A/N: My daughter sent me a link to a new song by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga. She knows I love both musician's songs and thought I would enjoy the one they recorded together. Of course, my daughter was right. This song fic story is inspired by Die With A Smile by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga.
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I awaken, afraid of everything. It was only a dream, which was both good and bad news. What would I do if the world ended? Who did I want by my side? I had the answer, and it wasn't the man in my bed. It was time to break up with Joe Morelli permanently. I loved him, but not enough to spend time with him once the apocalypse hit. The man I wanted in my bed was in my dreams. I don't care if he doesn't want a relationship or doesn't promise me tomorrow. Ricardo Carlos Manoso was my soulmate. I know it. He knows it. Neither of us wanted to admit it. I loved and was in love with Ranger.
"Cupcake," Joe said as I climbed out of the bed. "I have a little problem." I wasn't interested in relieving his morning wood.
"I'm going to take a shower. Go back to sleep," I suggested. I didn't want Joe to join me in the bathroom. He rolled over, turned his back to me and farted. Gross. Ranger had never done that in bed. Everyone farted, but some people, like Ranger, preferred to do that in a washroom. I wasn't as picky. Sometimes it squeaked by despite how much I squeezed my asscheeks together to prevent it.
After grabbing a change of clothes from the dresser and closet, I left my bedroom to shower. It was time for me to make things right in my life. The realistic dream of the world ending made me realize it was worth fighting for who I wanted. Ranger knows I love him, but I don't know if he realized I was also madly, deeply and irrevocably in love with him.
Playing house with Joe Morelli didn't satisfy my need to be loved or loved with reckless abandon. I had spent the best two weeks of my life in Hawaii pretending to be married to Ranger. I would have stayed with him permanently if Joe had never appeared like the Grim Reaper and killed the romance.
Ranger forgave me for stunning him. It broke my heart to do that, but it was the only way I could stop the two men from fighting over me. I wasn't worth it. Inside my heart, I wanted to be worth the fight. I wanted Ranger to win. Morelli fought dirty and attacked Ranger when he moved me away from Joe.
Wherever Ranger went, I would follow. Joe could move across the world, and I would let him leave. I could live without having Joseph Morelli in my life. Saying goodbye to Ranger was unfathomable. I never wanted to live a day without him.
As the hot water ran down my body, I cried, gut-wrenching sobs. I cried over my fickleness and letting my mind guide me instead of following my heart. I cried for stringing Joe along when I had no intention of marrying him or giving him the life he wanted. We couldn't recover the time we wasted. I stole those years from Joe. He deserved better. Our mothers kept pushing us together. We shouldn't have fallen for their ploys.
Joe and I spent too many years trying to make a relationship, doomed to fail, work. No wonder Ranger never wanted a commitment and handed me those lines, which I know he never meant. Ranger protected his heart. His actions proved he loved me more than materialistic items. It took an apocalyptic dream for my brain to realize what my heart had already known. I wanted a someday with Ranger.
When the water ran cold, I rinsed my hair and climbed out of the shower. I heard a loud knock on the bathroom door as I wrapped a towel around me. "One minute," I yelled, my voice raspy from crying.
"Cupcake, we need to talk," Joe said, sounding heartbroken. He knew. I never talked in the shower, but Joe must have heard me crying.
"I'll be there in a minute," I replied, tears streaming down my cheeks. I don't bother wiping them away. Lowering the toilet seat, I sat to pull on my socks and panties. I stood as I tugged my underwear over my hips. Then, I stepped into my jeans. After zipping and buttoning my pants, I slipped my arms through my bra straps and reached behind to hook the closure. When I pulled the shirt over my head, I realized it was one Ranger left behind the last time he spent the night during the off time with Joe.
Lacking the energy to style my hair, I pulled it into a ponytail, letting the damp, curly locks do whatever came naturally. I took a few deep breaths before opening the door. Joe stood in my bedroom doorway, holding two mugs of coffee.
I took one from him, appreciating the kind gesture. He didn't have to make me coffee. "Let's sit on the couch," Joe suggested. I nodded, noticing he couldn't look into my eyes, not that I wanted to look into his. Seeing the hurt in his eyes would only make me cry.
"Rip off the bandaid," I whispered, sitting on the couch after placing my mug on the side table. Joe sat on the coffee table.
Taking my hands in his, I looked into his face and saw pain, regret and resolve. "Cupcake," Joe said. He shook his head, then tried again, "Stephanie, you and I both know this isn't working. We tried many times, but when push comes to shove, I know we don't belong together. You're in love with Ranger."
I nodded; there was no use in denying my true feelings. "I love you, too. But," I whispered, finally able to say those words to Joe. I didn't want to hurt him. My heart was breaking. I was unfair to Ranger and Joe by stringing them both alone. Even if I ended up alone, I needed to let Ranger know I was in love with him.
"But you're not in love with me," Joe said.
"No. I'm sorry," I cried, letting the tears run down my face without bothering to wipe them away.
"Stephanie, never feel sorry for being unable to love me as you love Ranger. I loved the idea of marrying you, but not enough to ask you to marry me," Joe said. For some strange reason, it made me laugh.
"Ditto," I repeated. "We never should have tried to make it work. I let my mom push us together."
"Me too," Joe confessed. "I only want to know one thing."
"I never cheated on you," I replied, thinking that was his question.
Joe sadly smiled. "I never thought you did. Steph, when did you fall in love with Ranger?" he asked.
"The day I met him in the diner," I confessed. My neck tingled. I pulled my right hand from Joe's to touch my neck.
Joe smirked, having recognized the motion. I looked toward the door, expecting Ranger to walk in any second. "I hope you don't mind that I called him," Joe said, catching me off guard. My jaw dropped open. Joe chuckled and gently lifted my chin to close my mouth.
"Why?" I asked.
Understanding my question, Joe replied, "You need him as much as he needs you." Joe kissed my forehead as he stood. He pulled me to my feet and gently gestured me to answer the door. "Stephanie, I want you to be happy. Don't worry about me; I'll be okay."
Before going to Ranger, I pressed my lips to Joe's, chastely kissing him goodbye. "You'll always have a place in my heart," I whispered.
"You too," he said.
I opened my apartment door. Ranger pulled me into his arms before slamming his lips against mine, leaving me weak-kneed. "Are you okay?" I asked when he broke the kiss.
"I woke up from a dream where you and I had to say goodbye," Ranger replied. He held onto me as he moved me backwards into my apartment. Joe stood in the living room, waiting for me to let him leave.
"Me, too," I whispered. "And I don't know what it all means."
"Since I survived the apocalypse in the dream, I realized where I needed to be," Ranger said, reciting my dream. We must have dreamed the same thing, like the universe was pushing us together.
"Carlos, wherever you go, that's where I follow," I said.
"Nobody's promised tomorrow," Ranger added. I nodded. He spoke the truth.
"I'm sorry to break up this wonderful reunion, but I need to leave," Joe said, interrupting our moment.
"Morelli," Ranger said with a nod. He was acknowledging him while thanking him. I understood it was a truce.
"I know how much you love Stephanie. But if you hurt her, I will hunt you down," Morelli threatened. Ranger answered with a nod.
Joe removed my key from his keychain and dropped it on the coffee table. He moved to the foyer, where Ranger and I were hanging onto each other as a lifesaver. Joe removed my keys from the hook and retrieved his house key. "I'll pack your stuff at my place and leave it at Rangeman," Joe said. He opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
"Wait," I shouted when Joe closed the door. He thunked his head on the frame before opening the door wide enough for me to see his face. "Ask out Robin Russell. She likes you."
Smiling, Joe replied, "I'll give it a few weeks before asking."
"Goodbye, Joe. I'll see you around," I whispered. His eyes looked haunted before closing the door. Ranger and I couldn't stay in Trenton.
As though reading my mind, Ranger said, "We should relocate to Miami or Boston. Morelli doesn't need us to rub this into his face."
"Miami," I agreed.
Ranger and I went to my bedroom. I removed the sheets from the bed and shoved them into the hamper while Ranger grabbed my empty luggage from the closet and beneath my bed. It didn't take us long to pack my clothes. I planned to have Mom wash the bedding and towels. My rent was paid until the end of the year, thanks to Ranger. Grandma could live in the apartment to give Mom and Dad time alone.
We silently took the elevator to the main floor with my luggage and purse in hand. I followed Ranger to his SUV, where he deposited the bags in the cargo hold. Dillon came outside to toss the trash into the dumpster. "Are you moving out?" he joked.
"Yes," I replied. "I've paid the rent until the end of the year. I'm offering the apartment to my grandma. She'll fit in here. Most of the tenants are her friends."
"I'll miss the excitement," Dillon sadly said.
"Not me. Grandma Edna will provide the entertainment," I laughed. I hugged Dillon. "Thank you for letting me pay the rent late most months."
"Have Edna visit me when she arrives," Dillon said. I nodded and smiled when Ranger opened the SUV door for me to enter.
The ride to Rangeman was silent. Ranger wouldn't let go of his death grip on my hand. Or maybe I had that grip on his. It didn't matter since neither of us were willing to let go.
He parked in the Rangeman garage in his designated spot. Ranger kissed our joined hands before releasing his grip. I exited the vehicle when he came to my door. We walked to the elevator. I glanced over my shoulder and asked, "What about my stuff?"
"Leave it. We're leaving in a few hours," Ranger announced.
Furrowing my brow, I wondered what he meant. I know he wanted to leave for Morelli's sake and to give him and me a chance to pursue whatever relationship we had without interference from my mom. Ranger pressed the button for the seventh floor. It went up without stopping on five. He must have used his fob to override the elevator.
"Why are we here?" I asked when we entered his apartment.
"Babe, nobody's promised tomorrow. I'm going to love you every night like it's our last night. If the world ends, I want to be next to you," Ranger said. "Is that what you want?"
"Yes, Carlos. I'd want to hold you for a while and die with a smile," I replied.
Carlos laughed and swept me off my feet. He ran to the bedroom and dropped me on his bed. "Babe, you already know what you mean to me. Our love's the only war worth fighting for," he said. It didn't take us long to strip each other and show how much we loved each other. Carlos kissed my shoulder before leaving the bed. I watched his naked ass disappear into his closet. He returned with a ring box.
"Carlos, what did you do?" I shakily asked.
"Babe, before our time on Earth was through, I want to be next to you as your husband," he said, without using the words, "Will you marry me."
"I want to be next to you as your wife and make love to you every night as though it were our last," I replied, modifying the way of saying, "Yes."
"When it's time for our world to end," Carlos said.
"I want us to die with a smile."
"Welcome to the Batcave, Babe."
I knew it was forever.