Page 141 of Double Bucked

45

CLAIRE

I’m floating.

I’m on a float, and I’m floating.

It’s shaped like the front half of a boat, with a front that narrows and a back that blooms into towering reliefs of flowers, their petals like bubbles ready to burst. Along the sides of the float stand my “studs.” Men in dark suits who wear large, horse-style masks to disguise their faces. The Belleflower King rides the float, too. He’s perched at the bow of the float, opposite me. I want to figure out who it is, but I can’t. He’s wearing a lean, white suit. Instead of a horse-head mask, he wears a mask with two faces—one on the front and one on the back, so no matter which way he turns, I can’t find his face. A painted crown sits on top of each face. All I know about him, so far, is that he’s only a little taller than me. He wears white gloves as he hands out plastic flowers to the crowd below, along with the studs. The crowd on the sidewalk shrieks with joy and raises their arms up to catch them.

Although horses are sculpted along the sides of the float, they no longer actually pull the float. A bored driver sits in the tractor with a set of headphones, slumped forward, moving at a snail’s pace.

And me…

Oh my God, I’m so high.

The sky is bright. I can’t stop staring upward at the bursts of light. Yellows and bright greens. And the crowd—there’s a warmth from them. A heat. I feel their adoration all the way to my toes. It makes me tingle.

They love me. They shout at me. They smile and reach out their hands, begging for my touch.

They. Love. Me.

Music pounds behind me—some pop song played too loud, fuzzy on the speakers. I had a purpose. I had a reason for being here. Something important I had to do, but…

Right now, I just want to dance.

I lift my hands toward the sky and feel the sun kiss my palms. I swivel my hips to the music. I pluck roses from the studs and chuck them into the waiting crowd. Every time I throw a rose, they roar with cheers.

I toss a rose with so much force it throws me off-balance. I nearly topple over, but a stud catches me.

His muscles are strong. I melt, kitten-like, into them.

“You having fun, Queen?” his voice comes from under that hideous mask.

That voice. I recognize that voice. “Rafe?”

The horse face grins at me—this big, ghoulish smile.

“Just keep dancing. Enjoy it. It’s your moment!”

His hands feel so big on my waist. Strong. Like Ransom’s hands. Working hands. I imagine Ransom’s big, rough hands sliding up my dress, between my thighs, parting my lips, slipping deep, deep inside of me…

The thought sends a low heat burning through me. I wish he was here. Ransom. Everett. I’d like them to take me. Both of them. Right here. Right on the float. Right in front of all of Belleflower, and…oh, God…

I’ve never been this horny in my entire life.

Rafe gets on one knee. He procures a flower and bows his head as he gives me a single rose.

I take it. The stem is hard. A thorn pricks my thumb, making it bleed.

This one is real.

I touch the petals to my lips. The soft flesh of the flower is borderline erotic. I close my eyes and give it a gentle kiss.

When I open my eyes again, the entire town is watching me.

Go. Give them a show.

My legs are unsteady as I walk toward the edge of the float, and Rafe has to catch me a couple of times to keep me from falling off the edge. The other studs part to let me through. I lean over and extend the rose out to the greedy hands of the crowd.

---