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I smile at her. “Well, it is four A.M. but it’s also Christmas morning so I wouldn’t take any chances. Santa could still be lurking around on a rooftop out there. You don’t want to get marked on the naughty list.”
She grabs her dress off the ground and ends up pulling it on, at least, up to her waist, as if it’s a skirt. She zips her jacket closed and she doesn’t look like she’s only wearing a bra underneath.
“You might need to cut me out of this dress when we get home. It got tighter somehow while we were running around this place eating candy and emptying the claw machines.”
I look over at the pile of stuffed toys in the trash bag I grabbed once I realized how seriously good Rachel is at making those machines pay out. There must be three dozen brightly colored fluffy creatures in that bag.
“Adrian’s head might explode if you dump those on your bed.”
“I didn’t think we were keeping them,” she tells me.
“You didn’t? Rachel, we put a fortune in these machines last night. We’re taking the winnings home.”
She smiles. “Okay, but just to see the look on Adrian’s face. We can find someplace with kids who don’t have much and hand them in. Is there a children’s hospital, or something like that around here?”
“There’s an orphanage at the far side of town. We can take them over later.”
“Sounds good to me,” she says. “I’m keeping this one, though.”
She shows me a blue fox that’s a bit bigger than the others.
“Is that the one I somehow managed to win?”
She nods. “If a boyfriend wins you something, you keep it. That’s the rule.”
“Well, it’s your color.” Which I’m sure will please Carter.
She hugs it close and smiles at me. “Thanks for tonight. It was awesome. I had so much fun.”
“I wish it didn’t have to end,” I admit.
Christmas night belongs to Adrian. Boxing Day is all Carter’s.
We’ll all be at home, but we won’t all be together. At least not the whole time.
It wasn’t just the sugar that made us stay out this late. It was me.
“Come on,” Rachel tells me, “Let’s get back to the house and get warmed up in bed together.”
“That does sound nice.” I just won’t think about what happens after we wake up.
I grab the bag of soft toys. It’s like carrying a huge bag of cotton candy. I’m halfway afraid a big gust of wind will blow it all away.
“Got everything?” I ask.
She nods. “Feels like I’m forgetting something, but I didn’t bring a purse so that must be it.”
I get the keys out and turn off the lights.
Holding the door open, it does seem a bit windy outside now.
I look at Rachel in her skimpy skirt and tiny jacket.
“It’s colder than it was. You want my shirt?” I’m ready to take it off.
She bites on her lower lip. “Don’t tempt me, Silas. I’d only be taking it to get a good look at you on the walk home.”
She steps out onto the street, hugging the blue fox I won to her chest.
