Page 6 of My Ogre Husband
We both stand there for a moment facing each other, not sure if we should shake hands, hug, or do nothing. Egorr chuckles and rubs the back of his bare head.
“Should we go before it gets too busy?” he asks, and I hastily nod.
“Yeah, absolutely.” I make my way to the passenger side of the car and slide inside. Egorr has to crouch down low to fit back into the driver’s seat, and even then, he looks like a bear squashed inside a box. He starts the car up and pulls away from New Eden.
“Um…” I puzzle at how he’s hunched over the steering wheel. “Why do you have such a small car?” I know it’s rude, but I’m not sure how else to ask.
“It was cheap, and it’s fuel efficient,” Egorr says, shifting into fifth gear as we get onto the highway. “Plus, it never has mechanical problems. They don’t make cars like this anymore.”
He must make decent money as a software developer, but something about this big ogre fitting into a tiny little vehicle is immensely charming. It’s plenty spacious for me, so I’m not complaining.
We chat about Egorr’s last experience at an amusement park when he was just a teenager, and one of his classmates puked all over him on the pirate ship ride. It’s horrifying and gross and so funny that I’m cackling and Egorr is snorting by the time he pulls into the parking lot.
I’ve never been to an amusement park before, of course, and I didn’t realize just howloudit would be. There are monsters everywhere, adults and children alike swarming the entrance. I know I should stay close to Egorr, in case some passing creature thinks I’m there without a chaperone, but it’s hard to keep up when I’m amazed by the bustle of activity. Near the ticket booth, we stand in line behind a cyclops mother trying to wrestle her little one-eyed children into line, and they squawk and holler like seagulls.
“Two, please,” Egorr says when we get up to the counter, and pays for our tickets. Then we’re inside.
“Wow,” I say, gazing upward as one of the rollercoaster trains goes right over our heads. Monsters of all sorts scream as it rockets skyward. “That’s really cool. And scary. But also cool.”
“Do you want to get a snack first, or hop right on?” Egorr asks, strolling next to me with his hands in his pockets. He’s wearing a casual navy T-shirt today, and a pair of nice jeans over his big frame. I wanted to impress him, so I wore a little yellow dress with comfortable shoes. Now that I’ve seen the rollercoaster go upside down, though, I’m seriously regretting my choice to not wear pants.
“Snack sounds good,” I say. “I’ve always heard they have good food at these things.”
“I wouldn’t call it ‘good,’ per se.” Egorr snickers. “But deep fried, delicious, and probably not very good for your intestinal tract? Absolutely.”
I crack up. Something about his sense of humor makes me feel so at home, like I could say whatever stupid joke pops into my head and he’d probably like it.
We get one big funnel cake each, but I can only eat a third of mine. When he’s done with his, Egorr chomps down the rest of it.
“Oh yeah, the meal thing,” I say as we walk around the park, a few little wolf-children running past us. “I eat three times a day, you know.”
He nods. “That’s what the packet told me. No problem. The more I can eat, the better.” He slaps his big belly, and I grin. He’s so comfortable in his own skin, and it makes me feel more at ease in mine, too.
“Great.” I pat my own belly. “You’d better get used to it, because I like to eat.”
Egorr arches an eyebrow at me as he smiles, but doesn’t say anything. I suppose I did make a rather bold assumption that we’d see each other again after this, but I have a hard time imagining what Egorr could do that would turn me off.
Hopefully he feels the same way.
I sidle closer to him as we pass a group of teenage monsters—a gorgon, an orc, and what appears to be some kind of ghoul—but none of them pay me any heed at all, too absorbed in their own conversation. So far, very few monsters seem to have noticed me, and those who do stare for a few moments before going back to whatever they were doing before.
Maybe all the warnings we were given about the outside world were just scaremongering.
“Hey.” I tug on Egorr’s sleeve. “Why don’t we get on a ride now?”
His face lights up. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s go.”
The first rollercoaster we choose is meant for children, which seems like a good place to start. Some kids groan when they get in and find themselves sitting behind the massive Egorr. I tuck my dress under my legs and hold onto the bars as the rollercoaster starts moving. Slowly, the cars inch up and up a rather high peak.
“Is this the ride?” I whisper to Egorr. “Kind of boring.”
He snorts. “Just wait.” He offers me his hand. “Hold onto me if you need it.”
“Why would I need it?” I ask, just as we reach the very top… and the rollercoaster dives downward.
Now I understand why everyone was screaming. The ground is rushing up toward me, so I seize Egorr’s huge hand in mine, only managing to wrap my fingers around his big thumb as we fall to the earth. I holler my head off the whole way.
Then we reach the bottom of the track and swing back up again. We’re moving even faster now, rocketing toward the next curve, and I’m holding onto Egorr’s hand even tighter than before. He bellows with laughter next to me as we loop around and then dive again. I’m glad he’s having a good time because I can’t decide if I’m thrilled or terrified. Maybe a little of both.
