Chapter Eight

 

JESSIE

 

I guess I’ll have to take Daryl up on his offer to get tacos at the fair, because I’ve spent the entire afternoon preparing for our date like it was prom and now I’m starving. Maybe calling it a date is a bit overzealous, but I think it fits the description quite stereotypically. It doesn’t get more cliché than a date at the local fair, does it?

After parking my Jeep, I catch one more reflection of myself in the dark tinted windows of the black SUV parked next to me. My dark hair is cascading over my shoulder in waves, falling down to the sweetheart neckline of my short yellow romper, a color Lindsay assure me always looks great against my tan skin. I’ve added just a touch of make-up, the kind that makes it look like I’m not wearing any while still defining my cheekbones and accentuating my eyes.

Walking up to the entrance gate, I’m tempted to pull out my smartphone and call Daryl, because there are so many people pouring in and out the fair. Just before I dig in my small wristlet I see him struggling to end a conversation with an elderly couple, which instantly brings a smile to my face.

“Sorry,” he says as I approach. “The Jamesons are hard to get away from,” he explains, motioning towards the couple.

“It’s fine. You seem to be quite popular with the older crowd,” I joke and a flash of a smile passes his face.

“My grandpa is really popular because of the shop, so I grew up around everyone. They used to do everything for me, so I guess I try to return the favor now,” he shrugs, looking me over.

“You look nice,” he says quietly, wrapping his arm around my shoulder as he leads me into the fair.

Okay, this is definitely a date. You don’t just walk around the fair with your arm draped around anyone. Looking around, the decorations bring back so many memories of childhood summers attending the LA County Fair. No matter where you go, they’re all pretty much the same – food, games, rides, laughter.

“Do you ride rollercoasters?” Daryl turns to me as we pass a ride that gushes by so fast as everyone on board screams at the top of their lungs. My heart sinks realizing he might want to get on.

“Oh God no, do you?” I ask nervously.

“Hell no! We’re not touching those things,” he steers me clear of the rides and I exhale with relief as we wander through the excited crowds.

“Do you come every year?” I ask looking up at him, his jawline tense as he scopes the scene.

“Yeah,” he answers with furrowed brows, smirking when he glances down to see my eyes trained on him. Butterflies flutter in my belly in that nervous giddiness that tends to accompany first dates.

“I used to go to the county fair every summer with my dad, but I haven’t been since I was little,” I share as we make our through the organized chaos.

“Oh yeah? What was the fair like in California?” He asks, leading me towards an amazing sweet aroma.

“Just like this!” I giggle.

“Really?” He asks shocked.

“Yep! I really can’t tell a difference, but that might change after I try the funnel cakes.” I rub my hands together.

“You like funnel cakes?” He perks up, walking faster.

“I love funnel cakes,” I giggle again as we rush towards the smell.

Arriving at a red and yellow painted stand, Daryl first greets the blonde teenage boy working behind the counter before ordering a funnel cake for us. I’m not sure if I should offer to pay, but I don’t really have a chance because he hands the young kid a twenty dollar bill before he’s even done ordering.

With his arm still draped around me, he takes paper plate carrying the fried cake batter and lowers his arm, offering me first dibs. I tear a piece off and hold it up to him. I can see the reluctance in his eyes, but after a brief hesitation he bites the cake from my fingers and slowly closes his eyes in satisfaction.

“It’s so good,” I exclaim, licking my fingers after taking a bite of my own.

“I was trying to give you the first taste,” he explains and I laugh at his gentlemanly attempt as we wander through the fair, each tearing away at the fried deliciousness.

“Well, I appreciate the gesture. I haven’t had a funnel cake in years,” I shake my head as he throws the now empty plate into a cardboard trash can.

“What else haven’t you had in a while?” He looks down into my eyes and I feel myself melting again. Gosh, he has such a strong effect on me and I can’t tell if I enjoy or despise his power.

There’s no way I could argue that he definitely meant the question to be taken sexually, but that’s exactly where my mind races. It’s been quite a while since I had any type of touch from a man, hence my hyperventilation every time he touches me.

“Let’s get some French fries,” I suggest, spotting a small glassed in stand a few feet away.

“French fries it is,” he says, pulling me into his side as we walk together towards the stand.

“I can get these,” I say, reaching to unzip my wristlet.

“Don’t.” He says flatly, before turning to the pretty, young woman behind the counter. “Hey, Steph! Let me have a large fry and a large,” Daryl pauses and turns to me, “Lemonade or sweet tea?”

“Sweet tea!” I answer excitedly and he smirks like I made the right choice. Nodding to the girl, who is fawning over him, she writes down my decision before looking up to Daryl with longing eyes.

“That’s it,” he nods, handing her a twenty-dollar bill and moving to the side of the line.

Following the woman’s I notice how closely she watches Daryl and can’t help but feel a twinge of territorial protectiveness. I mean, he’s not my boyfriend, but he is on a date with me, pick your tongue up off the floor!

“Come on,” he disrupts my glare on the woman, his hands full with our super-sized bucket of fries and sweet tea.

Squirting tons of ketchup to coat the fries, he lowers the large cup to again give me the first taste. This time I allow him his gentleman gesture and dig right in.

“Mmm,” I hum after trying tasting the salty perfection.

“You like them?” He raises his eyebrows while shoving two fries into his mouth.

“I do,” I smile before adding the question I wanted to ask before the woman’s fawning interrupted me. “Why don’t you want me to pay for anything?”

“Because you don’t have to,” he says matter-of-factly before pausing his steps and lifting his hand to my face. I freeze when his thumb grazed the corner of mouth, the touch taking my breath away. As if its normal, he takes his thumb to his mouth, eating the ketchup from my lip. Now I’m sure I’m horny, because that was the sexiest thing that’s happened to me in months.

We wander through the fair eating our French fries, Daryl holding the huge cup of sweet tea to my mouth every so often, so I can enjoy the incredibly sweet drink between stuffing my face.

“Let’s play some games,” Daryl announces after we finish the fries.

“Okay, but I’m usually really good at carnival games,” I warn him, and he chuckles at my confidence.

First we go to a tent set up with an endless supply of glass bottles lining the floor. Daryl hands the man a bill and then I get a handful of colorful rings to toss at the bottles with the hopes of one of the rings landing on one.

One by one, I miss every opportunity, and before I know it, I’m stomping my foot in frustration.

“Here, this is for trying,” the attendant wearing a red apron hands me a teddy bear so small it fits in my hand.

“I don’t want this. I want that!” I point to the largest stuffed animal I’ve ever seen hanging from the ceiling of the game.

“You’ve got to land five rings for that,” he laughs before turning to help the next customer.

“These games are rigged!” I cross my arms and Daryl smirks before wrapping his arms around me. I’d be lying if I said having his heavy arms draped over my shoulders didn’t make me feel better. We walk together like that, him behind me hugging me with those muscular arms.

“You just need some sweets,” he whispers in my ear, and the feel of his warm breath on my ear triggers my abdomen muscles to clench.

Pulling me to another colorful stand he orders while I glance around at the games, seeing which ones I could win to get that huge teddy bear. The fair is bustling with families and couples, teenagers and senior citizens alike. Earl was right, it is a lot of fun, and in that moment I’m so glad Daryl invited me because I know I wouldn’t have enjoyed myself so much alone.

“Here. Try these,” Daryl orders, holding out a paper plate of round, golden brown crispy treats.

“What are they?” I tilt my head in confusion.

“Those are fried Oreos,” he points to one treat. “And these are fried Snickers,” he identifies another with a mischievous grin on his face.

“Hmm,” I hum, contemplating before picking a treat from the Snickers pile and taking a bite. The chocolate oozes out onto my hand and Daryl laughs watching me try to lick it away.

“Like it?” He asks once I finish and I nod profusely. What’s not to like about fried candy?

Picking a golden treat from the Oreo pile, he takes a smile bite before offering the other half to me. Looking up into his gray eyes, I open my mouth slightly and he lays the warm cookie on my tongue. Is he trying to tease me?

Again, we walk through the fair, Daryl’s arm draped over my shoulder, as we eat another batch of fried food, maneuvering around the clusters of people.

“Ooh! Let’s take a picture!” I shriek as we approach a photo booth.

Daryl looks down at me, but I can’t read the expression on his face. “Come on,” is all he says before pulling me a little closer against him as we walk to the booth.

“Okay, we get four picture. It’ll beep before it flashes,” I explain as I settle onto the bench after reading the instructions.

We’re both looking at our reflections displayed on the screen, my jaws sore from holding my smile for so long as Daryl barely smirks. The machine beeps and an image of us is frozen on the screen.

“Now it’s another one?” He asks and I look forward, just as the machine starts beeping.

“Oh shit! We missed it!” I yell and we both burst into laugher just as the camera flashes again, another shot of us in a candid moment of hilarity frozen on the screen.

“Come here,” he wraps his arm around me, pulling me close after determining that I don’t know how the machine works as well as I thought. The camera catches the confident swagger in his beautiful eyes on that shot. As the machine beeps for the final picture I make a last second decision and plant my lips on Daryl’s cheek just before the flash, his expression a mix of shock and happiness.

We walk out of the photo booth laughing like idiots, and I can’t help but wonder what people looking on must think. We’ve eaten every bit of chocolate our bellies can handle, acting like two kids on a date. I haven’t laughed this hard in ages.

“Come on,” Daryl pulls my arm, again leading me somewhere.

“Where are we going?” I ask, my feet struggling to keep up with his fast pace.

“The fair’s almost over and I still gotta get your bear,” he calls over his shoulder, pulling me through crowds of people who all seem to happily make room for him.

He stops at a tent with different stations of three bowling pins stacked in a pyramid shape on a table. After handing the attendant some money, he receives three small bean bags. With squinted eyes, he leans over slightly, softly tossing the bean bag, and all three bowling pins tumble over.

“Yay!” I scream like a child and he looks over at me with the rarest, sexiest, smile, showing his perfect set of teeth.

Pointing to the bear after getting my nod of approval, the attendant stand on a step stool to unhook the bear that is so large, you can’t see him anymore as he hands the prize to Daryl.

“This is what you wanted?” He teases and I could pass out from the innocent cuteness of his bashful smirk.

“Just what I wanted,” I nod.

Daryl reaches down, interlocking our fingers and I feel a rush of butterflies. Holding hands has always been so intimate to me. I never even held hands with Michael, but it doesn’t feel strange with Daryl. Everything just feels normal, yet exciting.

When we finally reach my Jeep, Daryl stuffs my new teddy bear in the back seat after opening my car door and helping me inside.

“I didn’t strap him in the seat belt,” he nods towards the bear and I giggle glancing over my shoulder. It is seriously the largest stuffed animal ever.

“Thank you for bringing me, Daryl. I had so much fun,” I blush. It’s been years since I’d been on a date and I couldn’t imagine it going any better than tonight.

“It was my pleasure,” he says softly, leaning over me slightly.

“I never gave you my number,” I reach for my phone, but he places his hand on my thigh and I freeze, desperate for more of him.

“I got it,” he says casually when my eyes meet his. I can see the lust reflected in his eyes, so I know I’m not alone in my longing.

“So will you use it?” I shoot back, biting my lip seductively.

“You want me to?” He raises one eyebrow.

“What do you think?” I cock my head to one side, inadvertently leaving just inches between our faces. I can see his teeth clench as his eyes drift to my lips. My chest is heaving with hope, as I watch him lick his full lips. Oh God, this is happening!

“John-Knee!” A loud call from the front of the fair interrupts our moment, as Daryl turns towards the voice, nodding his head towards a man I can now see is Caleb. The fire of desire dies instantly at the thought of that vile man.

“I’ll call you,” Daryl says quietly before backing up, closing my door and walking away awkwardly.

I watch him disappear in sheer disappointment. I’d noticed a few men with the Marauder leather jackets on inside the fair, but I didn’t see Caleb, and I definitely didn’t think that Daryl had come with anyone. Maybe I need to re-evaluate my feelings for him, and finally ask my partners for the inside scoop on why he hangs out with a guy like Caleb. There has to be some connection between the two, and I’m determined to figure it out.