23. Funnel Cakes
Funnel Cakes
Enzo
I adjusted my grip on the steering wheel as the traffic on the highway slowed.
We were headed toward the fairgrounds, and I snuck another glance at Quinn in the passenger seat.
The evening sun caught in her hair, turning the strands to honey, and I forced my eyes back to the road before I got us all killed staring at her.
“Cotton candy is god-tier fair food,” Kellan announced from the backseat. “Then funnel cake, then those giant turkey legs, then anything deep-fried on a stick.”
Quinn laughed, but the sound didn’t match her eyes.
I’d come to recognize that disconnect in the past three weeks. She was smiling, nodding at all the right moments, but there was something tight around her eyes and something restless in the way she kept smoothing her hands over her jeans.
Reid made a noise in his throat. “Hard disagree. Funnel cake reigns supreme. The powdered sugar alone puts it at the top.”
I flicked my eyes to the rearview mirror. “Kettle corn.”
All three of them turned to stare at me.
I shrugged one shoulder. “Sweet and salty. Perfect balance.”
Quinn’s lips curved into something closer to a real smile. “I thought you were going to say something about taking your own snacks like a responsible adult.”
“Even I have layers.” I caught her eye again, and for a moment, the tension in her face eased.
Three weeks. That’s all it had been since she’d arrived at La Cuesta with her stick horse and her sunshine smile. Three weeks, and somehow she’d managed to upend everything I thought I knew about my life and about what I wanted.
Quinn turned to look out the window as we pulled into the parking area, and I wondered what she was thinking. Would she think we were crazy if we asked her to stay? The school year was coming up fast, and she had a job.
I paid the parking attendant and found a spot to park. As we climbed out of the truck, I noticed Quinn’s fingers tapping nervously against her thigh.
“You okay?” I stepped closer, keeping my voice low.
She startled slightly. “Yeah! I’m excited. I haven’t been to a fair since I was a kid.”
Her eyes darted away too quickly, and I knew she was lying about being okay. But I wasn’t going to push her. Not here, with Kellan already bounding ahead like an over-caffeinated goat and Reid looking amused behind him.
“Well, if you need to talk, I’m here.”
Quinn paused, searching my face like she was looking for something beyond my words. “It’s our first real date.”
Yes, it was our first date after we’d already been intimate and after she’d already turned our world upside down.
“Is it okay? We wanted to do something fun.” I reached for her hand before I could overthink it, lacing my fingers through hers. “We thought it would make you smile. Although all you’ve been giving tonight is your teacher smile.”
Her eyes widened. “I have a teacher smile?”
“You have several.” I tugged her along as we began walking toward the entrance. “There’s the polite one, the one you use when you’re excited but trying not to show it, and the one that lights up your whole face when you’re truly happy.”
Her fingers squeezed mine. “You’ve been paying attention.”
We reached Reid and Kellan, who had already bought tickets for all of us. As we passed through the entrance gates, the fairground spread before us in a riot of color and noise. Food stands lined the pathways, carnival games flashed with cheap prizes, and rides spun against the darkening sky.
It wasn’t exactly what I would have chosen, but now that we were here, I was glad Kellan had convinced me and Reid that it would be perfect.
Kellan spread his arms wide. “What first? Food? Games? The Ferris wheel? You’ll have to go on it three times, Quinn, so that each of us can get a turn sitting next to you.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”
Quinn’s eyes darted between the three of us. “I don’t know. What do you guys usually do?”
“Usually, we just go in the morning to view the animals to see if any catch our eyes.” Reid took Quinn’s other hand.
We went to the exhibition hall first, where we wandered between stalls of handcrafted items and local businesses.
“Look at these wooden carvings of animal butts.” Kellan pointed dramatically. “You know what the world needs? More moose hindquarters.”
Quinn’s laughter rang out, genuine this time. The worried crease she’d been sporting between her brows smoothed away as she examined a raccoon rear end.
I stayed back, watching her move from booth to booth. She stopped at a jewelry display, her fingers hovering over a delicate silver bracelet with a tiny horse charm. She lingered, then reluctantly moved on when Kellan called her over to look at something else.
While she was distracted, I slipped back to the jewelry vendor.
“I’ll take this bracelet.” I grabbed the one Quinn had been looking at and pulled out my wallet.
The older woman smiled. “Your girlfriend has good taste. This is handmade by my daughter.”
“She’s not—” What was Quinn to me? To us? “It’s perfect for her.”
Transaction complete, I tucked the small paper bag into my pocket and caught up with the others. Quinn was giggling as Reid tried on a ridiculously large cowboy hat that made him look like a cartoon character.
“Thinking of a career change to a rodeo clown?” I raised an eyebrow at him.
Reid adjusted the enormous hat. “What do you think? Too subtle?”
“It’s giving urban cowboy who’s never seen an actual horse.” Quinn reached up to straighten it on his head, her fingers brushing his hair.
Something warm and unfamiliar settled in me as I watched them. Not jealousy, which would have been my default reaction before she came into our lives, but something gentler. A quiet contentment, like watching the sunset paint the sky.
I smiled at their easy affection, the same way I smiled when I spotted our misfit family of five goats huddled together under a tree during a light rain. The realization struck me that I wasn’t just tolerating this change, but I was embracing it.
Kellan bumped my shoulder. “You’re staring.”
I blinked and looked away. “No, I’m not.”
“Your face got all soft.” Kellan grinned. “It’s cute.”
I scoffed, but didn’t deny it. What was the point?
After we had thoroughly wandered the exhibition hall, we made our way to the livestock area, passing the prize-winning cattle and sheep. Quinn moved slowly, taking in everything and asking questions.
When we reached the petting zoo area, she froze, her gaze locked on a miniature horse no bigger than a large dog.
“It’s like Thunderbolt came to life.” Her voice was hushed with wonder. “Why don’t you guys have one of these?”
I snorted. “Debra would never allow it.”
Quinn put her hands on her hips. “Did you ever think that Debra might be lonely? Maybe we should pick a donkey out while we’re here.”
We.
She didn’t seem to notice she’d said “we,” but the rest of us did. Reid’s eyebrows lifted, while Kellan’s face broke into a slow smile. Our eyes met in silent acknowledgment as she continued to coo at the miniature horse.
Something shifted between us, a wordless understanding that was simultaneously momentous and inevitable.
It reminded me of the moment when a skittish horse finally accepts the saddle; the subtle surrender that changes everything.
I tucked the realization away carefully, like the bracelet in my pocket, not wanting to examine it too closely yet.
Kellan raised his phone. “Stand next to it; I’ll take a picture for our social media pages.”
She positioned herself beside the miniature horse, trying to look casual while posing.
She clearly wasn’t used to posing for photos, and I watched her adjust her stance three different times, each pose more unnatural than the last, before finally settling on what looked like a prom photo with the tiny horse.
“Relax.” I moved behind Kellan. “You’re not getting your driver’s license photo taken.”
Quinn stuck her tongue out at me, and Kellan captured the moment. He showed her the screen, and she laughed at herself.
“I feel so awkward knowing that the picture is going to go up on social media and tons of people will potentially see it.”
Kellan looked concerned. “I don’t have to post it.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s going to take time to get used to,” she said.
After the animal barns, hunger drove us toward the food stands. The smells of fried dough and grilled meat filled the air.
“I’m getting one of everything.” Kellan rubbed his hands together gleefully.
Reid wrinkled his nose. “And then puking on the Tilt-a-Whirl?”
“Worth it.”
“There will be no puking.” I cringed. “What do you want, Quinn?”
She bit her lip, scanning the options. “Funnel cake. To start.”
“To start?” I raised an eyebrow.
Her chin lifted in defiance. “According to Reid, it’s the supreme fair food.”
We loaded up on funnel cake dusted with powdered sugar, corn dogs, kettle corn, and whatever monstrosity Kellan had found that involved deep-fried cookie dough.
Quinn took a bite of funnel cake and closed her eyes. Her expression of bliss sent heat through my body. I shifted, focusing on my corn dog with a side of kettle corn.
After stuffing ourselves, we wandered through the midway. Colorful lights flashed against the darkening sky, game operators called out challenges, and children shrieked from the spinning rides.
Reid stopped at a ring toss game, eyeing the array of stuffed animals hanging from the top of the booth. When was the last time I had seen the man play a game of any kind?
He paid, took the rings, and made three out of five tosses.
“Winner! Choose your prize from the middle row.”
Reid pointed to a small stuffed donkey with exaggerated eyelashes. He handed it to Quinn with a straight face. “For you, so I don’t make Debra jealous.”
Quinn giggled. “She’s beautiful. I’ll call her Mebra for mini-Debra. At least this one can’t chase me out of the barn.”
Kellan pointed to the nearby Ferris wheel, its lights tracing patterns against the night sky. “Who’s first with Quinn?”
Quinn glanced between the three of us, and I realized that this simple question highlighted the unusual nature of our relationship.
“I’ll go last.” I touched the small bag in my pocket. “Save the best for last.”
Quinn’s cheeks flushed, and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “So modest.”
Reid placed his hand at the small of her back. “Let’s go before the line gets long again.”
As they walked toward the Ferris wheel, Quinn glanced back at me over her shoulder. Her smile now was the real one that transformed her entire face and made my chest ache.
Kellan nudged me. “You got her something, didn’t you?”
I shrugged.
“You romantic sap. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
I watched Quinn and Reid climb into a brightly painted car. “I don’t think it’s much of a secret anymore.”
The car climbed higher on the Ferris wheel, Reid pointing at something in the distance while Quinn leaned closer to see. The fairground lights painted colorful patterns across her face, visible even from where we stood.
“You think she’d stay if we asked?” Kellan’s voice was casual, but the tension in his shoulders told a different story.
I kept my eyes on Quinn’s car as it crested the top of the wheel. “I don’t know.”
“I keep thinking about it.” Kellan kicked at the ground, scuffing his boot in the dirt. “She’s got a life back home, though. A teaching job. Friends.”
“And we’re just three guys she met three weeks ago.” It felt wrong the moment it left my lips.
Kellan shook his head. “It’s more than that. You know it is.”
I did know. Something had clicked between the four of us in a way I couldn’t explain and didn’t fully understand. But was it enough?
“What would she even do here? Run stick horse classes full-time?” I tried to make it sound like a joke, but it fell flat.
“She could.” Kellan’s face grew serious. “The videos are still getting views. People are calling about lessons. And she’s good with the kids, Enzo. Better than any of us. Better than your cousin, who is great and all, but we both know she does it out of obligation.”
He was right. What had started as Marisol earning extra money during her summer breaks from college was now something she squeezed into her busy schedule.
“That’s true, and she could apply for a teaching job nearby.” The more I thought about it, the more I liked it.
“That’s if she wants to stay.” Kellan rubbed the back of his neck. “And if she does, what then? The four of us what? Keep doing whatever this is?”
I glanced at him. “Getting cold feet?”
“No.” Kellan’s answer came quickly. “Just thinking out loud. It’s new territory for all of us.”
The Ferris wheel was loaded now and began going at full speed.
“What if it doesn’t work out?” I voiced the fear that had been gnawing at me. “What if she stays, and we wreck everything?”
“What if she doesn’t stay, and we spend the rest of our lives wondering what could have happened? Look, I know it’s intense. It’s fast. It’s not conventional by any stretch of the imagination. But when has anything worth having ever been easy?”
I couldn’t argue with that. Nothing about La Cuesta had been easy, but it had been worth every struggle and every setback.
“We need to talk to her.”
“Tonight?” Kellan ran a hand through his hair.
“Not tonight.” I shook my head. “Tonight’s supposed to be fun. No pressure.”
The Ferris wheel came to a stop, and the first cart to be let off was Reid and Quinn. Her smile was visible even from where we stood.
“You should go get in line.” I nudged his arm.
Kellan stepped forward but then paused. His eyes flickered between where Reid was helping Quinn off the ride and me. “You should go next.”
I smirked. “You know, when you suggested the Ferris wheel, I was wondering when you’d realize how high it was.”
“Shut up.” He shoved me in the direction of the line. “Not a word about this.”
“A word about what?” Quinn came to a stop next to me and looked between us, confusion creasing her brow.
Kellan waved a dismissive hand. “I don’t want to make you ride this thing three times in a row. That’s borderline cruel and unusual punishment.”
I offered Quinn my arm. “Shall we?”
I led her toward the Ferris wheel, the small bag containing the bracelet a welcome weight in my pocket.