Breathless (28 page)

“
Sounds like a good group,” I said, thinking mainly of how the only one I could hope to relate to on any natural level was Darcy. “So, what’s there to do at Wonderland?”

If I had known the excitement this question would evoke, I would have asked it much earlier in our conversation. Eli’s eyes widened, and he turned down the volume on the radio to ensure maximum audibility as he spoke. He spent the remaining 15 minutes of the drive providing precise details about every attraction in the amusement park—from approximations of roller coaster speeds to the heights of various rides bearing names that sounded far more frightening than anything I could imagine ever wanting to conquer.

When Eli was finished regaling me with the finer points of Wonderland, all I could manage to express was a noticeably less-enthusiastic “Wow.” A look of disappointment swept across his face as pulled to a stop in a stall that seemed much too small for the oversized vehicle. With a little more vim, I tried again. “Wow.”

As we approached the group, it was easy to identify most of the people Eli had described on our drive. Darcy was the most obvious, wearing jeans that were just slightly darker than the current trend and thick glasses. It was only a moment before I saw another familiar face lingering in the background, one that seemed equally out of place. A quick head count revealed an unexpected ninth participant.

“
Frost,” I called out to the lovely—yet oddly undefineable—figure hiding behind a bevy of blondes. As I looked into her moss-colored irises, I felt a faint chill. Something about her seemed so familiar, like I had known her in another time and place. “How are you? Eli never told me you were coming.”

I glanced at Eli, who was hovering close behind me. His nearness made me somewhat uncomfortable. Though I knew Chaseyn would find Eli’s advances amusing, I was rattled by his constant looming. Thankfully, Frost had made her way through the others to stand at my opposite side, easing the tension with the upbeat chirp of her trill voice.

“
Hi,” she said just above a whisper, wrapping her frail arms around my upper body in an unexpected act of kindness. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“
Come on,” Eli said anxiously, grabbing my hand and dragging me deeper into the group. “I want to introduce you to everyone.”

I smiled back at Frost and shrugged my shoulders to show my objection at being pulled away from our little reunion. Eli continued to hold me close as we moved from one person to the next—ensuring they all knew to keep their hands to themselves. Like I was some sort of trophy, I thought sarcastically. Hardly. In an effort to keep from embarrassing Eli in front of everyone, I waited until we were alone in line to remove my hand from his tight grip—reaching for the wallet securely pinned in my back pocket as a guise.

“
Look, Eli,” I began, “You’re great. You really are, but—“

“
I know,” he cut me off before I could finish. “Chaseyn.”

“
So you know,” I said surprised. “And, you’re still—“

“
Interested,” he said, cutting me off for the second time. I thought Chaseyn was the one with an extra sense, but it seemed Eli could also foresee my thoughts. “You’re really pretty and smart and just so different from the girls around here. Besides, your grandma told me I shouldn’t let Chaseyn stand in the way of pursuing you.”

“
She did, did she?”

“
Was she wrong?”

“
You don’t know the half of it.”

“
So, where does that leave me,” he asked innocently. I couldn’t fault him for my grandma’s misgivings. I decided to let him down easy. “Eli, if I was available, you would be a dream come true. But, I’m definitely, positively, undeniably in love with Chaseyn Lear. I’m sorry.”

“
Can you do me a favor,” he asked, looking sorely dejected. “I sort of told my friends that we were seeing each other, so would you mind pretending for the day? It would mean a lot to me. After you go home to Colorado, I’ll tell them we decided it would be too difficult to maintain a long-distance relationship.”

“
Just for today, though,” I said, smiling and replacing my hand gently inside his palm.

“
You’re amazing,” he said beaming.

Before I could respond, a baritone voice broke my train of thought.

“
Last one to the Cyclone rides alone,” Christopher, a dirty blond brute, shouted, and the group began running at a mad dash. I had no clue what he was talking about, but I followed suit, running flat out. The last thing I wanted to do was ride alone on what I could only imagine was a terrifying monstrosity of metal.

Sure enough, Cyclone—a behemoth of a coaster—was a labyrinth of winding metal rods that looped and twisted in circles around each other like a pretzel. As expected, Darcy was last to arrive, having tripped over a loose stone en route.

“
I think I’m going to sit this one out,” I said, trepidation apparent by the crack in my voice as I spoke the words. “Darcy, you can ride with Eli.”

“
No way, wiseacre,” Eli said, practically pulling my arm from its socket as we followed leader to the lineup. “Darcy will be just fine on his own.”

Darcy nodded enthusiastically and pushed his way to the front of the group to stand next to Frost. He was clearly smitten with the raven-haired beauty, but she paid no notice of him.

As we waited our turn, I listened to the buzz of jubilant voices around me. Everyone was aflutter with the promise of the day. The effect was contagious, and for the first time since leaving Chaseyn, I let myself succumb to the intense emotions surrounding me. I leaned back against Eli—more a show of camaraderie than of affection—and joined in the buzz. Looking up at the side of his face, I could see his cheeks rise in a smile.

“
Thank you,” he whispered softly in my ear so that only I could hear.

The feel of his warm breath on my skin sent a shiver through my spine and a feeling of guilt through my heart. Would Chaseyn be upset by my behavior, I wondered. Was I leading Eli on? My intentions were pure—I wanted comfort and friendship from Eli, nothing more. I hoped that was clear. When we were safely belted into our seats, Eli turned to me and said the words that made me flinch with apprehension.

“
Just so you know, I’m not giving up that easy. You’re here for an entire week, and this Chaseyn guy can’t be that spectacular. I’ve got a lot to offer. Ask anyone.”

Judging by the looks of disgust the two fashionable platinum blondes in the group gave me every time Eli reached for my hand or placed his arm around my shoulder, I had no reason to doubt he was a hot commodity. Still, it was difficult to imagine any one person could measure up to the standard set by Chaseyn. I ignored Eli’s comments and clenched my muscles in anticipation of what was sure to be a wild ride—literally and figuratively. Bracing myself—the first cars had already reached the penultimate peak before the inevitable drop, and their inhabitants were screaming loudly out of both fear and excitement—I prepared for what seemed like an endless fall into a bottomless pit, as well as a deep plummet into the next steep climb.

When our feet were once again firmly on solid ground, our group of eleven huddled together to compose a game plan for the rest of the afternoon. It was still off-season, so the park’s operating hours were limited, and we only had a short time to conquer every attraction.

“
Alright, so here’s the plan,” Christopher began, spinning in a circling to map our route as he spoke. “We start with the pirate ship, then we hit fantastic journey. After that, it’s the bumper cars before we break for a snack. We can regroup and come up with a plan for the rest of the day from there.”

Everyone’s gaze followed Christopher’s finger as he pointed to each attraction. Looks of complete contentment warmed every face as he clapped his hands to signify the end of his plan—for now. Eager to camouflage with the group, I skipped alongside Eli to our initial destination, a massive boat that swung from side-to-side at least 100 feet above the ground. My stomach did loops just looking at it.

“
Ready,” Eli asked, winking and squeezing my hand to show that he perceived my anxiety. Even without an extra sense, Eli intuitively understood my nervousness—perhaps it was the fact that upon entering the main gates to the ride, my palms began to sweat and my heartbeat started pulsing out of my chest. Even during the Founder’s Day Festival, Evergreen only featured traditional attractions like Ferris wheels and carousels. I had never before in my life experienced anything like the massive machines permanently displayed at Wonderland—particularly those that flung people through the air at extreme speeds.

“
So, this is safe, right,” I asked with hesitation, uncertain I wanted to hear Eli’s response. “I mean, they test these things, don’t they?”

“
Come on,” was all he could say as he grabbed my wrist and dragged me to a seat at one end of the flying ship. “The closer you sit to one side, the more you’ll feel the effects.”

He seemed proud of this fact, but I found it less-than-enticing. I missed Chaseyn’s chivalrous consideration of my every thought and emotion. Knowing how I felt about the experience, he would have selected a seat in the center to ensure I was subjected to the minimum amount of discomfort. Eli had a lot to learn, but in fairness, Chaseyn had some fifty-odd years of experience more than Eli at dealing with human emotion.

From left to right, the supersized pirate ship soared through the sky. Screams of anxious schoolgirls—myself included—filled the early evening air. Admittedly, I was having fun acting immature and taking part in reckless activities with others who were truly my age. After my father died, I had taken on the personality traits of an old soul, which explained why Chaseyn and I were so inexplicably drawn to one another. Now, as I was surrounded by fresh faces and inescapable excitement, I felt like the teenager I was.

“
This is a blast,” I confessed to Eli, steadying myself against the wobbly feeling that overcame me when I stood at the end of the ride.

“
Easy there,” he laughed. “I’m glad you’re having a good time, but my grandpa will have my head if I let anything happen to his girlfriend’s granddaughter.”

“
Girlfriend,” I questioned. I knew it was true, but the admission still came as a surprise. “Are they really that serious?”

“
Are you kidding? Gramps is thinking about popping the question.”

The rest of the group rushed by, pulling me toward the next ride and diverting my thoughts from the shocking revelation Eli had presented. I let emotions flood over me and then wash away, as I struggled to forget what he had said and focus on the task at hand—enjoying the company of my newfound friends. Hank seemed nice enough, I had decided. Despite their age, they should have every chance at happiness as they lived out the golden years of their lives. And, that was the last time I allowed myself to think about their situation. At least for the day, anyway.

“
Let’s go,” Eli said, breaking into a run alongside the others.

I followed behind, stopping only once to catch my breath. Next up was the bumper cars. I was glad to keep my feet firmly on the ground for once. As we entered the attraction, chaos ensued. It seemed we had all set our sights on the same four cars. The two blondes—whose names I had now learned were Anna and Amanda—were grappling over which should have the right to infiltrate the only pink vehicle in the lot. After a moment of heated debate, Amanda won the privilege, while Anna stuck out her bottom lip and sauntered toward a powder blue cab. Frost and I had long since realized we were fairly low on the food chain and decided to cut our losses by claiming two beat up yellow cars in the back corner. We giggled together—something I rarely did with Addie, let alone a practical stranger—as we watched the others sort through the dilemma of who held the highest ranks and should therefore get the cars of their choice. I noticed that several boys were making their way toward a shiny silver car, but once Eli made his intentions clear—that he, too, coveted that vehicle—not one actually took another step toward it. Despite Christopher’s best efforts, Eli clearly held the number one position amongst the group.

With a bit of coaxing from the twenty-something male operating the machine, who was obviously frustrated by our group’s lack of organization and courtesy toward others waiting in line, we managed to sort through the seating arrangements. As the engines roared to life on our pint-sized automobiles, we wheeled around the platform, pounding each other thoughtlessly. I took a particularly hard hit in the back from one of the blondes, who shamelessly tried to tell me that she was aiming for one of the other boys—but he was on the other side of the attraction. Something told me it was payback for my cozying up to Eli. Seconds later, she was riding alongside her sidekick and giggling, likely regaling her tale of triumph over attacking the girl who was trying to steal away the object of their affection. A light tap on the side of my car broke my attention, bringing me back to reality.

“
Eli,” I shouted in warning. “When you least expect it…”