Chapter 6

Woody's POV

I arrived in the gym at 0600 and got on the treadmill next to Hal.

"Hey, Woody, how was your date Saturday night? Did you make any progress?"

"It went well. Michelle had a great time. Her kids were sleeping over at her grandmother's, so we went back to her house. We had some coffee and fooled around a little."

"Still freezing you out?"

"No, not freezing me out, just being cautious. Michelle hasn't dated anyone since she had the twins and is not looking to jump into a relationship. Michelle wants to take it slow, and I don't blame her."

"When is your next date?"

"Tonight."

"Maybe tonight will be the night."

"Hal, I'm not rushing things. When she is ready to take us to that next step, I'll go with her. Until then, I'm willing to be patient and wait. She's worth it. From the little she's told me about the twin's father, they had a brief but memorable affair. She was hoping for more, but life happened, and they lost contact."

"Do you think she still has a thing for him?"

"I think she wishes that he knew about his children, but I don't think she wants anything else."

"You know, it's a good thing you staked your claim when you did. I know almost every guy here wants to date Michelle."

"I know. She's a special woman. I only hope she drops some of her walls."

Hal's program is done, so he gets off the treadmill and heads to the body bag. Once my program finishes, I head to weight machines. It's my day to work my legs, so I get started with my reps. At 0630, Ranger enters the gym. Shit, I've heard a lot about him, and I've seen him once when I was in Boston, but not up close and personal. The men here who worked in the other Rangeman offices always spoke of how he is beyond ripped, but that it is all from hard work, no steroids or enhancers. As he starts to stretch, I can see that he is in peak physical condition. I have a solid six-pack and have very little body fat, but I'm overweight compared to Ranger. That man has an eight-pack. A few minutes later, Lester Santos saunters into the gym. I see Santos and Ranger acknowledge each other, and within ten minutes, they are on the mats. I can tell they often spar because they seem to anticipate each other, but I can tell that Ranger is the superior fighter, not that Santos is a pushover. After forty-five minutes, they are both standing, with sweat pouring off of their bodies, but neither giving up.

"Ready to call a draw?"

"No," Ranger replies. A moment later, Santos is on his stomach with his arm bent back and Ranger's knee planted on his back within a blink of an eye. "Good match, primo."

Ranger stands, helping Santos to his feet. Both grab a towel and bottles of water before heading out of the gym. I guess they're going to shower in their apartments. I now realize why no one wants to be called to the mats by Ranger.

At 0730, I head up to my apartment on the fourth floor to shower and get ready for the day. I decide that I'm going to take Michelle to Marsiello's. I need to tell her to wear a dress tonight. I know her father is watching her children, so I better bring her flowers. No matter how old a woman is, she's always daddy's little girl, and I want to make a good impression with Mr. Plum.

At 0845, I head upstairs. I'm due at 0900. I clock in, grab a coffee for me and one for Michelle before heading into the conference room. When I get there, I feel my phone vibrate. I put down the coffees and check my phone. I see Michelle texted me, "Gonna B l8, bus nvr came, dropping twinkies at school."

I sit down in a chair close to the door before sending a text back that I saved her seat and got her coffee. I know she's probably panicking right now. She knows that today is the first day that the Core Team will be in Trenton, and I know she wants to start off on the right foot. Cal calls the meeting to order at precisely 0900. About fifteen minutes later, Michelle comes in. I quickly get up, letting her sit in my seat. I notice that Ranger is staring at her. Shit. I hope he isn't angry.

When Michelle shares her information on Det. Morelli, I can tell that Ranger and Santos are impressed. I think she's redeemed herself a little. Once the meeting is adjourned, I finally get to talk to her.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes, Woody, everything is fine. The bus never came, so I had to drop the kids off at school. Do you think the bosses are mad at me?"

"No, I think you're fine. I'm sure Cal will vouch for you."

"You're probably right, but I want to apologize to them personally. Are we still on for tonight?"

"Yes, we are."

"Are you heading down to the gym?"

"No, not yet. I'll be there in a few."

"See you then." I reply

She smiles at me and winks. I leave the conference room with about three other guys, getting ready to start off my monitor shift. Then, I'll be out of the office driving around before ending today conducting searches. About ten minutes later, I see Michelle walk by on her way to her office on the third floor.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's okay. Ranger and the Core Team understood. Hopefully, this doesn't happen again."

"Wear a dress tonight."

"Okay."

I watch her walk to the elevator. As if she senses me looking, she puts an extra sway in her hips.

"You got it bad, bro," Zip says.

"Shut up."

"Oh, don't worry about it. No one blames you. That woman is muy caliente. I never saw a woman look so sexy in scrubs before."

"Michelle has no idea how sexy she is. I don't think I've ever met a woman who was so insecure."

"She doesn't seem it."

"She puts on a good façade. But, the men in her life did a number on her from what I gather."

"Then I guess it's a good thing she found us."

"That's true. Did you see Ranger staring at her in the meeting? Do you think he'll try to put the moves on her?"

"Look, Woody, this is dangerous territory. I know Ranger has a reputation as a lady's man, him and Santos, but I've never heard of them going after someone this close. He's more of a 'wham, bam, thank you, ma'am' type person. Going after Michelle would be too complicated. You better hope, though, that he doesn't get wind of your relationship. I don't see him being overly supportive."

"Shit. I've waited too long to find the courage to ask Michelle out. I don't want things to end before they even begin."

"Make sure to keep it outside of the building. You may be okay then."

"Thanks, Zip."

The rest of the day passes uneventfully. When I get off shift, I go up to my apartment, quickly showering and dressing for tonight. I put on a pair of black chinos with a maroon-colored button-down shirt. I make sure my dress shoes are shined to Army standards, then grab my gray sports jacket. I put my gun at the small of my back, grab a sleeve of condoms, and head out to pick up Michelle.

I arrive at her house to see her standing outside. She quickly walks to my car before I can even put it in park. The door is pulled open, and she sits, putting on her seatbelt.

"Is everything okay, Michelle?"

"Grandma Mazur is here and in rare form. I'm afraid that if you were to go anywhere near the front door, she'd try to grope you."

I pale a little at that statement since I've met Grandma Mazur once before. She's a scary woman. I hope that Michelle ages better than her grandmother, though, because she looks like a plucked chicken. I got to get that image out of my head.

"Where are we going?"

"Marsiello's."

"Yum. Thank you, John."

We arrive at the restaurant, where I pull up to the valet station. The kid takes my keys and drives off with my car. We enter the restaurant, and the maître d brings us to a table in the corner. The table serves two purposes; first, it provides us with privacy. Secondly, I can see the entire room, including all the entrances and exits. I know that it drives Michelle nuts, but it's second nature to me now. I finally get a good look at Michelle, and she's wearing a black wrap style dress. It has a V-neck line that accentuates her chest, but not in a slutty manner. It ends slightly above her knee. She's wearing a pair of silver heels, about two inches with her hair up in a loose bun. We each ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio with baked clams as our appetizer. The clams are delicious, with the proper amount of seasoning. Next, we get a garden salad with lettuce, mesclun, cucumbers, and tomatoes in a balsamic vinegarette dressing. Michelle orders sausage alfredo, while I order veal piccata.

Conversation flowed between us as we talked about our childhoods. It seems we both grew up in similar communities, where our fathers worked hard to support the family while our mothers stayed home, keeping house. I understand how Michelle felt stifled. She was born to fly, and that wasn't allowed in the Burg. Lucky for me, I was born with a y-chromosome, which meant that I had the privileged of choosing what I wanted to be. From our discussion, I know that she's trying to raise her daughter to believe that she could be whatever she wants to be.

For dessert, Michelle orders tiramisu. For the first time in my life, I'm jealous of an inanimate object. The way Michelle is moaning while eating her tiramisu, well, I can only hope to cause her to make noises like that. I keep trying to picture other things to deflate my dick. I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable. Once the waiter brings us the check, I pay the bill. We leave the restaurant three hours after we arrived.

"Would you like to come back to my house for some coffee?"

"Sure," I respond. I'm hoping this invitation means that I'll get lucky tonight. This is our sixth date, and I still haven't made it to first base. In the past, I would have moved on by now, but there's something about Michelle that draws me to her. When we arrive at her house, I park in the driveway behind her car. I help her out of the vehicle, and we walk to her front door hand in hand. I move to put my hand on her lower back, but she moves away from me. I don't know why she always does that. Once we get into her house, she takes off her heels and places them on a rack near the door before putting on slippers. Her keys are placed on a small glass plate on the entrance table while her purse is put in the drawer.

Michelle walks into her kitchen, and I follow. I watch as she measures the coffee grains for her coffee maker and then pours water before setting it to start. I walk up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. I feel her tense for a moment before she relaxes. I move her hair off her shoulder and gently kiss her neck. "You look absolutely stunning tonight. All the men in the restaurant kept looking at you. I was afraid I would have to threaten a few of them to keep them away from you."

"Oh, I don't think so," Michelle responds. She turns around in my arms, so she's facing me. She reaches up, giving me a gentle kiss. A moment later, she's out of my arms, gathering the milk, sugar, and mugs, setting them on her countertop. I sigh. I've never been cock-blocked by a woman so frequently. What do I need to do to get beyond a kiss?

"The coffee's ready. Milk only, right?"

"Yeah, Babe, milk only."

I see Michelle cringe when I call her 'babe,' and I'm not sure why. "Please don't call me 'Babe.' One of my exes did, and it doesn't sit well."

Okay, that makes sense. "What can I call you? Darling, Sugar, Honey, Sweetie, Sexy Mama?" I see her smile at sexy mama.

"How about just Michelle?"

"Fine. Though you are more to me than just Michelle."

"I understand, but I've had too many nicknames in my life, and I'd rather be me."

We bring our coffee into the living where we sit on the couch. Michelle turns on the television, finding some rom-com on. We settle in to watch. I notice that she's sitting next to me but not touching me. I need to rectify that situation. I put my arm around her, and she leans into me. Better. As the movie progresses, I manage to adjust our positions, so I'm leaning against the couch's corner with one leg up, and Michelle is nestled on top of me. I'm running my hand along her bare arm and gently caressing the side of her breast. We're making some progress; maybe I'll get to second base. We start to kiss, and Michelle leans on me even more, turning to face me. I begin to progress down her neck, her shoulder, towards her breasts when she pulls away. Damn it.

"I'm sorry I can't do this yet. Please forgive me. I want to, I really do, but it's been so long and..and…" Michelle stutters, tears forming in her eyes.

"Ssh, it's okay. We'll go at your pace. I love you, Michelle."

I feel her tense before she responds, "Me too." I would prefer to hear the words, but I guess I'll take what I can get. About a half-hour later, I decide it's time to head home.

"I'm sorry, John. I don't mean to be a tease."

"No, it's okay. I understand. You let me know when you're ready." I kiss her gently on the lips. "I'll see you tomorrow at work?"

"Yes, see you then."

I wait until she closes the door and locks it. She refuses to get the Rangeman security system that comes with her job. I keep trying to convince her, but she won't do it. Once I'm confident she's locked in her house, I head to my car. I prepare to drive back to my apartment in Rangeman to take another cold shower.

A/N: Thank you for your enthusiastic response to this story. I know some of your a little frustrated, surprised, and/or perplexed at Ranger and Stephanie's reunion and have lots of questions. Don't worry, those questions will be answered. As for R and S, they are two different people today than they were 10 years ago. Ranger was "Carlos" then, carefree and smitten. Stephanie was a young co-ed who was ready to spread her wings. They both have had lived very different lives. And please don't hate on Woody (John), he's a good guy.

I gave you this bonus chapter today in celebration of my LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! No more remote teaching, no more blending learning, and hopefully, a return to a more traditional school day next year. Happy summer vacation.