A/N: All characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I just like to use them for my own evil, sometimes.

I blinked at the sudden sunlight when I exited the building. Pulling my sunglasses over my eyes, I thought about what I had done. I just asked Ranger to go on a road trip with me. The Ranger that stole kisses from me, the Ranger that lent me cars and told me he'd be expecting payment. That was no big deal, right? It was just a road trip. He wouldn't try anything, right? I knew that this probably wasn't true, so I took a minute to compose myself.

I knew the Merry Men would be watching on their computers. I was always doing something to amuse them. Taking a deep breath, I told my brain it would be fine and to stop freaking out. The butterflies in my stomach disagreed.

I blew out a sigh. Everything will be fine, I reassured myself. He knows your boundaries. Of course I didn't always make them clear, and even when I did, his tongue managed to make the rules feel a little fuzzy. I got a rush thinking of Ranger and what he can do with his tongue, and I mentally shook myself.

Get it together, Stephanie. You have packing to do. I need Mary Lou. Shoving myself into my current P.O.S car, I turned up Metallica and rolled the windows down as far as they would go in the current condition. The current condition wasn't good. I didn't have a radio, I only had brakes half of the time, and there was no backseat. At least the C.D. player worked.

I think Mary Lou heard me coming down the street, because she was staring at me with the door wide open, apparently forgetting about motherly duties because her kids were running around beating each other with Barbie dolls. Her mouth matched the door, which means it was also wide open.

What? I mentally asked. I didn't look that bad, did I? I smoothed my hair. Maybe she had developed the 'Burg housewife radar. The radar allowed mothers all over the 'Burg to be alerted when their offspring came near the house. My mother and grandmother were blessed with the 'Burg radar. You could tell by how they always had their noses pressed up against the screen door. It was always a mystery how they could keep their noses free of marks. The probability that Mary Lou, who ordered take out almost every night and once used hair dye as shampoo for the kids, had the radar was slim.

"Hey, Mary Lou. Do you have a few hours to spare? I'm going on a… Uhm, road trip with Ranger. And I need some help." Jeez, what was with people's eyebrows these days? Mary Lou's were buried in her bangs. I sighed again. I could never have just a friendly road trip, could I? "Okay, it's not what you think. Well actually, he might have mentioned backseat activities, but-"

"Wait! Hot guy mentioned backseat activities? Go Steph! Don't tell anyone I said this, but I think this Ranger guy might be hotter than Morelli." Now it was my turn for adventuring eyebrows. Mary Lou smiled. "But it is a close call. I'd have to see every detail to know for sure." I burst out laughing as she waggled her eyebrows and winked at me. I loved my best friend.

"So you can help me?" She gave me a look that clearly said "Duh."

Reaching behind her, she grabbed her purse. "Hon, I'm leaving for a bit! Don't let the kids have ice cream and make sure they don't barbeque the dog!" We hopped in the car and backed out of the driveway. I was surprised I didn't run over any toys.

Mary Lou had a twinkle in her eyes. "You know what we should do? We should go shopping. You look like you lost some weight since you've been 'training' with Ranger."

I narrowed my eyes. "I have not been sleeping with him, Mary Lou. We've actually been training. And I lost those five pounds I wanted to.

She crowed, "Shopping it is!"

Rolling my eyes, I turned the car towards the Quaker Bridge Mall. She pumped her fist and turned the music up.

Finding a parking space at the mall in the middle of summer is like me catching a skip Ranger was assigned. It relies on nothing but luck.

There were a lot of cars there today, even for summer. Mary Lou and I drove around the parking lot four times before a Nissan pulled out of a spot. The guy winked at me as he slowly drove by. I returned the gesture by flipping him the bird.

The blast of cold air hit us as we opened the door. We closed our eyes and let it wash over our sweat soaked skin. My car doesn't have air conditioning. Surprising, isn't it?

Mary Lou's head whipped towards Victoria's Secret. Turning on her heel, she headed towards the entrance with a determined look on her face. I panicked.

"Mary Lou! There isn't any need to buy me new underwear for this!" I shouted to her. Heads turned my way, and I saw phones come out of purses. Mentally slapping myself because I knew my mother would soon be hearing about this, I followed Mary Lou into the store.

A/N: Thank you guys sooo much for your reviews. I walked around the house all day smiling. I know, I'm a little bit silly :P But seriously, you guys are awesome.