Alexa lined up her shot like her life depended on it, and then the game began.
Ding ding ding!
“I won! Oh, my God, I won!” she cried.
“Yes, you did,” Mav said. “What are you going to pick?”
The man pointed to her three options for an extra-large prize. “You get to pick from the black bear, the dinosaur, or the llama.”
She turned to him. “Which one do you like?”
He peered up at them. “I don’t know. That llama’s ridiculous, though.”
“Oh, yay. That’s the one I like, too. I’ll take the llama.”
The man handed it to her, all two and a half feet of fucking weird-ass llama. To go with her cat. Mav chuckled. Who even knew they made llama stuffed animals?
“It’s for you,” she said.
“You won me a llama?” He looked at it skeptically as she pushed it against his chest. The eyeball on the one side of its head wouldn’t stop looking at him.
“Yes! You totally do not have enough llamas in your life.” She absolutely glowed with happiness.
“That is true, Al. Thank you. I think.” He tucked the huge toy under his arm. People looked at him weird as he carried it around, the tall neck sagging this way and that. He just smiled.
“But now I have to win you something. Let’s play that.” He pointed to the dart game.
“Pop three in a row, win a large prize,” the man yelled. “That’s a mighty fine llama you got there.”
Chuckling, Maverick laid out his cash. “Fucking llama.” His first throw popped a balloon. Alexa cheered. The second one did it again.
“Go, baby!” she said.
Number three . . . And pop!
“Yay!” She threw her arms around his neck. “You did it.”
“What’s it gonna be, little lady?” the man asked, pointing to a row of toys smaller than the llama. Thank God.
“Holy crap, is that a hedgehog?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“Indeed it is,” the man said, holding one out to her.
“Is it just me or does this carnival have the weirdest stuffed animals ever?” Maverick asked.
Alexa grinned. “I know. Isn’t it amazing? I’ll take it. Thanks,” she said. And then she turned to him. “I’m so happy I could cry.”
Maverick took her face in his hand and leaned in. The llama leaned in, too, which made her giggle. “I’ll hold a carnival for you every day if it makes you this happy.”
“Aw, silly man. It’s not the carnival. It’s you.” She kissed him nice and deep, making him think of her plans for after. When she pulled back, she eyed the llama. “Okay, it’s him a little bit, but mostly you.”
Maverick laughed. “I guess I can live with that. Then what’s next, baby? Because I can’t get enough of hearing you laugh and seeing you smile.”
“I think we need a funnel cake, Mav,” she said, petting her hedgehog.
“Your wish,” he said, seeing the food truck in the distance. “Let’s go.”
“I THINK THIS was my absolute favorite day ever,” Alexa said as they made their way back to Maverick’s truck. They had their llama, their hedgehog, and bellies full of sweets.
“I love you, Alexa,” he said, pinning her to her door. He kissed her slowly, deeply, thoroughly, his tongue leaving no part of her mouth unexplored. Need and lust rose up inside her. She just couldn’t get enough of him, and it was the most amazing thing to know that she didn’t have to get enough, because he’d always be there. And they’d always be together.
She wound her arms around his neck. “Love you, too,” she whispered. “I think we should go check on my mom as quickly as possible so we can get home.”
“Mmm.” He kissed and licked down her neck. “Yeah, we better, before I take you right fucking here.” He pulled away wearing a mischievous grin, his eyes blazing.
She sighed, her body not feeling big enough to contain all the happiness overwhelming her. She wasn’t sure she could ever remember a time when life seemed so full of promise, the future so bright. And Maverick had given that to her.
Mav started up the truck and made his way through the parking lot, the line of traffic to get out moving slow.
She thumbed on her phone. “Oh, shoot. I have a voice mail. I didn’t hear it ring.” She put it to her ear to listen.
Her mother’s voice: “Hi, Alexa, it’s your mom. I realized there were a few things I forgot so I took a cab over to my house. There’s absolutely no rush because I can just take my time gathering some stuff, but drop by and grab me after the carnival. Okay? Bye.”
Alexa groaned, frustration flooding through her. Getting her to leave things behind had been a real struggle, despite the fact that most of it was either trash, so old there was no way her mother even remembered owning it, or something nearly identical to what she was already taking. And now, the first minute they left her alone, she ran back for more. “Crap. Mom went back to her house to get more stuff.”