She grinned down at him and lifted her hands to her side as she twirled around. “What do you think? Will I do?”
Garrett smiled slowly at her, his eyes warming and he nodded. “You’ll do,” he said simply and held his hand out to her.
Rayne walked slowly down the steps and took Garrett’s hand as his eyes told her in a million ways that he thought she was beautiful. He looked at her quietly for a moment and then shook his head. “You’re a dream come true Rayne,” he said and then dipped down and captured her mouth in a short but intense kiss that left her slightly shaky.
“Hop on. We’re going to a fair tonight.”
Garrett mounted the bike and then waited as Rayne gingerly climbed on board. He showed her where to put her feet and then handed her the helmet. When she had trouble with the clasp, he turned around and did it for her. She caught sight of Ivy taking pictures of them and laughed. Garrett started the motorcycle and jumped down on something a few times and then the roar of the engine surrounded her and she was holding on to Garrett’s hard waist as they shot down the street.
She stared at the scenery and cars passing by in awe and a little bit of terror as she plastered herself to Garrett’s back, holding on for dear life now. After they got on the freeway and things settled down, she was able to relax her hold a little. She leaned against Garrett’s back and felt a sense of exhilaration. Ivy had to ride on a motorcycle soon. She would adore it.
Garrett got off the freeway and turned onto a small two lane highway and they rode for another half an hour. Too soon Garrett signaled and they pulled off onto another road and she saw a Ferris wheel in the distance. When Garrett had said fair, she’d automatically thought of a craft fair or an antique fair. Garrett was taking her to a real life fair with a Ferris wheel and cotton candy. She laughed happily and jumped up and down on the seat as Garrett parked his bike in a field along with other cars. He pulled his helmet off and swiveled around to smile at her.
“Excited?”
Rayne pulled her helmet off and ran her fingers through her hair remembering Cleo’s advice. “
Yes!
I’ve never been to a fair before,” she said before leaning over and hugging him before kissing him on the cheek. “You’re the best boyfriend I’ve ever had.”
Garrett laughed at that. “That’s not saying much, but thank you.”
She jumped off the bike and grabbed Garrett’s hand, pulling him to the entrance while he laughed at her eagerness.
Garrett immediately bought her a cone of bright blue cotton candy and they held hands and walked around looking at all of the booths and games. Rayne couldn’t stop staring at everyone. She’d been to Disneyland once when she was a child, but her parents hadn’t enjoyed the experience and had never repeated it. This was something else entirely though. She stared at one of the carnival workers who wore a threadbare shirt that had the sleeves cut off. His tattoos were colorful and covered him from his wrists to his shoulders and probably beyond.
“Holy cow,” she whispered as Garrett pulled her over to the baseball throw.
“They’re called sleeves when their arms are covered like that,” Garrett said as he handed the man five dollars and picked up a baseball.
Rayne leaned her hip against the counter and looked at Garrett speculatively. “Would you
um
, happen to have a tattoo? I mean, you were in the Marines. Most Marines have them, right?”
Garrett grinned at her and threw a ball at a milk bottle with enough force to kill someone and she jumped in surprise. The milk bottle hadn’t stood a chance.
“It almost sounds as if you
want
me to have a tattoo,” he said, lifting an eyebrow at her before throwing the next ball.
Rayne winced and felt bad for the bottle for a second before she answered his question. “Let’s just say I’m intrigued.
So do you
?” she asked, looking over his arms and chest and wondering where he would put one.
“Is it an Eagle? Or a flag? Please tell me it’s not some naked woman in a hula skirt or something tacky,” she added, frowning at him.
Garrett threw his last ball and grinned happily. “Give me some credit, Rayne. If I happened to have a tattoo, I’m sure I’d pick something tasteful and that held deep meaning for me.”
Rayne smiled and lifted her eyebrows hopefully. “Will you show me?”
Garrett grinned as his eyes turned dark and he shook his head slowly. “I’m shocked Ms. Nyman. Asking a man to strip for your enjoyment. Really shocking.”
Rayne blushed bright red as the carnival worker laughed. “You gotta good arm on ya. Which bear you want?” he asked pointing to a selection of the biggest bears.
Garrett pointed to a large teddy bear in the corner and waited as the man handed it to him. He then held it out to her and she gasped.
“You won this for
me
?” she whispered, taking the large teddy bear in her arms and holding it tightly against her chest. “No one’s ever won me anything before,” she said and stared at him with large eyes.
Garrett grinned. “Just say thanks and give me a kiss. Jeez, you act like I just gave you diamonds or something.”
Rayne squeezed her teddy bear and sighed happily. “I have plenty of diamonds. This is way better. Trust me,” she said before leaning up and kissing him loudly on the cheek.
Garrett looked at her as his mouth twitched in amusement before he slipped his hand around her waist and they walked around. Garrett then introduced her to funnel cakes and she knew she was going to try and get Jane to make funnel cakes at the bakery. They were divine.
When she was full he pulled over to the Ferris wheel and gave the man a few tickets. Garrett held the teddy bear in one arm as he pulled her close with his other. She hadn’t realized she was terrified of heights but they were
high
. She swallowed sickly and prayed she wouldn’t throw up on her first Ferris wheel ride.
“How many times do we go up?” she asked, her voice shaking as she hid her face in Garrett’s chest.
Garrett kissed her hair. “About five or six times. Just keep your eyes closed and hold onto me and I promise you’ll make it down safely.”
Rayne nodded her head jerkily and focused on breathing in and out. She could feel the wind through her hair and hear the screams of fear and excitement from the other rides down below. She tried to open her eyes but felt her stomach drop and immediately shut them again, groaning as she hid her face again in the crook of Garrett’s neck. He held her tightly and she felt him kiss her hair.
“You okay?” he asked softly as he rubbed a hand down her arm soothingly.
Rayne whimpered a little but nodded. “I’ll be okay. Just don’t let go of me.”
Garrett tilted her face up. “Kiss me and all your fears will go away. I promise.”
Rayne looked at him doubtfully but nodded her head. Anything to make the time go by faster.
“Okay, but if you’re wrong I apologize ahead of time for throwing up on you.”
Garrett laughed and leaned down slowly, tilting his head before covering her mouth with his. She immediately forgot all about the Ferris wheel and how high they were as she melted against his chest, relaxing completely. He teased her lips with his before deepening the kiss. She grasped the back of his head in her hands as the sweetness of the kiss unwound inside of her.
Ten minutes later as the ride came to a stop she opened her eyes in disappointment. “It’s already over?”
Garrett grinned. “I thought you hated Ferris wheel rides?”
Rayne looked at him like he was crazy. “I can’t wait to go again.”
Garrett tilted her face up and kissed her lightly as they stepped off. “You are a dangerous woman. Any other rides you want to try?”
Rayne glanced around at the zipper and the roller coaster and shook her head. “I guess I’m kind of a chicken. I’d rather just sit down for a while and do a little people watching. I’ve never been around . . .” She stopped and blushed, realizing how what she was getting ready to say would sound to Garrett.
Garrett frowned and led her to a bench in the shade. “You’ve never been around
normal
people before? Is that what you were going to say?”
Rayne blushed feeling horrible and nodded her head. “It sounds so pompous but I’ve never been to a fair or a carnival. My parents kept our lives very controlled and separate. Do you think I’m horrible?” she asked softly staring at her hands.
Garrett sighed and slipped his arm around his shoulders. “No I don’t think you’re horrible, but Rayne, when you look at all of these people with their holey jeans that aren’t holey because they’re fashionable, but because they’re old and washed over and over again because they don’t have anything else,
that’s me
. I grew up very poor. My dad would take me and Asher to the Puyallup fair when we were kids and it was the highlight of our lives. What do you see when you look at these people?” he asked in a serious, quiet voice that had her looking up.
She looked around and saw a young mother holding a baby in her arms who looked no older than seventeen at the most. She saw young girls in groups wearing skimpy clothes and heavy makeup following groups of young men wearing baseball hats turned backwards and who were staring back at the girls with cocky grins. She saw a chain smoking grandmother in a motorized chair dragging her oxygen tank behind her. She watched the hard looking men working the booths, calling out to the people passing by and she wished she’d brought a camera. She also saw families like the ones she’d seen at church, smiling and laughing and just excited to be there.
“I see people, Garrett, just people. They’re different than me, but they’re not less than me. They have hopes and dreams just like I do.”
Garrett sighed and pushed her hair over her ear as he leaned closer and tilted her head so he could stare down into her eyes.
“What are your dreams, Rayne?”
Rayne couldn’t look away from Garrett’s piercing eyes and reached up to touch his cheek. “The same as everyone here. I want happiness and safety and love.”
Garrett leaned down and brushed his lips against hers in the barest of kisses. “I want those things too.”
Rayne smiled up into Garrett’s eyes. “Everyone’s dreams can be interpreted differently though. Like say, that guy over there, the one working the booth. Maybe his dream of happiness and love is a six pack of Bud and a stripper bar. How do you see your dream in your mind?” she asked smiling as he grinned at her.
“Not the stripper and the beer. Happiness to me would be seeing my business become successful. I want my brother to have financial stability. We never had that growing up and that’s my dream for us. We’re still living month to month and it would be so nice to move past that. And as far as love,” he said and paused as he looked at her carefully. “I think I’m getting a clear picture of what I want.”
Rayne frowned at the careful sidestep. “Could you ever see yourself falling in love with someone like me?” she asked slowly and carefully, knowing his answer could hurt her deeply.
Garrett reached up and smoothed the line that had appeared between her eyes as he smiled. “That’s what I love about you, Rayne. You never play games. You don’t even know how. To answer your question,
yes
. . . yes I can see myself falling in love with you. Mostly because I’m already well on my way,” he said quietly as he watched her.
It took a moment for the words to sink in, but when they did, she closed her eyes and covered her mouth as she laughed happily. She shook her head as Garrett peeled her fingers away, revealing a large happy grin.
“I guess that’s a good thing?” he asked with a smile in his voice.