Chapter 5

"Girl, look at you. Man, Ranger is gonna be pissed that you're hurt. Good to see that you have some protection. That Lester is fine," Lula was rambling as she sat on the chair across from me. "I guess this means that you're out of the FTA business for a while. Damn, I was liking that break from filing. Think Vinnie will let me take more files now?"

I smiled at Lula. She was a force when properly motivated. "Why not? Ask Connie if you can take some of my files. See what you can do, but remember, no guns Lula. You don't need to get yourself arrested."

Lula laughed. "I could always call my man Tank as backup. Damn, we might actually catch someone too!"

Lula had been dating Tank for quite a while and the relationship showed promise. While Lula never said anything, I suspected that she secretly wanted Tank to commit. Tank seemed to be more outgoing since he started to date Lula. They actually enjoyed each others company, and for more than just sex.

Lester was sitting in the dining room, working on his laptop. Lula talked on as if he wasn't there. "Girl, I heard about Officer Hottie's latest date. He found himself a nurse. They were seen last night at Rossini's. How you feel about that?"

Zing. It kind of hurt, but I wasn't really ready to admit it. I could feel Lester's eyes on me now as well. "Joe's free to do what he wants. He's still my friend and I want him to be happy." Okay, I got through that pretty well.

"Yeah, well maybe," Lula offered, "but what with Batman away, it must have been pretty rough not having the cop to lean on. Good thing that Batman made sure you were covered. You can also thank my man, Tank, for that one."

We both knew that Ranger had tracking devices on me and whatever vehicle I was driving. I think he did it to make himself feel better, because I really wasn't too keen on having my movements followed. "Yeah, tell him I said thanks."

Lula and I continued to chat about girl type stuff for another half hour until she announced that she had to go to the office. "Okay, well give my best to Connie. Tell her I'll be in as soon as I can manage."

Once Lula left, I felt a bit vulnerable with Lester. I'm not sure why, but I didn't want to fact him.

"Honey, don't be that way," he stated flatly.

"What way?" Denial was my friend.

"You're sitting there trying to figure out some way of avoiding me. Don't do that," he explained.

How did he know? Why couldn't I master that blank face thing that the guys could pull off.

"Stephanie, you don't have to hide your feelings with me or any of the guys. We've watched you over the years and know that the breakup with Joe and then Ranger's leaving have taken a toll. I know they have," he added emphatically. "No one's asking you to pretend that it doesn't hurt."

I couldn't help it. I started to cry.

"Oh, baby, I wish I could do something to make it better, but this is part of the healing," he soothed my hair, whispering softly against it.

I tried to hold back the tears. "How did you get to be so philosophical? Doesn't quite fit the Rangeman image, does it?"

"I'm not total Rangeman. It's a job, a damn good one, but a job. Ranger and the guys are like family, I won't deny that. I would take a bullet for any of them, but I don't breathe the job. I'm not Ranger, Steph. I'm not trying to be."

I looked at him through my wet lashes. He wasn't Ranger. He wasn't Joe. He was different. It was that difference that felt so comforting right now. "I'm sorry if I've been comparing you to Ranger. I know you're not him. I don't want you to be. If you were Ranger, you wouldn't do relationships and right now, I want to try to find out what a real relationship is all about. Les, I want to date and talk and discover each other. To be honest, I'm probably not very good at any of it, but I would love to try."

"Then we try it out," he answered, giving me a hug.

That was six weeks ago. Today was the end of the cast day and I was nearly giddy with excitement.

"I want this damn thing off," I demanded of the doctor.

"Don't worry, it won't take long," he explained, taking out a saw.

I nearly freaked when I saw him start to remove the cast. I did freak when I realized how withered and hairy my leg was. The doctor explained that the leg would be weak and I needed to baby it for a while, but that the bone had healed exactly as it needed to. I was released from the doctor and met outside by a smiling Lester.

"Hey, Sweetheart, you're totally mobile now. Give it another week and we go dancing."

He was standing against his truck, sunglasses on, looking both outrageously sexy and seriously dangerous at the same time.

I couldn't help myself. I moved up against him, positioned my hands to either side of him and leaned in and upward for a kiss. He seemed only too happy to oblige.

"Tonight," I whispered against his mouth.

"Tonight," he promised.

Back at my apartment, I knew I had a lot to do to get ready for tonight. First was the long shower that I had missed so much. I scrubbed my leg carefully, shaved everything and lathered up every part of me. Showers are such luxuries. I completed the 'pamper me' session by fixing my hair in soft waves and dashing on a new spray cologne I had been wanting to try.

Standing in front of my closet, I was worried about what to wear. My leg wasn't exactly ready for short skirts, so I had to settle for a pair of low waist slacks that hugged my hips and did something for my butt. I topped it off with a halter shirt that was pretty daring, and covered that with a filmy cropped sweater. I checked myself out in the mirror. Since the outfit didn't allow for a bra and the pants were rather tight, I was forgoing underwear period. I flashed to a scene of Lester removing my clothing piece by piece. He would know that there was nothing underneath. I didn't care about sending him messages, I was past that point. I was flaunting that I wanted him. The past six weeks had been celibate torture. Lester and I worked through my issues with Ranger and Joe. We worked past his rep and his job. We worked ourselves right into becoming something that neither of us had experienced before. It was comfortable and exciting at the same time.

I heard the door and knew he had found a way in. I walked into the living room and the sight before me stole my breath away. Lester stood there holding roses and smiled approvingly at me. Somehow I managed to move my feet and found myself standing in front of him, accepting the flowers. His kiss was tender, yet definitely hot.

"You look fabulous, honey. Put those flowers in some water and let's get out of here while we still can," he said.

I smiled up at him. I knew the feeling. I was beyond ready to move to the next step of this relationship. I was ready to bust with anticipation. I moved into the kitchen, put the flowers in a vase that was waiting on the counter and turned back to run right into Lester's impressive chest. I couldn't help myself, I allowed my hands to wonder. It felt so right.

"Baby, please stop. I'm barely holding on to what little control I have," he whispered.

The thing is I didn't want to stop. "I'm not asking to hold onto it. Maybe I need you to lose control," I whispered back.

That was all it took. The next thing I knew, he had me up in his arms and was striding toward my bedroom. He stood me up next to the bed and just looked at me.

"Stephanie, is this what you want?" he asked quietly.

Words weren't enough here. I told his face between my hands, bent his head down and kissed him for all I was worth. Oh yeah, this was what I wanted. I wanted him. I wanted it all.

"Honey, you need to understand that I'm falling in love with you. If we do this, we do it right. We commit to each other. No one else from here on out. Is that what you want?"

"Yes, Les, that's what I want," I sighed. "I want you to make love to me, to hold me in the morning. To be there when I need you just as I want to be there when you need me." My voice broke. In the past couple of weeks, I was learning what relationships could be like. We talked on the phone everyday. He called me to say goodnight. He told me when he had a job that took him out-of-town. We dated, despite the cast. He went as far as to get me a wheelchair so that we could go to the mall. He actually took me to the mall. I was still not over that one.

Lester was starting on my clothes, so it was past time for me to start on his. Our hands made short work of them and soon we were nestled in the bed, as if it was were we always belonged. We kissed and explored and scrambled to get closer to each other. He made me crazy and by all appearances I did the same for him. When we finally came together, it was something that couldn't be described. It was pleasure and more. It was something so deep, so wonderful that I could just lie there wondering what in the world just happened.

"Honey, are you all right?" he asked, his face spoke of his concern.

I shifted to face him. In the waning light, he looked like a warrior of sorts, his hair wild and his eyes dark and slightly mysterious. I ran my hands over that hair, touched his eyebrows. "I'm more than all right. I just can't find the words."

He hugged me closer, as if he too was at a loss for words. "Yeah, scary huh?" He laughed.

I snuggled closer, "Les, would you be upset if I said that I was falling in love with you too?"

He didn't answer, but rolled up both around on the bed until he covered me like a blanket. "Baby, that's the best news I've heard all day."