Summer Nights

When I woke, Jacob was still sleeping. I examined his face for a couple moments. My eyes raked over his long eyelashes, his sweet lips, and the way his blond hair fell over the side of his face, casting shadows along it.
When I finally came to the conclusion that I would never tire of gazing upon his near perfect features, I slowly and silently swung my feet over the edge of the bed and touched the cold parquet. I shivered and stood, stretching. Stifling a yawn, I walked over to the bathroom, showered, and only then realized I'd forgotten a change of clothes. Not risking a bare-all trip outside of the bathroom, I simply put on the same clothes.
Then, before I could force myself to turn the knob and march back into the room, fear bested me. I fretted in front of the mirror for about half an hour, trying to ignore the flutters in my stomach.
We'd done it. We'd finally kissed. But where the hell did that put us?
Shit, I was so confused. I'd never actually calculated what would happen after, and now here I was, unbelievably happy...and confused. For all I knew, Jacob still had a girlfriend, and he'd cheated on her. Was I just a rebound? Was this just the magic of the beach, the fact that we were sharing a room, or was it something more? I adored Jake, and I'd wanted him for so long that I couldn't believe yesterday had happened.
Unconsciously, my fingers had drifted up to my lips. They were wonderfully swollen, wonderfully used from last night. Again, my eyes flashed to the mirror, where they settled on my flushed cheeks. I'd tamed my hair and gotten rid of the sleep-sand that had accumulated around my eyes. I'd quickly brushed my teeth in the hope of eliminating my morning breath...just in case. Now, before finally getting the guts to get back to Jake, I raked my fingers through my hair one last time.
Slowly, I opened the door and closed it behind me. I made my way out into the bedroom. When I saw Jake was awake, I almost went back into the safe haven that was the bathroom. But, he offered me a brilliant grin, which I couldn't help but return sheepishly.
"'Morning," he grunted, then cleared his throat.
"'Morning."
I walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, examining his figure. He was propped against the headboard, book in hand, chips on the side.
“Are you okay?” Jake asked as he felt his bedside table for the bag of Lays. He delved his hand into it and shoved some of the potato chips into his mouth.
I shrugged. "Yeah. Kinda tired." From last night, I wanted to add, but decided against it.
When he realized I wasn't gonna give him more, he just grinned again, then reached over and ruffled my hair. He let out a chuckle as I jumped from under his touch.
"Jake!" I whined, but I was glad he'd alleviated the tension between us.
He ignored my protest. “Want some?” he offered, picking up the bag and holding it in the air.
“Uhm, no thanks.”
There was an awkward pause as his hand retreated and dived for some more chips. I wanted to desperately ask something stupid like, “Are we like, an item now?” which would totally kill the mood. I didn't want to seem needy, but then again I hated being this confused. In the end, I just leaned back against the pillows and stared at the ceiling.
“What time is it?” I finally inquired. I was thankful he wasn't pressuring me into talking. This was actually going...okay. I just needed to calm down. I was making this way into a bigger deal than it really was.
“It’s eight,” he responded. The crunch of potato chips followed. Then, the bed lifted as he stood up. I glanced over at him as he placed the book on the night stand. He yawned heavily. "What do you say we hit the fair? I haven't been on a Ferris wheel in ages."
I nodded, offering him a small smile. "Me either. It's a really good idea."
He gathered some of his clothes. "I'll be right out," he muttered, and walked into the bathroom.
As soon as I heard the door close, I walked over to my suitcase. I stripped down to the flesh, the quickly put on a new pair of matching underwear (don't hate a girl for being prepared). I slipped on some jean shorts and then a green blouse. The material was slightly see-through, so I walked to the full-length mirror that was hanging off the wall. I turned, and immediately I realized that I needed a camisole to pull off wearing this blouse. I sighed, turning, but keeping my gaze on the mirror.
"I like the view," Jake said.
Gasping, my head snapped towards his. This was what I deserved, pushing my luck and dressing out here like this. My hands crossed over my chest as I rolled my eyes, though I was blushing at the compliment. I turned and walked over to my suitcase, digging for a suitable t-shirt.
"What's on your back?" he asked, curious.
“What do you mean?” I said, absentmindedly.
Suddenly, because I hadn't heard him approach, I felt his hand snake around me, over my stomach. He pulled me into him, gluing back to chest for a split second. I shivered, arching my neck to look at him. But I couldn't catch his eyes. His hand had drifted to the hem of the blouse and his fingers had slipped under. His warm touch made my knees go wobble, and, in a moment of weakness, I let myself go and I leaned against his hard chest. I felt his breath on the back of my neck as he inhaled deeply.
"Wynter," he growled, and his voice was husky. "Since when do you have a fucking tattoo on your back?"
My eyes, which had been at half-mast, flashed opened. I froze. The tattoo. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, I chanted. I twisted in his grasp, but, again, it took me a while to anchor myself. His hands rested on my hips, mine on his chest. Our faces were close together, and for a moment I was lost in him. Again.
But then I caught sight his turbulent eyes, the swarming pools of green outlined by long, dense eyelashes. They were filled with - lust? Need? Desire?
And, distracted as I was, I remembered his last words. Bracing myself, I pushed him off of me with all my might.
He was a strong guy. He stumbled back half a step before cornering me against the wall and caging me with his arms. Before I could protest, his mouth attacked mine - pulling, biting, caressing. This was not what I'd expected, but I moaned, loud. My body was lost in him.
My mind wasn't. With an amazing amount of will, I snapped my head to the side.
"Don't tell Braxton," I managed to breathe out before his fingers wrapped around my chin, bringing my mouth back to him.
I was somewhere halfway between incredibly gone - about to give into his taste and smell - and incredibly anxious. If Braxton found out about this stupid tattoo, then I was done for. He would tell mom, and mom would tell dad, and dad would throw a bitch-fit. Wasn’t it enough that I hadn’t been able to date until eleventh grade, and even then, he’d practically stalked me whenever I was with a guy? So, I had made a mistake one time, two years ago, and gotten carried away on a technically ‘illegal’ date. There was no way I could go back and change it. All I needed was another month or so, because then I would be off to the college dorms. It wouldn’t matter then. But as long as I was living with my dad, he would probably make me wear a chastity belt or some other extreme thing like that.
"No, Jake," I mumbled past his fierce lips.
He groaned as he pulled back, resting his forehead against mine.
It took us both a moment to calm our breathing down.
"How long have you had it?" he panted, first to regain some control. He leaned back slightly and swiped his hair back from his eyes.
I liked seeing him like this, I realized; seeing him as flustered as I was.
"Two years."
He shivered. "Two years... Braxton doesn't know?"
I shook my head once, briskly.
“Let me see it,” he ordered.
I hesitated. “No.”
“Wynter,” he warned in a deep voice.
I wasn't scared of him. Turned on, yes. Scared, not so much. “No.”
“Why'd you get it?" he tried instead.
My breathing hitched as his breath tumbled against my still swollen lips. It was minty fresh, probably from the tooth paste. I wanted to taste him again. How the hell had I ever been able to stay away from him?
"I-I...It was for a bet," I managed to say, licking my lips.
His right hand slid back, under my shirt and over the small of my back. He traced the outline of the butterfly with the tip of his finger, apparently the one glimpse he'd gotten of it enough for him to memorize it. I shivered and goose bumps formed against my skin.
“Jake…I-I didn’t mean to, honestly. It just sort of happened.” My voice was trembling. I tried to extricate myself from his one-handed grip on my hip, but the hand that was tracing my back moved back to the other side and squeezed.
I shuddered involuntarily and leaned back against the wall as his arms slid to the front of my belly, under my shirt. His hands tickled, but the skin on skin contact felt extraordinarily good.
His nose skimmed my neck, and when he asked, “What am I going to do with you, Wynter?” I could feel his hot breath against my skin. All about his breath. Those soft bursts of warm air that killed me. The hair my scalp stood up. His fingers slid under my belt, so close to where I wanted to be touched most, to where I burning hot for him.
I knew I was about to find out exactly what he had in store. I was also sure I would be helpless to stop him. But before he could make his move, there was a sudden knock on the door, and, Braxton, presumably on the other side, shouted out, “Are you guys up yet?”
Jake turned his head to look at the door and my eyes, which I hadn't even realized had closed, snapped open. I took a deep, relaxing breath as he let out a frustrated groan. Gently, I pushed against Jake’s chest and shouted, “Yeah, we’ll be out in a sec! W-we had a slow start,” I half-lied.
Not making eye contact with Jacob, I sidestepped him and walked over to my suitcase, glad and disappointed that he'd let me go so easily. Beyond caring at this point, I turned my back to Jake and quickly took off the blouse, only to pull a black t-shirt over my head. I glared at him when my eyes met his and he didn't even try to pretend that he hadn't been ogling me. I rolled my eyes, but proceeded to walk to the door. I wiped my lips on my shoulder sleeve, hoping I didn't look as flustered as I felt.
“Hey,” I said, opening the door. I didn’t like how breathless I sounded. “Good morning.”
“Hey man,” Jake said, the perfect image of some one who had not been doing anything inappropriate to his best friend’s sister.
“Hey, Wynter, Jake,” Emma greeted, nodding her head at us. “So, what’s the plan for today, Ms. I’m Eighteen Now?” she joked.
“Uhm…”
“We were gonna go to the fair,” Jake offered. “That would be fun. Right, Wyn?”
“Yeah, definitely.”

We split into groups again. I went with Jacob, while Emma and Braxton paired up, leaving Jack and Vaughn to head off by themselves to god-knows-where. Vaughn gave me a small wave as he parted. Surprised, I smiled and gave a twinkle of my fingers.
We didn't split up at first. I mean, Jacob, Emma, Braxton and I went on the same rides. The first was the Ferris wheel. I sat besides Emma, and I asked her If she was having fun yet.
She blushed and giggled. “Yeah..” There was a pause. “Wynter?”
“Yeah?” I asked, kind of distracted by the amazing view. We'd just stopped at the top. I hadn't realized how high up we were. I could see all of the rides, even the roller coaster's top. I gulped, refusing to think what would happen if some screws and bolts came loose.
“You’re not angry, right?”
It took me a moment to latch onto what she was talking about. “About you and Braxton?” I was surprised she was bringing this up there and then.
“Yeah,” she confirmed.
I hesitated, wanting to give her an honest answer. I was lying enough by omission, not telling her about Jacob...but I wasn't ready to completely spill that secret yet. “No. I mean, I’m surprised and honestly just… really worried."
“That we’re going to have a bad breakup and hate each other, which will put you into an awkward position?” she said in one breath.
I nodded. “Yeah. Pretty much.”
“Well, I talked to Braxton about it. We both swore that we’d try to keep it as neutral as possible.”
I nodded slowly. “Do you think that’s going to work?”
Emma shrugged. “We’re adults. I think we can manage it.”
The way she said that got me thinking. Adult? Her? Since when? It seemed like we’d only celebrated her eighteenth birthday a week ago, when, in fact, it had been three months ago. I didn’t comment on her statement, however, knowing she would get upset.
Instead, I settled for a shrug and a, “Whatever you say.”
She glanced at me for a long time, but I didn't flinch from her gaze. I knew she was testing me. She cared about me too much to destroy our friendship, and I was sure that if I told her to lay off Braxton, she would in the blink of an eye. But there was no way I could do that to her.
We changed the subject to something lighter, before we finally got off the Ferris wheel and into that large, circular room in which you got latched onto the wall and then spun like a crazy idiot. When the second ride was over, I could barely contain my vomit. Braxton had always had a wild side, so he didn't mind following Emma when she begged for the roller coaster. To me, that damn machinery was to much. The words roller coaster equated to hell ride.
Jake suggested that we go on the bumper carts. I couldn't stop laughing as I tried to maneuver the little car. In fact, I was laughing so bad I was an open target for everyone.
It was my turn to suggest going to the haunted house. I'd always imagined going inside with a boyfriend, hanging off of his arm. Jake readily complied, and we handed in our tickets. Before I could react, Jake snaked our fingers together and led me inside.
As expected, it was pitch black and smelled...oddly enough, like blood. We took a couple steps inside, when suddenly, a light flashed onto bats. They shrieked and flew over my head, too fucking realistic. I yelped and jumped, then tried to calm my racing heartbeat. Why the hell was I such a scared-y cat? I knew everything here was fake-
Jake had coerced me a couple steps forward, chuckling at me, when suddenly, another light flashed on and a life-size zombie was launched at me. Fucking blood squirted on me as its head flew off, but the body was still coming my way.
"Watch out!" Jake said, no longer laughing. He pulled me out of the way, into his arms.
Okay, so, even with Jake here, this hadn't been such a good idea.
"Just keep walking. If you get too scared, close your eyes," he said, shouting the last part as a maniac laugh sounded over the speakers. I let him guide me into the darkness, but, again, I tried not to be such a little girl. Instead, I separated from him slightly. We entered a room lit by a candle. It flickered, causing ominous shadows to appear on the stained walls.
There were three corpses hanging from the ceiling, while another two where impaled, hanging at sick angles. They were so freaking realistic!
"Wynter-" Jake muttered, calling me back to him.
Instead, I stepped towards them, cautiously, watching out for any programmed movement. When they didn't even twitch, I calmed down, realizing they were just for decoration. I reached out a hand to feel the material the figure was made from, when suddenly it hopped forward and screamed.
I let out an ear splitting shriek as I stumbled back and tripped over my own to feet. I landed in a pile on the floor. Jacob quickly helped me up, but before I could react, the damn psycho I'd thought for sure was a damn mannequin - how the hell had the person been propped onto the stick? - started at us.
All common sense flew out the window as adrenaline rushed through me. I grabbed Jacob's hand and ran out of the room, my heart racing.
"You okay?" Jake whispered from behind me when we were clear.
I shook my head. "Shit. This was such a bad idea," I whimpered. I knew it was all fake. I knew that guy was just a fucking normal human being. But like I'd said, I was beyond recognition.
I led Jake hurriedly down the hall, tripping a couple times as I bumped into a wall. We past a severed head - again, so realistic I shivered - before the laughter boomed overhead. But that was it, I realized, as we reached a door that was marked "Exit if you dare". I did dare.
I almost cried out in relief as the door shut behind me and light blinded me. Children's laughter and cheery music filled my ears. I exhaled in relief.
Then Jacob was there, arms wrapped around me. He petted my hair, and kissed the corner of my eye, where, embarrassingly enough, a tear had leaked out. I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I was mortified.
However, his fingers wrapped around my chin again, and he forced my gaze to meet his.
"You okay?" he asked again.
This time, I nodded. Another deep breath and my heart beat calmed. I was still so, so embarrassed though. "I'm sorry."
"What for, baby?" he murmured.
"God, I'm such a wimp," I answered. I turned away from him again. All this time I'd been so thankful that he wasn't laughing at me that when I heard him chuckle, my eyes flashed back to his in a menacing glare. But he just hugged me tighter until I couldn't breath. He snuggled his head into my neck.
"You're so cute, Wynter!" he said, chuckling.
I couldn't help but let a smile slide over my face. If he didn't think I was an idiot - hell, this was actually pretty enjoyable.
Suddenly the door opened and another couple came out. The girl was dragging her boyfriend out, exactly as I'd been, only I was surprised to see that an entire waterfall adorned her face.
"Why the hell did I let you drag me in there?" I heard her scream at the poor guy as they disappeared into the throng of people.
Before I knew it, I'd started full out laughing. Jake joined, and when all the giggles subsided, we went on a couple more rides before finally joining back up with Braxton, Emma, Jack, and Vaughn. We were all hungry so we decided to grab a bite at Taco Bell.
After putting in my order, I sat down into a booth. Jacob slid in beside me. I arched an eyebrow, than glanced at Braxton. He approached us, sitting down in front of me. Emma sat beside him. Jack and Vaughn joined us too. I unwrapped my taco and began attacking it with hot sauce. I ate quickly. I'd been ravenous.
Between the last couple bites, I heard Braxton mutter, “Good day today, eh, you guys?”
“Yeah. I just don’t feel like doing that stupid gig at the Pearl today.” Vaughn stood and stretched, then dumped his remaining drink into the trash.
“Mother! I completely forgot about that!” Jack exclaimed, slapping his forehead.
“Exactly. And the thing is that they have some sort of party there. It might be an after wedding or something.”
“Oh god, I hate those,” Jack said.
“Why?” I spoke suddenly. I immediately regretted it, but I’d always been one of those hopeless romantics that always imagined the perfect wedding.
“Just cause, you know, it’s not our style of music. We have to play slow songs. And, to add to all that,” Jack started, as if all that was indeed so much, “we have to watch the bride and groom get all googley-eyed at each other and all that other mushy stuff.”
“It doesn’t sound that bad,” I commented.
He shot a glare at me before popping another cheese fry into his mouth.
“So,” I started, trying to change the subject. But, just then, Braxton, out of nowhere, leaned over Jack, picked a rather large fry, dipped it in the cheese, and ate it slowly. “You guys,” he finally said when he was done. “It's time to go.”
Vaughn glanced at his hand watch. “You're right. The gig we have is in an hour and a half. If we leave now, we’ll have plenty of time to change and get ready.”
Jake leaned over the table, grabbed Vaughn’s hand, and stared at the watch. “Another day about to end."

Once we got back to the hotel, I went to the beach with Emma. We hadn’t spent a lot of time together this vacation, and I regretted it, especially now that things were just a bit awkward.
I’d mentioned that we were going to walk Fuzz on the animal-friendly part of the beach, and Jake had asked me to walk Giovanni too. Of course, I’d refused (the dog was a rapist probably capable of human murder), but Emma had declared she was up for a challenge.
So now we were side by side with the ocean, a small vulnerable dog and a big hound that kept pulling Emma into the water.
I laughed, though nervous; the dog scared the hell out of me. “You always get yourself into shit,” I said as Fuzz gently tugged on the leash.
Emma didn’t even bother to respond, and instead cried out, “No, Giovanni, no!” The dog growled at her in response, seeming to say, “You’re not my master, I don’t give a shit’s worth about you!” He continued to try to pull her into the ocean, and I don’t know how she managed to hold him in check without making the animal kill her.
Finally, we settled down on the beach, hesitantly letting the dogs loose. Jake had promised that Giovanni wouldn’t run away, and had even offered up the dog’s favorite tennis ball. So, again, hesitantly, I took out the green sphere.
Giovanni, as if psychic , shot up. His large ears, which usually flopped over the sides of his head, prickled up, resulting in his face looking like some kind of bat.
I giggled, actually daring to think that he looked sort of cute…in an odd way.
“Go Giovanni!” I said, and threw the ball as hard as I could. Fuzz looked up disinterestedly, then continued to bathe in the sun.
I’d never played ball with a dog, believe it or not, and I was enjoying myself immensely. Gio – I decided he needed a nickname – came back with the ball in a matter of seconds, after sprinting after it like a madman. Maddog, excuse me.
And here came the problem – the crazy animal wouldn’t let the stupid ball go.
“Gio, put it down, boy,” I hissed.
Finally, when the dog realized I would not put my hand anywhere near its mouth, he dropped the ball and hopped back on his haunches, stretching out his front legs and wagging his tale like it was a windshield wiper on the fastest speed.
I giggled and threw the ball again. While Gio was running, Emma commented, “You seem to be enjoying yourself with Jake’s dog.”
“Yeah. I didn’t know it could be so much fun to throw a ball and have it brought back to you by a crazy dog.”
Emma pursed her lips. “Wyn, how come you’re so nice to Jake all of a sudden?”
My eyebrows shot up, and I looked at her. Did she know? “Well, I mean…he’s not really that bad once you get to know him, and…and…well…since we’re roommates and everything we have to be nice to each other, right?” Ugh, talk about lame excuses.
Emma nodded.
I had a brief pause to reorganize my thoughts as Giovanni came back and dropped the ball at my feet. The slobber from his mouth had gotten on the ball, and now there was sand sticking to it. I grimaced, picked it up with my thumb and forefinger, using them as pincers.
“Ew,” I muttered and threw the ball. “You should be doing this. You’re the one who agreed to take the dog.” Of course, I was starting to change my mind. Maybe when it came to Jake and his dog, first impressions were always wrong.
“You seem to be having a lot of fun,” she said, smirking. Then her face relaxed, and she sighed. “You know, Wynter, I’m just going to be honest. I saw you and Jake kissing on the beach.”
She turned her head away and gazed at the ocean.
I swallowed, my saliva having suddenly disappeared. “How…?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I saw you two talking and I was about to head over when…things took a turn. But it’s okay. I mean, you’re probably thinking that I’m one to talk, right? When I’m hanging out with your brother and everything.” She pulled her knees to her chest. “But I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
I nodded slowly.
“I feel this is sort of my fault. I mean, I’ve had the hots for your brother a long time and-“
“Please, no details,” I managed to say, and though it came off as a joke, I knew she understood that I was only half kidding.
“-and when Lindsey called to break up with him, I sort of took advantage of him, I’ll be honest. But he told me he’d liked me for a pretty long time too, but he was just worried about you. Anyways, we sort of just hooked up after that. Truth is that I coaxed him into sharing a room with me. I didn’t think it would affect your view of Jake…but it obviously has.”
“You make it sound like he seduced me or something. I think…I think I’ve liked him for a long time and that that whole thing that happened with finding out that Jack had taken the pictures of me instead of him made me realize it. You understand?”
She nodded slowly. “But Wyn, are you sure he’s willing to get into a relationship with you?”
Giovanni had returned, and he was wagging his tail excitedly, waiting for me to throw the ball again. I did, and watched as he ran after it. He had lost energy from all the running, and now he was considerably slower.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I mean, I think so. He broke up with Danielle, right? She thinks that he cheated on her, right?”
Emma sighed. “I think he did cheat, though.”
I shrugged. “You don’t know that.”
She tilted her head, pondering this. “You’re right, I don’t. But you did tell me that Braxton said Jake admitted to cheating.”
I shrugged again. “Anyways, it’s not like he cheated on me, you know? It was another person, and maybe he didn’t care for her as much.”
We stopped to watch Giovanni sloppily running towards us, his former agility having disappeared. He plopped down beside me and commenced chewing the ball. I hesitantly reached my hand out and petted his head. He pushed his ears in my direction, giving me better access.
“Wow, who knew he was such a softy?” Emma said, laughing. She reached her hand over to pet him and he snapped at her fingers. She flinched, retracting her arm. She gazed at the dog curiously, then looked to me. “Wow. I think he only likes you.”
I had retracted my hand, and tentatively, I reached back towards the animal. It gave my hand a wary glance, but he let me touch his head again.
I laughed. “That’s neat!” I said.
“No it’s not,” Emma pouted. “If you guys are such big friends, I’ll take Fuzz back, and you can take Giovanni.”
“Okay,” I said, grinning.
“And, make sure you keep it away from Fuzz. Or she’ll get r-a-p-e-d again,” she said, spelling out the word raped.
I responded with a friendly wave of my middle finger, and Emma laughed.
“Come on,” she said. “We should get back to the hotel. It’s getting cold. Anyways, I heard it was going to rain tomorrow.”
“Aw, that sucks,” I mumbled as I reattached Gio’s leash to his collar. “Come on, boy.”
We began to walk back to the hotel, Emma trailing behind with Fuzz. We walked along the edge of the water, and I had taken my shoes off because Giovanni kept pulling me in. I giggled when a rather large wave splashed up to my waist, wetting my shorts.
Suddenly, Giovanni stopped pulling on his leash, bent his back legs, and raised his tail at a ninety degree angle to his back. I was confused, then enlightened, as a brown blob fell to the ground.
I gasped. “No! Bad Giovanni!” I leaned forward to slap him on the rump, but he growled and snapped his jaws at me. Of course, while simultaneously...Ehem. (Who knew dogs could multi task so well?) I squeaked and looked around helplessly. “Emma!”
“Don’t look at me!” she responded through her hysterical laughing.
A wave was washing up towards the dog, whose feet were slowly sinking into the wet sand as he was…defecating. He whined, straightened out, tossed some dirt over his remains with his hind legs, and began pulling on the leash, just as the water washed over the poop, and when it retracted, the brown surprise was five meters to my left.
“Excuse me ma’am,” I heard someone say behind me, over the chatter of all the beach residents.
I turned, and my heart froze.
“Hello, Sir!” I squeaked.
The officer offered me a small smile, and continued, “Are you going to pick that up?”
“Of course,” I responded. I felt a small tug from my leash, and I shoved back. Giovanni made a noise that sounded halfway between a growl and a whine.
I glanced at the police officer, who had one eyebrow raised and an expression that barely hid his impatience. “Well?” he mouthed.
“I…uhm…”
“See, honey, this is what happens when you don’t come prepared. You’re lucky I still have some bags on me.”
I tried to hold back laughter at how gay the menacing officer had just sounded. “Uhm, thank you,” I muttered as the police officer held out a doggie bag.
He smiled heartily, and I managed to lift the corners of my lips. I bent down, and as I wrapped my hand in the bag and touched the crap, Giovanni came over and started sniffing my hand.
“Off, Boy,” I muttered and stood with the evidence all wrapped up.
“Excellent. Have a good day, Mademoiselles,” he saluted and took off.
As soon as he was out of ear shot, Emma broke out in laughter. “Oh my god you should have seen your face!”
“Shut the fuck up,” I hissed. “I’m going to kill Jake.”