Viki tells them it's body paint

"It's body paint," Viki cut in smoothly, stepping between them and Sofie. "She's an art student. It's for a project."

"Whoa," the boy said again, his gaze drifting lower, to the blue shorts. He frowned, leaning in. "Wait. The texture is... weird. Is that...?"

Sofie felt the blood drain from her face. He was staring right at her pelvic bone. He could see the pores. He could see the tiny, individual hairs that the paint hadn't completely smoothed over.

"She's an artist!" Robin shouted, his voice cracking with panic. He physically turned Sofie away from them, shielding her with his body. "We have to go! Project... deadline!"

He grabbed a pint of Chunky Monkey from the freezer and practically shoved Sofie toward the checkout.

"Wait!" the boy called out, laughing. "Is she naked? Those look like real boobs! Is she wearing panties at least?"

"Run!" Sofie gasped.

Robin didn't need telling. He marched her to the self-checkout, scanning the ice cream with trembling fingers. Viki tossed a bag of chips onto the scanner.

"Did he know?" Sofie whispered, tears of humiliation pricking her eyes. "He knew."

"Maybe he thought it was just a really good texture effect," Viki said, though she was grinning. "Besides, you made it out. You survived the store."

They paid and hurried out the doors, Sofie clutching the bag of chips to her chest like a shield.

"I am never doing that again," Sofie declared as soon as they hit the sidewalk. "Never."

"You did great," Robin said, looking at her with a mix of admiration and lingering lust. He glanced down at her blue shorts, where the paint had rubbed a little thin on her inner thigh during their escape. "Though, we might need to do some touch-ups before we go anywhere else."

"Touch-ups?" Sofie groaned. "That means more painting."

"More painting," Viki agreed.

Sofie looked at Robin, who was already staring at her thighs with that terrifyingly determined look in his eyes. "Fine," she sighed. "But Robin? If you 'accidentally' touch my clit one more time, I'm going to lose my mind. And not in the fun way."

"Strictly professional," Robin grinned, holding up his hands. "Strictly... artistic."