Page 266 of Mayhem and Minnie

I nod at her and go to the booth. After I pay, Minnie takes her position behind the rifle and points it at the balloons. She shoots the first one and hits the target.

She repeats the process until there are no balloons left.

The booth keeper gives her a harsh stare—he probably hadn’t anticipated that a tidbit of a girl would have such a good aim.

“Good girl,” I whisper in her ear as she goes to choose her prize.

There are a lot of plushies on display. Since she got all the balloons, she gets to choose one of the bigger ones. To my surprise, she opts for a tiny red teddy bear with a rather wretched expression on his face but with a heart in the middle of his chest.

She grabs it with both hands, her eyes wide with wonder as she stares at it.

“Why didn’t you pick a bigger one?” I ask as we leave the stall.

“Because this reminded me of you,” she mentions.

“Of me?” I frown.

“Yes! See.” She points at his scowling face. “This is you most of the time.”

“Now, Minnie, I’ll have you know that’s a certified condition called resting brooding face. You wouldn’t understand,” I mumble.

“You didn’t let me finish.” She pouts. “You might scowl a lot, but you also have a big heart,” she says and points at the heart in the middle of the bear’s chest.

“Oh.”

I can’t argue with that. Especially since that heart of mine that I didn’t even know I possessed before her beats only for her.

Heat travels up my neck and I feel myself flush awkwardly.

Oh, Lord. This is worse than I thought. Not only do I suffer from resting brooding face, but also from the lovestruck flush.

Who would have thought that I, one of the most prolific uncaught killers in the history of the country, would become a fool for a slip of a girl?

I glance at her from the corner of my eye and my heart skips a beat. She’s even more beautiful when she smiles with joy. I gulp down.

My chest is tight and uncomfortable. I grab her shoulder and pull her flush against my body.

That’s better.

I might be sick with love, but I have my cure right here, next to me.

We keep walking, and Minnie buys a few more sweet treats before we reach a crowded area.

There’s a live band playing in the corner, and people are dancing right and left. The fact that they’re doing this in costume makes it even more hilarious. You can spot some Marvel villains twerking—which isn’t exactly an image I want in my mind. There are also all sorts of horror halloweenesque types of costumes, with blood and gore and open wounds.

While I’m silently judging people for their costume choices, Minnie finishes her caramel apple and with sticky fingers, grabs my hand and pulls me toward the middle of the crowd.

She could have at least wiped her fingers on a napkin.

But instead of grumbling about it as usual, I do something better. I grab her hand and lick it clean.

Her eyes widen in surprise, but then she giggles as she helps me clean her up with my tongue.

That sounded way dirtier in my mind.

“I’m not exactly a dancer,” I say and clear my throat.

“I’m not either, but we can try. Come! The music is so nice!” she exclaims as she pulls me deeper into the crowd.

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