Stephanie and Carlos work hard to complete their education. On the day of their final exam, they went out for dinner. The others had an exam the following day. They gave Stephanie and Carlos the house to themselves by studying in the library all night. The others follow in Carlos' footsteps to obtain their degrees in two years.
After taking their exams, tank, Bobby, and Lester met Carlos at the Army recruiting booth. Stephanie smiles in pride as her friends and husband enlist. She hugs the others before wrapping her arms around Carlos. "Are you enlisting, Ma'am?" the recruiter asks.
"No, thank you," Stephanie politely replies. "I have other plans."
"Good luck, Ma'am," the recruiter says. He smiles when Stephanie finger waves and leaves with the guys.
"Did the paperwork indicate when you report for duty?" Stephanie asks when they get into the car.
"September is the next training session," Carlos informs her. "Have you considered the offer?" Carlos wonders if Stephanie took the teaching position at Rutgers.
While shaking her head, Stephanie replies, "No. I'm moving back to Miami. Dad and Faith are helping me find a studio. I can always work at the restaurant with my cousin until I land on my feet."
"Proud of you, Babe," Carlos says.
"Whatever for?" Stephanie asks. Her tone indicates she's teasing him. Carlos chuckles and wraps his arm across her shoulders. She leans into him, tucking her head into his neck.
Goosebumps appear on Stephanie's skin as Carlos rhythmically trails his fingers up and down her arm. "For supporting my decision," he replies. Stephanie lifts her head to look into her loving husband's eyes.
"You support mine. Why wouldn't I reciprocate?"
"Honey, we're home," Lester says, interrupting the seriousness of the conversation as Tank parks the car in the driveway of the house.
Rolling her eyes, Stephanie leaves Carlos' side and exits the car when Lester slides out from beside her. She smiles when Carlos rounds the car and places a protective hand on her lower back. His touch is light, more out of a need to touch her than to guide her where he wants.
"I'll cook while you three pack," Carlos says. Stephanie follows Carlos into the kitchen to assist. Their bags are ready to load into the car.
Carlos has a rental van available for the following day for Tank to drive to Miami with their belongings. It's time to go home and surrender the keys to the house. His Tia Ella will be happy they took care of everything. They kept the house clean and never threw parties. Attending school year-round took hard work and focus. Stephanie knows they will succeed because they understand the value of hard work.
"What are we making?" Stephanie asks when Carlos grabs pots and pans from below the cutlery drawer.
"Your favourite," Carlos replies. Stephanie squeals and grabs the ingredients from the pantry. Carlos shakes his head and gets the fresh ground sausage meat from the refrigerator. He uses the lean ground beef to mix with the sausage, hoping it would reduce the grease in the lasagna.
Stephanie raises her brows when Carlos removes celery, peppers and carrots from the refrigerator. "What are you doing?" she asks, pointing to the vegetables. Stephanie places the noodles and sauce on the counter, ready for Carlos to use after preparing the meat.
Chuckling, Carlos replies, "Adding vegetables to the lasagna."
"That was obvious, Carlos. But why?" she demands, touching her hip as she glares at him.
Carlos drops the vegetables on the counter beside the cutting board. "It wouldn't hurt to have something healthy with the fat. Would you prefer them in a salad?"
Stephanie snorts. "No. We can add them to the lasagna. It better taste good. Because if it doesn't," Stephanie warns, "I'll tell my grandpa you ruined his lasagna recipe."
Feigning fear and shock, Carlos places a hand above his heart. "You wouldn't," he cries.
"Stop being overly dramatic," Stephanie giggles. She helps Carlos by cutting the vegetables. Stephanie finds the mandolin to thinly slice the carrots. Carlos points to the smallest of the posts. "Why do I have to cook them first?"
"Even thinly sliced, the carrots need to be partially cooked before I add it to the lasagna. The peppers, celery and onions will be cooked with the meat. Carrots take longer," Carlos replies. Stephanie mumbles about having to eat like a freaking bird, amusing Carlos with her rants.
"It's not like I don't get enough exercise," Stephanie sighs. "Dancing keeps me fit."
Stephanie puts the carrots in the pot with some water. She turns on the burner for the carrots to boil. After cooking the ground meat with the vegetables, Carlos strains them and dumps them into the pot with the sauce Stephanie was heating. He checks the carrots, smiles at Stephanie and strains them before adding them to the sauce.
"Ricotta?" Stephanie asks, holding the container for Carlos to decide.
"Sure, but only if you mix it with the fresh spinach," he replies.
Stephanie rolls her eyes and empties the ricotta into a mixing bowl. She removes the fresh spinach from the refrigerator and chops it into more manageable pieces before mixing it with the ricotta. Smiling, she empties half a bag of grated cheese into the bowl. Carlos chuckles and continues cooking the lasagna noodles.
He preheats the oven when Stephanie prepares the two largest casserole dishes to layer the noodles, meaty vegetable sauce and cheese. Carlos watches in amusement as Stephanie expertly assembles a lasagna. He follows her lead to make the second one identical to hers. She grumbles as she spreads half the ricotta-spinach-cheese mixture on the middle layer. Carlos accepts the bowl to dump the remaining ricotta mixture on his lasagna. They cover the casserole dishes with foil, keeping the final layer of cheese aside until the last ten minutes of cooking.
The saucepan contains a few tablespoons of meat sauce. Stephanie grabs a spoon to eat it. She moans as the flavours assault her tastebuds. "So good," she mumbles.
Lester enters the kitchen and grabs the next spoonful of meat and vegetable sauce. He raises a brow when he notices the carrots but pops the spoon into his mouth. "Yum," Lester says. He grins after checking the oven. "Is it your grandpa's recipe?"
"Mostly," Stephanie says.
"I added vegetables," Carlos adds.
"He combined Grandpa's vegetarian and meat lasagna recipes," Stephanie replies, rolling her eyes.
"The sauce tastes amazing. I'm sure dinner will be delicious," Lester says.
Bobby and Tank enter the kitchen twenty minutes later. They grab Lester and return to their bedrooms to move their luggage and other belongings to the foyer. Carlos and Stephanie have their bags ready to load into the van the following morning. Stephanie set a laundry bag aside for their dirty clothes. She will wash them upon returning to Miami.
"I guess he got bored," Stephanie laughs. She sets the table after the first timer sounds. Carlos adds the shredded cheese to the tops of the lasagna to cook for another ten to fifteen minutes.
The men arrive when Carlos removes the casserole dishes from the oven. He carries one to the table and sets it in the centre. Stephanie makes the guys wait for the lasagna to settle before cutting and serving it.
Carlos and Tank discuss the trip home in the morning. Stephanie washes the dishes with Bobby and Lester drying and keeping her company. "It's bothering you, right?" Lester asks.
"What's bothering me?" Stephanie wonders.
Lester grins, "How Tank got his nickname." Stephanie glances at Bobby, who mimes catching a football and running down the opposing team.
She politely smiles at Lester and replies, "Carlos said Tank was on the football team with you and Bobby. Tank earned the name as a wide receiver. He would catch that ball and run down everyone in his way. Lester, I know he received a football scholarship at Rutgers. So did you and Bobby. You guys are impeccable players. I'm sure you could have gone professional."
"Nah," Bobby replies. "It isn't the life we wanted. Sure, we'd have fame and fortune, but one injury could ruin your career. I've seen it happen too many times."
Stephanie uses her forearm to wipe the sweat off her brow. "You have to do what's best, I guess." She explains her plan once she returns to Miami.
Lester leans against the counter. "I have money left over from my scholarship and work. You can use it to open your studio," Lester offers. Stephanie shakes her head. She doesn't want to accept his money.
"Why not?" Bobby asks
"You should invest the money," Stephanie argues.
"That's what we're trying to do!" Lester exasperatedly says.
"We want to invest it in your studio," Bobby adds. "Stephanie, please let us invest in your dream."
"We're family, and family is supposed to help each other in their time of need," Lester says, laying it on thick.
Stephanie throws her hands up and sighs, "Fine. But only if I can reciprocate."
Lester and Bobby have a silent conversation. Bobby smiles and extends a hand. "You've got yourself a deal," he announces.
"What did we agree on?" Carlos asks, entering the kitchen.
Grumbling, Stephanie replies, "Bobby and Lester are investing in my dance studio. I feel bad enough taking your money, Carlos."
"Our money," Carlos quickly corrects while tugging her bottom lip free of her teeth. He chastely kisses her and tucks the loose hair behind her ear. "Tank and I were just talking about that." Stephanie grunts and lowers her head to stare at her toes.
Carlos gently lifts her head with a finger. "You know how I feel about handouts," she whines.
"Yes, Babe, I do. Why don't you accept the money and reciprocate when we complete our service with the military?" Carlos asks.
"That's what we agreed to do," Stephanie replies, pointing at Bobby. "Did you and Tank have a nice discussion?" She's trying to change the subject, which Carlos notices.
Chuckling, Carlos replies, "Yes. I also heard from Tia Ella. Mariela and her friends are moving into the house on Sunday. We must leave the spare keys on the counter, and Mariela will collect my set in the morning."
"Oh. I need to start cleaning the house," Stephanie says. She turns from the guys, but Carlos stops her.
"Babe, we have hands, too. We'll help." Stephanie kisses Carlos instead of saying thanks. They work together to clean the house from top to bottom. It isn't that dirty because they kept their messes to a minimum.
At midnight, they finally go to bed.
Stephanie groans when the alarm sounds at five. She opens an eye and notices Carlos staring at her. "Tank and I have to load the car," Carlos explains.
"And I'm on breakfast duty?" Stephanie teases.
"If you don't mind, my love," he replies. Stephanie kisses her husband before covering her mouth. "Babe, we all have morning breath. It doesn't bother me if it doesn't bother you." He rolls Stephanie beneath him and makes love to her. She screams his name ten minutes later as he sighs her name.
"Really? You two hump like rabbits," Lester groans. "The porn track is giving me a woody."
Stephanie blushes, then hears a slap, and Lester growls, "Ouch, that hurt," before the footfalls sound on the steps.
"I guess that's our cue to get up," Stephanie giggles. She kisses Carlos' chest before climbing out of bed. He follows her lead and strips the bedding.
"I'll dump these in the washing machine while you shower," Carlos offers. "Mariela promised to wash the other linens. I don't think she wants to see our bodily fluids."
"Thanks," Stephanie says. Carlos watches his wife's naked ass disappear into the ensuite washroom. He pulls on his boxers and collects the sheets to clean. The other men chuckle when Carlos walks past them with the linens.
"Did you guys leave a little something behind?" Lester teases.
Shaking his head, Carlos replies, "I swear Tia Isla dropped you on your head."
"Nah. That was my Papi," Lester jokes. He helps Bobby and Tank take their luggage to the rental van they picked up early that morning while Stephanie was in the shower.
Stephanie arrives ten minutes later to cook breakfast. Her damp hair is in a ponytail. She's wearing a pale blue tank top with a white button-down shirt covering it. The jean shorts are frayed at the hem. They fit Stephanie perfectly and were her favourite pair. Carlos loves seeing her long legs in the shorts.
Smiling, she cracks a dozen eggs, dices the mushrooms, onions and peppers and mixes them in the bowl. Once the pan was hot enough, she poured the egg mixture into the pan.
Lester arrives to make the coffee. Bobby washes his hands and starts making the toast. Stephanie giggles when Tank sets the table. Carlos pours the orange juice into the glasses. He glances at Stephanie before leaving the juice on the table. "Here, Babe," Carlos says, passing a serving dish to Stephanie. She dumps the eggs onto the plate while Bobby brings the buttered toast to the table.
They eat in companionable silence. The sounds of forks scraping across the plates echo in the kitchen. Once everyone finished eating, Stephanie washed the dishes while the men showered. It's time to go home.
Mariela arrives when the wash cycle ends. Stephanie prepares to do another load, moving the sheets to the dryer. "I've got it, Steph," Mariela says.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely," Mariela hugs her sister-in-law and shoves her from the laundry room.
Stephanie and Carlos check the house to ensure they have everything before leaving. Mariela waves and locks the door behind them.
Tank drives the rental van with Bobby riding shotgun. Lester climbs into the backseat of the car, leaving Stephanie to sit beside Carlos in the front. They see Mariela watching from the front window and wave at her.
Carlos grabs Stephanie's hand. He kisses her knuckles. Lester laughs and makes kissing noises from the backseat. Stephanie briefly glares at her cousin-in-law before smiling at Carlos. He places her hand on his thigh. "Let's go home, Babe," Carlos says.
"Okay."