Page 45 of A Little Naughty

“What does a guy like me wear to a Mardi Gras ball?”

“They’re traditionally white-tie affairs, and you’ll need a mask. I expect most of the men will wear those little Zorro ones.”

“Is that okay?” He sounds like he really cares, and I run my eyes over him, thinking how sexy he’ll be all dressed up.

“I think a Zorro mask will suit you perfectly. Wasn’t he an outlaw?”

“I don’t know.” His chin lowers, and he glances up at me. “I’m not exactly an outlaw. I just have a bad reputation.”

“I can work with that.” I picture him in a tux, wearing a Zorro mask, and I want to swoon. Instead I wrap an arm around my waist. “What are you doing here?”

He slides a hand into his pocket and shrugs. “Heading home. Unless… you wanted to do something?”

“I do, actually. Would you give me a ride to the store?”

This time, I wear a helmet when I sit behind him on the bike. It’s one of Ryan’s old skateboarding helmets we found in Piper’s old garage, but Raif said it would work for a quick trip to the store.

He takes me to the Walmart outside of town, and I go straight to the girl’s clothing department. If I can’t get Nikki a Koala Kup, I can at least get her one of those fuzzy bucket hats.

Shuffling through the stack, I settle on a green one with a mermaid on the front. “What do you think?”

“Are kids really wearing these things?” Raif pulls a black one onto his head.

My nose wrinkles, and I do the same, pulling a rainbow one with sparkles on mine. “What do you think? Yes?”

“No.” He laughs, and I pull it off quickly, my cheeks heating.

I scrub my fingers in my hair, picking out my bangs with my fingertips. “I guess I have all kinds of hat hair between that helmet and this hat.”

“I think your hair is pretty.” He reaches out to move a piece behind my ear, and the slide of his finger over my skin is electric.

It reminds me of this morning when he touched my cheek, and I nearly burst into flames.

He takes the hat off his head, tossing it onto the pile. Then he scrubs a hand through his long, shaggy hair, and it falls perfectly messy.

“Is that all you need?” He nods at the hat.

Hesitating, I look in the direction of the camping gear. “I wonder if they have any of those Koala Kups. All the kids have them, and I don’t want Nikki to feel left out.”

“We’d better check.” He’s so ready to help me. I kind of love it.

We walk down aisle after aisle, looking at all kinds of insulated bags and coffee mugs and fire starter and radios. They have thermoses, but no Koalas.

“Piper said they were sold out everywhere,” I sigh, feeling defeated. “I thought they might have gotten a new shipment or something.”

“They get shipments of this stuff all the time at the docks. I could check and see if any are down there.” He hesitates. “I was headed over there tomorrow anyway.”

“Would you?” My eyes brighten, and I want to hug him.

A satisfied grin relaxes his face. “Of course. You just want one?”

“Oh…” My bottom lip slips into my mouth. “Do you think you can get three? I think the boys want one, too.”

“I can try. Any particular color or style?”

“I’ll find out tomorrow and let you know.”

We pay for the hat, and we’re on the road back to my place. It’s much later now, and my arms are around his waist. It’s not like flying across the beach in the glow of the setting sun, but it’s still our bodies pressed together, the tops of my thighs against the backs of his legs.

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