All recognizable characters belong to Janet Evanovich, I'm just playing.

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Chapter 17 Kong

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"Hey, Kong, glad I caught you."

I cast a glance over at Cal Wilson, the only other person in the breakroom with me. I've been at the Trenton office long enough to know that Stephanie Plum looking for you is not usually a harbinger of good things to come. Which is weird, because she's nice, and funny. And totally off-limits as the woman my boss' boss is willing to go to war over. Or so I've heard. Cal returns the greeting she tosses his way before glancing back down at his phone and smiling. He's been doing that a lot lately and it does weird things to the tattoo on his forehead. I swear the skull is smiling. And maybe blushing. Like I said, weird. I turn my attention back to Stephanie, taking in her smile as she tucks her hands in her cargo pockets and rocks back and forth, heel to toe. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen the woman sit still.

Even as she smiles at me, I notice she looks a little nervous. "Everything alright?"

I really hope the answer is yes. I've heard stories, and while I assume most of them are embellished to the point of being laughable, most stories start with a kernel of truth. And being I've heard stories involving giraffes, alligators, giant piles of dog shit, exploding beavers, a broken Tank, and Ramon dressing up as a hot dog, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm hoping we're not about to hit what's been called The Plum Zone.

"Things are fine. I was kind of trying to figure out how to ease into this, so I'm just going to ask. Are you interested in going out with someone?"

Translation: am I over Sherry? Although I don't think Stephanie ever knew her name, which ended up being fortuitous. If asked, I'd normally say yes. But over the weekend I saw my ex with some chump, chatting it up and laughing. After the gut punch feeling subsided, part of me wanted to march over and let the guy know what he was in for. But I didn't, because we were no longer together, and her cheating ass wasn't my circus anymore. After seeing her out with Cal, she and I got into it while I was packing up my shit. Turns out she just wanted "to get some crazy out" before we settled down and me moving to Trenton before she was ready put a damper on her plans. Which also translated to, I wasn't enough for her, and might not be even after the ring was on her finger. Both good things to know before I spent a whack ton of money on a ring. Still, I left the restaurant without ordering the takeout I intended and spent the next couple days being a moody bitch. So, checking notes, over Sherry but not what she did.

Stephanie takes a step back and blinks a few times. "Yikes. I don't know what just went through your head, but it was just an idea. I didn't mean to upset you."

See? Nice. "No worries. I guess I just hadn't thought about it."

And I haven't. Hopping back on that crazy train hasn't held much appeal. And that makes me mad, because obviously over a year together meant nothing to Sherry, and here I was moping over someone who doesn't deserve another thought from me. I lean against the counter, snagging a water bottle. "I don't' suppose you happened to find the perfect woman for me?"

With that, Stephanie's smile is back. "Maybe? She's pretty awesome, and I just thought it was kind of perfect, her name being Ann and everything."

My confusion must have shown on my face, and she squints a little. "You know, like Ann Darrow? From the movie?" Stephanie scrunches up her face. "You're killing me. Ann, the heroine from King Kong?"

Now it's my turn to make a face. "Never seen it."

"Seriously?"

I shake my head in the negative, wondering why it's such a big deal and thank fuck it doesn't take her long to enlighten me. "Your nickname is Kong, but you've never seen King Kong?"

I shrug. "Last name's Konger."

"Oh."

I laugh a little. "You were expecting a story, right?"

She laughs a little, too. "Well, yeah. Especially after Woody."

The little devil on my shoulder makes me ask, "Woody, huh. Do tell."

"Umm…" Stephanie glances around, for what, I'm not sure. She finally looks at me. "Long story and Ram tells it better. Anyway, I thought maybe you beat your fists on your chest like King Kong or something."

"If someone gave me a King Kong nickname for anything other than my last name, it wouldn't be for beating on my chest."

You ever have one of those moments where you wonder what the fuck you were thinking and if some sort of alien took over your brain? Yeah. That's the only way to explain what popped out of my mouth. To the boss' woman, who is currently turning three shades of red even as she's trying not to laugh. Unfortunately, I hear Wilson cracking up behind me, complete with tabletop slapping as he tries to get himself under control. Fuck. Me.

Stephanie finally gives up and laughs, complete with a cute little snort at the end. Proving she's as nice as everyone says she is, she simply says, "Good to know. Anyway, Ann. I first met her a couple years ago when her little brother got into trouble; he was one of my what the hell is running through his brain? frequent fliers. Mostly piddly stuff and he finally turned himself around, so I haven't seen her in a while. I ran into her a couple days ago and we got to talking. She's single, thinking it might be nice to spend some time with a nice guy, but not interested in dating apps and crap. And I thought of you."

"You thought of crap and thought of me? I'm touched."

She narrows her eyes at me until I break and laugh. "Just yanking your chain, ma'am."

Stephanie shakes her head. "Good to see you're fitting in here. I hope that means you're staying?"

I like that she doesn't completely bring up the fact that I moved here for Sherry. Behind me Cal stops laughing. I sacked out on his couch for almost a month before I was able to find a place. It was awkward as fuck the first few days, but he turned out to be a pretty cool dude. As hoped, he kept the details to himself, and I guess you could say we're friends. He included me in outings with the guys, until Stephanie introduced him to Evelyn and now he basically hightails it out the door at the end of shift. Dude is totally gone for her.

But yeah, I seriously thought about transferring back to Boston. I mostly asked for the spot at the Trenton branch to be closer to the woman that I thought I'd marry, but I also wanted out of Boston because there was a jagoff that I just didn't want to deal with. It was more than us being oil and water. The guy was ass just to be an ass and did his best push buttons. Knocking him the fuck out was not an option and taking it up the chain would have put me on management's radar, so it didn't hurt my feelings to take the transfer when it was offered. Things went to shit with Sherry, but I still wasn't sure I wanted to go back and deal with that, let alone burn a bridge by transferring again so soon. So yeah. Looks like I'm staying in the armpit of Jersey for a while.

"Kong?"

"Sorry, but yeah, you're stuck with me."

Stephanie tilts her head. "It's not exactly a hardship having you on the team. Do you not like it here?"

Shit. "I like it here, just fine. Ma'am."

"Steph or Stephanie."

I dip my head in acknowledgement. The woman has serious issues with being called ma'am. She aims another smile my way. "Good. So, Ann? Are you interested?"

I shrug. "Tell me about her." Yeah, no way am I going into this blind.

Stepanie sighs and makes a face but doesn't seem upset. "Thirty-five, about my height, but blond hair and green eyes. Loves Indian food, scary movies, and the Red Sox."

My ears perk up at the mention of my Sox. "What's she do?"

Her lips perse, and her eyes roll up, like she's looking for an answer.

"You don't know?"

"Of course, I know! I just can't think of the word right now. I hate when that happens! It's on the tip of my tongue." She growls in frustration before blowing out a sigh. "She draws blood. I used to tease her about being a vampire."

"Phlebotomist."

"Yeah. That. Do you want her number?"

I debate for a moment. I'm not sure I want to date again yet but being stuck because of something Sherry did is sticking in my craw. It's most likely just a date and while the guys have had some doozies of shit shows, could it really be worse than walking in on my girl on a date with one of my co-workers? Probably not. Unless I'm the asshole poaching. Shit. "And you're sure she's single?"

That earns me a side-eye/head tilt combo and I can hear Cal set his phone down on the table behind me. Stephanie blinks a few times before shrugging. "She caught her boyfriend in bed with her cousin almost a year ago and hasn't wanted to have anything to do with a Y chromosome since."

Well, that answers the "could it be worse" question.

"She's tired of sitting at home, feeling bad for something they did. Not her. She asked if I knew any hot, funny, not-assholes."

A small smile threatens to bust loose. "And you thought of me? I guess a hot, funny, not-asshole is better than crap."

Stephanie rolls her eyes. "Quit while your ahead, Konger. Yes or no."

What the hell, why not. "Yes."

She smiles at me. "Cool. Here's her number."

A yellow sticky note is extended, and I hesitate only a moment before reaching for it. Stephanie gives me one more smile before bouncing out of the room. Actual bouncing. Where does she get the energy and where can I buy some?

"Ready to head out on patrol?"

Cal speaking from directly behind me scares the shit out of me. How the hell does he move so quietly? He's not exactly small.

"Yeah. Let's go."

We do the rounds in a not-so nice area of Trenton. During a stop at a traffic light, I pull the sticky note out and study it. Ann. I can't decide if both of us coming in with baggage is a good idea or not. And then paranoia sets in. Does Steph know? Is that why she thought Ann would be a good fit? Kindred spirits or some such shit?

"You gonna call, or not?" I look over at him and take in his serious face. "I know it's not my place to say but let Sherry go. She didn't deserve you."

I'd make a smartass comment, but his words mean something to me. "I'll call."

"No time like the present." With that, he puts the truck in park, and I realize we've pulled into a Wawa and he has his door cracked. "Want anything?"

Looking at my unexpected friend, I say. "Yeah. Whatever orange flavored energy drink they have and a Snickers bar."

My phone is out as I watch him walk in the convenience store. The call is picked up sooner than I expect, and I stutter out, "Ann? It's Kong. Eric Konger. Steph gave me your number."

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I'm nervous as shit as I look around the plaza. Ann and I talked on the phone for a couple minutes before agreeing to another phone call later that night when I was off shift, but the scene was set and what I learned gave me a good feeling. Our second phone call was better than the first, and we talked for a couple hours. Work commitments kept us from making a date for a few days, but here we are. Food trucks congregate near a park, and it seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I wonder if I shouldn't have thought bigger. The bouquet of purple and white flowers gets transferred from one hand to the other.

With one eye on a group of teenagers horsing around, I do another quick scan. My attention is back on the teenagers when I hear, "Eric?"

Turning, I spy my date looking as nervous as I feel. "Hi. Ann. Here, these are for you."

I thrust the flowers at her, awkwardly leaning in for a quick peck on the cheek. Her blush is sweet, and I'm gratified that she seems to like the flowers. While she's distracted, I do a quick scan. She's as Steph described, and I'm a little curious as to how Steph described me.

We make small talk for a few minutes before I ask if she has a preference for dinner. I like that she doesn't do the whatever you want is fine thing and steers us toward an Aussie meat pie truck, stating that she'd heard good things about them. Works for me. We get our food, a steak and stout for me and a rosemary and lamb for her. Sitting at one of the tables scattered around, I'm struck by how easy she is to talk to. I expected there to be more awkwardness, with it being a first date and all.

The food is delicious, and Ann suggests a walk around the area when we're done. As we walk a circuit, she asks, "So, what's your story?"

"Not much to tell. Joined the Army out of high school since we couldn't afford college. Landed in Boston for a few years, transferred to Trenton a couple months ago for a girl. Things didn't work out with her, and here we are."

She looks at me. "Are you staying here? Or heading back to Boston."

Seems to be the question of the week. "Staying here. What's your story?"

Ann laughs and the melodic sound washes over me. "Not much different than yours. Couldn't afford college and didn't want to take out a bunch of loans so I went to community college for a career certificate. I always expected to work to put myself through college and then realized it didn't make much sense to pay for a degree that was going to pay me less than what I already make. Drawing people's blood isn't glamorous, but I like it enough to keep at it. Started at a place in Newark and landed at St. Francis a couple years ago."

"What would you have gone to college for?"

"Teaching. History."

I wince. "Teachers are criminally underpaid."

"True story! What'd you do in the Army?"

We chat about this and that as we continue to walk. We circle back to the trucks, getting a couple shaved ices and finding a table. We're nearly halfway through the treats when she asks, "Is it totally out of bounds to ask why things didn't work out with the girl you moved here for?"

It kind of is, but knowing what Stephanie told me about Ann's situation, I can understand her wanting to know. I take another bite. I wait so long to answer that Ann starts stammering out an apology. I wave it off. "She was stepping out on me, and I had no clue. I was thinking rings, she was thinking threesomes."

Remembering her asking if we could take Cal home with us, still burns. Ann is quiet as she takes another bite of her shockingly yellow banana shave ice. She gives me a quick look before dropping her eyes again. "I get that. I walked in on my boyfriend with my cousin. Dumped the boyfriend and didn't look back. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with my cousin, although I avoid him if it at all possible."

I blink a few times and Ann lets out a little laugh. "Yeah, I had no clue. But I guess I'd rather know before things got any more serious. He's out and proud now, and I've worked my way around to the whatever makes him happy side of the coin. My cousin said I should be thanking him. I told him to go away, and I'd let him know when I was ready to talk to him."

"That's rough. You seem to have a pretty decent attitude about it."

Ann snorts. "Now. You should have seen me right after. Rage is not a good look for me."

"I was mad for about five minutes, then I was just resigned. I'm not sure what that says about the relationship, considering I was thinking of proposing."

She holds up her nearly empty cup for me to clink with mine. "Here's to dodging bullets and seeing clearly."

"Here, here!"

We share a smile before she sets her cup back down. "What are you looking for here, Eric?"

No games, putting it all on the table. Nice. Refreshing. A little bit stressful. I shrug. "To move on. To stop punishing myself for something she did. More nights like this, seeing where it could go."

I hold my breath until she smiles again. "Same. I asked Steph if she knew anyone, even if I wasn't sure I was ready. I'd like to think Greg's actions were on him, but it still messes with my head sometimes. I wouldn't mind more nights like this, getting to know you."

"I'd like that." We chat a bit more before I walk her back to her car a couple streets over. It's a beginning, both of us starting over. Time will tell if it becomes more, and I'm ok with that. I watch Ann pull away, lifting my hand in a wave before she turns the corner. I guess I get my own after-action report tomorrow. I wonder how many people chose shit-show?