Page 583 of The Tempted

I took her to Coney Island that night, rode the Cyclone three times and won her half a dozen stuffed animals—she gave one to every kid we passed that didn’t have one. We were walking around Luna Park when out of the corner of my eye I saw a mother and her young son.

“But Mommy, please? One more try!”

“I already wasted twenty dollars trying to win you a prize that cost fifty cents,” the mother argued with her son.

“Please mommy! I won’t ask after this time,” the kid pleaded.

“I don’t have any more money to waste on games, Joshua,” the mother hissed.

I let go of Lacey’s hand, walked over to the trailer and laid a five-dollar bill on the counter. It was the game where you had to shoot water into the clown’s mouth until you filled the balloon and it popped.

There are perks to owning a shooting range.

You can beat the clown all the time.

The bell chimed, signaling I won, and I dropped the water gun. I kneeled down, smiled at the mom and tapped the little boy on the shoulder.

“Hey, there kid,” I started.

He looked at his mother for approval before he waved at me timidly.

“You see that girl over there,” I said, pointing over at Lacey who smiled but looked back at me curiously.

“Yeah,” the boy said.

“I’m trying to get her to go out with me and she told me she’d say yes if I win you a prize,” I looked over my shoulder and tipped my chin to the water balloon that was declared a winner. “Think you can help me get the girl by taking the prize?”

He looked up at his mother, grinning from ear to ear.

“Can I?”

I lifted my eyes to hers, watched as she diverted her eyes back to her son.

“Sure, wouldn’t want to leave the nice man hanging,” she said as she turned back toward me. “Thank you.”

I winked, slapping my hands against my knees and rose to my full height.

“Can I have the Spongebob?”

The clerk handed him the ugly yellow stuffed thing, and the boy smiled widely at me.

“Thank you! I hope you get the girl,” he exclaimed.

I turned around, my eyes met Lacey’s and the smile she wore became contagious.

“I hope so too,” I told the boy.

I hope I get tokeepher.

I said goodbye to the kid and his mom before making my way back to Lacey.

“You won that boy a prize,” she commented, looping her arm through mine.

“Yeah, watching you put a smile on six kids faces when you gave them those prizes must’ve rubbed off on me,” I said.

“Watch out Blackie, you’re becoming more like a big teddy bear than a big bad biker,” she joked.

I growled.

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