“I keep telling you to stop leaving your phone on silent, Essence,” she scolds, turning back around to the fair.
I roll my eyes. “We should’ve still been able to hear it vibrating, Ebony,” I shoot back. “Crap, I just remembered I never picked it back up after the ring toss.”
“With the amount of people here, you better hope it’s still there.”
Ebony hands me her phone so I can use the Find My Phone feature just in case it’s not at the ring toss anymore. She pulls thecar up to the ticket booth, and after I explain the situation to the attendant, she lets me back into the carnival.
I go straight to the ring toss, and of course, my phone isn’t there.
“Shit,” I hiss, bringing up the app on Ebony’s phone. It’s showing that my location is in a completely different part of the carnival grounds that I hadn’t even gone to. Using my best navigational skills, I go off in the direction of the blue dot.
It’s been forty-five fucking minutes, and I still can’t find my phone. I’ve checked practically every inch of this fair, every nook, cranny, crack, and crevice, and I still can’t find it. I’ve asked staff members and even patrons if they’ve seen it, but no one has.
The blue dot hasn’t moved, so whoever took it must still be in the same location, or they accidentally dropped it. I’ve walked past it several times and I still haven’t been able to find it, so I checked everywhere else in case there’s some sort of lag or glitch.
“This is ridiculous,” I mumble, my irritation rising. I’m just about to call it quits when the dot moves.
I gasp when I notice the dot moving in the opposite direction. Pissed, I storm through the carnival, trying not to lose it.
A few minutes later I end up at the Ferris wheel. There’s no one in the area but one of the attendants, and the wheel isn’t moving so it’s safe to assume no one is on it. I walk around the ride twice, using the flashlight on Ebony’s phone to scan the ground and surrounding area, but I still don’t see it.
“Do you need help?” the Ferris wheel attendant asks. He’s an older man with graying hair and a sweet smile.
I nod. “Someone stole my phone.” I hold out Ebony’s phone so he can see the screen. “My location is showing this spot right here, but I can’t find it anywhere.”
The attendant taps his chin and nods. “There’s a chance your phone, or whoever stole your phone, could be in the cornfield.”
He points to the darkened field behind the Ferris wheel, and I think I might actually cry. Aside from the lights of the carnival, the field itself is pitch black.
“Is the hayride still running?” I ask hopefully.
The man shakes his head. “Unfortunately, no. If you’d come about thirty minutes ago, you could have gone in, but the tractor’s headlights went out, so the hayride is closed for now.”
You’vegotto be kidding me.
The man continues. “Your best bet would be to come back tomorrow. We don’t open until five in the afternoon, but I’ll let the event director know your situation so someone can let you in earlier.”
“Okay, well… thanks,” I say dejectedly as I walk away.
It’s fine. It’s just a phone; I can get a new one tomorrow. Yet again.
I let out a frustrated huff and make my way back to the entrance. As I'm walking, Ebony’s phone buzzes with an incoming text. I check it to make sure she’s not texting me from someone’s phone—I've been in here for a long time—but it’s frommy fucking phone.
When I open the message, my stomach flutters violently.
ESSENCE:
Giving up already, Essence? I thought you’d like the chase. Or maybe you’d prefer I chase you…
My mouth dries up, but all that wetness goes straight to my core when a picture of the masked man comes through.
Well, not a picture ofhim, but of his erect, dripping dick. The silver piercing on the tip glistens from the flashlight.
Oh…
I wasn’t expecting that.
I also wasn’t expecting him to be so large, but I shouldn’t be surprised. Anyone bold enough to wear a mask in public has to be well-endowed, right?
