15. Trenton Trio

Saturday morning found Lil and Tilde in the gym on two. Lil was on the treadmill after having spent some time working her stiff shoulder. Tilde was on a mat next to her, practicing some new form of toddler gymnastics. Translation, she was falling over a lot while giggling. But she was happy and occupied. The only other men in the gym were Ace and Slick, who were sparring on the big mats. Lil was studiously avoiding their session. She wasn't watching how shirtless they were, or how fast they moved. She hadn't once noticed their power and grace. Nope, not watching. Her denial was interrupted by Lester, who sauntered over with an obvious appreciation of her backside. Lil rolled her eyes. He wiggled his eyebrows and flexed his pecs. "So it's you and me hitting the town tonight huh Sweet Cheeks?" She laughed, throwing her towel at his head. "You are horrible Lester! No, it's you, me, and three other women." Lester choked on the water he was trying to drink. "That's even better!" Oh geez. He gave her a wink and headed for the weights. Lil had the feeling she was going to spend more time tonight babysitting him than the other way around.

After an unproductive day where her nerve pain was acting up, Lil finally bit the bullet and started getting ready. She really hoped Doc Brown had some news for her soon about therapy. She showered, shaved, and generally tortured herself to perfection. Her hair was blown dry and left to fall over her shoulders in slight waves. She applied a muted smokey eye, keeping everything else a matte nude finish. The natural rosiness to her cheeks and smattering of freckles had always kept her from wearing too much other makeup, or she looked like a clown. Cal had told her the club was a good thirty minute drive, she was trying to be in the garage by 1920. Lil was nervous. As she slipped on her nude lace boy-short panties, she kept repeating 'it's just girl's night'. She stepped into her romper making sure everything of importance was properly covered before zipping up the side. She placed her necklaces on, deciding to forego any other jewelry. Tilde watched as she sat down on the bed to fasten her shoes. No use spraining an ankle before she even left the apartment.

Lil stood up and took a look at herself in the full length mirror on the back of the bathroom door. She looked pretty good. She didn't know if this qualified as 'caliente', but it was definitely different than her normal attire. Tilde hopped up and down, "Mommy you're beautiful!" Awww. That helped. Cal knocked on the door at quarter after seven. When she opened it, his eyes bugged out of his head. "You look fabulous Lilly-pad, now go change." They both laughed. He was only half joking. She gave Cal pointers on where to find certain toys, showing him the latest book they had been reading at bedtime. "We'll be fine. Quit stalling and get your butt downstairs!" Lil sighed, picked up her purse and gave them each a kiss. "Wish me luck!" As she left the apartment Cal muttered something about Trenton needing the luck tonight.

Ranger, Tank, and Lester were waiting in front of the Cayenne when the elevator hit the bottom floor. They were looking over a message on Ranger's phone, it was something important. Otherwise, he would have seen her right away. Lester didn't miss her entrance though. The doors opened and his breath caught making a strangled sound. Tank and Ranger were discussing something in low, angry tones. Lester hit Ranger on the arm. "What Santos?" Lester pointed to Lil who was walking toward them. He lifted his eyes from the small screen until he saw sexy shoes coming his way. His gaze kept rising. Legs, legs, and more legs. Holy Shit. When he finally reached her eyes she smiled. Son of a bitch, this was going to be a long-ass night. "Gentlemen, am I to assume you're all my bodyguards tonight?" Lester made some comment about guarding her body before Tank smacked him on the head. Ranger hadn't said a word. Hadn't moved a muscle. He was lost in how absolutely gorgeous she looked. Sexy as hell without trying too hard. And those legs! He noticed the slight discoloration of the scar on her chest. Knowing how it got there only made her more attractive in his eyes. He had the insane urge to send her upstairs to either put on some pants, or take the rest of her outfit off. His inner caveman was screaming to come out and play. "Carlos, is everything alright?" Oh fuck, she said his name so sweetly. He cleared his throat. "Everything is fine Lil, we were discussing some Rangeman business. Are you ready?" He pointed to the passenger seat door. She followed his lead. When he reached across her to buckle her seat belt, she had a momentary flash of her father doing the same thing for her mother a long time ago. Lester and Tank climbed into the back seat, Tank gave her a reassuring smile. "You look hot Lil." She blushed.

The scenery was stunning, the men of course, Trenton was ho-hum. Lester was wearing very tight black pants with a red tee that fit like a glove. Tank had opted for dark denim with a white dress shirt that made his skin tone look two shades darker. Ranger, well Ranger was simply edible. He had chosen black designer slacks paired with a gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up casually. Stunning. The ride over was interesting to say the least. Lester kept making outrageously flirty comments, Tank kept smacking him. It was like have two eight year old boys in the back seat. It wouldn't have surprised her if Ranger had threatened to 'turn the car around' or kick them out. Instead, he kept to a zone of his own. An island unto himself. She could see through his posture and the movement of his eyes that he was cataloging their surroundings and the other drivers or cars nearby. What she couldn't see or hear was the conversation happening in his head. A lecture of sorts that included phrases like: 'get it together Manoso' 'where's your fucking control know?' and 'get your shit straight soldier'. When he felt her eyes linger on the side of his face he turned his head slightly. Lil whispered, "Are you sure you're OK Carlos? Is something going on? We can cancel tonight if you need to be at Rangeman." He relaxed his grip on the steering wheel and gave her a head shake. "Everything's fine, just a lot on my mind. You look beautiful by the way." The spent the rest of the drive in contemplative silence.

Ranger parked the Cayenne with the valet, leading them to the front of the entrance line that had started to form. His hand on the small of her back was reassuring. By anyone's standards, eight was an early start for a night out so they weren't cutting in front of a crowd. Tank did some complicated handshake thing with the bouncer, which set Lil at ease a little more. As they entered the main doors and made their way over to a waving Stephanie, Lil was scanning her surroundings. Ranger was doing the same. When they realized they were both on hyper-alert she gave a soft chuckle and a half-shrug. She wouldn't apologize for being safety-minded. He wouldn't want her to. Lush was just as Stephanie had described it. Intimate without feeling sleazy. The colors were all muted. The lights were soft but bright enough to see where you were going. A stage sat on one side and small high-top tables on the other. The center was a dance floor. The entire back wall held the bar. It looked clean and safe. It would work.

"Dayum girl, you lookin good!" This was how Lula greeted Lil. She laughed her thanks. The women exchanged hellos while the men gave barely-there nods of greeting. Big talkers. Tank pulled extra stools over to the table the women had commandeered. Lil examined their little party while Connie was trying to flag down a server. The way her boobs were bouncing in her tight red dress should get them served pretty quickly, or give someone a black eye. Stephanie was wearing a short denim skirt and a blue halter top. Her hair was a wild mass of curls. Her black heels were so high, Lil was prepared to catch her if she started to fall over at some point in the night. But Lula took the cake. She was sporting a body-con dress in hot pink, with hair and shoes to match. Lil loved it. She would NEVER wear it, but she loved it. "Alright Ladies and Gents, the servers coming, what are we drinking?" Connie was pleased to have accomplished her mission. Stephanie and Tank ordered beers. Connie and Lula wanted some suggestively named mixed drinks that certainly contained too much alcohol. Lester and Ranger stuck with tonic water. Much to their dismay, Lil asked for a coke, no ice. "What? You're not gonna drink with us?" The other women looked a little put-out. Lil shrugged, "I'm not a drinker. Don't worry, I can still be fun. Plus I'm an awesome designated driver." They huffed but accepted that she wasn't going to change her stance. Ranger was watching her closely from the corner of his eye.

The girls made small talk about random things while they inhaled the first half of their alcohol. The men observed with quiet trepidation. Lil fielded more questions, easily dodging the ones that were too personal. Ranger was impressed with her ability to deflect and redirect. When the booze had sufficiently started to kick in on the Trenton Trio, Lula placed a hand on her hip and cleared her throat. "Now listen here." She was blatantly directing her comments to the three men. "This here's a GIRLS night out. That means your job is to keep quiet and forget anything we might say in the next few hours. Oh, and keep standing there lookin all fine and shit. Dayum." Connie and Steph had dissolved into embarrassed giggles. Lester and Tank were holding their hands up in an 'I surrender' motion. Ranger only raised an eyebrow at her boldness. Usually Lula was tongue-tied around him. Must be one hell of a drink. Lil just smirked at the scene. This was going to be a peculiar night.

For the next hour, the girls danced together here and there. The floor wasn't too crowded, which was nice. Lil didn't like being in the middle of crowds. Too many unknown variables. Ranger watched Lil dance while continuing to stay alert. Stephanie, bless her heart, should have stopped after her first beer. She was on number four. Lula and Connie were well on the other side of tipsy. Their dancing was becoming more suggestive and less coordinated. It was highly amusing for Lil. They were having fun though, and their laughter was contagious. As always, too many tasty beverages led to loose lips, which was how they ended up discussing men and sex in front of the guys. Stephanie wobbled on her heels as she plopped onto her stool. "See, this is fun. Why can't Joe take me out dancing?" Lula humphed in indignation for her. "Super Cop needs to get his shit together. He should know how to romance a woman right. He needs more than that fine ass to get by!" Connie nodded emphatically. Lil sipped her Coke, listening. It had been a long time since she had heard about the dating problems of others. Like, high school. They continued to grouse about their lack of love lives as Connie had just broken up with a guy named Jim and Lula was still single. When Lil asked why Steph was dating Joe if he didn't treat her right, she answered that they had a long history. Basically that it was easy. She was offering answers that a sober Stephanie would not dream of verbalizing. Hopefully she wouldn't remember in the morning...

Lil met Steph's eye. "I don't know if that's a valid reason Steph." She tried to keep the tipsy brunette's attention. "Real men should keep your panties wet, not your eyes." The other women giggled, Tank and Lester snorted. Ranger raised an eyebrow. Lil shrugged, it was the truth. "You know what I want?" Lula sat her frilly drink down looking more sober, "I want a man who is going to treat me right. Knows how to handle me in the bedroom. And won't step out." Connie agreed. "Same here. I want to find someone who knows how to be a real man, but appreciates that I'm a strong woman. A big dick wouldn't hurt either." Stephanie, not to be left out, added, "I want romance. Flowers, dates, dancing, chocolates." She hiccuped, "I want a man who treasures me. Treats me like gold. Regular orgasms would be nice too." Yup, the beers were making her a bit sappy. They turned to Lil, obviously expecting her to voice her own desires in a man. She sipped her soda slowly, contemplating her next move. She could lie, tell them something short and sweet to change the subject. But that felt wrong. The women were being honest, thanks to the alcohol. It would be too much like taking advantage of these new friends if she were to lie now. Lil looked up to the ceiling and cleared her throat.

"I haven't been looking for a man. So I'm a little out of practice. BUT, I think what I want is honesty, loyalty, a partner in crime, someone who can laugh with me, and of course someone who will also love Tilde." The women nodded. "Ya, but what about the other stuff? The sexy stuff?" Stephanie swayed a few inches while blushing beet red. Lil gave her an appraising look. Lester was watching too eagerly, which was her only excuse for the following answer. "What am I looking for in bed? Someone who can turn me on using just their voice. But also someone who will run their hands through my hair gently, before they pull it. I want soft and hard, easy and rough. I want him to be a gentleman in public holding my hand, but a master in the bedroom who isn't afraid to hold my throat." The Trenton Trio fanned themselves, while Lester fell off his stool. Tank excused himself to the restroom. Lil went back to sipping her Coke as if nothing had happened. Ranger, eyes black, stared at her throat, replaying her words. 'Get it together Manoso.'