B is for Balloons
Eliot still didn't understand how a circus could rip someone off, but they were here anyway.
Before they left Sophie had paired them off. She had automatically put her and Nate together. ("After all, who else can keep him from drinking all the beer in this place?")
Then Sophie had looked over the other three and said, "Well, Eliot is too scary to be alone. So I suppose you and Parker can go together. Just pretend to be a couple, okay? That should keep anyone from becoming suspicious."
"What about me?" Hardison asked. "After all, I'm a grown man just like Eliot. So how am I supposed to look "inconspicuous"?"
Sophie stood for a moment looking at him, before saying, "Just act gay and no one will mind."
That had been the best part of Eliot's day.
But now he was stuck at the stupid fair, with an overexcited, child-like blonde. As Parker dragged him along pointing at rides, he got more and more annoyed.
Eventually Parker came to a stop, and Eliot came up behind to find her staring at a man selling balloons. Instead of asking for one, or something that would've made no sense to anyone but Parker, she just slowly walked away.
The hitter tried to hold out, but the sad look on Parker's face finally won him over. He told her to go on the carousel, and promised he would wait for her to finish.
When Parker got off the ride, Eliot was standing there with a bunch of balloons in every color, just for her.
Eliot would never forget the smile that spread across Parker's face, as bright as sunshine and bigger then Texas.
