Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich and will be returned unharmed when I finish playing with them.
A/N: According to Alex, Janet's daughter, Ranger's birthday is August 12. Happy Birthday, Batman!
Happy Birthday, Batman!
Stayce
(XJerseyGirl)
Ranger wearily climbed the stairs to the 7th floor. It had been a long, frustrating day. He was tired, he was hungry, he was fed up. He'd wasted the morning in meetings that went nowhere. Then his lunch time got spent on conference calls to Boston and Miami. What should have been a simple take down had eaten up his afternoon when the feebs showed up and tried to hijack his skip. Oh yeah! It had been a long, frustrating day alright and he couldn't wait for it to be over.
To make matters worse, he had spent the day fielding phone calls from his mother and sisters and brother. Just what he needed, birthday wishes! Sunday he had to go to his parents' house in Newark to celebrate with the whole family, God help him. That was his idea of hell.
He opened the door to his apartment and stepped into the cool, dimly lit interior. He mentally thanked whoever the decorator was for making the place a calm, peaceful haven in the middle of his sometimes too hectic life. Tossing his keys into the silver dish on the sideboard, Ranger toed off his boots before he picked up the stack of mail that Ella left everyday.
He flipped the kitchen light on and pulled open the refrigerator, smiling to himself when he saw that Ella had left a dish of lime wedges next to a six pack of Coronas. God he loved that woman! Pulling out a bottle, he popped the cap and shoved a lime wedge into the neck, then leaned back against the black granite countertop and took a long, satisfying pull.
He pressed the cold bottle against his throbbing forehead. He never got headaches, must be a sign of age, and he rolled his head trying to loosen the tight muscles in his neck.
He downed half the bottle before he sat on one of the black leather bar stools that lined one side of the kitchen island and started to go through his mail. A birthday card from Grandma Rosa in Miami, one from Celia's kids, it played the Batman theme when he opened it. Computer generated birthday greetings from his bank and insurance company. They probably thought of this as a 'personal touch', and he almost snorted as he dumped them in the trash.
The only thing he had looked forward to today was a visit from Steph. He had been sure that she'd show up with some crazy birthday cake. He still had to smile every time he thought of the 'Happy Birthday Stanley' cake she had brought him the day he got out of the hospital after the Scrog mess. Well, he thought, he always wanted everyone to forget about his birthday. He guessed she had. Be careful what you wish for, stupid, he told himself. Maybe tomorrow he'd drive past Vinnie's and see if she was there.
He finished his beer and grabbed another one, then considered the dinner that Ella had left on the counter, ready to be nuked. Shower first, he decided, and headed for the bathroom. Stripping quickly as he walked through his bedroom, he adjusted the shower and stepped under the hot water, just letting it pound the tension out of his muscles.
He had to admit that he felt better when he finally turned off the water and wrapped a towel around his hips. He was toweling his hair dry as he walked back out into the bedroom and froze when he realized that he wasn't alone. Draping the towel around his neck, he strolled over to the foot of the bed and smiled down at his visitor.
Stephanie sat back against the piled up bed pillows, her long, black silk stocking clad legs crossed at the ankle where the ribbons on her black satin heels were tied in bows. She wore a black lace garter belt and bustier decorated with tiny satin rosettes, and a little scrap of black satin that masqueraded as panties. Around her neck was a red satin ribbon tied in a bow, the ends trailing down to lay between her breasts.
Ranger felt his heart rate ratchet up a notch. She looked good enough to eat!
He smiled and arched an eyebrow. "No birthday cake?" he asked.
Stephanie bit her bottom lip and shook her head back and forth, very slowly. "No," she said sadly. "You don't eat cake."
She put her hands behind her head and smiled wickedly as she slid down the pillows. "So I brought you pie instead. Happy birthday, Batman!"
The End!