"I love you, Kelly. I can't imagine life without you. If the job in LA is that important to you, are you okay with me coming with you?"
In front of me, she stills. Other than her hand trembling when she throws candies to the kids in the crowd, it's as if I haven't spoken. As if I haven't handed her my heart for safekeeping.
Okay, so that's how it is. Her rejection cuts deep, with me doing my best to inch away from her. Anything to put some distance between us.
However, she's not done taunting me. She stretches her foot out and taps the gas strut pedal with her toe. This has the front of the rocket jerking upward again, although she does nothing to stay where she is.
She slides down the hull, her gorgeous ass jamming itself into my cock. "I turned the job down." I can tell by her labored breathing that we're still connected.
"Zac, I didn't know what we had, but I knew we had something. That we've got something." She falls silent, but for a second, before whispering, "I love you, too."
Because the speakers in the helmet are right next to my ears, I hear her quiet words. What I don't understand is why the crowd has erupted in wild cheering, with all eyes on us.
On hearing a squeal of feedback through a helmet designed to cope with outer space, I realize what's happened. "Oh, jeez."
Kelly's hiccup tells me when she catches on, too. All we can hope is that our innermost feelings only overrode the huge speakers out front of the local radio station at the moment we passed by, and not before.
Surely not before? A panicked check of the crowd shows no parents with hands slapped over their kids' ears to protect them from my dirty fantasies.
Much as I want to bury myself in Kelly's lush depths, I don't want the whole town knowing about it. And while delirious to know she loves me in return, I'm even happier to be wearing a full-face helmet.
It's times like these I wish we had pet names for each other. There was always a chance we could hide our true identities. With Coogan's Break as small as it is, by tomorrow morning, everyone will know who we are and what we said.
Rather than stopping at the end of the parade route, Clive keeps going, although he keeps his speed down. Even back at the lock-up, Kelly and I keep our thoughts to ourselves.
For all we know, Audrey and Clive might have heard everything through the car radio. I've embarrassed myself and Kelly enough for one day.
We're still on the float when there are a couple of Martians next to it, dancing like there's no tomorrow.
On stepping down, Kelly and I are gathered up in a big hug. Clive and Audrey crowing that we've seen what everyone else could see, "As plain as day".
Such is my desire to park the trailer in the lock-up so I can park myself in Kelly, that it's only on my fourth attempt I manage it. Here's hoping I don't have the same issues later.
The drive to Sand 'O' Sun seems to take forever, with us having to crawl along to cope with the crowds of townspeople on their way home. Given the amount of cheering and knowing smiles, we might have been audible through those monster speakers for longer than we'd realized.
This has me thinking back to what I'd said to Kelly. Not to cringe, but so I can follow through on any promises I'd made. It's something that has me laughing out loud.
It's also something that has me making a mental note to pick up an extra set of gas-struts. You never knew when they'd come in handy.
