Author's note: I finished Turbo 23 (even though it only came out yesterday). I'm not giving spoilers, but I will say Babes like me will like it far more that 22. Also, it seems some of the things I've written in the story previously are now non-canon, but I'll just roll with it, and ret-con where practical.

I'd planned on writing more than this scene for this chapter, but it would have taken another day or two to write it (Maybe more, as I'm going to a conference this weekend), but some of you seemed fairly impatient in the comments, and I am, as always, at your beck and call.

Recap: Ranger starts the date with a massage and shopping trip for Stephanie. He picks her up at the mall and brings her someplace else, Stephanie is excited for where they go, but I was mean and didn't reveal it.

Ranger's POV

As expected, the meeting had felt like it had taken days instead of hours. My mind kept drifting back to Stephanie; imagining her trying on sexy underwear and getting a massage. But I'd managed to keep my focus, hoping we could get all the planning done at once.

The drive back to King Of Prussia had been excruciating. Traffic out of Philly at rush hour is enough to drive anyone crazy, and it was only knowing what was waiting for me back at the mall that had me leave Philly immediately, instead of killing a couple of hours at the condo near the Museum I had rented for the weekend, and leaving when traffic had lightened up. But I had plans for Stephanie, and I didn't want to wait a moment longer than I had to.

She looked bright and happy when I met her at Nordstrom's. Massage, a facial, and a day of shopping without worrying about money will do that for Stephanie. I kissed her the way I had been fantasizing all day, and was sorely tempted to just go to the hotel nearby when she offered to model her purchases. Keep it together Manoso, you're an adult and can control your hormones.

I told her to close her eyes as I drove to our next destination. She wasn't thrilled about it, but I knew the surprise would be worth it. I couldn't wait to see the look on her face.

Stephanie's POV

When I was little I put a cape on my neck and jumped off the roof of the garage, breaking my arm and leading to my excellent tic-tac-toe skills. I tried to use a pillow as a bridge between furniture. This also did not work. I used to spend hours running around with Mary Lou, me as Peter Pan and her as Wendy. I still have an obsession with Wonder Woman.

In other words, I have always wanted to fly.

"Ohmigod!" I squealed. "This is so cool!"

"I thought you'd like it Babe." Ranger leaned over and kissed my cheek, but I kept staring at the tall white building with the iFly logo on it.

Ranger had eschewed the standard movie-dinner-dancing, and instead was taking me indoor skydiving.

I'll spare the details on training and getting suited up, I was a tiny bit nervous, but it looked like so much fun. There was a large clear tube with a massive fan under it that blew air up anywhere from 90 to 170 miles an hour. Now I knew why Ranger had said not to get my hair done, the helmet and hurricane-speed wind would have ruined it immediately.

I stood outside the opening to the tube, my heart beating faster that a steel drum player performing Flight of the Bumble Bee while hopped up on meth. I gripped Ranger's hand for a moment then stepped into the wind.

I leaned my body forward, the instructor keeping his arm loosely around my waist, avoiding my injured left side. The wind blew by my face like when Ranger and I were rushing down the highway in his convertible, but it was surprisingly easy to breath. For a moment I was held still by the instructor, then I gave the signal and he let go and I was flying.

For the first time since I had lept off the garage roof more that 20 years ago I was free of gravity, touching nothing, floating in the fast moving air. I turned to look at Ranger, who was standing outside, arms crossed, smiling at me. The wind speed picked up and I flew higher, several feet above the head of the instructor. I spread my arms and arched my back and closed my eyes, imagining for a brief moment that I was flying above Trenton. While I tried to keep my body steady, in my mind I was swooping and diving around the buildings, getting a birds-eye view of the Burg, seeing how small it really was.

My time in the air ended far too quickly. The air slowed, and I drifted down, the instructor guiding me out the door and into Ranger's waiting arms. I held tight to him, flush with joy and adrenaline. "That was AMAZING Ranger! It felt so wonderful, so free!" He bent his head and covered his mouth with mine, wrapping his arm around my neck, pulling me closer. I put all my excitement and passion into the kiss, all the feelings that had arisen from feeling unconstrained.

It was of course at this point that my mother called.

My phone rang from my purse a few feet away. I sighed and pulled away from the kiss reluctantly. I pulled the phone out and stepped away as Ranger and the instructor were talking.

"Mom, this isn't the best time right now."

"Where are you? You're 10 minutes late for dinner. And is Joseph joining us tonight?"

Shit! I'd forgotten to tell my mother I was going to be out of town. And that I had broken up with Joe. And that I was sleeping with Batman.

"Sorry, Mom. Something came up." Me. Snicker. "I won't be there tonight, I'm out of town all weekend."

"Are you and Joseph having a romantic weekend away?"

"Joe and I aren't seeing each other anymore."

"Oh dear, did you two have another fight?"

Ranger's POV

Sometimes watching someone you love have a good time is better than having it yourself. Watching Steph as she flew made my heart swell with joy, seeing the pure ecstasy on her face. I suppose a lesser man could have been hurt a little that she actually looked happier than when I gave her an orgasm, but I'm not the type to get jealous over fast moving air. She looked so relaxed, as if the wind had lifted all the expectations of the world from her shoulders.

All too soon she came down, breathless and flushed with happiness. The kiss I got was worth every penny I had spent the flights, the massage, and however much she had spent on her shopping trip. It would have been even better if her mother hadn't interrupted us with a phone call.

When Babe stepped away to talk to her mom, I went to speak with the flight instructor. "Can I do the next flight with her?"

"Have you been in one of these before? It's best to learn how the air feels and how to move in it alone.

A memory surfaced, unbidden. Parachuting at night into a Colombian jungle. Having only a small clearing the about size of a living room to land in without getting caught in branches. Training for weeks before to hone my accuracy.

"Yeah, I've been skydiving a few times." I said, understating by a factor of about 50. I'd been on over 300 jumps, some into hostile territory. I was pretty sure I could handle a wind tunnel in suburban Philadelphia.

Stephanie came back, looking like her mother had soured her good mood. "Ready for another flight, Babe?" I asked, hoping to distract her.

She nodded, and we stepped into the tube together, spinning into the air slowly. I didn't kiss her in case our heads knocked together, but we held hands and gazed into each other's eyes in a thoroughly sappy manner. The joy rose in her face again as the two of us hung in mid-air, with nothing in the world to hold onto except each other.

Yup, worth every penny.

I'd hoped to actually go try this before writing about it, but it just didn't work out this week. I watched videos and read the website, and I hope I was reasonably accurate. If you want to see what competitive indoor skydiving can look like, I'd recommend looking on youtube for Sia - Chandelier: Maja Kuczyńska Skydance