Page 20 of Perfect Chaos

“What was that, Chaos?” His voice sounds stern but not mean or angry.

“I don’t remember, Atlas. I am sorry.”

Atlas sighs, but tosses a granola bar to her. “Do you have any idea what went through my head when Gavin called me saying that I needed to hurry home because something was wrong with you? I was fucking scared, Maizyn. You have to be eating more often.”

“I know. You’re right. I really am sorry.”

“Is there anything else I need to know about?”

She seems to mull over a thought before shaking her head no. “No. I just forgot to eat. I am fine.”

He looks like he doesn’t believe her, and honestly? I don’t blame him. Even I don’t think that's the whole truth. But I also feel like I am intruding a bit on their moment. I stand to leave. “I am going to run to the grocery store. Do y'all want anything?”

Maizyn perks up in excitement, seeming to have newfound energy. “Can we all go? I want to go shopping?”

Atlas lets out a frustrated sigh. “You need to eat and you don’t like people. Why would you want to go shopping?”

“I might not like a lot of people, but I do like shopping for yummy snacks.” She flutters her lashes, making puppy eyes at Atlas. He caves almost immediately.

“Fine. We can go shopping, but please eat a bit more and drink the glass of water first.”

“Yes, Sir.” She gives him a mock salute before gulping down the water and shoving a few cheese cubes in her mouth. “Can we go now?” Her words are jumbled as she talks through the mouthful of cheese.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Chapter Thirteen

Maizyn

I practically skip into the grocery store with the boys following right behind me. They overreacted. I am completely fine. We are going to pretend that the panic attack never happened. I will try to remember to eat next time. Sue me for forgetting.

I bypass the shopping carts and make a beeline for the junk food aisle. All of the unhealthy snacks are calling my name. I could do a happy dance right about now. Yummy food is a great distraction. If all else fails, then I can just eat my feelings. By the time the boys catch up, Atlas pushing a cart, I have both arms stacked high with everything I could get my hands on. Chips, candy, crackers, you name it, I probably grabbed it. I waddle over to them and drop my haul into the empty cart.

“You need real food, Chaos.” He says as if he already knows I don’t plan to listen to him. He is not wrong, yet it doesn’t hide his small smile.

I stick my tongue out at him. “Oh, lighten up. This is real food, just not the kind YOU prefer I eat.” That earns me a bored stare. He knows my antics by now and he is not amused. Unfortunately for him, I now have Gavin to drag into my chaos. I wait until Atlas is walking far enough ahead that he can’t hear me as I poke Gavin in his side to get his attention. His head snaps in my direction, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. The look is kind of adorable. I pull him to me by his shirt and rise onto my tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “Want to help me push Mr. Grumps’ buttons?”

“What do you have in mind, Little Tornado?”

I kinda expected him to tell me no, but his voice is tinged with the same amount of mischief I am feeling. Something about his voice being dark and warm at the same time has my heart beating even faster. A crooked grin spreads across my lips. Oh. This is going to be fun. “Let me ride on your shoulders until we leave? I don’t feel like walking, and I don’t want to hear Atlas say I told you so.”

His tongue peeks out, swiping quickly across his bottom lip before he nods his head. “Seems like the demon is coming out to play. I'm game though, let's do it.”

My thighs clench at the gravely sound of his voice. I am starting to think my innocent ask of a shoulder ride is anything but innocent, yet I can't help but feel a bit of excitement from it. He crouches down in front of me before helping me maneuver my body to balance on his shoulders. As soon as my thighs are firmly planted on each side of his head, he holds them to keep me in place as he abruptly stands to his full height. The speed of him standing surprises me, eliciting a squeal that I couldn’t hold in even if I tried. My fingers tangle into his hair for support, accidentally pulling it hard. The man fucking moans. It’s so quiet that I feel like I may have misheard him, but the way his grip tightens on my thigh tells me I heard him correctly. Heat pulls in my core and I am seconds away from pulling his hair again just to hear that sound one more time. My fingers curl deeper into his hair.

“Hey! Are you two coming or not? I don’t want to be here all day.”

Atlas’ voice breaks the trance I seemed to be in. His clearly annoyed tone is already proof enough that he is not in the mood for my antics but that is what makes this even more fun. Sometimes I think my soul's purpose in life is to push that man's buttons. He can act annoyed all he wants, but that man loves it.

“Be right there!” Gavin and I yell at the same time. I laugh as he jogs to catch up to Atlas. His grip on my thigh and my fist full of his hair were almost not enough to keep me atop his shoulders. Atlas looks up at me before shaking his head in disapproval. “Will you get down already?”

“Not gonna happen, Sir. I rather like it up here. It's pretty nice being taller than you for once.” I used the word ‘Sir’ just to push him further. I feel like a punishment might be just what I need to feel better. I probably shouldn’t use Gavin in my games with Atlas, but I don’t hear him complaining about it.

Atlas shoots me a look that either means an ass spanking or an orgasm is in my future. Honestly, both sound like a fun time to me. He eventually gives in, letting out an exaggerated sigh, “Fine. Let’s just get the shopping done so we can go.”

We continue shopping. Atlas is pushing the cart while Gavin runs me up and down the aisles, letting me grab whatever I want. We are almost to the checkout line when something bright yellow catches my attention.

“Hey, wait! Slow down,” my voice comes out sounding similar to an eager child. Oops. Not far off, though.