Earlier this year I read an interview with JE, where she seemed pretty happy to get rid of the number centered book naming thing. It made me wonder about coming up with 27 number themed titles, and then pairing up story ideas with them. In the end, I came up with 31 story ideas (more, if you count the multiple ideas for several of the numbers), and The Number Series was born. Some stories are longer one-shots, some are short, and some developed into multi-chapter offerings. All have the title somewhere in the story. I have no set posting schedule for them. Thanks for taking the time to read and review.

#

#

#

#

All recognizable characters belong to Janet Evanovich, I'm just playing.

#

#

#

31 Flavors

SPOV

The sun shines down on me as I walk across the parking lot. The weather is perfect, and puffy clouds in the sky keeps it from getting too hot. A line of cars stretches around the block, all perfectly lined up. Dumping the armful full of waters I carried in the cooler, I wipe my forehead with the back of my hand before ducking under the pop-up sunshade on the side of the parking lot.

I keep a steady eye on the happenings, pleased with the turnout. Ranger and I have been a couple for a while now, and when he discovered that there was a betting pool on us, on our private life, he took the ringleaders to the mats. He left it up to me to determine the punishment for the Merry Men caught up in his sting. In all, there were fourteen of the men on Ranger's shit list. Wanting to turn it into a positive, I got creative, which led us here, today.

Not only is Cal, the unofficial 'winner', going to donate his winnings, but all of Rangeman was working shifts at our charity carwash, benefiting the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Trenton. Ranger pledged to double what they bring in, which, based on the sheer number of women waiting to get their cars washed, is going to be substantial. The men "volunteered" and avoid meeting Ranger on mats, the kids get new equipment, and Rangeman gets some good publicity. Win-win for everyone, especially the women of Trenton who get to enjoy the show.

Hearing familiar voices, I turn and watch Connie, Lula, and Mary Lou walking toward me. I know they've already had their cars washed, but I'm not surprised they've parked and swung back around for another look. Grateful for the company, I take the Diet Coke Lou offers me. We stand in silence for a couple minutes, simply enjoying the site spread out before us. All the Merry Men are in board shorts or workout shorts; some have tank tops on, but most don't, leaving acres of glorious skin on display.

Connie takes a noisy, slurpy drink of from her cup before exclaiming, "My God, it's like Baskin Robbins with 31 delicious flavors on display!"

It was a bad time to take a drink, and I choke on the fizzy bubbles. She's not wrong, though. Looking across my group of guys, they are definitely fine and on display.

Mary Lou, the most grown-up of all of us, tsks and states, "We really shouldn't be objectifying them like this." She takes a drink of her iced tea. "But turnabout is totally fair play. That Hal. Such a sweetheart. Definitely classic vanilla."

We all laugh. Lula chimes in. "Mmm, huh. Tank would for sure be an extra-large scoop of chocolate fudge." We watch as the man in question uses his considerable arm strength to pick up two large coolers and move them closer to the car drying area before opening one of the coolers and tossing bottles of water to the guys working that area.

"What would Lester be?" Connie tries to act nonchalant as she asks, but I see more than a little interest on her face. I have to think about it.

"Either Nutty Coconut or Wild and Reckless Sherbet," I murmur, feeling the heat of three stares on me. "What? I was there last week so I know what's on the menu!"

Lula and Mary Lou smirk, but Connie plays with her hair. "I could see both of those. Maybe I need to give that Wild and Reckless Sherbet a try."

She says it with a smile, and Lula snickers. It's not the first time we've been a party to her debating about one Lester Santos.

Zip and Zero playfully toss a sponge full of water back and forth, showering each other. A collective sigh sounds from the women standing next to their cars so they can take in the full scene. Mary Lou tilts her head. "Chocolate chip and chocolate chip cookie dough."

I look at her, a lifetime of friendship allowing her to interpret my "say what now?" look even as Connie asks why. We all laugh at, "Because I said so." It's pointless to argue with Mom, so we move on.

"Bobby?" Lula asks, as we watch him spray down the first car in line, his dreads swinging with the movement.

"Oreo cookie and Cold brew." Bobby's love of coffee is legendary.

"That's really a thing?" Connie's contemplating that. At my nod, she divides her attention between Lester and Bobby. Oh boy. The look on her face spells trouble.

We debate on a few more of the men before Lula turns to me. "Spill it, Steph. You haven't assigned Ranger a flavor, and I happen to know that mocha latte is not on their menu. Oh crap, he's not one of those sugar free vanilla things, is he?"

I'm only half paying attention, my eyes finally locating Ranger on the far side of the lot, talking to one of the charity representatives. "Definitely not vanilla. And the body's only a temple four days a week."

Lou peers at me over her sunglasses. "And the other three days?"

I meet her gaze with a smirk. "Those belong to me and he's definitely Icing on the Cake." Cake flavored ice cream, ribbons of frosting, and sprinkles…Ranger is always going to be dessert, and the base of my food pyramid. They don't need to know that it was Ranger that bought me ice cream last week, or how I chose to eat it. The blush blooms all over my face, causing Lula to snicker and Connie to start fanning herself.

Looking out across the parking lot again, Mary Lou sighs. "Yeah, you have it rough over there, Steph. Which would be Triple Mango? That's my favorite."

Connie and I look at each other and say, "Manny." I helpfully describe him and Mary Lou smiles. "I can work with that. Metaphorically speaking." We all shake our heads.

Ranger catches my eye and I give him a finger wave. His eyes narrow and I do my best to look innocent. I swear I can see his eye roll from here. He starts to head across the parking lot to me and the sun catches the water droplet in air as someone arcs a hose, creating a small rainbow over the area. When he's close enough, he lets his blank face drop enough that I can see the affection behind the mask.

"Ladies, Babe." He grabs me in a hug, nuzzling my ear. "Do I want to know what you four were talking about over here?"

I put on my most innocent smile. "Just ice cream."

His gaze goes hot, and his hand tightens around my waist. Yeah, Ranger doesn't mind letting me eat ice cream in bed. "We should get some on the way home."

"Count on it, Babe. There's still a lot of flavors we haven't tried."

Oh boy.