63New story flowing around in my head. This is all OOC and begins when Steph and Ranger are in Elementary School. In this story Ranger is a year older than Stephanie and at first does not take place in present time.
As always, let me know what you think!
*** Please accept my apologies. I wasn't thinking when I first wrote this and Ranger's name should be Carlos. I believe I have fixed that error! Thank you to my reviewers for pointing that out to me. Until 'Ranger' get's his nickname he was Carlos. Oops...
My name is Stephanie Plum. I grew up in Chambersburg New Jersey, more commonly referred to as 'The Burg'. I was actually born in Portland, OR but when my father died my mom moved us back to her hometown. She bought a cute little row house that was perfect for the me, my sister, and her.
Moving to a new town at 6 wouldn't be a big deal for most kids. But I was never easy. My older sister thought she was a princess and pranced around in big fluffy dresses, always making friends easy. I on the other hand, would rather climb a tree or play in the dirt.
There was a family that lived next door and my mom thought the little girl and I were close enough in age that we could get along. Sadly she was mistaken. I hadn't meant to ruin the girls dress but it was boring painting on the plain sheets of paper. Celia had a whole closet full of dresses, like Valerie's, and I thought it would be fun to try to make one look like those tie dye dresses. You know the ones with all the different spiral colors. Well, how was I supposed to know that paint not only wasn't the way to make some tie dye, but that it was her special Easter dress.
Of course her mother wasn't mad; Rosa said it gave the dress some character. I think she was just trying to be nice to me. Celia's brother, Carlos, and cousin, Lester came in just as she broke down and screamed at how we weren't friends anymore. This just made the boys laugh and my face turned bright red. It was humiliating. Not only couldn't I make friends with the neighbor girl but the boys would make fun of me for the rest of my life.
I decided to fly home. It was the most logical reasoning I could come up with at that age and I ran home, climbed the lattice in the front of the house to get to the roof and jumped. It wasn't until I was sinking towards the ground I realized people couldn't fly. There was a sharp pain in my right arm and I felt tears spring into my eyes. I almost let them fall but then I saw Celia's brother run over to me.
"Are you okay?" He asked bending down to my level. I hated that I was so small. Celia said he was only 1 year older than us but to me he was huge and I felt really small next to him.
Glaring I got up and pushed him away with my good hand. "Go away!"
His cousin laughed at him, "Dude, you let a girl push you."
My mother picked that moment to run out of the house, "Stephanie! What in the world do you think you are doing? Why would you jump off the roof?"
"I wanted to fly home."
She crossed herself, "That's nonsense, this is your home. You don't see Celia jumping off the roof off her house do you? Beside, people can't fly"
I could hear Lester and Carlos laughing as my mom took me in the house.
We drove to the hospital and it was confirmed that I had a broken arm. Great. I was sitting on the front porch later that night trying to dig a stick into the cast, it itched badly, when Carlos, Lester, and two boys I hadn't met before walked by.
"Hey Wonder Woman!" He called over to me, "Can we sign your cast?"
I shrugged and they ran over, Lester pulling a pen out of his pocket. As they got closer I realized one of the kids with them was huge. I had never seen a kid so tall before in my life. But he wasn't just tall; he was big, all around. I swear his arm was as tall as I was. Okay that might be an exaggeration but that's how I felt at the time.
They all signed my cast and I glanced at the other two names: Tank and Bobby. Forgetting that they were older and bigger than I was I laughed, "Your parents named you Tank?"
He just smiled at me and replied, "Did you really think you could fly off your roof?" I felt my cheeks flush again and turned to run into the house. My motto was to run and hide whenever possible. It was always the less painful option.
"Hey" I heard one of them call after me. "We're headed over to tag the Morelli's garage, wanna come?"
Were they really inviting me to go with them? My mom always said that boys would tell a girl anything to get them to do what they wanted. Was this one of those times that she was talking about? Who cares, I thought, anything was better than spending another minute listening to Valerie sing along to Cinderella.
"Sure." I walked with them down the street, listening to them argue and make fun of each other. "Hey, who are the Morelli's?"
"Nobody you should ever be alone with. They aren't nice boys. The youngest one, Joe, is the worst. I hear he tricks girls into his garage and then looks up their skirts." This came from Bobby and I glanced at Carlos who nodded his consent.
Lester added, "Yeah Steph, stay away from them. Unless you are with us of course." Steph? No one had ever given me a nickname before and I smiled at him. They didn't seem so bad.
Turns out I was a big help in 'painting' the garage. They gave me my own can of spray paint and we proceeded to draw designs all over the garage in the back of the house.
"Hey" Lester whispered, "the bike he stole from me is sitting in there." We all huddled over to the window; of course I couldn't see anything because I was too small. "We gotta get it back."
Tank pulled something from his pocket and pried the window open. "How are we going to get in? We're all too big for the window."
Suddenly all four boys turned to look at me. This was my chance to shine, I thought. "I could fit. Just tell me what to do once I'm in there."
Carlos lifted me around the waist and pushed me up to the window. It was difficult with one hand but I managed to squirm through and drop to the floor. Lester and Tank were standing at the back door and motioned me over. It was easy to unlock and they ruffled my hair as they walked past me. Lester grabbed his bike while Tank closed the window. Something told me they had done this kind of thing before.
"Shit!" I heard.
"Hey! What are you doing? Get out of my garage!" I didn't recognize the voice and I froze. Tank and Lester were already gone when I realized I should probably have run too. A boy just a tad smaller than Carlos appeared in the doorway. "Who are you?" He smiled and walked toward me.
"Uh…." I didn't know what to say. He closed the garage door and I panicked. I knew I shouldn't have gone off with them. How could they have all run off without me? Now I was going to get in trouble for breaking into his garage. Oh my god! All the paint, I would get in trouble for that too.
"You wanna play a game?" I backed up until I was against the car. Didn't Bobby say something about staying away from this kid?
"No. I want to go home." He didn't move.
"You shouldn't hang out with those thugs. They are always getting into trouble. You can be my friend though. But you have to play a game with me first."
"Nobody wants to be your friend Joe." Carlos said. I jumped, not realizing he had come back. "Come on Steph." He held his hand out for me.
We had been best friend since. My mom hated that I wanted to run around town with a bunch of boys but I guess she was happy that I had made a few friends. And Joe was right; they were always getting into trouble. Never me though, even though I was always with them when they would get caught breaking into someone's garage or adding color to a building. They always found a way to hide me and take the blame.
Things were pretty easy until middle school. Something changed, my mom called it puberty, and when we were hanging out they would start acting weird all of a sudden and take a lot of bathroom breaks. It was sad when they went to high school, I didn't have any other friends so I spent all of 8th grade keeping to myself.
My mom told me that I should find some nice girls to hang out with but whenever I tried to talk to them I wanted to puke. Everything was about boys and boobs and who had started their period. While I knew about boys, I didn't have boobs and I hadn't started my period yet. Again, I was left feeling weird and out of place.
My mom was wrong though, every day when I got out of school the guys would swing by and we would walk home together. The first time they did that some older kids at their school made fun of them. The next day I saw the same guy with some cuts and bruises on his face and nobody ever said anything again.
It was the last day of school and I was thrilled to finally get to start high school and be back with my friends. I was in my room trying to find some clean shorts and a tank top to change into when I heard Carlos yelling at me "Steph!"
Poking my head out the window I yelled back, "What?"
"We're headed to the lake. Are you coming?"
"Okay! Give me a minute!" I threw on my new bathing suit. It was a two piece, black with pink polka dots, and threw one of Tanks shirts on over me. Somehow I had collected pieces of all the guys clothing. Whenever we went out I would end up covered in dirt or paint and the guys would give me something of theirs to wear so my mom didn't know what we were up to.
Tank was the oldest and had just gotten his driver's license so we piled into his jeep and drove 30 minutes outside of Trenton to our favorite spot. You had to hike about a mile to get to it but we were okay with it cause nobody else ever came here.
We played in the water for hours, dunking and splashing each other before my stomach rumbled. As big as the guys were I always could out eat them. Well, sometimes Lester and I had to call it a draw. "There's some sandwiches my mom made in the bag babe." Carlos yelled to me before jumping off a tree limb into the water.
I was still getting used to his new nickname for me and tried to hide my blush. Up until this last year I was okay with us all just being friends, but I had seen all the kids at school holding hands and even some of them making out. It was hard for me at times to not look at them, especially Carlos, and wish they would kiss me or something.
I was looking through the bag, pulling out sandwiches when I heard him approach. "Steph, are you okay?"
Carlos was standing over me, looking concerned. "Yeah why?" I smiled up at him and held out a sandwich.
"You're bleeding babe." He pointed to my leg and sure enough there was blood dripping down it.
"Maybe I cut myself." It wouldn't have been the first time one of use got injured playing in the water. There were lots of sharp rocks. I ran my hand over my leg but couldn't find anything when it hit me, Oh my god! I started my period. Tears immediately formed and I grabbed a towel, quickly wrapping it around myself. My cheeks were burning and I wanted to run and hide.
Understanding dawned on Carlos's face and he pulled me in for a hug seeing the panic on mine, "It's okay Steph. I won't tell anyone." He kissed my forehead and called out to the guys, "Hey, my stomach doesn't feel so good. Let's head back."
A chorus of groans came from the water but they all got out and we headed back to the jeep. "Couldn't you have taken a shit before we left the house man?" Lester complained as we drove back home.
Carlos hit him upside the head and winked at me. I was silent the entire drive home, sure that if I spoke the other guys could tell what had happened. Before the jeep was parked I jumped out and ran for the house, not stopping when my mother called after me wondering where I had been.
While I wasn't able to hide at the lake, I spent the next week cooped up in the house. I was mortified that Carlos had seen me like that. It didn't last long and by the 5th day I was done bleeding. It was 8pm and I was lying on my back on my bed, a fan blowing on me through the window.
"Stephanie!" I heard Valerie yell from downstairs. "Your friends are down here for you!" She hated Carlos and the guys and always made sure I knew it. By the way she said 'friends' I could only imagine the disgusted look she was giving them. Part of me wanted to run down to save her from saying something mean to them but the other part of me was still embarrassed.
Letting my cowardly side win out I didn't answer her and prayed they would just go away like they had the other nights this week. No such luck. I heard the unmistakable sound of them running up the stairs and before I could climb out my window my door was flown open. "Jesus! I could have been naked or something!" I yelled at them. hoping to distract from the fact that I had one leg hanging out the window.
"That's what I was hoping for." Lester teased me. I glared at him taking in how much they had all changed in just over a week.
Tank seems impossibly bigger than I remembered; Lester and Carlos both had muscles bulging under their shirts, and Bobby had started to get facial hair. We were all changing and it made me feel weird when Lester's comment sent butterflies through my stomach. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. These were just my friends; I didn't want them to see me naked… did I?
"You've been hiding in your room for a week babe." My cheeks flushed again, "Come on. There's a party at Terri Gillman's. You're coming." He pulled me out of the window where I was still contemplating jumping. With my luck they would still make me go with them. We'd just spend the first half of the night at the hospital.
"Fine. Just let me change." Everyone but Carlos stepped into the hallway. He turned and pulled out a black mini skirt and white t-shirt that said 'Cute' across the front in pink rhinestones. I stared down at the outfit. "No way am I wearing that." Besides, I thought to myself, mom had taken me bra shopping and I didn't like any of the white ones so I only had black and pink. No way could I wear a white t-shirt.
"Just hurry and find something then Steph." Carlos sighed and left me alone to get dressed.
I pulled on my new black bra surprised by how much I filled it. I wasn't as big as some of the other girls I knew but at least my chest wasn't flat anymore. I guess that was one plus to finally getting my period. Throwing on a pair of jean I found a similar shirt to the one Carlos had picked out. It was black and left a small part of my stomach showing if I raised my arms. This would have to do.
I met the guys in the hallway and we left for Terri's house. Terri's father was rumored to be in the mob so nobody every interfered when she threw a party. The place was huge and you had to drive down a long private road to reach it. Music was blaring as we arrived and there were tons of kids. I knew most of them, having gone to elementary and middle school with most of them, but there were a few older kids from the high school I hadn't seen before.
Lester and Bobby immediately took off with some girls and I stood, wide eyed, staring at the people around me. Please don't let Carlos and Tank ditch me, please don't let Carlos and Tank ditch me. I figured if I said it over and over again then the universe would do some magic and keep them by my side all night.
"Hey Carlos." I turned to see who had approached and held back a gag when I saw Joyce Barnhardt sidle up next to him. Carlos grinned down and at her. "Will you dance with me?" I watched him walk away with her and for the first time felt a pain in my heart. What the hell? Carlos was just my friend. No way was I going to get jealous of him dancing with another girl. Accept he wasn't just dancing with her, they were kissing too. Damn.
I knew this day would come. The day we all realize it just isn't normal for a girl to be friends with a bunch of guys without feeling left out somehow. As much as they tried to treat me like one of them, we all knew there were things that would eventually draw a line in the sand.
Tank threw his arm around me. "Guess it's just you and me Beautiful." He led me into the kitchen and took a beer off the counter. I spent the next couple of hours following Tank around, hoping that Carlos would eventually join us. He never did.
Bobby was the only one who found us and he drove us home since Tank had been drinking. That was the first night I cried over Carlos. There were many other nights like that during the summer, but I never said anything and as far as I knew Carlos never knew how I felt.
My first two years of high school flew by. Finally I met some girls that I clicked with; Mary Lou and Lula. While I still spent most of my time with the boys it was nice to have girls to talk about girl things with. Especially when Carlos started dating. By the time my junior year of high school rolled around Lester and Morelli were competing to see who could sleep with the most girls. Tank and Lula had been 'dating' off and on, while Bobby and Mary Lou were closer. Carlos, I had no idea. Whenever we went to a party there was always a girl that would catch his attention and he would disappear for the rest of the night. Unlike the other guys he never talked about it though.
Our group of 5 had grown to a group of 7 and while we were all still close, I had never felt so far away than I did that year. There was no denying my feelings for Carlos anymore. I found myself wishing the school year would just end so that he would go away to college and I wouldn't have to watch him flirt with other people.
It was a Friday night and Tank was on the varsity football team. We were all going to meet at the school to watch him play; Carlos and I were driving over together since we lived so close. On the ride over he cut the music off, "What's up with you babe?"
Usually when he called me babe it made me smile but I was mad at him for whatever he had been doing with those girls and tonight I scoffed. "Why do you call me that?" I snapped at him.
"See, that's what I mean. You've had this attitude lately." Attitude? He had no idea the kind of attitude I could conjure up if he wanted to see attitude. "Have I done something to upset you?"
Yes. "No."
He smiled at me, "Liar. Tell me what I did."
I hated that he could tell when I was lying. It really didn't make these types of situations any easier. I sighed, "I don't know. I guess I just feel like our group is falling apart." At least I could tell him part of the truth.
We pulled into the parking lot and he looked over at me. "Why do you feel like that?" Shrugging I looked out the window trying to avoid his gaze. He reached out and ran his hand down my hair. I wanted to lean into his touch so bad and it pissed me off to feel that way. Instead I grabbed my purse and jumped out of the car, walking towards the bleachers. "Hey, wait up!" No way.
I could hear him jogging up to me. "Stephanie." He grabbed my arm pulling me to a stop. "I have no idea what you are so upset about. We're best friend's babe. If you don't tell me what's wrong I can't fix it."
Jerking my arm out of his grasp I glared up at him, "Maybe that's the problem Carlos. We're best friends" I made sure to spit the word, "you all run off to your girls and I'm just stuck being the friend who is a girl that nobody thinks could be more than that."
His mouth dropped but I didn't want to hear his response. I walked right past him towards the parking lot. "Where are you going?"
"Home." I called over my shoulder.
I walked 3 miles home that night crying the whole way. There was a party after the game and I knew everyone would be going to it so I didn't bother waiting up for a phone call from Mary Lou or Lula. It was midnight when I heard my window opening.
I never kept it locked, ever since I moved here. All of us kept out windows unlocked so we could come and go as we please. Carlos stood, hands on hips, at the foot of my bed glaring down at me. "Just thought I'd make sure nobody kidnapped you on the way home." He was angry and the bite in his words stung.
"I'm sorry Carlos. I shouldn't have said anything." I mumbled. He sighed and ran his hand over his face. "If you don't want to be friends with me anymore I understand."
The sound of his laugh made me jump as he sat on the end of my bed. Growing up there were many nights Carlos and I had shared a bed. Hell, most of the time all 5 of us ended up in a dog pile at someone's house. My mother didn't approve at first but after the 3rd time I snuck out she decided to just lecture their parents to make sure no 'funny business' was going to go on. Tonight having him so close made my heart speed up. Stupid Stephanie, stupid.
"I wish you had told me you felt this way awhile ago Steph." He reached his hand out and pulled me up so I was standing between his legs, his hands running up and down my arms. "Do you have any idea how crazy you make me?"
I stiffened. What did he mean make him crazy? "No…." Good going Stephanie. You really should have just kept your mouth shut. Things will never be the same between the two of you now.
"Do you remember that day at the lake? You wore that cute little black bikini with pink polka dots." He chuckled, "God you had me so uncomfortable." He was uncomfortable? I was the one who started my period that day. My cheeks burned and I tried to pull away from him but he held my arms and pulled me closer, putting us chest to chest. "It was the first day that I started to look at you differently, and not in a bad way."
I still wasn't sure if I understood. A part of me was mortified to think he was talking about the blood. "I don't understand."
He groaned, "I know. I'm not really explaining it very well." He moved his hands from my arms and wrapped them around my waist, linking them behind my back. "I guess I started to see you as more than just a friend, but then you avoided me that week and I didn't know if it was because of… you know… " I nodded, "Or because you wanted space from us. I just assumed we had gotten to the point in our friendship where things were going to be different because we were guys and you were a girl."
Remembering that week I thought back to the party, "Then why did you make me go to the party with you? If you felt that way why would you disappear with Joyce? You didn't even come home that night!" I was getting upset remember the first night I realized how I felt about Carlos.
He looked ashamed; it was a look I have never seen on my friends face before. "I don't know Steph." He shrugged. "I didn't know how to change things with us. I guess I thought if you felt the same way you would get upset at seeing me with another girl and say something." My mouth dropped open and he laughed, "It was stupid I know."
My mind was reeling. If I had only acted on how I felt that night I wouldn't have been so miserable all these years. I wasn't paying attention to what he was saying and suddenly I felt his lips brush my neck, making me shiver.
This was a dream of mine. To have Carlos in my room, telling me he feels the same way. And here he was kissing me, I had to be asleep. I moved my hand over to my arm and pinched, "OW!"
He stopped and looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "I thought I might have been asleep. I was just checking."
He threw his head back and laughed but stopped quickly when we heard my mom yell, "Stephanie? What was that?"
Stifling my own laughter I answered, "Sorry mom. I turned my tv on and didn't realize how loud it was." Please believe me. Don't make Carlos sneak out my window.
"Just keep it down." She said. We waited to hear her door close before laughing quietly.
"Sorry," he said, pulling me back onto the bed with him.
I was nervous, I didn't know what Carlos wanted to do and, while I would do anything with him, everything was a first for me and I didn't want him to think I was stupid.
We were both lying on our sides staring at each other. He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm going to kiss you now." He whispered leaning in and brushing his lips across mine. I froze, not knowing what to do, but after a couple seconds I moved my lips, matching his.
We made out and explored each other's bodies, touching and feeling, but never anything more. We both fell asleep around 4am.
It was 2 weeks before their graduation and I felt guilty for wishing this year would go by quickly months ago. Carlos and I had been dating and I have never been happier. We spent most night sneaking into the others rooms, kissing and touching, but never having sex. I think Carlos knew I wasn't quite ready for that yet.
I was in my room staring at myself in the mirror. It was Junior/Senior Prom and I wanted to make sure I looked perfect. The dress was blue to match my eyes, empire waist with rhinestones sewn through the bodice. My hair was up off my neck, the curls had decided to behave tonight so I only had to put a small amount of gel in it.
The doorbell rang and I got nervous. Carlos hadn't looked at another woman since the night we opened up about how we felt but I still worried he would find someone he liked better. Gathering my confidence I opened the door and headed down the stairs.
Carlos beamed at me, "You look beautiful babe."
We did the whole picture thing for our parents before everyone else showed up. Lester was taking a girl named Connie he met at a party, Tank and Lula obviously, and Bobby and Mary Lou. We had all pitched in for a limo and the first stop was dinner at Rossini's. It was fun and carefree, all of us used to each other's company.
The guys paid the bill and we headed off to the dance. In the Limo I heard Tank and Lester talking about a hotel room they rented out in Point Pleasant. They were trying to convince Bobby and Carlos to come out as well. "It'll be like an after party guys!" Lester whined. "You have to come. This is one of the last times we'll get to be together like this. Next year most of us will be off in college or away with the Army."
I sat up straight, "Who's going into the Army?" As far as I knew all the guys were headed off to a community college.
Tank cleared his throat and raised his hand. "Why didn't I know this?" I looked over at Carlos and Lula.
"I just found out white girl; don't get your panties all in a bunch." Lula said.
Carlos wrapped his arm around me and kissed my temple, "Sorry Steph. Tank hasn't told anyone other than us guys. He didn't want his parents to try to stop him."
I crossed my arms over my chest in a mock show of frustration. Really I was holding back the tears. Tank was going to go into the Army? Now our group was going to really be torn apart. Lester turned the music up for the rest of the ride, trying to lighten the mood.
"Hey, about the hotel room," Carlos whispered in my ear. "what do you think?" My stomach flipped. If I agreed to go back to the hotel room would he expect us to have sex? As if reading my mind he added, "No pressure babe. It'll just be fun to hang out with the group."
"Okay." I agreed.
The dance was okay. We hung out for about 2 hours before Tank and Lester were itching to head out. Carlos and I were dancing when they interrupted us. "Come on man. This place is boring."
He looked at me and I knew if I said I wanted to stay we would all stay. "It's okay. We'll probably have more fun alone anyway." Not thinking about what I said Carlos lifted an eyebrow and Lester grinned at me. "What?"
They laughed, "Nothing."
In the limo to Point Pleasant the guys brought out their stash of liquor. There was Vodka and Orange Juice, Tequila and Limes, Rum and Coke, and of course, lots of Corona. By the time we reached the hotel most everyone was feeling tipsy. Tank and Lester had reserved hotel rooms for themselves and they quickly checked in and headed in their own direction. There goes us all hanging out together I mumbled.
Bobby and Carlos got 2 more rooms and I felt my nerves kick in as he opened the door. Before I could run, because that was exactly what I wanted to do, Carlos crushed his mouth over mine. I forgot why I was nervous as his hands let my hair down. I shivered as his fingers traced from my back to collarbone and back again. This time he reached for my zipper and I froze as he pushed my dress off my shoulders.
Resting his forehead on mine he stopped, "We don't have to do this." I knew I was being silly. Carlos was going away for college at the end of the summer. There was no need to hold our relationship back further.
"No I want to. I'm just a little anxious." He smiled and gently kissed me as he pushed me onto the bed, the dress easily slipping off my hips.
He removed his shoes, shirt, and pants, leaving him only in a pair of boxers. I could see his erection straining against the material and it made me blush.
He climbed onto the bed with me, kissing my neck and jaw while working to get my bra off. We had done some petting in the past but always left it above the waist and never had he seen me without my bra. My cheeks flushed when he threw it to the floor and moved his hands down to grope me. I was breathless with the new sensation and before I knew what he was doing my panties were gone as well.
He reached over the side of the bed for his pants and pulled out a condom, easily sliding it on. Moving so he was lying between my legs he cupped my face and kissed me again. I felt something touch my entrance and jumped, "Relax, it's just my fingers babe."
He slid one finger into me and I moaned at the sensation. After a couple strokes he added a second and I tensed at the pressure. It took a couple minutes but it started to feel good again. He sensed my ease and removed his fingers. Never breaking contact with my mouth he slid into me, stopping to let my body stretch to his. "You okay?" He asked
I just nodded. It was tight and a little painful but I wanted this experience with Carlos. He moved gently making sure not to hurt me. It was perfect and I blinked away the tears that formed as he held me in his arms afterwards.
He woke me up two times that night to make love to me again and each time was more enjoyable than the last. The third time we were together I had my first orgasm and Carlos vowed to make me do that every day until he left for college, and he did.
We promised to stay in touch, he would visit when he could and I would go see him when I had a long weekend from school. He was only 3 hours away and we thought it would be easy but it wasn't and we struggled to find the time and money to see each other.
Tank had gone off to boot camp as soon as summer started and that fall when our country was attacked he was sent off to Afghanistan. Carlos had only been away at school for a week when it happened and I could tell it was hard for him to be where he was when Tank was fighting for our country so far away.
Christmas came and I was thrilled to see Carlos. We spent every day together and every night naked in the other's arms. The day he was supposed to leave for school he said he wanted to talk.
"I have something to tell you Stephanie, and I don't think you're going to like it but I wanted you to be the first to know." This was the day I was dreading, the day he came home to tell me he met someone else.
"Just say it Carlos. I knew this would happen eventually." He looked confused and it pissed me off, "You've met someone else right?"
He smiled, "No Steph, there's no one else."
My mouth dropped open, "Well what then? As long as you're not breaking up with me I don't see what I could be mad about."
He sighed and pulled me down next to him. "You know Tank is in Afghanistan right?"
I nodded, "Yeah. I send him a letter every week."
He cleared his throat, "Babe, Lester and I can't…." his voice was strained and I started to feel a new kind of dread. "We can't just sit back and not do our part babe. I'm not going back to school; Lester and I are going to Texas for boot camp. We both joined the Army."