It Started with a Snap by Piper James

Chapter Eighteen

Ethan

“Acarnival?” I asked, surprised Ember would choose to bring me here.

I didn’t know what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t this. I’d been to a few travelling carnivals like this when I was younger, but it had been years. I remembered always feeling nauseous after all the fried food and dizzying rides, but seeing the smile on Ember’s face as she pulled her truck into the dirt lot reserved for parking, a feeling of anticipation swelled within me.

I’d hang out at the county landfill if she smiled at me like that.

We walked up to the entry gate, and I pulled out my wallet to buy our tickets. Ember started to argue, but I insisted, and she gave up without causing a scene. Once we passed through the gates, the scents of fried batter and popcorn filled my nose, bringing back a wealth of memories from my teenaged years.

“Let’s get some ride tickets,” Ember said, heading for a tiny booth with a plexiglass window on the front.

A worn-out looking woman sat inside, a half-smoked cigarette hanging from her lips as she asked us how many we wanted. I bought a pack of twenty and handed them over to Ember after I paid.

“Okay, I’m buying the food, later,” she said, her expression fierce.

“Fine,” I said, holding up my palms in surrender after tucking my wallet away.

“What should we ride first?” she asked, her gaze scanning the twirling, spinning rides around us.

“Are you sure you want to do this? You know they put these rides together in a few hours and they all look a little…rusty,” I said, watching something called The Zipper rotate on its axis as the individual cars spun rapidly. “Is that one wobbling a little?”

“Lighten up, Ethan. It’ll be fine,” she said with a laugh.

Then she slid her hand into mine and pulled me toward the line for the closest death trap. I forgot to breathe for a moment as she skipped ahead, the feel of her skin sending little sparks of electricity up my arm where it detonated in my chest. My fingers tightened around hers when we stopped, and a rush of color bloomed on her cheeks…but she didn’t try to pull her hand from my grip.

“Not too late to change your mind,” I said, staring at the spinning ride in front of us with a frown.

The damn thing twirled like a top clockwise while the cars raised up and down in a blur of color. When it finally slowed to stop, the riders cheered as it began to move backward. I felt queasy just watching it, but there was no way I was backing out and risking that smile on Ember’s face.

“No way,” she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she watched it spin. “This is going to be a blast.”

“Let’s do this, then,” I said as the ride stopped and emptied.

The carnival worker opened the gate, taking five tickets from each rider as they passed through and ran to find the perfect seat. I held the little door open for Ember as she slid in, and then climbed in next to her. As we waited for the carnie to come lock everyone inside their cars, I wanted to take Ember’s hand again, but she was gripping the bar in front of us tightly with both of hers.

“How long has it been since your rode something like this?” I asked, pulling her excited gaze to me.

“It’s been forever,” she gushed, bouncing in her seat a little. “But when I was a teenager, this one was my favorite.”

Once the worker got everyone secured in their cars, he walked back to his little booth, blasted some heavy metal music, and lifted his fist into the air. Within seconds, the ride began to spin. Our car smoothly lifted in the air, then lowered, repeating the motion as the whole ride spun faster and faster.

Ember laughed in my ear as the centrifugal force caused her to slide into me, plastering her against my side. Unable to resist, I released the grip my right hand had on the bar in front of me and slid it around her back to hold her there.

I ignored the queasiness in my stomach as the ride started to slow, concentrating instead on the feel of the woman pressed against me. When we started to move backward, she looked up at me, a frown marring her gorgeous face. I started to remove my arm, thinking maybe I’d upset her, but she shook her head and clamped her elbow down to hold mine there.

Her hand slapped against her mouth, and her face paled, her body jerking as she started to dry-heave.

“Oh, shit,” I said, raising my hand to try to get the carnie’s attention.

But he was looking out into the crowd, paying no attention to the ride despite my shouts for him to stop as we whirred by. After a few more rotations, the ride thankfully began to slow. Without waiting for the worker to come release us, I reached over the edge of the door and found the lock myself. Unlatching it, I slid out quickly before pulling Ember out behind me.

The carnie started to reprimand us, but took one look at Ember and snapped his mouth closed. He flung the gate open to let us out, murmuring his thanks as we passed. The prospect of cleaning puke out of his ride made him forgive our rule-breaking, apparently.

Ember dove for the nearest trash can, her entire body convulsing as she heaved up the burger and fries she’d eaten before we left the ranch. Using both hands, I quickly gathered her long, blonde tresses and pulled them back before twisting them around one of my fists. I rubbed circles on her back with my free hand, keeping my eyes averted because, hell, no one wanted to see that.

When her stomach was finally empty, she straightened. I released her hair and she turned to face me, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth as she grimaced.

“That’s what you call fun?” I asked with a grin.

“Shut up,” she groaned. “It used to be fun.”

I led her to an empty bench and ordered her to sit. She obeyed and slumped over, immediately tucking her head between her knees. I hurried to the nearest food vendor and bought a cup of crushed ice, a can of ginger ale, and a pack of minty gum from the display case of candy on the counter.

“Here,” I said, sliding on the bench next to Ember.

She straightened, giving me a grateful smile as she took the cup of ice chips and shook a few into her mouth. She crunched it between her teeth, sighing with relief as she swallowed.

“Thank you,” she said. “My throat is on fire.”

I popped open the can of ginger ale and offered it to her. “This should help settle your stomach.”

“Thanks,” she murmured, taking the can from me and lifting it to her lips for a small sip.

“Better?” I asked, lifting my hand to rub light circles on her back.

“Much,” she sighed, then lifted her hand in front of her mouth. “Oh, God. I’m sure my breath reeks.”

Pulling the pack of gum from my pocket, I held it out to her. She snatched it out of my fingers, ripped it open and shoved two pieces into her mouth before chewing rapidly. I chuckled, and Ember looked at me with pink cheeks.

“Are you ready to run away screaming yet?” she asked, squeezing her eyes shut as she shook her head.

“Not quite yet,” I said, reaching over to take her hand and linking my fingers through hers.

“You held back my hair,” she said, staring at me in wonder.

“I did.”

“You didn’t get grossed out and leave me.”

“It was pretty gross,” I teased, bumping my shoulder against hers. “But I don’t scare that easy.”

She smiled at me, then busied herself with pouring her soda into the cup of ice tucked between her thighs. Setting the empty can aside, she took a long sip and sighed with pleasure.

“What should we do now?” she asked.

I fished our leftover tickets out of my pocket and held them in front of her, saying, “Are you ready to try another ride?”

“God, no,” she groaned, plucking the tickets from my fingers. Looking up, she called out, “Hey, kid. Want some ride tickets?”

The boy walking by stopped in his tracks and took what Ember was offering. He chirped out a thanks and took off, running toward the ride we’d ridden.

“Ugh. Good luck, kid,” Ember mumbled, making me laugh.

“Do you feel up to walking around for a bit?” I asked. “If not, we can sit here for as long as you need to.”

“I think I’m okay,” she said, nodding.

I pushed myself to my feet, pulling her up with the grip I still had on her hand. I grabbed the empty ginger ale can and tossed it into a trash can as we walked hand-in-hand around the fairgrounds. I steered us away from the food booths, knowing the scents of fried candy bars and corn dogs would only make Ember’s stomach churn. We found ourselves by the game booths, and I pulled her to a stop.

“How about some games?” I asked, watching several kids and adults toss ping pong balls toward small tea cups arranged on a spinning table.

Ember nodded, and I reluctantly released her hand to pull my wallet out for some cash. She didn’t argue as I handed the game worker a twenty, buying us each a huge bucket of balls. We laughed as the small plastic balls bounced left and right, ricocheting off the rims of cups but never going in.

Out of balls with no prize to show for it, we wandered through the booths, trying our luck at bean bag toss games, basketball, and a game where you squirt water at a target to race your horse across the lane. An eight or nine year old girl beat both of us to win the prize on that one.

When we approached a game that involved throwing darts at balloons, I smiled. I’d been playing darts at bars with my brothers for years. I was sure I’d finally found my game.

“Let’s try this one,” I said, pulling my wallet out.

“Ethan,” Ember said, laying her hand on mine to stop me from pulling out another twenty. “You’ve already spent over a hundred bucks on games and we have nothing to show for it.”

“Are you having fun?” I asked, cocking my head to study her.

“Yes, of course.”

“Then it’s totally worth it,” I said, pulling my wallet from beneath her hand to pluck out the cash.

Ember’s mouth curved upward into a bright smile, and my blood heated at the sight of it. I wanted to kiss her, but I wasn’t sure how receptive she’d be to me coming on so strong. We’d decided to be friends, and even though we’d been holding hands all afternoon, I didn’t want to push my luck.

I played the game four times in a row, winning each time and trading my prize up to the next level of stuffed animal. Ember quit after the first round, content to watch and cheer me on. When it was all said and done, I’d paid forty-five dollars to win a giant blue bunny that was probably worth five dollars, at most.

But the look on Ember’s face when I presented it to her? The way she hugged it and smiled at me with pleasure shining in her blue eyes? I’d easily pay triple that. Quadruple.

And when she tucked that bunny against her side and slipped her fingers through mine as we walked away? Priceless.