This time, I get slightly closer, but still miss by a couple feet.
Fuck. This is so embarrassing. I feel my cheeks starting to heat.
I don’t look over this time. I can’t.
Third time’s the charm… right?
I set up for my next throw, this time it just pings off the side of a bottle but doesn’t knock it over. My head drops.
This sucks.
I feel a warm body sidle up beside mine, her fingertips gliding up my ribs causing my heart to skip a beat.
What the fuck is wrong with me? Jesus.
I look down at Scarlett and throw my good arm over her shoulders casually.
“Alright, let’s move on from this one now, shall we?” I say softly as I start to guide her away from the game that’s the reason for my embarrassment.
She pulls away from me. “No. I’m going to give it a go.” She says as she starts to pull money from her bag, but I lean over and pay the guy, beating her to the punch.
She sighs as the attendant hands over the first ball. “Look who’s willing to pay my way now.” She speaks as she’s already winding her arm back for her first shot.
She pitches the ball. And every single bottle topples over. My jaw drops.
The crowd erupts in cheers, obviously as shocked as I am.
The booth attendant sighs. “What do you want?” He asks as he gestures to the toys surrounding the booth.
Scarlett ponders for a second before pointing toward a giant panda bear at the top right corner of the booth.
The attendant brings it down and hands it over before Scarlett turns to me with a wide grin on her face. I already know what’s coming before the words spill out of her mouth.
Her arm holding the toy extends. “I won this for you. Peace offering?” She says sweetly, her head tilted slightly.
I can’t help a small grin creeping onto my face.
I take the bear before throwing my left arm over her shoulders. “Alright,” I start, shaking my head. “Let’s go get some food, Princess.”
For once, she doesn’t snap at me for the nickname. And the name suits her, honestly. Maybe getting along with her won’t be such a bad thing.
…
How is this girl so good at carnival games? I mean, seriously.
We’ve been here for hours now and tried every possible game you could think of. Basketball free throw, ring toss, balloon dart throw, cornhole. And she has nailed every single one.
As a result, I am now lugging around six stuffed animals. So much for using today to wind down.
We’ve stopped to get funnel cake because, you know, “I need to get the full American experience.”
I couldn’t say no to that so here we are. Though, I quite honestly have no idea how so much food is fitting into such a small body, but she’s happy which is… kind of making me happy? I’m too exhausted to analyse it. So, I’ll just leave it at that.
She polishes off the rest of her food, looking up to meet my eyes, a broad grin on her face. She seems more relaxed than when we first met. Maybe she’s getting settled into American life now. This trip might’ve been just what she needed, just like it was what I needed.
I spot a dusting of icing sugar on the corner of her lip. I subconsciously reach out to wipe it off with my thumb, and I slightly hear her breath hitch, the sound of the crowd dulling to a murmur.
Scarlett’s breathing starts to get heavy, and her eyes drop to my lips.
