The reviews have all been so positive that I decided to post this chapter a little early. I hope you enjoy!

Usual disclaimer goes here...

9. Let the Summer Begin

Carlos and I talked about a few odds and ends for the next little while, but we were interrupted when his phone rang. He glanced down at the caller id and let it go to voice mail. He looked in my direction for a moment and said, "Lucida."

"I can understand why you let it go to voice mail. If she was my ex-girlfriend, I'd not want to talk to her either."

Carlos laughed and said, "If she was your ex-girlfriend, I'd be begging you to take her back and let me join you."

"Yeah right Carlos, if I could get a woman as hot as that, why would I need you?"

We laughed again, but stopped when the phone rang again. This time, Carlos answered it. He had a short monosyllabic conversation that ended with "Sorry man, can't this weekend, I'm in Newark. Maybe I'll come out with you guys next weekend. Yeah, catch you later."

After Carlos hung up his phone, he looked over at me and said, "That was Bobby. He was begging me to join him, Lester and Tom on their quest for the perfect one night stand tomorrow night. Bobby wanted me to join them. Unfortunately for him, I'm going to be in Newark."

"That is unfortunate indeed. The ladies will be at a loss and they will have to settle for Lester's sad moves. Don't those guys have summer jobs?"

"Yeah, Bobby is working at free clinic where he is getting credits towards med school. Lester is working on some ad campaign for his mother here in New Brunswick, and Tom is working for a chain of gyms here in New Brunswick and Newark. He's a certified personal trainer."

"Wow, those all sound really good. What about you? What are you doing this summer?"

"Actually, I'm working 2 days a week for my father. I'm also working at the same gym as Tom. I have a black belt in two different martial arts, so I teach classes at two gyms in Newark."

"That's pretty impressive Carlos. What kinds of classes do you teach?"

"One of the gyms we work for has a children's program, so I teach kids the basics of Karate. The other gym has classes for more mature people. I teach a self defence class in the evenings."

"Too bad I live so far away. I could probably use something like that."

"It probably wouldn't hurt, especially if Ryan gets out on bail and comes back to New Brunswick or goes to Newark in search of you."

I shuddered at the thought of Ryan coming after me, but I refused to let it get to me. We were now only a few blocks from Molly's so I had to give Carlos directions. He'd only walked there the other night, so he wasn't sure how to get there.

When Carlos pulled into the visitor parking lot, he smiled and said, "I think it might be a good idea for you to call Molly before coming up. I think she might have company."

I looked at him with narrowed eyes and asked, "How could you possibly know that?"

"Do you see that car there Babe? That's Jimmy's car."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Smart ass. And what's with calling me Babe?"

"I used it at the diner, and it sort of just slips out now and again. I can stop if it bothers you."

"It's not that it bothers me, it's just that Babe is the sort of an endearment reserved for somebody very important to you. I'm not sure I really qualify."

"You're wrong there Stephanie. You are important to me. I know we barely know each other, but I'm glad we're friends."

"Just don't use it in front of my friends, your family, or the guys. I'm sure they'll get the wrong idea."

"That is something I can live with. Just as long as you still let me call you Babe in front our waitress at the diner. I'll need your protection now more than ever."

"I think that is something that I can live with as well. I'm going to give Molly a ring to see if it's safe for me to come up."

I browsed through my contacts and selected Molly. She answered her phone rather breathlessly a few moments later. We had a shot conversation and I hung up. I turned to look at Carlos, feeling a little apprehensive.

"Molly reminded me that I don't have any clothes here. Would you have time to drop me off at my apartment so I can collect a few things? It's not far, so I can walk back when I'm done. I'm sure that will give her and Jimmy enough time to compose themselves."

Carlos chuckled and said, "I have time to drop you off, but I won't let you walk back alone. It's late at night, we still don't know who broke into your apartment, and you have a pending restraining order on Ryan and his father. It's probably best if I go with you and then bring you back here before I head back to Newark. It won't take that long."

An evil grin erupted on my face and I said, "You haven't seen what I will need to bring back with me. It could take hours if I can't make quick decisions."

Carlos laughed and said, "I have all night if need be. I don't start work until Monday morning and my parents don't really have a curfew for me."

"Don't worry. I doubt it will take very long. I only need clothes for one night and a day. I'm not going anywhere tomorrow other than the police station, so I don't need to take too many of my hair taming products or makeup."

"OK Babe, tell me where to go, and I'll take you there," Carlos said as he grinned at me.

I laughed at his cheesy line and gave him directions to my apartment building. It only took us about 5 minutes, but we took our time getting out of the car and into the building. We even waited patiently for the elevator to come back down. It was currently on the 12th floor, and not moving.

Carlos watched the elevator as the numbers slowly descended. He turned to me and said, "I hope Jimmy appreciates all I'm doing for him tonight." He grinned and winked at me as he returned his gaze to the elevator numbers. When the elevator reached floor 2, it stayed there for what seemed like 5 minutes. Normally, I'd have gotten annoyed and stormed up the stairs, but for some reason I was in no hurry tonight.

When the elevator finally reached the lobby, the doors slowly opened to reveal an empty car. Carlos and I both looked at each other. Carlos raised his one eyebrow and poked his head into the elevator. "That's strange," he said. "The elevator is empty."

"You never know with this building. Some kid probably pressed a bunch of numbers before he got out so that it would stop at every floor on the way back down."

We stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for my floor. It wasn't until I reached the door to my apartment that I realised my mistake. The colour drained from my face and I turned to face Carlos. He saw the change in my demeanour and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I forgot that there is an extra lock on the door. I can't get into my apartment without the key from Detective Carter. I completely forgot. I'm going to call Molly back and tell her the situation."

I called Molly and true to my expectations, she instructed that I come straight there. She wasn't aware of the extra lock or she'd never have suggested that I go back. She insisted that I invite Carlos up as well, so we headed back down to the car.

"I'm really sorry for this little wild goose chase Carlos. I should have remembered about the lock when Molly suggested it. I was just so worried about interrupting Molly that I never actually told her we were downstairs. I just told her that we were nearing her apartment. Now I feel so silly."

"Don't worry about it Steph." He put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a sideways hug as we stood side by side in the descending elevator.

When we arrived at Molly's apartment 10 minutes later, Molly seemed fine with the interruption. "Hey Steph, come on in Carlos. I am sorry you wasted your time at your apartment."

I smiled at Molly, who blushed when I glanced at Jimmy. "That's OK Molly, I should have remembered myself. I felt a little silly standing in front of my own door without the means to get inside."

Carlos walked over to Jimmy and started a quiet conversation while I filled Molly in on my day. She was really excited that I got the job. She did comment about the commute and how much of a pain it was going to be.

"It will be hard at first, but then I'll get used to it. The days are longer now, so I wake up pretty early. That will make the mornings tolerable. I'm not sure I'd want to sit on several buses in the dark at that time of the day.

"Maybe I'll even be able to buy a cheap used car. That would make the commute much easier."

"You're probably right. It's not like it's that far away, only about 30 miles. You'll have some long days, but the experience will be more than worth it. Even if the commute is horrible, it will still be better than working at a bakery and living at home."

"That is true, and I can save almost all of my salary because I have already paid the rent on my apartment for the next three months."

Molly looked over at the guys and asked them if they wanted something to drink. Carlos said, "Thanks Molly, but I need to be getting back before it gets too late."

Carlos moved toward the door after saying something to Timmy that I didn't really understand. As he walked past me, he squeezed my shoulder and said, "Get some rest this weekend. I have a feeling that you'll be put through your paces come Monday. I'll talk to you later."

I followed him to the door and said "Thanks for everything Carlos. I'll probably see you on Monday or Tuesday."

"You'll definitely see me on Monday. I have to go through the same induction as you do. This is the first year I have worked for my father, and even though it is only part-time, I still have to go through all the necessary hoops."

He turned to walk away, but before I could close the door, he turned and kissed me on the cheek. He smiled, I blushed, and he was gone.

When I went back into the apartment, Molly and Jimmy were standing beside the small table in Molly's tiny kitchen. They were talking quietly, so I decided to call it a night, but not disturb them. I realised I was truly exhausted, so I went into the bathroom to wash up and brush my teeth. When I came back out 5 minutes later, Jimmy and Molly were standing at the door. He looked up and said, "Goodnight Steph."

I waved at Jimmy and left them to finish their goodbyes. I went into the room I had slept in the night before and put on a pair of pyjamas that Molly had lent me. When I came back out to get a drink of water, Molly was sitting on the sofa with a dreamy look on her face.

I decided the water could wait and said, "Come on Molly, spill all the gory details."

Molly focused on me and then blushed. "I hate how it we met, but I really like Jimmy. He's such a gentleman. Most other guys would have pressured for sex after a night out, but Jimmy didn't even bring it up. He is nice, funny, and really quite smart. We had a really nice time tonight. When he left, he kissed me very gently and told me that it was refreshing to go on a date with a girl who didn't spend the whole evening self obsessing about her calorie intake or whether enough people were noticing her."

I smiled and said, "Jimmy seems like a nice guy. Carlos mentioned that the guys we met the other night are split down the middle. Lester, Tom and Bobby quite like the one night stand mentality. Jimmy, Vince and Carlos on the other hand, are more traditional. They may not be ready for long term commitments as of yet, but they tend to be a little more old fashioned."

Molly grinned at that and smiled. "Jimmy said almost the exact same thing this evening."

I yawned and stood to get a glass of water from the kitchen. Molly stood and followed me and said, "What about you and Carlos? He seems to be around a lot lately?"

I choked on the water I was drinking, and when I was able to breathe again, I said, "Carlos and I are friends Molly. I think he feels guilty because of the role he played in ruining my relationship. I'm definitely glad that he told me about Ryan cheating."

I walked back to the sofa because I figured that answer wouldn't satisfy Molly. When I sat, I continued to speak. "Looking back from my current perspective, I can now admit to myself that I wasn't happy with Ryan. I never loved him, and parts of me wonder if I ever even liked him. My mother loved him, and I think that is the only reason I stuck with him for so long."

"Tell me about your job. What was Carlos' father like?"

"The meeting I had with Mr Manoso was very short. He asked me some typical questions and then offered me a job. When I asked him why, he said that he liked how I stood up for myself and my positive attitude. At that point in time, he didn't know anything about Ryan or the break-in, so I wasn't sure what he meant.

"I felt obligated to tell him that it was my boyfriend that Lucida cheated with, so if he wanted to blame me, he could. He surprised me by admitting that he didn't really think Lucida was right for Carlos, but he didn't go into details. After the interview, we had coffee and cake in the office kitchen and then Ricardo, that's Carlos' father, invited me to their house for dinner.

"Wow. He must really have liked you. Is he as hot as Carlos?"

"Very much so, just a little older, but that kind of makes him even sexier. He was a really nice man, who treated me more like a friend than an employee. He kept saying that he was looking forward to me working with him, not for him. Carlos' mother is also very beautiful. It is clear where he gets his good looks. He has his father's stature and face, but he has his mother's eyes and smile."

Molly grinned and said "You seem to know a lot about this. Are you sure there's nothing between you two?"

"We just got out of complicated and unpleasant relationships. I am not ready or interested in jumping straight into another one. I'm sure Carlos feels the same way. We are friends, we get along well, but that's where we'll stay. He may not even come back here for school next year, so there's little point in me getting invested in a relationship that is doomed to fail."

Molly nodded and said, "I understand your reluctance. Just don't let other people's opinions or a sense of protocol get in the way of your happiness."

"I was just offered a really exciting new job. For now, that is making me happy. I'm going to go to bed. I have to go by the police office at 8:30 in the morning so I should get some sleep."

"Good night Steph. I'll be up when you leave. I can join you if you'd like. Just let me know."

"Thanks Molly, I'll see you in the morning."

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