Diesel has been gone for three days and still no sign of his coming home.

Home. Yeah, this is his home now. For the time being we are living in my apartment and it’s definitely more than a little cramped. We’ve put most of his stuff in storage but we’re still a little tight on space. When, and if, we get some free time, we’re going to look for something bigger.

Meanwhile with him gone my tiny apartment suddenly felt enormous and lonely, despite the surplus furniture. Diesel was off doing some job for the “Powers That Be”, and I had stayed behind in Trenton, because that’s the way it just had to be.

I still haven’t agreed to marry him, but we are officially living together so it’s a step in the right direction. Even my mother has accepted the situation and has stopped trying to get me to go back to Joe. However, she still hasn’t quite warmed up to Diesel. But it’s a huge step for me to be living with someone. After all, I used to get restless after only two days at Joe’s.

Maybe it helps that it’s my apartment Diesel moved into, rather than me moving into his domain. I guess I feel more at ease on my own turf, and not like I was moving in on someone else’s. Maybe that was always my big problem with living at Joe’s… that and the fact that Joe and I were never really meant to be.

Joe. I haven’t spoken to Joe since he walked out of Pino’s after our talk. I’ve seen him once or twice at the police station, when I’ve brought in a skip. But apart from that he hasn’t approached me at all. I miss him. I don’t miss him in the intimate sense, but I miss having him around. He’s been such a big part of my life since we were kids, we had so much in common, that his absence has left a huge hole. Hell, I even miss our fights.

But, even without Joe, I still have two men in my life.

Ranger has also been a big influence on my life in recent years. We were lovers briefly, but we could never quite meet on the same page when it came to a relationship. I still work for RangeMan from time to time plus I see him at the bonds office. We seem to have slipped into an uneasy friendship. Uneasy because I feel uncomfortable. I know he still cares for me and I’m pretty sure he still wants me. However, he doesn’t poach or even try to anymore, not like he used to when I was seeing Morelli. I suspect he’s behaving himself out of respect for my feelings for Diesel and not because he’s in any way afraid of him.

Deciding it wasn’t doing me any good just moping around the apartment, missing Diesel; I got myself dressed and drove over to the bonds office making a detour to the bakery for supplies. Perhaps Connie will have some files for me. If I keep busy then maybe I won’t miss Diesel quite so much or keep obsessing about opportunities missed.

oooOOOooo

“Hey girlfriend. Where you been hiding yourself?”

I had to blink once or twice as I entered the Bonds office and was confronted with the sight that was Lula this morning. Suddenly I wished I’d remembered my sunglasses. Lula was wearing sunshine yellow today and she was dazzling. But I have to admit, it suited her. I grinned at her, “Diesel’s been home quite a lot recently, so we’ve been spending time together.”

“So watcha doin’ here now?”

I shrugged, “Diesel’s out of town on business.” I didn’t want to expand on that because my friends didn’t know exactly what Diesel was or what he does. Come to think of it, I was surprised that neither Connie nor Lula had ever grilled me about it. I guess after the whole affair with Grandma Mazur and the money, they’d seen enough not to ask questions.

“Nope, we’ve only had the regulars lately and Lula’s been bringing them in.”

Lula almost preened, “Yeah, they’ve been no problem for a kick-ass bounty hunter like me.”

I rolled my eyes at Lula which only made her chuckle. Turning back to Connie I asked, “You got any mid-range skips then? I reckon I can manage someone with a little more bite.”

Connie pushed the box of donuts towards me. “Sorry, Steph. Only the high end bonds at the moment. Ranger said he’ll send someone over later for the files.”

I selected a Boston Crème; I really needed to keep my sugar level up with Diesel being away. I was about to take a bite when I felt a tingle run up and down my spine and without turning, I knew Ranger had walked in. It was amazing how he still affected me. He would probably still affect me when I’m ninety. Although, now I come to think of it, in light of my new-found powers, perhaps my empathic abilities allowed me to know when he was near.

I glanced up at him as he approached Connie’s desk. He greeted me with a slight nod of his head and a “Babe”.

I smiled up at him, “Ranger”. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Lula fanning herself.

Ranger took the half dozen files that Connie was holding out to him and again looked down at me. “Speak to you outside, Babe?”

“Sure,” I nodded slowly and followed him out. He turned to go down the alley by the side of the bonds office. I stopped at the entrance to the alley and called to him. “If I follow you down there, are you going to keep your hands to yourself?” He looked at me but the only answer I received was a raised eyebrow.

“Got a distraction job, if you’re interested.”

Just the thing I needed to keep my mind off of Diesel. “Sure. When? Where? How slutty?”

“Tonight. Down by the river. Very.” He nodded at me and then treated me to a great view of his rear-end as he walked back to his truck. Hey, I can look can’t I? Just as long as I don’t touch.

oooOOOooo

I felt uncomfortable. I was sitting in Ranger’s Porsche in what might pass for clothing on the beach in Rio, but here in Trenton I looked like a slut. Which I guess was good because that’s what I’d been aiming for. My top was made of a metallic type cloth and was held on by a string tied around my neck and around my waist. I also wore a scrap of material that called itself a wraparound skirt that barely covered my ass.

We pulled over a couple of blocks from the waterfront. Ranger switched on the dome light and handed me a file. I opened the manila folder and looked at the face of pure evil which stared back at me from the page. I pulled my eyes away from the photo and focused on his details. Nathan Lewis, six foot three inches, 230 lbs. Wanted for rape and murder. Holy crap, he was definitely not a nice person to know. I looked at the photo again. The guy had little eyes set too close together and jet black greasy hair. But his most striking feature was the spider’s web tattoo on his neck, it reached from his jaw and ear on one side and disappeared beneath the neckline of his t-shirt. I was concentrating so hard on memorizing his details and face that I almost jumped out of my seat when Ranger started to speak.

“Lester, Ram and Woody are inside as customers. Bobby’s behind the bar and Hal’s on the door. Tank and I will be outside the back door waiting for you to bring him out.” He paused and I got the feeling he was choosing his next words carefully, “Babe, this one is bad news. Don’t take any chances. First sign of trouble get yourself out. We’ll get the skip another time.” He held out a wire for me to attach to my breast. Once upon a time he would have taped the device on for me. Now I guess it was ‘do it yourself’ time.

I tried to attach the wire under my breast without exposing myself and realized it was going to be impossible. I glanced over at Ranger and noticed that he was smiling slightly. Not quite a wolf grin, but definitely on its way to being one. “Turn your head.”

Ranger raised an eyebrow as if he couldn’t believe what I was asking him to do.

“Turn your head, while I tape this in place and don’t peek.”

“Babe, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“I know, but the situation is different now.”

“How so? Have you had implants or something?”

“Smart ass. You know what I mean. Now turn your head away.”

“Babe.” Wow, exasperation. That’s something I’ve never heard from Batman before. But he turned his head and I quickly untied the string around my waist and slipped my hands inside my top and taped the wire under my left breast. Once it was securely in place I activated it and tied the string back around my waist. “Done. Can everyone hear me?”

Ranger appeared to be listening then he turned to me. “Reception is five by five, Babe.” He started the engine, slipped the Porsche into gear and drove towards the river.

oooOOOooo

It was a distraction like any other, except this guy was a lot more dangerous than any I’d ever gone after for Ranger.

Hal was on the door and he let me straight through. I walked into the club and stopped just inside the door to get my bearings. It was a big open room with a small dance floor where a couple of girls were being groped by their partners under the guise of dancing. Around the small open space there were a couple of dozen tables and off to one side, a bar ran the length of the room. Over on the opposite side of the room from the bar was a door leading to the bathrooms and the back exit.

I sashayed over to the bar, which was crowded with only one seat left towards the far end. I sat myself down and surveyed the room. I couldn’t see our skip. I knew he had to be here somewhere because Hal had seen him come in and Tank hadn’t seen him exit out the back. Bobby came over to me and placed a Club Soda in front of me and I nodded my thanks.

Glancing over towards the back door I saw Nathan coming through the swing doors that led to the bathrooms. Rearranging himself and checking his zipper, he walked purposefully over to the bar. There were no seats left and if he changed direction and sat at a table it would take me a lot longer to get him out of the room. I looked around at the tables and there weren’t many of those free either.

Suddenly I had an idea. I stood up and, leaving my drink on the bar, I made my way to the bathroom, making sure to stay well out of Nathan’s line of sight. Once inside the ladies’ room I checked my hair and washed my hands then headed back out into the main room.

Luck was on my side tonight, our skip was sitting on my stool, my drink was still where I’d left it. I put a swing into my step and made sure I attracted attention as I walked over to the bar to collect my drink.

As I got closer, I was able to get a better look at him, and it took all my strength not to turn around and walk right out of the bar. But Ranger was counting on me, so I sucked it up and continued towards the bar.

“Excuse me, big boy,” I purred seductively, “you’re sitting in my seat.”

Nathan Lewis swung his head round to face me; a hungry look appeared in his eyes as he mentally undressed me. “Oh honey, you don’t need a stool, you can sit right here on this knee.” His eyes focused on my breasts as he patted his leg suggestively.

Ugh, I was going to gag. I swallowed the bile that threatened to rise up into my throat, plastered what I hoped was a sultry smile on my face, and made to sit on his lap. Just as I was turning to plant my butt on his knee, a seemingly very drunk Lester walked by and bumped into me knocking me off balance. Lewis put out his hand to steady me and in the process stood up.

“Whoa there baby, stand still so I can see ya. Oh boy, twins. Not tonight girls, I've had one too many and I’m not sure I have the stamina... wouldn’t want to disappoint ya’ll.” I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing at Lester’s performance and wonderfully fake Southern drawl. Before either Nathan or I could react, he stumbled away heading towards the bathrooms.

Before the skip could sit down again I quickly slipped onto the bar stool. I picked up my drink and looking up at Nathan, silently toasted him before taking a sip. “Thanks for your help. If you hadn’t caught me I would have given the room quite a show as I fell.” He stepped closer and I could feel his hand on my thigh, the fingers stroking and slowly moving in an upwards and inwards direction. Under the pretense of pulling a bowl of peanuts towards me, I shifted in my seat and his hand was forced to leave my leg.

“Beautiful, I would love to catch you any time. In fact, I’d like to keep you captive. Would you like that? I bet you would.” He leaned forward and his voice dropped to a husky whisper. “And I bet you could put on quite a show in private.”

I shivered as he ran a finger down my exposed back to the waistband of my skirt and then down over my ass. Mistaking my shiver of disgust for one of excitement, he kept his hand on the seat of the stool, nestling against my rear, his fingers occasionally straying to stroke my cheeks. This brought him in really close to me. I could feel his breath on my ear as he invaded my space.

Clearing my throat I looked up at him through my eyelashes. “It’s still early so the parking lot out back is probably deserted; I bet we could be private out there.” His breathing quickened as he brought his hand up my back skimming his fingers under the side edge of my top until they rested on the underside of my right breast. I had to move before he went any further here in public.

“Finish your drink, my darlin’, and maybe we’ll take a walk.”

I picked up my glass to take another sip and felt his hand move further inside my top to cup my breast and his thumb started to move over my nipple. His hand was perilously near the wire, I had to move and move fast or not just me but the entire operation would be exposed.

Putting down my glass, I jiggled it so that it tipped over. Jumping off the stool quickly to stop the soda from splashing me, I managed to move a few inches away from his hands. He soon replaced his hand on my back, stroking and fondling. I repressed a shudder as I leaned into him and whispered, “shall we see if we can find some privacy out back?”

Lewis ran a large paw-like hand over my ass and I tried not to squirm away from him as I felt his fingers reach between my legs. Instead, I reached behind me and took his hand and started to lead him towards the rear exit. I really wanted to see this guy in chains and couldn’t wait to get him outside and hand him over to Tank and Ranger.

Unfortunately Lewis had other ideas. As we skirted the dance floor he stepped on to it and pulled me up tight against him, my back against his front. I could feel his arousal as he rubbed himself against me. In this position he could easily feel my wire if he put his hands on my ribs, so I swiveled around to face him. Stretching my arms up and around his neck I breathed into his ear, “Let’s go outside, I’m not sure I can even wait until the end of this song.”

It had to be uncomfortable for him to walk that fast with the size of his erection, but walk fast he did and he pulled me along with him. I did a little skip to catch up to him and hung on to his arm as if he was the most important thing in my life at that moment. We went through the swing door and past the bathrooms. We were actually at the rear door when he suddenly put his left arm around me and curled his hand around my left breast under my top. Of course he immediately noticed the wire.

“You bitch. You’re a cop?!” I reeled backwards against the fire door as he slapped me hard around the face. My weight pushed the bar down and the door swung open. Quickly I reached out and grabbed his shirt and pulled him with me. Strong arms grabbed me from behind as we both tumbled out of the door. Ranger dragged me away from under Nathan just as he lost his footing and fell hard onto the ground.

Tank was on him in an instant, one knee in his back and had both his hands in cuffs before Lewis could retaliate.

I felt Ranger’s warmth behind me as he draped his jacket over my shoulders and turned me into his arms. More from habit than anything else, I relaxed into his embrace. Then I felt it. Diesel was here. I looked up in the direction I just knew he’d be.

He was leaning against Ranger’s Porsche. Gently, I extricated myself from Ranger’s arms and walked, on shaky legs, towards Diesel. When I reached him, I looked up into his eyes and tried to smile, but my face hurt so much that the smile turned into a grimace. He lifted a finger and ran it down my cheek where Lewis had hit me.

“Does it hurt?”

“A little, but we got the scum.” I motioned back in the direction where Tank was escorting Lewis to a waiting RangeMan vehicle. “He’s wanted for rape and murder, so a bruised cheek is a small price to pay to get him back in the system. Hopefully it’ll be a long time before he hurts anyone again.” Again I tried to smile but as my lips stretched I felt something start to drip down my chin.

“Your lip is split.” Diesel pulled his handkerchief out of his jacket pocked and dabbed at the blood that was welling out of the wound. “It’s not so bad.”

“Babe, you did good tonight.”

“Thank you Ranger.” I knew he’d been standing behind me the whole time. Taking the square of linen from Diesel’s hand I held it to my lip. I looked up at Diesel and saw that he was looking at Ranger over my shoulder. If I didn’t know better I could swear they were having a silent conversation. One that didn’t include me.

I stepped forward and Diesel put a comforting arm around my shoulders and held me gently. I felt his hand slip under Ranger’s jacket that was still draped around me, and slide under the edge of my top. I winced slightly as he pulled the tape away that held the wire. Gently kissing the uninjured side of my mouth, he handed me the listening device. Turning around and moving out of his embrace, I stepped over to Ranger.

“Here. Thank you for your jacket, Ranger.” I handed it to him together with the wire. He took the jacket and as he was taking the wire he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him.

He startled me when he kissed me on the temple and whispered, “Thanks Babe. I meant what I said. You did well this evening.” And then he turned and walked back to talk to his men who already had Lewis shackled into the back of one of the SUVs.

I shivered without the jacket and Diesel came over to me and pulled me into his warmth holding me to his side with a comforting arm. I looked up at him with some surprise. “You’re not going to say anything about Ranger kissing me?”

“No, Steph. He’s a good man. I trust him. He would never let anything really bad happen to you if he could possibly help it.”

“I know.” I looked up at him, and cupping his cheek in my hand, I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. “He loves me you know.”

Diesel didn’t say anything, he just gave a single nod. “Let’s go home and get you cleaned up.” We walked around the side of the building where were out of sight and then, in the next instant, we were home.

oooOOOooo

We had arrived in the living room, and all of a sudden I was dog tired. I dragged myself to the bathroom untying my top as I walked. By the time I reached the tub I was standing in just my panties. I could still feel that creep’s hands on me. I turned the water on to maximum heat and after taking care of the necessary, I stepped in under the spray. I half expected Diesel to follow me in and help scrub my back, and I was kind of surprised that there was no sign of him.

My skin was red by the time I stepped out of the shower, both from the extra hot water and from scrubbing. I knew I was clean but I still felt grubby. It was odd, I’d never felt this way after a distraction before. I’d never felt dirty before. I dried off quickly and pulled my hair back into an untidy pony tail.

Pulling on my robe I walked down the hall to our bedroom. I dressed in a pair of boxers and a tank top then went in search of Diesel. I found him in the kitchen; he was standing at the counter drinking a cup of coffee and watching Rex run on his wheel.

Coming to a stop behind him, I put my arms around his waist and rested my head against his back. “What’s wrong D? I expected you to follow me into the shower.”

“I felt the pain.”

“Huh?” He’d lost me.

“When the skip hit you, I felt it. That’s not supposed to happen. No matter how close you get to someone, you’re not supposed to have a physical connection like that.”

“But I’ve hurt myself before now and you’ve never felt it. I mean you don’t feel pain every time I stub my toe, do you?” He shook his head. “So perhaps it was only because I was in danger.”

“You weren’t in danger, Ranger and his men were there. I know that they would protect you with their lives. No I think it was because you were frightened.” He put his mug down on the counter and turned in my arms. Caressing my bruised face with the lightest of touches he leaned down and feathered a kiss on my cut lip. “Steph, I love you. I love you with my mind and my body. There would be no life for me without you in my world.”

I was close to tears; I had never heard a declaration of love so beautiful before. I brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen across his forehead. “D, I love you too. There has never been anything in my life that comes even close to the strength and depth of my love for you.” Needing to show him just how deep my love for him was I took his hand in mine and led him back down the hall to the bedroom.

oooOOOooo

It was just after dawn when I awoke. I knew instantly what had caused me to awaken so jarringly. The throbbing in my jaw was all consuming. I turned to face Diesel so that I was no longer lying on my injured cheek. He was awake and watching me. A small frown line appeared between his brows.

“Are you in pain?”

“Yeah a little.”

“Stay here.” He kissed me on the forehead and got out of bed. Not bothering to pull on clothes, he padded out of the bedroom in all his naked glory. Two minutes later he sat down on my side of the bed with a couple of pain killers and glass of water. I dutifully took the pills and washed them down with the water. Taking the empty glass from me, he placed it on the bedside table, climbed over me and got back under the covers.

I snuggled into his embrace as he started to speak. “I have to go back. I didn’t finish the job.” I could tell he was worried, and not just about me, but about whatever it was that he’d abruptly left behind. “I don’t want to leave you like this.”

“I’m okay D, it’s just a bruise. I was thinking I’d go into the office anyway, see if any skips have come in. There weren’t any yesterday, perhaps I’ll be luckier today.”

“Steph, be careful please. If you find yourself in trouble, pop yourself out to somewhere safe.”

I immediately bristled. “D... I had years of Morelli telling me to get another job, don’t you start.”

“I’m not telling you to get another job. I think you’re good at what you do, and now with your special gifts, you can be even better. I’m just reminding you to use those gifts to your advantage.”

I sighed and nodded. “You’re right. I didn’t think to use my powers last night. I should have teleported out of there as soon as he found my wire. I guess I’m just not used to them yet.” I fell silent for a moment or two wondering what Ranger and his men would think if they saw me disappear before their eyes. “When do you have to leave?”

“Not for a while yet. Do you want to go back to sleep or would you prefer to come and scrub my back?”

I chuckled and wound my arms around his neck, “I think I’d rather have breakfast in bed!”

He grinned like a Cheshire Cat. “I think I’ll join you.” And he started to eat his favorite food. Me!

oooOOOooo

I breezed into the bonds office with a smile a mile wide and a box of donuts in my hands.

“She got some this morning.” Lula was nothing if not direct.

Connie looked at me and agreed. “Definitely. Written all over her face.”

“Jeeze, can’t a girl have some fun without the whole world knowing all about it?”

“Not if you go around with smile that big at nine in the morning. Girl, you are practically broadcasting satisfaction.” Lula’s beaded braids clicked as she nodded her head as she talked.

Connie looked at my face more closely and narrowed her eyes. “Well it’s obvious that Diesel came home last night, but I’m assuming he didn’t give you that lip. Cause if he did, I’d get the Family after him.” She looked at me seriously. “So what happened?”

“I did a distraction for Ranger last night and the skip got a little unruly. We got him though. Another piece of scum off the streets.” I put the box of donuts down on Connie’s desk and sat down in the chair in front of it. “Please tell me you’ve got a skip for me today, Connie. I’ve got to work.”

“One, but the bond is a little higher than you’re used to.”

I took the file she was handing to me. “After last night, anything would be easier.” I opened the file and started reading. It took me all of ten seconds to read everything in the file. “This all the information you got on this guy?”

Connie nodded. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay. I’ll drive over to RangeMan and use their search programs. I want to thank the guys for helping me last night anyway.”

I grabbed one of the donuts, the file and my bag and made my way back out to my car. I’ve had computer privileges at RangeMan for a couple years now, ever since I worked full-time for Ranger for a few weeks. There is even a cubicle set aside for my use. I parked in the underground lot of the building on Haywood and made my way up to the fifth floor.

I walked past the comm room, finger waved at Binkie and Cal who were on monitor duty, and then made my way over to my cubicle. I put my bag on the desk and switched on the computer. While it booted up, I went in search of coffee.

Once in the break room, I ignored the man reading the paper at one of the tables while I made a beeline for the coffee machine. It wasn’t until I had my first sip of caffeine that I looked over at the paper.

“Morning Lester,” I said once I found out who was hiding behind the newspaper.

“Morning Beautiful.” Lester lowered the paper and smiled at me. “You did a really good job last night. How’s the jaw?”

“Sore but I’ll live. I wanted to thank you for your own distraction job last night. If you hadn’t pulled your drunken Lothario act I would’ve had to sit on his lap.” I gave an exaggerated shudder.

“All part of the service, Steph.” He said with a wink. “What are you doing here so early?”

“I need to use the search programs. Talk to you later?” He nodded and went back to the sports section of his paper.

Three hours later I had quite a bit of information on my skip. Definitely plenty to work with. I was just shutting down and packing everything away when I felt Ranger enter the room. So when he reached my cubicle it was no surprise and without turning around I said, “Morning Ranger.”

“You’re getting better at being aware of your surroundings, Babe.”

“Yeah I know. I’m learning all the time.” He just didn’t know exactly what I was learning.

Ranger stepped over to me and lifted my chin, gently turning my face to the right and to the left. “That’s a bad bruise. Does it hurt?”

“A little, but I’ll recover.”

Ranger leaned against my desk and crossed his arms over his chest. “Join me for lunch up on seven?” It was phrased like a question, but for some reason, it sounded more like an order. “We need to talk.”

“Quite the conversationalist lately aren’t you? What do we have to talk about?” I grabbed my bag and followed him out past the comm room and into the elevator. Once inside the car Ranger gave me the raised eyebrow again. Damn I wish I could do that. “What? You want to talk but won’t talk? I asked you a question Ranger, the least you could do is acknowledge that you heard me.”

Ranger’s response was to glance up at the camera. So I remained quiet. I couldn’t tell by looking at him if he was angry or what. I was tempted to eavesdrop on his feelings, but I decided to let him tell me what was up in his own time.

The doors slid open on seven and I followed Ranger into his apartment. Ella was there setting the food out on the dining room table.

“Hello Ella, it’s good to see you.” She was my favorite housekeeper in the whole world. Well actually she was the only housekeeper I knew, but she could cook like a dream.

“Hello dear. How are you? We don’t get to see you nearly enough around here lately.”

“I know Ella, I should drop by more often. And if you promise me food like this, then I’ll visit as often as you wish.” I smiled at her.

Ella chuckled and I could hear her continuing to chuckle quietly to herself as she wheeled her cart out of the front door towards the elevator.

I stood there feeling awkward, not knowing if I should sit down at the table or wait to be invited to sit. Ranger must have sensed my indecision because he pulled out one of the chairs for me to sit. I settled myself in the chair and Ranger took the seat opposite.

The food smelled like Heaven. I picked up my fork and took a bite of the chicken in front of me. I closed my eyes as the meat simply melted in my mouth. How does she make chicken so tender and moist? Mine always turned out stringy and dry.

Ranger had said that we needed to talk, but he showed no sign of starting the conversation. I stole a glance at him; his face was still giving nothing away.

“What did you want to talk about Ranger? What’s the big mystery?” I asked between mouthfuls of food.

“No mystery. We need to talk about us.”

I panicked. “Us? There is no ‘us’”

“Do I have to re-evaluate the boundaries between us?”

I didn’t know how to answer that. “I’m not sure I understand you.”

”Since Diesel entered the picture full-time, you’ve been avoiding me, but last night, when I held you, you accepted my embrace.”

“Yes I did. As a friend, Ranger. I was relieved the job was over and I relaxed in the arms of a friend. No more than that.”

“You sure, Steph?”

“Yes Ranger. I love Diesel, and he loves me. He’s my life and my future.” I reached out and placed my hand over his. “I love you Ranger, I always will, but it was just a dream, a fantasy. We would never have worked. I would always have wanted more than you were able to give.” My voice cracked on the emotion I felt. I knew I was giving up something that could have been good, but what I had with Diesel was far better.

Ranger stood up and came to stand by my chair. Pushing my chair back, I stood as well and I naturally moved into his arms. He held me close as he kissed my temple. “Babe, if you need me, if it is humanly possible, I will be there for you. Always.”

I looked up at him. Reaching up to caress his cheek, I felt a tear slip down my cheek. Before I could stop myself I kissed him softly on the lips and moved away from him. Picking up my bag and slinging it over my shoulder, I looked over at him. “Are we good now? Friends?”

“Always and forever, Babe. Always and forever.”

Before I could disgrace myself by breaking down, I turned to walk out of Ranger’s apartment, stopping by the door, I reached into my bag and removed the key fob to his front door from my key chain. Slowly, I placed it on the hall table before opening the door. Walking out of the apartment, I closed the door behind me, knowing I was closing the door on a chapter of my life.

As I walked to the elevator, I realized that a chapter may have closed, but a whole new book had been opened. And the new story was all about friendship and hope as well as love and passion.

End