Chapter 10

Ranger POV

I shut down my computer at 1800 hours. I was locking up my office when I sensed the presence of three jesters behind me. "Is there something I can help you three with?"

"Heading out early cuz?" Lester got the question ball rolling.

"I have somewhere to be."

"Does this have anything to do with you giving a certain office manager the afternoon off?" Bobby asked.

"That's none of your business."

"Then where are you heading off to and can we come?"

"No comment and also No."

"Okay Range man enough with the non answers what is going on with you and Stephanie?"

"Nothing now if you'll excuse me I have to get ready."

"Bullshit cuz I know you two are going on a date tonight." Lester tried to get me to budge but he had never been able to get information out of me before and he wasn't about to start. Instead of giving in to his jestering I parted the three of them and made my way to the stairwell. I could hear the murmuring as I exited.

I made my way up to my apartment and jumped in the shower then got dressed in my favorite armani suit. The suit was black but I decided to put on a white button up shirt instead of my normal black. Before heading out I grabbed the duffle bag Ella had left on the dining room table and checked that everything I would need was in it. I didn't plan on staying with Stephanie tonight but I wanted to be prepared. I also had her put clothes in for a woman for the second activity of our night. I didn't tell her it was Stephanie but I figure she'd find out soon enough.

I mad my way down to the garage and got into my Porsche 911 Turbo. Prior to pulling out I made sure to deactivate my trackers so the three stooges couldn't crash my date. I was out the door with 30 minutes until I needed to pick up Stephanie so I stopped at the grocery store I had met her in and picked up three bouquets and a vase. I paid some kid twenty dollars to let me use the floral desk so I could arrange the flowers and not just give her them in the plastic packaging.

I pulled up to Stephanie's apartment building with three minutes to spare. I quickly parked in the spot directly next to the door and made my way inside. I wasn't pleased she didn't live in a building that anyone could just walk into without buzzing up. I would need to talk to her about her security. I made my way to apartment 202 and knocked. I could hear someone stumbling around before the best thing my eyes have ever seen swung open the door.

She was wearing a light blue dress that was tight down to her waist then flowed out to just above her knees. The front was a v like neckline that went down to just above her breasts and the back had two thin traps that crossed a few times in the back but leaving it mostly open. She had a mesh like navy blue shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair was pulled back into a low bun that allowed her curls to flow freely enough that they framed her face beautifully. She wore three inch pumps that brought her to just about my height.

"You look beautiful Stephanie, these are for you." I gave her the vase with the flowers.

"Oh my thank you Carlos, you're looking pretty good yourself and this is amazing and Lilies those are my favorite!" She said as she placed the bouquet on her kitchen counter next to the cage that held some kind of rodent.

"Ready to go?"

"Yes I just need to put on my jacket." She gestured to the long black coat hanging on the coat rack near her door. I took it off and helped her into it. She picked up her purse and I waited and held out my elbow for her to take after she finished locking up her apartment. I escorted her out to my car and opened the passenger door before helping her settle into the leather seats. I could swear I heard her moan as I was closing the door which caused a feeling inside me and headed straight to my dick. I adjusted myself as I rounded the corner before slipping into the driver's seat.

"So where are we going?"

"Well I have a few options but if you don't mind a bit of a drive I thought we'd go down to Cherry Hill there is a place down there that I think you would enjoy.

"I'm good with a drive. We could play twenty questions on our way down?" She asked. I didn't normally enjoy talking during drives but I didn't want to close myself off from her so I nodded for her to continue.

"What's your family like?"

"Parents live in Newark. I have 5 siblings: Two older sisters, Two younger sisters and one younger brother. Siblings are in various relationship statuses and I have 7 nieces and nephews between them and they live all over the state. Most of my extended family lives nearby as well except my Grandma Rosa who lives in Miami." She smiled as I answered her question. "How about you?"

"One sister she lives in California has two kids; the youngest was born on Christmas eve. My mom and dad still live in the Chambersburg neighborhood of Trenton. My plum grandparents died when I was still young and my grandpa Mazur passed while I was in college so my grandma now lives with my parents. I also have a hamster named Rex." She answered.

We continued this back and forth pattern all the way to the restaurant she asked about when I joined the army, how I got my nickname and if she wanted her to call me Ranger in the office, I told her it was up to her but in front of clients it may be best to stick with Ranger. She also asked how I got the idea to start Rangeman and what I do for fun. I couldn't say much about what I do for fun since my life was almost one hundred percent work but I had a feeling that may change with her in my life.

I asked her to tell me about her childhood which came with a great story about her jumping off her roof as a child because she wanted to fly. I also asked about her time at Douglass College at Rutgers, what her relationship with Hector was, and what she did for fun. She surprised me when she told me how she met Hector and it led to her job at Rangeman but I would have to find a way to thank him and Hal for stopping. She mentioned that she loved to bake so I knew that I would have to follow up on that. I had overheard some of the men talking about the amazing bombers brownies. It was only now that I realized they were talking about Steph.

We only got about 6 questions in when I pulled into Ma's, a little family restaurant near Garden State park. It wasn't too busy since it was late but that would be perfect for the atmosphere. We walked in and I gave the hostess my name for the reservation. She found it and led us to the round booth in the back. I helped her scoot in from one side before I slid in from the other. I left a few inches of space but I hoped that over the course of the night I could close the gap.

"Ranger! Oh Barbara is going to be so excited to hear we have a special guest tonight." A small plump man came out from the kitchen towards the table holding up his hands as a sign of welcome. "Back so soon and who is this beautiful young woman you brought with you?"

"Maurice. It's good to see you. This is Stephanie." I introduced them. He took her hand and kissed the back of it.

"Pleasure to meet you Stephanie. Can I get you two something to drink?" He asked. I ordered a bottle of wine for us to share after checking with Stephanie and asked for water as well before he left to get the drinks.

"First name basis with a waiter you must come here a lot?" Stephanie questioned.

"About six years ago I had just gotten home from a long mission and it was winter. I was driving back to my parents but the highways were closed due to a snowstorm so I had to find a place to stay. Before I could find a hotel though my car got stalled just down the street from here. Maurice was shoveling the walkway when he saw me stuck and came to help. He offered me a meal and a place to stay as they have an extra room upstairs where they live. Ever since then everytime I come home from a mission I stop here for a meal on my way. This is the first time I've ever brought anyone with me." I explained.

"Wow, that's so nice of them. Thank you for being willing to share this place with me." She responded. I nodded and then I picked up a menu and placed it in front of us so we could look together. I gave her a few suggestions before she settled on the fettuccine alfredo with italian sausage. I decided to order the salmon with a beurre blanc sauce and a side of seasonal veggies with rice. Maurice came back and took our order and brought a basket of warm bread. Stephanie took one of the rolls and buttered it up before taking a bite.

"Oh my god this roll is amazing!" She said before practically stuffed the entire rest of the roll in her mouth. I chuckled before taking another roll buttering it as she had and ripping off a piece to feed to her. She happily accepted my gesture by opening her mouth and taking the piece.

"You really impressed me this week." I told her.

"Oh um thank you. I really only did my job." She responded, sounding a little flustered by the compliment.

"You've done more than your job Steph. You gave some really great ideas this week and thanks to you I didn't return to mountains of paperwork on my desk. Seriously Babe, I'm proud to have you on my team." I leaned over and was about to kiss her but Maurice had just arrived with our entrees. We ate at a steady pace talking about our favorite things including our food, colors, places to visit, and things to do.

Stephanie ordered some kind of chocolate cake for dessert while I ordered black coffee. When we finished Maurice brought me the bill and Barbra, his wife the chef, stopped by to say hello. Her and Stephanie hit it off immediately as they discussed Barbras cooking and cake recipe. After paying the bill I left a generous tip for the couple and we headed out for the night.

"Do you mind if we make one more stop?" I asked once we were settled back into the car.

"What do you have in mind?"

"It's a surprise as long as you say yes."

"Then yes." she said smiling before leaning over taking my cheek in her soft hand and then electricity passed between us as she placed a brief kiss on my lips. She pulled back and smiled at me before it could go any further and settled back into her seat.

I drove us over to down to the river to Cooper River Park pulling into the site of the town's annual Winterfest. Stephanie's eye got wide as she took in the colors and activity around us.

"Oh this is perfect Carlos but I don't think I'm dressed for this."

"Already covered Babe. I got Ella to pack some things for you." I said as I grabbed the duffle from the back seat. I reached in and handed her a rangeman sweatshirt to put over her dress and some leggings to slip under. I also gave her some socks and boots in her size. I pulled out a sweater for myself, taking off my suit jacket, and some boots. We quickly slipped on the extra layers in the car which thankfully had tilted windows even though we weren't technically taking anything off. I didn't want her to be uncomfortable. Once we put our coats, hats, and gloves back on we made our way to the entrance.

I paid for our entrance tickets and some skates for each of us. I was thankful that my cousins and I would go skating every winter at the park down the street from our house so I was fairly confident on skates. Stephanie however was looking a little apprehensive as she laced up her skates. I took her hands and whispered to her not to worry before I led her to the rink. It was pretty late so aside from a few groups of high school students and other couples it wasn't super busy. I stepped onto the ice and got my feet under me before reaching out and taking her hand.

We skated around the rink several times listening to the music and laughter around us enjoying our time together. I was skating backwards holding her hands for the first few laps and had now switched to skating next to her holding her hand. We were rounding a corner when a teenager racing his friend cut Stephanie off causing her to trip. I wasn't quick enough to stop her from falling but I was able to get myself under her so she fell on top of me instead of hard on the ice.

We were laughing at our misfortune when she leaned down and kissed me. This time it did go further as I swept my tongue across her lips seeking entrance was immediately granted. He mittens stroked my hair as I grabbed the back of her neck pulling her deeper into the kiss. I'm not sure how long we stayed like that but the sounds of whistles and hollers brought us out of the trance. She slid off to the side of me so I could get up before helping her back to her feet.

Stephanie yawned as soon as she was back on her feet so I knew the busy week had finally caught up to her and we should probably call it a night. I led us over to the exit so we could take our skates off and head home. I reached over and took her hand in mine and settled it on top of my thigh to drive home. We weren't even 5 minutes into the drive home before Stephanie was sound asleep next to me.

I pulled into the lot of her apartment kissing her hand and rubbing softly up and down her arm to wake her up. She blinked a few times before her eyes opened and she looked over and smiled at me. "This was an amazing date Carlos. I had an amazing time."

"Me too Babe." I gave her a smile back, kissing her hand one more time before I walked around to help her out of the car. We walked back up to her apartment and I waited for her to open the door to her apartment before I leaned in to kiss her goodnight. The kiss grew deep quickly and when we both ran out of air I pulled back holding her face in my hands as I placed my forehead on hers.

"Goodnight Carlos."

"Goodnight Babe."