Page 59 of Mayhem
“We’re celebrating your birthday, which means we aren’t going to allow you to pay.”
Erin placed her hand on his chest and pushed slightly. “You’re using my birthday as an excuse because you never let me pay for anything.”
She wasn’t wrong. Neither of them let her pay for anything the few times they went out so far, even when helping her move.
“I need your signature,” the associate stated.
Cruz released Erin and signed the topaz. The receipt was placed in the bag, and he grabbed it as Paetyn took one of Erin’shands, Cruz took the other, and they exited the store. They would go into one of the gift shops next, but Cruz wanted to put the bag in the trunk and talk to her first.
“Maly, does it bother you so much that we want to buy you things you want?”
“It’s just…can we talk about this later?”
Cruz wanted to tell her no, but he also didn’t want the conversation to take a turn. So he agreed, and they walked around the shopping center to the gift shop. His mother collected snow globes, and Cruz made it a point to see if he could find one she didn’t have whenever he went out of town.
When they entered the shop, Erin went to an area with shot glasses and mugs while Cruz went to look for the snow globes. Once they finished, they’d check out a few more stores before lunch.
“Maly, we’re going to be late.”
“It isn’t my fault you let me nap too long,” Erin called back.
Paetyn picked up his cologne, spraying some on. She had a point. She had asked them to wake her up from her nap an hour before they had to leave. He’d gone out to ensure everything for the evening was taken care of, and when he’d returned, Erin was still asleep. Cruz hadn’t woken her up. So, she was scrambling to shower and get ready in a little over half an hour.
He and Cruz used the other bathrooms in the house, and since it didn’t take them as long to get ready, they were dressed and set to go. Paetyn grabbed his jacket and draped it over his arm. The temperature had dropped outside, and the wind from the river would make it even cooler once they got to their destination. Cruz was rolling up the sleeves on his jacket when Erin stepped out of the bathroom.
Paetyn looked her over, and he had to stop himself from groaning. She was wearing a gray outfit. The skirt was high-waisted with a long slit up the left side, and Paetyn wasn’t sure if she was wearing panties or not. The top was sleeveless and stopped under her breast, the rest of her stomach exposed. She took a pair of sandals out of her suitcase and slipped them on.
“You look gorgeous, Angel.”
“Thank you. I’m ready now.”
“It’s going to be chilly, Maly. You want to bring a jacket?”
“I didn’t pack one, but I’ll be fine. Besides, if I get cold with both of you there, you aren’t doing your jobs.”
Paetyn smirked at her while Cruz chuckled, and the three exited the house. Paetyn opened the passenger door for her before getting into the backseat behind her. The drive to the river wouldn’t take them more than fifteen minutes, so they were only a few minutes behind schedule.
When they pulled up to the river, Paetyn opened Erin’s door and helped her out of the car while Cruz went to the person delivering the boat from the rental company. They wanted to have dinner on the other side of the river because it tended to be vacant most of the time, and the only way to get there was by boat. Paetyn led her down the dock and over to the boat. When she saw the delivery person leaving, she turned to him.
“Is he not taking us?”
“No, it’s just the three of us,” Paetyn responded. However, someone would be there when they arrived for dinner; after that, it would just be them.
“Don’t you need a boat license to drive a boat?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“So, you have one?”
“No,” Paetyn responded, leaning down to kiss her softly. “But Cruz does.”
Paetyn tossed his jacket into the boat on one of the seats before stepping onto the boat. He picked her up so she wouldn’t worry about her skirt. He grabbed the jacket and held it up to her.
“Put this on, baby. I don’t want you getting cold on the way.”
He helped her into the jacket as Cruz joined them on the boat, starting the engine. He pressed the button to retract the anchor while Paetyn gestured for Erin to sit beside Cruz. She grabbed his wrist, pushed him onto the chair, and sat on his lap.
Paetyn wrapped his arms around her waist as they began to move forward. They drove down the river a ways before crossing over to the other side. When the setup came into view, Erin sat straighter in his lap to see it better.
