Disclaimer: The characters of the Stephanie Plum series belong to Janet Evanovich and are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Challenge: Jan’s Caring Challenge: use the phrase “If you want the same thing I do, then we’re in the wrong place.”. Also, Rena’s Stakeout challenge.
Young Carlos Cools Off
By TT
Carlos turned his head from side to side, trying to take in all of the sights and sounds around him.
It wasn’t often that their family went on vacation and usually, when they did, they only went to a relative’s house. But this… This was cool.
His father had a three day weekend and had decided to take the family to Point Pleasant to see the sights and sit on the beach away from it all.
At first, Carlos hadn’t been too sure about visiting the beach, especially after the squeal his mother let out when she was told. It had scared him and he thought something was wrong. The only other sound he could remember being that loud was the fire alarm at school when he’d been standing right under it. Abuelo said she sounded like an air raid siren, whatever that was.
In some ways, he wished his grandparents were with them now. So far they had done everything his mom and sisters wanted to do and nothing that he wanted to do.
Late Friday night they had arrived at the hotel. Trying to figure out where everyone was going to sleep had been worse than going over to his cousin’s house. At least there, he knew he would have a sleeping bag and a little bit of floor. Here, there were arguments about rooms, beds, sides of beds and who knows what else.
While his siblings squabbled and his parents mediated, he had wandered over to the window. Sliding it open, he was nearly overwhelmed by all of the strange smells that assaulted him. Some of them smelled really good, some smelled really bad, but all of them were different than what he was used to.
If he listened hard and tuned out his family, he could just hear the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. That was what he was waiting for, what he wanted to see.
He had always been fascinated by moving water and loved to listen to it. From burbling creeks to crashing waves, all of them could hold his attention.
It wasn’t until the next morning that he got his first glimpse of the beach and the water.
He had woken early the next morning ready to go to the beach. He even slipped into his swim trunks to be ready.
It was a huge disappointment when his mother told him to put on a top and his sneakers because they were doing a little shopping that morning.
As they walked from shop to shop, though, he could hear the water and, if he looked between the buildings, even see the beach and the water. It was cruel to keep him in the close shops when all outdoors was calling to him.
In school at the end of the year ‘eternity’ had been one of their vocabulary words. Carlos had more or less understood what the word meant, but he never thought he would experience it. But that’s what this morning was to him – an eternity.
By the time his family was ready for lunch, he was ready for a break.
They ate outside at a vendor’s stand. If she shifted just right in his seat, he could catch a glimpse of the beach and water.
His mother told him to stop squirming.
After lunch, the family decided to stroll down the street some more.
Carlos kept a careful eye on his father’s watch and as soon as 30 minutes was up, he asked about going to the beach to swim, only to be told it was too hot just then to be at the beach and they would go later.
It looked like his eternity was going to continue for a while.
By two o’clock, his parents declared it the right time to head to the beach.
Excited to finally get his wish, Carlos bounced ahead of everyone else, anxious to see the water, play in the sand and find some other boys his own age for games.
By the time his father called them together to head back to the hotel, he was happy and exhausted.
That night he slept really well and was once more up and ready to go.
This morning had started out much warmer than yesterday.
After breakfast, they changed into their swimsuits, waited the appropriate time and headed to the beach.
Around eleven Carlos’ father called them together. They went back to the hotel to shower and change before packing the car for the return to Newark.
Before they left, his mother wanted to visit the boardwalk. They found a nice place outside to eat where they could see the water.
The only down side was the increased heat and humidity.
Though there was a slight breeze from the water, it was really too hot. He almost couldn’t wait to get into the car where there was air conditioning.
As they finished lunch and meandered down the boardwalk, he spotted a good humor cart. They had all sorts of different ices and ice cream treats from which to choose.
He turned to look at his mother and asked nicely. When she hesitated, he took to begging.
It didn’t take long from that point because his siblings and father joined in as well.
Happily eating his red, white and blue popcicle, he followed along contentedly, feeling much cooler.
Present
It was barely ten o’clock and already it was a hot, humid, miserable day in Trenton.
Stephanie shifted on her seat again, running her hand across the back of her neck before blowing out a breath and beginning to fan herself lazily once more.
Though he wasn’t looking at her, Ranger knew exactly what she was doing. When they were this close, he always did.
They were staking out a house for the second day. Fortunately, since it was a Rangeman skip, they had only pulled a six-hour shift. They had begun at five that morning and would finish by eleven.
Though she really did try to stay awake, Stephanie had never become a morning person and fell asleep for the first two hours of the stakeout. It didn’t matter to Ranger, he was just happy she was there. He knew how much she hated stakeouts, but the skip was female and he needed to make sure that each team had a female partner on it just in case.
Time continued its inexorable march onward. Seconds ticked by and he could almost feel Stephanie becoming more and more bored.
With fifteen minutes left, on their shift, Stephanie had stopped fiddling with her self-made fan and had taken to staring at him.
Turning to glance at her, he lifted an eyebrow in question, knowing she hated the fact she couldn’t do the same.
Instead of answering or trying to imitate his action – something that always amused him – she presented him with her version of a wolf grin.
A slow smile curved his lips as he let his desire for her show in his eyes.
He became slightly distracted, though, as a bead of sweat began to trace its way from behind her ear. He watched it intently as is slipped over her collarbone and caressed the bare skin of her chest until it disappeared under the tank she was wearing. It was a path he had traced many times before. He could remember the taste of her as he traced that path with his tongue just the night before.
Blinking himself back to the present, he tried to focus on the house and neighborhood around him. In the distance, it was possible to make out the sound of a Good Humor truck’s music.
The sound caused him to smile.
It wasn’t always easy for him to reveal his past to Stephanie, but there were a few things he could tell her. As he saw Tank and Lula pull up behind him to take over the shift, he made a decision. He wanted Stephanie, but that wasn’t uncommon. He always wanted Stephanie. But he wanted her to know that she meant more to him than just someone to warm his bed.
Turning the ignition, he looked over at her and grinned when he saw her eyes were dark with desire. “ You want something, Babe?” he asked, his voice a low growl.
“I want a log of things,” she replied, her own voice husky with her desire and need.
Offering a wider grin, Ranger shifted the car into gear and replied, “If you want the same thing I do, then we’re in the wrong place.”
“Oh, boy,” Stephanie whispered to herself as she settled into her seat and fastened her seatbelt.
Two hours later they were sitting on a bench in Point Pleasant, listening to the waves and enjoying the breeze. Ranger was eating a red, white and blue popcicle while Stephanie was sighing in contentment over her Eskimo pie.
“This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when you asked me what I wanted,” she said, resting her head on Ranger’s arm as she licked at the ice cream in her treat.
“I know, Babe,” he replied, resting his free arm around her shoulders and his cheek against her head.
“I’m glad we’re here, though,” she admitted. Then she giggled. “I can’t believe you’re eating a popcicle!”
Ranger chuckled quietly. “It’s been a while,” he admitted. “Did you know I came here once with my family?”
“No,” Stephanie replied, perking up at the information. She loved it when Ranger shared his past with her.
“It was a really hot weekend, not entirely unlike this one,” he began.
End