CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LEVI
I blink awake slowly – my thoughts immediately going back to her. Again. What’s new?
She’s the bane of my existence, truthfully. Yet, I’m strangely intrigued by her.
Shaking away the thoughts of Scarlett, I realise that today is the fair.
A grin pulls at my lips.
Finally, I’m getting out of this house. Away from her.
I saw the sign along the drive up and after being stuck so long in this house with the Pilates Princess with no escape, I’m excited to get some real fresh air and a change of scenery..
I swing my legs out of bed, sitting up and running my fingers through my sleep-tousled hair. I reach my hands up, stretching before I move across the room toward my bathroom to quickly jump in the shower.
I pull on my clothes – black shorts and the Rainiers team shirt and grab a black baseball cap before I make my way downstairs.
Only to stop halfway down when I spot Scarlett leaning against the kitchen counter, the morning light spilling over her, bathing her in its glow. Beautiful.
She turned to smirk at me. “Morning. I thought I’d try and catch you before you left.”
“Uh - yeah. I was just heading out, actually.” I say, diverting my eyes to look for an escape. The last thing I need right now is to spend more time with this girl.
“Yeah. To the fair. I’ve decided I want to come.” She pushed off the counter, starting to move toward me. Shit.
My eyebrows pull together. “Why? Getting bored of doing your stretching shit?” I jibe.
Her eyes narrow as she continues to walk until she is standing right in front of me, head tilted back to maintain eye contact.
“It sounded fun. Besides, you need someone to drive you. Don’t you?” She rolls her eyes.
I open my mouth to respond but she beats me to it.
“I’m coming with you, Levi.”
I haven’t planned on having any company. Just myself – some shitty food, a few rides and a chance to get my head straight because this girl has been driving me insane.
I look into her eyes. Like, I really look into her eyes. She’s already decided. I have no choice but to relent. Refusing her would be stupid.
I give her one last out anyway.
“You sure you want to spend the whole day with me?” I say with a small smirk because maybe reverse psychology might work on her.
Her grin widens as her hand comes up to cup my jaw. I know I’ve failed.
“Oh, I’m absolutely positive, Carter.” She says as she strokes her thumb along my cheekbone.
My heart stutters. Fuck. I am so fucked.
I need to go back to hating her. But gazing into those incredible green eyes, I already know that’s not going to happen.
…
I step out of the passenger side of the car, taking a deep breath before looking at my surroundings.
A giant Ferris wheel looms over us, the sun shining off the colourful metal. Striped tents and colourful booths with vendors calling out. Large crowds with kids tugging their parents along to different rides and games.
We meet at the front of the car before walking toward the gate.
I pay the fee before stepping through only to hear a cough behind me.
Turning, I see Scarlett standing with her hand on her cocked hip, eyebrows raised expectantly at me making mine draw together.
“What?”
She sighs, exasperated. “Aren’t you going to pay for me? Some gentleman you are.”
“Do you not have your own money or something?”
Her jaw drops. “Just get it over with and pay, Carter.”
I sigh, walking back to pay her fee before turning to go back into the fair. She sidles up beside me.
Her soft arm brushes lightly against mine, sending goosebumps across my skin. I will my body to stop reacting.
We drift through the fair with the flow of the crowd until a burst of cheers from a game booth catches our attention.
Moving toward the sound, a big sign catches my eye. Bottle smash showdown. 3 throws for $5.
It’s a small red booth, with 10 milk bottles lined up a few feet from the counter and stuffed animals everywhere. I mean literally everywhere.
Scarlett bumps her shoulder against mine causing my eyes to drift down to meet hers. “You want to try?” She teases, a small grin pulling at her lips.
My eyebrows raise. “Did you just forget the whole reason we are out here together in the first place? My shoulder is busted.”
“Only one of them. You’ve got this.” She says rolling her eyes before moving further forward to the booth.
I move with her. “My good shoulder. Seriously, my left arm won’t get it within five feet of those bottles.”
She turns back to me, leaning her ass against the counter. “Want to place a wager, Carter?” She asks with a devilish smirk on those pouty lips and suddenly, I think I’ll do just about anything that she asks of me.
“What’s on the line, Quinn?” I say because, fuck, if I’m not curious.
“If you lose…” She trailed off, bringing a slender finger to her chin to mock thinking. So dramatic. “Then you owe me a truth. A real truth. No dodging it.”
I sigh. Though, honestly, that’s certainly not the worst thing that she could come up with. So, I agree.
“Okay. And what if I win?” My eyes narrow slightly.
She ponders again. “Hm… If you win, you get to pick something I need to try at this fair.”
A small smirk creeps onto my face. “Is that right? Anything that I choose?”
She gives me a small nod. “Dealers choice, Carter. What do you say?” She says through a smile, her petite body practically vibrating with excitement.
I can’t say no to her. Not like this.
I roll my eyes, wiping a hand down my face to try to cover the grin that’s creeping across.
“You’re on, little Quinn.” I say as I stalk forward to the booth sliding a five-dollar bill across the counter to the attendant, the man handing me the first ball.
I pick it up with my left hand. It feels so foreign. Fuck, there’s no way I’m winning this.
I roll out my shoulders to loosen some tension before winding my arm back for the first throw.
I release and… fuck, where did that even a go?
I quickly peek over at Scarlett to see her holding in a laugh.
“Don’t start, Quinn.” My tone is playful as I gear up for my next shot.
This time, I get slightly closer, but still miss by a couple feet.
Fuck. This is so embarrassing. I feel my cheeks starting to heat.
I don’t look over this time. I can’t.
Third time’s the charm… right?
I set up for my next throw, this time it just pings off the side of a bottle but doesn’t knock it over. My head drops.
This sucks.
I feel a warm body sidle up beside mine, her fingertips gliding up my ribs causing my heart to skip a beat.
What the fuck is wrong with me? Jesus.
I look down at Scarlett and throw my good arm over her shoulders casually.
“Alright, let’s move on from this one now, shall we?” I say softly as I start to guide her away from the game that’s the reason for my embarrassment.
She pulls away from me. “No. I’m going to give it a go.” She says as she starts to pull money from her bag, but I lean over and pay the guy, beating her to the punch.
She sighs as the attendant hands over the first ball. “Look who’s willing to pay my way now.” She speaks as she’s already winding her arm back for her first shot.
She pitches the ball. And every single bottle topples over. My jaw drops.
The crowd erupts in cheers, obviously as shocked as I am.
The booth attendant sighs. “What do you want?” He asks as he gestures to the toys surrounding the booth.
Scarlett ponders for a second before pointing toward a giant panda bear at the top right corner of the booth.
The attendant brings it down and hands it over before Scarlett turns to me with a wide grin on her face. I already know what’s coming before the words spill out of her mouth.
Her arm holding the toy extends. “I won this for you. Peace offering?” She says sweetly, her head tilted slightly.
I can’t help a small grin creeping onto my face.
I take the bear before throwing my left arm over her shoulders. “Alright,” I start, shaking my head. “Let’s go get some food, Princess.”
For once, she doesn’t snap at me for the nickname. And the name suits her, honestly. Maybe getting along with her won’t be such a bad thing.
…
How is this girl so good at carnival games? I mean, seriously.
We’ve been here for hours now and tried every possible game you could think of. Basketball free throw, ring toss, balloon dart throw, cornhole. And she has nailed every single one.
As a result, I am now lugging around six stuffed animals. So much for using today to wind down.
We’ve stopped to get funnel cake because, you know, “I need to get the full American experience.”
I couldn’t say no to that so here we are. Though, I quite honestly have no idea how so much food is fitting into such a small body, but she’s happy which is… kind of making me happy? I’m too exhausted to analyse it. So, I’ll just leave it at that.
She polishes off the rest of her food, looking up to meet my eyes, a broad grin on her face. She seems more relaxed than when we first met. Maybe she’s getting settled into American life now. This trip might’ve been just what she needed, just like it was what I needed.
I spot a dusting of icing sugar on the corner of her lip. I subconsciously reach out to wipe it off with my thumb, and I slightly hear her breath hitch, the sound of the crowd dulling to a murmur.
Scarlett’s breathing starts to get heavy, and her eyes drop to my lips.
A loud sound of a carnival game breaks us out of the moment.
I jolt away from her as though I got burnt. I spot a flush making its way from her neck up to her cheeks.
She looks stunning when she’s been affected by me.
I watch Scarlett as she looks around the carnival, her eyes lighting up. Guess she knows what we’re doing next.
“Ferris wheel, Carter! Come on.” She grabs my hand to pull me along. My gaze drifts down, my fingers twitching to intertwine with hers.
Why does that feel so good? Have I really been so deprived of love that everything this girl does affects me this way? I’m even more screwed than I first thought.
I’m dragged into the line of the Ferris wheel and this girl still doesn’t let go of my hand. Though, to be fair, I don’t want her to let go.
Tilting my head to look down at her, she is glowing. The golden sunset brightening her summer tan, her long wavy hair flowing down her back, her green eyes sparkling, and a beautiful smile set across her face.
Yep. Perfection.
As we move up the line, we hear faint creaks of the ride moving around over the muted sounds of the crowd.
We’re quickly at the front and get onto the ride, Scarlett entering before myself.
Once we get settled in, the operator flicks a switch, and the ride starts to move again.
As we make our way further up, a light breeze starts to brush past us, the world below dimming and it’s just the two of us watching the sun set into pink and golden hues.
Scarlett looks around, eyes filled with wonder. “It’s so beautiful here.”
I keep my gaze on her. “Yeah. It is.”
Pulling out my phone, I take a quick photo of her before tucking it back in my pocket. It really is so stunning out this way. I’ve lived in Seattle since I got drafted. I don’t know why I don’t come out here more often.
Suddenly, the ride jolts, and we hear some commotion from below.
“Just hold tight, guys. We’re having some technical difficulties. We’ll have you down shortly.” A male voice calls out.
My eyes snap to meet Scarlett’s. Shit.