I open my door and follow her out. She is impatiently waiting for me. I walk up to her and smile down at her.
“Ready,” she asks brightly. I nod and reach down to hold her hand. She is shocked for a second but I start walking towards the gate still holding her hand. Her cheeks are slightly pink but she is grinning. She follows me as we head toward the ticket counter.
“We will take 2 unlimited wrist bands,” I say to the kid behind the counter. He can’t be more than 16 years old. I drop Piper’s hand to grab my wallet. I hand over my card and look at Piper who was reaching for her purse.
“I’ve got this,” I say to her. I see that she is going to try to argue with me. So I lean down and kiss her quickly while he runs my card.
I slip my tongue into her mouth and then pull back and bite her lip gently. I pull away quickly and wink at her. I take my card back and slip the wristband on her wrist and then mine. All of this takes about 2 minutes and she is still quiet.
“What do you want to hit first,” I ask her as I pull her by the hand into the fairgrounds. It is a small fair, and probably won’t take us more than a few hours to get through everything, but it is the perfect distraction. It is’t crowded yet either. The crowds will be here tonight, and I fully plan on being at home— with Piper— hopefully naked.
Plus, I can tell she is already feeling less stressed. Her shoulders aren’t as tense and her face has a more relaxed look to it.
She points over to the Pharaoh’s Fury ride and starts walking in that direction. There isn’t anyone in line for it, so the attendant waves us through. Piper chooses the middle seat, and I slide in right next to her. I pull Piper right next to me and the ride begins.
Piper starts to giggle and I wrap my arm around her shoulders as the boat swings back and forth. Quickly, the ride is over and we get off.
Piper pulls me towards the bumper cars next. There are a few people in line for that, but we get on in a few minutes. She takes a red car and I take a blue one. We take turns bumping into each other and a few of the kids that are in there as well.
I know she chose this one because we would be in separate seats, but I’ll choose the next ride.
Chapter 33
Piper
When Holt turned down to the annual High Ridge Fall Fair, I was so excited. I haven’t been able to go to the fair the last 2 years and it is one of my favorite events. Meg and I had gone every year before that, but the cafe took up most of my time. I guess the silver lining to this shit show is that I have a few days off.
When Holt kissed me at the ticket counter, I had to stop myself from physically swooning. Part of me wanted to pull away, because—HELLO there are people around! I decided that I was going to just let this happen, but I didn’t want to have to see the pitying looks around town when this blew up in my face and it ended. I kind of wanted to keep this on the down low so that I could tend to my wounds in private.
Holt was so confident and good looking. Charming. The total package. He could have his pick of any woman in High Ridge. I am just considering myself lucky that I get to have this little piece of him.
I made a critical mistake picking the Pharaoh ride first, he pulled me so close that I was practically on his lap. The next ride I chose was the bumper cars— we each had our own seat. I was a chicken, but I needed a little bit of space. It gave me a few minutes to breath.
When we got off the bumper cars Holt grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the food tents.
“You need food, you haven’t had anything since this morning,” he said authoritatively and gestures to the tents letting me choose.
I find myself torn, but decide to go with the award winning apple fritter and some apple cider. The perfect fall treat for the afternoon.
Holt gets the same thing, pays again—despite my offer— and leads us to a picnic table under the trees.
I shouldn’t be shocked that he sits next to me on the picnic bench instead of across from me. Holt doesn’t seem to know the term ‘personal space’. I can’t say that I mind— my stomach flutters.
I take a bite of the fritter and almost moan. The sticky sweet dough is like a party in my mouth. I look next to me and see that Holt is staring. He hasn’t touched his food.
“Well, go ahead— you won’t regret it,” I say jokingly as I take another bite. Holt takes a bite and groans. The sound does strange things to my lower stomach. I feel my face turn red again. I take a sip of the cider to occupy myself and another bite of the fritter.
We finish our food in silence. I wipe my hands on the napkin and turn to look at him. He has finished his food and is looking at me.
“What ride do you want to go on next,” I ask him. He smirks and his hand reaches out to cup my cheek. His thumb brushes my cheek a few times and he dips his face close to mine. His lips touch the corner of my mouth and I feel his tongue flick out. Then he moves to take my mouth in his fully. His tongue slipping inside like a thief in the night. His teeth nipping my lips.
He pulls away again. His hand still cradling the side of my face. “So sweet,” he murmurs. Then he gets up, takes my trash and throws it away in the trash can that is a few feet away. He comes back to me, and grabs my hand. Pulling me off the bench and in the direction of the ferris wheel. He doesn’t let go of my hand.
The afternoon crowd is starting to arrive and I notice more people looking at us. We get to the ferris wheel and stand behind the small line. I try to covertly pull my hand away so that I can check my phone.
I check to see if I have any messages, even though I know I don’t, and take a minute to scroll through my social media. I notice I have a message request from an unknown account and plan to check that later at home. I slip the phone back in my purse, and Holt goes to grab my hand again. I pull away and look around.
“Embarrassed to be seen with me,” Holt asks me— an amused tone laced through his words. I take a deep breath and cover my face with my hands. He pulls my hands down so that he can see my face.
