if you need to go, then don’t let me keep you.” She tried to sound casual about it. “You’ve been great to show me around, and it’s been really fun.” She fished her own phone out and checked Kelsey’s last message. “Kelsey and David are barhopping, and I can go catch up with them.”
Colin lifted an eyebrow at her. “I’ll take you back to your friends now, if that’s what you want.”
“God, no.” Jamie stopped and cleared her throat. She toyed with her watch, trying to look nonchalant. “I mean, I’m having a good time with you, but I really do understand if you want to...”
He leaned back on his elbows in the grass and crossed his feet at the ankles. “Do I look like someone who’s in a hurry to go somewhere else?”
She felt herself smile and just hoped it wasn’t too goofy-looking. “I guess not.”
Colin rolled slightly toward her. “So what do you want to do now?”
A dozen images jumped immediately to mind, and she gritted her teeth to keep from describing them in detail. “I guess we could go back to the Quarter? After all you’ve said about it, I’m kinda curious to see the insanity for myself.”
He looked doubtful. “Are you sure?”
No, but you’re not giving me better options. “Isn’t it part of the full Mardi Gras experience?”
“Oh, honey, it’s an experience all its own.” He leaned all the way back, stacking his hands behind his head. Turning his head toward her, he arched an eyebrow. “You think you can handle it?”
That was a tad insulting. “Of course I can handle it. Why would you think I couldn’t?”
“It’s way outside your comfort zone.”
“You know nothing about my comfort zone,” she protested.
“You blushed when that drunk guy propositioned you, and he wasn’t even that graphic about it.”
That was true, but the blush hadn’t come from the guy’s proposition. She’d been hoping Colin would make her that offer, and that was what had made her blush. “It simply caught me off guard.” She tried to add an airy wave, but accidentally caught one of the many, many beads around her neck in the clasp of her watch instead, and had to take a moment to untangle herself.
“There will be nudity, adult situations, suggestive language...”
“So it’s an X-rated event,” she interrupted. “I’m a grown woman and this is the internet age, you know. I don’t think I’m that shockable.”
That earned her a smile. “Then let’s do it.” He rolled to his feet and brushed the grass off before extending a hand to help her up. The crowds weren’t quite as thick here, so Colin didn’t take her hand—sadly—but he did put his hand on the small of her back again to guide her. She was so primed, even that simple touch was downright torture.
The wind off the river blew the hair that had escaped her braid into her eyes as they walked, but the breeze felt good.
She’d chosen New Orleans as her new hometown almost on a whim. It was far enough away to be a fresh start, but it also seemed like the kind of vibrant, exciting place where a person could truly reinvent herself. And after a few Midwest winters, the climate seemed ideal.
She hadn’t had time yet to explore the city, but she was now making a mental list of all the places she wanted to explore sooner rather than later. As they turned toward Jackson Square, all lit up with the cathedral behind it, she began to fall in love. “I can’t wait to see what New Orleans is like when it’s not Mardi Gras.”
“There’s always something going on,” Colin said, “but it’s not always crazy like this. It’s a good bit cleaner, too,” he added, kicking a plastic cup into the gutter with the other trash.
“You really love this city, don’t you?” He’d been a walking, talking guidebook all day, and she belatedly realized that it was genuine love and pride for his hometown causing it—not just the need to inform or impress with his knowledge.
“What’s not to love?” he asked, spreading his arms wide to embrace the city. Directly to his left, a college-age girl was loudly being sick into a garbage can. “Well, except for that,” he corrected and steered her away.
The crowds were getting thicker and Colin reached for her hand as they moved farther into the Quarter. This time, though, he pulled her in front of him, letting his arm cross her chest like a seat belt, pressing her against his chest and tucking a hand into the back waistband of her shorts. “Whatever you do, don’t let go of me. I’ll never find you in this crowd.”
Jamie just wanted to lean against him for awhile—maybe rub a little against that chest—but Colin was pushing her forward into the mass of people on St. Peter’s Street. She didn’t think it would be possible, but the crowd got even denser as they crossed Royal, edging closer to Bourbon Street and the epicenter of all things.
Oh, the internet had not prepared her for this. She’d been expecting costumes, and she wasn’t disappointed. Most of them weren’t as elaborate as those worn in the parades, but some did try with large amounts of feathers and rhinestones. The closer they got to Bourbon, however, the smaller the costumes got—leaving elaborate behind in favor of exposure.
There was a man wearing nothing more than a strategically placed jester’s hat and harlequin face paint walking with a man in a crown and a cape who displayed a very long...um...scepter. A man on stilts wearing lingerie and a feathered mask. And the women—she’d never seen so many breasts before, either exposed as a part of the costume or simply bared in order to be showered with beads. Every body shape and type was on display, and she had to have a bit of respect for the people with enough self-confidence to let it all hang out like that—literally.
Jamie hadn’t led a sheltered life, but she had lived a rather circumspect one. She’d been a good girl from a nice middle-class family; there simply hadn’t been much trouble for her to get in to. She’d flirted with rebellion in college, but then she’d met Joey, who had always worked so hard to keep his public image squeaky clean, to be the kind of player that kids would look up to and their parents would be glad for it. It had been one of the things she’d loved about him—even if she now knew it was all a lie—and she’d been happy to adjust her expectations accordingly. So while Joey had been doing a lot of wild partying—along with other things—behind her back, she’d never been a part of that lifestyle. Now her eyes felt as if they were bugging out of her head.
She heard Colin chuckle in her ear. “I tried to warn you.”
“I’m amazed, but you can hold off on the smelling salts.” She twisted around to look at him. “This is unbelievable, though. Is it legal to get naked like that?”
Colin shrugged. “Public nudity is illegal, but on Bourbon Street—especially this time of year—as long as you’re not causing a ruckus, you’re probably safe from arrest.”
“I guess the police have plenty of bigger fish to fry today.”
“Exactly.”
Their progress through the crowd had been slow but steady, giving Jamie the opportunity to look around and absorb all she could, but then they got caught in a raucous pack parked under a balcony.
