Page 12 of Naughty Elf: Merry

“We can get them adjusted.”

I wished I had Sparkle’s skill of being a master tailor. He would have fixed them for me.

“Changing room.” Hernan charged toward a band of doors on the back wall.

But I’d done enough changing. This was where I was supposed to be, and why did I need new clothes to change? Was there something wrong with me?

I grabbed his arm. “I’m fine as I am.” I inspected my arms, tummy, and legs. “Why do you want me to change?”

I was close to tears because none of what had happened was making me happy. I should be jumping for joy into Hernan’s arms. There’d be kissing and hugging, not making me into someone I wasn’t.

He’d led me into a teenie, tiny room with a mirror. He placed the bundle of clothes on a chair and closed the door. Maybe we were both about to be transported somewhere. I’d read books about telephone booths that were spacecraft, and I examined the walls for a control panel.

Hernan gripped my shoulders. “Your clothes, Merry. Not you.” He put a finger under my chin, and we stared at one another. “You’re perfect.”

Perfect. I longed for him to say it again. I cupped my ear. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

“Purrr-fect.”

Damn, I should have recorded it.

“Get your gear off.”

Hernan wasn’t human, but he used very confusing expressions. Was he describing a car?

“Your clothes.” He turned his back. “I won’t look. Or I can leave if you prefer.”

Tentacles of fear wrapped around my heart, and I made to grab his arm. Instead, I got a handful of butt cheeks. Nice!

“No, I don’t want you to leave.”

He handed me items, and I struggled into them. When I was dressed, he rolled up pantlegs and sleeves, adjusted collars, and did up buttons I’d missed. Clothes held little meaning to me, as I always wore the same thing in the village, even on my days off.

Hernan chose three shirts, two sweaters, a coat, and I couldn’t recall how many pants that he called jeans. He arranged for the alterations, and we could collect them later today.

“My friend Sparkle is very handy with a needle and thread.”

We’d paused outside a restaurant and were inspecting the menu in the window. The mingling of colors and sounds was making my head hurt, and I agreed the food items were suitable. Not that I’d studied them, but I wanted to get inside, away from this new environment.

“What do you fancy?” Hernan rested his chin on his hands.

That was a leading question, and I had a lot of answers to choose from.

I’d like for him to say we were mates and that he wanted to see me naked, and if I was willing, could he get under the table and suck me off?

No! Not the last one. My brain was befuddled. I would enjoy it but not when surrounded by other people.

“I’m not sure.”

“Are you vegetarian?”

That was a question I could answer. “I do eat meat but not much.”

Hernan suggested a quiche with salad, and I agreed. This was a first, but everything today was a first.

I sat and sipped my water, glancing at people at the other tables chatting and clanking their cutlery while Hernan checked his phone. When he finished texting, he noted how much work there was yet to do for the festival.

“But you saved my ass turning up when you did.”