“Are you serious? Can you afford it?”
“I made extra with that second fight,” I tell her.
“Don’t you have to fight tonight?” she asks. I shake my head.
“No. Since I fought two last week, he’s letting me off tonight.” Her smile gets bigger, and that’s something I like to see. She seems so happy.
“Are you feeling okay? Are you up for it?”
“River, stop. I’m fine, and we’re going,” I tell her. She nods her head before I stand and motion for her to come. She leaps off the chair and rushes to my side, grabbing my hand in hers.
The fair isn’t far from here, so we head out and walk toward it. Jeremy and I just talk about random shit, and River seems lost in her own little world.
When we get there, I pay for tickets and watch as River’s eyes light up. She takes it all in, and it makes me wonder if she’s ever done anything like this before. I would assume being the Governor’s daughter, she would have, but then again, you never know. I don’t want to ruin it, so I don’t ask her either.
Instead, I lead her around and take her on rides. I watch her laugh as her hair blows in the breeze, and I watch her smile when she thinks I’m not looking.
“That’s a little too high,” she says when I point at the Ferris Wheel.
“Afraid of heights now?”
“After the rooftop incident? A little,” she admits. I almost forgot about that.
“This is safe, River. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” Her eyes come to meet mine once more, and I can see her trying to get a read on me. She slowly nods her head before gripping myhand in hers once more. She pulls at me, pulling me toward the line.
“What the fuck are they staring at?” she snaps when some girls look at me.
“Probably my fucked up eye,” I tell her.
“It has nothing to do with your eye, Royal.”
“Are you jealous? Come on, River, have I given you a reason to be jealous?” I ask her seriously. She hasn’t seen me with other girls. Hell, I don’t even talk to other girls.
“No.”
“Then calm down.”
“What is this? What are we?” she asks as we climb on and sit down.
“What do you want us to be?” The ride starts to move, and her hand clenches around mine. I know this is a lot for her after what happened, so I try to keep her talking. “Breathe, River.”
“This is …”
“It’s okay, River. Just breathe. You’re okay.”
“I don’t know, Royal. This is too high,” she stammers as I keep her pressed into my side.
“You’re okay. I got you.” Something in her relaxes when I say that, and she settles into my side.
“Royal?”
“Yeah?”
“What is this we’re doing?” I know what she wants to know, I just don’t know how to answer it. I’ve never done this. I’ve never had a relationship with anyone before, but that’s exactly what this feels like with River.
“I honestly don’t know. You … you should want more out of life than what I can offer you, River.”
“You give me a lot more than you realize.”
