranger and April pulled Stephanie off Robin. The familiar touch of Ranger's calloused hands and April's smooth fingers broke through the haze, and Stephanie stopped punching. But the urge to continue pounding the other person was too strong. Stephanie needed someone to talk her off the ledge.
When Ranger gently held Stephanie, April stood in front of Stephanie to help Ranger talk her down. April kept her voice quiet and calm. "Stephanie, it's April. You are in the Rangeman gym. Your husband, Carlos, is holding you against his chest. Close your eyes and take a deep breath." She refused to cooperate. "Stephanie, I said to close your eyes and take a deep breath," April said with more authority. When Stephanie complied, she went back to her calm, sweet voice. "You're doing great, Stephanie. A few more breaths. Do you feel calmer?" Stephanie nodded. "Another four breaths, then you can open your eyes."
Stephanie looked around the gym. Robin was sitting on the bench, holding her head. "Did I hurt Robin?"
"No. You came out of your trance when Ranger and I touched you. I think being here in Rangeman grounds you. How are you feeling?"
"Frustrated," Stephanie replied. "I'm sorry, Robin. I hope I didn't hurt you."
"I'm okay, Stephanie. I was a boxer in high school," Robin replied. "I fought by instinct. Maybe I should spar with one of the men from now on."
"Robin, I'm sorry. When I spar with April, she avoids my head. It's the reason I make it a hard rule," Stephanie said.
"I get it, Stephanie. You warned me, and I forgot. Thank goodness we were wearing the gloves," Robin said. She hugged Stephanie and whispered, "I forgive you. We'll work together with April to help you get past the rage, okay?"
"Tape me up," April said, offering to take Stephanie's place. "You still have to go through the paces, Robin." Stephanie watched April and Robin spar. They knocked each other to the mats a few times before April tapped out.
"You're quite good," Robin said, helping April to her feet.
"Thanks. I didn't know how to do any of that until Stephanie taught me," April confessed.
Eddie sparred with Manny. The men's skills are evenly matched for most of the fight until Manny had knocked Eddie to the mats for the second time. Eddie tapped Manny's hip. "I'm done," he said.
Stephanie clapped as she approached Eddie. "Well done, Eddie. You lasted thirty-eight minutes against Manny. I'm impressed," Stephanie said.
Big Dog fought Hal and Carl fought Vince. The pairings were equally matched. Stephanie sat on Ranger's lap while the men sparred. Tank sat next to Ranger to talk. "They'll pass the entrance test for sparring. It looks like they know what it will take to get hired. I don't recall seeing Gazarra so fit," Tank quietly said.
"Babe, run background checks later tonight. If there aren't any issues of concern, schedule interviews," Ranger whispered. Stephanie nodded, happy her friends might be working at Rangeman.
"Robin looks fit but sexy. You could use her for distractions," Stephanie added.
"Babe?" Ranger asked.
"As I told you before, I'll run the searches to find the FTAs, but I don't want to be in the field. Until I can control those urges, I don't want to put Rangeman in a precarious position with the law," Stephanie replied. "Especially if Rangeman hires my TPD friends."
"Little Girl has a point," Tank added. "They can't protect her if they leave the force."
A grin crossed Stephanie's face. Tank gave her the nickname of Little Girl when she called him Big Guy. She wondered what he would call April. "Beautiful, what's with the scary grin?" Lester asked.
"I was thinking about what nickname Tank would call April. She's at least a foot shorter than him. If I'm Little Girl, what does that make April?" Stephanie wondered. Tank laughed, causing a few people to stare at him. "I guess he hasn't thought of a nickname yet."
"Hey, Steph. I'm only a couple of inches shorter than you," April grumbled. "With a bit more training, your friends would make excellent Rangeman employees."
Stephanie grabbed April's hand and dragged her to Robin. They pulled Robin into the small locker room Ranger built for Stephanie three years ago. "What do you think they're doing?" Lester asked. Tank shrugged.
"Matchmaking," Ranger replied.
"Why do you think that?" Lester asked. Ranger nudged his chin towards Vince, who was staring at the locker room where the women disappeared.
April locked the door when they entered the change room. "I have to ask, but if you tell me that it's none of my business, I'll respect that. Did you ever have sex with Morelli?" Stephanie asked.
"We flirted and kissed but never had sex. Why?" Robin wondered.
"Vince couldn't keep his eyes off of you. He refuses to date women who screwed Morelli," Stephanie replied.
"Ah. It makes sense now. I ran into Vince at the club a few weeks ago. We danced, and it got a little heated. I thought he was coming home with me, but he said it was time for him to get home. He kissed my cheek and left me in the parking lot extremely horny," Robin said. "I broke my vibrator that night."
"Yay," Stephanie clapped. "Not that you broke your vibrator because that sucks."
"Because I like Vince?" Robin asked. April and Stephanie nodded. "I slept with Big Dog and Carl. Yes, I'm embarrassed to admit it. But I never slept with any of the Morelli men."
"Okay, operation get Robin and Vince to date has officially begun," April stated.
"Uh oh," Lester said when the three giggling women exited the small change room. "Those three women together is dangerous for Rangeman."
Vince watched April and Robin walk towards the exercise equipment. Robin sat on the leg machine while April took the biceps curl machine beside it. His cock twitched when Robin set the weight to 125 lbs. The scent of Bulgari and Stephanie broke Vince's concentration.
"How long have you liked Robin?" Stephanie whispered.
"A few years. I heard Robin screwed Morelli," he replied.
"Someone is lying. Robin said they flirted and kissed, but it didn't lead to sex. Robin swears they didn't get farther," Stephanie whispered.
"You made my day, Steph." Vince kissed Stephanie's forehead, then returned to his workout.
Stephanie walked back to Ranger. She felt the men watching her. While in the locker room, Stephanie changed her sports bra and yoga pants. She was wearing a purple bra with black boy shorts, displaying her muscular legs.
Lester whistled as Stephanie walked towards Ranger sitting on the bench. "Beautiful when did you get all of those muscles?"
"Hmm. Six months ago," Stephanie replied.
"Try eleven months ago," April shouted from across the gym. She finished the last few curls and wiped down the machine. April walked across the gym and stood in front of Stephanie with her hands on her hips.
"You can't intimidate me, April," Stephanie said through narrowed eyes. Ranger pulled Stephanie back onto his lap to hide his erection. He got turned on by Stephanie's new exercise clothes.
"Stephanie, we started your physiotherapy the day your casts got removed. When you got cleared for more intense exercises, you went way beyond what anyone expected. Every day you chanted, 'I must get in shape.' I asked you why it was important, but you didn't know. Standing in this gym with all of those muscular men, I get why you had to get fit. But don't lie about when those muscles popped onto your body," April sweetly explained.
"Your sweet voice and nice words don't intimidate me either, April," Stephanie said, staring at April. A few seconds later, they cracked up laughing. "Oh my goodness. That was so much fun. Look at the guys staring." She lowered her voice and added, "Our banter turned them on."
April scanned the room and giggled. The men were either fixing themselves or hiding their impressive erections with their hands. "We're going to have so much fun, Steph."
"You bet we are," Stephanie agreed, smiling.
"Babe, stop squirming, or I'll take you here," Ranger whispered huskily into Stephanie's ear.
"Yes, please," Stephanie whispered.
Before Ranger could lift Stephanie, Julie entered the gym. "Dad, Steph. My mom called. She asked if I wanted to live here with you," Julie gushed.
"Princess?" Ranger asked, raising one eyebrow.
"I said yes. Can you register me for school here for September? My teachers said I could finish the year online," Julie replied.
"What about your clothes and school books?" Stephanie asked.
"I don't need the clothes. Mom packed my school supplies. She's having them couriered here."
"Have you finished your English essay?"
"Yes, Stephanie. My essay is finished, and I emailed it to my teacher," Julie answered, rolling her eyes.
"Don't you want to go home to collect your things?" Ranger asked.
"No. I need to stay here for a while. We found Stephanie less than two weeks ago after thinking she died. I'm not ready to leave her," Julie replied, a tear dropping from her eye.
"Come with me, Jules. I know exactly what would cheer you up. Robin, April, follow me," Stephanie called over her shoulder.
"Why are we following Steph?" Robin whispered.
"Chocolate," April replied.
Stephanie and her gang got on the elevator. She pressed five to get to the break room. "Ella, you are a goddess," Stephanie said as Ella unloaded the food cart.
"I figured you girls would like this," Ella announced, placing a chocolate fudge cake on the table. "Would you like some plates?"
The girls looked at each other before answering, "No." Ella laughed and handed them forks.
"I'm Ella, dear," she said to Robin.
"Robin. I'm hoping to get hired soon," Robin stated.
"Nice to meet you. Hopefully, we get to see you around more often." Ella kissed Julie's head and hugged the other three women.
Robin watched Ella leave the break room with her empty cart. The short, dark-haired, brown-eyed woman was kind. Motherly. "She's the mother of Rangeman. Ella treats everyone as her children," April explained.
"Ella seems nice," Robin stated.
"She's the best. We only met yesterday, but I feel as though we've known each other for years," April added.
"Less talking, more eating," Stephanie mumbled. "We need to consume this cake before the Merry Men catch us."
Julie giggled when Cal and Vince entered the break room to see the women sharing the entire cake. "Hey, I want some of that," Cal whined.
"Grab a fork and dig in," Stephanie mumbled. Cal and Vince grabbed forks to help eat the cake. It didn't take long for Hal and Manny to join the group. By the time Eddie, Carl and Big Dog arrived, the cake was gone.
"That cake was amazing," Robin said as she licked off her fork.
Ranger pulled Stephanie from her chair and said, "Babe, that stuff will kill you." He kissed her to lick the chocolate from her lips. "But chocolate covered Babe tastes good," Ranger added when he broke the kiss.
"Ya. It is definitely hot in here," Robin moaned.
April added, "When those two are together, it's always hot." She winked at Hal, causing him to blush.
"They're doing it again," Julie groaned.
"Who is doing what?" Vince asked.
"Hal and April are doing the synchronized blush," she giggled.