“Well, let's see,” he replied as he moved around to look through the videos with Rio.

I took my time looking over the beer selection, pantomiming as if I was trying to make up my mind. Meanwhile, I watched out of the corner of my eye as Adam surreptitiously stuffed his coat full.

“This is good, and so is this one,” I heard the clerk counseling. “That's okay, but if you want to know my favorite, then... let me find it.”

Finally, I grabbed two cases of PBR and lugged them back up to the front, aware that I was literally dripping with sweat. As I set them down on the counter, I heard Rio squeal gleefully, “Daddy's Little Princess? I knew you were a free-eeak!” She elongated the last word in a playful, sing-song way, stretching it out three or four syllables longer than it had any right to be.

The clerk slid back behind the counter and rang me up for the beer. I mopped the sweat off my forehead with the bottom of my tanktop, then set down a couple bills and my fake ID.

“Pick up a pack of rubbers, too,” Rio said as she joined us. “Magnums. I'm an optimist,” she added with a wink to the clerk.

“Okay, but we don't have enough for the smut,” I said, trying not to watch as Adam sneaked out of the store.

“Aww,” Rio whined and made a pouty-face.

“I'm sorry about her,” I said to the clerk as I shook my head ruefully. “I just can't take her anywhere.”

“No worries,” he replied with a grin. “I was dying of boredom before you guys came in anyways.”

He plucked up the bills and didn't even bother to glance at my ID. Then Rio slipped the condoms into her purse, I grabbed the two cases of beer, and we were on our way.

When we got back to the car, Adam was busy emptying his jacket of two bag of chips, some beef jerky, Corn-Nuts, an assortment of candy bars, a two-liter of Dr. Pepper, and pocketfuls of little airplane-size bottles of liquor.