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The scrambler is our first stop and I’m happy for it since the centrifugal force presses her body against mine. I wrap an arm around her, and we laugh as the car we’re riding in swoops around.
“I haven’t ridden this since I was a kid,” she says with a smile. “I forgot how much fun it is.”
It is fun, right up until the last thirty seconds or so. In one of the other cars is an elderly couple, and the lady cries out just as the ride starts to slow down.
“Oh! My teeth!”
I assume she hit her mouth on something until a weight thumps into my lap. The car slows and is almost at a stop when Sam says, “Uh…Nick?”
No. Nope. No way the object resting on my crotch is what I think it is.
“I lost my teeth!” the lady cries, waving to the attendant.
I can hear how hard Sam is trying not to laugh as she calls to the woman and opens the gate to the car we’re riding in. “They’re over here!”
Finally, I look down to see a set of dentures.
In my lap.
Oh my god, they’re wet, and I’ve never been so grossed out in my life, but I don’t want to make the woman feel bad.
Still, there’s no way I’m picking them up. I sit still like they’re a scorpion set to strike instead of a set of removable choppers while the woman makes her way over to us along with her husband and the attendant.
Laughter scatters around us, and she cackles like a witch from a cartoon as she reaches out and scoops them up. “Don’t worry, boy. They weren’t gonna bite ya! Guess that new glue just ain’t up to standard.”
Samantha is still shaking with restrained laughter as we climb off the ride and take a seat on a nearby bench. Grinning down at her, I shake my head. “Go ahead, get it out of your system.”
Her laughter rings out and she covers her mouth. “The look…on your face!” She gasps out the words.
“It was disgusting!”
My exclamation just makes her laugh harder. Her whiskey colored eyes are bright with unshed tears, and she’s so beautiful under the midway lights. I stop her laughter with a kiss, and she melts in my arms the way she always does. It’s time to talk about a relationship because I want to know she feels the same as I do at this moment. The ferris wheel turns just behind us, and I gesture to it. “Want to ride?”
“I love the ferris wheel,” she agrees, and I take her hand as we head over there.
There’s no line so we climb into the swinging car right away and begin our trip up. Sam snuggles in my arms, and we take in the scenery as the wheel stops with us at the top. Clouds have rolled back in turning the sky an ominous navy blue as the last of the light fades. Flashes of light blink in the distance, too far away to see the lightning bolts. Heat lightning, my grandmother used to call it, the kind that doesn’t always mean rain is coming.
No matter how old I get or how many relationships I have, this part never gets less awkward. There’s no way to ask, “Will you be my girlfriend?” without sounding like a kid asking a girl to circle yes or no on a Do you like me? note.
“Sam?”
“Hmm?” She gazes up into my eyes.
“The last month has been amazing. I really care about you and I want to be exclusive.”
Her throat jumps as she swallows. “Exclusive,” she murmurs, as if she’s tasting the word. I don’t like the trepidation in her voice or the way her eyes dart away as she says, “You want a serious relationship.”
“Yes, I love being with you.”
She fiddles with the bottom of her shirt. “I love being with you too.”
I slide my finger under her chin and lift until she’s looking at me. “But…” I add, knowing there’s one coming.
“I don’t know why we have to get all serious and define it. We’re having fun. Why ruin it?”
My stomach sinks and not just because the wheel is moving again, bringing us back to the ground.
“Sorry,” the operator says. “It’s starting to thunder. We have to shut it down.”
