Chapter Two
Devin
I might be the most boring person in town.
Pine Grove is not a huge metropolis or a sprawling urban center comparable to New Orleans. It still has things to do, places to go, and plenty of events to fill a summer with. Which is just why I came here this summer, before I start teaching in the fall. I want one last summer as an irresponsible college kid.
“It is the best time, and, bonus, tons of babes will be there. They love the rides. Chicks dig carnival rides, dude,” Felix tells me as he combs his hair, making sure it sits high on top and slicked back on the sides.
“This is news to me. Guess I missed out on the fair babes.”
“Well, I mean, chicks here in Pine Grove have less things to get excited about than those sweet college babes in Baton Rouge.”
Chuckling, I nod at him as I agree. Yeah, I suppose there is less going on here in Pine Grove compared to where we went to college. Still, we decided to spend the summer in his hometown before we head back for fall classes to finish our degrees. Surprisingly, this genius is also going to school to become a teacher. To think this fool will be teaching our future is scary.
Felix Labonte has been my best friend since high school. We had similar lives growing up with parents who loved us but weren’t always there for us. It caused us to count on each other a lot and he’s the best friend I’ve ever had. Felix is also the worst influence because he has yet to accept that we’re grown adults about to start our careers as teachers.
“I am going to pretend you never mentioned hot college babes.”
“Good, because I didn’t. I was not objectifying them. I save that for the bedroom, dude,” Felix waggles his dark brows, and I shake my head.
We’re wandering through a huge fairway of rides, carnival games, the air smelling of corn dogs and fresh popped popcorn. The county fair is teeming with people, shrieks from the rides and laughter from the games filling the night air. It’s a beautiful night to come to the fair and be a kid.
Truthfully, we’ve been having the best time this summer in Pine Grove. I love the small town feel where everyone talks a bit kinder, moves a little slower, enjoys things a little differently. It is a sure change from Baton Rouge. I love life there, but I am not sure it’s where I would settle down.
Growing up in New Orleans cemented my desire to settle somewhere a little smaller. New Orleans is beautiful, there is always something fun to do or something awesome to see. It becomes overwhelming. Whenever I think about settling down or putting roots somewhere, it’s somewhere with space. Room to raise a family. I am twenty-five so I have time to settle down but after I finished college, I started thinking about it a lot more.
“Come on, those corndogs have been calling to me, dude.”
Laughing at him as he rubs his hands together with a nod at the corndog cart, I wave him on. I’ve got my eye on the Ferris wheel. It is the one ride I always avoid. Not today. I am going on that damn thing, and I am going to have a good time. Telling him I will catch up to him after I take a ride, I head towards the winding line waiting for their turn.
Reaching the line, I watch a special moment between two girls. Well, one young girl who is beaming up at another woman about my age. I watch with interest as the older one signs her name on the girls’ shirt. It is a band shirt but not for any band I know of. They chat a bit, and I am taken by how kind the woman is to the excited young girl.
“Not every day a girl meets her hero. That was very kind of you.”
Turning towards me, the rock star locks her gaze on me. It isintense. Dark hair with wild colors frames her beautiful face. Pretty gray eyes hold mine as I try to catch my breath. In screaming neon colors, this woman is the total opposite of me in my chinos and muted polo. It is all the differences that call to me, drawing me closer to her than I mean to move.
Suddenly I am towering over her, feeling her bare thighs rub against mine. With those gray eyes locked on me, the pretty rockstar smiles. It is a small one, just the briefest tip of her lips but I love it. It makes it seem as if we’re sharing a secret even though she has not said a word.
Rockstar Debi-well,Debi las, according to her excited fan—is an actual rockstar, it turns out. We exchange hellos and then she stuns me. Looking up at me with those gray eyes, she makes an offer there is no way I can refuse. Not when I suddenly don’t want to let her out of my sight.
“Want to ride with me, Devin?”
Staring down at her, I nod before I speak. It takes me a minute to be able to speak. Because this wild, beautiful woman wanting to share this ride with me is a surprise. I am not a flirt or the life of any party. Hell, I do not go to parties. I wear chinos and polos to the County Fair for Christ sakes.
“Yeah, Debi. I would love to ride with you. Iama little scared, never got the nerve to go on one of these before. Think you can hold my hand?”
Beaming up at me with a smile that lights up her eyes, she nods. “Only if you hold mine back.”
“I can manage that,” I answer without missing a beat.
Taking her hand in mine, I lead the way as the line moves forward. Her palm presses to mine, her short, neon painted nails rubbing against the back of my hand. We hand tickets to the young man controlling things, then take a seat on the first bucket swinging at the bottom. We both jump as the arm is locked down in front of us.
“This is our first time,” Debi teases as she grins up at the kid.
Flushing, I keep hold of her hand as the bucket starts to move up slowly. Beside me, she turns her body, pressing snuggly against my side. At first, I think she is teasing me. Then I notice her hand trembling. What are the odds we would have found each other in line to ride a something we’re afraid of?
“We will love it. It will be fun,” I whisper gently, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “It will be so pretty up there, don’t you think?”
