Page 92 of Theoretically Straight

“Look at you,” Oliver murmurs to me, a mischievous grin on his face. “You’ve got yourself a gymnast boyfriend now, huh? That could be fun.”

I try to ignore him even though his words make my cheeks darken even more, and instead, I make my way towards Caleb in the booth. He’s carefully considering all the plush toys before him, which makes me laugh. “Hey, get the witch puppy. You earned it!”

“I want that one–” he says to the attendant, pointing to a completely different shelf from the one where the seafoam-green-cloaked puppy plush is sitting. I furrow my brow, trying to follow where he’s pointing. “The green witch cat.”

The attendant pulls a basketball-sized dark green cat off the shelf and hands it to Caleb. The cat is also wearing a black witch hat, and it’s honestly one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. “Congrats,” the attendant says dryly, then returns to lean back against the wall and doesn’t even wait for us to leave before he pulls out his phone.

“Aww, that one’s cute too, but I’m surprised you didn’t want–”

“It’s not for me, dummy,” Caleb interrupts, pushing the plush towards me with a smile. “It’s for you.”

My mouth hangs open, words stuck in my throat. “Oh. It’s–really?”

Caleb laughs. “Of course it is. You couldn’t win one for me, but I wanted to win one for you instead.”

I feel like I might actually cry now—what the hell is happening to me? I’ve never been this flustered by a toy before. I take the cat in my hands and hold it close. “Thank you,” I say, my voice cracking slightly. As if it wasn’t already embarrassing enough that I feel like I’m going to cry, now my own voice is betraying me.

Caleb flashes the sweetest smile I think I’ve ever seen on his face, and suddenly, I’m feeling too much at the same time, andGod, I just want to hold him.

Fuck it.

I wrap my arms around his waist and pull him into me, burying my face into his shoulder. He’s stunned for only a moment, but it doesn’t take long for him to hug me back, a low chuckle in his throat.

“All right, you two, come on,” Elise says, a hint of anxiety in her voice. “Let’s keep going. There’s still more to see!”

I release Caleb from my grip, smiling up at him as we pull away. He’s blushing when our eyes meet, and I feel like melting all over again.

There is not a single doubt in my mind that I’m in love with Caleb Raynard.

The Pumpkin Fair is packed by the early afternoon. Our group ends up splintering after we eat lunch–if you call three rounds of fried Oreos and a bucket of fries lunch–each mini-group heading to a different corner of the fairgrounds. Oliver and Wren end up hanging out at the food wagons, waiting in the longest line for something called a “Giraffe’s Neck,” which I sincerely hope doesn’t contain any actual giraffe. Harrison and Elise want to go check out the funhouse–which Freddy won’t go near due to his irrational fear of inanimate clowns–so that leaves Theo, Freddy, and I to check out the rides.

Theo clutches the witch-hat-cat, finally tucking it into his burnt orange and brown flannel shirt so that the head sticks up over his chest. It’s sort of adorable and also incredibly distracting because I just want to keep staring at it–at him–instead of avoiding bumping into the crowds of people.

“Which ride do you want to do first?” Freddy asks, our trio stepping off the main path for a second to try and figure out a game plan.

“How about the Viking ship?” Theo suggests adjusting the plush in his shirt, then giving me a smile. “I’m down for any ride right now, as long as it doesn’t spin. I don’t want lunch to make a comeback.”

I graze my pinky finger against the side of his hand. “I love the Viking ship.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Freddy says, glancing down at our hands, then back up at me with a sly grin. “And if you two need this third wheel to roll away at any time, just let me know.”

I pull my hand away from Theo’s, shaking my head. “That won’t be necessary, but thank you.”

We make it over to the swinging ship ride, handing over our tickets to the bored-looking attendant and climbing aboard. The Vikings definitely haven’t kept their vessel in the greatest condition, as there’s paint peeling from every surface. Hopefully, all their efforts have gone into maintaining the mechanics so our first ride doesn’t turn into our last.

I sit between Theo and Freddy, fastening myself into the seat. Across the ship, the other rows begin to fill as well, and I recognize a few people from school. By the end of the day, I’ll probably have seen the whole town here at one time or another. It’s just how it is at the Pumpkin Fair.

Once all the seats have been filled, the ship begins to move, swinging slowly at first but picking up speed with each pass until we’re parallel with the ground. I can’t help but let out a yelp as we plummet back down, and Theo’s hand finds mine somewhere in the fall. Then we’re moving upward, and I don’t shout again, as I’m much too focused on his hand in mine to notice how high we go up for the final swing. He doesn’t let go till the ride slows to a stop. As we unfasten ourselves, Theo checks to make sure his cat plush is still secure.

“Okay, what’s next?” Freddy asks as we climb down from the ship.

“What about the freefall?” I suggest pointing to the towering steel structure just a few tents down. “Lola would never ride that one with me.”

Freddy glances up at the tower, the color draining from his face. “If we have to.”

Theo gives me a nod. “Me and Binx are ready if you are.”

“Binx?” I repeat.

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