Page 97 of Riot

“What’s that?” he asks.

“Uh, nothing.”

He piques an eyebrow. “A suspicious package in a brown paper bag? Nothin’ concernin’.”

“It’s not suspicious.” I laugh. Since I can’t hide anything from him, I add, “It was for you, but I changed my mind on giving it to you.”

His smile drops. “Why?”

I shrug. “It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I’m not so sure.”

“Will you let me be the judge of that?”

“If you promise you won’t laugh.”

He tilts my chin up to meet his gaze. “I would never laugh at you. Ever.”

“Okay, but it’s just something stupid?—”

He leans down, capturing my mouth with his. “Don’t say stupid.”

I fumble with the bag, but also not wanting to let him go. I never expected to finish work and be basically making out all afternoon, now the idea that we’re going out for dinner for an hour or two and I won’t get to have him, is making me even wetter.

“Okay, but I did try to warn you.” I shove the package at him and he looks down at it. “Aside from my birthday gifts, nobody’s ever given me anythin’ before just because.”

“Well, I’m a mother hen, what can I say?” I try to laugh off my nervousness, but he’s a biker. He’s not going to want this. He rips the paper bag off, revealing the otter. Yes, I got him one of those breathing otters that mimic a heartbeat and help with anxiety, PTSD and sleep.

Mainly, they’re for kids, but it did say on the website that adults use them too.

He stares down at it. “What is it?”

My mouth goes dry. “Uh, it’s a breathing otter.”

He glances up at me, and I’ve no idea what he’s going to say next…

19

RIOT

I stare downat the cute stuffed toy, unable to believe what I’m seeing. My baby girl, my angel, my kitten bought me a breathing otter?

Could she get any more adorable?

“A breathing otter?”

I shoot my eyes back up to hers, and she’s fidgeting worriedly, then she rushes to fill the silence. “I mean, it’s silly. I just thought because of what you told me about your family, and the nightmares, and how you seem to like cuddles in bed that it could be like… I don’t know… something you can hug and it breathes with you, like it has a heartbeat…”

Did she honestly just fall down from heaven?

“I love it.” My voice is hoarse with want, with need. Ineedher. In fact, if I don’t have her right now, I’m going to combust. “You did this for me?”

“Yeah, I mean, I don’t expect you’d sleep with it. Like I say it seemed like a good idea at the ti?—”

I press a finger to her lips to quieten her. Then I pull the otter out of the packaging and press its stomach. It’s brown, with blue ears and paws and a cute tail. The otter’s stomach lights up andstarts to breathe. Holy shit.In and out. It’s adorable, like my kitten.

I can see by her stance; her arms folded, her weight shifting from side to side and her cheeks slightly flushed, that she thinks she’s done the wrong thing. That I won’t like it.

She’s wrong.

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