Chapter 30 Arachnophobia #2
“It’s alive!” the actor yells, and at the same time, the thing on the table sits up and jumps in our direction.
The lights flash, and the sounds being filtered into the room are borderline deranged.
Before I can react, Tanner picks me up and throws me over his shoulder.
He runs through the next two doors, not stopping until the fair comes back into view.
“Tanner!” I shriek. “Put me down.”
“What the fuck was that thing?” he yells, breathing rapidly.
“It was like a Frankenstein bug thing,” I get out between laughs. “Are you okay?”
“No. I’m not okay. That was terrible.”
“But you did it,” I say. “We’re outside now. It’s over. We can go get that funnel cake we wanted.”
He bends over into his knees, trying to catch his breath. “I think I might be sick. I can’t eat right now.”
“You okay, T?” Jacks asks. I look over and spot all of our friends standing to our right.
“No, I’m not okay. That was fucking awful. Y’all know I don’t do bugs.”
The group bursts out laughing, and I try to stifle my laughs, but his hair is a little disheveled, and I can’t help but notice how adorable it is when he gets flustered.
“It’s not fucking funny.”
“It’s a little funny,” I say. “Come on, let's go get the funnel cake or do something fun. You can pick the next thing.”
He looks around the fair, scanning each of our options. My stomach sinks when his eyes land on one of the rides.
“Ride the ferris wheel with me,” he says.
“No, you know I don’t do heights. Let’s go do the bumper cars again.”
“Oh, no, Wren Dawson. You forced me to face my fears tonight. It’s your turn.”
“That’s not how this works,” I argue.
“That’s exactly how this works,” he quips.
“Look, I’ll even hold your hand the whole time,” he says, reaching for me. “You owe me after putting me through that. I almost had a heart attack.”
I look over toward Poppy and Lacey, who both shrug.
“It’s not that high, babe,” Lacey says. “You got this.”
I look back at him, and he does the pouty, puppy dog face. “Please ride it with me,” he begs.
I breathe out and then take his hand. “Fine.”
“Have fun you two,” Poppy calls behind us, smirking.
“Wait, y’all aren’t coming?” I question.
“No, I think we’re gonna hang down here,” Logan yells behind us as we disappear toward the ferris wheel.
The line is short, so we walk right up to board. Tanner pulls the lap bar down, and the wheel begins to move, taking us higher.
I move closer to him, shutting my eyes.
I’m not going to die. I’m not going to die. I’m not going to die.
“You’re safe,” he says “Open your eyes. The view is beautiful.”
My chest is tight with anxiety, and I’m doing my best to control my breathing, but I’m terrified. I squint my eyes open and find Tanner staring at me. Not the fair. Me.
“You’re safe,” he repeats.
“This is terrifying,” I say. “What if it gets stuck?”
“It’s not going to get stuck,” he says. “You can release the death grip on the cheetah. Goldie didn’t force you on here.”
I release my grip a little and set the stuffed cheetah in my lap. Breathing out, I scoot a little closer to where he sits. The wheel moves down and around and then starts to climb again.
“We’re going around again?”
“Yeah, a few times, but you’re okay.” He settles his arm around my shoulders.
“I think I’m just going to look at you because if I look out or down, I’m afraid I’m going to get sick.”
“That’s fine,” he chuckles, fixing his gaze back on me. “Would it help if we talked about something else,” he offers.
“No.”
“Okay,” he says with a laugh.
The wheel continues to move, and we sit in silence, staring into each other’s eyes.
He attempts a funny face, and I let out a little giggle.
My stomach begins to flip, and I’m not sure if it’s our proximity, or him being so nice, but I know I don’t hate it.
In fact, I really like being close to him.
The wheel makes another round, and my heart drops as we make it back to the top. Then, it stops.
“Why did it stop?” I shout.
“Relax, I think it’s supposed to,” he says.
“You think?”
“Well it’s been a while since I’ve ridden a ferris wheel, but I think they usually stop at the top at least once. It’ll start moving again soon.”
I fidget with Goldie, accidentally letting my gaze drop. I realize how high up we are, and I immediately panic.
“Tanner, it’s not moving.” I shift closer to him, and the seat begins to rock. “Tanner, I’m, like, really freaking the fuck out. It needs to start moving. Why isn’t it moving?” I bury my head into his chest and try to slow my breathing.
His hand finds my back, and he starts to rub slow, calming circles around my spine. “It’ll start moving in a minute.”
“Attention folks! Looks like it’s stuck. Please remain seated, and we’ll get y’all down as soon as possible,” the operator calls through a megaphone.
“It’s going to be okay,” he assures me.
“Did he say we’re stuck?” I ask, panicked. “Oh, my god! What if they can’t get us down?”
I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die.
“Yes, he said we are stuck, but it’s okay. Focus on me. Nothing bad is going to happen. I’m here. It’s fine. We’re fine. You’re fine.” He turns towards me more.
“I’m not fine.” My voice starts to rise, and I just want my feet to touch the ground. I nuzzle my head harder against his chest.
“Wren,” he says, a little breathlessly. “It’s okay. Look at me.”
I peer upward and let my eyes land on his. “You’re okay. They’re going to get it moving any minute, and then we will be back on the ground.”
Sitting up a little straighter, I nod my head and try to hold back tears.
“Breathe,” he urges. Reaching out, he pushes a piece of my hair behind my ear. A gust of wind blows, and our seat begins to rock again. I let out a scream, and he cups my face with both of his hands, causing my breath to catch.
“Breathe,” he says, staring into my eyes.
“I’m really fucking scared,” I say, biting my lip. “I need you to distract me.”
“Distract you?”
“Yes, say something. Do something. I don’t—”
Without warning, his lips find mine, and he kisses me so damn hard, my head scrambles.
His lips are soft, and his rough beard scratches against my skin.
His tongue presses forward as he continues to kiss me, and I open, letting him in.
He tastes like cotton candy, and I melt into him.
Our tongues twist, and his hands move through my hair.
Goosebumps erupt down my arms. The kiss is everything I’ve ever wanted and didn’t know I needed.
The ferris wheel begins to move, and as he pulls away, it hits me—I was just kissing Tanner Mitchell.
Confusion takes over, and I don’t know what to make of the moment we just shared. We both sit there a little stunned.
“Wren—” he begins, but we're back on the ground, and I need to get off this thing. The operator removes the lap bar, and I pop off, moving away from him. Trying to get a grasp on my emotions, I bypass our friends, ignoring them calling my name.
“Wren, wait!” he calls behind me, but I don’t stop. My fingers find my lips, and I can still taste him. I can still feel him, and it’s confusing. It doesn’t make any sense why he would kiss me, and I need to find somewhere quiet to process it all.
I turn a corner and stop when I find a secluded place on the other side of one of the small buildings. Leaning up against the wall, I try to regain control of my emotions.
“Wren!” he yells, turning the corner after me.
“What the fuck was that?” I yell, a little too loud. “I told you to distract me. Not kiss me.”
“Look, I’m sorry. You were just so scared, and you said to do something, so I did the one thing I can’t stop thinking about doing.”
“No, you don’t get to say that kissing me is all you’ve been thinking about.” I point at him. “What am I supposed to do with that, Tanner? A few hours ago you were calling me your friend, and now you’re kissing me on top of the ferris wheel like you’re some character in The Notebook.”
“Just let me explain,” he begs.
“No. I’m going back to the apartment. I don’t want to do this here, around all of our friends, and especially not dressed like a mermaid.” I walk away, and don’t stop until I’m in my car.