Meant to Be (5 page)

“
You come here as a
kid?”

She nodded, wondering once again how
he was able to read her mind. “This place has been here
forever.”

Rad put his hand across her shoulder
and gave it a quick brotherly squeeze of understanding, but then
like a child in a candy store, started walking around looking at
the different games.

“
Where do you want to
start?”

“
I
dunno.” Lauren contemplated the wide array of choices, ranging from
claw prize booths and pinball, to video games and skee ball lanes.
“You see
Pac-Man
anywhere?”

Rad jerked his attention back to her,
his eyes wide open in disbelief. “You haven’t been to an arcade
lately, have you?”

“
Not
exactly.” Her gaze fell upon a game called
OuterSpace Galactic.
“Looks like they’ve updated things a little.”

“
Okay, honey, it appears
you need a little schooling.” Rad strolled over to a change machine
and inserted bills.

“
How about this one?”
Lauren stood in front of one of the elaborate screens, reading the
game rules.

Rad glanced over his
shoulder at her and smiled. “Seriously?
Warland Defense?”

“
Sure, why not?” She read
the last part of the panel out loud for him. “The goal of the game
is simply to survive as long as possible in a land of violent
oppressors.” She nudged him with her elbow when he moved up beside
her. “Sounds like fun, right?”

Rad shook his head. “You got some
anger management issues I don’t know about?”

“
No. I just like shooting
things up, I guess.”

“
Guess we have something
in common then.” Rad said the words lightly enough, but this time
he didn’t smile.

Lauren never pulled out her
phone to see what time it was, but after playing
Warland
a few times they
had moved onto another game and then another. She knew they must
have been in the arcade for more than an hour, probably closer to
two. Rad beat her—albeit barely—most of the time, so he didn’t seem
inclined to leave.

“
I need to feel some
sunlight and stretch my legs.” Lauren finally pulled him away
before he had time to put money in a new machine. “Let’s go down to
the inlet since we’re so close.”

Reluctant to leave, Rad followed, but
kept glancing over his shoulder as they walked past the games he
hadn’t played yet. “Maybe we can come back later.”

“
Yeah, maybe.” Lauren
shook her head.

“
Oh come
on. I at least need a rematch on
Target Town
.”

Lauren laughed. She had beat him two
out of three times on that one, a first-person perspective gun game
where you duck behind objects while reloading or changing weapons.
Rad had beat her in the first match, but once she’d figured out
when to use a pistol and when to switch to a machine gun or grenade
launcher, he didn’t stand a chance. “I whooped you fair and
square.”

“
I’ll never live it down
if anyone finds out.”

“
Then you better not cross
me, I guess.” Lauren looked back over her shoulder at him and
grinned. “Especially after I meet your friends.”

“
That’s called
blackmail.”

“
No. That’s called an ace
in the hole.”

When they emerged onto the Boardwalk,
they found it more crowded and harder to navigate than earlier, but
Lauren could not have been happier. Walking in the brilliant
sunlight with the sound of the waves hitting the shore and gulls
calling to one another made her feel like she had somehow traveled
back in time. She was a kid again, with no responsibilities and no
worries.

When she glanced up at Rad, she found
him studying her.

“
Thinking about the old
days?”

Caught off guard by both his words and
the calm vibrancy of his voice, she pulled him to a stop. “How do
you keep doing that?”

“
Doing what?”

“
Reading my
mind.”

He smiled. “I was just
thinking about my younger years so thought you might be too.” He
started walking again. “I don’t think anyone can read
your
mind.”

“
What’s that supposed to
mean?”

“
It’s a compliment,
Lauren,” is all he said.

The way he said her name sent a
strange surge of emotion through Lauren’s veins that almost made
her tremble. The anxiety she had felt earlier was gone, but in its
wake was a sea of confusion.

When they reached the benches
overlooking the inlet, Lauren took a seat in the front
row.

Rad sat down and stretched his long
legs out in front of him. “That feels good.”

“
The sun? The breeze? Or
sitting down?” Lauren talked casually, but she was acutely aware of
his arm touching hers.

“
All of the above.” Rad
gazed down at her with a sparkle of contentment in his eyes. “And
the company’s not too bad either.”

Lauren smiled and looked away, afraid
he would see her blushing and think she was a silly
schoolgirl.

“
So, your grandmother who
had the house here. She still alive?”

His question brought Lauren back from
her thoughts. “No. She died about five years ago.”

“
Oh, sorry about
that.”

“
Unfortunately, the place
where her house stood is now a parking lot for a hotel.”

“
That hurts. If it makes
you feel better, they call it progress.”

Lauren sighed heavily. “Yes, that’s
what they call it.”

She leaned back and kicked her feet
out in front of her too, staring at the dazzling landscape.
“Doesn’t it look like the sun has sprinkled the water with
diamonds?”

“
Yeah, now that you
mention it.”

“
You know it’s a
biological fact that the percentage of salt in the sea is the same
as in our bodies—in our blood, our sweat, and our
tears.”

“
Interesting.”

“
I think I could die happy
if I just had the sound of the ocean in my ears.” As soon as she
said the words, Lauren regretted them. Why was she blubbering on so
much?

Rad didn’t seem to take her statement
too seriously. “Well hopefully that won’t be anytime soon. You’re
having fun aren’t you?”

Lauren nodded. “So far. Except for the
Mirror Maze.”

He laughed. “I’m sorry about that. You
forgive me, don’t you?”

“
Yes, I forgive you.”
Lauren leaned into him slightly as she talked. “You had no way of
knowing my weakness.”

He studied her with a serious
expression on his face. “We all have our weaknesses. No big deal.”
He stood and stretched. “You ready to move on?”

“
Let’s go.”

As they made their way back down the
Boardwalk, their gazes seemed to fall simultaneously upon the
Ferris wheel ride rising up from behind the gates of the Jolly
Roger Amusement Park.

“
Speaking of childhood
memories,” Rad said, nodding toward the ride. “I haven’t been on
one of those in years.”

“
Me neither.” Lauren
linked her arm in his, somehow eager to take another trip down
memory lane. “Let’s do it.”

She felt oddly comfortable with this
man she’d just met, and delightfully carefree and happy for the
first time in years. Her lighthearted and relaxed manner was
partially due to the sunshine pouring down from overhead and the
fresh scent of salty air, but it occurred to her the man beside her
had a little bit to do with it too. He was the kindest, most
genuine and persuasive person she had ever met—the kind of guy who
could steal a woman’s heart. Her thoughts drifted back to the odd
twist of fate that had led their paths to cross, until the
clanging, ringing, and buzzing sounds of more games tore her from
her reverie.

“
Keep walking and look
straight ahead.” Lauren held onto Rad’s arm so he couldn’t get away
as they strolled through the entryway to the park.

“
Aw, can’t I play water
pistols? Or balloon darts?” He strode with childlike impatience
toward the booth. “Check out this huge stuffed bear I could win for
you.”

“
Just what I need to get
through airport security.” Lauren pulled him back. “Maybe on the
way out. We’re riding the Ferris wheel, remember?”

“
I think you’re afraid
I’ll beat you.” Rad glanced over his shoulder at the balloon darts
they had passed.

“
Like
at
Target Town
?” Lauren smiled up at him. “In case you’ve forgotten, I beat
you, quite convincingly I might add, two out of three
times.”

“
Don’t
tell me you’re going to use
that
against me all night.” Rad’s
expression turned serious.

“
Can I help it if you
refused to take my advice about when to pull out the grenade
launcher? I tried to help, but you just kept sawing away with a
machine gun.”

“
I didn’t want to use up
my big stuff.” Rad sounded offended. “You never know what’s coming
next.”

“
An armored robot-man in a
video game requires the big stuff.” Lauren laughed. “Even I know
that.”

“
Well you still haven’t
promised you won’t tell anybody.” He came to a stop in front of the
ride and stared at the top, the seriousness in his expression
turning to a sparkle of amusement.

“
Like I said, it’s my ace
in the hole.”

After standing in line, it was finally
their turn to climb into the seat. Lauren’s heart pounded, partly
from nerves, but mostly excitement. She was afraid of heights, and
yet she loved being scared. She knew it was a strange combination,
but thrill seeking was part of her DNA. Everything alarming and
unnerving to most people seemed to energize and excite her.
Everything except tight, enclosed spaces that is. Then it was pure
girlie panic and terror.

Lauren felt her breath catch in her
throat as the Ferris wheel began its ascent, and smiled with
delight at what could be seen from the top. The bird’s eye view of
the park below them and the Boardwalk stretching out on each side
was breathtaking. Before she could get a good look, the ride began
its descent and picked up speed, causing her breath to whoosh out
of her. The flashing lights and sound of the music blaring from
below made Lauren half-dizzy, yet she felt like a teenager again.
She wished it would never end.

They had only completed a few full
revolutions when the ride slowed down. “I hope we don’t have to
stop at the top.” Lauren gazed up at Rad with wide eyes, but saw
only an amused smile playing on his lips.

Slower and slower they revolved until
they reached the summit, and then the ride stopped with a sudden
jerk. Instead of being sympathetic to her plea, Rad rocked the cart
with childlike glee.

Lauren shrieked and grabbed him,
telling him to stop. When he quit, she laid her head on his
shoulder. “That’s so-o-o scary. Don’t do that.”

Rad chuckled as the giant wheel
descended again. “That’s the oldest trick in the book,” he said as
he wrapped his arm protectively around her. “I can’t believe it
worked.”

When they circled around and were at
the top again, Lauren scooted over to the edge of the seat and
leaned out for a better view.

“
Wait a minute.” He pulled
her back in. “You weren’t really scared when we were stopped at the
top, were you?”

She shot him a mischievous
grin. “I saw you talking to the operator before we got in and
assumed you were going for the
oldest trick
in the book.
I didn’t want to hurt your
feelings.”

Rad put his head back and laughed.
“Next time I’ll think twice about spending the day with a woman
who’s smarter than I am. I think you are always two steps
ahead.”

“
Part of my nature, I
guess.” Lauren looked away as her thoughts turned to her job for
the first time all afternoon.

“
It sure is a great view.”
Rad took a deep breath, inhaling the clean, salty air. “I haven’t
relaxed this much in years.”

“
Me neither,” Lauren said
as the Ferris wheel slowed to discharge passengers. “It’s not going
to be fun heading back to work.”

“
Yeah, let’s not think
about that.” Rad helped her down the gangway, putting his hand on
her back as he guided her through the maze of people milling around
the park.

“
It’s a little crazy in
here.” Lauren stepped aside as some children with cones of sticky
cotton candy scurried by. “Let’s go out this way.”

As she pointed Rad toward the back of
the park where a pier jutted into the ocean, Lauren’s phone
vibrated in her pocket.

“
Sorry, I need to take a
call. Do you mind?”

Rad shook his head and motioned for
her to go ahead while he continued toward the pier.