Page 14 of Brutal Knight

“Yes, I’m sure.” I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her closer, and she sucked in a surprised breath, her chest pressing into mine. I reached forward, running my fingers down one of her braids. Her midnight-black hair was so soft, and her tongue peaked out again, brushing over that beautiful freckle.

“What are you doing?”

“This.” I pressed my lips to her soft ones, my fingers softly tugging on her hair. Her eyes widened in surprise, then she squeezed them shut, kissing me back.

I was right.

The girl with the star-blue eyes had lips that tasted sweet, like strawberries. She smelled like the ocean and sunshine and happiness…what I’d imagine a happy home would smell like.

When I pulled back, her face was so red and her eyes were still squeezed shut.

"Come on," I grinned, then, giving in to temptation, tugged on her pigtail. “Hey.” She opened her eyes; they were bright and cheery. I grabbed her hand, “let’s go before it closes.”

* * *

Still holding her hand,I led Tatiana to the fair. By the time we reached the front gate, the afternoon sun was waning, lighting up the landscape in a golden glow.

“Hello, little Knight.”

I smiled at the woman at the front counter. “Hi, Lupita.”

Lupita worked the front counter every day. She was short and squat, with cinnamon-brown skin and silver-brown hair cut bluntly at her shoulders. She usually had a serious look on her face, except with me.

“I—” I began, but she held up her finger, telling me to wait.

Mumbling under her breath, she counted a stack of mixed cash piled on the front desk. When she finished her current pile, she returned her attention to me, speaking in Spanish. “What are you up to this late in the day?"

"I have a new friend.” I pulled Tatiana, who’d been hiding behind me, forward, “Abuelo told me to show her the city.”

Lupita’s eyebrows raised, her sharp gaze going to Tatiana. After a moment, she pulled another stack together, and began counting. She stared at Tatiana the whole time, not even glancing down at the money, until finally, she finished. She tore her gaze away from Tatiana and wrote something down, speaking in English, “A new friend, eh? What’s your name, dearie?”

“Tatiana.” Tatiana pawed at the ground with her foot; she was back to being shy again.

“By any chance, is your last name Krapivnik?”

Tatiana’s face jerked upward, her mouth open in astonishment. “How’d you know?”

Lupita reached over the counter, bopping Tatiana on the nose and giving her a rare smile. “I just know things, dearie.”

“We wanted to go for a few rides,” I interrupted. The crowds were already thinning as moms and dads left the park with their kids.

Lipita frowned, grabbing another stack. "The park is closing in five minutes."

I scowled, not realizing how late it was. "It's too early for it to close."

She shook her head, still counting the money. "A big storm is coming. Might be bad." She took out a ball of rubber bands, pulling one off, and began to bundle a stack together. “We're closing early.”

Shoot. Tatiana had seemed so excited to ride the rides, and I wanted to see her smile again. I turned to her, "I'm sorry. We can try again tomorrow."

Tatiana’s tongue flicked to that freckle again, a frown tugging at her lips. "It's okay.” She forced a smile that I could tell was fake. “You don't have to bring me here tomorrow. I'm sure we'll be unpacking, anyway.”

There was an uneasiness to her stance and she wouldn't meet my eyes, but instead, stared at the counter below us.

I had a feeling Tatianawouldn'tbe unpacking tomorrow. That, maybe, they didn’t have much to unpack, but that she felt bad about me paying for her. My best friend from home, Rook, was like that, too.

I turned back to Lupita, giving her my best pleading gaze. "Please, can’t we come in? Just three rides, I promise."

Lupita hesitated, and Tatiana threaded her fingers through mine, squeezing them tight, also giving Lupita a begging look.

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