Chapter Fourteen
Age Sixteen
Stars sparkle in the sky like glitter, bright against the dark sky from the contrast of having no moon. It offers the perfect backdrop for the Bridge Point County Fair, allowing every neon bulb on the rides and booths to shine.
I’m giddy.
It’s unbecoming to admit, but it’s how I feel when I’m around Gareth. My heart beats faster. Every sense is heightened. Excitement’s at an ultimate peak, simply because I’m spending time with him.
The downside? My brother unknowingly third wheels all our dates.
Not that they’re actually dates, but I want them to be more than I want anything in the world.
But nothing can happen between us. My brother made that very clear.
So instead, Gareth and I have safely friend-zoned each other—mostly. Doesn’t mean we don’t sneak around a little when we are both having a moment of weakness.
Gareth stopped hiding his feelings for me more than a year ago and always lets me know how important I am to him whenever we have a second without listening ears.
It’s why tonight I am wearing a dress I knew would drive him crazy.
The skintight black mini-dress isn’t exactly the best choice of attire for the fairgrounds, but I knew I picked wisely when I came down the stairs and Gareth couldn’t look away.
The dress leaves little to the imagination, and with my pink hair recently dyed and curled to perfection, I knew he’d never resist. I kept my makeup light, a stark difference from how I normally wear it, and only a bit of juicy gloss lines my lips.
I watched his pupils blow, eyes drifting up and down my body as he took me in, tongue darting out to lick his lips.
It sent a spike of heat through me, seeing the effect I have on him.
I feel like a different person around him.
Maybe it’s because Gareth sees me. Not Indy with the punk vibe, or Indy Dylan’s little sister.
To Gareth, I’m just Indy—the girl who strives to ensure the happiness of everyone around her.
Who loves animals and wants to volunteer at the old folks home.
The girl who has dreams of becoming a nurse someday.
The smell of popcorn and cotton candy surrounds us as we stand clustered in the middle of the fair, air vibrating with carnival music and laughter. I always forget how loud the fair is, but it makes me feel alive.
With a wide smile, I look around, taking everything in and trying to decide what to do first. Mine and Gareth’s eyes meet for half a second, my heart seizing in my chest. The butterflies stir to life just as he looks away.
Dylan bumps into my shoulder. “What should we do first?”
His eyes glitter with excitement, and it feels like we’re ten again, not sixteen, almost seventeen. Not much has changed, we’re still best friends. But now we have Gareth, too.
My stomach jolts at the thought of him, even though he’s literally standing right here. I sneak another glance, biting my lip when I find him already looking at me. He always is, although it’s usually through careful glimpses.
We’ve been keeping this thing between us quiet and calm for so long, it’s like we’ve built a language together—speaking through the silence.
“Let’s hit the games.” Gareth slides in his suggestion, nodding over at the booth with the giant teddy bears.
“You really want to carry around a prize if you win?” Dylan retorts. “We should hit the rides first.”
“You’re right. Indy can’t carry around a bear bigger than she is all night.” He tosses a swoon-worthy smirk in my direction, and my stomach does its usual somersault.
“C’mon, let’s go get some tickets. The line for the Zipper is short.” Dylan takes off toward the ticket booth, leaving no room for discussion.
“Seriously, Dyl? That ride looks like it hasn’t been inspected ever.” The faded blue metal stares ominously at me from across the dirt field. It’s no wonder the line is short, it looks like it might break during the next spin.
“Scared?” Gareth teases. His hand brushes against mine as Dylan pays for our rides.
“No,” I answer too quickly, knowing I am.
“Liar.” Gareth quickly steps away from me as Dylan turns around with an arm’s length worth of bright yellow tickets.
“Don’t worry, sis. I’ll be there rocking the hell out of the cage we’re in.” My brother grins as we walk to the line queue.
It feels like my heart might explode when the ride attendant waves us forward, opening the rusted cage door for us. The Zipper is as horrifying as it looks.
Sitting on the metal seat, Gareth slides in next to me, Dylan across, smiling at me like this is the most exciting thing he’s ever done. The cage is small, and as the door’s lock engages, my pulse skyrockets.
“You better not puke!” Dylan laughs at the terror on my face. “Need me to hold your hand, sis?”
Silently, Gareth slides his hand under mine and laces our fingers together.
My eyes dart from our connected hands to Gareth’s waiting gaze.
I’ll protect you, they reflect—or at least I think they do.
The ride lurches into motion, and my stomach drops. Tightening my grip on Gareth, the ride steals my breath with its first flip, and my body threatens to slam into the bars.
Shifting his other hand into mine, Gareth’s arm comes up around my shoulders, the hand I was just holding bracing against the side of my head, holding me firmly against his side.
I scream as we flip, over and over, as the ride accelerates past the point of what feels natural. Bright-colored lights smear across my vision as something between terror and excitement roots itself deep within me.
Gareth’s gaze is heavy as he watches my reaction, his brown eyes laser-focused on my emotions.
But I feel safe in his arms, and before I know it, I start laughing.
The ride speeds up and flips in a loop, and I’m laughing like a maniac. Tears stream down my cheeks from how fast we’re going, and Gareth loosens his grip around my shoulder, just slightly, but still keeps his fingers laced with mine.
For the rest of the ride, it’s all I focus on. His touch, the warmth of his body pressed against mine. The world disappears—my brother disappears.
It’s just me and Gareth.
Then the ride comes to a forceful halt, the mechanics whining as they grind to a stop.
Gareth immediately releases me.
My brother hops out of the cage, grinning ear to ear as if that was the best experience of his entire life. He slides his hands through his hair and lets out a loud “Woooo! That was awesome!”
I’m the last to get out, and like the gentleman he is, Gareth holds his hand out for me to take, steadying me as I step down. I look up at him, his hand staying in mine longer than necessary, and something unspoken passes between us. “You okay?”
“I think my soul left my body, but it was oddly exhilarating,” I tell him, my heart still racing.
“You guys coming or what?” Dylan yells, and Gareth drops my hand like it burned him.
Gareth hurries behind my brother, catching up with him. Their strides match as they walk down the aisle with some games and a few food vendors.
Dylan veers to the hot dog stand. “No line!”
“Ew, seriously, Dyl? There’s no way they’d pass a health inspection.” I scrunch my nose. I’m not a vegetarian, but hot dogs seriously gross me out, and this booth looks like it hasn’t been cleaned since the early 2000s.
“Either of you want one?” he asks over his shoulder.
“No,” Gareth and I ring out in unison.
A few seconds later, we’re leisurely walking past the different game booths while my brother shovels the hot dog down faster than what should be humanly possible.
Everything is packed full of people—annoyed men trying to win prizes for their screaming kids, their wives looking annoyed while they wait by the stroller. People I recognize from school. We run into several guys from Gareth’s team, and he stops to bro-hug every single one.
Smacking his dirty hands against his jeans, Dylan comes to a stop in front of the Fish Bowl Toss booth, where the prizes are live goldfish. He lines up behind the family who’s on their last ball and turns to us.
“Oh, c’mon, this game is so inhumane,” I whine in protest, hating seeing the poor fish in containers that are entirely too small. They all look so sad.
“The sign says ‘play til you win’,” Dylan argues, whipping his wallet out as the family in front of us steps away. “It’ll be fun.” He gives the guy at the booth a five dollar bill.
“Up to ten tries,” Gareth adds, reading the rest of the sign my brother chose to ignore.
“Whatever, I got this.” Dylan scoffs, taking the ping-pong balls from the booth attendant’s outstretched hand.
“Dylan,” I protest. Resting my hands on my hips, I send him a pointed look.
He promptly ignores me.
“Here, why don’t you try to win one. Then at least you can take one home and know it’s being loved and cared for the way it deserves.” Gareth hands the booth attendant money.
“No, Gareth, it’s okay—” But he’s already passing me three ping-pong balls.
With a defeated sigh, I eyeball the fish bowls, deciding which to aim for first.
Gareth’s heart was in the right place, even if this game is a scam centered on animal cruelty.
The first ball I toss bounces off the rim, landing with a small bounce across the fake turf strip the attendants standing on.
“Dang it! Missed all three. Can I try again, bro?” Dylan’s voice rings out, calling to the attendant, but I don’t look at my idiot brother. Instead, I let another ball fly.
I miss completely, hitting the very last fishbowl in the back right corner.
“Want some help?” Gareth’s smooth voice embraces me like a hug, his warm breath skating across my cheek as he leans in close.
My gaze cuts to Dylan, who’s entirely too engrossed in his mission to win the game, and I nod my head yes.
Gareth adjusts his stance behind me, his fingers sliding down my wrist until his hand rests on top of mine. Lifting our arms, he positions them, angling my arm back just slightly before giving it the softest press forward, letting the ball fly.
The ball lands directly in the middle fishbowl with a soft splash.