Once again with the Disclaimers: making no money and getting no glory or fame

This is for CS Katie who thinks that Vince is her favorite. He's adorable but kind of shy.

Vince the Moderate Merry Man Part 3

By Alfonsina

Wow. I had no idea looking at Vince that he could kiss like that. In fact, kissing Vince was an absolutely amazing experience. I could tell by the way he approached the kiss and the way he took his time that this was a man who liked to kiss, a lot. It made me wonder if he liked to kiss other things too, and I wasn't thinking about the Blarney Stone.

I didn't hear the stooges in their exclamation of 'fuck' but Vince did. He gathered me more closely into his arms and put his head on top of mine.

"Gentlemen," he said with a smile, "it took you long enough."

I didn't say anything, I just enjoyed the big strong arms and the comfortable chest. If I could bottle the feeling, I'd make a fortune.

"It doesn't look like it took you long at all, Vince," said Erik.

"I'm goal oriented. I want something, I make a plan. I find a way to execute the plan and I achieve my goal. Simple. You all know that about me," he said rubbing my back. If I were a cat, I'd be purring.

"I didn't know that about you," I said quietly.

"You have a lifetime to figure it out," he said loud enough for the rest of the guys to hear as he kissed the top of my head.

"Shit," muttered Caesar. "What are we going to tell the boss?"

"Nothing to tell him," I said. "I mean other than I had a brilliant moment. Oh, we need to rekey the building or call a plumber about the keys. I don't have anything newsworthy, do you Vince?"

"Not a thing, Sweat Pea," he said kissing me on the temple.

Ranger had been in Atlanta training the staff in some new takedown techniques.

Brett asked, "Do you two need a moment? Before you get out of here?"

"I just need to grab my purse from the lobby," I said.

"I'll go with you," Vince said putting his arm across my shoulder.

When we were out of earshot he asked, "How far do you want to take this?"

I hadn't gotten that far at all. I had come out of my lust induced haze to realize that we'd done some pretty serious kissing but it was just a physical thing; not that there's anything wrong with that.

"Actually, I've been trying to convince Joe Morelli that things are really and truly over between us," I began. "He seems to think that if he keeps coming around, I'll cave and go back to him. Again."

"Will you?"

"He can be pretty persuasive."

"So can I. Want me to help you with him today?"

"I'd love you forever, if you'd do that."

"Where do you want to talk to him?"

"I usually run into him at the cop shop or if I've had something go FUBAR on me."

I'd been hanging out with the guys enough to pick up a little of the lingo. At least enough of the lingo to know that FUBAR meant "fucked up beyond all recognition" and most of the car explosions qualified as FUBAR.

"Why don't you call him and set a time to meet him, I'll back you up," he said. "If you choose the time and place, you'll have a better chance to control the conversation."

The guys all headed back to the office and I went to my apartment to change clothes and call Joe.

xx

"Hey Joe?"

"The boys missed you last night, you didn't call."

Of course the boys missed me; he didn't miss me but 'the boys' did.

"About that, something came up and I'd like to talk to you about it. Are you going to be free this afternoon or early this evening?"

"How about your place at 6:00, I'll bring the pizza if you supply the beer. Sound good?"

"See you then Joe, and thanks."

I called Vince. He agreed to give Morelli a ten minute headstart and then join us.

xx

I worked a pretty standard day for me, but made sure to keep my hand in my pocket when I was at the Bonds office. I had forgotten to give Vince his ring back and I'd probably need it later tonight anyway.

At six on the dot, Morelli knocked on the door, pizza in hand.

"Hiya, Cupcake. Missed you," he said as he went in for the kiss. I turned my head before he could reach my lips.

I'd been thinking about his kisses. His kisses weren't like Vince's kisses at all. When Vince kissed me, it was completely self contained and held no expectations. The act of just kissing Vince was complete and didn't need anything else, not that I wouldn't have minded a little something more. Kissing Joe always had to lead to something more, whether or not that was what I wanted. Kissing with Joe was never enough on its own for him.

"Ready to eat?" I asked.

He was and we set up to eat at the dinette.

"Pretty formal for you, we usually eat on the sofa," he said.

It was true we did, but I wanted to keep things a little more formal.

"I'm not so good with small talk," I started opening the box and selecting a slice.

"Sounds serious," he said as he cracked his beer open.

"It is. I've had some epiphanies lately and we need to talk about them."

"Sure." It was his turn to pull a slice from the box.

"You know how you hate my job and you don't like that I work with Ranger," I said. "And how I like my job and how I don't want those things to change …"

"Here we go again with Ranger. We're never going to get back together if Ranger keeps inviting himself into our relationship."

"Ranger isn't going to go away. Ranger's my boss and my best friend."

"You can't still believe that he's just a friend, can you?" he asked. "I know how he looks at you. There's only one thing a man like him wants."

"Some days I think you are just like him, only wanting one thing. More than that, this isn't about Ranger. This isn't about you and me getting back together. This is about me," I said.

"It's always about you, Stephanie. If you weren't so selfish, we'd have moved our relationship to the next level. You know that's what we both want."

Morelli looked like he was going to build a head of steam and explode all over me. I wasn't ready and didn't want to deal with the fallout.

The knock came at the door right before the explosion occurred. Vince had either been listening at the door or had an amazing sense of timing.

"Expecting someone? I thought Ranger was out of town."

"Ranger is out of town. And yes, I'm expecting someone."

I opened the door to Vince who had a bakery box in his hand and an overnight bag.

He leaned down and kissed me in front of Morelli. I could feel the lighter fluid between my legs beginning to build and wondered how long it would take before my panties actually caught fire.

"Joe, you know Vince, don't you?" I asked.

The men nodded at each other.

"We aren't done here, Stephanie. He needs to leave," Joe said.

"Actually, I have more reason to be here now than you do, Joe," Vince said quietly.

"No, I don't think you do. Stephanie and I were talking about our relationship."

"You mean the final ending of your relationship," he countered.

"Stephanie, what is he talking about?"

"Joe, I've had a hard time convincing both of us that we really aren't right together; not really right. We will always have some love between us, but we've never wanted the same things at the same time. It is time for us to quit lying to each other and to ourselves."

"How does he figure into this?" Joe asked moving his chair back from the table.

Joe's about the same height as Vince and in fairly good shape. Actually compared to most of the men in America, Joe's in great shape. Vince just happens to be in better shape and has faster reflexes.

The two men were now standing, facing each other and I was between them. It was an experience not entirely unfamiliar to me, except it was usually Joe and Ranger.

Vince put his right arm around my waist and brought me in front of his body

"Things have changed recently in her life," Vince said quietly holding up my left hand displaying the ring.

"This can't be real. No way. You've never agreed to marry me," Joe spluttered. "So there's no way you would have agreed to marry him. He needs to get the hell out of here."

"Actually Joe, we both initially assumed you and I would eventually get married. But the one time you did ask was only so you could get rid of your family. He stays."

Joe was clenching and unclenching his fists at his side.

Vince tensed sensing that Joe was about to blow his stack and moved me so that I was behind him.

"The rings are real, Morelli. I don't do anything without considering the consequences. She and I both know what the rings mean. I have never and will never show Stephanie any disrespect. Can you say the same thing?"

Joe said nothing and just glared. "If this is how you want it, Cupcake." He picked up his jacket and walked out the door.

Vince turned and looked at me and said, "This kind of reminds me of the line from the Reservoir Dogs. You know the one?" I shook my head. "Sure you do, it's when Mr. Blonde says, 'You kids shouldn't play so rough. Someone's gonna start cryin''."

I had tears in my eyes. I'd wanted to end things, needed them to be over. I also felt like I cheated by implying that I'd married Vince. Then I realized I hadn't said a word about marrying him, not technically, anyway. I also realized what Vince had said about the rings, that we both knew what the rings meant. The rings meant that I wouldn't go back to Joe and that I'd finally found a way for him to hear me that things were over.

"Wasn't there a better way for you to end it with him?" he asked quietly.

"I've tried and he's never listened. He wasn't cruel this time, but it was because I wasn't alone with him. Maybe now he'll move on," I said with a sigh.

"I know just what you need to cheer you up," he said walking away from me and to the bakery box on the kitchen table.

He opened the lid and all I could do was laugh. The cake said, "Happy Birthday! Merry Christmas! Happy Easter! Happy Valentine's Day …" I think every holiday possible was listed on the cake.

"We've missed celebrating a lot of holidays, this should catch us up. Besides, I don't know your birthday," he said.

"I don't know yours either."

We ate cake, laughed and told stories. He really wasn't as boring as he'd seemed; he was just shy and understated.

We talked until much of the evening was gone. He stood to leave and I wasn't ready to be alone, not yet anyway.

"Want to sleep with me again tonight?" I asked with a yawn.

"This is becoming a bad habit," he said looking at his overnight bag. "Besides, I could get used to it."

That wouldn't be such a bad thing. The man made an incredible full body pillow.

"Was the bag for show or do you actually have something in it?" I asked stretching a little.

"I've got toiletries and a pair of sweats," he said.

I picked up his bag and took it to the bathroom. "All the towels in the bathroom are clean. Why don't you get cleaned up and I'll meet you in the bedroom."

"Same rules as last night, Steph. Any funny business and we'll get married in the morning."

That was a chance I was willing to take.

A/N: Vince got under my skin, I couldn't resist. Hope you enjoyed! Alf