Dirty Little Secret

nineteen | tease

Riley

"I am not holding a crocodile!"

"Come on, it's not gonna bite you." Lucas drawls with an amused smile. "Its mouth is taped shut. Besides, it's little." He brings the reptile up by his face. "Look at her. Ain't she cute?"

I press my lips in a thin line and shake my head frantically. "She is not cute. She is far from cute. You are insane, you know that?"

"At least I'm the good kind of insane." He hands the crocodile back to the caretaker and thanks her. "You're just a big wussy, you know that?"

"I pet a tarantula." I point out.

"Your finger was four inches away from it, and you screamed."

"That was as close as my finger needed to be."

Lucas grips the handles of the wheelchair and starts walking. "You hungry?"

"I think the python stole my appetite."

"That thing was cool."

"It was disgusting." I gag. "Did you see how big it was?" I shudder. "It ruined the color yellow for me."

"I'm going to buy you everything yellow from now on." Lucas laughs. "Maybe I'll get you one of those plush pythons they sell at zoos."

"Please don't," I beg him. Lucas laughs some more. "I will kill you."

"I'm still waiting for you to throw me into the alligator cage."

"I do not want to go back there."

"For someone who claims to love animals, you sure are hating on them right now." Lucas clicks his tongue. "I'm not sure us other animal lovers claim you."

"I love cute and cuddly animals. Like ducks!"

"Ducks are not cuddly."

I look up and over my shoulder at Lucas. "Have you ever held one?"

"No. Because you can't pick them up."

"They're very nice." I point at him. "Don't feed them bread though."

"Then what the hell are you supposed to feed them?"

"Frozen vegetables. It's better for their digestive system," I inform him. "Bread is bad for them."

"Noted." He nods. "Not that I see many ducks."

"Ducks are literally everywhere."

"I spend most of my time with water and on the ice--which in case you didn't already know, is frozen water."

"You're a water-holic." I giggle at myself, which makes Lucas smile.

"Better than an alcoholic."

"Very true."

Lucas parks me at a picnic table before walking to the food truck. Several moments later he walks back with his hands full.

I pull the soda bottles from under his arm before he drops them and he sets the food down. "I gotta grab napkins. Also, we are so getting dessert because they have bubble waffles on a stick."

I chuckle and slide the tray with cheese fries my way. "Ooh, bacon." I gasp when I notice the cheese fries' only topping.

Lucas shakes his head with a small laugh as he walks away. I waste no time digging in because I'm starving.

"Wow, you couldn't wait for me?"

"Sowwy," I mumble with a mouth full of fries. Lucas chuckles and starts eating his own food.