“I am! This is so much fun! I didn’t know there was a pool where we were going! I want to stay here always!”
“Well, that’s up to your momma. But I’m sure that can be arranged if she decides she wants to do that.”
Griffin smiled at Niko and produced a water gun from beneath the water and started squirting Niko.
Niko started shrieking, pretending he was melting while he tried and failed valiantly to block the streams of water hitting his teeshirt and his jeans.
“Griffin! Stop it! Stop it, Griffin!” a woman was shouting as she rushed toward her son from her place between the splash pad and the side of the pool. “Stop squirting him!” she demanded.
Griffin was laughing just like Niko was and didn’t hear his mother until she was right on them.
“I said stop it!” she insisted, leaning down to take the water gun away from him.
Griffin stopped laughing and looked from his mother to Niko worriedly, thinking he might have done something wrong.
“You don’t shoot the adults! Especially when they’re wearing clothes and not swimsuits!”
“It’s okay,” Niko said.
“I’m so sorry. He just gets carried away sometimes and forgets that not everybody likes to play all the time,” Griffin’s mother said, still looking at her son.
“It’s okay, really. We’re buds, and I didn’t mind at all. I was actually having fun myself,” Niko said, still kneeling down beside the edge of the pool and Griffin.
“Thank you for being so…” she stopped speaking as she shifted her gaze from her son to Niko.
They both seemed to forget what they were doing for a second before she recovered and started speaking again. “Thank you for being so kind.”
“It’s not a big deal. I was having fun,” Niko said, standing up nervously.
“See, Mom? I told you my friend Niko was nice. He said he’s going to keep us safe,” Griffin said.
“You did, and he is very nice.” She stood and turned to Niko who was standing in the same place he’d been kneeling in. “I’m sorry he asked you to protect us, please don’t feel pressured to honor that request. We’re fine. We’re safe here and I’m well aware of it.”
“I’m not feeling pressured at all. We keep all females and children safe. I’m flattered he asked. No worries,”
She smiled nervously and extended her hand. “I’m Maeve.”
Niko stared at her hand for a moment, then looked up at her face. “Maeve.”
“Yes,” she said, slowly returning her hand to her side.
“Oh, sorry!” he said, reaching for her hand quickly and shaking it vigorously. “I’m Niko.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Niko.”
“Yeah, same. Well, I gotta go. Gotta get some rest, I’ll be at the bar all night. Haven’t been there in a few weeks, so they’ll be looking for me.”
Maeve’s brows rose and she nodded slowly. “Okay, then. Have fun at the bar.”
“Oh, yeah, yeah, always! Bye!” he said, as he started walking away before he even looked in the direction he was going.
“Bye, Mr. Niko!” Griffin yelled, waving at Niko as he rushed away, backwards.
“Bye!” Niko repeated, still looking back at Maeve. He was paying so little attention to the direction he was walking in, he actually bounced off Alison.
“Oh, shit! I’m sorry, Alison!” he exclaimed, grabbing her arms and holding her steady.
“Where you going so quick?” Alison demanded, as her hands came up and grabbed at his arms, as well. “You about knocked me over.”
