Chapter 18
Afew days later, everyone met at my house for our day at the fair. Then, after introductions and a few small pleasantries, Jamie explained the game plan. I knew this wasn’t a date, but hearing him discuss protocols and game plans hammered it home. Technically it was Jamie’s watch so he was the only one who couldn’t drink, but they all agreed it’d be better, safer, if they all stayed sober. Before leaving, Jamie made us all promise to stay together as a group.
Ashley and I rode with Jamie. Jack, Meg, and AJ followed us. Chris and Vicky were meeting us there later, after dropping Zoe off at Vicky’s parents.
Ashley practically drooled all over herself during introductions because she thought AJ was seriously hot. I’d be too embarrassed to be act like that, but Ashley was fearless and unapologetically herself, and AJ didn’t seem to mind the attention. I wish I was half as confident as Ashley. Then maybe I wouldn’t have gotten myself into such a shitty relationship.
Ashley and I sat in the back seat, not that we had to, but she said she wanted to. She said it’d be more fun for us, plus it’d be easier for us to talk. Jamie chuckled, and said there was no point in arguing.
When Ashley asked Jamie if AJ was seeing anyone, I blushed. God only knew why, she wasn’t asking for me.
“Why, you interested?” Jamie teased.
“I might be. I mean, everyone’s got a date except me, and him, so it seems like a good idea to partner up.”
Damn it! I told Ashley last night this wasn’t a date. She told me I sounded disappointed.
Am I? Maybe a little. And is it that obvious? I didn’t want to be attracted to Jamie. He’d never be attracted to me, and I didn’t want to get hurt when he told me so. He’d try to let me down gently, but I still didn’t want to go through all that. Besides, it’d probably cause problems between him and Chris and I’d never be able to forgive myself if that happened.
She hadn’t mean to embarrass me, but she had. At some point, she’d decided Jamie and I should get together and wouldn’t give up until she helped Cupid pierced our hearts with his arrows. She’d always said she didn’t believe in love or happily ever after, but I’d always suspected it was a lie she used as a shield to protect her heart, because now, more than ever, I was sure Ashley was a romantic at heart.
I hope Jamie doesn’t think that I think this is a date.Because I don’t. It wasn’t, we were was just a group of friends hanging out for the day.
Jamie glanced at me over his shoulder and grinned before answering. I tried to act casual and smile back, but I’m pretty sure I looked like a total freak with my red cheeks and over eager smile.
“As far as I know, he’s single. But he’s also working so don’t distract him.” He made eye contact with Ashley in the mirror. “Too much.”
“Aye aye, Captain.” She saluted him.
“Never made Captain.” He laughed.
At the gate, Jamie insisted on covering our entrance fees, despite my protests. Ashley was no help and shamelessly took Jamie’s side when I tried to argue. She was still pretending this was a date, so of course she thought he should be paying for me. She considered it a “BFF Bonus” when he offered to pay for her too. Not that she couldn’t afford the five dollar fee, because she totally could, but if she argued about paying her own way, I’d keep arguing about paying mine, and my clever best friend wasn’t going to let that happen.
I looked around as we waited for Jack, Meg, and AJ inside the entrance, half expecting to see Craig. Which was ridiculous. I hadn’t heard anything from him since that day at the apartment, not one single text. Nothing else had happened since I found the prank flowers, which is what I called them anytime I thought about them to remind myself they weren’t a message from Craig. There was no way he’d know I was here, besides he hated this kind of thing so it was unlikely we’d accidentally bump into each other. He’s probably sitting around and getting drunk with his friends.
I felt Jamie’s hand on my shoulder, warm and comforting, a split second before he said, “Relax Em, I won’t let him hurt you.” Shit, I need to work on hiding my emotions better. I didn’t like how everyone always seemed to know what I was thinking or feeling.
I took a deep breath and nodded. When I turned around to thank him, words failed me as I met his gaze. His smile was confident, reassuring, and his eyes sparkled in the morning sun. God he’s gorgeous. I was overly aware of the warmth of his hand as he slid it from my shoulder to my elbow.
A little kid screamed nearby, breaking my trance.
Ashley leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Not a date my ass.”
I felt the heat rush to my cheeks as I elbowed her, and told her through gritted teeth to shut up.
Jack held Meg’s hand as they walked towards us. AJ walked on the other side of Meg; she looked so small between them. Small, and well protected. When they reached us, AJ walked around and stood on the other side of Ashely, putting us between himself and Jamie. I thought it was to be near Ashley, who was openly ogling him, but then I saw him and Jamie make eye contact. AJ nodded, sharing something unsaid between them. If I had to guess he was letting Jamie know he was ready.
“Where to, ladies?” Jack asked us as he opened a map of the fairgrounds. He looked at Meg and pointed at the map. “The cows are on the back side,” then he explained to the rest of us, “Meg is super excited to see them.” I remember her saying she wanted to feed the baby cows. He winked at her. “She’s been talking about them all morning.”
He was teasing her, but judging by the huge smile on her face she didn’t mind. They looked so comfortable and relaxed together. I hope I can have that someday.
“I can’t help it. I love how cute and derpy they are.”
“And tasty with cheese and bacon.” AJ laughed at his own joke. “Am I right?”
Everyone agreed, including Meg.
It made sense for us to make a big circle, we’d see half the fair on our way towards the back, and the cows, then see the other half on our way out, so that’s what we did.
We wandered around looking at the craft booths, us girls oohing and aahing at the displays and the guys looking mostly bored. I bought my mom a cute red, white, and blue wreath made of ribbons for her front door, which Jamie insisted on carrying for me. Chris and Vicky met up with us shortly after that, and we played a few games. I didn’t win anything. When Meg didn’t win anything either, she told Jack he needed to win her a huge stuffed teddy bear. He tried to convince her she didn’t need one, but she was having none of it.
“I know I don’t need one, Charming.”
Confused, I looked at Jamie for an answer. He whispered, “Charming is Meg’s nickname for Jack.” Ahh.
Meg could have won an Oscar with her I’m so sad expression, including a full pout, big wide eyes, and hands in prayer. “But I want one.”
Jack laughed and shook his head. “You know I could just buy you a big teddy bear. It’d save me time, and money.”
“It’s not the same thing.” Ashley and Meg answered at the same time. Meg smiled at Ashley then looked back at Jack in triumph. She’d won, and by the look on Jack’s face he knew it. If there’d been any doubt about how Meg and Ashley would get along, it was erased when they stood in solidarity against Jack.
Ashley grabbed AJ”s arm, looked up at him with her big brown eyes and fluttered her eyelashes. “Don’t you agree?” I knew her well enough to know that if he agreed she’d ask him to win one for her. I couldn’t help but laugh, because from the look on his face, he suspected as much.
“Oh, hell no, I’m not getting in the middle of this.” He shook his head and held his hands out, a mock expression of terror on his face.
Something about my expression must have given Jamie the impression I wanted a teddy bear because he leaned down and quietly asked me if I wanted him to win one for me as Jack walked up to the stall, muttering, “the things I do for love.”
I shook my head no. While I sort of liked the idea of Jamie winning a prize for me, I didn’t want to deal with Ashley teasing me. Or Chris getting mad because Jamie was being unprofessional.
I wasn’t surprised when Jack popped several of the smallest balloons and won Meg a medium size teddy bear after only a few rounds. But he’d have to win a few more times to upgrade the bear to a huge size.
Meg laughed as she pulled him away before he could pay for the next game. “I love you, Jack.” She hugged the cute, purple bowtie-wearing teddy bear, before pushing up to her toes and kissing him on the cheek. “It’s perfect.”
I didn’t intend to be a creeper and stare at them, but they were so damn cute. I blushed when Jack caught me, but he didn’t seem to care, he just smiled, put his arms around Meg and kissed the top of her head. “I love you too Princess. Want to try your hand at popping balloons?”
She shook her head no and pointed at the next booth, giggling. “I want to shoot the ducks.”
After Chris won a small pink teddy bear for Zoe, we moved over to the duck shooting game. Meg stepped up and paid as Ashley challenged me to a shoot out, then we convinced Vicky to join us. It was good for her to get out and have some adult fun, she spent most of her days home with Zoe. Jack was standing behind Meg, cheering, and Chris was encouraging Vicky. Ashley looked back at AJ and told him he needed to cheer for her since she was all alone. Damn, Meg isn’t the only one gunning for an Oscar today. Ashley was laying it on thick, and AJ was clearly loving the attention.
He gave her a big smile, clapped his hands together, and said, “You got this!”
When Jamie stepped up behind me and said he’d be my cheerleader, the butterflies in my stomach went into overdrive.
We lined up behind the BB guns marked one through four, Meg, Ashley, me, and Vicky. Strangers took the last two spots. None of us won, but we had too much fun to care. The guys bought us all huge pretzels as consolation prizes. They were soft and gooey and covered in large salt crystals, and were way better than some cheap, tiny toy prize. I shared my pretzel with Jamie who took small pieces, one at a time, rather than just splitting it. It almost felt intimate to be sharing my pretzel with him; it was the same way Chris and Vicky were sharing theirs. Meg was pulling pieces off and feeding them to Jack so he wouldn’t get salt on her teddy bear, which he was still carrying for her. AJ bought two pretzels, saying he was too hungry to share. Ashley didn’t seem phased by it and made a joke about him keeping up his energy levels.
After finishing our pretzels, we wondered around looking at exhibits and various goodies for sale. They had everything: including toys, homemade crafts, jewelry, fruits and vegetables and potted plants. I almost choked on my spit when I heard Ashley read a sign in front of a plant display. “Succulent means juicy.”
The words themselves weren’t that funny, but how she said them a she blinked and fluttered her eyelashes was hysterical.
We made our way to the barn, and after Meg got her fill of feeding and petting the cows, we played with the baby goats. They were stupidly energetic, and beyond adorable, jumping around in their Fourth of July themed pajamas. Chris shared a moment with Vicky as they gushed about wanting to bring Zoe to the fair when she was old enough. I hoped I’d get an invite when the day came.
We spent the rest afternoon walking around and talking. Before long before Chris said it was time for him and Vicky to go. They had fun, but wanted to get home to Zoe. The rest of us decided we were ready to call it a day too, so we walked out with them. We’d originally planned on staying to watch the fireworks but we’d had enough of the loud, chaotic environment and decided to watch the Weatherford show instead.
We passed the Carousel on our way to the gate and Ashley and I decided we needed to ride for old-time’s-sake. And we somehow convinced everyone to ride with us. Even Chris and Vicky. Ashley and I rode side-by-side horses and laughed the entire time.
We said goodbye to Chris and Vicky at the gate. Then Ashley suggested we go out for some real food since we had time to kill before the fireworks. Everyone agreed. I for one, could use some real food after eating fair food all day.
Ashley asked if she could ride with AJ, as she was opening the back door and climbing in. She turned and raised one eyebrow while grinning at me.
Damn her, she wanted me and Jamie to have some time alone even though I’d reminded her a thousand times this wasn’t a date. Yes, he’d stayed closer to me than was necessary, and on more than one occasion he’d put his hand on my lower back as we walked through the crowd, but he was just being protective. Doug had down that when I panicked in the middle of the road. I mean, I liked it and it felt kind of personal, but I couldn’t read too much into it. This isn’t a date. Though he did insist on paying for me a lot, which Ashley had noticed, and pointed out.
Jack didn’t answer Ashley, but Meg did, with a big shit-eating grin on her face. “Of course you can ride with us.” She sounded a little too eager and I had a sneaky suspicion she and Ashley were in cahoots. Jack looked at Jamie, and shrugged. “See you at dinner.”
I was quiet during the ride, too busy trying, and failing, not to think about much I enjoyed spending today with Jamie, and reminding myself today wasn’t a date. It was stupid to even think about it. He’d never want someone as broken as me. I’m his client. Plus he’s my brother’s best friend. So I couldn’t even think about liking him.
I didn’t mean to ignore Jamie, and felt bad when I realized he’d been asking me a question.
“I’m sorry Jamie, I spaced out for a second.”
“I asked if you’re okay? You seem sad.”
“I’m fine.” Then knowing that most men think when a woman says she’s fine it means she is not in fact fine, I corrected myself. “Just thinking about what a great time I had today. Thank you for everything Jamie, really, it was the best day I’ve had in a long time.”
“I’m glad you had fun.”
I could look at his warm, sweet smile all day.