I do not own any of these characters, although I would really like to meet
up with Ranger in a dark room somewhere. I simply borrow and gently use
them for my amusement.
Chapter Six
It took forty minutes to get back to Trenton and neither of us spoke. Normal for me. Not normal for Steph. I parked the car and we got out together. When we got in the elevator, I touched the number four button.
"What's on the fourth floor?" she asked suspiciously.
"Studio apartments that are available to RangeMan employees. I moved one of the men out so you could have your own place until it's safe for you to leave." I had decided this morning, while looking into the Junkman situation, that Steph might be here for a while. I couldn't handle her in my place- in my bed- for that long. As the doors opened, I wrapped her hand around the key. "Don't expect me to always be this civilized."
Stephanie was actually a little flustered. "I'm undone. I don't know what to say."
I took the key back, crossed the hall, and opened the door to 4B. I flipped the light on, gave Steph the key back, and shoved her inside. I practically ran out of the place. "Lock the door before I change my mind. Hit seven if you need me."
I regretted kicking Stephanie down to the fourth as soon as I entered my apartment. She hadn't been here long, but the silence left by her absence absolutely echoed. I stood for a moment by the door and looked around. Everything looked exactly the same. How could it feel so empty? And so quickly?
I steeled myself against the urge to go back and get her, or call down to check on her. She was waiting for me to initiate something, and I refused, no matter how much I wanted to do so. Steph needed to make the decision to be with me on her own. I had applied as much pressure to the situation as I dared; anymore, and I wouldn't be sure if Steph's actions were based on what she wanted or what she thought I wanted.
This might be the first time that anyone had actually left the final decision completely up to Stephanie, without major biased argument. I only hoped that she was the woman I thought she was, and that she would have the strength to make the decision on her own.
I tried to take my mind off the situation. Steph, I know, would have either cleaned (she only did so when upset or freaked out), eaten baked goods, or watched Ghostbusters for the twelve million time to distract herself. Normally, I would have run down a difficult skip in the hopes that I would need to beat him down a bit, or go to the gym and work out. I could do neither, right now. I was afraid to leave my apartment in case I couldn't control myself and ended up outside Steph's door.
I resolutely walked out to the kitchen, got a Corona out of the fridge, and sat down in front of my huge television. I flipped randomly through channels, pausing momentarily to get a grasp of what the show was about before moving on. Nothing caught my eye. Amazing how you can have over four hundred channels and not find a single thing you wanted to watch. When I hit the same channels a third time, I gave up and decided on a shower. I made my way into the bathroom and started stripping. I got as far as my t- shirt when an image flashed in my mind and made me stop- Steph, toweling off after a shower, then pulling my shirt on for bed.
A shower wasn't going to clear my mind.
I hadn't been this unfocused and restive since... I had never been this unfocused and restive. I was at such loose ends that I actually began to seriously consider calling Steph and checking on her. My left hand held the receiver and my right was reaching for the intercom switch when the doorbell rang. I hastily dropped it and moved quickly to the peephole.
It was Stephanie. My heart raced. I had held out-barely- and she had made a small decision on her own. She had come to me.
I opened the door before it rang a second time.
Blue eyes looked up at me. "It's lonely on the fourth floor. And your sheets are nicer than mine."
I stared at her. Okay, she'd taken a baby step. Not exactly the speed at which I wanted to go, but it was a beginning. I resumed the banter game. "Ordinarily I'd take that as a sexual invitation, but after this morning I'm going to guess you just want my sheets."
"Actually, I was hoping I could sleep on your couch." Damn.
I pulled her into the apartment and locked the door behind her. Half- joking, I said, "You can sleep anywhere you want, but I'm not going to be responsible for my actions if you fondle me again when I'm sleeping."
"I didn't fondle you!" she indignantly stated.
Chapter Six
It took forty minutes to get back to Trenton and neither of us spoke. Normal for me. Not normal for Steph. I parked the car and we got out together. When we got in the elevator, I touched the number four button.
"What's on the fourth floor?" she asked suspiciously.
"Studio apartments that are available to RangeMan employees. I moved one of the men out so you could have your own place until it's safe for you to leave." I had decided this morning, while looking into the Junkman situation, that Steph might be here for a while. I couldn't handle her in my place- in my bed- for that long. As the doors opened, I wrapped her hand around the key. "Don't expect me to always be this civilized."
Stephanie was actually a little flustered. "I'm undone. I don't know what to say."
I took the key back, crossed the hall, and opened the door to 4B. I flipped the light on, gave Steph the key back, and shoved her inside. I practically ran out of the place. "Lock the door before I change my mind. Hit seven if you need me."
I regretted kicking Stephanie down to the fourth as soon as I entered my apartment. She hadn't been here long, but the silence left by her absence absolutely echoed. I stood for a moment by the door and looked around. Everything looked exactly the same. How could it feel so empty? And so quickly?
I steeled myself against the urge to go back and get her, or call down to check on her. She was waiting for me to initiate something, and I refused, no matter how much I wanted to do so. Steph needed to make the decision to be with me on her own. I had applied as much pressure to the situation as I dared; anymore, and I wouldn't be sure if Steph's actions were based on what she wanted or what she thought I wanted.
This might be the first time that anyone had actually left the final decision completely up to Stephanie, without major biased argument. I only hoped that she was the woman I thought she was, and that she would have the strength to make the decision on her own.
I tried to take my mind off the situation. Steph, I know, would have either cleaned (she only did so when upset or freaked out), eaten baked goods, or watched Ghostbusters for the twelve million time to distract herself. Normally, I would have run down a difficult skip in the hopes that I would need to beat him down a bit, or go to the gym and work out. I could do neither, right now. I was afraid to leave my apartment in case I couldn't control myself and ended up outside Steph's door.
I resolutely walked out to the kitchen, got a Corona out of the fridge, and sat down in front of my huge television. I flipped randomly through channels, pausing momentarily to get a grasp of what the show was about before moving on. Nothing caught my eye. Amazing how you can have over four hundred channels and not find a single thing you wanted to watch. When I hit the same channels a third time, I gave up and decided on a shower. I made my way into the bathroom and started stripping. I got as far as my t- shirt when an image flashed in my mind and made me stop- Steph, toweling off after a shower, then pulling my shirt on for bed.
A shower wasn't going to clear my mind.
I hadn't been this unfocused and restive since... I had never been this unfocused and restive. I was at such loose ends that I actually began to seriously consider calling Steph and checking on her. My left hand held the receiver and my right was reaching for the intercom switch when the doorbell rang. I hastily dropped it and moved quickly to the peephole.
It was Stephanie. My heart raced. I had held out-barely- and she had made a small decision on her own. She had come to me.
I opened the door before it rang a second time.
Blue eyes looked up at me. "It's lonely on the fourth floor. And your sheets are nicer than mine."
I stared at her. Okay, she'd taken a baby step. Not exactly the speed at which I wanted to go, but it was a beginning. I resumed the banter game. "Ordinarily I'd take that as a sexual invitation, but after this morning I'm going to guess you just want my sheets."
"Actually, I was hoping I could sleep on your couch." Damn.
I pulled her into the apartment and locked the door behind her. Half- joking, I said, "You can sleep anywhere you want, but I'm not going to be responsible for my actions if you fondle me again when I'm sleeping."
"I didn't fondle you!" she indignantly stated.