by Alicia Rae
Unanticipated laughter escaped me as she’d caught me off guard. “That’s it?” I laughed, hoping she would reveal something more about herself.
“I really love pizza.” She smirked.
Noises from the Ferris wheel faded into the distance as I focused solely on her.
“And pasta,” she added.
“What kind of pizza?” I questioned, now taking whatever piece of information she would share with me.
“Any kind, but I really enjoy a good cheese pizza where the cheese is perfectly melted.” She sighed dreamily.
“Duly noted,” I mocked. “What else?”
“Uh…” Audrey hesitated. “I like to watch sports—football, baseball, soccer.” She shrugged. “You name it, and I’ll be glued to the TV, screaming at it when my team misses a score.”
“That’s good because I love sports, too.” I chuckled. Then, I narrowed my eyes in jest at her clever evasiveness. “We really need to work on your communication skills.”
“Well, I just gave you three top secrets about me. It’s your turn to enlighten me with a few facts about yourself, Devil,” she retorted with a lively sass ringing in her tone.
I’d be damned if I didn’t like a challenge. My heart rate soared because of her swift ability to redirect the conversation from herself without giving too much away. “I can almost eat a whole pizza by myself, beauty, so we’ll need to order two on our dinner date.”
I grinned mischievously down at her. She was definitely going to have a meal with me later even if I had to throw her over my shoulder and carry her the whole way there.
“And anytime you want to play tackle football”—my grin broadened even more—“you just let me know.”
Audrey let out a wholehearted laugh. “You’re on.” She pointed her finger at me. “But that was only two things. You still owe me one more.”
“How does pasta count as a fact from you?” I retorted, noting the Ferris wheel was still going and more people had lengthened the line behind us.
“It just does.” She shrugged, not caving.
I admired her backbone, but I decided to play dirty to see how she would respond to me. I bent forward, intentionally invading her personal space. I wanted to see her reaction to my proximity, to see her affected the way she always did to me with her grace.
Audrey’s breath caught, and her lips parted slightly. Nevertheless, she stayed rooted in place, and it encouraged me to speak my innermost thoughts.
“You’re my mission, Audrey,” I breathed inches from her face.
The cool wind from the ride blew against me, and the movement made her scent fill my nose as her hair lifted from the breeze.
“I want to know everything about you—what makes you laugh and what makes you smile, how to avoid the sadness I occasionally see glimpses of in those stunning eyes of yours. I want to make sure sadness is never there again.’’ My voice was solemn and earnest. “And when we get on this Ferris wheel”—I glanced at the ride and then back at her—“if the damn thing ever stops, I’m going to kiss you again and feel your soft lips on mine. It’s all I’ve thought about for the last five days.”
As though it was meant to be, the ride came to an end at that very moment. I backed up fractionally to see Audrey’s face.
Before I could try to gauge her reaction, the man operating the ride shouted, “Next,” breaking our concentration.
“Let’s go,” I said to Audrey, gently tugging on the stunned beauty at my side.
As we climbed the short set of metal stairs, I let my hand slide down to hers before enclosing them together. At the top of the steps, we watched the gentleman who was working the ride. He rapidly flipped open the front bar to car number eight and motioned us forward. Audrey entered first as I steadied her. I carefully stepped in next, so I would not rock the car on its hinges.
The worker closed the gate and locked it, and then the car rose into the air before the man loaded more people onto the Ferris wheel. I shifted to the right, so I could observe Audrey’s quiet demeanor. She was silently gazing up into the sky. If I had learned anything about her in the short time since we met, it was that she was probably a flustered ball of nerves from my speech when we had stood in line.
“Audrey,” I called her name in a low tone, successfully pulling her out of her haze.
Her anxious expression met mine just as a small shiver rocked her shoulders. My intuition told me it was more from the chill of the air than her nerves, so I removed my Marines hoodie in one fluid motion and faced her while raising my hands.
“Here,” I spoke, waiting for her to lift her arms.
When she did, I glided the material over her head and watched her with steady eyes as she maneuvered each of her arms into the sleeves. Her hair had fallen over her face, blocking my view. Unable to confine my desire to touch her, I reached forward and brushed the misplaced silky tendrils behind her ear.
Fuck. I had planned to make her wait. I hadn’t wanted to kiss her until the end of the ride or until I could find the perfect moment, but my resolve broke free. I needed to kiss her more than I needed anything else right now, so I gently skimmed my fingertips around to her nape and drew her closer.
Audrey’s lips parted, and her eyes briefly closed, but then her head gently shook from side to side. She whispered, “I can’t.” It appeared as though she was having a bottomless internal debate with herself, and the very idea was causing her pain.
The Ferris wheel moved up again with a small jolt, but this time, it didn’t stop. Our eyes stayed rooted on one another as we went up and down with each passing loop.
The breeze blew against my face, the sun beat against my skin, and my heart pounded hard in my chest. It was just us, nothing else, in each passing second.
Yet, she couldn’t give me the one thing I craved the most—her.
I dropped my forehead against hers, wanting to feel her soft skin on mine. “Can’t or won’t?” I remembered I had asked the very same question before, and her answer hadn’t been good enough to keep me away.
Audrey briefly shut her eyes before opening them again. “Can’t,” she whispered in a strained voice. Her conflicting eyes were painful to witness.
I didn’t know what kind of demons this beautiful woman was fighting inside, but I didn’t care. I knew deep down she wanted me the same way I wanted her, and I would slay whatever she needed me to or anything that pulled her away from me. I knew I had to draw the darkness out of her to save her from herself.
“I don’t believe you,” I said, my voice low.
I ran the knuckles of my free hand down her cheek as I heard a barely there moan leave her throat. Unable to resist the way the soft noise affected me, my fingers at her nape skimmed a trail over to the base of her neck, back and forth, before working their way upward.
“You don’t have to be scared, Audrey. Let me show you the way. Tell me to stop, and I’ll leave you alone, but make sure you say it for the right reasons,” I added.
~Audrey~
My inner emotions raged like a violent, horrendous storm within me as Blake held me close and bore into my eyes. His words impacted me and made me feel things I wanted to deny. At the same time¸ my body begged for me to kiss him, to embrace this sacred moment with him and not let it pass me by. So, before I could think of another reason not to give myself what I so desperately wanted, I kissed him.
At first, I melted my lips with his in a timid fashion, exploring them for what was only the second time since he had walked into my life. Then, indescribable sensations took over inside of me. My hands had a mind of their own, rising to his face to pull him to me, as I let all my reservations fly into the wind blowing around us with each passing circle of the Ferris wheel.
The background noise faded away, leaving just him and me. All that mattered was how Blake made me feel right here, as if nothing else could have a hold on me. Every other thought would have to wait until later as I seized the moment with him. His tongue stroked mine with a tenderness
that made me feel like I was his even if just for these next few seconds. The urgency in his kiss intensified as did my own at our connection. Desire surged from every part of me, spreading outward like an untamable wildfire of passion. My body responded to him in a way that it never had with another man before.
The ride came to an end, and once again, it jolted our seat with its sudden halt. I drew back, gasping for air and trying to regain my composure. While steadying my rapidly beating, out-of-control heart rate, I instantly wondered if every kiss with him would be so fervent and consuming. Surely, it had to be some sort of chemistry we shared. Not every couple I knew walked around with their lips locked together all day, every day. I forced myself not to let it have any great significance beyond that.
Blake rose to exit the ride first. He spun around, extending his hand to me. Without speaking, afraid of what I might say in the heat of the moment, I took his offering and climbed out on shaky legs, keeping my eyes on anything but him in hopes that he would not see how flushed and affected I felt by him.
He led me down the stairs, away from the line, before he came to a stop. His body rotated to face me, and I knew he was keenly staring at me with inquisitive eyes, trying to get a read on me. Mere seconds passed before he drew me into his arms. His lips gently kissed the top of my head, and I found myself leaning into him with my hands on his solid chest. I closed my eyes and inhaled his fresh scent. Between my nose slightly touching his gray shirt and me wearing his hoodie, his masculine scent filled my senses. I tried to savor what it felt like to be in his arms, to be held by a man.
Blake stepped back slightly and raised his hand to tip my chin up. “Where to?” he asked loud enough so that I could hear him above all the commotion swarming around us.
Desperately needing to lighten the mood between us, I evaluated the park as far as my gaze would allow. There has to be something around here to accomplish my goal. Setting eyes on the bumper cars, I grinned. It was perfect. “Those,” I stated, tugging on his muscular arm as I gestured toward the ride.
Blake took a small forward step. “Bumper cars?” He chuckled in his familiar deep laugh, taking another step toward me.
I glanced back at him just in time to see him grin wolfishly.
“Now, you’re talkin’ my style,” he added.
The two of us patiently waited in the back of the line. When it was our turn to get on the cars, Blake handed the teenage male with spiky green hair six tickets. The guy let us pass through the metal gate, and I scanned each of the vacant bumper cars. I selected a neon purple one with a white stripe down the center, and I climbed into the powered small machine. Blake chose a solid black one that was kitty-corner to mine.
As Blake lifted one foot to step in, he glanced over his shoulder at me. His handsome eyes had a devilish, exciting glint. “Don’t get too rough with me,” he informed me with a teasing tone.
I perked a playful brow his way, reveling in the look he was giving me. It was one I had never seen before, and I liked it—a lot. A sudden thrill raced up my spine.
“I can’t make any promises,” I retorted, mirroring the infectious glimmer in his stare, still soaking in this newly revealed side of him.
He was so damn hot, especially when his expression turned confident. The very sight of him left me squirming in the black cushion of the bumper-car seat beneath me.
Blake wolfishly smirked over at me. “Then, cute or not, you’d better prepare yourself for some retribution.”
“Retribution?” I gaped over at him, instantly feigning innocence. “You wouldn’t!”
His deep laughter flowed out of him. From the corner of my eye, I noticed it caught the attention of a few female admirers who began watching us, but Blake’s gaze never left mine.
He grinned. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and find out.”
With a wink, Blake took his seat. I had to chuckle at how ridiculous his sexy two hundred pounds of rock-hard muscle looked being crammed into a tiny one-person bumper car.
The guy with spiked hair working the ride lifted a microphone and shouted, “All right, ladies and gents.” He raised a harness belt in his grasp for a demonstration. “This is a five-point seat belt. The top left and right straps click together at the chest. Then, the base of that buckle connects to the strap between your legs with a final click.”
The guy sauntered around to each individual, double-checking the seat belts to make sure they were secure and helping those who needed it.
My adrenaline peaked while I inwardly sought ways to ram my purple car into Blake’s, realizing I had never really lost my competitive streak over the years. This is going to be a blast.
Once the worker finished checking everyone, he raised the microphone again. “Before we start, here are the rules.”
He pointed toward a metal sign near the black-and-white timer board, and he rattled off the longest rule list I had ever heard. I could not help but marvel over what had happened to just being a kid. Nowadays, there was a rule or regulation that warranted five more rules followed by five clauses.
Then, the guy yelled his closing statement, “Most of all, have fun!”
Now that I can do.
The horn blew with a squeaking sound, and all the cars scattered. People were going in every direction, and I didn’t have the slightest clue where Blake was. I maneuvered my purple bumper car over against the right wall, so I could scan the small area to my left and in front of me for Blake.
A bump at my backside jostled me forward before I could locate him, and I collided with a blue car. A woman was in it, laughing along with me. Finally, I whipped my head around in time to see that, of course, Blake was the one who had hit me. His gorgeous smirk told me that he was thoroughly enjoying earning the award for hitting my car first.
I floored the gas pedal and cranked the steering wheel at the same time, making a sharp left, in an effort to wiggle my way out from between the two cars. I was able to make it several yards across the rink. Somehow, within seconds, the blue car I’d struck earlier with the woman was now on my tail. Blake was right behind her. I attempted to weave through all the cars, so I could get away, but more cars smashed into me from all angles. I had nowhere to go for safety. My body felt like a ping-pong ball being slammed around.
I glanced left to right, trying to find the perfect opening to get myself behind Blake, so I could even the odds. As I found myself in the middle of a yellow and a red bumper car, I knew this might be my only chance to change directions. I cranked the wheel again, rotating around a hundred and eighty degrees.
Blake was about six feet in front of me, heading straight for me. Those adorable blue eyes of his flashed at me with a challenging smirk, and his mouth curved up into a carefree grin, effectively revving up my blood a notch, before we smacked right into one another. We busted out into laughter as we flew backward into our cushioned seats.
Another car rammed into my right side, breaking my connection with Blake. His head whipped toward the guy in a green car. Glaring, Blake repositioned his car and slammed into the guy. I had to giggle at his sweet, overbearing gesture. Then, becoming aware that my small window of opportunity was closing, I took advantage of Blake’s distraction, and I stepped on the pedal and smashed into his side. He tilted his head over at me, giving me that sexy, playful look. I lifted my hand and waved as I winked at him.
His lower lip twitched in amusement as if he was saying, Game on.
I sped off back into the mix of bumper cars, not wanting to give him the chance to catch me. As I slammed into several people and others hit me, I held on to the wheel tightly, and I let go, laughing uncontrollably. All the while, I deliberated how long it had been since I had this much fun or even been to a carnival.
The answer was depressing because it had been years and years. My life over the last seven years had been school—book after book, test after test. There had been no fun in between—no living, no laughter, no making mistakes—because I could not afford to have any room for e
rror.
Furthermore, I could not even specifically remember how long it had been since I genuinely laughed so much. It felt so good and normal to do so. I’d wasted so much time trying to perfect myself and the stepping-stones in my life that I had forgotten what it was like to just be in the moment.
And in this very one, there was nothing sweeter than chasing Blake, or running from him, while laughing and just having a good time in this fifty-by-fifty-foot rink.
When the timer dinged, all the cars came to a stop. I unstrapped my seat belt and turned to see Blake’s beaming, infectious smile firmly molded in place. His hand was outstretched toward me, and I took it and rose to my feet. We walked toward the silver exit gate.
Blake rolled his shoulders and stretched his free arm. “Jeez, those things are ruthless on the body.”
“Or the people actually driving the bumper cars are,” I disputed teasingly, following Blake’s lead out into the crowd.
“That might have some truth to it.” He chuckled and then grinned. “I should have warned you that I’m naturally a little competitive.”
My steps briefly paused as I stared him down. “A little?”
“Okay”—he rolled his eyes mischievously—“maybe a lot. In all fairness, you have to cut me some slack.”
“Oh, yeah? How so?” I scoffed provocatively with similar hilarity. I was actually intrigued to know where he was going with this preposterous argument of his.
Blake nodded, still guiding us through the growing crowd. His eyes were darting between me and the crowd filled with people of all ages. Apparently, crowds weren’t his thing. “I grew up with two brothers, remember? It was only natural to fight and tackle one another. Otherwise, one of us would get left behind.”
I guessed a household of three boys would naturally have led to some steep competition, so I could see his reasoning. “So, I’m assuming I should be thankful that I was an only child then?”
“For sure. You didn’t have to fear a sibling stealing your toys, which later led to accidentally breaking them, or someone else hoarding the remote during prime-time television. That always ended in a wrestling match between two, if not three, of us,” Blake answered, affection filling his tone. He stopped in front of an elephant-ear booth. “Would you like something to eat or drink?”