"Okay. What do you think we should do today? Any suggestions?"
Stephanie Plum was getting bored one day. She couldn't think of anything to do today. She was with Joe.
"Why don't we make some cupcakes? You look like one," he told her.
He's told her this joke several times, and she never liked it, and still doesn't, even until today.
Even when she and Joe had known each other since they were kids, he had always called her Cupcake. She never really cared if he called her that.
"Why would you want to bake cupcakes for? You should know by now I don't cook or bake."
"We can do it together and give it to Ranger," he said and laughed at the same time.
"You know by now he doesn't like sweets. It never works. I would love to try again, but I don't plan to give up."
"Bad idea then. We could ask him if he would like to come over and watch us."
"That won't work, Joe. I can try and invite him anyway. I have an idea."
He looked at her. He hoped this would be good, and it turned out he was right.
"Since he really doesn't care for sweets, why don't we make carrot cupcakes instead of just chocolate itself? Maybe he might even like it," Stephanie suggested.
"That's not a bad idea, Cupcake. Do you want to get started now?"
"I don't have the ingredients here to do that. Your house is better than my place here."
"We'll drive to my house then. I think we have to visit the grocery store first. I don't have much of anything if we're going to make cupcakes."
"Let's head on over," Stephanie agreed and followed him out the door.
The two of them didn't say much while he was driving to the grocery store. Stephanie was telling herself she hoped Ranger would like this surprise.
To tell the truth, they both ran into Ranger when they walked in the store.
"Hello, Babe. It's quite a surprise to see you here. Are you showing any interest in trying something new today?"
"Batman, you probably figured it out right. I am trying something new. My parents don't even know what this new thing is about."
"I'd better get going, Babe. See you later. I would like to hear what this new interest you have soon."
"You might. My folks don't need to know or getting involved in this. Right, Joe?"
"That's exactly right, Cupcake. Let's find what we need. I am almost done with my milk. I will do that today. Let's go there now."
"Batman, mind if I ask you something?"
"What's that, Babe? You know you can ask me anything."
"Would you like to stop by Joe's house later?"
"What for?" he asked.
"Just to hang out for a while. Are you doing anything?"
"Not now. I don't have anything going on. I guess I can come. What time do you want me over to your place?" Ranger asked him.
"Let's say between five – thirty? Would you do that or come at a later time?"
"Let's see what it looks like. I will let you know when I call. How does that sound?"
"That can work too. We will look forward to hearing what your answer should be."
That's when they watched him walk away from them.
"That was close. Let's start finding what we will need and get out of here."
He agreed. They both made a quick trip inside the store and then went back to his place.
"Let's get started, Cupcake. Let's see what you can do."
"Are you still wanting me to do this myself or we can do it together like you suggested earlier?"
"We can do it together. It works best for me that way. It won't hurt to try again. Let's get right if it's turning the way we can see where we are going with this."
Stephanie saw that she was right.