All recognizable characters belong to Janet Evanovich, I'm just playing.
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Chapter 9: Junior
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I pause outside the breakroom. I really, really don't want to go in, but I'm on monitors in thirty and I need lunch. Everyone is in there, including Steph. I know she's going to ask about Belinda, the girl whose phone number she gave me earlier in the week. It's been an interesting couple of days.
"Why the fuck are you just standing in the hallway?" Tank's booming voice startles me, and he knows it. A small uptick up his lip is the only indication of it, though.
My mumbled, "Was gonna get some lunch" is met with a raised eyebrow. We're both quiet for a minute before he asks, "Do you see any food lined up out here?"
I shake my head no and his lips quirk up a little higher into an almost smile. "So, you're hiding from Plum?"
"No!"
Tank crosses his arms over his football field of a chest, and I feel my irritation rising. "What? It's not like you had to do an after-action review!"
"Because I didn't let her set me up on a date."
I snort. "Keep telling yourself that." Everyone knows Steph set him up, even if he doesn't want to admit it. Can't deny the end result, with Tank happy with his lady author that he refuses to introduce us to. Overall, the results of Steph's attempts are a scattershot and I'm not sure where I fall on that target. Zero's first date was definitely a crotch-shot. Through the heart for Tank. Not sure how to classify Binkie or Zero's second match, which were indirect hits. Shoulder shots, maybe? I guess mine could be more of a winged the ear situation. Huh. Would a head shot be good or bad in this situation?
"Are you ever going to move your ass?" Tank startles me. Again.
"Seriously. Stop being a pussy and fucking move. I have shit to do."
"Jesus, Tank. You kiss your cats with that mouth?"
This gets me an actual smirk. "Got better things to kiss. Unlike you, hiding out here in the hallway because your date was a bust."
"It wasn't a bust, per se—"
One of his meaty paws reaches behind me to grab a handful of shirt and force marches me into the breakroom. Everyone turns to watch us bustle through the door. As soon as we're in, Tank lets go and honest to God saunters over to the food Ella set out like he's strolling in the park. Fucker.
"Junior! I was hoping to catch you today!"
Shit! "Hey, Bomber. Heard you guys snagged DeNato. Nice."
Steph smiles wide and she and Binkie bump fists. Alphonso DeNato was a piece of shit con man that went after old folk and left an eighty-year-old woman with an empty bank account and broken bones when she blew his scam. A dumbass judge granted bail, Steph's scum-sucking cousin wrote the bond and to the surprise of absolutely no one, he jumped. But Steph found him. Then she and Binkie made a plan. They snagged a few more guys to bring him in and netted a nice payday for Rangeman.
"Thanks. So, how was it?"
"It?" She gives me the stink eye. I knew playing dumb wouldn't work.
"Belinda. Did you guys go out?"
"Yeah."
I leave it at that, and she starts tapping her foot. The guys' eyes are pingponging back and forth between us. Steph finally huffs out a breath. "I'm guessing it didn't work out."
"Nope."
Zero laughs. "Dude. You gotta give more than that. The rest of us got our shit laid bare, so just rip it off like a bandaid."
An empty water bottle hits me square in the chest and Hal smirks. "Yeah, spill the details, Junior."
Ok, I probably deserved that. Steph looks at me with a little more sympathy. "So, what went wrong?"
I scratch my neck just under the collar, wishing for any exit from this conversation. Hell, I'd take a trip to the mats if it would get me out of having to explain the issue. Stephanie raises her eyebrow. Well, both of them. She still hasn't mastered the one eyebrow thing, and it's pretty cute when she tries. Crossing my arms, I blow out a breath, knowing the metric ton of shit I'm about to land under. "Sex."
Steph makes a sad face. "Like, you couldn't do it?"
"What? No!" Jesus, did my voice just break? I hear a few snickers behind me and flip a finger to whoever's back there.
"We had three dates—"
"I just gave you her number on Tuesday."
"Yeah."
"It's Friday." Bomber says this like I don't know that.
"We went out Tuesday night. It was fine and we hit it off pretty well."
She makes another face. "Ok, not seeing the problem."
I shift back and forth. "We went back to her place. Because we hit if off pretty well." And we did. There was chemistry between us, or I'd like to think there was, and the girl definitely didn't mind getting her freak on. That's not the problem or the issue.
Lester pumps his fist. "Yes! I chose hook-up for the bet."
Steph rolls her eyes, and her hand, indicating for me to go on. I blow out a breath. "We agreed to go out again on Wednesday. Except we didn't go back to her place."
"So, no sex on Wednesday."
"Well…"
She's quiet for a moment. "Ok, sex, but not at her place and you didn't bring her here. Do I want to know where?"
I rub behind my ear and look at the floor. "In a park."
"Like, where kids play?"
"Yeah."
She blinks a few times. "Ok. And last night?"
"In my car." Steph shrugs her shoulders and raises her eyebrows, waiting for more of an explanation. I look down at my feet and hook a hand around the back of my neck. I was hoping to leave it at that. With a sigh, I look up and tack on, "A block from the police station."
I wasn't expecting her to blush bright red or sneak a look over at Ranger. Well, hell. There's a story there. Lester sees it, too, and opens his yap to say something that's surely inappropriate, but he catches Tank shaking his head in the negative. Based on the look Ranger's shooting back at Bomber, Tank might have just saved Santos' life. Dude has no filter, and the boss surely wouldn't have appreciated anything that came out of his mouth right now. Ranger's normally impassive face breaks and he graces Steph with a small smile. Grabbing a sandwich and a water, he gently bumps against her on his way out the door, causing her to blush and drop her eyes to the floor. Yeah, there's a story there.
Everyone's quiet for a minute until Cal looks at me, asking, "You don't want to see her anymore because…"
I finally break. "Jesus! She's an exhibitionist, ok! I'm not comfortable with it and I don't want to get arrested."
No one says anything, but I swear they're all laughing at me. Finally, Lester asks, "Since Steph won't introduce me to anyone, can I have her number?"
Tank reaches over and smacks him across the back of his head. Guess he's done shielding Lester.
"Wait." Vince looks at Steph. "What did you say she did for a living?"
Steph sighs. "Preschool teacher."
Lester laughs. "Man, it's always the quiet ones."
My shoulders drop. "She was great. I liked her, I'm just not into putting my dick on display and risking getting fired over it."
Lester makes a face. "Yeah, that'd be a pisser."
Steph sighs. "Can't say I saw that coming. She was my niece's favorite teacher and now I know more about her than I ever wanted to."
Lester punches Junior in the shoulder. "Man, isn't that the dream, though? Lady in the streets but a freak in the sheets?"
Hal shakes his head. "Were you not listening, Santos? Freak in the streets and skipping the sheets."
Asshole that he is, Lester throws his head back and laughs. "Damn. Halibut made a joke!"
Now Hal's the one blushing, but it's accompanied by a small smirk. I don't know what his girl's been feeding him, but he's been more confident and talkative since he introduced us. Good for him. Of course, then the asshole has to add, "To be fair, no one wants to see Junior's junk on display any more than he wants to show it off so it's probably good he's got it back under wraps before it had to do the walk of shame."
"Fame, Olsen. It would have been a Walk of Fame."
Steph scrunches her nose. "Not if you were coming out of the police station, busted for public indecency."
Everyone grumbles their agreement and I wonder why the fuck we're still talking about this. Steph looks back at me. "So, no fourth date?"
I shake my head. I liked Belinda, just not enough to risk my job. Steph comes closer and drops a hand on my arm. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I had a good time."
"Yeah, Beautiful. It's not your fault that Junior's junior is shy."
"Fuck off, Santos."
Tank grabs his sandwich and a granola bar. "Everyone not in here to eat, get back to work!"
Guys start shuffling out after him, with a few giving me a smirk or a snicker. Assholes, the whole lot of them. As they head toward the door, Santos throws his arm around Steph's shoulders and asks, "So, Beautiful. Sexy times near the police station, huh?"
She doesn't even have the chance to answer before we hear, "Santos! Mats!" from Ranger's office. Idiot never learns. The rest of us will think about it but no one else will say a word. Steph just rolls her eyes at Santos' shit! busted! face before heading to her office, no doubt lining up a date for the next victim in line. Hopefully she'll hit up a few of the other guys before she swings back around to me.
