“I have thought about it,” I admit. “But all of my concerns from last week are still valid. We basically work together. And what we have now is so good. What if we mess that up by making it official?”
“What if it just keeps getting better?” he counters.
“What if one of us ends up getting hurt?” I ask.
“You worry too much,” he tells me.
“But why mess with a good thing?” I argue. “This arrangement we have works out pretty well for both of us, right? I mean, we hang out, we give each other mutual orgasms. It seems to me like everybody wins, and there’s no risk. That’s the beauty of it.”
“It is a good thing,” he agrees, squeezing my hand and looking me in the eye. “But I want more. I’m not suggesting we find a wedding chapel like Ollie and Fallon did, but I want to date you. I want to call this what it already is.”
It’s my turn to talk, but my brain and my mouth can’t agree on what to say. The truth is that I’m tempted to agree with him. I’m tempted to reach for him. I’m tempted to kiss him and never look back.
And that’s dangerous.
“I’ve got an idea,” Blue says, still holding my hand as he leads me toward the end of the path.
“What’s your idea?” I’m a little skeptical because Blue’s idea could be just about anything. He could have a sudden inspiration for a prank he’s roping me into, or he could have a craving for a boring cheese pizza. Who knows?
We stop in front of a red and white striped tent. It looks the same as some of the others, but this one has about a million stuffed animals hanging from every flat surface available. A guy with frat letters on his hoodie and a name tag that saysJakespares us a glance before gluing his eyes back to his phone. “Three balls for five bucks,” he says.
Blue hands over the cash and then looks at me. “Let’s make a deal. If I win one of these stuffed animals, you agree to go on a date with me. A real one.”
“That’s too easy,” I protest. “You could probably knock those bottles off even if you were blindfolded.”
“Blindfolds are on the list,” he says quietly.
“They are, but I don’t have any on me right now.”
“That’s a shame. But it’s fine. We can save those for later. What do you say?” he asks, turning around. “I won’t even look. But if I knock all those bottles down and win you a turtle, you agree to one date with me.”
This is crazy. It’s ridiculous. If we decide to date, it shouldn’t be because Blue’s got great hand-eye coordination. It should be because we like being together and want to spend every spare minute in each other’s company. It should be because we drive each other a little crazy—in and out of the bedroom—in the very best way. It should be because our chemistry is off the charts and we can’t imagine being with anyone else.
It takes my brain a minute to process that all of those things are true. No matter what we call it or how we label it, Blue and I are together. I can deny it or pretend all I want, but that doesn’t change the truth that we’re more to each other than just a hook up or an unlikely friendship.
I tap my lips, pretending to think for a minute. “Make it a koala and you’ve got a deal.”
Keeping his eyes trained on the crowd in front of him and not the target that’s behind him, Blue launches the first ball in the air. It makes contact with one of the bottles, but it glances off too quickly and falls to the floor.
“Bummer,” the frat guy in the booth laments.
Blue tosses the next one over his shoulder and misses entirely.
“Ouch,” I say. “Maybe it’s for the best that I’m seeing this now. How could I ever go on a date with a guy who can’t even win at a rigged carnival game?” I tease.
Before I can finish my sentence, Blue pops his final ball in the air. It sails across the counter, hitting the center milk bottle and toppling the tower. Jake the frat guy blinks in surprise. “Holy shit, dude. You actually won.”
“I sure did,” Blue agrees, plucking the koala off its hook and handing it to me.
“You were faking that whole time?” I ask, practically screeching.
Blue laughs as we walk away and wander back into the crowd. “I had to make it look good, build up the suspense. You were pretty worried there for a second, weren’t you, Tiger? You can be honest with me.”
“I was only worried for your reputation,” I tell him. “I mean, how embarrassing, you know?”
“Nope,” Blue says, not buying my lie as he settles down on a bench near the fountain and pulls me in close so I’m cuddled up next to him. “I saw it with my own eyes. You were worried. There’s no sense denying it. Hell, you were terrified at the prospect of losing out on a chance to date me.”
“Where are you taking me?” I ask. “Maybe we should see if there’s a concert in the park that night. I’m just thinking it’d be safe to do something outdoors, you know, since your ego probably wouldn’t fit through the doors of a restaurant or museum.”
