WARNING: More angst, but this is the last of it, I promise.

Senior Prom 16

I did remember eventually about the protein shake in the fridge, and I brought it to Ranger in bed, sitting next to him cross-legged and making sure he drank the whole thing. I watched that smooth, brown throat flex with each swallow, and the sight pierced me, drenched me with a combination of love and lust and longing, so mixed up together that I didn't really know what I was feeling. I wanted to lap him up like cream.

Something of my thoughts must have shown on my face, because Ranger observed me over the rim of the glass as he finished drinking, and his eyes darkened to obsidian. The t-shirt I was wearing was gone in the twinkling of an eye and his mouth was on me, all over me.

"Stop," I gasped through the deluge of sensation. "Wait." I pushed on his shoulders until he finally backed off, panting, his mouth open and his eyes opaque. "Lie down. You've done too much already tonight. It's my turn."

He lay back on the bed, putting his arms up and clasping his hands behind his head. His throat moved as he swallowed, drawing my eyes back to his neck. A good place to start, I thought, as my lips descended.

oOo

I woke up alone and naked in Ranger's huge bed, the sheet twisted and tangled around me. I was shocked to see by the bedside clock that it was ten-thirty already. But we hadn't collapsed into exhausted slumber until the wee hours of the morning, so I'd really only had about six hours of sleep.

I straightened the sheet out enough to wrap around me and hit the bathroom to take care of business first. After a quick brush of my teeth and a struggle getting my hair tamed down enough to put into a ponytail, I slipped on Ranger's plush terry robe and wandered out into the kitchen in search of him.

No sign of him.

I checked the whole apartment, living room, office, even the powder room. No Ranger.

There was a pot of coffee in an insulated carafe in the kitchen, so I poured a cup, fixing it with half-and-half and sugar the way I liked it. Next to the coffee was a plate of muffins, and I grabbed one. Ella must have brought in supplies when she found out I was here.

I settled on the couch with my coffee, muffin and phone, punching speed dial for Ranger's cell. He probably went down to the office to start on his paperwork, since he'd been away on the mission and then in the hospital.

No answer.

I left a message. "Hey, it's me. Give me a call."

Then I sat and thought, my mind working at double speed considering and rejecting scenarios. His phone battery died. No, never. Not Ranger, master planner of the universe. His battery would never dare.

He was in a meeting. I really doubted it. It was Saturday, and he just got out of the hospital.

He was driving in traffic and couldn't take his hand off the wheel to answer. Not likely. And he wasn't supposed to drive for a week, until he saw the doctor again. Not that that would stop Ranger if he wanted to drive, but…

He'd hurt himself again and they had to take him back to the hospital. I squelched my instant panic. No, not that. They would have come and gotten me. Tank would have called. Somebody would have let me know.

Then my conjectures turned darker. He'd realized having sex with me was a big mistake and he had to get away so I wouldn't hang all over him. He hated that I'd forced him to reveal his hurt to me, and he never wanted to face me again.

Shit, just call someone, I told myself, pushing down the pain that tried to well up in my heart. There's no point in getting all upset over things that probably didn't happen. I dialed Tank.

Tank's deep voice came on the line. "Bombshell, you must have read my mind. I was just about to call you."

My heart stuttered. "What? Is there something wrong with Ranger? Where is he?"

"He's in the gym, and you'd better come down. Now."

I dropped my coffee and muffin onto the breakfast bar and raced into the bedroom to throw on the RangeMan uniform I'd worn home from the hospital yesterday. In two minutes flat I was running down the stairs to the gym, my handbag banging against my side and my key fob in my hand.

Bursting through the gym door, I came to an abrupt halt as Tank caught me by the waist, swinging me around to dispel my forward momentum and then setting me on my feet. My eyes sought and found Ranger, in the corner of the room pounding on the heavy bag. He was wearing nothing but a pair of long basketball type shorts. His hands and feet were wrapped in tape and an Ace bandage encircled his waist.

Bobby was standing to one side, his mouth moving as he talked to Ranger, but Ranger seemed to be ignoring him, his entire concentration focused on the big bag. Right, right, left… Pause… Left, right, left, kick… Pause… Kick, right, right… And on and on in random patterns.

Ranger appeared to be exhausted, and as he swayed between punching patterns I saw the red stain seeping through the bandage.

"Bobby's trying to get him to stop," Tank said, keeping his voice soft. "Let's give him a minute."

"No," I said, already starting across the room. "Let me talk to him."

As I approached Ranger paused and rotated his shoulders, as if shrugging off an insect. I saw the shiver work its way up his spine. He knew I was behind him.

His voice came, hoarse and deadly. "Go home, Stephanie. This is no place for you."

I circled around him until I could see his face, making my voice gentle and soothing, "Ranger, you've done enough for this morning. It's time to go back upstairs."

His response was to resume punching the bag. Left, left, right, kick, kick… Pause…

"Ranger," I said again.

"Didn't you hear me?" he gritted out. "Go away. I don't want you here."

Tank and Lester came up beside me, and Bobby stood on Ranger's opposite side. In spite of the four of us, his best friends surrounding him, Ranger was the epitome of isolation, nothing around him having any influence on him, all his attention fixed on that bag. Kick, right, left… Pause… Left, left, kick, right…

"Look at me and tell me to leave, and I will," I said.

Ranger stopped punching and turned his head toward me, his eyes bottomless wells of emptiness. He looked right through me. "Go home, Stephanie."

I reached out a hand toward him, my eyes filled with tears, my voice choked with them. "Ranger. Please."

His expression remained flat, his eyes empty voids as he turned and took a step toward me. "Go," he said in that flat voice. "Go home. Take the Turbo if you need a car. Just get out of here."

He looked at me, but I didn't think he really saw me. He started walking toward me, his fists clenched. If his body matched his eyes, he'd probably move right through me. I stepped aside and Tank and Lester closed protective ranks around me.

I stood there in the gym and watched Ranger walk away, out the door, and then my knees gave way and I would have fallen if Tank hadn't grabbed me. I buried my face in his chest and sobbed, heartbroken.

Tank wrapped me up in his arms and let me cry, murmuring, "It's okay, Bombshell. He didn't mean it. It'll be okay," until my sobs quieted.

"Will you take me home, Tank?" I asked, still tearful.

"Of course."

oOo

I sat in the front seat of Tank's Hummer. The sobs had stopped, but tears still poured down my cheeks, dripping onto the front of my black RangeMan shirt. Maybe this was the last time I would ever wear Ranger's name on my body.

As we pulled into my parking lot, I looked at my window and thought about Ranger's blood on the floor of my bedroom. I couldn't go up there. "I've changed my mind," I said to Tank. "I want to go to Mary Lou's."

When we were halfway there my cell phone rang out the Batman theme. I turned it off.

TBC