Page 57 of Mayhem and Minnie

“That’s a platform, pet. But I’m glad you like them. Sit down and try them on,” I mention as the sales assistant comes back with the other shoe.

Minnie sits down on a round cushion and takes off her worn slides, placing them carefully aside. I don’t know why that gesture in itself sends a sharp pain in my chest.

She takes the left shoe and undoes the laces before gingerly sliding her foot inside. She does the same with the other shoe and then proceeds to utterly fail at tying the laces back.

“Let me,” I murmur and get to my knees in front of her. I tie one shoelace, then the other.

“They fit well?” I ask after I’m done.

She moves her feet around to test the shoe before getting up and walking a few steps.

“Oh, yes!” she exclaims. “And look, Marlowe. I’m taller,” she says as she plants herself before me and shows me that now she’s slightly taller.

“Yes, you are,” I chuckle. “We’ll get these,” I note to the sales assistant.

She nods.

Minnie does a pirouette. She has an effusive smile on her lips as she skips around me, thanking me profusely for her new pair of shoes.

If she’s this easy to please…

I go around looking for more shoes her size, and I find a pair of rain boots, a pair of normal leather boots, a leather loafer in white, and a pair of flats in red.

I take them and head back to Minnie so she can try them on. But as I turn toward her, I note that she’s now surrounded by a group of men.

What the fuck?

I turned my back for a couple of minutes and this happened.

“Come on, miss. Tell us your name.”

“Please leave,” Minnie whispers, her eyes stuck to the ground.

“You heard the lady. Leave,” I grit out as I reach her side.

They’re the same men who’d been eyeing her when we came in. And to make matters even worse, their wives are a few steps away, ready to blow up at their inappropriate behavior.

“But I’ve never seen someone so beautiful before,” one of the men says, his gaze roaming over Minnie’s body.

“And you will not see again if you don’t fucking move.” I lower my voice, the threat clear.

“Marlowe,” Minnie whimpers as she all but throws herself into my arms. “Make them go away, please.”

The men follow her with their eyes, almost as if they’re drunk on the sight of her. They take a step closer. Fucking hell, they look like zombies who’ve lost all capacity for reason.

“Security!” I call out.

At the same time, the wives try to pull their husbands away, their shrilly voices echoing in the store as they dare insult my Minnie instead of their lascivious husbands.

“Lady, shut the fuck up,” I snap, pulling Minnie behind me to shield her once more. “One more word about her and I’ll forget you’re a woman and that sometimes I’m a gentleman.”

That seems to shut her up. And as soon as Minnie is out of sight, the men suddenly regain control of their faculties. They appear aghast at their actions, and they let their wives lead them, who continue to nag and chide.

Security just now arrives in the form of a brawny man. But I don’t know if he’s supposed to help in any way considering the way his eyes widen when he spots Minnie. His entire body language changes. From a professional stance, he now looks like a lovestruck fool as he advances toward us.

“Stop!” I order him, hiding Minnie again.

The glaze covering his eyes vanishes and he blinks.

---