Steph told the guys about where she was planning to stop for the night. "There's a ski lodge about 2 hours from here and I planned to stop there for two nights. Even though it's not winter, they are still open for guests. They have a great sounding spa and I plan to make use of it tomorrow. You might want to call and see if they have a room for you guys, otherwise, I'm sure I can drop you at a nearby hotel." Ranger called the ski lodge and was able to secure a room for the two nights Steph planned to stay. Steph noticed that he only one reserved one room and not two rooms. She didn't say anything to him, but hoped he would ask to stay with her. The guys looked up the lodge on their phones and found out that they had set up a zip line course and Lester called and found out the information about it. Les and Bobby talked between themselves working out what they wanted to do now that they found out about the lodge. Ranger was quiet and Steph just drove on, looking at Ranger every so often, but found that he was deep in thought. Either that, Steph thought, or sleeping with his eyes open!
Steph pulled into the parking lot of the lodge and parked the car. They all got out and headed inside to check in. Ranger beat her to the desk and managed to pay for her room, even though she put up a fuss about it. "Ranger, I saved my money so I could take this trip." "Babe, I invited myself along so please let me pay for parts." She sighed and decided not to argue with him, knowing it wasn't going to do any good. "You are not paying for my ice cream." He laughed and said, "I won't stand in your way when there's ice cream involved!" The desk clerk asked if they were heading to Ben and Jerry's and that launched Steph into a long conversation with her about their ice cream flavors. Eventually they got their room keys and headed back to the car for their bags. They all carried in their own bags and headed to the elevator. The room Ranger had reserved was a floor below Steph's so when the elevator stopped, Bobby and Lester got off. Ranger hesitated but stopped when Steph grabbed his arm to hold him still. The guys looked back and smiled. Lester, of course, had to open his mouth and say, "Well, I hope their room isn't right above ours. It could be a long night." Before Ranger could reach out and hit him, the elevator door closed and they started up to the next floor. Steph used the key to open the door and she walked in and stopped. This wasn't the hotel room she had selected when she made the reservation; this was suite that she noticed had its own private balcony, complete with a hot tub. She turned back to Ranger and said, "This is not the type of room I reserved. What did you do?" He laughed and said, "Babe, I got us an upgrade. The guys took the room you had reserved."
They got unpacked and she stood on the balcony, just admiring the view. She was lost in thought and didn't notice that Ranger had come up behind her until she felt his arms wrapping around her and the soft kisses he placed on the side of her neck. She sighed and leaned back into him. "Pretty view, isn't it." He murmured his agreement and kept kissing her neck. He turned her around in his arms and worked his kisses up her neck, onto her jawline, and all around her face. Everywhere except her lips, which caused her to groan. "Stop teasing Carlos." Ranger chuckled when she grabbed his face and pushed her lips onto his. He chuckled and spent the next few minutes kissing her. They both pulled back a bit breathless and he said, "Babe, go change for dinner. We're meeting the guys in 15 minutes." "15 minutes? I need more time that that to get ready." She ran into the bathroom and 30 minutes later, she came out to find him dressed and waiting for her. "I sent the guys a text that we'd be a bit longer." "Were they okay with it?" He chuckled and said, "They came back with responses that will cost them mat time when we get back to Trenton." She laughed and grabbing his hand, they walked out of the room and down the hall to the elevator. Stepping out on the restaurant's floor, they walked hand in hand to the table where the guys were seated. They both had drinks and a plate of appetizers that they were working their way through. Steph sat down and reached over to grab some food when Lester slapped her hand. "You're late, you don't get any." Ranger reached over and smacked him on the back of the head and said, "I'll probably end up paying, so she will eat what she wants." Bobby intervened and said, "I ordered a couple of things, this is just the first to arrive. Relax." Steph gave Lester a smirk and reached back over for some food. She popped it into her mouth and let out a groan that had all three guys shifting in their seats. "Babe."
Dinner was a laugh-filled couple of hours. Once Ranger had paid, just as he thought he would, the guys said their good nights and headed to the bar to "scope out the wildlife", as Lester had told them. Ranger slipped his hand in Steph's and pulled her outside for a walk. They found a trail that went down to the lake and even though she had on heels, she was able to navigate the trail. They had a slow trek around the lake, talking and enjoying themselves. "Thank you for letting me come with you for these few days. I was planning to ask you to go away for a weekend trip somewhere, but I hadn't figured out where. You beat me to it." She laughed and said, "I'm glad you could join me. I'm glad all of you could join me. The guys make the trip more fun, more fun than if I would have been alone." Ranger sighed, "Well, they make it something, I don't know about fun." She reached down and tugged her shoes off and spun him around and jumped on his back. "Let's go back and head to the room." He laughed and took off at a slow job, carrying her on his back the entire way to the main lodge building. They were laughing when they burst through the door and made their way to the elevator. Steph slid down from his back and reached down to put her shoes back on. She grabbed his arm and leaned against his side while they waited for the elevator. The elevator opened and they got on, along with an older couple, who were probably in their early to mid 70's. The doors opened on their floor and when Ranger pulled Stephanie out of the elevator, he swept her up into his arms and was walking down the hall when he heard the woman ask her husband why he doesn't act like that anymore with her. As the doors closed, the man could be heard saying, "I might have a new hip and knee but I don't think I could lift you that way." Steph burst out laughing and leaning down to kiss him, he said, "I guess someone won't be getting lucky tonight."