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Joey snorted. “Didn’t mean to hit a nerve. Your dick is plenty sexy too.”
“Date first,” I said. “Sexy freckles later.”
I drove across town to the Elkhorn County Fairgrounds, where a carnival had set up. A Ferris wheel lit up the night sky, rising taller than the other rides. The Kraken spun in a circle, its tentacles extending into the air. Swings flowed out in a wide arc, filled with kids.
“A carnival?” Joey sounded shocked as he threw open his car door. The scent of popcorn and cotton candy rushed in, along with the upbeat music pouring from the rides. “This is our date?”
I got out and joined him by the car. “I thought it would be fun.” I searched his face. “I don’t think you’ve had enough of that in your life. Neither have I.”
He glanced at me in surprise. “This is great, Kit. I loved going to the carnival when I was a kid.” He grabbed my hand and tugged me forward. “Oh, I see the Ring of Fire! We have to go on that one. And they’ve got the Gravitron? Hell, yes.”
I laughed and followed Joey to the ticket booth, where I bought us enough tickets to ride everything at least once. He immediately dragged me into line for the Scrambler, which was the closest ride.
We climbed in, me inside since I was bigger. When the ride started up, it jerked us side to side while also speeding in a circle. Joey slammed into me, and I held him close as the wind whistled by.
Joey laughed as the gravitational force kept us together, clearly loving every minute, face flushed, eyes bright. He was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
The ride slowed and eventually stopped, but my heart continued to race from the thrill of all that speed, yes, but also from the beauty of seeing Joey without that shroud of regret he wore so regularly. I could see the person he’d been before the accident, the sweet, happy, gorgeous man who would have won me over in an instant.
If I did anything right, it would be to bring this look out in Joey more often. Until maybe, eventually, it would be the norm and not the exception.
“Come on,” he called, clambering out of the ride and reaching back for me. “Let’s go on the Haunted Boat Ride. We can make out in the dark.”
He wiggled his eyebrows, and I laughed. “Just how many guys have you made out with on that ride?”
“You’ll be the first,” he said. “But I fantasized about it many times. You want to make my fantasy come true, right?”
I grinned and followed. “Baby, I want to make all your fantasies come true, then inspire new ones, and make those a reality, too.”
He stepped into the line, glancing over his shoulder coyly. “You’re such an overachiever, Dr. Willis.”
I slipped my arms around him from behind, reveling in the closeness as we stood in the line, the chill of the air no match for the warmth of our bodies pressed tight.
“Are you complaining?” I murmured into his ear.
He shivered. “Nope. No complaints here.”
We stepped into a small boat that rocked under our feet. It ran on some sort of track under the water, because we didn’t need to row. I sat on the seat in the back and Joey sat facing me, an eerie green light washing out his features.
The boat started forward with a lurch. In the next instant, I had an armful of my boyfriend. He straddled my lap and kissed me, hot and wet, as a cackling laugh echoed through the dark tunnel we were traversing.
I jerked back. “What was that?”
Joey laughed. “Just sound effects.”
Something jumped out from the left, and I flinched and craned my neck to see what the hell it was.
Joey laughed harder. “Aw, honey, are you scared? Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
“I’m not scared,” I said, though my gasp at the splashing water over the side of our boat gave me away as a liar.
Joey cupped my face. “Just focus on me, Kit. I’m the only thing here that’s real.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, leaning in to kiss him again, his words resonating.
He was real and he was here, and he was finally mine in all the ways that mattered. When creepy noises intruded, Joey kissed me harder, anchoring me in the moment, holding me close, and grinding in my lap.
It was a beautiful torture—and I was wondering if I was going to come in my jeans—when it suddenly came to an end. Joey slipped off my lap and back into his seat as we coasted to a stop at the end of the ride.
