Page 96 of Mayhem
“Wherever you want to go, Angel,” Paetyn responded, and she pulled them towards the path that led to the birds.
They walked around the section, taking in the various birds. Erin stopped to read the different information provided. He knew she enjoyed going to the zoo to relax and look at the animals when she was younger. He’d remembered it from a conversation they’d had in passing before they’d started dating.
When they finished with the birds, they followed the path to the primates. Cruz stopped when they reached the smaller monkeys, but Erin pulled him past them towards the gorillas.
“I don’t do little monkeys. They’re disgusting little asses like to throw shit, and you will see me fight one if that happens,” she stated.
Cruz snorted, and Paetyn couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him. He was aware that sometimes happened, but he’d never seen it done, and the probability of it happening to them was slim. At least, he would hope so.
“You’re laughing, but I’m serious. I don’t remember how old I was, but I was young. Like seven or eight, maybe, my grandmother took my sister and me to the zoo, and the monkeys there were throwing shit at the people passing by. They were known to do it, and the zoo would give out free umbrellas and ponchos at the gate because of it. I missed being hit by like six inches.” Erin shivered at the memory.
“Why not close that part of the zoo or get rid of them?” Cruz asked.
“Unfortunately, some people went just for that…experience. I think they still may. It’s beyond me why they would want feces thrown at them but to each their own.”
They came upon the gorilla enclosure and stopped at the stand with information. There was a profile for the gorillas in the enclosure: one male, four females, and a few infants.
A few minutes passed as the three surveyed them when the male approached one of the females and mounted her. Some of the kids around gasped, while a couple of parents acted scandalized as if it wasn’t something they thought the animals should have been doing. Paetyn refrained from rolling his eyes.
After a few minutes, they moved on, and he and Cruz allowed Erin to continue pulling them around to the animals she wanted to see.
Erin walked out of the restroom, drying her hands. She tossed the paper towels in the trash outside the door as her eyes found Paetyn standing next to the table she’d left him and Cruz at. He was talking to a woman who didn’t seem too happy and gestured behind her. She walked over, stopping beside Paetyn.
“Is everything okay?” Erin asked.
“Of course not!” the woman snapped, a look on her face that said Erin should have known that. Erin wasn’t a fan of her attitude, but she was having a good day out with her men, so she wouldn’t let it get to her.
“What’s the problem?” Erin inquired instead of snapping back.
“I was speaking to him,” the woman responded, pointing to Paetyn.
Erin stepped in front of Paetyn, looking down at the woman before her. “Now, you’re speaking to me.”
“No, I am—”
“Yes, you are,” Erin cut her off. “If you say something rude to him, and he snaps back, you play the victim. That’s not happening. So, let me repeat. Now, you’re speaking to me.”
She in no way thought either of her men would snap at this woman or any woman for that matter, but she was not going to subject them to the woman trying to talk to them any kind of way and then play the victim.
“The problem is that I don’t need the three of you walking around doing…whatever you’re doing in front of my children. Keep your relationship and bedroom antics behind closed doors. My kids don’t need to be influenced by your life choices.”
Erin raised an eyebrow. Their bedroom antics? All they’d been doing was holding hands. She’d sat on Cruz’s lap; she recalled Paetyn kissing her temple, but the woman acted like they’d been naked doing those things.
“First, don’t be dramatic. It isn’t like we were fucking in public.” The woman opened her mouth to speak, but Erin continued. “Two, if society has more influence and sway on your children than you do, you may want to reevaluate your parenting approach.” A surprised squeak left the other woman, and Erin refrained from rolling her eyes. “Have the day you deserve,” Erin finished dismissing her.
She didn’t give her a chance to respond as she took Paetyn’s hand, grabbed Cruz’s, and walked away from the woman.
“Is there anything else the two of you want to look at?” she asked. They’d been at the zoo for over two hours, and she’d taken a few pictures and had some cotton candy.
“Not unless there’s something else you want to see, Maly.”
Erin shook her head. “No, I’ve seen everything I wanted to. Can we go get some food?”
“Sure, Angel.”
They left the zoo and headed to get food.
Erin leaned back in the passenger seat as they traveled down the highway, the soft sound of music filtering through the car. After they’d eaten, they told her they had one more place they wanted to take her.
