Page 28 of Dealing Dirty
“I see. And do you stare at all men you don’t know personally like you want to string them up by their balls?”
He starts, bewildered by the jab, and a slow smile builds across his lips. “Not all, but most.” I place my hand in the open palm he offers me. “Come on, it’s not as fun when you’re alone,” he says.
Grumbling about pushy men, I begrudgingly follow.
Two men dressed as friendly scarecrows bounce their way beside us on stilts, and I giggle with the group of kids running past to catch up with them.
“I have a confession to make,” I say, catching a glimpse of his handsome face in my periphery. “I’ve been here for almost two hours.”
The faintest gust of wind pushes his familiar essence toward me. My mouth waters as it mixes with the spicy scent of fall around us.
He squints at the overcast sky. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, I had you pegged for a closet carnie from half a mile away.”
Derrick slows to match my pace until we stop in front of a cotton candy stand. Sugary sweetness wafts our way.
“That obnoxious laugh of yours was a dead giveaway. All you need is a big red nose.” He boops the tip of mine for emphasis. “Cutest clown I ever did see.”
There’s something warm and attractive about his wit that has me tipping my head back. “If I’m a clown, then what does that make you?”
It takes only one step for him to crowd my space, and for a terrifying heartbeat or two, I think he just might kiss me. More terrifying is the thought that maybe I want him to.
After scooping up a handful of my popcorn, he pops a piece into his sinfully wicked mouth and chews slowly, torturing me with silence.
“A fool,” he says at last.
I swallow thickly as delighted shouts drag my attention to the neon flashing wheel behind him. Pure joy bubbles up in my chest as I dig in my back pocket for two small tickets I purchased earlier. “I bought these because I’d planned to ride twice, but you can ride with me if you want.”
His easy smile falters. “The Ferris wheel?”
Wrapping a hand around his wrist, I tug him along. “Let’s go!”
I bounce on the balls of my feet as we approach the line. The man working the ride smiles at my childlike excitement when I hand him our tickets.
“Have you ridden on one before?” I ask Derrick, who clings to the metal rails of the steps.
“It’s been a while,” he says tightly, stepping onto one of the squeaky wheel cars with me. Derrick rocks the entire car when he squeezes his tall frame in, ducking his head and plopping down next to me.
I wiggle like Cassidy’s dog, Gordy, just before he gets a treat. Grabbing his arm, I give it a shake. “Isn’t this great!”
We jolt forward when the next car gets ready to take passengers, and Derrick’s face drains of color, stealing away his sun-kissed tan.
“Derrick, are you okay?”
His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. “Yeah,” he manages to say, and then we’re swaying forward again, rising farther into the air.
He places one big hand over my thigh, clinging to me for dear life.Shit.I peer over the edge. We’re too high to get off now.
“Hey, look at me.” I set my bag of popcorn beside my hip. It’s silly, maybe even a little crazy, but I gently brush away the wild locks teasing his ears from his temple.
Papáwould do this for me at night when the spookies in my closet wouldn’t let me sleep. He’d sit on the edge of my bed and tenderly stroke my hair until I succumbed to a sweet, peaceful slumber.
The scruff on his cheeks is rough against my palm when I flatten it against his cheek, continuing to stroke his temple with my thumb. I relish the warmth of him against my cold fingertips.
“I’m… afraid of heights,” he confesses.
