The Pace (7 page)

We started walking, and he told me he was hungry, so he wanted to grab something to eat. I was a little hungry myself, so I was glad he offered. As we were walking, I thought it would be a good time to feed my curiosity.

“So, do you come here often?” I asked, trying not to sound too interested.

“No, not at all. Why?”

“Well, I was just curious. You seemed like you play that game a lot. I was just wondering.”

“Oh no. I haven't been to one of these in a very long time.”

I wasn't sure I believed him, but I was having a great time, so I dropped it. We reached the little eatery stand, and he ordered a hot dog with French fries. I had a slice of pizza and a Coke. When we were done eating, he asked me if I wanted a funnel cake. I was stuffed, but I was not about to pass on one of those.

He hopped up and offered to go get me one, but I went with him and ate it as we walked. He didn't want any, so I was stuck eating it all by myself, and that was boring. I wanted to share.

“Are you sure you don’t want a bite?”

He smiled that perfect smile of his. “Yes, I’m sure.”

I held it up and waved it in front of him, hoping he’d change his mind. He started smiling and motioned to gently move my arm down when a large rush of cool air came between us, sweeping up the powdered sugar from the funnel cake. I grabbed the plate, but not in time to stop a white gust of powder from finding a new home all over Weston’s face and designer jacket.

Oh my God!
My mouth dropped opened. “I’m so sorry!”

He started laughing. “It’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t.” I started dusting it off of him frantically. I managed to get most of it off of his jacket, and I stopped before reaching his face. It was splattered with white powder, and he was still smiling. I was sure he wouldn’t be so happy if he could see himself. Then again, he was still ridiculously cute. Powdered sugar and all.

He was making no motion whatsoever to clean himself off, but I couldn’t let him walk around like that, so I reached up with my hand and started brushing his face gently. His cheeks were cool to my touch, and incredibly soft and smooth. I got all of it off except for the remnants, which resided on his lips. I fought thoughts of tasting it, but then I got a grip. “You have some on your lips,” I informed him. In slow motion, I watched, no stared, as he licked his lips clean of every last speck of dissolving sugar.

“Um,” he said.

I cleared my throat and blinked. “Uh…maybe I should throw this away.”

He was holding back a smile now. “Maybe you should.”

I threw the rest away, all the while fighting the fluttery sensation that was going wild inside. He snapped me out of my trance by asking me if I wanted to get on some rides or if I wanted to play some more games.

“Well, if you hadn’t let me stuff myself with the funnel cake, then maybe I would say rides, but since you did, let’s play some games.”

“All right, you pick. What do you want to play?”

We walked for a while and passed the dart throw game, the shoot out game, the game where you have to knock the cans down with the ball, and a basketball game. All of them required some sort of skill, and I had already wasted a bunch of his money, so I picked the horse racing game. I loved that game, too. It was an exciting game, but it still only required a bit of luck. Once again, Wes only put down enough for me to play. I was starting to suspect he didn't want to whip my butt in any of them.

On my first game, there were four other people playing, and I thought to myself,
I can beat them
. All I had to do was roll the ball in the high number holes to make my horse go faster than all the others. When the bell went off, I started rolling my ball and my horse got a quick jump ahead of the rest of the field. My chances looked promising at first, but shortly after that, it seemed like my balls were always going in the lowest number. My horse finished dead last. I frowned, and Wes instantly put down two more dollars with a grin. I quickly slid the money back over to him.

“Oh, no you don't. I’m not doing this again. You keep your money. You play. I want to watch you.”

“But I was having so much fun watching you.”

“Well, I’d rather watch
you
win. Besides, my bear needs a friend.” I poked out my lip in a little pout.

He reached over and moved my hair behind my ear, smiling softly. “Well, then, in that case, let’s get your bear a friend.” He casually squared off with the game and effortlessly won another enormous bear just for me. Once again, he had no problem rolling his ball in a professional fashion, where each one dropped where he wanted it to. Not only did his horse win the races, it won by a landslide. I was just as tickled to get that bear as I had been to get the first, but I was no longer convinced that he was winning with luck.

“Are you going to tell me that you really haven’t played these games in a while?”

“I never said that,” he said innocently.

“Well, then how do you expect me to believe that you’re that good if you don’t play a lot?”

“I do play a lot. I have these games at home.”

“You have them at home? Like on a computer?” I needed clarification.

“No, I have the actual games.” I looked at him skeptically. “It's true,” he said. “I have them in my basement.”

“I don't believe you,” I said, half-joking. We were walking then, and he had taken one of the bears to lighten my load.

“Well, I'll show you sometime.”

That was a good sign. I took that as an extended invitation for another date. That thought made me feel really good and curious at the same time. It was starting to get late, and he asked me if I was tired and ready to go. “Just a little,” I admitted. “But I'm not ready to go.” He chuckled and said some part that I tuned out about returning me safely to my mom, and another part about it being a long drive home.

“Can we just do the Ferris wheel before we go? We still have the tickets.” I was trying to make the evening last longer.

He looked confused. “Are you sure you want to do the Ferris wheel?” he asked. I was afraid of heights, but I was not about to let him in on that little secret. I just wanted to spend a little more time with him. And if that meant being a little dizzy for a few minutes, then it was well worth it. I wasn't ready to go home.

“Yes, I'm sure,” I answered confidently.

“Okay, but we can do something else, if you want.”

I had already said it, and I didn't want to sound like I was desperately trying to hang on to the moment so I reassured him, “Yes, I like Ferris wheels.” He looked a little bit perplexed but motioned with his hand for me to go ahead of him. I was starting to feel stupid for suggesting the whole thing. I hoped he couldn’t see my desperate attempt to keep the date going.

There was a very short line, so I didn’t have much time to think about it. When we climbed into the car, he offered to take my teddy bear and set it across from us. I clutched the bear instantly and told him I preferred to hold it. I thought having something on my lap to squeeze would help with the dizziness and nausea I might feel.

The first few times around weren't so bad. He asked me a lot of questions about where I'd lived before, how we moved to California, how long we lived in California, where I went to school, and things like that. It had taken my mind off the ride, but by the fourth or fifth time around, I looked out over the edge and felt instantly queasy.

“It helps if you don’t look down,” he said, putting his arm around me. How embarrassing, and was it that obvious?

“I’m fine,” I lied. Regardless, I took his advice and stared at my bear for the rest of the ride. As we got off, he put his arms on my elbows to steady me. It was completely embarrassing.

“I’m proud of you.”

“Proud of what?”

“Proud you overcame your fear of heights.”

I guess it
had been
that obvious. On our way out, he still had his arm around me as if I was going to fall over, and I have to admit I wasn't complaining about that part. Once we got in the car, I wanted to take the focus off me and my nausea, so I started asking him questions.

“Why do you have carnival games in your basement anyway?”

“I get bored easily. I like to do fun things to pass the time.” He looked at me, and I noticed for the first time in the dark car that his eyes had a glassy look to them. I could almost see my reflection. It was like a subtle shine to a lake in the evening. It was mesmerizing. He looked away quickly. “Since I live alone, I need a lot of things to keep me busy.”

“How many games do you have?” I asked, still slightly distracted by the beauty of his eyes.

“I have a lot of games down there, but those are the only two carnival games I have.” He kept his eyes on the road.

That was interesting. “So, you just happen to have the two games I played tonight in your basement?” He was quiet. “That sounds like a coincidence,” I added.

“It’s funny how the world works. Isn’t it?” he asked, rhetorically.

“I guess so.” We drove for a few minutes listening to the soft music play, and then I added hopefully, “You’re going to let me see them, right?” He glanced back over to me and smiled slightly.

“You can see them whenever you want.”

I wanted to ask him so many more things, but I didn’t want to babble. Talking too much had already gotten me in the Ferris wheel predicament. I thought it would be a good idea to enjoy the ride home and only speak if he did first. I was amazed—fifteen minutes went by and not a word. But, it wasn’t the kind of silence that was awkward. It was a natural silence. It was comfortable. The kind filled with pleasant thoughts.

As we pulled up to my house, I thanked him and opened my door. He opened his at the same time. “You don’t have to get out.”

“Someone has to help you carry your bears.” He came around to help me pull them from the back seat. He took one of the big ones, and I grabbed the little bear in one hand and wrapped my arm around the other big one.

We stepped up to my front door, and I thanked him again.

“I really appreciate it,” I said. He smiled with a slow blink and stared into my eyes.

I was completely smitten. And as if his presence, alone, wasn’t enough to give me butterflies, he leaned down and touched his lips to my cheek in a way that lingered long enough for me to notice that it was not like a kiss from a friend or relative. As he gently pulled back, he took the tiny bear from my hand and said, “I want to keep this one.” I smiled, thinking it was a reasonable request. After all, he had paid a small fortune for it.

M
y mother was waiting up, and she cornered me as soon I was walked through the door, which was fine with me because I had a few words for her. She didn’t let me get two words out before she told me how terrible she felt for making Wes feel so uncomfortable. She said she had no idea that he would have lost both parents, and she hoped she’d have the chance to make it up to him.

“Good luck with that,” I told her.

“Come on, Sophie. How was I supposed to know?”

“You aren’t supposed to know that, but you don’t ask people where they get their money from. That’s rude.”

“You’re right. I was just trying to make sense of the whole thing. I didn’t mean….” She tapered off as she examined my two large bears. “It looks like you had a good time.” It sounded like a question, so I said, “Yes. I did.”

“Good. I’m glad. I really am.”

“Why are you so glad now?” I asked, suspiciously, as I freed my hands to take off my jacket.

“Well, he seems really nice, and I feel sorry for him a little, and I think he means well. Not to mention he is some serious eye candy.”

“Mother!” I spat, unable to contain a smile. I scooped up my animals and headed upstairs.

“Well, he is,” she added. “And I’ve never seen such perfect teeth!”

“I’m ignoring you,” I sang.

I wasn’t ready to have a boy talk with my mother. In fact, I was going to avoid it at all costs, but I was happy that she seemed open to the idea of me hanging out with him some more. I certainly wanted to.

That night, my face hurt from smiling so much. It was ridiculous how giddy I was. I felt so beside myself. I think I even sat on my bed once and turned to see if I was sitting next to myself. I couldn’t believe the emotions running through me. I wanted to see him again, and he’d only been gone five minutes. I tried very hard to bring myself back down to earth.

Trying to go about my days like nothing was unusual after meeting Wes was very difficult. I tried hard not to be glued by the phone waiting for his call. I went out for a lot of drives to relax myself. The weather was still decent enough for me to take the top off my Jeep, and I loved the fresh air. Some days I’d go to the mall to look around and some days I’d go sit out at the overlook for a little while, just anything to make the time go by faster before I talked to him again.

He called me more frequently than I expected, but I found myself wanting more. One day he called, and I must have sounded down because he came right out and asked, “Is everything okay? You don’t sound like yourself.”

I didn’t want him to think I was clingy, so I tried to play it cool. “Yes, everything’s good.”

“It doesn’t sound that way to me. What’s up?”

Okay fine, I had nothing to lose. “I was hoping to see you again,” I admitted.

“I’ll see you Thursday, and then I’m bringing you to my house this weekend.” On Thursday, we would cross paths, after my lunch on campus, but that was hardly what I had in mind.

“I know, but still. I’m just being silly.” I felt my lip poke out, and I was glad he couldn’t see me. Saturday was only a few days away, but somehow I was miserable with the thought of not seeing him until then. I felt an ache in the pit of my stomach. I missed him more than I wanted to admit to myself, or to him.

When we hung up, I decided to get some homework done. I was already a few days ahead, but I wanted to stay busy. I had to do a paper on how water pollution affects the environment, so I did some research for that. A few hours and ten websites later, my brain was full of information on pathogens, sewage, viruses, protozoa, and eutrophication. By the afternoon, I was ready for a break. I didn’t have to go to work, so I decided to take a drive to the overlook to keep my head focused.