Cindy opened her flower shop at 8:00am every morning on the dot. It wasn't that she was necessarily busy, as a matter of fact just the opposite. On a day like Monday, things were slow. The weekends were her busiest time and a slow Monday morning gave her a chance to restock and place orders for supplies.

More important than any of the business related things that brought her to her shop every morning bright and early were the goings on at Vincent Plum Bail Bonds across the street. There was always something brewing over there and it usually revolved one Stephanie Plum.

Cindy knew Steph from grade school and high school. And even though Steph was a year behind Cindy, this was the burg and everyone knows everyone else. So, every once in a while Cindy would be out front of her shop and run into Steph as she came or went from Vinnie's. They exchange a wave or some small talk, but that's about it.

It didn't take long for Cindy to figure out that watching who, and sometimes what, was coming in and out of Vinnie's office was the real entertainment. Heck, she could only imagine what went on inside that office. She even went so far as to rearrange her register and counter so that she could see right out the window. One time she went in a bet with a couple of the local cops. She bet that Steph's new CRV wouldn't last a week. Cindy won $100.

A small sigh escaped Cindy as she watched a black Bronco pull over to the curb in front of Vinnie's. That was the real reason she liked to watch the comings and going. Eye candy. There was a group of men that worked for Vinnie that were lookers, and usually had her drooling just from their short walk from the car to the front door. They seemed to always wear tight black t-shirts and form fitting cargo pants.

One of those men in particular seemed to take a keen interest in Steph. Not much info was grinding in the rumor mill on him and Steph. Cindy had the feeling it was because most people didn't want to be caught talking about the bounty hunter in black, Ricardo Manoso.

She took a sip of coffee and perched on her stool behind the register to watch and see who would be getting out of the Bronco. She sighed as the door opened to show Ranger sitting in the driver's seat. She knew she's be in for a good show of his backside. His ass was something she marveled at each time that she saw him going into Vinnie's. It was something she'd probably never get tired of.

Taking another sip of coffee, Cindy almost choked on it when Ranger exited the truck and stood staring at her shop. She felt as if she had been caught, but was helpless to move. All the blood drained from her heat to her feet when he started across the street to her shop.

The reality of this gorgeous man coming into her shop hit when she hear the bell above the front door jingle. It snapped her out of her trance, but she still shook on the inside.

"Hi," she managed to get out without sounding like a fool. "Can I help you find something?"

He removed his mirrored sunglasses and smiled. Cindy about melted to the floor. "Actually, yes. But I need your help too."

Cindy couldn't help but smile back, his words barely registering. "Of course."

"Good. I need some flowers delivered."

It took a few seconds, but Cindy pulled herself together and snapped into her business role. "No problem." She reached for her delivery pad and a pen. "For who?"

"You know Stephanie Plum?"

"Yes. I was in the same grade as her sister. Steph was a year behind us."

He nodded. "Great. I need to order flowers for her each day."

The small little glimmer of excitement she had felt when he walked in, died. She was being silly and she knew it. He came in here as a customer, not to see her. She wasn't the type of woman men like him looked at. She was average at best and well, truthfully, a big girl. Big girl as in "do you have that in a bigger size" big girl. No longer flustered or flattered or anything else, she got down to business.

"Each day until," he responded.

Cindy stopped writing on her form when no other information came from the man in front of her. Looking up at him she smile and began to think that maybe there was something to be said for the type of man she dated. They may not be great looking but they were smart.

"Until when?" She was hoping to prompt him along but he wasn't giving her information very easily.

"Until I ask you to stop."

Her eyebrows went up in surprise. "Okaaaaay." She made a note on her pad. "Where will they be delivered and what time?"

He studied her quietly for several seconds. "Maybe delivery isn't the right word."

Cindy's Jersey attitude and Burg curiosity kicked in. She dropped her pen on the counter, turned to fill up her coffee cup, the sat on her stool. "Ok, spill." Ranger’s head went back as he laughed. She smiled big. “There’s a stool over there in the corner. You want coffee?”

With an approving nod and knowing smile, Ranger grabbed the extra stool while Cindy poured him some coffee. “And,” she continued, “you have to tell me what you did to get in trouble.”

“What makes you think I’m in trouble,” he asked as he settled in with his coffee.

Cindy simply put the pot back on the burner, then gave him a look that had him raising his hands in mock surrender. “No, no. I’m not in trouble.”

“Fine,” she threw him a skeptical look. “Something happened for you to be doing this.”

“Let’s just say that an opportunity presented itself and now I’m taking full advantage.”

“Ooohhh, I had heard she and Joe were done for good.”

The look on Ranger’s face went blank. She sighed. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to be so, so…you know. I’m sorry. You can trust me. Think of me as your friendly bartender or beautician. You think people spill their guts to them? Armatures. You haven’t heard a thing until you sell people flowers. You wouldn’t believe the kind of things I’ve heard. At least in some way I can help them out. Whether or not the flowers ever work is a different story. But at least I know I try.”

He smiled again and Cindy breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t want to offend him and not because she didn’t want to lose business, but because she really liked him. She got the distinct impression he really cared for Stephanie and wanted things to work out. He was a good guy. She could tell and something inside told her doing what he wanted was the right thing to do.

Twenty minutes and a cup of coffee later, the details were all worked out. It was fairly simple. Every day she’d make up 5 different bouquets. Each day, several times a day, either Ranger or one of his guys, would come and pick up the flowers. What kind of flowers he left up to Cindy.

“What if the flowers aren’t picked up? Want them sent somewhere?”

“No, just charge me for five a day. If something isn’t picked up, don’t worry about it.” He turned to leave, but stopped at the door. Giving her an award-winning smile he added. “Keep them for yourself.” She tried to protest but he stopped her. “No arguments. Can we start today?”

“Absolutely. Give me 10.” She headed to her worktable in back. Once she got there she realized she was really going to have to rearrange the shop now because she had to see out the window at all times now. The workbench where she put arrangements together was placed for easy access to the backroom, not really to see out the window. “You know,” she called from the back of the shop, “she’ll know where they are coming from if you give them to her at Vinnie’s.”

“Yeah,” he said as he walked over. “She’s smart like that.” He took the flowers from her when she was done. “But like the bartender and beautician, I’ll expect to protect your clients privacy.”

She smiled. “Oh this is going to be fun. Your secret is safe with me.”

Ranger left and Cindy busied herself with the other flowers so they’d be ready for pick up. It was several hours later that she spied a large black man making he way across the street. She knew immediately he worked for Ranger. She’s seen them together many times. By the time he entered the shop she was waiting with flowers in hand.

“Hi,” she greeted him. “You here for Steph’s flowers?”

His grin was from ear to ear and just as gorgeous as Ranger’s. “Yes ma’am.” He took the flowers and gave a low whistle. “Bombshell will sure like these. She about flipped when she got the first ones this morning.”

Cindy laughed. “The Bombshell Bounty Hunter. Where did she get them this morning?”

A deep laugh came from the large man. “In her fridge. He didn’t think she’d find them at first because she never has any food. But last night she came home with leftovers from her mothers. I knew she’d be digging into that this morning.”

His smile was bright as his eyes shifted to study her. “I’m Tank ma’am. I’ll be picking up flowers as well as Bobby Brown and Lester Santos.”

Cindy held out a hand. “I’m Cindy. Everything will be ready when they get here.”

“Good. Nice to meet you and thanks.” He turned to leave, but stopped.

Cindy nodded and head back to her worktable that now faced the window.

“Oh, one more thing,” Tank said before he left. “We’ll be using the back door to come and go if that’s ok with you.”

“Well, I have to keep it locked now. I’ve had some theft the few times I’ve left it unlocked. I don’t feel comfortable leaving it unlocked any more. I think it’s just a few of the neighborhood kids, but still…”

“You’ve had trouble?”

“Nothing that a locked door didn’t fix.”

He nodded once, face serious. “I’ll look into it. You keep that door locked then.”

“Oh, there’s no need…” she started, but never finished because he was already gone.

***

Late Monday afternoon dragged on as Cindy sat perched on her stool looking through floral supply catalogs. She needed to find a good price on display until but everything so far had been to expensive.

“Excuse me,” a male voice said from beside her.

Cindy about jumped out of her skin. “What?! Who..What..” she stuttered as she reached under the register for her baseball bat. “How did you…”

“I’m Lester Santos, You must be Cindy,” he said, smiling. “Tank was supposed to tell you that I’d be coming this afternoon and using the back door.”

“Oh…well, he did. But that door is…hey, that door is supposed to be locked!” She brushed past him and headed to the stockroom.

“It is.”

He was right behind her as she checked the lock on the backdoor. “Then how did you get in here?” She demanded as she turned to face him. The minute she looked into those chocolate brown eyes, she knew she had made a mistake. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the gorgeous man before her. His skin was a smooth caramel color and his eyes were the most beautiful brown she had ever seen on any man. He wore a short-cropped haircut that fit his chiseled features perfectly. And the way his clothes hugged his body, well, if she did anything more than take a quick glance, she’d be in trouble. Someone would have to mop her off the floor.

Catching her gaze, he smiled to show a perfect row of white teeth. “With all due modesty ma’am, locked doors don’t generally stop me.”

Cindy blinked a few times, not sure if she’d ever get her mouth working with her brain again. Seems her hormones were running the show at the moment. But something deep down was screaming this was dangerous. For someone like her to get fixated on someone like him was a bad thing. There was only one way for that to end and would involve her, a couple of boxes of Kleenex, and several gallons of ice cream. No, she swore she’d never hold another pity party for herself. The rules of the dating world she had come to know and live by could not be broken. Especially the self-imposed rules learned from the School of Hard Knocks Dating and Disappointment.

Her number one rule: Never, ever, ever get hooked on someone who is out of your league.

Once her mind had something to hold onto and ground her in reality, she realized what he had just said. “Oh? Does the word no stop you?”

His smile faltered and he looked confused. “But Tank said he worked it out with you. If he didn’t I’ll…”

“I told him I’d had some trouble with theft and wanted to keep the door locked,” she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. It didn’t get past her that he watched her every movement very closely. She tried to ignore the strange look in his eyes as he did.

His smile returned. “Oh. Well, it is.”

“But if you can get in, so can someone else.” She turned away from him to look at the door. “I’ll have to call someone and have something else put in.” Her hand went to door handle and jiggled it.

She froze when she felt him brush against her, and when his hand landed on top of hers she thought for sure her heart would beat out of her chest. “I don’t think,” he said in a deep low voice, “that just anyone could. Myself, Tank, Bobby and Ranger can get in. If it’s really just neighborhood kids, I don’t think they could break in. It’s a good lock.”

Cindy snatched her hand away and tried to calm her beating heart. She chanted rule number one over and over in her head.

“Well, if it’s all the same to you I’ll call a locksmith tomorrow.” She turned and started back to her store. “Wait,” she stopped just inside the stockroom door. “Tank told you about what I said this morning?”

“Yes ma’am.” His smile grew, but didn’t turn brighter. No, it became sly. “We’re looking into it.”

“I never asked you to do that, so don’t. I can take care of myself and I don’t want to owe anyone anything.” She was feeling a little angry and defensive now which was good because that she could deal with. “Who will be in, in the morning?”

Lester’s eyes never left hers and she was starting to feel exposed and excited. “Tank. He and Ranger are the early risers. I think I’ll volunteer for the afternoon shifts though.”

Her eyes went wide. “Why? What for?”

His whole look softened. “You sure do have pretty eyes.”

Butterflies churned in her stomach as she felt the all too familiar feeling of being attracted to someone she couldn’t have. “I…I…I think you should tell Ranger that he should contract with another florist. I’m sure Betty’s on 2^nd street would…”

Lester looked surprised. “What? Why would he do that?”

“I just think it is best if…” The ringing of the bell over the front door cut her off. Cindy never felt such a flood of relief. “I just think it’s best.” She took a few steps into main part of the store and grabbed Stephanie’s flowers out of a display case. “Here you go. Please tell Ranger I’ll do tomorrow morning’s flowers, but that’s it.” Then, without even a glance back, she walked to the front of the store to greet her customer.

Cindy smiled as Mrs. Fitzsimons came in for her weekly supply of fresh flowers. The interruption is just what she needed to escape the unexplained pull she was feeling towards Lester Santos. But the minute she noticed the look on the older woman's face, Cindy knew Lester was right behind her.

"Good morning Mrs. Fitzsimmons. Here for your weekly supply? I just received some lovely red tulips in this morning."

A big smile graced the woman's face. "Is he a new delivery boy? If he is, I'll need some help getting my flowers home."

Cindy worked hard at not rolling her eyes. She didn't have to turn around to know that Lester was probably grinning like an idiot. There was no doubt in Cindy's mind that he got ogled all the time, most likely using woman like Kleenex. Which is exactly why she couldn't let herself be pulled in.

Lester stepped up and took Mrs. Fitzsimmons hand, kissing the back of it. "Lester Santos, ma'am. I'm not the new delivery boy, but I'd be more than happy to help you with your flowers when you're done."

Mrs. Fitzsimons blushed and Cindy looked away, this time rolling her eyes for all they were worth.

"Oh dear, you are a sweet one aren't you? You hang out with bounty hunter with the nice package. Edna talks about him all the time." Mrs. Fitzsimmons did an obvious sweep of Lester's package, then turned her gaze to Cindy. "Dear, this one's a keeper. Much better than that other lumpy one you had in here last week. He was rude."

Now it was Cindy's turn to blush. Mrs. Fitzsimmons happened to walk in when David, Cindy's sorta kinda really just friends maybe a little more friend was in visiting. And even though Cindy didn't want to admit it, David had been rude. He never meant anything by it. He was a computer geek and lacked some of the more refined social graces. Of course, that never stopped the sting she'd feel when he would stand her up.

"Yes, well," Cindy took Mrs. Fitzsimmons by the shoulders, "let's go look at those tulips." With a gentle push, Cindy got her customer moving towards the large display case on the wall.

As Cindy passed Lester he grabbed her hand and stopped her. Leaning in, he whispered, "We're not done here."

Cindy became lightheaded the minute her nose picked up his wonderfully heady scent of musk and citrus. Blinking a few times, she pulled away. "Yes, we are."

The whole time she waited on Mrs. Fitzsimmons Lester stood and watched. It was getting very difficult for her to even think with the weight of his stare following her every move. Finally, she rang up the flowers and both the old woman and Lester were headed out the door. Before he left, he turned to Cindy and smiled big. She had to force herself not to show a reaction.

"I'll be back."

Cindy slumped against the counter and watched him leave. With a sigh and a prayer she said to an empty store, "I sure hope not. If you do, it's going to kill me."

***

"What do you mean this is the last one?" Tank asked Cindy as he stood there with the last of the flowers she was ever going to have make up for this ridiculous scheme.

Cindy brows furrowed together. "Didn't Mr. Santos tell you that this would the last one I would provide? I gave him the name of Betty's around the corner. I'm sure she can help with whatever you need."

"No. Lester never mentioned it." Tank narrowed his eyes. "Something happen I should know about?"

Cindy turned away to hid her blush, pretending to be busy with a bucket of roses. "Oh no, no. Nothing happened. It just turns out I'm too busy to fulfill Ranger's request.

Tank didn't response so she finally turned to see if he was even in the store any more. He was, and the look on his face clearly said he didn't believe her. Thankfully, he let the subject drop. With a nod he said, "I'll inform Ranger. Thanks for all you've done."

The minute he was out the door he opened his cell phone and made what looked to be two calls. As he stood outside his truck, Cindy noticed that during the first one he didn't look too happy. For the second one his face was blank and the call was very short. When he was done, he flipped his phone shut, turned and looked at the shop for a few beats, then got in his car and drove away.

Cindy watched the car go down the street and was glad the whole thing was over.

***

Cindy was in the backroom when the bell on her front door jingled. She placed the latest delivery of flowers on the table and wiped her hands on her apron as she went towards the front of the shop. As she passed the mirror that was hanging in the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of herself. With the apron on, she looked rounder and bigger than ever. With a sad sigh and a sinking self-confidence, although she didn't know how much lower her self confidence could get, she turned to head out and greet her customer. She stopped short when she saw Ranger standing in the doorway.

Looking at her watch, Cindy noticed it hadn't been fifteen minutes since Tank left. "Well, I can guess who one of people was that Tank called." The left side of Ranger's mouth tipped up to half a smile, but he remained quiet. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Tank. I'm too busy right now and I apologize. I should have thought this through a little more. "

"We had a deal." The sound to his voice was flat, but the look on his face was one of concern.

"I realize that and I am sorry. I just can't fulfil my part of it."

"I really don't want to bring someone else in at this point of the operation."

Cindy couldn't help it she laughed. "Well, maybe if you didn't consider a relationship with a woman an 'operation' you wouldn't have to work so hard at wooing her." The words slipped out before her brain could stop them. Her eyes went big as she waited for his reaction.

Thank go all he did was chuckle. "I suppose you're right." Then in a move that surprised her, he ran a hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration. "Look," he said as his eyes met hers again, "I'm almost there. This will be over soon. Please don't back out now."

She thought about it for a few seconds then rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine. Just don't think it's because of your smile, charming attitude and the puppy dog eyes you're giving me right now. I don't want to get a reputation for not fulfilling my contracts."

Ranger nodded. "I'll send Lester this afternoon."

"Lester?" Damn, Cindy didn't mean to react and sound so panicked.

He didn't answer her. The only thing that happened is that the smile on his face changed slightly. Then he nodded again and walked out the door.

Three days had passed since Ranger talked Cindy into keeping her part of the deal. Each day Tank would make the morning pick up and then Lester would do the rest. He would flirt shamelessly with her, but never really pushed anything. The chemistry that was obviously between them was always present, but she was determined not to give in to the pull. He couldn't possibly be seriously interested in her. If she ever left herself open to his advances he'd probably run in the other direction as fast as his legs would take him. Or, worse yet, he wouldn't run but use her and then leave. Either way he was just dangling the carrot and she wasn't going to jump at the bait.

The only problem was she couldn’t get him out of her mind. In just a matter of days he had begun to occupy her every waking moment. She wasn't ready to admit to herself that he occupied some of her non-waking moments too.

The front door to her shop opened and she was surprised to see Lester walk in. "Where's Tank? I thought he did morning pick-ups. You used the front door?"

"If I didn't know better Pretty Eyes, I'd think you were disappointed it's me and not him." He winked at her.

"Well, I like Tank. He and I have had some nice conversations when he comes in. I'll just miss it today, that's all." When Lester didn't say anything else, Cindy looked up to see a dark look had clouded his face. "What?"

Lester went to say something but just then movement across the street caught their attention. Stephanie rumbled up to Vinnie's in the Buick.

"She's early," he said to himself. Then to her, "Are the flowers ready?"

Cindy started at his rough tone. "Yeah. Let me just…"

Lester let out a big sigh and closed his eyes. "Sorry." When he opened his eyes again, some of the suave Lester was back but Cindy could tell something was still bothering him. He managed a sweet smile. "Are the flowers ready?"

Having no idea what to make of what just happened, Cindy nodded and went to get the flowers. With quick thanks he went out the back way. Cindy watched out the window for a good five minutes hoping to see something happen, but then a customer came in and she had to focus her attention to work.

At the end of the sale, as she wrapped the flowers a young woman had just purchased, someone cleared their throat. She looked up to find Lester standing at the side of the counter. She knew he must have used the back door this time.

Cindy finished taping the paper and handed the roses to her customer. "Here you go. Thanks for stopping in." The woman didn't immediately reach for her flowers and Cindy noticed it was because she was staring at Lester. When Cindy looked at Lester, he was staring back her. He winked and she blushed.

When she felt the flowers being lifted from her hands, Cindy turned back to her customer and smiled. Only, this time she noticed how attractive the woman was. She was short, thin, with cropped blonde hair, perky nose and perky …well, other attributes were perky as well. Finally, Cindy snapped out of it and her customer left, but not without giving Lester one good last look.

For some strange reason she suddenly felt completely disassociated from the whole situation. That probably gave her the courage to say what she said next. She looked back at Lester with a serious questioning look and asked, "What do you want?"

He had been staring at her the whole time, his look intent. Now his features softened and he smiled. "I thought you'd never ask." She guessed he understood what she was asking. He walked up behind the counter to stand right in front of her. "Are you busy tonight? Can I take you out?"

Now stunned, Cindy just studied him for a few seconds. "What?"

Lester chuckled and the sound was rich and full. "Out. Would you like to go out tonight?"

"Why?"

"Because I asked."

His hand lifted to the side of her face and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She batted his hand away. "Stop that. Don't do that." She took a few steps back. "What are you, crazy? No I won't go out with you."

His smile fell. "Why not?"

"Why not? Why not?" Cindy shook her head. "Because you don't want to go out with me."

Now it was Lester's turn to look confused. "Why would I ask if I didn't want to…"

Someone yelling from across the street cut him off mid-sentence. Cindy turned to see a black woman standing in Vinnie's doorway yelling out to Steph who had just reached her car.

Lester swore under his breath as Steph opened the car door and stood stock-still. Leaning in, she came back up with the arrangement that Cindy had given Lester moments earlier. Stephanie was turning in the direction of the flower shop when a hand landed on Cindy’s shoulder and pulled her down. Now she and Lester were crouched behind the counter at the register.

"She was supposed to be in Vinnie's longer," Lester whispered.

Cindy had to laugh. "Why are you whispering?" she whispered back. Lester smiled and she noticed that he had laugh lines around his eyes. That was nice. She took it to mean he smiled and laughed a lot.

"I like when you laugh, Pretty Eyes. You look so happy." He cupped her cheek in his hand and gently ran his thumb across her bottom lip. "I like that I can make you laugh."

Something close to panic gripped Cindy's entire body. Her brain short-circuited and refused to work. "I…I…"

The bell over her door jingled and Cindy came back to reality. Pulling away, she popped up from behind the counter. She tried hard no to let any surprise show when she saw Stephanie standing in the shop.

"Hey, Steph. How's it going?" Cindy hated that she sounded breathy, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. Lester had taken her breath away with the look in his eyes and his touch.

"What are you doing down there?" Steph asked

Cindy felt Lester brush against her leg and cursed that she worse a skirt today. Then something was put into her hand from below. "Well," she said as she brought the hand up and looked at the object in it, "I was looking for this." Both she and Stephanie stared at the crumpled ball of florist wire in Cindy's hand.

"Cin, its garbage."

"Yeah, I uh, dropped it." She threw the wire over her shoulder. "So, what's up?" She tried to sound cheery and unaffected, but she could feel Lester against her leg and it was driving her nuts.

"I was wondering if someone came in and bought these flowers from you."

Cindy stared blank faced at the arrangement. "Those are pretty, but no. No one came in and bought those." And that was mostly true. Lester never gave her money and she hadn't charged Ranger's card yet.

She felt Lester's hand lightly grab her ankle and said a thank you to god that she shaved her legs today. If only she had put pantyhose on… "Did you try," she gasped a little when Lester's hand started a slow assent up her leg. She shifted her weight on to the leg that wasn't being man handled. Lester must have known what was coming because his grip tightened and she couldn't move her leg to kick him. With a forced smile, she tried to focus back on Stephanie. "Did you try Betty's? Maybe they came from there?"

Steph's eye narrowed. "Are you ok?"

Cindy brightened her smile. "I'm fine." She was far from fine. Lester's hand was just below her knee and his thumb started to sweep across the back of it. The sensation caused her to shiver slightly.

"Ok. You sure these aren't from here?" Stephanie pushed some wayward curls behind her ear.

Cindy could only shake her head. Lester had lifted her skirt a bit and now both thumbs were caressing the back of her knee. She was grateful when the sensations stopped, but about screamed when she felt the briefest touch of his lips in the same spot his thumbs had just been. "Nope. Sorry, Steph."

Stephanie looked at her funny. "You sure you're ok?"

One of Lester's hands started up her inner thigh. "Fine. Just fine." She was pretty sure she squeaked.

Steph let out a big sigh. "Ok. Was hoping I could find out. Thanks, Cin."

"Sure thing." Goosebumps broke out as Lester's hand became close to dangerous territory. Then again, she knew that with her thighs he wasn't getting anywhere important unless she moved her legs apart.

At the sound of the front door closing several things happened at once. Lester popped up from below the counter and Cindy turned, opening her mouth to blast him. She never got the chance. His lips were on hers with his tongue in her mouth before she could utter the first syllable. Large hands grabbed the back of her head to hold her still. She struggled a little bit but was quickly losing the fight. Her body turned traitor. Before she knew what was happening Lester had them moving down behind the counter again.

Now they were both kneeling and Lester was kissing the living daylights out of her. "Mmm," he moaned as he started a succession of short quick kisses. "Cin…I like that..." She felt his smile form against her lips. "I bet you are totally sinful…" He didn't finish, but caught her in a lip lock that set her heart pounding. She angled her head and totally got into the kiss until she realized that his thin muscular body was pressed completely against her not so thin one.

That's all it took to shake the Lester induced fog from her brain. He must have sensed some change because he quickly slowed the kiss and pulled away.

They were both breathing pretty heavy but she managed to say some words. "Get out."

"What?" He looked surprised for all of two seconds then smiled and started to move towards her again. "Cin…"

"No," she held up a hand. "Go. Get out." She sat back on her feet, but then shifted to sit on the floor. "Go." He sat back too and just looked at her. "Please." She hated to beg, but he had to leave. She didn't want him to see her cry.

"Why?" he asked quietly.

She started to shake her head. "You wouldn't understand." She felt the hysterics start to surface. "You'd never understand. Please, just go." Her voice was loud by the end and Lester now wore a shocked expression. Thankfully, he didn't say anything else. Just got to his feet and left.

This chapter is going to be from the guys POV. I didn’t want to do it but this is how the story is in my head. The guys interrupted and needed to tell their side I guess. Bobby’s little explanation on page two is something I read once in my hubby’s Men’s Health (or what I call Glamour for men).

Lester sat at the table staring at his lunch. He really didn’t understand what happened this morning with Cindy. Everything was going fine, as far as he was concerned, and then she kicked him out.

“Stop pouting,” Tank said once he swallowed a bite of his sandwich.

“I’m not pouting, Tank. I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

Bobby dug around in his salad and looked thoughtful. “You must have done something man. You didn’t say or do anything?” Lester shook his head. “Well, I didn’t think you would” Bobby paused, “but then again we are talking about you, Santos.”

“Shut-up.”

Bobby chuckled. “You know man, maybe this one has the same problem with you that Bombshell has with Ranger.”

“What are you talking about? Steph’s problem with Ranger is Morelli,” Lester offered.

Bobby chewed and shook his head. “No, it’s not. You just don’t get it.”

“Well, I get women,” Tank said, a smile curving his lips. “All shapes, sizes and colors. I love them all. I have no problems with them.”

Lester laughed. “You’re a pig.”

“As a matter of fact, I was gonna ask out Cindy until you started sniffin’ around.”

The smile on Lester’s face died quickly. He narrowed his eyes and gave a little growl. “I don’t think so, man.”

Tank put his hand in the air. “Hey, hey…I said was…meaning past tense, as in not now.”

“Look man,” Bobby said to Lester, “you don’t get it. And, as much as I hate to agree with this moron, he does get it. Well, to a certain extent anyway.”

“Bobby, what the hell are you talking about?”

With a long-suffering sigh, Bobby set down his fork and pushed his salad aside. “Bombshell’s problem isn’t Morelli. Her problem is lack of self-confidence.”

“What?” Tank said, surprised. “Steph’s a strong woman.”

Bobby nodded. “I never said she wasn’t. I’m saying she has low self-esteem and low self-confidence. If she felt better about herself she’d see what was happening between her, Morelli, and Ranger, then make a choice. But she hasn’t and she won’t.”

“Until Ranger helps her a long,” Tank added.

Bobby agreed. “He sure is giving it a good go. Anyway, I bet Cindy has the same problem.”

“What?” Lester looked concerned. “Another man? I have competition?”

“No, you bonehead, a self-confidence problem.” Lester just raised both eyebrows and stared. Bobby sighed again. “See, here’s what I think it is. While we don’t get what the root of the problem is with women, they don’t get us either.”

“Bobby,” Lester said sounding irritated, “would you please make sense!”

Bobby rolled his eyes. “What lug head over here gets, is exactly what woman don’t. Like he said, he loves them all, all shapes, sizes and colors. That’s what women don’t understand. Any may worth his salt, who really cares for a woman, doesn’t see the extra pounds, the bad hair days, or the no make-up mornings. What she doesn’t get is that every time he looks at her, she’s beautiful in his eyes…no matter what.” Bobby pulled his salad back and picked up his fork. “And the best thing in the whole wild world is having the most beautiful creature you’ve ever laid eyes on, naked and under you.” He took a bite. “Or on top. Whichever.” He chewed some more. “Now, Tank’s problem with commitment is a whole other bag of worms we’ll deal with some other time.”

“Thanks Dr. Phil…” Tank growled, “…asshole.”

“Bobby,” Ranger voice came from the doorway, “little did I know you were the smartest of the bunch.” They all turned from the food and looked at Ranger. Bobby snorted and went back to this salad. “Gentleman, I think this afternoon’s flower delivery will be the last.”

Lester dropped his sandwich on his plate. “Great. Just great. How am I supposed to convince her she’s beautiful in my eyes if I have no reason to go to the shop?”

“Isn’t trying to convince her reason enough?” Tank offered.

“Sure, but it’s a fine line between being convincing and being categorized a stalker.”

As the storm clouds grew in the west, Cindy turned the sign in the window to closed and locked the front door. She was closing early because she was just too tired to make it through the afternoon. Besides, with the storm brewing she needed to get home to her cat. Callie could be scared of the thunder and lightening and…well…Cindy ran out of Kleenex in the store and the freezer at home has ice cream.

She grabbed the note she had written off the front counter and headed to the backroom. She placed a small bouquet of roses on the workbench back there and put the note next to it, figuring whoever made the next pick up would break in the back door and see the note.

Cindy wanted to make this delivery special since Ranger called an hour ago and said this would be the last pick up. Her closing early had nothing to do with avoiding whoever was coming for the last bunch of flowers, really.

Just as she went to unlock the back door so she could leave, the handle moved and there was a scratching sound on the lock. By the time she thought to make her escape through the front door, Lester stood in the doorway, the sky dark behind him with echo’s of thunder in the background.

“Hi.”

She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Hi.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Oh, well, yeah. It’s going to rain and I left a window open at home. So I, uh, have to go.” She started to move backwards so she could leave out the front door. “The flowers are there. I’ll see you later.”

“Wait.” A slight hint of desperation laced his words. “Don’t run off. I have something to say.”

A loud thunderclap made her jump. “I really have to go. It’s going to start raining any second…”

“I’m sorry about earlier. I…I went too far and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push so hard.”

Well, here it was. Time to suck it up and act like it was nothing, even though it felt like her heart was turning inside out. “Oh,” she waved a hand nervously in the air, “it’s ok. Don’t worry about it.” She took a few more steps back.

In several quick steps Lester was in front on her and had her by the arm. “No, it’s not ok and I do worry. I don’t want you to think…” He paused. “Oh hell, I don’t know what you think, that’s part of the problem.”

Involuntarily her smile got bigger and more sickeningly sweet. “There’s no problem, honest.”

“Cin…”

Her heart clenched at the sound of her shortened name. The memory of him kissing her and saying he’d bet she was sinful flooded back. She had to get out of here. She choked out a nervous laugh and yanked her arm free. Panic was starting to swallow her. “It’s ok. I know your teasing.”

“What…”

“I’m a grown up, Lester.” She took a few more steps away and thankfully he didn’t follow. “I know how the game is played.”

“Game? What the hell…”

“Look, this is the last pick up. It’s over now. We had fun, you know, and now you can go on with whatever.”

Lester’s face became as dark as the storm clouds outside. “Cindy, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but I’m beginning to understand what your thinking.”

Cindy opened her mouth to say something, although she had no idea what, when a knock at the front door startled her. She was never so glad for an interruption in her entire life. At this point it could be a mass murder wanting to use the phone and she’d let him in.

Without a word she walked through the dark store to the front door. David stood there soaking wet with his hands up to the glass. Thank god, she murmured to herself as she opened the door.

“David, get in here.” The minute David set foot inside the store she felt the tension in the room shoot off the scale. If Lester wasn’t happy before, he certainly wasn’t happy now.

“You ready to go. It’s starting to come down pretty hard,” David said as he shook the water off his coat.

“Yes…” Cindy started but never finished.

Lester snapped from behind her. “No.” He took a few steps forward and put himself next to Cindy. “She’s coming with me.”

David looked confused. “Cin, I thought…”

Lester widened his stance. “Well, you were wrong.”

Cindy took a few steps back and Lester was so focused on David he didn’t even notice. It wasn’t until she saw the look on David’s face that she knew things were about to get worse.

David’s eyes met Cindy’s and the horror began. With a simple shrug David crushed the last ounce of hope she had. “Fine. Whatever.” She watched as David turned to Lester. “It’s going to rain hard so take an umbrella.”

That was it, the last straw. She couldn’t stand any more of this. The rest of what the guys said faded into nothingness. If it wasn’t bad enough that Lester was playing with her, now David had to go and dismiss her like he didn’t care, which obviously he didn’t. The man that was out of her league was playing with her. The man she thought was in her league didn’t want her either. It was all too much. As silently as she could, she backed up to the stockroom door, then turned and made a beeline out into the rain.

Rain pelted the front window of Cindy’s little apartment. Her cat sat at her side huddled between Cindy and the back corner of the couch. With a loud thump, Cindy let the spoon hit the bottom of the empty ice cream container.

“Well Cal, finished off that one,” she said as she ran one hand down the cat’s back. “Guess I should go see if there’s any more.”

Loud thunder shook the building while bright lights flashed in the gray sky. It was dark enough because of the clouds, but now it was getting late and turning dark because it was that time of day. There was only one light on and that was the light over the stove in the kitchen. The T.V was going, but without sound, so that provide some brightness in the living room, not that it mattered. She didn’t have the will to get up and turn any more lights on. The darkness felt nice and soothing, a place she could hide from the world and herself.

She spent several hours just sitting there watching the local weather channel’s radar. The storm moved across the screen, but nothing moved within Cindy. She felt numb, like she was dead inside. Her mind shut down and it seemed so did her body and she didn’t have enough energy to care.

Because she was so out of it, she barely registered the knock at her door. It didn’t matter because she wasn’t going to answer it. They’d go away eventually. There were two more knocks, a long pause, and then another; finally, nothing for a long time. She zoned out again, going back into herself and blocking out the world. It wasn’t until a distant noise brought her back to earth that she came out of her trance.

Calmly, not showing any emotion, she looked over to her front door and saw Lester standing there. He said something but she didn’t hear it. “Get out,” were the only words she managed to say.

Lester looked down at the cat that was now rubbing up against his leg. He turned and looked into the kitchen. “The cat dish is empty. You feed the cat today?” Cindy blinked. “The cat needs water too.”

He moved to go into the kitchen and some of Cindy’s common sense returned. Jumping from the couch she crossed the room. “Leave. I can take care of myself and my cat.” She picked up the cat’s bowl and filled it with water. After she set it back on the floor she looked up and Lester was still there. “Leave.”

“No.” Now that she was functioning again she noticed the stormy look was back on his face. Only this time it was mixed with something else. With a sigh she reached into the cupboard and grabbed a handful of cat food.

She threw it into the food dish and looked up. “The cat is fed and watered. Now go.”

Lester’s hands clenched at his sides. His voice was low and deep when he spoke. “No.”

God chose that moment to intervene with a very bright lightening bolt and loud thunderclap. Cindy jumped and drew here attention away from Lester and out the window. The storm had become very bad. Her eyes flicked to the T.V. and saw a big red splotch on the radar directly over their area.

The next thing she knew, the room was plunged into darkness. All the light in the apartment was gone, along with all the streetlights being dark. What a great time for the electricity to go out. She had almost forgotten about Lester being there, but then a flashlight clicked on.

“You ok?” he asked, all anger gone from his voice.

She nodded. “Yeah. You can go now.”

“Damn it, Cindy…”

“Fine!” she screamed. “I’ll leave.” She headed for the front door not having a clue where she would go in this weather, but the door was closed and Lester’s body was in front of it before she could blink. There was another flash of lightening and rumble of thunder that had her jumping again.

“Not this time.” He sounded very serious.

She sighed, sounding defeated. “You know what? Ok. Whatever someone like you wants from someone like me, ok. You can have it. Let’s see this to the end and then we can go on our merry way.”

His hand dropped to his side and the flashlight was now aimed at the floor. Taking a few steps forward, he asked, “Cindy what are you talking about? What do you think is going on?”

She rubbed at her forehead with the palm of her hand. “The same thing that always goes on when a well built, good looking guy pays attention to a woman who isn’t so well built or good looking.” She stopped to look at him but it was too dark to see the look on his face. “Whatever you want lets just get on with it, ok? Although, why you just don’t go pick up some hot bod at a bar, I don’t understand. But, you’re here, I’m here and it’s raining, so…” she trailed off, waiting for his response.

The flashlight hit the floor with a thud. Two hands took her by the shoulders and pulled her forward until she and Lester were face to face. Lester’s voice was very controlled when he spoke. “Is that that kind of person you think I am?” She blinked once. “Is that what you really think of me?”

Anger rose inside of her so fast so almost couldn’t speak. With a quick twist she moved out of his grip. “Come off it, Lester. You know what I’m talking about so give me a break with the ‘is that what you think of me speech’. Guys who look like you don’t go for girls that look like me. Don’t insult me by acting as if the facts were different.” She snorted in disgust. “And after David’s reaction tonight, I guess guys for him don’t go for me either.”

“I’m well aware of what I look like. Do you know…”

“Yes,” she spat, the anger so deep she could taste it. “I know exactly what I look like. That is why none of this makes sense.” She turned from him as the tears spilled over to run down her cheeks.

When she heard him move closer, she spun to face him. If he wanted the cold hard facts, then she’d give them to him. “You know how much I weigh? Huh? Do you? Probably not a whole lot less than you do. I’m not the type of girl you can carry off to bed. I’m not the type of girl who can go to a club with a shirt cut up to her tits and skirt that barely covers her ass. I’m not that and I’m never going to be that.”

“Who said that’s what I wanted?”

“Oh, please. One thing I can give you credit for is that you’ve never told me any lies. Don’t start now.”

An ugly sound erupted from deep with him and Cindy was so shocked she backed up a step. “Fucking A…what the fuck do I have to do…”

“Lester, you can’t expect me to believe that when you’re out at a club, you’re checking out girls like me. You’re letting them walk by without a second glance.”

“I can tell you,” he said through clenched teeth, “that there are plenty of woman I don’t notice. Many of them are skinny, with the latest hair style and a perfect little nose.” He took a calming breath. “I will also admit that most of the woman I’ve dated in the past have been tall, leggy blondes…”

“So there! You admit it! And…and if you didn’t notice them how do you know that had the latest haircut or a perfect nose? Huh?”

He ignored her logic and continued. “And out of those woman, not one of them had the light or warmth I see in your eyes when I look at you. Not one of them had the same sparkle I see in you when you laugh. Not one of them made my heart skip a beat and my stomach fall to my feet when I first laid eyes on them.”

Cindy’s whole body began to shake. “I…I…I’m s...s…supposed to b…b…believe that?”

Lester threw his hands up in the air. “For the love of god.” He stormed over to the couch and sat down, burying his face in his hand. Cindy saw this as an opportunity for a break. She wobbled on shaky legs into the kitchen and got a glass of water.

It was still dark in the apartment but she could see his silhouette. He started to shake his head back and forth. “Why do I keep trying? She’s not going to listen.” He fell silent for a few seconds. “Fuck it. This is too hard.” He stood and made his way over to the door, but paused before leaving. “What is this life worth if you close yourself off to possibilities?”

Cindy didn’t answer. He waited only a second longer before walking out and gently closing the door behind him.

"It means I don't go through life with a broken heart," she whispered to the door.

Once Cindy hung up the phone, she snuggled deeper under the covers. She had been hiding away for two days now. It wasn't until her neighbor next to the shop had called. Mrs. Klein wanted to know if Cindy was ok. The older woman also reported that several of "those large" men from across the street had stopped in to ask if the shop was going to open any time soon.

She was lucky her brain was functioning enough to tell Mrs. Klein a little white lie. Cindy was fine and just taking a little vacation. The sign she posted must have blown off in the storm. Then she kindly asked if Mrs. Klein could hang up another sign for her. That was easy enough, now she could go back to wallowing in a pit of self-pity.

Rolling over, Cindy came nose to nose with her cat. "I'll snap out of it, Cal. I just need a little break, that's all." The cat meowed and Cindy couldn't tell if it was in approval or disapproval. Quietly, she lay there and pet the cat for a while, until finally dozing off.

She woke a little while later when there was a knock at her door. After five minutes of constant knocking it was obvious that whoever it was, wasn't going away. Pushing back the cover, she lifted out of bed. She was still in her pajamas and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. It was also a good bet that here eyes were still puffy from crying.

The closer she came to the front door the more dread filled her stomach. She just hoped this wasn't the last person who knocked on her door. Another round with Lester would do her in.

"Cindy?" came a child's voice from the other side of the door.

"Just a second, Jack." Cindy sighed with relief. Jack was the little boy from down the hall. Every so often he'd show up at her door with something new to show her. There have been drawings, toys and even bugs. Cindy hoped this time that it was something tame. She couldn't handle much else.

Out of habit, Cindy looked through the peephole and saw the wall across the hall. "What did you expect? Jack's only 5, you dope." She shook herself mentally and plastered on a smile.

When she opened the door, Jack was standing there empty handed. "What is it buddy?" Cindy had a terrible thought. "Something wrong? Where's you're mom?"

"I'm right here, Cindy." Cindy looked up to find Charlene, who is Jack's mom, Stephanie and Tank.

Cindy narrowed her eyes. "God will get you for using and innocent child, Stephanie Plum."

"You sick, Cindy?" Cindy looked down at Jack and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, sweetie. I'm not feeling too good."

The little boy nodded his head and smiled. "Mamma said that surprising you with them would make you feel better." His chubby hand pointed down the hall.

Cindy sighed. "Oh, I'll feel a lot better once I get my hands on them." She smiled sweetly at the group of adults.

Charlene laughed. "Come on, Jack. Let's leave Cindy and her friends alone. Steph, I'll see you later."

By the time Cindy got into her apartment and tried to shut the door, Tank was already blocking her attempt. She huffed out a breath. "Fine. Get in here."

"We were worried," Tank said gently.

Cindy watched as Steph rolled her eyes and knew she was only seconds away from the jersey treatment. She tried to delay the inevitable. "You shouldn't use helpless children like that. You'll never get into heaven that way."

Steph snorted. "That was nothing compared to ways I get skips out of places."

"I'm not your skip."

Tank interrupted. "You skipped out on Lester." Steph shot him a look and Cindy caught it. The look clearly said that he wasn't supposed to speak yet. Guess it wasn't his time to play his part in this.

"Oh, Steph, it's ok. Let him talk," Cindy said as she shuffled into the kitchen. "There's nothing he, or even you, can say that would be worse than what was said the other night."

"He's miserable."

Ok, except for that.

"He thinks he's done something wrong," Tank continued. "He's beatin' himself up thinking that if he had done things a little differently you'd be interested."

That got her attention. "He thinks I'm not interested? In him?"

"That's right. He thinks you won't even consider him because you feel you don't live up to some self imposed standard."

"B…but…well…yes," she paused and shook her head. "I mean no. I mean…oh, Christ."

Stephanie took her by the shoulders and guided them to the couch. "Cindy, I think the thing you don't understand, is that while you know you pushed him away because of your insecurities, he thinks you pushed him away because of him. And now, that's feeding on his insecurities."

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Right, I'm supposed to believe he is insecure."

Stephanie smiled. "No one is perfect."

"You can't tell me Lester is insecure about his body."

"His feet."

Both women turned to look at Tank. He shrugged. "He's insecure about his feet." The women blinked. "Two of his toes, the two after the big toe, aren't separated all the way. They're sorta like fused together at the bottom. He doesn't like people to see his feet."

Cindy glanced at Steph and was glad to see she was wearing the same sort of "are you crazy" face.

"Oh, and he drools when he sleeps." Tank scratched his head. "Wait, I think he was drunk that time." He paused. "I know! He broke two of his fingers in a fight and never got them set straight. His pinky and ring finger on his left hand are crooked. Oh, and the reason he keeps his hair so short is because when it grows out it's wavy and he thinks he looks like a girl. He also has a few scars he doesn't like people to see since they are in embarrassing places and he doesn't like to tell how he got them. One of em involves a woman, two Mexicans and a lizard." Tank chuckled to himself. "There's also this mole thing on his lower back. Actually, we don't know what the hell it is. One night, we all got drunk and tried to…"

"Enough!" Cindy and Steph said at the same time.

Looking at Steph, Cindy said the only thing that came to mind. "Men are gross."

"Yeah, no kidding."

Stephanie and Tank didn’t stay long and Cindy was grateful for the time alone once they left. Everything thing they had said started her thinking. She just knew in her heart that sometime, somewhere someone would look at her and Lester together and ask why he was with her. She just knew it.

But having him take on her baggage as his own was too much. The issues she had were hers and she never meant to make him feel bad about himself. That’s the last thing she wanted. All she wanted was for him to understand.

She plopped on the couch, defeated. How could she get him to understand when she barely understood it herself? Her reactions to Lester bordered on being over the top. Hell, they were over the top and she knew it. But the fear of being hurt was too great. And the fact that she could react to him so quickly, so deeply, let her know that she could fall for him hook, line, and sinker. It also told her how much it would hurt when he walked away. Then again, Tank said he was miserable. If he really wanted to use her then leave, he’d have no reason to be. He could just cut his losses and move on.

The cat head-butted her hand and Cindy automatically raised it to scratch Callie behind the ears. “What do you think Cal? Did I jump to too many conclusions?” The cat started to purr. “Well one thing hasn’t changed in all this thinking. I still look like I look.” Callie rubbed against her thigh. “And here I thought I was ok with myself, when all it took was one good looking guy to make me run screaming.”

***************

Cindy went back to work the next day feeling a little better. She couldn’t ignore the shop for too long so during a slow period she popped over and thanked Mrs. Klein for putting up the sign. The rest of the day was quiet, on both sides of the street. When she was getting ready this morning her stomach did flip-flops every time she thought of seeing Lester coming and going from Vinnie’s, but it never happened.

As she switched the sign on the front door to “closed” she realized she had worried for nothing. No black Bronco’s ever appeared. With a little cloud of disappointment hanging over her head, she made her way out the back door and to her car. The minute she opened the door she saw it.

There was a black envelope on the front seat. Cautiously she looked around the ally, hoping to see what she wasn’t sure. She knew how it got there and mostly likely who it was from, but now she had the distinct impression of being watched.

She slipped into the car and shut the door. With shaking hands she opened the envelope and took out the lone Polaroid snap shot. Blinking a few times she stared at the picture. Then her head snapped up as she scanned the back ally one more time. Of course she saw nothing so she looked at the picture again. Then carefully, she slipped the picture back in the envelope and stared straight ahead, having no clue as what to do.

Finally, she got an idea. Leaving her car, she made her way around the front of the building and across the street. She was happy to see a blue Buick sitting at the curb. When she marched up to the door and opened it, she found three women inside. One of which she couldn’t take her eyes off because of the outfit she wore.

“Hey, Cin,” Stephanie said in greeting. “What brings you across the street?”

Connie chimed in. “Hey, Cindy.”

“Hey, I knows you. You that flower lady from across the street,” said a black woman encased in head to toe in bright pink.

Cindy nodded. “Yeah, uh, hi. I’m Cindy.”

The woman approached and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Lula. I’m Steph’s bounty hunting partner.”

All Cindy could do was smile and nod, then she turned to Steph. “Can I talk to you about something?”

A slow smile spread across Stephanie’s face. “Sure. But I’ll tell you now I don’t know anything about it.”

Connie, never the one to miss gossip in the making, asked, “What? What don’t you know about? Cindy, what’s going on?”

Lula sat next to Stephanie on the old leather couch. “You have some dirt and are keeping it from us? That’s not the burg way.”

Cindy suddenly felt trapped. She stared wide-eyed at the three women and finally gave in. “All right. Here.” She shoved the black envelope toward Stephanie. “I found this in the front seat of my car.”

“That’s got to be from Rangeman. No one else uses black envelopes,” Connie surmised.

Lula’s eyes narrowed and pinned Cindy. “You got something going with one of the guys?” Steph’s smile grew.

“I…uh…well…I…no.”

Connie came out from behind her desk. “Oooooh, something’s going on. Spill girl.”

“Look at this,” Cindy said as she waved the envelope in the air.

Lula didn’t miss the invitation and snatched it from Cindy’s hand. She opened it quickly and pulled out the picture.

“It’s feet.”

Cindy nodded.

“Hairy feet,” Connie added.

Cindy rubbed her forehead. “Yes.”

Steph casually glanced at the picture. “Big feet. See, there’s a ruler.”

Lula looked at Cindy. “Whose feet is this?”

With a sigh, Cindy sat in the empty chair next to Connie’s desk. “Well, judging from the way two of the toes on each foot are fused together, my guess would be Lester’s.”

Stephanie burst out laughing. Connie and Lula looked back at the picture. “Damn,” Lula said, “that man gots some big feet.” Connie nodded and then both of them started to fan themselves.

“Lester’s after Cindy.”

“Thanks, Steph.” Cindy said sarcastically.

“What?” Lula looked surprised. “You don’t want that man? Girl, you nuts? That man is hot. H.O.T. Hot. You be crazy not to go for it?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Honey, ain’t nothing complicated with a man who has feet this big.” Lula looked closely at the picture. “Ok, so a few of his toes are stuck together. That’s no reason to be turning him away.” She slipped the picture back in the envelope and handed it to Cindy. “You should go for it.”

Cindy stood and took the picture. “Steph, what’s he doing?”

“Before you start in, no, I don’t know a thing about it. All I can say is that when I was at Ranger’s yesterday I found the guys all huddled together over some papers on the table. Bobby practically threw his body over the table to cover it up when I walked in.” Cindy frowned. “I swear, Cin, that’s all I know. I think he’s trying to woo you.”

“Perfect. A man tried to woo you and you get flowers. Me, I get…get…feet.”

“Big feet.” Lula said fanning herself.

“Yeah, big sexy feet,” Connie added.

She couldn’t help herself; Cindy smiled and laughed for the first time in days.

The next day Cindy made it to work, although cautiously. She knew one picture wasn't going to be the end of it. Deep down she had to admit she was glad. Although, by the time she arrived at the shop, there had been nothing. Nothing outside her door, nothing in her car.

She held onto a little hope as she went in the back door of the shop, the fresh smell of flowers engulfing her like they did every morning. It had been a few days since she had noticed or enjoyed it. Her mind had been occupied with other things. But yesterday, with just that one picture, things seemed to be turning around. She still hadn't changed her mind about Lester, but decided she was going to enjoy the attention. She could give herself that much.

Her thoughts turned to her workday as she flipped on the lights and tied her apron. She mentally ticked off the flowers needed for the Russell wedding on Saturday as she turned over her open sign and unlocked the front door. Then she headed for the register to unlock it.

She found the second black envelope sitting on top the small coffee maker she kept behind the counter. Her heart started to beat double time. The envelope was bigger today and for a split second her brain tried to tell her to be scared. Her heart overruled it. She was excited and happy that something was waiting for her.

Just as she lifted the envelope to open it, the front door opened. She looked up to find Steph, Lula and Connie.

Connie snapped her gum. "We came to see what you got today." Steph just smiled.

"Is that it there?" Lula pointed to the envelope in Cindy's hand.

"Uh, yeah, maybe I should open it in private."

Steph smiled. "What body part do you think he took a picture of this time?" Connie started to fan herself.

"Oh girl, you turn around and open it. Then if you want, you can let us see."

Cindy smiled at Lula's idea. "Ok." Gently she opened the flap to find two pictures and a bunch of papers. She looked at the pictures first. One was of his hand with the crooked fingers. Cindy's smile got bigger. When she saw the second picture her face fell. Then she rifled through the papers but didn't understand what she was reading.

Turning to her audience she held the papers in one hand. "I don't underst…"

Lula was the closest and grabbed the papers from Cindy's hand. Her eyes narrowed as she read quickly through the papers. Then she raised her head and looked at Connie and Steph. "I think Vinnie's calling you."

"Huh? He is not. Give me those." Steph reached for the paper and Lula pulled away.

"Fine. He's not. But you two gots to go. I need to talk to Cin alone." Lula thrust the papers back at Cindy and started to herd Connie and Steph towards the door.

"Hey!"

"Wait a minute…"

"I need to talk Cindy alone," Lula said. "She can tell you about it when we're done if she wants. Now go." She opened the front door and gently pushed the women outside. Then she closed and locked the door, flipping the sign to closed.

Cindy had no idea what was going on, so she waited until Lula made it back to the counter. "What are you doing?"

"You got coffee to make in that thing," Lula pointed to the coffeepot.

"Yeah…"

"Good, make some while I find me a chair."

It took a few minutes, but finally both women were settled in with coffee. Cindy went to say something but Lula beat her to the punch. "You know what that is?" she asked pointing to the papers.

"I'm guessing it has something to do with the mug shot he included."

Lula nodded while she took a sip. "That there is his rap sheet."

"Oh."

"Two pages, really one in a half, that ain't bad."

Cindy read the papers closely and saw things like "criminal mischief", "other", and "juvenile trouble". She had a confused look on her face when she looked at Lula. "Is he trying to scare me off? I thought he wanted me…"

"Stop there. He does."

Cindy sighed, closed her eyes, and started to shake her head. "Lula, I don't see any reason…"

"'Cause, girl, you ain't looking."

Cindy opened her eyes and worked to hold back a scream.

Lula held up a hand. "Hold on. Let me tell you something before you start your yelling." Cindy's shoulder's slumped, but she nodded her ok. "Good. Now listen to a fellow big boned woman. You gots to learn to like yourself. You won't be finding any happiness in this life if you don't like yourself the way you are." She paused. "Now, I'm not saying that there isn't always room for improvement, but at a basic level, you have to accept what and who you are. That includes what you look like. Take me for example. I used to be a ho'. I could let that get me down and stop me from living life, but I'm not. I'm a bounty hunter in training and I go to night school. I decided early on that people have to take me as I am. If you don't like what you see, move along cause I ain't got time for you either."

"That's easy to say…"

"No, honey, it ain't." Lula's face became serious. "I think you know that. I’m a former ho and a large woman. I used to hate myself somethin' awful. Saying it is just as hard as doing somethin' about it."

Cindy looked down at her hands and played with her cup. "What happened?"

"Well, one skinny assed white woman saved my life." Lula motioned over her shoulder. When Cindy looked up, she saw Connie and Steph, their noses pressed against the glass and their hands cupped around their eyes, trying to see in.

"You mean, Steph?"

Lula smile. "Yeah. But that story's for another time. All I'm trying to say is to quit comparing yourself to everyone else. What Lester looks like has nothing to do with what you look like and it sure as hell don't mean you're not worth likin'." They fell silent for a few seconds. "You know," Lula continued, "giving you his rap sheet is pretty serious."

"What? Why?" Cindy knew she sounded panicked.

Lula chuckled. "He wants you to know about him and he wanted you to get it from him. Heck, Steph could have gotten his sheet for you if you wanted. That man is showing you all of himself." Lula picked up the mug shot. "Now, if we could just get some pictures of other body parts." Cindy laughed and Lula studied the picture. "Oooeeee, girl. That boy's got a black eye and a bruised chin." Cindy silently slid the other picture over. "His finger's are crooked." Lula squinted. "Says here at the bottom 'Bar fight. Two nights in jail, two broken fingers." Lula looked up and met Cindy's eyes. "Girl, he likes you."

The next few days flew by in a flash and it seemed that Saturday had snuck up on Cindy before she could even blink. The fact she had presents waiting for her everyday probably helped. She floated through the days with her mind a million miles away.

As she parked her car down the street from her apartment she thought of the last couple of gifts and had to smile. After the rap sheet, she got a picture of Lester’s ass. Well, really, it was a close up of the scar on his ass, but there was enough showing for her figure out where exactly the scar resided. She had sat stunned for several minutes trying to pry her imagination away from the images of Lester's ass…Lester's very fine ass.

A ringing phone finally snapped her out of it. She decided to tuck that one away and not share it with the girls. Cindy tried hard not to focus on the feelings of protectiveness she was experiencing. If she looked too deep she knew she'd find feelings more along the lines of "he's mine, keep your eyes off his ass".

Inside the same envelope was a second picture of two Hispanic men holding a good-sized lizard. Tank had mentioned that there was a woman involved but since no woman was in the picture, Cindy decided not to worry herself with it, although she did notice quite a few empty tequila bottles in the picture.

Then the next day she received a picture of Lester as a boy, standing next to a woman, who Cindy assumed was his mother. There was also a copy of his birth certificate and his mother's death certificate. She thought it was telling there was no one listed as his father. Lester couldn't have been more than 8 or 10 in the picture and from the date on the death certificate, his mother must have died soon after that. That "gift" got her straight in the heart.

Also, it hadn't gotten by her that Tank was right. Lester was not flattered by longer hair. The picture of him as a child proved that. That entire gift was also put away. Some things were too private to share.

The storm clouds that had been threatening all day finally decided to open up just as she was getting out of her car. The day had gone smoothly considering she had two weddings to cover, but the bad weather held off, at least until now, and with both receptions being inside, there wasn’t too much to worry about. Her job was done by the time the halls were set up anyway.

Cindy looked at her watch once she was safely inside by the elevators. She was wet, it was eight o’clock on a Saturday night, and she was in for the duration. What an exciting life she led. And, while she was thrilled with all the little surprises Lester was leaving, she wished he had shown up at least once. Then there was a very small part of her that was glad, too.

While in the elevator she remembered that she hadn’t found any little gifts yet today. By the time she reached her front door she was so excited she could hardly stand it. But after a few minutes of searching the place she hadn’t found anything. With a somewhat heavy heart she decided a nice long, hot shower was in order.

After soaping, scrubbing, shaving, and wondering if Lester liked to do it in the shower, she finally got out feeling a little better. She quickly pulled a comb through her hair, then changed into some of her favorite comfy pajamas. In the time it took for her to shower the storm had really kicked up. The wind was blowing very hard and the rain was coming down in sheets.

She picked up the cat and went to the window to have a peek. Suddenly, there was a loud banging at her door that took her by surprise. She jumped, dropping Callie to the floor. She watched as the cat slunk down the hall to the bedroom, no doubt headed under the bed for safety. The way this storm was acting up Cindy thought the cat had a good idea.

When she looked through the peephole her breath caught in her throat.

“I’m glad you look through the peephole, darling, but it’s just me.”

Yeah, right, just Lester!

Her eyes went wide when she realized what she was wearing.

“Please, Cindy, open up.” His voice had such a pleading tone to it she immediately became worried. Forgetting all about how she looked, wet hair and old pajamas, she wasted no time in opening the door. What she found was one very wet Lester.

“Oh my gosh, you’re soaked.”

Lester smiled big, but she caught the tremble to his lips. “Yeah, I had to park pretty far down the block.”

“You look cold standing out there. Come on in.” She stood back so he could come inside, but he didn’t move. “What’s wrong? Come inside.”

“Actually, I’ve come to get you.”

She blinked. “Come to get me? For what?” A loud crash of thunder reminded her of the weather. “It’s nasty outside.” She put a hand on her hip. “I’m inviting you inside and you’re saying no?”

Lester chuckled. “Seems that way.” His face went serious. “But if the situation were different you can bet I wouldn’t need to asked twice.”

Heat flushed Cindy’s face and she broke eye contact. Maybe baiting Lester was still beyond her skill set for now. “Well…I…uh…just thought…”

“Cin.” When he spoke his voice was low and close, very close. She looked up and he was now only a few inches away. “The storm is bad. I want to take you someplace safe.”

Trying to inject some humor into the situation, she took a step back and rolled her eyes. “Oh sure, that’s what they all say. Nice line. Where did you get that one?”

This time Lester barked a laugh. “You are adorable.” He advanced the few steps she had retreated and got in her face again. “I’m hoping that I didn’t have to use any lines.”

Cindy swallowed and let out a nervous laugh, trying not to break eye contact. It didn’t work. She looked away just as there was a bright flash in the sky and the lights went out. Lester swore under his breath and pulled out a flashlight.

Not having a clue as what to say, Cindy said the first thing that came to her mind. “We’ve been here before.”

“Yes, but this time I’m not leaving alone. Seriously, Cindy it’s supposed to get worse. I’d feel better knowing you’d be someplace safe instead of your third story apartment.”

She threw him a skeptical look. “And that someplace is with you?”

“But of course.”

Laughing she said, “I can’t leave…”

“I brought a cat carrier.” The light from his flashlight was aimed out towards the hall as Lester went to retrieve the cage. Within seconds he was holding the cage with one hand and shining the light at it with the other. “Ta Da.”

“The cat’s under the bed.”

“I’m on it.”

Cindy sighed. “Let me change clothes.”

Lester was already on his way back down the hall with the cat. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just get underground, ok?” He grabbed her hand and she hesitated. “Please, Cin? Ranger went to get Steph, the other guys are waiting.”

Taking a deep breath, Cindy summoned up all her courage and said a small prayer, then, “Ok.”

*********************

She was soaked by the time they had made it to the Bronco. Lester offered to pull around but she said she'd just run out there with him. She didn’t trust herself to stay and wait. She would have run back upstairs and barricaded the door. She couldn’t exactly abandon her cat, now could she?

They were pulling into an underground parking garage of one of the office buildings downtown when she asked, “Are we going to hang out in a parking garage?” The weather had become worse on the drive over and she noticed how much Lester concentrated on keeping the truck on the road and not have it blow all over.

Lester smiled, but didn’t say a word. Once he parked, he came around to help her out, then got the cat carrier. “This way,” he said as he motioned to some elevators.

“But I thought we are going underground.”

Silently, Lester slipped a key into a slot on the control panel and then punched a series of buttons. The elevator started going down.

She laughed. “I should have known.”

The elevator came to a smooth stop but there were no numbers to indicate how far below ground they were. “How far down are we?” Cindy asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice. She didn’t think it worked.

Lester took her hand and laced his fingers with hers, giving a slight squeeze. “Tanks apartment is the first stop, then Bobby’s, then mine,” the doors slid open and he motioned her out. “Ranger’s is last, furthest down,” he said as he set the cat carrier on the floor near the elevator door and let the cat out. “Come on in.”

Cindy took a hesitant first step into the apartment. The space wasn’t anything overly dramatic and actually nicely decorated. It was one large room, with ceiling to floor screens separating the bedroom from the rest of the room. The theme was Asian and all-in-all, looked very comfortable.

“Wow, Lester. This place is great. Is this where you live all the time?”

He tugged on her hand and started moving them toward the bedroom. “No,” he paused and slid open the door. “Bathroom’s in there.” He let her hand drop and pointed to a door, then flopped down on the bed and bounced a little. “To answer your question, no, I don’t live here all the time.” A predatory smile spread across his face when he noticed her checking out the bed. “I have two other places…both have beds just as comfy as this one.” Cindy blushed red, but couldn’t stop from admiring all the pillows and the fluffy comforter that graced the king size bed. It looked incredibly soft and the kind of bed a person could get lost in.

Laughing, Lester got off the bed and took both Cindy’s hands in his. “Hey, I’m just teasing you.” He tucked some hair behind her ear. “You hungry?”

Her eyes finally met his and she knew her face was still red. “A little. I just got home a few minutes before you came over.”

He smiled softly. “Ok. Why don’t you go change into some dry clothes.” He went and pulled sweatpants and a sweatshirt from his dresser. “I’ll dig us up something to eat.”

Cindy stared at the clothes that he placed in her hands. “Lester, I don’t think…”

“Cin,” he cut her off and cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. “Trust me please.” He gently kissed her on the lips. “I’d never do anything to hurt or embarrass you.”

She blinked a few times, then smiled. “I know.” He looked at her, slightly narrowing his eyes. “No, honest,” she continued. “Everything you’ve done this week…all the little gifts with no pressure…well, you’ve given me the time and room to think…it’s all been so sweet. And…well…I do trust you.”

Lester closed his eyes and slowly brought his forehead to hers. “Cin, I know we have lots to talk about, that we really need to talk, and I want to hear every word you have to say…”

“But?”

He sighed. “But, you’re standing there, wet, in a flimsy cotton men’s pajama set. It’s driving me freakin’ nuts. Please, baby, go take a shower, get warmed up and changed. Then we’ll eat and talk. Ok?”

Cindy gasped, took a step back and hugged the dry clothes to her chest. “Oh Jesus, I didn’t even realize…I was so caught up in coming here with you I never thought about…oh crap. I’m sor…”

Lester turned and headed out. His shoulders were shaking so she knew he was laughing. “Get changed, Pretty Eyes, I’ll see you in a few.” He slid the screen across the doorway. Guess that was that.

After a quick shower, they both ate and then cleaned up the dishes. Cindy was loading the last plate in the dishwasher. “You’re a great cook, Lester? Where did you learn? You’re Mom teach you?” The second the words left Cindy’s mouth, she knew what she had done. “Oh, I’m sorry. Lester, I wasn’t thinking. I’m…”

Lester sported an understanding smile. “It’s ok, baby. Come on.” He took her by the hand and led her to the couch in the living area. He dropped her hand and went to the entertainment center and started the stereo.

Cindy tried hard to calm her nerves. It was becoming obvious that Lester was putting together a certain type of setting, one that included soft lights and music. Her stomach flip flopped at the thought. Sure she trusted him, but getting physically intimate was something all together different.

She couldn’t help but stare as he made his way back to her. His swagger was confidant and his look smoldering. It didn't go unnoticed that his clothes molded to every beautiful contour of his magnificent body. Cindy swallowed. Trying to fight off her own feelings of inadequacy, she knew for sure that she was in trouble.

“I bet the storm is over. I could probably go home.” The cat rubbed up against her leg and meowed. Cindy nearly jumped out of her skin.

Lester stood in front of her and took her by the shoulders. “We need to talk.”

“Okaaaaay.”

He smiled, but said nothing. Slowly he eased them both on the couch and before she knew what had happened, she was laid out against the back of the couch and Lester was situating himself in front of her. She was stiff and tense and she knew it. She also knew that he knew it. In this close proximity, there was no way she could hide her body.

His arms came around her and he scooted closer until he could lay her head against his chest and get them both comfortable. She let out a big sigh and Lester kissed the top of her head. “Relax,” he whispered.

She laughed. "Easy for you to say. You don't have the most gorgeous guy you've ever seen trying to snuggle with you. I should probably…" She tried to get up but he tugged her back down.

"Yeah, but I've got a woman in my arms who makes me feel like no other ever has. Heck, I even went as far as taking pictures of my feet for her. And, I'll add, she's trying to bolt like I have the plague. I'm nervous too, Pretty Eyes."

What on earth could she say to that? It took a few minutes, but she settled back in and eventually found herself relaxing while Lester drew lazy circles on her back with his fingertips. She was incredibly comfortable and couldn't believe just how relaxed she had become. Something about this was very right, but it was on a level she couldn't identify yet.

Once the tension was completely gone, her mind started working again. Then she remembered her faux paux in the kitchen. “I'm sorry about before, about mentioning your mother like that. Can you tell me about her?”

Lester gave her a small squeeze. “She was great. She was a funny lady and everything I can remember about her centers around laughter. She died when I was 11.”

This time, she squeezed him. “I’m so sorry. What did you do? I noticed there was no father’s name listed on your birth certificate”

He kissed the top of her head again. “Thanks and no there isn’t. I don’t know who my father is. After mom died I went to live with my Grandmother. I was a little wild so she asked her other daughter, my aunt Kitty, and her husband to take me in. They did. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. Uncle Dan was in the military and he has been the biggest influence in my life.”

Cindy looked up and met Lester’s eyes. There wasn’t much for her to say so she just smiled. His smile faded and that smoldering look of earlier was back. He moved down until they were eye to eye. Cindy’s heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest, but she couldn’t break the eye contact.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he said in a husky tone.

Before she could even nod her ok, his lips were on hers. They were as soft and warm as she remembered from the kiss in the flower shop. This kiss was gentle but coaxing. She couldn’t help the moan that escaped as his tongue invaded her mouth. What she was feeling inside was wonderful.

His hand came up to her face and helped angle her head so he could deepen the kiss. Things were heating up quickly and she started to panic. He must have noticed because he slowed and backed off until he broke their connection.

They were both breathing hard, but Lester had a smile from ear to ear. “Tell me about how you started your business.”

He rubbed his nose with hers and she laughed. “Not much to tell. It was my Grandmother’s and when she died she left it to me. Mom didn’t want it and none of the other kids did either. I grew up helping Grandma in that store, everyday after school and weekends. When I got out of school she fell ill. I took over most of the duties.” She shrugged. “It seemed natural that I got it. I’m thinking of a change though.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” she played with the hem on his shirtsleeve. “I’ve had an offer from a chain. I’ve been thinking about it.”

“What would you do?” Lester snuck a quick kiss.

She smiled again. “I don’t really know. Maybe open my own store in a different part of town. I mean, everything is great now, but it’s still Grandma’s, ya know? And anyway, Gram also left me a nice sum of money. I don’t really have to worry.”

“Wow. Smart, beautiful and rich.” Lester gave her a wolf grin and Cindy blushed and closed her eyes.

She felt her chin being lifted and then Lester’s lips on top of hers. He gave some quick kisses, lengthened them until finally he was asking for entrance. Cindy easily gave in with a sigh. She was so caught up in the kiss that she barely noticed he started to talk to her between kisses.

“I think,” he paused to kiss her, “that you should,” another pause, another kiss, “take some time off.” He kissed her long and deep to the point she was breathless. “Say two months,” he kissed her more, “with me,” another kiss, “ to a private beach.”

“Mmm,” was all she could manage. It was several minutes of tonsil hockey later that his words finally registered. “What?” She laughed.

“Think about it,” he said as he settled in with a contended sigh. They lay there holding each other silently.

“What’s your middle name?” she asked. For the first time since being on the couch together, she felt him tense. “There was an H on your birth certificate.”

Now Lester sighed and mumbled.

“What?”

“Hector.”

“Lester Hector?” Cindy tried not to laugh.

Lester started to tickle her. “Oh yeah. What’s yours?” She shut up right away. “Uh oh. Now you have to tell me.”

Cindy mumbled.

“What?”

“Kelly.”

“Cynthia Kelly?” Lester snickered and she punched him in the stomach.

“No, Cindy Kelly. My mother’s maiden name was Kelly. She wanted to keep it around and my name has always just been Cindy. Not shortened from Cynthia.”

She thought he was going to tickler her again, but was surprised when he kissed her instead. “You know what, Cindy Kelly?” he asked as he pulled away. “I think you’re one special lady.”

Cindy blushed from the top of her to the tips of her toes. She closed her eyes and tried to push him back. He didn’t let her. “Oh no, Pretty Eyes,” he laughed. “Not on your life.”

Then he started to tickle.

Cindy lay on the couch and watched Lester, as he talked on the phone in some cryptic code. The phone had rung and broken the mood they had built moments earlier and now Cindy was starting to have second thoughts. The man she was studying was beautiful, inside and out. And while the inside beauty she could handle, it was his physical beauty that she couldn’t deal with. When it came down to it she just didn’t feel like she could live up to any expectations he had for her physically.

While Lester’s back was to her, she slid off the couch and went looking for her cat. It was time she cut this visit short and go home. There was no way she would risk setting her heart up for rejection, which she knew would eventually come. She was already in too deep. If she were to keep going, she’d end up being devastated.

She was trying to stuff the cat in the carrier when Lester came into the bedroom.

“What’s going on?” There was wariness to his tone.

“Oh,” she went for chipper but it sounded fake even to her ears. “Just packing up the cat to get on home. You’ve been sweet to take care of us.” The tension in the room was thick. The whole time she had been talking she busied herself with the cat, not daring to look at him. Having not noticed that he moved closer, she jumped when he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Cin.”

She continued to fight with the cat while trying to hold her emotions at bay. It wasn’t working out so well. “Yeah?”

“Cindy,” he said as he took hold of her arm. “Stop that. Please.”

The cage door clicked closed and she stood still. She didn’t have the guts to turn around. Ok, so maybe that didn’t stop Lester from turning her, but she didn’t have to meet his eyes.

“Look at me, Pretty Eyes.”

For some reason, this time the use of that nickname stung. She winced a little and tried to back away. “Really, I should be getting home. I’m sure the storm has passed and it was really nice of you to look after us.” She struggled slightly trying to break free of his hold.

“Please,” he whispered, “Cindy, look at me.”

With great hesitation she lifted her eyes to meet his. Her breath caught when she noticed the hurt displayed on his face. She had no clue how to respond to that.

“Why,” he stopped to clear his throat. “Why? Have I done something wrong?”

“What? No, of course not.”

“Then I don’t get it. I thought we were having a nice time. Did I miss a signal or something?”

Cindy could only lower her eyes and shake her head. How could she explain? “No,” she whispered. “You didn’t. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have been sending signals anyway.” She could hear the wobble in her voice, so she was fairly sure he did too.

“Baby,” his voice was soft and reassuring, “why would you think anything is your fault? I don’t even understand what the problem is. I thought we worked past all that other stuff.” With a soft touch, he ran a hand through her hair.

A flood of tears was threatening to escape, so she closed her eyes to hold them back. The least he could do was be a jerk, that way she could get angry. But no, he was being so damn sweet it was making her cry. All she could do was shake her head. If she spoke now, she’d never hold herself together.

“Oh please, Cindy,” he begged, “talk to me sweetheart. I can’t fix it unless you tell me what’s broken.”

A tear escaped. “You wouldn’t…I can’t….” The dam was so close to breaking she had to stop. Here he was asking what he did wrong, asking how he could fix the problem. She snorted a laugh at that. Her confidence had been broken for so long, not even a Latin hottie was going to fix it. As a matter of fact, all he did was remind her of just how inadequate she really was. “I can’t do this.” She sniffed.

“Oh baby,” he said quietly. With great reluctance, she let him pull her into his embrace. He stroked her hair while she buried her face in his chest. “It’s ok. You don’t have to talk now. But listen if you really want to go home, I’ll take you. No problem. Just know that I’ll be camped outside your door.” She shook her head but remained silent. “Oh yes I will. I’ll have to know you’re ok. And besides, it will be a good time for me think about what I’ve done this time to have you react to me like this.”

A sob escaped. “It’s not you.” She practically wailed, but couldn’t have helped herself if she tried.

“Shhh, ok, ok.” He pulled her closer and continued to stroke her hair. They stood in silence for several heartbeats and she tried hard not to cry on his t-shirt, but failed miserably.

“Hey,” he said after a while. “I have an idea. Why don’t we stay here…” She shifted in his arms and he squeezed her a little. “Shh… shh, no, no. Hear me out.” He waited for her nod before he went on. “Why don’t we stay here? You take the bed to get a good night’s sleep and I’ll go bunk with one of the guys. That way, you’ll have your privacy and I won’t worry.”

She sniffed a few times as the river of tears slowed to a trickle. “I can’t push you out of your home. That’s not right.”

“You wouldn’t. It’d be fine.”

“No. It’s wrong.”

“Well,” he said, “I’m not letting you bunk with one of the guys.”

She chuckled a little but was feeling more embarrassed as each minute passed. Taking a breath, she started to say something but he didn’t let her get the first word out. “Please, Cindy. Just stay here tonight.” They were both silent until he whispered, “You said earlier you trusted me. Trust me now. Please.”

Cindy nodded and backed-up, this time Lester let her go. "Ok. I just feel silly now for blubbering like that," she said while wiping at her eyes. "But I'm not going to kick you out of your home. I'll take the couch."

"Don't worry about that." He put a finger to her lips when she went to protest. "No. Now," he turned her towards the bathroom, "maybe another shower will help calm you down, make you feel better." She felt him giver he a little shove. "I'm going to go shower at Ranger's. I'll be back and then I'll take the couch. No arguments."

Blushing, she turned to look at him. "Ok," she whispered, then practically ran into the bathroom.

I know I've been doing this story from one POV, but like the "guys" chapter, this part needed to be written. I honestly don't have any control.

The elevator door to Ranger's apartment opened and Lester stepped out. The first thing he saw was Ranger sitting at the kitchen table with a laptop.

"Hey, man," Lester said by way of greeting. "Bombshell sleeping?"

Ranger smiled then nodded. Right then Lester decided he like the two of them together. She was good for him. "Yeah." Ranger motioned with his head to his bedroom, one that had actual walls and a door. "I woke her up and dragged her here. The minute she came in she headed for the bedroom. It's like she has some sort of natural homing beacon when it comes to finding places to sleep. Anyway, she's been out since."

"She was on the all night stake out with Lula wasn't she? Then Steph got dragged to some wedding by her mom." Lester watched as his boss, his friend, turned toward the closed bedroom door and smiled again.

"Yeah. She's beat."

"Well," Lester cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable. "I seem to have a problem with Cindy."

Ranger looked up from the laptop screen and furrowed his brows. "Oh?"

Lester nodded and Ranger closed the laptop and pushed it aside. Lester was now his sole focus. He had to smile to himself. Outside of his aunt and uncle, these guys were his family. And, he couldn't be more grateful. "She won't really tell me what it is. I mean, we made some progress. I thought we had got past some stuff, but now it's like we're back to square one. You think she's still hung up on her weight? I though I made it clear that I’m not perfect like she likes to think…"

"Call Lula." Stephanie's sleepy voice came from the bedroom doorway. Both men turned to face her. "Lula and Cindy had some sort of private pow-wow." She shuffled towards the coffee maker on the kitchen counter. "It was the morning she got the picture of your hand. Yeah, that was it. She took out the papers and Lula grabbed them. Then Lula ushered me and Connie out the door." Stephanie shrugged as she poured herself some coffee. "I bet Lula knows."

"Will she tell me?"

Steph sipped from the cup and shook her head. "Probably not, but you never know."

"Thanks." Lester stood. "I'm gonna use your shower and borrow some clothes, man." Without waiting for a reply he went and grabbed some of Ranger's clothes and took a quick shower. When he came out, he found Stephanie on Ranger's lap. Ranger seemed to be trying to devour her.

Lester chuckled as he left. "Don't let me interrupt." He waved as the elevator door shut. "Thanks, Steph." Neither Steph nor Ranger seemed to notice. The last thing he saw before the door shut was Ranger with Steph wrapped around his waist as they headed for the bedroom. "Have fun," Lester said under his breath.

Instead of stopping at his floor, he let the elevator take him all the way up to the parking garage. He had a call to make and he was sure Cindy wouldn’t mind the extra few minutes alone.

"What?!" Lula screamed into his ear when she picked up the phone. "This best be good 'cause I'm one tired black woman whose tryin' to sleep."

Lester cringed. Maybe this wasn't his best plan ever. "Lula? It's Lester."

There was silence until finally, "Well, gets on with it. I ain't gots all day."

"Yeah, well. Um, Stephanie mentioned that you might be able to help me with a problem?"

"What kinda problem? I don't do that kinda work anymore…"

"No! No. I was, uh, hoping you could maybe tell me what's got Cindy so upset."

There was a sigh from the other end of the phone. "Hang on." He heard her put down the phone and walk off. A few seconds later there was a toilet flush in the background, and then more footsteps.

"You still there?" Lula asked, sounding more normal.

"Yeah."

"Ok, good. I had some business to take care of before we start this conversation. Now, what happened?"

Lester told Lula the quick version of the story, then asked. "What could be the problem now? Did she tell you anything?"

"I can't tell you what she said to me, that'd be breakin' a confidence."

Lester sighed. "Lula…"

"But, I will tell you, it's the same problem."

He shook his head. "No, Lula. We worked through all that."

Now Lula sighed. "No honey, you ain't. Let me ask you somethin'. You take her to your place and start getting' cozy and shit, right?"

"Well, yeah. So?" There was another sigh from her and Lester was starting to feel like an idiot.

"She ain't stupid. She knows where things were headed."

"So?"

"Lester. Lemme tell you somethin' about big boned woman. You listen, cause I know what I'm talkin' 'bout being one myself now, you here?" He was silent so she continued. " Sometimes larger woman don't like the way their body looks and the first time with a guy can be a little scary. Now, I'm not saying that's her problem or anything. I'm just speaking in generalities, ya see."

"Of course." Lester rubbed a hand down his face.

"You get a woman with some extra weight on her and she doesn't feel real good 'bout taking her clothes off, with any guy, not to mention one that ain't got no extra fat on him anywhere. See what I'm telling ya?"

Lester blew out a breath. "It's the same problem."

"You didn't hear it from me, cause I ain't never told you what the problem was in the first place."

"Gotchya. Now, how does a guy help a woman get over that type of thing? You know, hypothetically speaking."

"Well, he's gots to go slow, make her feel all special and shit. You know, real reassuring, but most importantly go slow and have patience."

"Ok, got it."

"And Lester?"

"Yeah?"

"He best not be stringin' her along either. That's the worst he could do. You hear me?"

"Yeah, Lula, I do."

"Good, cause I'd hate to have to bust a cap up yo' ass…hypothetically speakin'."

*****

Cindy was in heaven. Here she was in Lester's bed, and while that statement in itself would be enough to warrant the heaven comment, the actual bed did too. It bordered on decadent. The mattress wasn't too firm or soft. It was perfect. There was a feather bed on top of it, that when she lay on it seemed to swallow her in softness. The big, fluffy down comforter was wonderful too, but the best part were all the feather pillows. There had to be at least ten in different shapes and sizes. She felt completely surrounded and safe. She snuggled down and let out a long sigh.

"You ok in there?" Lester asked from the couch. It was dark in the apartment and both of them had settled in for the night. Cindy had forgot that the "walls" of the bedroom were really just screens. They could each easily hear each other.

"Yeah. Your bed is wonderful." The seconds the words left her mouth, she turned bright red. She was grateful it was dark and he couldn't see her.

His deep chuckle came from the other room. "Yeah, it is. When I was little, Mom and I didn't have much, so I slept on the floor a lot. Then when she died and I lived with my grandparents, I had a second hand bed that was ok. I decided back then that someday, when I had the means, I was going to get the best bed there was and make it so comfortable that I'd never want to leave."

"Well, I think you got it right." She sighed again. Lester laughed but didn’t comment.

They were quiet again and Cindy began to think about all the things Lester had said and done over the past few weeks. He was being sweet and she had to admit, everything seemed to be sincere.

But then she knew the problem wasn't with him, it was with her. She was the one with no confidence in how she looked. He didn't seem to mind in the least. Actually, he seemed to like the way she looked. Her heart, that wanted so desperately to give in to Lester's advances, gently reminded her that he didn't seem like the kind of guy that would play her like a fool. Also, his closest friends didn't seem like the kind of guys that would let him. Her mind reminded her of the times in the past when the great looking guy just wanted to be friends. And, usually told to her while he had a skinny bimbo on his arm.

She went to sigh again but caught herself just in time. There was also a headache coming on; she could feel it starting at her temples. She'd like to block everything out and just go to sleep, but something deep down told her that if she didn't figure out how to get over herself, and stop pushing this guy away, she'd be losing a lot. The fact was that she did trust him. How much was the question. She could trust him as a friend. That would be easy. Could she trust him as a love interest? That answer came surprising quick. Yes, she could. The question that she couldn't get past was, could she trust him not to run the first time he saw her naked?

You'll never know until you try, her heart said.

You can't take the risk, her brain responded.

You can't live your life hiding from opportunity because things are risky. Open yourself to the possibilities, her heart pleaded. Think of how great it could be if he were in this bed with you now.

She did sigh this time, the whispered, "Lester?"

“Yeah?”

His tone was weary and she couldn’t blame him. If he didn’t run from thoughts of her naked, he surely would because she was acting like a lunatic. “Uh, can you, um, come in here?”

There was complete silence for several beats, then the sound of the door sliding open. Within a second he was right there, kneeling on the floor next to her.

“What is it?”

Cindy closed her eyes at the sound of his voice, sounding so low and intimate. She finally rolled to her side to face him. “I was thinking…” She stopped to swallow and tried to calm her nerves. This would definitely qualify as going out on a limb, someplace she wasn’t used to going, at least not on such a personal level.

“Take your time,” he whispered, “I’m not going anywhere.”

She opened her eyes, and again was thankful for the darkness. There was no doubt that her face was bright red from embarrassment. “Well, I was thinking that maybe you’d, um, be more comfortable, uh, in here.”

“I told you before, sweetheart, I’m not letting you sleep on the couch.”

“Oh, well, yeah I know. I thought, uh, maybe we could both, ya know, uh, sleep here.” She closed her eyes again and waited. Even the steady rhythm of his breathing had seemed to stop. After several excruciating, heart-stopping seconds of her own, she was about to give up and hide under the covers.

When he did speak, the sound of his voice made her jump. “Cindy, I’ll tell you up front that there is nothing more I want to do than get in that bed with you.” Here eyes opened and he paused. “But I think first, we need to talk about a few things.”

In a voice so small that she didn’t even recognize it as her own, she said, “Ok.”

His hand came up and started to stroke her hair. “First, thanks for asking me. I know that was hard for you to do. Second, know that once I’m in your bed it will be damn near impossible to get me out.”

“It’s not my bed.” Ok, it was lame but she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Baby,” he said and she could hear the smile in his voice, “this stopped being my bed the minute you crawled under the covers.”

“Bu…”

“Shh,” He placed a finger over her mouth. “Let me finish. Third, I know I need to go slow and have patience. I promise to work on that but I’m not perfect Cin, I might get frustrated and not always understand.”

Since his finger was still on her lips, she nodded.

“Good. Now, the last thing is you.” He removed his finger from her mouth and ran it down her cheek and along her jaw. “You’ve got work on believing me when I tell you things.”

“Wha…what things?” She shivered from his light touch against her throat.

“Things like how beautiful you are. How your eyes sparkle and your smile lights a room.” His hand went around to the back of her head and tangled in her hair. “How your hair is incredibly soft. How it’s long and cascades down your back with the tiniest hint of curl to it, which is sexy as hell. How your skin feels like satin and your lips…”

“Ok, enough. I get it.”

Lester chuckled. “Enough for now. But you need to work on letting me say all that. You’ll need to work on being able to hear it and more importantly, accept it from me.” He took both her hands in his and brought them to his lips for a kiss. “You’ll need to let me in, let me close, because that’s what I really want.” He dropped her hands and put one of his flat on her upper chest, between her breasts. “I swear, Cindy, let me in here and I’ll try with everything I have and am, to never hurt you.”

A tear escaped and Cindy sniffed. “Lester, I’m never going to be really skinny or drop dead gorgeous. I’m never going to be on the cover of Vogue.”

“Honey,” he cupped her face and wiped away the tears with his thumb. “99% of the population won’t either. That includes me. You’re not alone. To me, you’re beautiful.”

God, he was being so sweet and so reasonable she wanted to scream. He was getting past every defense, everything inside that hid from the light had nowhere to go but out in the open. She had never felt so vulnerable in her entire life.

“But…but Les…” She stopped to sniff again and give a small hiccup. Then she felt movement and Lester was gone. There was the sound of his bare feet hitting the floor when he went into the kitchen. He flicked on a dim light under one of the counters, then turned on the faucet. While the light wasn’t bright enough to have her squinting and blinking, it did allow her see somewhat. She watched Lester head back towards her, bathed in muted gray and black tones.

“Here,” he said as he knelt again and handed her a washcloth. As she wiped at her tear stained face, his hand went back to stroking her hair. “But what, Baby?”

There was one last thing she had to know, the most important question to be answered. “Why,” she breathed, “why me?” She had seen the hint of a smile that he wore, but now suddenly he became very serious.

He cupped her face again and leaned in until he was only a breath away. Her eyes went wide and she blinked wildly. “Cindy Kelly O’Malley,” he said in a stern tone, “the single most important thing you have to learn is that no matter what I say, do, or give to you, it’s because you’re worth it. I could go on for days giving you answers to that question with all kinds of responses, which by the way, I will do. But, right now the only answer I can give, and you need to really hear, is because you’re worth it. It’s that simple.”

Catching her completely by surprise, he kissed her with everything he had. When he pulled away she was breathing hard and trying to do simple things, like remembering her name.

“Cindy,” he went on, “you are worthy of being loved. Your likeability, or your lovability I guess you could say, is not wrapped up in what you look like. You’ve got to believe that. Ok?”

She blinked and nodded, and Lester smiled. She stared into his eyes and sudden warmth washed over her, filling the places inside that had been cold and dark. The smile she gave him in return was so big she thought for sure it would split her face in two.

Lester’s look turned predatory. “Now, about this sharing a bed thing…”

Without a word, Cindy reached over to the other side of the bed and flipped the covers back, inviting him in.

"Cindy," Lester said with a strained voice as he pushed the covers back across the bed. "I'll stay on top the covers." Then, in an instant he was snuggling up next to her. He was on top, while she was buried underneath.

"But…but…" She was still a little stunned.

"I have it on good authority that going slow is important," he said.

She closed her eyes. Lula is dead meat, she thought as she wiggled a bit to get comfortable being in Lester's arms. Then again, she thought as she sighed and relaxed, maybe she'd buy Lula a really nice gift for being so smart.

Lester moved some of her hair out of the way, then kissed her once on the neck and once right under her ear. Her whole body shivered.

"Don't worry, Cin," he whispered, "slow doesn't mean never. I'm no saint." He nibbled on her ear and she melted.

"Ok," was all she could manage to say.

With a deep chuckle, he backed off. She brought her arm out from under the covers and entwined her hand with his. Had there not been the protective barrier of sheets and comforter, Lester would be getting a better feel for the rounder parts of her body she wasn't ready to share yet. She silently decided she'd get Lula a really expensive gift for talking to Lester.

They lay quiet but she could tell he wasn't sleeping. "Thanks, Lester."

"For what?"

"For being so incredibly sweet. For listening to your 'good authority'."

He nuzzled the back of her head. "No problem, sweetheart."

"I'm just…just…" she wasn't sure if she could go on.

"What?" He paused. "You can tell me."

With a heavy sigh, she went further out on that limb. "I'm just used to being invisible, you know? Ignored. At the very least, written off within seconds."

"You're not invisible to me."

She smiled. "I know. I still don't get why…" she heard him take a breath like he was getting ready to start in on her again, so she hurried on. "but that will take me some time to understand, that's all."

He ended up sighing against her hair. "I know."

There was no way to describe how contented, relaxed, and happy she felt. So, she got quiet and felt herself starting to drift off. The last thought she had was that no matter how strange this all was, she was going to try her best to have faith in Lester and some in herself as well.

********

It had been two weeks, two whole weeks since that stormy night when Lester came to get her. Consequently, it had been two weeks of her living on cloud nine. Lester kept to his word and went slow, sometimes excruciatingly slow. In the beginning, one of his hands would wander to some part of her body that she wasn't particularly proud of and she'd immediately stiffen. He'd always back off. But after a few times she was used to his touches and kisses.

With a sigh, she plopped down on the edge of her bed. Oh god, his kisses. Yeah, she was very used to those. He had to be, hands down, the best kisser on the planet. She chuckled then, thinking of the lunch date she had with Stephanie today where they debated, and rated, the kisses of Ranger vs. Lester. They both realized that there would never be an end to their argument unless they each experienced other man’s kisses. Neither was keen on the idea, so it was scrapped and the debate called a draw.

Cindy knew that talking about Lester like that all through lunch had her worked up, and she had a feeling that it did the same to Steph. When they left Pino's, the first thing the Bombshell Bounty hunter did was flip open her phone. Cindy heard her say "Yo yourself" just before getting out of earshot.

The sound of Cindy's front door opening and then closing snapped her back to the present. She smiled since she knew it was Lester coming to get her for their two week anniversary date. Standing, she looked at herself in the mirror and decided that maybe slow wasn't good enough for tonight.

"What are you smiling at, Beautiful?"

She turned to Lester as her smile grew. He never missed an opportunity to use some endearment or tell her just what he thought of her. "You," she said. "What guy remembers a two week anniversary, much less plan a celebration for it?"

He walked over and pulled her into his arms. Another thing she had quickly gotten used to was having the front of her smashed up against the front of him. There was a time, at first, where she would push him away, trying to get a little distance between them. Finally, he told her to stop worrying about what he felt and was thinking when he held her, but concentrate on what she was feeling when she held him. So she did, and what do you know? It worked. She began to get lost in the feel of him, his strength, his warmth, and his muscles. When she told him that, he said he does the same thing with her. He said he lets her soft, curvy, roundness soak in to fill his senses.

She tried to scoff at his comment but he continued on, saying that he had held a few women in his day and most of the time he had to worry about being poked with some bony body part. Of course he said that while pulling her closer and running a hand over her butt, then kissing her. She sort of lost all train of the conversation after that.

Lester ignored her comment about remembering their anniversary. He always did when she'd say something about how thoughtful he was being.

"Hey," he said, his voice sounding deeper than normal, "I was wondering if we could stay at my place tonight?"

Cindy's heart kicked into high gear and pounded in her chest. In the two weeks they had been dating, they hadn't spent a night apart, but had always stayed at her place. Lester would sometimes come in very late, but he always managed to wake up with her. They had also moved on to both being under the covers. That had caused some very interesting moments with lots of heavy breathing and tangled limbs, but they always managed to keep it under control with all their clothes staying on. But from the sound of his voice and the look in his eyes right now, she had a feeling control could be in short supply tonight.

He must have sensed her apprehension. After a reassuring kiss on the lips he said, "Cindy, I'll respect whatever answer you give me. But I think you know by now that nothing will happen that you don't want to happen."

She laid her head on his chest and Lester tightened his hold. “All right. Let me pack a bag.”

*******

The Latin bar where Lester took her was packed and he seemed to know everyone in the place. Eventually they made it to the bar and Lester called out to the bar tender. The minute the bar tender saw Lester, he smiled big, said something to a group of men he was talking to, and then all of them made their way over.

"Hola, Lester!" the bartender shouted, then turned his attention to Cindy. "Who is this pretty señora you have with you tonight?" He lifted her hand and kissed it while staring directly into her eyes. “You have beautiful eyes, my dear.”

Cindy has been so entranced she jumped when Lester grabbed her hand from the stranger. "This," he said as he glared at the other man, "is my Uncle Rodney." Then he gave Rodney a dry look. "You know, the one who was the biggest influence in my life?"

She couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I can see where your charm and flirtatious nature comes from." Rodney beamed and Lester scowled.

"Taught him everything he knows," Rodney added.

Ignoring the older man, Lester continued. "This is Cindy O'Malley. These other low lives," he motioned to the three other men now crowded around them, "are my cousins Adrian, Claudio, and Dominic."

Cindy smiled and greeted each man with a handshake, but it seemed that "suave-ness" runs in the Santos family. Each man kissed her hand and Lester's frown deepened.

Finally, he said, "Come on, Pretty Eyes. Time to get you away from these vultures." His cousins snorted some laughs while his uncle brought both hands to his heart like he was wounded. Cindy laughed and gave a wave as Lester pulled her to a corner table.

"That will be enough of that," he said as he ushered her into the booth and scooted in next to her.

"They were just being friendly."

"No they weren't."

She smiled when she saw his face. He was really pouting. Without any thought to it, she took his face in both her hands and pulled him in for a quick kiss. "They were just having some fun. You've got nothing to worry about."

His face became very serious as he studied her. It dawned on her that this was the first time she ever initiated any contact between them.

"You mean that?"

She nodded and then he kissed her so hard and so long that his Uncle finally came over to break them up.

"Ok, you two. Go home." Rodney grabbed their drinks, which they hadn't even noticed being delivered, off the table.

Lester looked at his uncle. "Why? We haven't even danced yet."

"Fine," Rodney said, "one dance then go."

"Look, Rod…"

Rodney leaned in. "I don't think you want your pretty eyed chica here, being the entertainment tonight." At the same time, Lester and Cindy both looked around the bar to find almost everyone staring at them. Lester ran a hand down his face and Cindy's eyes went wide.

"Oh," she croaked.

That made Rodney laugh. "Yeah. Oh. So, dance with your señora and then head home. Even a blind man could see you two aren't going to stay apart for very long."

Cindy's face burned scarlet, and when she looked at Lester he was smiling. She rolled her eyes and he laughed as he started to pull her out of the booth. "Come on. Let's dance."

She hesitated and started to free her hand. "Lester, I don't…"

Lester cut her off by pulling her into his arms and kissing her. When he ended the kiss, he said, "Yes, with me you do."

Still stunned from the first, and now the second kiss, Cindy simply nodded and followed Lester to the dance floor. As it turned out, the way he wanted to dance was to press their bodies together and sway to the music, regardless of the tempo. That she could handle. When the song ended the look in his eyes was hot. He whispered in her ear. "Uncle was right. Let's get out of here."

Just as they were headed out the door, someone called Lester’s name. They turned to find a different group of men motioning him over. Cindy turned and smiled at Lester thinking he would lead them over. But what she found was a very unhappy looking man.

“Wait here,” he said in a clipped tone.

“Uh, ok.” She had no idea what was going on and because the crowd was so thick, she lost sight of Lester until he made it over to the group. The men slapped him on the back and said their hellos. Then one of the men said something and the whole group started to laugh. Well, everyone but Lester. She caught a quick glimpse of him before someone moved in front of her and blocked her view. It was clear he was unhappier then before.

She waited for a few seconds and the people that had stopped in front of her moved away and she again had a clear shot of Lester and the guys. They were all still laughing and she got the impression it was at him. Another group blocked her again, but Cindy moved around until she had an unobstructed view. This time when she looked at the group, the man who had said the funny comment was looking straight at her and smiling. For some reason it didn’t strike her as a friendly smile. She blinked and winced a bit, then tried to see Lester through the crowd. But again, the crowd moved and her view was blocked. By the time she maneuvered to get a better view, Lester was at her side.

“Let’s go.”

She blinked some more. “What was that all about?” When he didn’t answer, she tried again. “Lester, what happened back there?” They were at the Bronco by now and she stopped so Lester would pay attention to her. “Lester?”

He turned so fast, and had her backed up against the truck, that her brain barely registered the movement. His face was as unhappy as before. “Lester?” This time she whispered.

His hands were on either side of her head and their bodies weren’t touching at all. He was breathing hard and trying to control some emotion, she just couldn’t identify which one.

“Just let me look in your eyes,” he ground out. She really didn’t understand what was going on. There was a brief thought of asking, but she decided it was probably best if she stayed quiet. As always, when she looked into his eyes, she started to get lost. Everything around them faded into nothingness and the world was only the two of them. She also noticed that his feature started to soften and the tension left his body. Seconds ticked by and as he turned back into the Lester she was familiar with, he pressed the lower half of his body to hers. She knew they were back on track when she felt his hardness against her.

Eventually, he lowered his head and took her mouth with his. The kiss was soft and sweet with no trace of the unhappy Lester that had surfaced minutes ago. She sighed and brought her hands up around his neck. It didn’t take long for his tongue to worm it’s way in, and they went at it for a while. Finally, he slowly backed off the kiss with lingering pecks on her lips and then led a trail up to her ear.

“Let’s go,” he said, sounding more normal.

*****

Cindy lay in another one of Lester’s decadent beds, but this time it was in his above ground apartment. He was moving around in the bathroom and Cindy tried to calm her nerves before he came out. Although the whole night had been like a dream she still had her doubts. She knew where they were headed, but had no faith that she could go through with it.

Her mind wandered to that strange exchange he had with those men before they left the bar. Just thinking out it still made her uncomfortable and she couldn’t shake the feeling they were talking about her.

The bathroom door opened and Lester turned the light off, plunging the room into darkness. She did manage to get a quick peek of him only in his briefs. That was a first. Usually he wore sweats to bed. Cindy smiled in the darkness… but never a shirt.

“I’m getting some water, you want anything?” he asked as he headed out of the room.

Yeah, she thought, a new body so I don’t have to show you this one naked. “No, I’m good,” she ended up answering. Oh god, when he comes back, they are gong to…

It took him less than a minute to come back and climb into bed. “Have a good time tonight?” he asked as he settled in, spooning her from behind.

“Yes. Everything was perfect.” Although, she didn’t understand why he was in such a hurry to leave if he was going to slow everything down once they got home. Home? Where the hell did that come from? Oh god, she really couldn’t think like that. It was one thing to be in a relationship with him, but to think of his place as…as…home?

“Mmm,” he said as he started to kiss her neck, drawing her attention back. “ Even though we didn't stay at the bar long?”

"Yeah, even though…" she trailed off as Lester intensified his efforts. “Dinner was…”

Cindy let her eyes slowly close and absorbed the sensation of his lips on her skin. One of his hands stared to run up and down her side. Then on one of the upward motions he went underneath her shirt. Her heart flipped in her chest, but instead of a panicked feeling, she felt an intense heat where they were skin to skin. Something low and deep inside of her started to hum and a need like she had never felt before began to build.

Lester chuckled against her neck. “Dinner was what, Pretty Eyes?”

Making a quick decision, she turned in his arms and found his mouth with hers. He must have been a little surprised because he backed off…for all of one second. Once he recovered from her making an aggressive move, he came at her with a kiss so strong she wasn’t sure she’d survive it.

Tongues battled and hands roamed, and then suddenly Cindy had a thought. Her worry tonight wasn’t because she was concerned about Lester asking for more. Her worry was about her asking for more, and wondering if she could handle what she got.

Cindy groaned into Lester’s mouth as their kiss intensified. Then in a quick move, Lester rolled them so she was on her back and he was on top. He abruptly broke the kiss and looked down at her. She noticed he was breathing heavy, and then realized she was too. Maybe this wasn’t going to go slow after all.

“Mi amor, I need to see you,” he paused when she went stiff. “I know, I know,” he continued soothingly. “Let’s just start with touching and see how it goes, ok?”

“We’ve done that be...”

“Not with all our clothes off.”

Cindy sucked in a breath. “Oh.”

Lester had turned on a light in the kitchen when he went to get his water, and while the bedroom was still dark, there was soft light filtering in. She could see his face and it was obvious he was holding back from saying something. Then she realized that he was trying not to talk her into it, even though he wanted to. He had said that nothing would happen unless she wanted it, and now he was sticking to his word. Again, he was being sweet by not trying to talk her into something he wanted.

Somehow that thought set something free inside her. A sudden warmth filled her insides but it was different from the sexual heat she was feeling seconds before. It was more like...like...oh no...love? At the thought of the “L” word, this new feeling heated up even more, as if to say “yep, that’s what I am all right.”

Jesus Christ, she loved Lester. Crap, it was more than that; she was in love with Lester.

“Mi amor?” he asked.

It finally registered that was the second time he said that. Maybe he loved her too? No, she pushed that thought right out of her head. That was too much to hope for. Wasn't she setting herself up enough by admitting she loved him? She needed to get back to the issue at hand. Summoning every once of courage she had, she nodded and said “Ok.”

The banked fire in his eyes flared to life and it seemed he couldn’t hold back the predatory smile that graced his beautiful face. Without a word, he repositioned them so he was spooning her again, and pulled the covers up to cover them. “Can I undress you?” he asked, his voice rough.

Cindy swallowed and then nodded.

When his calloused hands touched her waist, she gasped in surprise. There wasn’t any lead in, he dove right in under her pajama top. And, even after the weeks of kissing and touching she still felt a little uncomfortable. His hand slid around to her stomach and she went stiff. She also felt ridiculous. It wasn’t like it was the first time he touched her there. But then she had never before thought of the ultimate end.

Once he felt her tense, he immediately started to whisper in her ear. All his words were in Spanish so she didn’t have much of a clue as to what he was saying. Instead of worrying about translation, she relaxed into his soothing tone and the hot breath on her ear that made her whole body shiver.

She gasped slightly when his hand moved up and palmed her breast. Then she gasped outright when his fingers found her nipples, her head going back as she moaned. He eventually moved them so they were still on their sides, his front to her back, but both his arms were crossed around her as each hand worked on the opposite breast.

Her body was in complete control now and any sort of filtering that her brain would normally do was gone. She blurted out the first thing that came to her head. “This gives new meaning to ‘cross your heart’ support.”

Lester stopped all movement, then started to shake as a laugh erupted from deep inside. “Baby,” he said chuckling, “if you want 18 hours of this support, you’ve got it.”

Cindy started to laugh, but it was lost as Lester’s hands went back to work, only this time his mouth got in on the action. Hot licks and kisses were placed along her neck and all thoughts left her as he worked his magic.

Somewhere along the line she lost all her pajamas. She had a vague memory of her top coming off, but had no idea when she lost her bottoms. It wasn’t until Lester’s hand reached between her legs that she realized she was completely naked. She slowly sucked in a breath as one of his fingers slid into her wetness.

“Oh Cin...God...you’re this wet for me?”

“Les...I...I never...” She stopped as his finger started to circle her center.

“What baby? Never what?” He paused both his words and his finger. “You’re a vir...”

“No, I’m not,” she said in one breath, then, in the next, “don’t stop.”

He chuckled and went back to his slow circle. “Ah, so you’ve never come before?”

“Not,” she stopped to make a sound when he started to circle faster.

“Not what, baby?” he whispered in her ear. Now she new he was teasing but didn’t give a crap as long as he didn’t stop. The tension mounting inside her was incredible and she didn’t know if she could live through this. Between the warmth in her heart and the heat of her body, she felt on fire.

“Not...not wi...with the he...help of anyone else,” she rushed out.

“Mmm, now that,” he said as he stopped circling and slipped his finger inside her. She arched her back and was strung so tight she about lost her mind. He just stilled and held her like that, in some sort of suspended animation, as he finished what he was saying. “Now that conjures up some images of you that I’d like to explore.”

She whimpered.

With a kiss on the neck, he started to move his finger in and out. All ability to think was gone. Her body seemed to be on autopilot, her hips moving of their own volition. When his thumb started to circle her center, she lost it. Her orgasm broke over her in a wave that took her breath away. She stopped breathing and let it wash over her, taking her to a place she hadn’t ever been before.

When she finally came down and started to breathe again, some brain functions returned. She realized that Lester’s face was buried in her neck and he had a tight hold around her middle. As she struggled to get her breathing under control she had a thought that tumbled out.

“Aren’t you supposed to be doing something else?” she asked between gasping breaths.

Lester lifted his head. “What?”

“Well,” she paused to suck in a lung full of air, “isn’t this where you roll over, get a condom and then, you know, go for the home run?” She heard his muffled groan. “It’s in all the romance books. The guys gets the girls off, then plunges home once she...”

“Cin,” he said into her neck and gave her a squeeze, “you’re testing the very tenuous hold I have on my control.”

“Oh.”

His breathing had picked up and now she could tell he was struggling to control it. At this point, she decided to be quiet, but unfortunately that let her brain run free. It started to throw thoughts out there like, pay him back, and, he’s pleased you now you please him. The clincher was, he’s been so sweet and kind, you should stop holding back, go for what you want. “Oh fine,” she mumbled to herself.

Her brain went “All right!”

Her heart went “Yay!”

Her hormones went “WooHoo!”

She broke free of his grasp and started to get up.

“Cin...”

“Shhsh,” she commanded as she knelt over him. Then she threw back the covers and looked down at a very obviously turned on Lester.

He tried to speak again as he grabbed her hands that had gone right for his underwear. “Cin, I don’t...”

“Lester,” she cut him off, not daring to meet his eyes. “Shut up. I’m not in control of my brain, heart or hormones right now. Just lay back and enjoy the ride.” He didn’t say a word, but let go of her hands and took a good hold on the bottom sheet.

Taking that move as a signal to continue, she worked his underwear over his erection, then off. She tried not to stare at his very impressive male organ, but she couldn’t help it. Then her brain decided to help her along. One word popped into her head.

Feet.

Her head immediately turned towards the end of the bed. “I have to see your feet.” Lester groaned but she ignored him. She got to the end of the bed and decided they didn’t look any different than in the picture. Leaning over, she tried to get a closer look. She reached out and touched his toes and Lester groaned louder. An almost evil smirk appeared on her face. She began to massage his feet, first one then the other. Lester’s groans quickly turned into moans. When she was done with that, she kissed the top of each toe, then just when she knew he thought he was off the hook, she went back to the two toes that were stuck together and slowly ran her tongue between them.

“Oh God, Cindy.”

She was sure to pay the other foot the same attention. When she was done with that, she turned toward his more interesting body part, spread his legs, and knelt between them. She dared one quick glance at his face. Her eyes caught his and suddenly she felt very powerful. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips and Lester’s eyes went wide for a split second before he slowly closed them and threw his head back.

That evil smirk reappeared, or maybe it never left, she wasn’t sure and didn’t really care. Slowly she lowered her head, and took him in her mouth. While this wasn’t the first time she did this, it was the first time she was so turned on by it. She found that she wanted to do it for him, as well as for her, and not out of any sense of obligation. That was a first.

It didn’t take all that long. He was close before she even started. Just as he started to tighten up for his release he tried to get her to back off. She wouldn’t do it. With a steady rhythm she brought him right to the brink. Finally, both his hands grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back seconds before his release. She looked up just as he came all over the front of her. A smile broke out on her face as she watched him enjoy a nice long orgasm like she had. He was breathtakingly gorgeous.

When he was finally done, he lay very still. His entire body had gone slack. She didn’t move because she wasn’t really sure what to do now. Looking down at her chest, she realized she needed to get cleaned up.

“Come here.” At the sound of his voice her head snapped up. “Come here,” he said again.

For some reason she was suddenly nervous. She backed off the bed and stood. “I, uh, need to go clean up.”

Lester propped himself up on his elbow and she turned to head into the bathroom. Just as she came to the bathroom door, she caught her reflection in the mirror. Jesus H. Christ. She was naked. Her eyes went wide. She’s been flinging herself around completely naked.

Her head whipped around to see Lester still on the bed, only this time he wore an evil smirk. He not only got to touch, but saw everything, just like he wanted.

A strangled cry escaped as Cindy’s breath caught in her throat. She turned and made a beeline for the bathroom, then quickly shut the door. She leaned back against it as Lester’s laughter drifted in from the other side. She looked at herself in the mirror again and found a smile firmly planted on her face. Oh bloody hell, she was a goner.

Cindy woke with a stretch and a yawn…and to an empty bed. There were two red roses and a note on Lester’s pillow. Seeing as how she was the queen of insecurity, dread filled her as she reached for the note. This was probably his way of getting rid of her. What was it that Steph used to say? You can’t get the milk if you give the cow away for free? Ok, maybe that wasn’t quite right, but right now she had better things to occupy her mind, like this note.

With shaky hands she unfolded the piece of paper.

Cin,

I was paged and had to leave. Sorry to leave you alone this morning. I’ll catch up with you later.

Les

She closed her eyes and fought, with all she had, her darker side and the nagging doubt that was trying to eat away at her positive thoughts.

“No, this is not a brush off.” She squeezed her eyes tighter and grit her teeth. “No.”

Her heart came to the rescue and reminded her he left flowers, red roses to be exact. With a quick turn of her head, her eyes popped open and she stared at the roses. A smile spread across her face. “He left me roses.” She snatched them up and brought them to her nose. While inhaling deeply, she reassured herself that Lester wasn’t blowing her off. He had obviously been in a hurry so he didn’t have time to leave a mushy note.

Again, her eyes drifted closed as her heart reminded her of last night. What went on between them last night meant something to him. She was sure of it.

Last night, after running into the bathroom and closing the door, she took a quick shower. The second she turned off the water, Lester knocked on the door. It took all of five minutes for him to gently coax her out and back into bed where he made love to her, three times. And while she remembered each time vividly, the first time they joined would be with her forever.

She inhaled the scent of the roses again as she remembered how he had slowly entered and filled her. He had been so gentle and caring. The love she felt for him consumed her until it felt like her heart would burst. Then they both found their release, and afterward she drifted off to sleep held securely in his arms. He woke her several hours later saying that he wanted to make sure he got it right the first time and how practice makes perfect. The next time he woke her he didn’t even try to use an excuse. He just went for it, hard and fast, and Cindy loved every minute of it.

With a longing sigh, she pushed the covers back and headed for the shower. She had a few things to take care of today and it would keep her busy so that she wasn’t constantly watching the clock, waiting for Lester to show up. Yeah, this way she’d only look at the clock every three minutes instead of every two. She rolled her eyes at herself and smiled big as she stepped into the shower.

Once she was ready to leave she went in search of the sweater she brought with her in case she got cold. She snorted. “Fat chance of that,” she said to herself and she looked around. When she couldn’t find it she thought back to when she last had it. She knew she had it when they went into the bar, but realized she didn’t have it when they left. Guess her first stop was Uncle Rodney’s place to see if her sweater was there.

******

Cindy stood inside the cool darkness of the empty bar. She had come by earlier but the place was closed. The sign on the door has said they open at 1:00. So she got back in the Bronco that Lester had thoughtfully left her keys for, and went to the shop to do some paperwork. It was 1:30 by the time she took a break and decided it was time to head back over.

“Hello?” she called out. There was no response so she walked up to the bar and tried again. “Hello?”

She heard movement behind a door that was off to the side, then the door flew open. “Look man, it’s early…” Cindy backed up a bit as a head appeared around the doorframe. “Oh.” He smiled at her. “Cindy, right?”

“Yeah,” she smiled back while she tried to get her brain to remember his name. “Claudio?”

He smiled bigger and nodded. “That’s me.” He got out of the office chair he had rolled over to the door. “Sorry about that, uh, before. Sometimes we get drunks in here right when we open and…”

She waved him off. “That’s ok. I just stopped by…” Cindy was cut off as Lester’s Uncle came in from the back of the bar carrying a tub of beer bottles.

“Ah! Miss Cindy,” he greeted her as he heaved the tub onto the bar. “And what makes us so lucky that you grace us with your presence this afternoon?” He walked over to Claudio and gave him a playful swat to the back of the head.

“Hey!” Claudio swatted at his hand.

“What’s wrong with you?” Rodney asked. “Why doesn’t the señora have a drink? Your mother and I raised you better than that. Get some iced tea. I just made it this morning, it’s nice and fresh.” He turned to Cindy and smiled, then motioned to a barstool. “Have a seat.”

“Oh, don’t go to any trouble,” she said as she slipped onto the stool. “I’m just here to see if you found a sweater last night. I think I left mine here.”

“No one turned it into me,” said Rodney.

Claudio placed a drink in front of her. “Me either. I’ll go check the lost and found box.” They watched as Claudio headed to the office and Cindy sipped at her tea.

“So where is my ungrateful nephew?” He said it with a smile so Cindy knew he meant it as an endearment.

“He’s working.” Or, at least she assumed he was. The note hadn’t been that specific, but she didn’t want to think about any other possibilities.

“He’s a fool if he left a pretty lady like you alone today.” Rodney winked at her and she blushed. Obviously Lester’s uncle guessed at his nephew’s activities last night.

“Oh, it’s ok. He said…” She stopped when she heard the front door of the bar open. For a split second, Rodney’s face had a huge smile, then suddenly surprise, and finally a deep scowl.

Cindy swiveled around on her stool to see what could cause such a reaction. The bright light from outside silhouetted two figures. One was a man and the other was a woman. Squinting from the brightness, Cindy could tell the woman was hanging all over the guy.

Finally, the front door swung shut and Cindy blinked a few times to adjust her eyes. She was sorry she did when she realized who the couple was at the front door. Her mouth hit the floor and she was sure her heart stopped.

The man stood stock still as the bottle blonde with the fake boobs ran her hands all over his body.

Cindy swallowed. “Lester?” she whispered.

That seemed to move him into action. He started for her and the blonde was caught off guard and tripped along behind him, but some how managed to keep her hold. Lester stopped and tried to pry her hands free but she hung on. Giving up, he started for Cindy again. Only this time, Rodney was around the bar and got in his way. Everyone stood still and quiet, as if time had stopped.

“Hey Cindy,” Claudio said as he came out of the office. “I found this sweater in…”

Cindy got off the stool and turned to Claudio, feeling completely numb. She barely focused on the sweater but something registered that is was hers.

“Thanks,” she said as she took the sweater from him.

Turning back, she saw that Rodney was still blocking Lester, but now the blonde’s eyes were very big with surprise. She finally figured out something was going on and Cindy thanked God the woman was smart enough to keep her mouth shut.

“I better be going,” Cindy said to no one in particular. For some unknown reason, she couldn’t bring herself to look at any of the men in the room. She could however, look at the blonde woman. She had a sudden feeling of empathy. The woman was being used…just like she had been. Then again, the blonde probably knew it. Cindy wished she had.

“Cindy,” Lester growled but was cut off as his Uncle let lose of string of rapid Spanish. Claudio had made his way over to the blonde and said something to her. She let go of Lester and Claudio helped her over to a table. Cindy had a funny thought that maybe this wasn’t the first time Lester’s family had to break up a scene like this.

Trying her hardest to ignore all that was going on around her and keep some dignity, Cindy headed for the door.

“Cindy,” Lester yelled as she passed him. Anger bubbled up inside of her and she was grateful. Anything was better than the pain she knew would come. She turned just in time to see Rodney grab Lester’s arm as he went to reach for her. Looking up, she met Lester’s eyes.

Rodney leaned in and said something to Lester. Whatever it was it had an effect because Lester dropped his arm to his side, but his eyes never left hers. Suddenly a sharp pain pierced her chest and for a second she was sure she would die right there from a broken heart.

“Are you working?” Why was she even asking? She knew the answer.

“No.” He said it calmly but she could see the anger in his eyes and in the tension of his body.

Cindy looked over her shoulder at the blonde, then back at Lester. “Is she a relative?” Something in Lester’s eyes shifted, like he knew that when he answered the question he was going to lose.

She realized that this was no different than any other time in her life, used and then cast aside for a prettier, skinnier version. Her mind drifted back to the night before and the event that happened before they left the bar. Everything clicked into place. Anger welled up again and she narrowed her eyes, piercing Lester with her glare. “They got to you didn’t they? Those guys, before we left here last night. They were laughing and looking at me.” Tears threatened but she held them back. She was not going to cry, not here anyway. “They were laughing and wanting to know what you were doing with a fat chica like me, weren’t they?” The anger in Lester was back full force but she didn’t care. “I’m right, aren’t I? I knew it.”

Cindy straightened her spine and squared her shoulders. It was time for her to go. She blinked wildly trying to keep the tears at bay but a few escaped. There was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of breaking down, so she ignored the tears like they weren’t there and let them stain her face.

“No,” Lester said again with an incredible amount of anger.

She wasn’t sure if he was answering the relative question or her accusation, but then it didn’t matter. She was out of there.

Without a word she turned on her heels, marched to the door and said a silent prayer that Rodney would keep hold of Lester until she got away. Her prayer must have been answered because no one followed her into the parking lot or tried to stop her when she pulled away.

After driving a few blocks, she pulled the Bronco over and parked it. Leaving the keys in the ignition and the doors unlocked, she calmly climbed out and shut the door. Then without a glace back, she turned and walked away.

The guys said they need their "day in court", as it were. They mumbled something about needing to explain.

Lester sat at the bar and nursed his beer. Every once in a while his Uncle would look over, start shaking his head and then go back to his task. Right now, Rodney was restocking the glassware. He did the same thing at least three times while washing out the mixers and twice while taking inventory.

Lester finally snapped. "Rodney, quit shaking your head at me and just say it."

With a sigh, Rodney slipped the last piece of stem wear on the overhead rack Then walked over to stand in front of Lester from behind the bar.

"I'm not sure what to say. While on one hand you did a good thing, on the other you screwed up." Lester snorted but gave no other response. "Ok, well just sorta screwed up. Why didn't you say anything?"

At that moment the front door opened and both men turned to see Tank striding towards them. Lester looked at the large man with hope and anticipation.

Tank sat on the stool next to Lester and shook his head. "Sorry man, can't find her. The Bronco was just sitting on the street, keys in the ignition and doors unlocked, but no sign of Cindy."

"Did you…"

"We checked. She's not at the shop, her apartment or Vinnie's. Oh," Tank started to rub his arm, "stay away from Lula…and probably Steph for that matter, but for sure, Lula."

"They heard already?" Lester sounded more panicked then he wanted to let on. "Didn't you explain?"

"Hell, I tried. The damn woman wouldn't listen. Christ almighty! When I left, she was going for her gun. Mumbling something about bustin' a cap up my ass. I won't even go into what she said she'd do to you when she gets her hands on you. Be scared, very scared. That woman is madder than a blind man behind the glass at a peep show."

Lester looked at Tank like he was crazy. "You're making shit up again aren't you? Didn't we tell you that if want a saying to catch on it has to make sense?"

"Shut the fuck up. One day I'll come up with something so great you'll be bragging how you know me. You can say 'I know that who stared that saying'"

Lester rolled his eyes. "Anyway, a mad Lula is bad news."

"Yep," Tank agreed.

"Shit."

"Yep."

All three men fell silent, lost in their own thoughts. Rodney brought Tank a beer and then wandered off to the back room, asking the guys to watch the bar.

"Man," Tank said after a few minutes. "I'm really sorry. This is all my fault."

"No, it's not your fault. Hell, it isn't even my fault. It's just a situation gone bad. It just is what it is, man."

Tank was shaking his head. "I should have left the stake out and went to get Vicki myself."

"You were close to getting that skip." Lester took a swig of beer. "You did the right thing. You couldn't leave and Vicki couldn't be left alone with that low life pusher. You called a friend for help. End of story. She ok?"

"Yeah. I have her put away for a few days so she can dry out. I'm going to try and get her into rehab. Maybe this time it will work."

"Good."

"I promise Les, as soon as we find her" Tank said, "I'll explain the whole thing. How it's all my fault for calling you away, that Vicki was someone I was involved at one time and she called me for help." Tanks finished off his beer and set his mug on the bar with authority. "She'll understand. She has to."

Lester sat quietly, until finally, "You should have seen the look on her face Tank. It tore me apart. Her eyes, god, those beautiful eyes, held nothing but pain." Lester rubbed his forehead. "I couldn't think and could barely speak. I knew exactly what she was thinking, but everything happened so fast, I never got the chance to explain." He let out a cold laugh. "Here I am, Mr. Special Forces, trained to think on my feet, react to any situation with precision split second thinking. And all it took to reduce that training to rubble, was one pretty eyed brunette from Jersey that gets me so freakin' scared, I can't even …damn it." He turned to look at Tank. "You know what the worst part is? I put that look in her eyes. I did that. And when saw it, it…it was like I could feel everything she was feeling. It was ugly man, real ugly."

"We'll find her." Tank said trying to reassure Lester.

"Yeah I know. It's just…just…maybe we shouldn't."

"What?" Tank shouted.

"Well, I hurt her, hurt her bad. What happens next time if it's not a misunderstanding? What if I do something stupid that really hurts her?" He started to shake his head. "I couldn't live with myself if I really did something to put that look in her eyes. Hell, I can barely stand it now and I know it wasn't my fault."

Tank sighed, but smiled. "Lester, I don't know how to break this to you, but that's all part of being in love."

Lester about spit his bar across the bar. "Who said anything about being in love?"

"Yeah, right," Tank said as he rolled his eyes, smile firmly in place. "Anyway, we still need to find her to make sure she's ok. You're not the only one worried."

"I know, I know." He paused. "What about the grapevine? Since it's been, what?" Lester looked at his watch, "Two hours? Someone in the burg has to know something."

Tank averted his eyes and started to play with his empty beer mug.

"What?" Lester asked. "You're keeping something from me?"

"Well," Tank cleared his throat. "It, uh, seems like that, the uh, female side of the grapevine isn't exactly talking."

Lester sputtered a bit. "W...w…well what about Al and his guys? Or down at Smitty's? One of the guys down there has to have heard something."

"No, man, you don't get it. The guys know stuff because their wives tell them. Right now, the women ain't talking to anyone male. Period. "

Lester mouth fell open. "Are you telling me, this started some sort of grapevine war of the sexes."

Tank had to chuckle at that. "Not exactly. The guys are more or less cut off."

"Great. Just freakin' great." Lester paused. "What about Steph? She'll talk to us."

"I've asked her to stay with Vicki until she wakes up."

"So she knows the story? She understands?" Lester looked hopeful.

Tank sighed. "Yeah, she does. She's, uh, not real happy with the way it was all handled."

Lester stood. "Yeah well, join the club. Come on, let's go see her."

"She didn't know anything."

Looking at his watch, Lester smiled. "That was thirty minutes ago. A lot can change in thirty minutes."

"Yes ladies, it can."

Tank and Lester turned to see Bobby standing behind them.

"Shut up, Brown. We're going to see Bombshell," Lester offered. "You coming?"

"Hey," Bobby held his hands up in mock surrender. "I just stopped by to deliver a warning."

"Damn." Lester sank back down on his stool. "What?"

"Lula. ETA, oh…" Bobby looked at his watch, "'bout 90 seconds."

Tank and Lester jumped to their feet.

"Oh crap."

"Shit."

"Yeah," Bobby grinned. "I'd say that summs it up."

Lula burst through the door of the bar. "Where the hell is he?"

Lester's eyes went wide as he looked at Bobby. "You said 90 seconds."

"Guess I was wrong…90…9…whatever," Bobby said with a shrug.

Not wanting to face the wrath of Lula, Lester turned and took one step towards the back.

"DON'T you dare."

Lester froze.

He slowly turned around to find Lula charging at him. "What the HELL did I tell you? Huh? DO NOT…I said…DO NOT be stringin’ her along."

"Lula, I didn't. I swear. Ask Tank."

She stopped in her tracks and turned her narrow eyed gaze to Tank. "Is that what you were mumbling about earlier? Then you had to high tail it over here to get your stories straight? I knows how you men work." She snorted in disgust and flailed her arm around. "Don't think I don't. Don't think I'm fallin' for it either." Taking her pocket book off her shoulder, she started digging around in it.

Lester was smart enough to know that was a bad sign. "No, no. Lula," he said as he raised his hands and took a step back. "Listen, please."

Something in his voice must have gotten to her. She stopped digging and looked up at him. Since she didn't say anything, Lester hurried on. "Lula, I swear to you I'm not stringing her along. I was only helping Tank out." He looked at Tank who was standing there, mouth open and eyes wide. Lester gave him a shove. "Tell her, man."

"Oh, uh, yeah, yeah. He was helping me with a friend who was in trouble. Honest. That's all it was."

She looked doubtful. "And what man wouldn't lie to get his hairy ass outta situation like this?"

Lester dropped his hands to his side and looked at the floor, shaking his head. After a few seconds he looked up at her again. In a calm voice, he said, "Lula, I have never lied to Cindy and I have never lied to you. I have no reason to start now. This knuckle head," he pointed over to Tank, "wouldn't lie for me even if I asked him. Come on, Lula, you know that about us."

Lula blew out a breath and pulled her hands out of her bag. She had just opened her mouth to comment when her cell phone rang. Back to digging, she finally found it and flipped it open. "What?" she snipped, "I'm in the middle of an ass kickin'." She paused and listened to whoever was on the other end. "Yeah, yeah. I'm here with him right now." Another pause then, "Yeah. Ok. Yeah. Ok, ok." Done, she flipped her phone shut. "I gotta go."

She turned on her heels and Lester yelled out. "Wait! No, Lula. You know where she's at, don't you?" She turned to look at him, but didn't speak. He wanted to know so bad that he wasn't above begging. Hell, maybe he was in love. "Please…please tell me."

Her looked softened. "Lester, you know I can't. But I promise you, you'll be seein’ her ‘fore tomorrow night."

"What? Tomorrow? No, Lula, it will be too late." Lula shook her head but Lester went on. "God, don't make me wait that long."

Lula sported a knowing smile. "You'll survive." She turned to leave, but paused. "Oh, and don't follow me. I've gots things that need done and I don't really want to get the burg grapevine on yo' ass, but I will if I have to."

Defeated, Lester nodded. "Fine."

She turned to Tank and Bobby. "Both you, too."

Wearing their own knowing smiles, they both agreed.

**********************

Cindy shut the door after her visitors. Still partially stunned, she wondered how they found her. After leaving the truck in the street, she stopped by her place, grabbed the cat, and gathered a few things to tide her over for a few days. Then she locked herself up in her Grandmother’s old apartment above the shop. She used it mostly for storage but it was a functioning apartment and she had begun to clean it out so she could rent it. Little did she know what an excellent hiding place it would become. It took six hours for the grapevine to get to Mrs. Klein at the bakery, and then for her to hear noise coming from upstairs and put two and two together. What surprised Cindy the most is that when the knock on the door finally came, it was Stephanie, Lula and the woman from the bar, standing on her doorstep. She really expected the guys to show up.

It took a couple of hours and few gallons of ice cream for things to get straightened out, and now Cindy felt like a fool. She had jumped to conclusions and accused Lester of something he didn’t do. With a heavy sigh she plopped on the sofa bed that took up most of the space in the little one room studio apartment. She suddenly felt very tired.

Once situated in a comfortable position, the cat jumped up and curled up behind Cindy’s knees. There was a big yawn as she slowly closed her eyes and started to drift off. She was glad the girls hadn’t told Lester where she was hiding. There were still tons of things to think about. First off, how she was going to apologize to Lester. Second, what she needed to do to sell the shop. Third, how to tell Lester it was over and that she was moving.

Several hours later Cindy woke with a start. It was dark outside and since she hadn’t turned on any lights before she feel asleep, only the light from the street filtered into the apartment. The first thing she noticed was the smell of flowers from the shop below.

Then as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Lester sitting in the lone chair across the room.

She bolted upright. “How did you…”

“Hi,” was all he said.

“They said they wouldn’t tell.”

“They didn’t.”

Cindy narrowed her eyes. “Lula said you promised not to follow.”

“I didn’t.”

"They said the grapevine was shut down."

"It was."

“Then how…”

“Ranger was coming out of Vinnie’s and saw familiar curly hair through the window.”

She blinked a few times, then rolled her eyes and plopped back down on the bed. “Steph’s gonna be pissed her hair did her in.”

Lester chuckled softly. “Did you all in.”

“Yeah.”

Cindy sat up. At the same time, they both went to speak.

“Listen, Lester I’m sorry…”

“Cindy, I didn’t mean…”

The room went silent. They sat staring at each other for what felt like hours. Her mind was going a mile a minute. She had to tell him everything. Now was the time because if she put it off, it would only make it harder. Finally, in a small voice, Cindy said. “I’m sorry.”

Lester immediately stood, then came to her and kneeled between her legs. “Me too. I should have explained.”

“I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions and thrown accusations around.” He lifted a hand to her hair and she pulled away. “Lester, there are other things I need to say.”

He frowned and sat back on his heels. “Ok.”

“Remember how I told you a chain was interested in the shop?” She paused and he nodded. “I took their offer.”

A smiled formed on his face, but quickly died when she didn’t return it. Cindy stood and moved away from him.

“There’s more. What is it?” He asked, not turning to face her.

“I’ve, uh, decided to move.” There was no response, so she babbled on. “I’m going to Maine. I have a friend that runs a bed and breakfast. I called her and she said I could stay with her for a while. She said there’s no florist in her small little town and people have to go one town over to get any. I could maybe open up…”

“Why?”

“Well, I…it would be a good opportunity. I think maybe…”

Lester stood, fists clenched as his side. “No. Why are you running from me, from us?”

Cindy sighed. “Tell me something Lester.” He turned to face her. “Was I right about those guys at the bar, the ones you went to talk to before we left?” His frown deepened and Cindy went to him, placing a hand on his face. “I thought so. Don’t you see? That’s why. It will happen again.”

"Then public place or not, I'll kick their ass." He gently grabbed her wrist. “You can't leave me because I know some guys who are assholes? That hardly seems fair.”

Pulling her hand down, she shook her head and walked away. “No. That’s not it. I’m going because while it may not have bothered you, other than making you angry, it bothered me. These are my issues, Lester. Mine. I was told on good authority I need to learn to like myself and it’s true. I do.”

“You can’t do that here? With me? I can help…”

Cindy closed her eyes. He sounded so desperate. “I have to do this on my own.”

“Bullshit. You’re running because you’re scared to take a chance.”

"Please don't make this more difficult that it already is."

He opened his mouth, the quickly snapped it shut. The hard look that was on his face a second ago, had now softened. He took the few steps needed to get to her, taking her by both elbows. "Ok. But I have one last request."

Warning bells went off in Cindy's head. She really shouldn't do this. "What?"

"Spend one last night with me. Please." Her eyes went wide and Lester smiled. "You have the most beautiful eyes."

Stunned by his request and quick change of subject all she could do was stutter a response. "I…I…don't…th…think…"

"Come on, baby." He moved in closer, locking her gaze with his. "If I have to say goodbye let me do it properly." Leaning in, he began to kiss her neck.

She started to sway and closed her eyes trying to hold onto some common sense. "I…I don't think th…this is a good i…idea."

"Funny," he said as he turned her around and started guiding her towards the sofa. "I think it's the best damn idea I've had in days."

At the same time she opened her mouth to speak, her legs hit the edge of the sofa and Lester bit gently on her neck. All that ended up coming out of her was a moan. Not really the best way to convince him she was serious about seduction being a bad idea.

Taking her face in both his hands, he put all his attention to her mouth. The kiss was scorching and left no doubt that he was determined.

"Lay down," he said between kisses.

"Lester, I…."

He cut her off with a kiss. After a few seconds, she could tell he was smiling. This time he whispered, "Lay down."

Her knees were weak, her heart was pounding and there was a dull throbbing between her legs. Ok, if he really wanted to say goodbye properly….

She took her arms from around his waist and was just about to lay back on the sofa when she realized why he had been smiling. Without her permission, her arms had snaked their way around his middle to hold him. While mentally rolling her eyes at herself, she laid down as he requested.

Standing over her, Lester let his eyes rake her body. They were dark with passion. "Cindy, I…"

"You're trying to manipulate me, aren't you?"

A smug grin spread across his face. "You bet." Then he peeled off his t-shirt and dropped it on the floor.

Cindy swallowed big as he lowered his body on top of hers. As she took on his weight, she slowly exhaled and let her eyes close. His lips touched hers and a hand went to her hair. "No, sweetheart. Open your eyes and look at me," he spoke against her lips.

Her eyes fluttered open and they both stilled. Then, for what seemed like an eternity, they lay there staring into each other's eyes, lips softly touching. With every breath it felt as if they drinking in each other's hearts and souls. She'd let out a breath and feel part of her leaving. Then she'd inhale and feel part of him fill her up. It was incredible and not something she wanted to let go of. Who did she think she was kidding with talk of leaving?

His hands tightened in her hair just before he whispered. "I love you, Cindy Kelly O'Malley."

She whimpered, or maybe it was a scream. She wasn't sure because there wasn't one thing her brain could grab a hold of except the words he just said. "Y…you…"

Lester pulled back a little, smiled, and nodded. "Yes, I do."

Now she started to laugh. "What are you, crazy?"

His smile got bigger. "Yep."

"Oh," she chuckled, "you do not."

Not at all put off by her statement, Lester lowered his head and kissed her hard and fast. Just as she was starting to feel the world slip away, he stopped the kiss. "Oh, I think you know I do."

"Yeah," she breathed.

He moved his hand to take off her shirt. Once he was done with that, he kissed her again. "You're not going to leave me, are you?"

Shaking her head, she chuckled again. "No." A smile curled her lips. "So, this isn't goodbye sex anymore. It's what? Hello sex?"

That got him working on getting her pants off. "Oh no, baby. This is make-up sex."

"Really?" she teased. "I've never had make-up sex before."

"You're going to really like make-up sex." He pushed her pants down her legs and took them off at the same times as her socks. Then in a quick move, he stood and undid his own pants, stripping down to his underwear.

"I don't know," she said in a fake pout. "I don't want us to fight just to have great make-up sex. And I think the hello sex we had yesterday would be hard to beat."

He leveled his body back over hers. With a serious expression, he added, "Honey, whether it's hello, make-up, whatever, you ain't seen nothing yet."

"Oh God," she half moaned.

He took her head in his hands again. "Just as long as it's never good bye."

"No problem there." She paused. "Les?"

Kissing her lightly once, he said, "Yeah?"

"It's not going to be easy. I'm not going to be easy."

"I know." They both fell silent as he tenderly kissed her.

She pushed him back slightly. "Les?"

"Yeah?"

"I am…" she stopped, not sure how to go on. Then finally she just said it, the best way she knew how. There was no doubt he'd understand what she was telling him. "I am…what I am. Just me."

"I know. Same goes for me too, but, I think what you are is beautiful."

This time, she pulled him in for a kiss. When she finally let go, they were both gasping for breath. "Les?"

He laughed. "Yeah?"

"I love you, too."

With a blinding smile, he said, "Now, I'd say this is the best opportunity I've had in a long time."

Cindy couldn't agree more, and went on to show him, just how much opportunity there was for both of them.

THE END

Epilogue

One Year Later

Lester stood and studied the woman he loved. He had to smile as he thought back to the promise he made a year ago. Although, looking back it might have been more of a warning.

“…once I’m in your bed it will be damn near impossible to get me out.”

Except for a few all night stakeouts, he had kept his word. He could count on one hand the number of nights they had spent apart. And, every morning she’d tell him how wonderful she slept in his arms. Then she’d show her appreciation, sometimes once, sometimes twice, sometimes slow and sometimes fast, but always very appreciative. He got hard just thinking about it.

With a sigh, he tried to clear his thoughts by looking at his watch. Three a.m. Not exactly an all nighter, but still too long to be away from her. At least he still had time to crawl into bed and wake up next to her.

He sighed again and ran a hand over his face. When he opened his eyes he saw big, beautiful brown ones looking back at him.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said quietly.

She gave him a sleepy smile. “It’s ok. I never really sleep until you’re here.”

Somehow, just with her sleepy look and whispered words, he fell in love with her even more. Hell, every time he looked at her he fell deeper. Whatever was between them was real, solid, and the type of thing that lasts a lifetime.

He flashed her a sincere but weary smile.

“Rough night?” she asked. He nodded, words of love caught in his throat.

“Come on to bed then, “ she said as she rolled to face his side of the bed.

Silently he stripped as he headed toward the bathroom. “Ok,” he managed to get out. “Let me clean up.”

After a very quick shower, he climbed into bed and like a magnet to steel she gravitated to him and hung on.

“Glad you’re home,” she whispered. “I love you.”

Oh yeah, he was home all right, he thought as he pulled her closer. “I love you too, Pretty Eyes.”

********

Lester woke with a hard on to beat all hard on’s and visions of a curvy brunette still dancing through his mind. Damn, he couldn’t ever get enough of her. This morning’s feeling was especially intense. It was like his body had a mission and nothing was going to stop it.

Not that he minded….

Cindy rolled over during the night and was now facing away from him. He quickly curled up behind her and buried his face in her hair. God, she always smelled great, always tasted good, too. His dick twitched as if to urge him on, or in agreement. Either way, he took the hint.

Carefully, he brought her top leg back over his and shifted his hips closer. As usual, she wore no underwear and as usual, he was grateful.

With one more small adjustment, his penis was nestled snuggly against warm womanly folds. Not exactly where he wanted to be, but he’d get there soon enough. He began to rock his hips in a nice steady rhythm.

One of his hands went to her breast and pinched a nipple. She moaned and arched slightly. He immediately felt a wetness between her legs. God almighty, she was responsive. In a flash of guilt, he thought about waking her. He always had before, but something about this time had him wanting to see how far he’d get before she woke on her own.

Her hips started to move with his and an urgency like never before hit him like a blow to the chest. There was no slow build this time. No, he needed inside her now.

Quickly, but gently, he pulled her leg back a bit further and slid home. She gasped and he knew she was awake now.

“Oh God, Lester,” she moaned.

“Yeah, baby…go with it.”

She made some incoherent noise and he started to slam into her. Jesus, he had never felt like this before. Making love to her had always been spectacular, but this…this was entirely different. The need to fuck her was overwhelming.

His hand went to her clit and the second he touched her she started to shake. She was close, but so was he. In a matter of strokes he had then both tumbling into oblivion.

They lay silently afterward as he hugged her from behind. Suddenly, guilt filled him and he felt the need to explain.

“Cin, I’m sorry I didn’t wake you…”

She laughed. “Oh, you woke me all right.”

He chuckled and kissed the back of her head. “Yeah, but I could have been nicer about it.”

With a lazy stretch she said, “I’d say that was pretty nice. Sometimes warnings aren’t all that…”

“Shit.” He pushed up on his elbow. “Cin, we didn’t…I didn’t…oh fuck.”

With another laugh she said, “We just did, but we can again if you want.”

Her rolled her on her back, serious expression firmly in place. “Cindy,” he looked deep into her eyes. ‘I didn’t use protection. I was in such a hurry…there was such a need, I wasn’t even thinking.”

“So?” She smiled and his heart melted.

“Baby,” he stroked her hair, “you could get pregnant…like right now.”

“And?”

He stared at her, eyes wide. “That doesn’t bother you?”

She blinked, her smile fading. “No. Does it bother you?”

Rolling to the side he placed one hand low on her stomach. “I…I…” he paused and looked up at her. “No.”

She laughed again. “You sound surprised.”

“I am.” It was then that it hit him. A feeling of certainty he couldn’t explain. “You’re going to get pregnant from this.”

“That’s how it usually happens.” She was still laughing at him.

“No, Cin.” He looked down at his hand on her. “I mean what we just did, right now.” He met her eyes. “You’ll be pregnant.”

She smiled big. “You know this, do you?”

“Yeah,” he said, sounding amazed. “I do.”

They stared at each other a while until Cindy broke the spell. “Just in case we didn’t get it right that time, want to try again?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

He brought his body over hers. “Back-up measures.”

“You guys are always going on about back-ups and how important…”

He gave her a quick kiss to stop her talking. “And don’t forget the most important thing.”

“What?” She was breathless now.

“Practice makes perfect.”