The Nanny with the Skull Tattoos (11 page)

“You can’t get that,” Riley said, grabbing Max’s wrist. The video game snapped back into its slot, secured by a metallic string.

“Why not?” he asked, yanking his wrist away. He rubbed his red and irritated skin. “And why the extreme methods?”

“Because it’s the last copy,” she said, flagging down an employee in a blue polo, “and I’m getting it.”

Max rolled his eyes. “If you had moved in with me when I asked, we could just play it together.”

“We can still play together,” Riley said. The employee inserted a key into a lock at the far end of the case and swung it open. He pointed to the game, and Riley squealed.

“Whatever. My gift card’s only for twenty-five dollars, anyway.” Max scowled and pushed the stroller that Chloe was strapped into away. He moved deeper into the aisle where his brother Levi examined the video games on clearance. “She’s getting violent,” Max said, faking a wide-eyed look of horror.

Levi lifted an eyebrow. “I tried to warn you about women.” He bent down into a squat and read a few of the titles out loud. “Have you heard of these?”

“Do I have a toddler?” Max asked.

“Fair enough.” Levi straightened. “Ever feel like your life is totally over now?”

Max sighed. “It wasn’t so bad with Savannah around.”

“Oh, stop,” Riley said, waving a plastic bag emblazoned with the store’s logo. Through the thin plastic, Max could still see the game inside. “You hardly knew her. She was probably a serial killer.”

“Will you let it go?” he asked, gritting his teeth. “She’s not a serial killer. She’s amazing, and I totally blew it.” He glanced down at Chloe. She hugged a teddy bear to her chest. A tag dangled from its ear like an earring. He made a mental note to cut it off when they got home.

Levi clasped his shoulder. “Mom wouldn’t have invited Nikki if she had known,” he said.

“She shouldn’t have been invited, anyway,” Riley said, putting her hands on her hips. Honey blonde bangs fell into her eyes, and she tossed her head, knocking them aside. Max wasn’t sure when she had gotten her hair done, but it looked weird. He was used to seeing Riley in a ponytail or messy bun. She was even dressed differently, in tighter jeans and a snug sweater.

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now. Savannah thinks we’re back together.”

Riley faked vomiting, her tongue hanging out of her mouth. “I wouldn’t touch her ratchet ass with a ten-foot pole.”

“Watch it,” Max said, glancing down at Chloe.

“What?” Riley lifted her shoulders and led them out of the store.

They walked three abreast back into the mall.

Levi bumped Max’s shoulder. “Loosen up, little bro.” He lifted a hand, indicating the mall. “It’s the day after Christmas. We’ve got gift cards and a mall full of sales. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

“I’ve got to get her back,” Max said. “If I ever even had her, anyway.”

“Dude, you’re an idiot.” Riley swatted at the back of his head. “If she was that pissed, you had her. Trust me.”

Max tilted his head back as he walked, his shoulders slumping and his knees bending. “I’m such an idiot.”

“More like Nicole’s a ho.” Riley slapped herself a high five.

“Watch it,” Max snapped, straightening. “She’s still Chloe’s mom. She’s only two, but she can still hear you.”

“Fine,” Riley said. “She’s a ho, ho,
ho
.” She plucked a Santa hat from a kiosk and stuck it on her head. The man running the kiosk reached out for it, his eyes wide. She tossed it back to him. “Relax, Sayid.” He caught it but shot her a dirty look.

Max glared at her. “What is with you today?”

Riley shrugged. “I’m just in bright Christmas spirits. So what are you going to do to win your serial killer back?”

“I think you should just call her,” Levi said. “Even if she doesn’t answer, leave her a message and explain. Then leave it in her court.”

“She’s got to come home eventually,” Riley added, ambling toward Victoria’s Secret.

“We are so not going in there,” Max said.

“Why not?” Riley asked. “Besides, I’ve got a gift card.” She strolled in, ignoring a girl wearing all black.

“Hi, how are you?” the girl chirped at Max and Chloe as they rolled in behind Riley.

“Good, how are
you
?” Levi asked, pausing next to her.

“You’ve got a girlfriend, Lee,” Max reminded him.

Ignoring him, Levi continued to chat up the store greeter. Max rolled his eyes and left him to it. He pushed Chloe through the store, following Riley as she picked up bras and rifled through tables of underwear.

“When did you start wearing lingerie?” he asked, a smile dancing on his lips.

She flung a thong at him. “Don’t act so shocked,” she said. “Besides—“

“I know,” he said. “You’ve got a gift card.” He thought of his own collection of plastic cards. Most of them were for children’s clothing stores, for Chloe, but he had a couple he could use all on himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he had bought himself anything other than textbooks or groceries. It would be nice to buy a shirt or pair of jeans at the mall, or maybe even a DVD to watch. Not everything streamed online—not yet.

He wondered how his older brothers felt. Growing up, they had VHS and video rental stores. Being the youngest, he was also the most experienced with technology and, they claimed, the most jaded. He shrugged. He would take a digital library of music over a dusty stack of CDs any day.

Riley held up a silky, slinky nightgown. “What do you think of this?” she asked, batting her eyes at him.

“I think you would see your nipples right through the fabric,” Max said, crinkling his nose.

“And that’s a bad thing?” She examined the price tag. “Maybe I’ll wear it next time I sleep over your house.”

Max snorted. “Yeah, that’s what I need. More reasons for Savannah to get mad at me.”

“You act like she’s your girlfriend,” Riley said, rolling her eyes. “She’s just your nanny.”

“She’s not,” Max insisted. He moved the stroller so a trio of high school girls could move past them. “There was something there.”

Riley flung another pair of panties at him. “Yeah, your sex drive.”

Ducking, Max evaded the underwear. They slid across the floor. The girl standing at the entrance frowned in their direction. Levi’s cheeks lit up and he slunk away, back out into the mall.

“I’ll be outside,” Levi called over his shoulder, retrieving a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

Max wished he was going with him. “Rie, I really need your help. I need to get her back.” His fingers tightened on the handles of Chloe’s stroller. “She thinks I’ve been two-timing her with Nicole.” He made a face.

Riley made a gagging sound. “I haven’t even met your nanny yet,” she said, “but I’ll take her over that hot mess any day.”

Max nodded. “Nicole said she wanted to get back together, to be a family. When I told her I didn’t want to get back together, but still wanted her to be in Chloe’s life, she took off. She didn’t even say goodnight to the daughter she supposedly wants to spend time with.” He scrubbed at the stubble on his face. “Sometimes, Rie, I wonder if I’ve made a huge mistake.”

Raising an eyebrow, Riley paused her search through the underwear table and looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“I just mean, my life is so messed up. Every time I take one step forward, I get knocked ten steps back. I can’t do this alone, Rie. I’m going to have to drop out of school, and work retail or in a factory for the rest of my life.” He glanced down at Chloe. Her eyes were closed and her head rested against the side of the stroller. Relief swept through him. At least she couldn’t hear her father whining. “Maybe I should have let Nikki give her up.”

Riley punched him in the arm. Her knuckles poked the sensitive area between his muscles.

“What the hell was that for?” he exclaimed. He rubbed the spot where she hit him. He would probably have a charley horse. He could already feel the muscle spasming.

“You’re pathetic, dude. Quit feeling sorry for yourself.” Riley draped several pairs of underwear over her arm and headed toward the cash register. “Win back your nanny when you get home. If she doesn’t want to listen,
make
her.” She gave the cashier a bright smile. “Please don’t ask me to open up a credit card.”

The girl behind the register tilted her head. “Do you want to get fifteen dollars off your purchase today?”

Riley’s eyes narrowed, her lips twisting to the side. She glanced back at the store, her eyes roaming over the clothing and lingerie. “Wait, for real?”

Max nudged her. “I thought you didn’t want one.”

“Yeah, but that’s like a free tee shirt.” Riley turned back to the cashier. “Sign me up!”

“This is why you can’t afford to move out of your parents’ house,” Max muttered.

“You’re just jealous because you’ll never see me in these underwear.” Riley handed the cashier her driver’s license.

Several minutes later, Max and Riley walked out of the store. He pushed a sleeping Chloe toward Macy’s, glancing at Riley out of the corner of his eye. She carried several bags filled with clothing and bras, practically skipping. “You do know you have to pay for those, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, but not until later,” she replied. “Now I get to lounge around in comfy sweats on my rare days off. I am so glad you dragged me out here.”

Shaking his head, Max pushed Chloe’s stroller into Macy’s. They passed the cosmetics counter, heading toward the escalators down to the men’s section. As they neared the escalators, they passed the jewelry counter. Diamonds and gems glittered in the lighting from the cases.

“Don’t you have a gift card?” Riley asked, leaning over the counter.

“Yeah,” Max said. “Why?”

“You should totally get Savannah some jewelry. If I were pissed at you, and you bought me something pretty, I’d totally bang you. So keep that in mind if things don’t work out with her,” she added with a wink.

“That would be weird,” he said, studying the items in the cases. The diamonds were way out of his budget. His parents had given him a $100 gift card, but that wouldn’t even buy a pair of stud earrings for Savannah. “What do you suggest? I mean, since you’re a real girl and all that now.” He nodded toward the Victoria’s Secret bags she wore on her arms like bracelets.

“I’ve
always
been a real girl,” Riley said, nudging him in the arm with her elbow. “And why would it be weird to have sex with me?”

The woman behind the jewelry counter shot them a dirty look.

“Oh, get over it,” Riley to her. “These people are always so snobby. You should buy your girlfriend something somewhere else, like one of those shady jewelry stores downtown.”

The jewelry sales associate’s face stiffened and she plastered a smile on. Bangles jingled on her arms. Max studied the crow’s feet around her eyes and the wrinkles around her mouth. She had to be his mother’s age. “What does your girlfriend like?” she asked him.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” he said. “I mean, she might be. I don’t know. I need to get her something to apologize.”

“If she’s not your girlfriend,” Riley said, a mischievous smile dancing across her face, “then why not take me for a test run in all of this new lingerie?”

Max pretended to gag. “That would be like doing it with my sister.”

Riley punched him in the arm again. The sales lady’s eyes widened and she took a step back from the counter. “I am
not
your sister,” Riley said.

“Chill with the domestic violence,” he said. Turning back to the jewelry counter, he scanned the price tags attached to the different pieces. “I don’t even know what she likes.”

“Tattoos,” Riley said. “She has a lot of those, right? You could just skip the jewelry and get her a tattoo gun. It might save her some money.”

“Would you quit it?” Max gave her a look. “She’s really nice. You would like her. She’s an artist, and she’s great with Chloe.”

The employee behind the jewelry counter cleared her throat. “How about an infinity ring?”

Riley snorted. “They’ve only slept together. That would be way too forward. This is an apology gift, lady.”

Heat spread across Max’s cheeks, but he said nothing. Riley was right, despite her volunteering so much information about his personal life.

“Okay, then,” the woman said. “How about this sterling silver leaf pendant?” She unlocked a case, keys jingling, and pulled out a sixteen-inch necklace. Holding it up to her own neck, she demonstrated where it would fall on Savannah. The leaf rested horizontally just between her collarbones. She dropped her voice to a nearly hushed whisper. “It’s pretty but not overly romantic. It’s also different, and it sounds like your girl is unique, herself.” Her words stroked Max’s brain, lulling him into relaxation. He wondered if people working on commission took a special hypnosis class. Whatever it was that she was doing, it was working.

Max nodded. “What do you think, Riley?”

She shrugged. “It’s cool.”

“Come on, that’s all you’re going to give me?” Max ran a hand through his hair. Riley said nothing. “How much is it?” he asked, cheeks flushing.

“It’s actually sixty percent off today,” the woman behind the counter said. “It would be twenty dollars, before tax.”

Max’s eyes widened. A smile spread across his lips. With such a great sale, he could still get himself some new clothes, or even a pair of shoes. He nodded. “I’ll take it,” he said.

Riley snorted. “You’re so easy.”

“Says the one who just opened up a credit card at Victoria’s Secret,” he shot back.

“Would you like to save another thirty percent off your purchase today?” the woman behind the counter asked.

Max shook his head. “Just the necklace, please.”

Within a few minutes, the jewelry sales lady wrapped up the necklace and rang him out. He thanked her, then he and Riley headed to the men’s section. After browsing for a half an hour, he bought himself a pair of jeans and a couple of shirts. He wished he knew which Versace perfume Savannah wore, but the necklace would have to do. Once he told her the whole story, she would have to forgive him. Walking with a slight bounce to his step, he and Riley met Levi in the parking garage, Chloe still fast asleep in her stroller.