63Okay, first let me apologize for the delay. I know many of you have been anxiously awaiting an update from me and probably thought I fell off the earth. Unfortunately falling off the earth probably would be a lot less stressful than dealing with the end of my school career! I have been cramming for tons of finals and studying for my medical exams but found some time today to wrap up this story.
I've hated that this was left hanging and I know this is a quick wrap up but hopefully will allow enough closure for all you faithful readers. Maybe once my internship is over with I will have time to do a sequel.
Thanks for you patience and Enjoy!
The hot water from the shower felt amazing. We had only spent 1.5 days camping and I hadn't realized how much I missed plumbing. I let the water run over my back, stalling in hopes of Ranger being asleep by the time I was done. Of course there would only be 2 rooms left, and, again, of course Tank and Lester would stick me and Ranger in the one with only 1 bed.
Sighing I turned the water off and quickly dried myself off. Most of our stuff was soaked but between the 4 of us we found enough dry clothes to get us through the night. I pulled on a pair of Lester's boxers and one of Tanks t-shirts. I couldn't help the giggle that broke through when I looked at myself in the mirror. Tanks shirt was down to my knees and with my wet hair, let's just say I wasn't very attractive looking.
What do I care though, I don't need to impress Ranger. Ha. I would be lying to myself if I didn't admit the effect this weekend was having on me. At first seeing him in the diner I thought I was going to have a stroke. Then I let the anger come, but as always, he found a way to make me laugh, and cry. He paid for my school? Shit, they all paid for my school?
The guilt washed over me and I sat on the toilet holding my head in my hands. I was such an ass to him about sending me that letter and dropping off the face of the earth. It made sense to me now why Lester told me I was wrong at Pino's. I had said he never checked up on me and when Lester told me I was wrong I didn't stop to think about what. Has he always been checking up on me? Maybe I should have tried harder to find him, check up on him.
I jumped when he knocked on the bathroom door jolting me out of my thoughts. "You okay Steph?"
God I loved his voice. "Yeah" I opened the door to see him leaning on the door jam. He was wearing a pair of boxers and I couldn't help myself when I raked my eyes over his body. The swell of his shoulders, his 8 pack of abs, I wanted to run my hands over his chest and pretend that the last 8 years hadn't happened.
He must have read my mind because he closed the distance between us, capturing my chin in his hands and connecting our lips. At first the kiss was gentle, but as soon as I wrapped my arms around his neck I could feel his need. The kiss opened and we let our tongues explore, while Ranger moved us away from the bathroom and towards the bed.
I needed this. There was no way I would tell him to stop. 8 years without sex is too much to keep control with this man in my arms. Of course things could change in 8 years. What if I had forgotten what to do, how it all worked? He's probably been with tons of women, all of whom probably knew what they were doing in bed.
He pulled away from me, concern shining through his eyes. "What's wrong babe?"
What do I tell him? Oh nothing it's just been 8 years since I've had sex and I'm worried you'll think I'm boring in bed? A smile spread across his face letting me know I had actually just said that out loud. "Um… did I say.."
He nodded and smiled wider as my cheeks turned a lovely shade of crimson. Stupid brain to mouth filter. "Do you have any idea how much I want you?"
Not able to form any words I shook my head. "Bad babe." He pressed his hips into me and I could feel his erection pressing into my stomach. "There is nothing about you that I could ever think was boring." He pressed his lips to mine again causing me to groan. Okay, maybe I'll suck at this, but it's worth a shot right?
Our kisses became frantic and before I knew what was happening he pulled my shirt over my head and pushed me onto the bed. The look in his eyes were primal and, if not for being half naked and know what he wanted to do to me, I might be scared. He pulled his boxers down letting his erection spring free. Was he bigger? Before the panic set in again he pulled the boxers off of me and a salacious smile spread across his face. "Fuck Steph." He looked torn for a moment before grabbing my ankles and pulling me to the edge of the bed. "I wanted this is be romantic but, shit, it's been a long time for me and I've dreamed about this day since the last time we were together."
He was standing between my legs, this length pressing against my thigh. My breathing became erratic as his hand slid up my leg, right to my center, eliciting a groan from deep in his chest. "You are so fucking wet." And in that moment he is filling me, holding my hips as my legs wrap around his waist, thrusting deep into me.
He stands starting down at me, eyes filled with passion and longing. It doesn't take long for the pressure to build and I moan as his movement increases. I close my eyes and relish the feel of him, letting every thrust take me higher. He picks up the pace, the sound of our skin slapping as it meets. Each time he fills me I can't help the cry, praying that Tank and Lester can't hear us. "Come on Steph" he growls out letting me know he can't last much longer. The sound of strain in his voice throws me over the edge and I scream out his name as my insides convulse around him. He freezes, squeezing his eyes shut, and I can fill him spilling into me before he collapses on top of me.
We lay like this for what seems like hours, literally wrapped up in each other, before he lifts me and pulls me up the bed. The rain has picked up and the sound is almost deafening and I can hear the thunder off in the distance working its way towards us. Ranger wraps me in his arms, my back to his front, and nuzzles his nose into the back of my neck. Placing a soft kiss on my shoulder he squeezes me to him and I drift off into the best night sleep I've had in 8 years.
The next few weeks Ranger and I spent as much time as possible together. I continued to work for him at RangeMan and we would have dinner in the evenings. Sometimes the guys would join us other times it was just the two of us.
While I still had some difficulty wrapping my mind around the 8 years he wasn't in my life, there wasn't a day that went by that Ranger didn't try to make it all up to me.
I was right about my car. The destruction was at the hands of Lester and Tank, though they swear Ranger didn't ask them to do it. I never believed them, especially when Ranger assigned me a company car once we got back from our camping trip. How convenient.
He says he likes buying things for me and as much as his spending makes me uncomfortable at times, his gifts are always very thoughtful. Ranger always found a creative way to give them to me as well. At first I would find flowers or jewelry in my room, or he would ask me to pull a file and inside would be tickets to the theater.
Much like today I wasn't expecting a gift, but he had one for me anyway.
"Hey babe, let's go grab some lunch."
I smiled as he took my hand and we headed down to the garage. "Where are we going?"
He shrugged, "Wherever you want to go."
He was waiting at the garage exit for me to tell him so he knew which direction to turn. "Pinos?" I squeaked out.
What I had learned about Ranger was he took his health very seriously. He was always taking me to off the wall restaurants that serves bark and grass. Well, not really, but the good all natural stuff that tasted like that. Which I why I was a bit shocked when he agreed to Pino's.
The parking lot was empty, which was not normal at any time of day, much less a Friday at noon. "Do you think their closed?"
I didn't receive an answer because he climbed out of the car and was opening my door like everything was normal. Taking my hand he lead me to the entrance and still didn't seem unnerved by the fact that the place was empty.
"Ranger, don't you think this is weird?"
He shrugged and motioned to the waitress that had appeared behind the bar. She came over smiling carrying two waters with her.
Without consulting me he ordered, "I'll have the grilled chicken and vegitables and she'll have the meatball sub."
The girl nodded and headed back to the kitchen. Ranger raised an eyebrow at my glare, "What?"
"What if I didn't want the meatball sub?" He just stared at me. "Maybe I wanted pizza."
"Do you want pizza?" I just stared back because, no, I don't want pizza, but that wasn't the point. He smiled and reached over for my hand suddenly serious. "Steph, are you happy?"
"Of course. Aren't you?"
He nodded and squeezed my hand before smiling and getting out of his chair. I assumed he was headed to the bathroom so imagine my surprise when he knelt before me and pulled out a black box from his pocket. "Babe, Steph," he cleared his throat, "I made the biggest mistake of my life when I cut you out of my life. These last few weeks have reminded me why I couldn't never move on or fall in love with another woman. You stole my heart the day we met and you tried to fly home and you've never given it back." My vision became blurry as I processed what he was saying. "I don't want to make any more mistakes when it comes to you. Please, marry me Stephanie."
"Yes" I whispered and launched into his arms. "Yes, yes, yes, yes."
He laughed and held me close "Thank you."
When we broke apart I jumped at the sudden appearance of all our friends and family filling the seats at Pino's. "You planned this?"
He smiled, of course he had all this planned. "But how did you know I would say Pino's."
"Really babe?"
Even though we had been separated for so long he still knew me better than any other person every would. Which is exactly why I happily became Mrs. Carlos Manoso.