When Ranger heard her name he flinched and caused the steering wheel to jerk sharply to the left. He over-corrected and before he could prevent it, the F-150 plowed into a nearby fire hydrant. The vehicle slammed to a stop and a large gush of water quickly enveloped the truck's cab.

Steph In The Right Direction

Chapter Thirteen

"Son of a fucking bitch!" yelled Ranger as he looked down at the busted front end of his Ford F-150.

Tank, who had taken a seat on the curb was roaring in laughter when Lester and Bobby pulled to a stop in front of the wrecked vehicle.

"What the hell happened?" asked Lester, who was leaning through the Expedition's window.

Ranger ignored his question but shot him a scowled look instead. Tank rose and sloshed over to the SUV to explain. "Well, the story I'm going tell goes like this. I mentioned the "S" word which caused Ric here to jerk the car to the left. When he tried to redeem himself, he over-corrected and that's when he introduced us to the fire hydrant."

The three men erupted in laughter and by the time they regained composure, Ranger was a small dot in the distance.

"Where's he going?" asked Bobby.

"I suppose he's heading back to the apartment to change clothes. Do you think we should follow him?" wondered Lester.

"Nah, let's give him a few minutes to cool down. You guys stay here and call Al at the body shop. Ask him to send someone over to pick up this broken-ass truck. I'll head back to the apartment and get into some dry clothes. Ranger and I'll get the other Expedition and meet you back here." said Tank.

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Wearing dry clothes and yet another scowl, Ranger met Tank in the garage.

"Not one damn word." Ranger warned.

"Of course not. Wouldn't even think of it. Wouldn't dream of giving you a hard time about it." chuckled Tank.

As Ranger slide into the driver seat of the Expedition, Tank proved to be a courageous man. "Wouldn't it be better if I were to drive?" he teased.

"Fuck." mumbled Ranger.

"I'm just saying… You never know when I might accidentally mention her name again." laughed Tank.

"You're never going to let me forget this are you?" asked Ranger as he slumped forward against the steering wheel.

"Probably not. It's just too damn interesting to forget. I mean, why in the world would you let some chick get to you that way? Especially one that you don't care about." asked Tank, suddenly turning more serious.

Ranger let his eyes dart to the man next to him. "Tank, I'm warning you. I know what you're doing and I don't want to hear it. Like I've told you before, this is my fucking life not yours."

"Whatever you say boss man." Tank replied then smiled to himself. Ranger may think that was the end of the conversation, but he didn't understand that he had just given Tank all the evidence he needed to prove himself correct.

Chapter Thirteen

Stephanie fell into a pretty comfortable routine during the next couple of weeks. She spent the mornings catching FTA's with more success than ever and in the afternoons she played with the boys at the gym. Tank wasn't the only one to volunteer to help her out. Bobby and Lester quickly made the same offer and just as quickly became her latest sparing partners. They helped her with the weights, lead her through Karate workouts and had even given her pointers on her diet.

All the hard work was definitely paying off. Her body was leaner and more tone than it had ever been. The confidence dripped from her as she walked down the street and men who had never noticed before were suddenly sitting up and paying attention. She regularly turned down dates, but when the mood was right she would accept just as many. Her dating average was up to three different men a week however none of them lasted for longer than one date a piece.

Bobby and Lester had taken it upon themselves to help guide her through the onslaught of men. When someone new approached her at the gym, they would quickly pull her aside and inform her of any and all details of the would-be suitor.

While all of this was going on, Tank remained in the background. He still worked with Stephanie but he never again mentioned Ranger. Once she realized the door to her information had closed, they fell into a friendly companionship. She would tell him about her rotten dates and he would listened as she explained why the smallest detail would make them unacceptable. This one's too short, too tall, too dumb, too hairy, too unlike Ranger. Though she never said it in those terms, Tank knew she was comparing every man to his ignorant best friend.

Tank had tried to get through to Ranger but nothing seemed to work. He continued to drop bits of information about Stephanie. He would mention a date here or there, or tell the story of her latest FTA capture. Ranger always perked up with the mention of her name but when the story was over he would drift back into his own world of loneliness.

Tank, of course, knew the reasons for Rangers behavior. Amanda.

Tank knew that as long as Amanda was in Ranger's life nothing but heartache would come to Stephanie. The only thing that kept Tank from running to his newest friend to explain what was going on was the fact that Amanda was thousands of miles away in Miami. As long as she stayed there, Tank felt there might still be hope.

But all of that was shattered when he walked into the Rangeman office one morning.

"Why does it smell like leather and dead fish in here?" yelled Tank as he walked into the office.

Lester looked up briefly and nodded into Ranger's office. Tank walked inside to see what was up and stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed a gorgeous blonde sitting cross-legged on the couch in front of Ranger's desk.

"Oh it's you." The blonde pouted.

"What the fuck are you doing here Amanda?" growled Tank.

"I don't see how that's any of your business." said an angry voice behind him.

Ranger had walked into the office carrying two cups of coffee. He handed one to Amanda then took his seat at the desk.

"Tank, out. This doesn't concern you." Ranger demanded.

"Whatever, but don't say I didn't warn you Ric." Tank turned and slammed the door behind himself.

"What she doing here?" asked Bobby.

"No clue, but it can't be good." huffed Lester.

"You can say that again. And it's only going to get worse when Stephanie finds out." stated Tank.

"What does she have to do with this." asked an obviously confused Lester.

Bobby threw an empty paper cup at him. "Idiot. Steph's in love with Ric."

"Oh shit." mumbled Lester.

"Exactly. Boys, looks like we better do some preventative damage control." Tank said as he whipped out his cell phone. He punched a number from memory then waited for an answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey Steph, it's Tank. Do you have plans tonight?"

"Not as far as I know, why? What's up?"

"Lester, Bobby and I were wondering if you would join us for dinner?"

"Sure, sounds like fun. What time and what should I wear?" she asked.

"We'll pick you up at 7:00 and wear a short skirt so Lester can drool over your legs." laughed Tank.

Stephanie matched his laugh with her own. "Sounds like a date. See you guys then."

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At exactly 7:00 Stephanie answered her door wearing a short red skirt, tight-fitting white button-up blouse and her latest pair of FMP's. After the catcalls came to an end she followed the three men downstairs to the waiting SUV.

"So what's the occasion fellas?" she questioned when they were all seated in the vehicle.

"Just thought we could have a nice evening on the town tonight." explained Tank.

"Good enough for me, at least this way I know my date won't try to force his tongue down my throat at the end of the night." Stephanie teased.

"I make no such promises." laughed Lester.

Stephanie punched his arm as they continued to laugh and make conversation all the way to the restaurant.

The four of them were still laughing as they pulled into the parking lot. That was probably the reason none of them noticed Ranger's Porsche parked a few spaces down.

The laughing group made their way inside of Rossini's. As they were waiting to be seated, Stephanie noticed Ranger at a nearby table. She was about to mentioned it to the guys when the Matre'd appeared. He lead them in the same direction as Ranger's table and when they were only a few steps away Stephanie noticed the blonde woman seated next to him. The blonde noticed her as well and their eyes locked for a brief moment. As the group came side-by-side to Ranger's table everyone noticed everyone else. Ranger's eyes flew open wide as he realized who was there.

Just as Tank was about to say something, the blonde reached across the table for Ranger's hand and said loud enough for all to hear. "Oh Ricardo, I love you too."

To Be Continued…