She drove me mad, but—so annoyingly—she still kind of turned me on.
OK, Chick. Game on.
I unbuckled the seat belt, climbed out of the car, and slammed her door shut. “You really want to do this? Fine, but don’t come complaining to me when you need a tetanus shot in your ass because you decided you wanted to pet a damn tiger-striped spider.”
She smiled and walked in front of me toward the building. It seemed like lately, she was swaying her hips even more than normal in an attempt to hypnotize me.
It was working, too—right up until we walked inside the building and I felt an instant need to turn around and run. But I knew I couldn’t punk out in front of Shay. That was exactly what she wanted me to do.
“Laffy Taffy?” she offered, holding a piece of candy out toward me. I went to grab it, and she paused. “Just don’t chew it up and put it in my hair again.”
“I remember your hairdo from back then. Trust me, I was doing you a favor.” I snatched the candy from her hand, ripped the package open, tossed it into my mouth, then chewed it quickly and swallowed it whole.
Her mouth gaped open. “What was that?!”
“What was what?”
“The animalistic way you ate that candy. You don’t stuff the whole Laffy Taffy into your mouth like that. You savor it. What you did was very beast-like.”
“Well, I’m sorry, Beauty. Please, show me how to eat a piece of Laffy Taffy properly.”
She pulled out another piece of candy from her purse and opened it slowly, peeling back the wrapper from the yellow candy. “Banana is the best flavor, so I like to take my time with it,” she explained. “And then, you nibble at it, taking small bites so it’s not gone in an instant. You don’t rush the process. You take your time.”
“You’re insane. Just shove it into your mouth and eat it.”
“No. The best things in life are worth savoring, like Laffy Taffy.”
“Just swallow it, Chick. I’m sure you have some experience with that,” I joked.
She rolled her eyes and playfully shoved me in the arm. I liked that. I liked when she touched me even if it was followed by the words “You’re such a pig.”
“Yeah, but I’m sure you like bacon.”
She smiled, that dimple deepened, and she nibbled at her Laffy Taffy like a gerbil.
“Come on. Let’s go meet some friends,” she said, walking up to the front desk. Before we were able to go into the back area with the animals, we had to sign waivers.
Red flag number one.
We were also led into the room with all the creatures and told to never reach for the animals on our own due to their temperaments.
Red flag number two.
Then we were told to take off all jewelry due to some animals grabbing onto certain items.
Red flag number freaking three.
“This is a terrible idea.” I grimaced.
Shay kept nibbling at her banana Laffy Taffy. “You’re being dramatic. This is going to be great.”
I snatched the Laffy Taffy from her hand, balled it up, and popped it into my mouth.
Without any hesitation, she reached into her purse, unwrapped another piece of candy, and began nibbling again.
Nibble, nibble, nibble. Bite, bite, bite.
It seemed she was Willy Wonka, and her purse was the chocolate factory with unlimited supplies. She must’ve gotten that trait from her grandmother. Maria always had pockets of candy.