Surprise

Here I am, back in Trenton. I've been in Savannah, Georgia, for the last six weeks, working on a joint task force hunting down a serial killer who left two victims here in Trenton before moving south. We finally nabbed him, and I'm grateful that I was able to close those two cases, giving those families some sense of closure to help them move on with their lives.

Two days before I left, I broke up with Cupcake. Trust me, I didn't want to do it because I was ready to finally propose to her. Still, since I was going to be a couple thousand miles away for an extended time, I had to think about my boys. I didn't want to cheat on my Cupcake, so by ending it with her, I could happily enjoy the ladies in Georgia without any guilt. With the help of Mrs. Plum, Steph will be waiting to welcome me to her bed.

I glance at the time on the dashboard of my Jeep. The clock tells me it's 4:15. Since it is Saturday, I know Stephanie will be home in her apartment. I pull into the lot, checking myself in the vanity mirror before heading to the door. I got a slight tan, enhancing my Italian good looks. I have the start of a five o'clock shadow, which I know Stephanie loves. I glance around the lot, spying a five-year-old green Honda Civic parked next to the dumpster. That is likely Cupcake's new POS car. Thank God I don't see any black SUVs or Manoso's Porsche.

Time to let Cupcake know I'm home, let my boys get some action, then we'll order a pizza and watch the game. Then, in a couple of weeks, I'll get her to move in with me and propose. I have the damned condoms that she demands I wear, all prepared. I will give her my child. I want to marry Steph. I'll need to knock her up to get her to agree. I don't mind a shotgun wedding. In fact, the sooner, the better.

I walk into the sad excuse for a lobby before opting for the stairs. I don't want to deal with the crazy old bag who rides the elevator. I get off the second floor, with the door closing soundlessly behind me. I walk to Cupcake's door, taking my key out. As I'm about to put the key in, I hear noise. I can tell that words are being spoken, but it doesn't sound like a conversation. Who is in there? Is she safe?

I make it a point to open the door excruciatingly slowly, gently closing it behind me. When I turn to look at Steph's space, I'm shocked to find it practically empty. There's no Rex on the counter, making me wonder if he died. Her meager furniture is still in the living room, but all her DVDs, CDs, and other junk is missing. I look back at her counter, noticing her cookie jar is gone. What the fuck is going on. Finally, a loudly spoken 'yes' breaks me out of my stupor. I now hear moans, both from a male and a female. I hear the barely discernible demands of 'faster,' 'harder,' and 'more.' When I'm about to lose my mind, I hear "Ranger" and "Babe" being yelled. What the fuck is Manoso doing here?

I slowly walk towards her bedroom, noticing the door is open. I glance in as Ranger turns Stephanie onto her back from her stomach, with him leaning over her. They kiss before he flips onto his back, pulling Stephanie on top of him. She practically climbs on top of him, resting her head on his shoulder, wrapping her right arm around his body as he pulls the sheet over them. I just can't believe what I'm seeing.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"If we need to explain it to you, then you don't deserve that detective's shield," Manoso responds.

"Joe, what are you doing here?"

"I just got back into town and decided to come and see my girlfriend. I guess I know where I stand."

"What do you mean, girlfriend? You broke up with me two days before you left!" Stephanie shouts, moving to get out of bed. Manoso holds her tightly where she is.

"Morelli, go into the living room; we'll be out to talk to you in a minute."

"I'm not going anywhere. There's nothing I haven't seen before."

"Babe, stay put. I'll get you a robe." Ranger said before getting out of bed with everything thing hanging. I can't help but glance at his boys and dick. I mean, I have to check out the competition. I mentally groan when I realize he's about two inches longer and thicker than me. He walked over to a box on the floor by Stephanie's closet and pulled out a large, black robe with RCM monogrammed on the lapel. I'm expecting him to put it on, except he puts it on the bed for Stephanie. Then, he walks towards me, entirely at ease with his nakedness.

"Morelli, I'm not a switch hitter. I suggest you stop staring."

"Trust me, I don't want to see you. Put on your pants already."

"For me to do that, you need to leave the doorway. My pants are on the couch." Since Manoso is about six inches from me, I turn around and walk towards the kitchen counter. Manoso stops at the couch and pulls a pair of dark wash jeans on, which fit him as if they were made for him. I start glancing around, looking for boxers of some sort, but I do not see any. However, I see a red lace thong and matching bra on the floor, along with a red t-shirt and jeans that must belong to Stephanie by the couch. Just as I'm about to say something, Stephanie emerges from her room with Ranger's robe tied tightly around her waist. It's so big on her that it covers her entirely to her knees. I watch as Steph walks over to Ranger, who pulls her into an embrace where they kiss like she's never kissed me. He guides her to the couch before he sits, pulling her onto his lap, arms wrapped protectively around her waist.

"Joe, what do you want."

"Cupcake."

"Don't call me that. I hate it when you call me Cupcake."

" 'Babe' is better?"

"Yes. Babe doesn't remind me of the worst moment of my life."

"Worst moment? That was the first time we were together. How could it be the worst moment of your life? All the other girls cherish their first with me."

"You don't get it. You never did."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I say as I begin to pace, feeling my blood pressure rise.

"Joe, I didn't want to have sex with you that night. I didn't want to have sex until my wedding night. I was hoping to save myself, like a good Burg girl. Instead, you stole my virginity on the floor of the Tasty Pastry. Then, you couldn't be content just to take from me; you had to write about it all over the bathrooms of Trenton. Every time you call me Cupcake, I think of that night."

"Come on, Stephanie, who are you trying to kid? I know you enjoyed it; I mean, I gave you an orgasm."

"Just because I had an orgasm doesn't mean that I enjoyed it or wanted it. Did you see the tears streaming down my face as you finished? Didn't you hear me telling you it hurt, and I didn't want to continue?"

"All girls say that their first time. They don't know any better." I reply, noticing the daggers that Manoso is shooting at me. I watch as his muscles tense behind that blank face. I observe Stephanie realizing and rubbing her hands up and down his arm.

Steph shifts her body so she's facing him, almost straddling him. "It's okay; it was a long time ago. Besides, I got my revenge." Then, she kissed him, and I saw him relax, moving his kisses down to her neck. As he's kissing her, his eyes are on me, and I swear, he's smirking. Stephanie is moaning like always when she eats but never moaned for me. He stops, resting his head against her forehead.

"Why'd you stop?"

"We have company, remember, Amante?"

"Can you get rid of him? I want to get back to where we left off." I hear Steph murmur, making it evident that she didn't want to say it out loud. And then, that bastard Manoso laughs.

"You heard me?"

"Yeah, Babe, I did."

"Joe, there is nothing left for us. We are not an item and will never be an item again. I don't love you. I love Ranger. He loves me. In case you haven't noticed, I packed up my stuff; I'm moving in with him."

"I see a lot of packing is going on."

"Morelli, we don't need to explain anything to you. In fact, now would be a good time to give Steph back her key. There's no reason for you to be able to enter this apartment once Mrs. Mazur moves in next week."

I shudder at the thought of walking in here to see Mrs. Mazur in any state of undress. I pull the keys out of my pocket, remove the one for here, and place it on the coffee table. Steph gets up, much to Manoso's dismay. I noticed the bulge in Manoso's pants as she walked to get her bag. I understand the sentiment. Hell, if Manoso wasn't here, I'd have a matching problem. I watch Steph open up the zippered part, pulling out the keys to my house. Suddenly, I can't help but get angry. How could Cupcake do this to me?

"Cupcake," I see her flinch, "how could you do this to me? Damn it, Cupcake, we were together when I left. I came here planning on proposing to you. I was offered a position with the Savannah Police Department. It's a larger department than Trenton, and I'd be going in as a Lieutenant. I'd have a hefty raise, and the houses in Georgia are beautiful. Hopefully, we could start our life together as we always wanted with you pregnant. With the extra money I'd make, you could stay home; you would not need to work. Come on, Cupcake, don't throw us away. You know Manoso is going to tire of you sooner rather than later. You know he's only wants to fuck you. He'll never give you a child."

"Morelli, enough! Don't you ever listen to me when I talk to you? I don't want children, not now. I'm not sure if I ever want to have children. If I have to babysit Mary Alice and Angie, I still break out in hives. I don't want to be a housewife. I want to work, I want to have adventures, I want to travel. You can't give me that. Joe, I did love you at one time, but not anymore."

"It's because of HIM, isn't it."

"No, it's because you treat me like you own me, like I'm your property. You don't treat me as a person, as an adult. You order me to be what you want me to be, and when I balk, you start to yell and scream at me. I'm tired of being treated like shit. Now, I want you to leave. I wish you luck in Georgia and hope you find the woman who will give you what you want."

My anger was palpable as I watched Steph walk over to Ranger, take his hand in hers, and slowly pull him off the couch. Jealousy coursed through my body, and I don't know what made me do it, but I reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her against me and crushing my lips down on hers. I felt Stephanie trying to push me off her, but I held onto her tighter, that is, until Ranger got her out of my arms. I soon found my face against the wall with my arm twisted behind my back.

"You will never touch Stephanie again. You better leave this apartment now, or I will take Stephanie to the police department, and she will press charges against you. She may not be able to see you punished for raping her, but she will see you punished for assaulting her if you don't leave now."

I glanced at Stephanie, who was on the couch, curled in the fetal position, crying. It finally dawned on me that I had become my father. I close my eyes. "Okay. I'm going to go. I'm sorry, Stephanie., I didn't mean to hurt you like that. I'm moving to Georgia next week. You won't see me again."

Ranger loosened his grip on me as I grabbed my keys off the floor and walked towards the door. I pause to say something to Stephanie, only to see Ranger two steps behind me. I decided that anything I needed to say could be done via email or text. I let myself out of Stephanie's apartment for the last time, hoping that someday I can find someone who will love me like Stephanie loves Ranger.