I sneak a peek over and the wonder in her eyes sparkles. She is looking around, her feet still shimmying as she gazes out with pure joy and waves down at Rhett and Lauren. I breathe through every rock and wave and relish in the cool breeze up here and the feel of Tanner’s massive hand over mine.
“See.” He nudges me. “Not so bad.”
Glancing over the edge, I think I get why people kiss up here. I would do just about anything to forget how high off the ground I am. And frankly as my eyes flicker to his lips, I would do just about anything to know how his lips would feel.
“Your rules,” he whispers, reminding us. I blink back to Winnie and consider throwing every one of my dumb rules out and over the edge. Rules we aren’t following anyway.
“So?” Lauren asks Winnie as she skips off ahead of Tanner and me.
“I was flying!” she exclaims and a huge yawn follows.
“I think that’s our cue.” I rub her back and we begin to head toward the exit
Tanner finds my hand again when Winnie runs up to hold Lauren’s. I lean into him and forget about the rules. Instead, I commit to memory the lights, the sounds, the smells, the feeling of my hand in Tanner's. We are almost the exit when Winnie stops dead in her tracks.
“Look!” She frees her hand and points up at a Skee-Ball booth. “A sheep!”
Sure enough, hanging near the middle of the prize wall is a plush sheep. Not super big, but it’s fluffy and has a big grin on its face. Tanner pulls out his wallet.
“Oh, you don’t have to—” I begin to say, but he waves Winnie over.
“Come on Fred.”
He exchanges his cash for tickets, and we sit there for almost fifteen minutes as he sinks every last ticket into the game. Thewoman must feel bad because just as Tanner is about to use his final ticket, she sighs. “Since we’re about to close, for the next five minutes if you get at least one ball in, you can get the sheep prize.”
Tanner shoots me a look over his shoulder as if to say that would have been nice thirty dollars ago, but regardless, the first ball flies up and sinks right in the center. Getting the number of points he originally needed for that damn sheep.
Winnie is jumping up and down as the woman hands her the plushy.
“Do you think I won her over?” he asks me quietly as he rejoins my side.
“I think you won her over with the flowers at her recital.” Honestly, I’m not sure if I mean Winnie or myself.
Back at the car, after saying goodbye to Lauren and Rhett, Winnie places her fish in the cupholder and I pray that it makes it through the night.
“Winnie, what do you say to Tanner for the fishandthe sheep?”
“Thank you, Tan,” she yawns.
“You’re welcome, Fred.” He ruffles her hair and then slides the door shut. Then he turns to me with his palm out and an expectant look in his eye
“I can drive,” I tell him.
“But you don’t like driving,” he says and walks around to open the passenger side for me.
“How do you know that?”
“Because I know you. Hop in.”
Winnie is asleep by the first stoplight we come to and is snoring when we pull into the parking lot of the apartment.
“Winnie.” I lean back and gently nudge her leg. “We’re home.”
She only snuggles her sheep.
“I’ll get her.” Tanner slips out of the car. He carefully picks her up and effortlessly carries her up and deposits her under her covers.
“Goodnight Fred,” he says brushing the hair out of her closed eyes. Another little crack in what’s left of my walls.
