Riding Lil' Red Hard

by Eddie Cleveland

  Ella stands to the side, holding her hands over her ears as I take aim at the little bull’s-eye across from me. I lift the ridiculously light gun, take aim, and fire off the rounds in a smooth discharge.

  Smirking, I look over at the attendant expectantly. “Just tell him which one you want, Ella.” I nod, but the man behind the counter shakes his head at me slowly.

  “Not so fast there, special ops, you only hit the target twice. You have to hit it five times to get one of those guys.” He points a dirty finger up at the human-sized pink bears and giant gorillas holding stuffed hearts.

  “What? No way, lemme see that.” I squint at the circles in disbelief. The carny grabs the sheet and tugs it off, handing it to me.

  “That’s okay, it’s no big deal.” Ella tries to soothe my wounded ego.

  Sure enough, he wasn’t lying. I only managed to fire two holes into the paper target. I hang my head in shame. “These things are rigged,” I mutter as my cheeks blaze bright. “Well, what does two shots win then?” I demand, frowning at the smugness on the carny’s face.

  “Anything from the bottom row.” He points to a wasteland of plastic trinkets and junk lining the shelf below the targets.

  “I’ll take that one.” Ella points to a pathetic stuffed owl and the man behind the counter grabs it for her.

  “Let’s go.” I shake my head. “So much for that.” I laugh at how embarrassingly bad I did. “Maybe I should’ve kept the whole SEAL thing to myself.” I wince.

  “Oh, don’t say that. It’s a cute owl. Didn’t you say you have a daughter? You should give it to her. I bet she’d really like it.” Ella holds it out to me and I put my hand over my heart like she just managed to hit five bullets into it.

  “What? You don’t want this amazing prize I won you? Wait, did I, uh, mention that I was a SEAL? I mean, are you sure you want to give away something someone with so much specialized training won you?” I joke with her and she laughs.

  “Well, when you put it that way… yes.” She giggles and holds it out to me.

  “Actually, Chloe will love it, so thank you.” I grab the pink owl and stuff it in my pocket. “How about we hit up the Ferris wheel instead? I think the view will be nice at this time of night. I mean, I probably shouldn’t oversell it after this, but I think it’ll be nice.” I can’t help but get lost in her eyes. They pull me in, making me wish I could know everything about her instantly and completely. She looks young, but she has such a soulful depth to her eyes. Like she’s already lived a few lifetimes.

  “I’d love to.” She tilts her head up at me and I have to stop myself from grabbing her in my arms and kissing her. Instead, somehow I step away from the intense magnetic pull I feel toward her and lead her across the fairgrounds, guiding her with my arm wrapped around her waist, and enjoy this moment.

  10 | Ella

  The elderly man running the Ferris wheel double-checks that the bar is locked into place and gives me a wink before pushing a button that makes our seat swing up to the next spot on the wheel. I grip onto the bar tight, not used to the sensation of the rocking seat.

  “You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” Jackson peers down at my hands, concern clouding his gray eyes.

  “No, no. Nothing like that,” I reassure him. “Ahhh!” I let out a small, involuntary yelp as the seat sails up higher and then comes to an abrupt stop.

  “This is all normal.” He slides his arm around my shoulders, the warmth of his body enveloping me as it presses against mi

  The faint smell of his musk teases me, making me breathe him in. For a moment, the sway of the seat, the constant background noise of the fair, even the chill of the night, all slip away from us. My gaze drifts down over the trim hairs shadowing his jaw and to his lips. What would it feel like to kiss him? What would it be like to lose myself in him, in his eyes, in his arms, in his bed…

  The last thought jerks me back to reality with a blazing heat burning over my cheeks. I flash him a guilty smile, afraid he can somehow read my thoughts.

  “Hey.” He tilts his head and tries to capture my gaze again, but I look away.

  I play with my ring, tugging it up my finger and pushing it back down as we move up higher in the air. Almost all the seats are full now. It won’t be long until we’re whirling around in the night, side by side.

  “What’s going on in that pretty mind? You look like you’re deep in thought.” He pulls me closer into him and I can’t help but inhale him shamelessly into my lungs.

  I can’t tell him the racing, dirty thoughts I’m having. I can’t tell him that, although I’ve had them before, I’ve never had the chance to act on any of them. I’ve never even been kissed by a man, let alone claimed by one. Before I left my country, I had been on exactly two dates. One ended with a nervous handshake while my father watched from the front step and one ended with a soft, quick kiss on the lips. I’ve never had one of those passionate kisses you see in movies. I’ve never experienced the tantalizing magic I’ve read about so often in my books.

  “I’m just admiring the view.” I nod out to the horizon of twinkling city lights, only half-lying to him.

  “So am I,” he answers, never taking his eyes off me. I’m not sure what to say. Luckily, the Ferris wheel lurches into action and the moment passes without me needing to say a word. The lights swirl by us as we slide down the other side of the giant circle, only to begin to climb back up the other side. “Tell me about yourself, Ella. I take it you’re not from here, right?”

  His question makes me sit a little taller and tug on my ring faster than before.

  “Why do you say that?” I try not to sound defensive or frightened. Have I done something or said something that makes him think I’m an illegal? My mind races with worst-case scenarios and threats I’ve been hearing from Sylvia for years now.

  “You have a slight accent,” he explains, watching my face closely.

  “Ah, yes.” I force a tight-lipped smile. “You’re right. I was born in Colombia.” My heart beats fast as I try to think of how to change the subject. “How about you? You mentioned you have a little girl. How old is she?” The stress is making my voice come out a little higher than normal. I hold my breath and hope he will move on from his questions.

  “Chloe, yeah, she’s my world.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief as he moves on.

  “She’s four and she is a handful.” He looks out at the view below us as we crest the top of the wheel.

  “It’s unusual for a father to have custody, isn’t it?” I can tell that my question has made him just as uncomfortable as the ones he was asking me. I wish I could take it back immediately. I’m only trying to make conversation, but the pain that just flashed over his face tells me I’ve struck a nerve.

  “It is,” he answers simply. “Her mother died in a car accident just over a year ago. It was complicated, but I have full custody now.”

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

  “Don’t be. We hadn’t known each other for a long time before that. It was an awful loss for Chloe, but I like to think that we’ve helped each other through.”

  “She’s lucky to have you.” I place my hand over the one he has resting on the bar. The lights swirl around us like a Van Gogh painting. Everything about this moment is surreal and beautiful.

  “I’m the lucky one,” he murmurs, looking down at my lips with hunger in his eyes.

  The desire to kiss him is bubbling right beneath the surface. I want to surrender to him, to have his lips pressed into mine, his tongue exploring my mouth. My nipples pebble and I lean into Jackson. His head hovers over me, his mouth getting closer and closer. His scent intoxicates me, getting me drunk on his manly musk.

  Ka-chunk!

  I don’t mean to scream, but the Ferris wheel comes to a grinding halt. Literally. It sounded like some kind of gear ground together and our chair is wildly flailing about just as we were starting to come down the other side.

  “Shhh, it’s okay.” Jackson
pulls me into his chest and I try to get my breathing under control.

  “It didn’t sound okay.” I notice the man running the ride frowning and pushing some buttons. “Oh no, it’s stuck.” Panic rises up inside me.

  “It’ll be fine, I promise.” He runs his hand over my hair and my heartbeat begins to slow. I snuggle against his chest, listening to the music of his heart singing a melody just for me. It’s soothing, being in his strong arms, surrounded by bright lights. It’s all like a dream.

  Cree-unck!

  The Ferris wheel starts back up again, slowly edging us back down toward the ground. The attendant lets people off the ride, loudly informing them that it’s shut down for the rest of the night. Before I know it, our seat has reached the bottom and he’s sending us on our way. My enchanting moment with Jackson has passed, but the night is still young. As we walk out from the barrier surrounding the wheel, I hear a song that puts a smile on my face and a bounce in my step.

  “Do you hear that?” I grin up at Jackson, the music overwhelming me. “It’s ‘Despacito.’”

  With the adrenaline of our faulty Ferris wheel ride and our almost kiss still pumping through my veins, a surge of energy I haven’t felt in a long time invigorates me. And there’s only one thing you can do when you’re feeling this vibrant and the music is this good.

  “Let’s dance.” I grab his hands and pull him to the side of one of the food carts.

  11 | Jackson

  “Wait, what?” I rub my hand over the side of my face and watch in stunned silence as Ella lifts her arms up and begins to hypnotically sway her hips to the song.

  “Let’s dance,” she repeats, rolling her head back and letting her long hair cascade down over her shoulders, kissing her hips. I wish I could kiss those hips. My mouth waters as I let my mind wander to a place where I’m licking a sensual trail over her thick curves and down between her legs to her sweet pussy.

  “I’m not really a good dancer.” I look around self-consciously. There are some people stopping or slowing their pace to watch Ella roll her shoulders and shimmy her hips to the hottest song of the summer. However, I can’t be bothered to worry about them. After all, she clearly doesn’t give a shit what they think. So, why should I?

  “Nonsense!” She reaches out and grasps my hands, tugging me toward her.

  I could fight it. I could stand here like a statue, refusing to move. Refusing to live. Refusing to let this moment take me over. But why? Didn’t I come out tonight to have new experiences? Besides, there’s something so spellbinding about a woman who just throws caution to the wind and dances uninhibited like this when a song strikes her. Of course, the perfect jiggle of her full ass with each shake of her rounded hips definitely helps.

  I let her guide me through the song, clumsily dancing some kind of bastardised version of a salsa that would make any instructor cringe. I don’t care, though. I don’t care if people are watching. I don’t care if they’re recording us on their phones. I pull her in tight to my body, watching the joy dance in her brown eyes and her body shimmy and shake in all the right places. I let myself get drawn into her world. Until it’s just us, just our bodies pressed together, just our feet walking each other back and forth, dancing to our song.

  Her foot grinds under mine and she cries out in pain, “Oh!”

  “Shit! I’m so sorry.” I stop and back up, looking down at her trampled shoe. “Are you okay? I told you I was a terrible dancer.” Heat rises up my neck like the mercury on a thermometer, spilling over my hairline as the embarrassment clings onto me.

  That’s one way to break the spell. Cripple the woman. Ella tenderly places her foot down on the ground and forces a smile to her lips.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m all right.” Her eyebrows reach skyward as she searches my face.

  The crowd we never noticed gathering around begins to scatter, some laughing and shaking their heads as I grab onto Ella and pull her into my arms. “I swear I was born with a couple left feet,” I murmur.

  “Well, I don’t know about that.” She laughs. “I think you just need a good teacher. I can show you a few things.” She leans into me and my thoughts swirl to an entirely different kind of dance I’d like her to show me. One where she’s naked and horizontal.

  “Besides, I’m completely fine,” she reassures me. “See?” Her fingers clutch my hand and she twirls out across the grass before twirling back into me. Without thinking I dip her back in my arms, leaning over her. I softly cover her plump lips with a tender kiss.

  12 | Ella

  I surrender in his arms, parting my lips for him as his tongue slides into my mouth, exploring mine. An electric shiver runs through my body, down my spine, and tingles through my limbs as he holds me safe against him. His kiss is everything I could ever dream of. It’s actually better, because it’s real.

  In the distance, I can hear a tune. My body reacts to it before my mind does, knowing it’s something I can’t ignore. I stand up and Jackson holds me against his firm body. Stepping back slightly, he kisses me once, twice on the lips and then on the forehead. My heart is racing with wild thoughts as my body aches for more of his touch.

  I know this isn’t the place for that, but I can’t help but wish we were somewhere a little more private. Somewhere he could strip me down and cover my entire body in those kisses, sending jolts and vibrations through every cell until he sent an entirely different type of jolt through me. When he makes me his.

  I sigh and open my eyes, finally hearing the distant tune come into focus just as my eyes start to see his rugged face clearly again. It’s my special ringtone for Sylvia! I jam my hand in my bag and yank out my phone.

  “Hijueputa,” I curse in Spanish as my thoughts spin so fast they make me dizzy as I would be if I went on one of these rides. How did I miss seven text messages and a phone call? My voicemail is blowing up with what I’m sure are angry threats. I pull back from Jackson and see the last few texts across my screen.

  Sylvia: home early, come get us.

  Sylvia: where ru?

  Sylvia: taking a fucking uber!!!!

  I check the timestamp on that last message. Sylvia sent it almost twenty minutes ago! “Oh God, I have to go.” A cold sweat breaks over my hairline as I look up into Jackson’s confused eyes.

  “You have to go? Now? What’s going on?” He looks down at my screen, but I pull it out of his sight.

  I don’t have time to explain any of this. I can’t tell him the first thing about my life with Sylvia, let alone the fact that I’m basically wearing her stolen wardrobe and sneaking out behind her back. I can’t explain how she pretty much owns me, or how I disobeyed her. And I definitely can’t explain how much worse my life is about to get if she finds out any of this.

  “I’m sorry. I just, I can’t.” I leave Jackson in shock as I race through the fairgrounds toward the gate.

  “Ella, come back!” he calls out, but he doesn’t try to chase me down.

  Good thing. I don’t have time to stop and explain this to him. I’ve got to get back to the house before Sylvia and Raymond return. There’s no telling what she’ll do if she gets there first and sees me strolling in wearing her expensive dress and shoes. I have a pretty good idea of how it would go, though. I’m not prepared to live my life as the sexual property of the highest bidder.

  It’s only ten blocks to the house. I can get there before them if I run. I stop just outside the gate and rip my shoes off my feet. Clutching them tight in my hand, I scurry down the sidewalk, desperate to beat Sylvia to the house. Desperate to keep my life the same. Desperate to keep living under Sylvia’s rule.

  13 | Jackson

  Before I can even blink, Ella has disappeared into the crowd, running away from me frantically. I rub my hand over the back of my neck and pace back and forth. I shouldn’t have kissed her like that. It was probably too much, too soon. Ella doesn’t seem like the kind of girl who jumps into bed on the first date and she probably thought that’s where I was trying
to take this.

  “Fuck!” I slam my fist into my palm and look up at the angry mother giving me the stink eye for swearing in front of her son. He must be about ten years old, so I doubt I’m saying anything he hasn’t heard, but I still know better. “Sorry.” I grimace at my outburst.

  She doesn’t say a word, giving me the side-eye as she shuffles her kid off to another part of the fair. I jam my balled up hands in my pockets and kick the compacted dirt as I walk aimlessly through the crowd.

  Maybe I can get a hold of her on Tinder, talk to her and make her understand that I just got swept up in the moment. I didn’t mean to frighten her off like a timid deer racing away from the edge of the busy freeway at night. I hate that I ruined such a fun first date. Especially one where I had a genuine connection.

  I grit my teeth, setting my jaw as I swerve around hordes of people enjoying their nights. Some eating cotton candy. Some laughing and joking around. Some holding big stuffed animals they won at the games booth. I smirk as I remember my own embarrassing attempt to win Ella one of those. Even that humiliating defeat was a highlight of the night for me. Just being next to her, just watching her smile, watching her enjoy life, it made this entire night better than I could have ever imagined it would be.

  I look up at the darkened Ferris wheel and come to a stop outside the barricade surrounding it. I’m not sure why I walked back here. I guess I wasn’t really paying attention to where my feet were taking me. Part of me was hoping that if I stuck around for a bit maybe Ella would come back and explain what I did that made her run away from me like that.

  Leaning against the metal gate, I look inside in a daze, hating how stupid I was for ruining the one date I’ve had since I was in the SEALs. My gaze travels across the ground when a shimmering glint catches my eye. It’s hard to see from where I’m standing, but is it? It almost looks like a ring lying on the ground underneath the wheel.