Chapter 16: The Fair
POV: Zac
October 16, 2007
Tuesday night or Wednesday morning had been very weird to me. I’d gotten up because honestly I’d woken up from a rather erotic dream of Gabby and well, I figured doing anything under her was a bit weird, I didn’t expect her to be in that room. Granted the moment I did it helped solve the hard on issue. I had sat down but I didn’t expect to feel anything but seeing her stare at her phone, knowing Simon had woke her up, I just wanted her to feel better. The thong text hadn’t, but she looked gorgeous sitting there. The way her lips pouted slightly, the way she looked so different. Whatever he sent wasn’t something pleasant.
I really didn’t mean to be that close, I didn’t mean to kiss her but truth was I couldn’t stop. Yet, I was positive when she kissed me back she wanted more. But she fled the room. I could still taste her lips, the softness and the hint of chocolate. Even though she bolted from the room, even though it had aroused me quite a bit, but the feelings bothered me.
We’d gotten home Saturday, she and I had pretty much avoided one another the rest of the week, she spent a lot of time avoiding her phone and I hated the bruise on her arm. I couldn’t get her out of my mind, Isaac took her home Saturday night and I’d tried everything. I considered calling my normal in town hook ups but I couldn’t dial the number without her picture coming up on my phone. I’d woken up this morning and I really just didn’t want to be alone today. I considered everyone but finally faced it, the person I wanted to be with today was Gabby, so about 10 I called her, half expecting her not to answer.
“Hello Zac, you are aware I am off right?”
I smiled. “I do know you’re off. But, uh…I just wanted to see if you were doing anything today?”
“Not really. I said I was going to clean but there is nothing dirty.”
“Well, I um..wanted to go to the fair, but not alone. If you’re not busy and you want to go…”
Fuck! It wasn’t like I was asking her out on a date, this was just asking her to tag along.
“I didn’t know there was a fair in town.”
“It’s the state fair in Oklahoma City. It’s why I called to early, it opens at 1 and it closes really late.”
There was a pause and I just knew she was going to say no. Just knew she was going to shoot me down.
“Sure, I just need to put something appropriate on.”
“Whatever you have on is fine.”
I heard her giggled. “I’m not wearing anything right now Zachary, I just got out of the shower. So, I need to put something on at least. I mean, they’re not letting me in with just a towel.”
The air hitched in my throat and I could feel the influx of blood sure enough.
“Uh..um..yeah..I guess clothes are good. Can you text me your address? I can pick you up.”
“Sure. What time?”
“11:30? Maybe we can grab a quick lunch on the drive down.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
She hung-up and I sat there a moment. Why had that felt so hard? Yet, I wondered what she would choose to wear. I got up and took a quick shower myself, putting on black jeans and a light grey t-shirt. I even brushed my hair! Her text had came with the address and I knew the area, but finding the apartment building was easy, finding the actual number not so easy. It explained why she had detailed directions once I came in.
I was so nervous as I rang the doorbell, nervous as I waited for her to answer. But when she did I wasn’t disappointed. She’d worn blue jean shorts, with a sleeveless blue lace shirt with a spaghetti strap shirt underneath, it was covered on the top but it was sheer lace across her abdomen.
“Thanks for the details once I turned, I would have never found this apartment.”
“It’s why I included it. Let me get my wallet and I’ll be ready.”
I waited by the door as she got her wallet, the inside looked nothing like I expected. It was more manly and had a lot of sports related items, things she’d never spoken about. But I diverted my attention back to her.
“You look nice.”
She smiled. “Thank you, you aren’t half bad yourself.”
She locked the door and made sure she had a key and then followed me to the car.
“So…is this your sly way of asking for a date or is this just you being bored and wanting company that isn’t male?”
I slowed some. “It can be a date if you want it to be.”
Yep, that was a pretty shitty reply, but I wasn’t even sure what this was.
“I don’t know, we’ll see how you do.”
I rolled my eyes but did hold the door open for her, being a gentleman, which wait, when did I become a gentleman?! After we were both settled in the car with the seatbelt I went by a McDonald’s, something quick and we could eat as I drove and then I headed southwest to Oklahoma City. I was shocked that she was singing along to most of the songs playing, it wasn’t like I didn’t like poppy music but rock was my groove. Once we arrived I got parked and we headed to the gate, I refused to allow her to pay her way in or get the unlimited ride bracelet.
“You know this is date like.” She said.
“I asked you to come with me, it’s only fair. So, ride first or visit animals first?”
“Well, since it’s early and hot let’s visit the shaded areas first.”
“Arts and crafts and animals it is.”
We choose the arts and crafts area first, looking at the various entries submitted by people. Some of them were awesome, some not so much. She hesitated at the spider blanket.
“Why would anyone want to sleep or nap under that?!”
“Someone who is not afraid of them wouldn’t mind.”
“I’d have nightmares.”
“What about the kitten one? That’s like so adorably cute it’s sickening.”
“That it is, but I could sleep under that one.”
I rolled my eyes her logic was sound for her, I could sleep under either and be fine. We went to the animals after that and saw the local 4H club’s submissions. The cows and bunnies, and she seemed to just freak out at the cute little chicks, holding them lovingly. I couldn’t deny the number of pictures I took and strangely these didn’t really focus on the nice ass or the subtle but there cleavage she was showing today. Although, I could barely see the top of the tattoo. But I was paying more attention to her face, very fucking odd for me. She liked the rabbits and the grown chickens too.
“Not afraid of them?”
“No. I actually got along with chickens. Ironically, the same guy that tosses spiders in my lap for kicks also had chickens. They loved me.”
“Did they own a farm?”
“Yeah, what little I remember.”
“Surely you remember more about them than that. You grew up with them.”
She paused. “I wasn’t there long, three or four months, just the next one had spiders too.”
“How many foster homes did you go too?”
She paused and it kind of looked like she wasn’t going to answer the questions, I was about to say it was okay when she leaned down.
“I was in four before I turned six, it was after my 6 th birthday when the Frosts actually adopted.”
“That’s a lot.”
“Yeah. Thankfully I don’t remember much of it anyway. I remember …” She straightened up. “I’d uh..rather not talk about that actually.”
“I can’t say that I blame you. So, want to catch some rides now?”
“Sure.”
We headed into the main fair area and she seemed to liven up after that, the sights and sounds and rides! We did the tilt-a-whirl first and she knew how to get them to fly around a circle, making my stomach do flip flops! I was glad it had been a while since we ate, I wouldn’t be throwing up. The next one was the scrambler and I got on first and she was on the outside, but the operator made us switch spots. Yeah, sliding across the seat with her ass right in my face wasn’t pleasant, but once the ride started I completely understood why he made me move. It slug outward and she couldn’t stop from sliding against me.
“Sorry, I kind of can’t stay that way.”
“It’s fine..”
I had to admit that her being pretty much shoved against me was nice. Even if the second time did kind of hurt as her elbow hit my ribs. I did help her down after that as we were far off the ground.
“Where too next?”
“Funnel cake.” She replied.
We found the nearby funnel cake stands and got funnel cake, the sugary confection was perfect and we sat under the tent. I was amazed that most fans had stayed away. Yet there was something about watching her eat funnel cake, licking the sugar from her fingers.
“Do you need me to stop?”
“No. I’m quite capable of watching you lick sugar from your fingers.”
“Sure about that?”
“As long as you don’t make it worse. Speaking of, you haven’t gotten any calls or texts, did he lay off?”
“It’s on silent and the last time I checked there were 5 calls, thirty messages.”
“Maybe you need to consider some kind of legal actions.”
“He’ll eventually understand.”
When we got done with our mid-day snack I could still see the traces of sugar on her lips and I really wanted to lick it off, but I didn’t. We did the G-force next and I was amazed she handled it well. We got on the normal Ferris wheel and she seemed a little off, but I couldn’t sit beside her and it was a slow, relaxed moment. She was looking across the field and I had to get that picture.
“You are getting my face right?”
“Of course I am.”
She turned to me. “I met Priscilla last Tuesday. She was at the show.”
“I saw her, but I didn’t know you did.”
“Yeah, you want to tell me about her?”
“Not really much to say.”
“She had a lot to say. She asked if I was the flavor of the month, apparently in her mind you don’t hang around women you’re not having sex with. She made it seem like all you really wanted was sex which she refused and she seemed to think you weren’t hurt when you caught her. Austin said you had considered more.”
I was going to have to have a little chat with Austin and I really didn’t want to talk about it, but she hadn’t really wanted to talk about Simon either.
“Well, she did deny wanting sex. She told me she was a virgin and wanted to wait until she was married before she had sex. Turns out she was far from being a virgin. But, I didn’t push the subject because she was upfront about it. As for considering more, yeah I thought she was the one for me and I went to buy the ring and then I caught her.”
“You didn’t yell or scream?”
“No. I used my key she’d given me and walked in to find her having sex with her friend Alex. I saw her and when she finally saw me I told her it was over and I walked out. I went home, there wasn’t anything else I needed to say. I went back to the jewelry store and canceled the order.”
“It was before your birthday which is next week, is that why you didn’t want to come here alone?”
“That was yesterday actually, I spent the day playing video games. No, she had nothing to do with me calling this morning.”
She smiled. “You deserve better anyway.”
No one had really said that to me. “You do too. Simon is not the right man for you.”
“I know.”
When the operator let us off we did the Rock N Roll ride and then I went to the double Ferris wheel.
“I..I don’t know about this one.”
“You cannot be afraid of this ride. It’s fun.”
I was excited to ride it but she kept watching them and she looked nervous. The girls in front of me pretty much talked the whole time we were in line, all the way to the front where they asked me to ride with them.
“That’s okay, I’m here with her and I think I’ll ride it with her.”
They seemed to finally notice she was there. They got on but it was clear I’d disappointed them.
“You could have rode with them.” She said.
I smiled when he called for us. “No, I’m here with you.”
She tested the seatbelt and the bar, clearly not liking they weren’t super tight. But she was fine as we rotated to fill up. I saw her grip as we moved to the upper side and the second one filled up. It was clear she wasn’t liking this, yet the G-force had been worse! The first time it came down really fast we leaned back and I nearly yelped, she’d moved from sitting up to clinging to my arm.
“It’s okay Gabby, we’re not going to flip.”
She didn’t seem to care at all, when the whole thing began to spin too I moved my arm behind her and I couldn’t deny that having her cuddling up to my side was feeling very nice. Although her nails did nip my side once, it wasn’t bad. I think the operator understood because he stopped us first and I mouthed a silent thank you which got me a nod.
“Better now?”
“Much.”
“One more ride and then we get some dinner?”
“Okay.”
I got her hand to lead her but I didn’t want to let it go, so I didn’t. She made no effort to let go either and even while we were in line I kept a hold of her hand. I didn’t let go until I had too, which was when we boarded the ring of fire, because she had to be safely put in the seat. Yet, I felt her hand on my knee after it started and I think she really was glad for the break after that. But as we sat down she shivered.
“Are you cold?”
“Kind of, yeah. The wind kicked up and the sun set.”
“We can head back if you want.”
“No. I’m okay.”
Yet the longer we sat the colder she looked and I saw the goose bumps. I asked her to wait and I ran full speed to the car and got the long sleeve shirt in the backseat and then ran back, she hadn’t moved.
“Here. I had a few in the car and your arms have goose bumps on them.”
“You didn’t have too and is this someway to get me in your shirt?”
“Maybe…but I know I didn’t have too. I can’t have you sick Saturday.”
“God forbid I can’t fetch your dinner.”
But, she did put the shirt on and while it was too big and too long in my opinion, it was still mine. It wasn’t Taylor’s or Carrick’s, it was mine. We finished eating and then instead of rides we just walked around the games, she paused at one and kept looking at something across the top.
“See something you want?”
“I cannot play this game for shit, I like the little tiger up there though.”
Yep, the testosterone meant she had to have it and I played four games until I got it for her. But, it was worth it for the smile she gave me. Of course, the tiger couldn’t be alone, he had to have a companion. We passed the picture booth and she giggled.
“You could win yourself a picture of yourself.”
“I am not that bad. Did you want it?”
“Please, if I want a picture of you I’ll just go through my phone.”
“They are of my face right?”
She grinned. “Some of them are.”
Well, that kind of surprised me. We went through another few games and I got another stuffed animal, she was adamant she didn’t want the alien. After that we called it a day and headed to the car. The trip home was quiet, she checked and deleted I didn’t even know how many messages. I made it to her apartment about 10:30 pm, it had been a great day and I walked her to the door. She nudged me a bit.
“Has anyone ever told you that you take date to a whole new level?”
“No, they haven’t.”
“Well, you do.”
“So, are we calling this a real date?”
She moved quickly and her lips pressed against my cheek. “Yeah, it was. I’m going to go put these in a safe place, see you Saturday?”
I could feel my face heating up and I smiled. “Deal.”
She unlocked the door and yet before she stepped inside I turned her around and kissed her, I could feel her relax some.
“Real dates, deserve real kisses at the end.”
“That they do…”
I let her go inside and then headed home. I felt like doing cartwheels! I felt…what did I feel? This wasn’t just wanting to pull her to bed anymore, no I wanted to be with her and know her. I wanted to know about those foster parents and why she didn’t talk about them. Fuck…
I got home about 11:15 and only then did I realize she’d worn my shirt inside, but that was fine. I didn’t mind if she kept it, wouldn’t mind seeing her wear it again either. I stripped to boxers and sat down, went through the dozens of pictures and I was finding that the normal pain of what Priscilla did wasn’t really there, I’d barely even thought about her yesterday. In fact, I’d thought about calling Gabby all damn day because honestly I just missed her. Saturday was a long way off. I laid down in the quiet bedroom and sent her a text, including one of the several selfie pictures I had taken of us through the day.
Sleep well Gabrielle – You deserve at least one happy, nice text before you fall asleep.
She replied with a smiley face and I finally let sleep take over.
**Below are links to the rides in which they rode, warning some are POV videos, it could make you sick :) **
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