by Kay Marie
“Alright.” I giggle. “Let’s go save them.”
We walk over to them and Rascal’s eyes light up with relief when he sees me.
“Hey, Princess.” He steps away from the girl, pulling me into his arms and kissing me. “Ready to get something to eat?”
“You don’t want to introduce me to your new friend?” I tease with a smirk. The girl glares daggers at me before huffing out a breath and stomping away with her friend in tow. Minx and I burst out laughing.
“Yeah, that was real funny,” Rascal deadpans.
“They would not take no for an answer,” Raze says. “It was fucking annoying.”
“Aw, you didn’t like the high schoolers flirting with you?” Minx pokes fun at him.
“Can we please get something to eat?” Rascal growls against my neck before kissing it.
“Lead the way, Romeo.” I grin.
28
Rascal
“What do you wanna try first? Corn dog, funnel cake, pretzel,” I ask Marley.
Her eyebrows draw together. “What’s a funnel cake?”
“It’s fried dough like a doughnut. The batter is drizzled into the oil so it doesn’t have an actual shape. You can get it topped with fruit, powdered sugar, chocolate syrup or honey,” I explain to her. “It’s delicious.”
“It sounds . . . interesting.” She giggles. “Maybe we should start with a corn dog.”
“You got it.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders, leading her to get corn dogs. I order one for her and two for myself, along with an order of fried pickles.
“Do you need any dipping sauce,” the cashier asks.
“Ranch and mustard, please,” I tell her. She hands me our food and we go sit at a table. Raze and Minx meet us at the table with their own food.
“We got y’all a funnel cake,” Minx says, setting one down in front of us. “I got you a regular one since Marley hasn’t tried it before.”
“Thanks, Minx.” I hand Marley her corn dog and a couple mustard packets. “So, Princess, what was your favorite ride?”
“I’m going to have to say the Music Express,” she tells us.
“It’s because you got to sit so close to me, isn’t it?” I tease.
“Shit, you figured me out,” she deadpans.
I shake my head, grinning. “You and that fucking sass.”
“I wouldn’t be me without it.” She winks at me. “What are we doing after we eat?”
“I was thinkin’ we could play some games then ride the ferris wheel,” I suggest.
“That sounds fun.” Marley takes a bite of her corn dog and I have to tear my eyes away. I should have thought twice about having her eat one. Now, all I can think about is her wrapping those delectable lips around my cock. I shake my head and focus on eating my own food.
Once she’s done with her corn dog, she tears off a piece of funnel cake and pops it in her mouth.
“Mmm!” she moans. “It’s fried, doughy perfection!”
I laugh at her reaction. “It’s good, huh?”
“So fucking good.” She eats another piece.
“Make sure you save some for me,” I tell her.
“No way. Get your own.” She pulls the plate in front of her and laughs.
“Oh, shit! What’s that over there?” I say. Marley turns in the direction I’m pointing and I take a chunk of the funnel cake, shoving it in my mouth. She turns back to me as Raze and Minx are choking back laughs.
“There’s nothing . . . hey!” She laughs again.
I shrug. “I had to get some of it some how.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll let it slide this time.” She grins at me.
“Are y’all done eating yet? Let’s go play some games,” Raze says.
“You’re an impatient fuck, you know that?” I say to him.
He flips me off.
“He really is,” Minx whispers. Raze shoots her a glare and she shrugs.
“I’m ready if y’all are,” Marley states.
“Let’s go play some games then,” I say.
We throw our trash away and head to the games. The first one we stop at is a target water shooting horse race.
“We can all four play this together!” Minx says.
“What do we do,” Marley asks.
“You use the water gun to shoot the target. When you hit the target, it makes the horse move forward. First one to the finish line wins,” I explain to her.
“Oh, cool. I’ll play,” she says.
I hand the carny money for me and Marley to play and we pick our seats. Raze and Minx take their seat on either side of us and the count down for the race begins. At the bell, I hit the button to spray the water, doing my best to aim at the bullseye. The bell rings again, signaling a winner as Minx jumps up, cheering.
“Way to go, Minx.” Marley high fives her.
“Congrats, here’s your prize.” The carny hands Minx a small, plush purple dragon.
“Good game, babe.” Raze kisses the top of her head.
“What next,” Marley asks.
“There’s the bottle game, balloon darts, ring toss. Take your pick,” I tell her.
“Balloon darts sounds fun. Let’s do that,” she says.
The balloon darts game is a couple booths down. We walk over to it and there’s a couple already playing. While we wait our turn, I notice at least half the balloons on the board have already been popped. That makes it a bit more challenging. My eyes rake over the prizes. They have three different prize levels. A small one, a medium and a big one. The big ones aren’t huge, though. My eyes land on a prize that would be perfect for Marley. A princess tiara. When the couple in front of us finish, we step forward.
“Do you want to try first,” I ask Marley.
“Sure.” She smiles.
“Three for her and three for me, please.” I hand the carny some cash. In return, he hands us each three darts.
“Go ahead, Princess.” I step to the side to give her space.
She surveys the balloons on the board. After a minute, she holds up a dart, aims and throws it. She misses, hitting the middle of a giant empty space.
“Shit,” she mutters.
“You still have two more darts. Try again,” I encourage her.
She tries again, missing both times but laughs it off.
“Your turn, Romeo.” She pats me on the chest.
“How ‘bout a kiss for good luck?”
She rolls her eyes with a smile then kisses me on the cheek. My first throw hits a balloon.
“Eek! Nice throw,” she tells me. I smirk at her before throwing another. The second one misses. I throw my third and final dart, hitting a balloon.
“Woohoo!” Marley cheers.
“You get to pick a medium prize,” the carny tells me.
“The princess tiara,” I tell him. He grabs one and hands it to me. I turn to Marley, placing it on her head. “A tiara for the Princess.”
She giggles. “I’m not even surprised.”
I shrug and grin. “You know me too well.”
“Now, we go to the ring toss,” Raze states.
Once at the ring toss, Raze and I each pay for ten rings.
“All you have to do is toss the ring onto a bottle,” Marley asks.
Minx laughs. “It’s a lot harder than you would think.”
“Do you want to try,” I ask Marley.
“I’ll sit this one out,” she says.
“Let me know if you change your mind.” I begin tossing my rings. When I finish, I made four in total.
“Nice job,” the carny says to me. “Pick a prize.”
I turn to Marley. “Which prize you want, Princess?”
She taps her finger on her chin, mulling it over. “How about the pink otter.”
“You got it.” The carny grabs a pink otter and hands it to Marley. She stands on her tippy toes, pressing a kiss to my lips.
“What was that for?”
“Just because.” She winks at me. “What’s nex
t?”
“The Ferris Wheel,” I tell her.
29
Marley
“I hope you’re having a good time,” Rascal says to me as we walk toward the Ferris Wheel.
“Are you kidding me? Today has been perfect.” A smile stretches across my face. “Thank you, for everything.”
Before he responds, I stop in my tracks. In front of us is a food stand. The sign reads Inside Out Cinnamon Roll Donut Holes.
“Oh my God, Ras, we have to try those.” I point to the sign.
He chuckles. “Whatever you want, Princess.”
We get a couple orders of the doughnut holes and continue toward the Ferris Wheel. While we’re standing in line for the Ferris Wheel, I eat my doughnut holes.
“Holy shit, these taste like Heaven,” I moan with a mouth full of food.
Rascal laughs. “I’ve never known anyone to get so excited over food.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“Not at all. It’s fuckin’ cute.” He’s grinning like an idiot.
We stand in line for close to ten minutes before it’s our turn to get on the Ferris Wheel. We take one car, while Minx and Raze take the next one.
“I’m glad you’re havin’ so much fun today,” Rascal says as the Ferris Wheel begins to move. “Thank you for letting me be the one you’ve experienced your first carnival with.”
“Thank you for bringing me. This whole week has been much needed. I hate what led to us coming out here, but it’s been refreshing,” I tell him. The wind blows making me shiver. Rascal instantly wraps an arm around my shoulders and I lean into him. His body heat helps warm me up.
We stop near the top of the Ferris Wheel. From here, we can see the whole carnival and then some.
“This view is amazing,” I say.
“Yeah it is,” Rascal agrees. I turn to him and he’s already looking at me. Heat rises in my cheeks. “This week has done nothing but confirm one thing for me.”
“What’s that?”
“I want you to be my Ol’ Lady,” he tells me. “I don’t want random hook ups. I don’t want cut bunnies. I want you and only you.”
I’m at a loss for words, so instead, I press my lips to his. When I pull away, I can’t fight the smile on my face.
“Is that a yes?” He smiles a half smile.
“I’ve thought about us a lot this week and have realized that I want that, too. So, yes, it’s a yes.”
His hand comes to the side of my face and his lips are back on mine. He slides his tongue along my bottom lip. I part my lips, letting him in and he deepens the kiss. When the Ferris Wheel starts to move again, we break the kiss.
We come to a stop and both of us are smiling like fools. We step out of the car and walk to the exit, stopping to wait for Minx and Raze. Rascal pulls me into him and I wrap my arms around his waist, resting my head on his chest.
“What’s going on here?” Minx says, walking over to us. She’s grinning like a cat who caught the canary.
“I’m keepin’ my girl warm,” Rascal tells her. By his tone, I can tell he’s smirking.
“Oh, she’s your girl now, huh,” Raze asks.
“Hell, fuckin’, yeah she is.” Rascal gives me a squeeze before letting me go, but keeping an arm around my shoulders.
“It’s about time,” Minx mutters.
I yawn and lean into Rascal.
“Ready to head back to the house,” he asks.
I nod my head.
“Are y’all ready,” he asks Minx and Raze.
“Yeah, I’m exhausted,” Minx says.
We make our way back to the truck and drive back to the house. Once we get back to the house, I head straight to my room to change into my pajamas, then go into the bathroom to wash my face. When I come out of the bathroom, Rascal is laying on the bed. I smile at him and climb into bed next to him.
“Thank you again for today.” I cuddle against his side.
“You’re welcome, Princess,” he says. I fall asleep almost instantly.
The next morning, I wake up before Rascal and hop in the shower. A couple minutes into my shower, he surprises me by joining me.
“Hey there, gorgeous,” he says.
“Good Morning, sleepy head.” I giggle. I move to the side to let the stream of water hit him so he can wet his hair. He grabs my bottle of shampoo, squeezing some into his hand and gestures for me to turn around. I comply and he massages the shampoo into my hair. After thoroughly lathering my hair, he turns me around to rinse it out. He repeats his movements with the conditioner. Only this time, once he rinses my hair, he kisses me.
“After we shower, do you want to go back to the festival to buy some things,” Rascal asks.
“That would be awesome. I’d like that a lot,” I tell him. We finish our shower and dry off. I wrap my towel around myself while he does the same and we walk out of the bathroom.
“I need to get clothes out of the other room. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.” He kisses my forehead and walks out, leaving me to get ready alone.
Twenty minutes later, I’m dressed and ready to go. I walk out to the kitchen where Rascal is talking to Minx and Raze.
“Hey! Are y’all coming back to the festival with us?” I sit at the island next to Minx.
“Yes! There’s so many things I want to buy,” Minx tells me.
A couple hours later, we’re walking around the festival. Minx and I each have two big bags full of things we’ve bought. From candles and bath bombs to Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations.
“We should put a pause on our shopping and get something to eat,” Minx suggests.
“I second that! I’m starving,” I agree. “Plus, I really have to pee.”
Rascal chuckles. “Alright, alright. Let’s go feed the monsters.”
“Hey, now!” I laugh.
“What do you want to eat,” Rascal asks me.
“Hmm, a corn dog and some nachos!”
“Interesting combo, but you got it.” He smirks at me.
“Can you hold my bags while I go to the restroom,” I ask.
“Of course.” He takes my bags and I plant a kiss on his cheek.
“I’ll come with you,” Minx says. She hands Raze her bags and we walk to the bathrooms. “I’m really happy for the two of you. I’m glad Ras found you.”
There’s a line for the bathrooms. I get in one before Minx does. I do my business and get out. When I walk out, I glance around for Minx and don’t see her.
She must still be in the bathroom; I think to myself. Before I can step away from the port-a-potty, a hand comes over my mouth and nose and I’m pulled backward. Within seconds, everything goes black.
30
Rascal
I order mine and Marley’s food and take it to a table, Raze right behind me with his and Minx’s food. As we sit down, Minx is running to the table. Her face is pale. My heart sinks as a sense of dread washes over me.
I stand from the table. “Where’s Marley?”
“Sh-she . . . I came out of the bathroom and she wasn’t there. I waited near the port-a-potty she had gone into, but when the door opened, it wasn’t her. She’s gone!” Tears are pouring down her face. Raze pulls Minx against his chest, wrapping his arms around her.
“Son of a bitch!” I slam my hand on the table.
“Stupid question, but you don’t think she ran, do you,” Raze asks.
“No,” I grit through my teeth. “Not after last night. Someone had to have been following us.”
“I need to call Prez,” he says.
“She’s my Ol’ Lady. Let me call him.”
“I’ll go scope out the port-a-potty area, see if I find anything.” Raze walks away while I dial Bull’s number and wait for him to answer.
“What?” he answers.
“Prez, we have a problem,” I tell him.
“Damn it. What happened?”
“Marley’s been taken.”
“What the fuck do you mean, she’s been taken!�
� he asks.
“Someone had to have been following us. We’ve covered our tracks, but apparently not well enough,” I say. At this point, the three of us are walking back to the truck.
“Did you check out the area she was at last?”
“Yes, sir. We didn’t find any trace of her,” I reply.
Minx grabs a paper from the front windshield. Her hands shake as she reads it.
“Rascal, you need to see this.” Minx hands me the paper and I quickly read it.
She’s back where she belongs.
Come for her and we’ll kill her.
“What the hell’s goin’ on over there,” Prez asks.
“They have her. Those dumb mother fuckers have her.” I growl out.
Bull sighs. “Get back to Texas, now.”
He hangs up before I can respond. I run my hands over my face.
“What did he say,” Raze asks.
“He wants us back in Texas.”
“Fuck,” he mutters. We climb in the truck and head back to the house. Once there, we start packing our shit. Once I get my own stuff settled, I move to Marley’s room. I glance around the room, not knowing where to begin.
“Do you want some help?” Minx says from behind me.
I nod my head. “Yeah, please.”
With her help, we get Marley’s things packed pretty quick. I give the room one more once over making sure we didn’t forget anything. I take our bags out to my truck, tossing them in the back seat.
“You ready to roll, brother,” Raze asks.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
“You going to be alright driving by yourself?” Concern crosses Minx’s face.
“I’ll be fine, Lil Mama. The sooner we get back, the better.” I hop in my truck and start it up, waiting for Raze to lead the way.
We roll up to the clubhouse close to two in the morning. The front gate has been repaired. To someone who doesn’t know what happened, they’ll never be able to tell anything was ever wrong. Knuckles and Buzz are manning the gate and let us in as soon as they know it’s us. I park my truck, turn it off and head inside, leaving the bags in the back seat.