Page 84 of Plus-Sized Bratva Prisoner

“That giant green thing,” I point at it, chuckling.

But Yefim is distracted.

“Oh, my word, they have salted caramel popcorn,” Yefim says excitedly, standing up on his tiptoes to see above everyone.

“They have what?”

“You’ve never had salted caramel popcorn?”

I shake my head.

“We have to fix that. Alright. Wait here. I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere. And you better win me that crocodile like you promised,” he grins, then kisses me on the forehead and disappears into the crowd.

I laugh and shake my head. I love this side of him. Carefree, open, loving and tender. He isn’t afraid to be soft around me, and that means a lot.

And now I know it’s all real. Again, I feel this crazy kind of happiness filling my entire body.

I can’t wait to get him home. I smile to myself.

I’m next at the game, and the man in the yellow hat is getting ready to hand me a bunch of tennis balls that I have to throw at some moving targets.

I feel nervous and excited, because I really want to win something. I just want to give Yefim a silly souvenir of our day. The crocodile can sit next to the giant red octopus on the spare room, because there is no space for it on our bed.

I aim carefully, focusing hard and plotting my moves.

To my surprise, I hit every target except the last one.

Thinking that it means I lost, I put out my bottom lip, but the man behind the game laughs and hands me the stuffed crocodile.

“You only had to hit four targets, young lady,” he says.

I can’t believe it. I actually won. I get to give him this ridiculous crocodile.

I grab the bright green plushie and jump excitedly, looking around to see if Yefim is back yet, if maybe he saw my excellent maneuvers and is impressed with me. But he isn’t back yet.

I look around, squinting into the crowd, trying to find him.

Behind me, I hear my name being called.

I turn towards the female voice and my throat pulls tight.

“Clara,” I say tensely, seeing her walking towards me with her uncle close behind her. She’s also holding a silly stuffed animal, a yellow fish, and a bright pink balloon.

“Tia, oh my word, I never got to say goodbye at the party. How was it? Did you have fun?”

“I did. It was amazing. Thank you so much for hosting it.” I am doing my best to hide the tension in my voice. My body is on high alert, not knowing what to expect from her uncle.

“I see you’ve also been winning. Isn’t this place great? It makes me feel like a kid again.”

“I know, me too.”

I can tell that she has no idea who her uncle really is. His eyes are cold and locked onto me with a threat, but she doesn’t even notice as she chats away about the carnival and how much fun it is.

I feel terrible for her, but I have to make sure I get away safely.

“Clara, sorry, you caught me at a bad time. I have to go find Yefim, before I lose him in the crowd. Let’s catch up soon, though.”

“Of course, any time. Just give me a shout,” she says, then pulls me into a hug and laughs at my crocodile.

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