Senior Prom 9

The snick of a bullet socketing home had me wide awake in a nanosecond.

My heart was a jackhammer, trying to pound its way out of my chest as I sprang up to a sitting position and peered with eyes narrowed against the sudden bright light. My glance ping-ponged back and forth from one side of the room to the other, not knowing where to look first.

To my left standing by the bedroom door, his face contorted with anger, Joe Morelli stood with his arms extended straight out in front of him. He held his service pistol in both hands, pointing it across the room with his index finger on the trigger. Faded jeans covered the finest ass in Trenton and a navy blue t-shirt clung to his long, lean torso. Dark brown hair in need of a trim tumbled over his forehead and curled down onto his neck. His knuckles were white as he gripped the gun hand over hand, and his expression was furious, frightening.

To my right Ranger stood in the corner of the room, naked and magnificent, pointing his gun right back at Joe. His long hair was loose, dark and silky, resting on his shoulders and encircling his face. The white wrapping of the bandage cut his body in half, sculpted brown chest above adorned with small dark nipples, the pathway to heaven below framed by soft hair and powerful thighs. In spite of the weight he'd lost his body was so beautiful, so perfect, that a sigh, soft as a whisper, melted out of my lungs.

Finally my sight settled on what I perceived to be the greater threat. "Put the gun down, Joe," I said, keeping my voice calm and soft and soothing.

His answer was low and harsh. "They'll never convict me in a million years. I walk in on a dangerous criminal in bed with my girlfriend, he pulls a gun on me, and I defend my life and my honor." His finger tightened on the trigger

"Joe, stop. It's not what it looks like." I rolled off the bed toward Ranger, throwing myself in front of him, thinking only of stopping Joe from killing the man I loved before I had a chance to tell him.

"Get out of the way, Babe," Ranger's deep voice came from behind me. His left arm snaked around my shoulders and he spun me behind him, never taking his eyes or his gun off Joe.

"Stop it, both of you," I shouted. "Lower your weapons… Right… now…"

I took Ranger's arm and moved it aside to step in front of him again, staring at Joe with every ounce of determination I could muster. "Enough, Joe. We need to talk."

The ferocity drifted from his face, leaving hurt and confusion as he lowered the gun to his side. My heart clenched. Joe was a good man and a good cop, and he didn't deserve what he found here tonight. To my right I felt as much as saw Ranger's gun hand go down, and the tension in my chest loosened.

"Okay, that's better," I said. "Let's go out in the living room and I'll make some coffee."

Joe's eyes drifted down my body. "Stephanie, for Christ's sake get some clothes on." He focused lower and the rage flew back across his face, raising his voice to a bellow. "Jesus fuckin' Christ, is that his name on your crotch?"

I looked down and realized my t-shirt was missing. I was wearing nothing but a pair of black knit bikini panties with "RangeMan" embroidered in hot pink low across the front.

Oh, crap.

I looked frantically around and spied the black t-shirt I'd worn to bed lying on the floor in front of me. I snatched it up and pulled it over my head before I realized it was one of Ranger's. The RangeMan logo, embroidered black-on-black, fell smack on top of my left nipple.

Joe's jaw clenched. "For God's sake, his name is all over you."

Thanks to some quick sleight-of-hand on my part, Joe had never seen the RangeMan-logoed underwear, even though they were in a laundry basket at his house for a while. I'd managed to shuffle them into my bag and get them home, and I kept them in my closet with my uniforms, ready in case I needed them for a RangeMan job. In my haste to get ready for bed, I just grabbed the first thing that came to hand.

Although if I were really honest with myself, I'd gone straight for Ranger's shirt tonight. I'd been wearing it to bed almost every night since he left a few weeks ago. And I guess having him in my bed motivated my subconscious to choose the panties, too.

Sadness and anger mingled in Joe's voice and on his face as he stared at the black t-shirt covering me. "In spite of all the disagreements we've had, Cupcake, all the timeouts and fights and breakups, it never, ever crossed my mind that you'd cheat on me."

Joe shook his head and turned away from me, shoulders slumped.

"Joe, wait," I said, hurrying after him as he walked out the bedroom door. "I never cheated on you, and this really isn't what it looks like." He stopped in the hall that led to the apartment door and I came up behind him and slipped my fingers through the ends of his hair to curve around his neck. "Please give me a chance to explain."

He turned to face me, his expression grim. "I'm not staying with him in your bed. Get rid of him and we'll talk."

His rough words were spears, piercing my heart. "I can't, Joe. He just got back from something bad, and he's hurt, and… He needs me tonight, and I need to be here for him."

Joe's head went down, every bone in his body drooping, and then he seemed to grab hold of himself, straightening up and meeting my eyes with penetrating brown. "Does he know you're in love with him?"

Now it was my turn to look away. I studied my bare feet. I really need a pedicure, I thought. I bent my wrists to look at my hands. Manicure, too. In the morning I'll make an appointment.

"Stephanie." Joe's voice jerked me back. "You wanted to talk, so talk. Have you told him you love him?"

I dragged my eyes back up. "Joe, I haven't been fair to you, and I'm sorry. Last year, after Ranger got…" I could hardly bear the memory, even now. "… got shot, I realized something."

God, this was hard. "I love you, Joe. I'll always love you. You've been a great friend and a good boyfriend. But…" I swallowed the lump in my throat and blurted it out. "I love Ranger, too. Somewhere along the line over the past three years I fell in love with him. I can't help it, couldn't stop it. It just happened, and now I'm stuck with it."

Joe's hard cop eyes softened. "I know something about love, Cupcake. You've gotta show it, reach out and get it. And when it's over you've gotta let it go. That's why I came here tonight, to let you go."

The tears that I was blinking back overflowed and ran down my cheeks. I dashed them away and said, "You came here in the middle of the night to break up with me? I don't believe you."

"It's only eleven thirty, Cupcake. I expected you to still be up." As I opened my mouth he continued, "And you can choose to believe it or not, but I'm telling you now, I can't handle the off and on, the fights, the uncertainty anymore. I need a commitment, and you're obviously not ready to commit." A small smile curved his lips. "Be committed, maybe…"

"I never meant to hurt you," I said, still swiping at the tears that were flowing fast down my face.

"I know. But it's over with us, so you're free to go to him, tell him…"

He was interrupted by a loud crash from the bedroom.

TBC