Page 26 of Black Wedding

“Wherever you want, Princess. What takes your fancy?” I ask, and her eyes light up again.

“Well, I definitely want to try all of these food stalls over here. So I am guessing we should go on all the rough rides first because as funny as a pink vomit story is, I do not wish to experience it,” she jests.

“Okay, so it depends on how aggressive you want to start. If you want to go for it straight out the bat, then something like slingshot, twister, or loop rage. They do anything from sling you in the air, spin you around, and go upside down,” I explain, and when she starts to go a little bit white, I decide maybe starting off with that is not the best idea.

“Alternatively, we can start with the mid-level stuff like waltzers, crazy frogs, or octopus, which are thrill-seeking but nowhere near as aggressive as the others.” I wait for her to answer as she looks around.

“And if I want to start really slow?” she asks tentatively, and I smile.

“Then I have the perfect thing for you,” I say before taking her hand and pulling her over to the dodgems.

We queue up, and her eyes light up with excitement. She watches the riders who are already on and laughs along with the people having their turn. As we get closer to our turn, I notice her reading the warning board, and she frowns.

“This says we aren’t allowed to deliberately bump into people. That looks like half the fun,” she asks, looking confused as she glances between the signs and the bumping clearly happening right next to us.

“Yeah, nobody follows that rule. They have it in place so that they cannot be held liable. Just try not to hit any kids too hard,” I explain, and she chuckles before turning her mischievous gaze my way.

“Oh, they are safe. But you...I’m coming for you,” she threatens with a sexy as fuck smirk on her face.

As soon as the ride attendant lets us in, Bree runs to the purple car she has selected in the corner, choosing colour over practicality. On the other hand, I carefully saunter to the luminous yellow one that is directly behind Bree. She looks around at me and catches the grin I have on my face, her eyebrows raise in question.

“Rookie move, Princess. Never choose based on colour. Always go for the dodgem directly behind your target. That way, you can get in at least one hit.”

Just as I finish talking, the music starts, and she speeds off, trying to get away from me, but I bide my time. She makes the first corner, and just as she is making the second, I make a quick left turn. Cutting off the corner and ramming full speed into the side of Bree’s pretty purple dodgem, it then sandwiches her against the wall.

“One - nil, Princess. Bring it,” I joke, and she laughs before speeding off.

Several manoeuvres later, when the score is four-nil to me, she finally manages to get behind me, and the girl holds no prisoners. Putting her foot down entirely on the accelerator, she speeds right into the back left side of my car. This causes us both to spin and laugh loudly before I hear her shouting, “Four-one, I’m making my comeback.”

She did manage to make her comeback, and eventually, she got her fourth hit just as the music stopped. As I helped her climb out of her car, she couldn’t stop giggling. A little boy, who looked to be about seven or eight years old, stopped us on our way out.

“That was so cool. You looked like a fiery assassin charging into people. I know you were keeping score. I think she wins because she got a few hits in on other people,” he says before his mum pulls him away, muttering an apology that Bree is quick to squash.

“Don’t apologise,” she says to his mum before turning to the little boy. “Thank you. I think I won too, but you were terrific as well.”

His mum smiles, and the boy’s face lights up before he runs off, pulling his exhausted-looking mother with him. This is what happens when you mix children and sweets; you get hyperactive kids.

“Looks like you have got competition, Liam, and I don’t just mean at the dodgems,” she jokes.

Silencing her quickly, I pull her body against mine and press my lips against hers. It’s searing and passionate but full of the promise of more. I pull away far too quickly, deciding that a fair full of other people and kids is probably not the place to get hot and heavy. But I want Bree to know it is on the agenda, which is why I lean forwards and whisper in her ear, “Later.”

Her breath seems to catch, and she smiles that shy but knowing smirk at me. “Where to next?” she asks.

We spend the next couple of hours wandering around the fairground, going on all the rides. The cute little carousel where we were the only adults that didn’t have kids, to the slingshot that had us sit in a ball before shooting us into the air. I’m sure Kellan would have been able to hear her screams all the way back at home, but as soon as we landed and our feet touched the floor, she was back to giggling. I think we literally laughed and smiled the whole way round. We posed for selfies, played hook-a-duck games, and she scared the shit out of the guy running the shooting stall with her incredible precision. He made the mistake of asking if she wanted me to shoot for her. He said she had a better chance of winning something. Instead, she won the grand prize, and that’s how I ended up having to take a four-foot bulldog wearing a union jack t-shirt back to the car. Apparently, we are naming him Gerard. After a few arguments about him taking up too much room, I finally just gave in and carried the damn stuffed dog.

We stuffed ourselves with hotdogs, doughnuts, cinder toffee, and cotton candy in between the rides. I had bags of sweets and delicious treats that I also took back to the car, including a very nice stick of rock in the shape of a large cock for Kellan. In addition, I won Hallie a giant, pink teddy which I know she will love. I was just grateful I managed to talk Bree out of choosing the goldfish. She felt Hallie would be more stimulated watching a goldfish. Until I reminded her that goldfish require actual care, Kellan is only just managing Hallie and himself, adding in another life, and he might crack.

A loud tannoy announces that the fair will close in ten minutes, and Bree looks a bit sad. “So we can fit in one more ride. What will it be?” I ask.

She looks around, taking her time to analyse her options. There are only a couple of rides that we haven’t done. Some we have done multiple times because she enjoyed them so much. I will say yes to whatever she chooses. Still, I really fucking hope it’s not the slingshot because I just ate a massive footlong hot dog and whippy ice cream, and I really want to keep that inside my stomach.

She starts pulling me quickly towards the far side of the ride. I must physically look terrified because nearly all the rides in this section will most definitely make me lose my dinner. “Relax, I want to go on the Ferris Wheel,” she says with a smile as she pulls me into the very short queue. It’s coming up for midnight, and the crowds left a couple of hours ago. The wait times are minimal now, and we are getting seated in the carriage in no time.

As the ride starts taking off slowly, Bree takes hold of my hand. “Thank you,” she says with a squeeze of my hand and a bright grin.

“You don’t have to thank me, Princess. If you want something and I can get it for you, then I will do it. I would give you the world if I could,” I reply, looking away from her. I don’t know why, but I feel vulnerable at this moment, alone above the stars.

Emotions are shooting through my body as I try desperately to grasp what I am feeling. I have never felt like this before. I have never felt like I might not be good enough for a girl, but with Bree, I don’t think anyone will be good enough in my eyes. She is perfect.

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