CHAPTER 13

Wes put his finger to his lips, indicating me to be quiet. I looked at him like he was crazy. He poked his head towards the street from the safety of the side door of grandma's house. I looked around and then Wes tugged at my hand again. His fingers burnt deliciously around my wrist. He had been gripping my wrist for like 5 minutes! Literally, 5 minutes! And I am not complaining! Not complaining at all...urgh, this is not a good development. I have a feeling that I am starting to fall for Wes. Big time....

Just then, he tugged at my hand harder and whispered, "Come on!" He darted out of our 'hiding place' towards a Ford Focus parked at the driveway. Okay, what is a Ford Focus doing on Grandma's driveway. The engine was running. Wes indicated me to go to the passenger seat while he went to the driver's seat and took the wheel. When we're all buckled up, Wes backed the car out of the drive way and drove off. At a corner of my eye, I thought I saw Josh walking towards his house. Okay, so he brought the car out for Wes.

"Whew, ok. Where do you wanna go?" Wes asked as he put the car on cruise and just drove aimlessly. It was pretty nice since the weather was great.

"I dunno. You dragged me out here. Where do you want to go?" I asked him again. Suddenly, the car screeched to a stop. Wes looked out the window, a ghost of a smile on his lips. I looked out his window too. The county fair?

"Let's go there!" Wes said with very uncharacteristic enthusiasm as he drove the car into the parking area. It was still early, so there weren't many cars parked yet. Which was good. Crowds are so annoying.

After he parked the car, Wes jumped out, his face lit up like a kid at a candy store. He looked like he was about to do jumping jacks right there at the parking lot since he looked so excited. A 6 feet tall guy wearing a yellow pokemon t-shirt skipping to the fair should be a disturbing spectacle, but somehow with Wes, he looked endearing. And sexy. Yes, I found him sexy. Good grief, how far have I fallen...I thought to myself as I followed Wes from behind.

He bought us a day's pass and we walked from one booth to another as the rides were still in the process of being opened. Suddenly, he pulled me towards the bumper cars. Oh, shit. I sucked major balls at bumper car. I gulped as Wes pushed me into a large two people car. My stomach churned at the number of menacing-looking bumper car drivers all eyeing me. Especially that scary-looking elementary kid. He looked 12 but his eyes were old and experienced in the game of bumper cars. I saw him zeroing on me and swallowed a scream when I saw his car was zooming fast at me. But just when it was about to hit our car, Wes controlled the car and rammed into the kid's car first, creating a strong jerking movement that almost threw me out of my seat. I gasped as I gripped the pole on the dashboard. I sneaked a look at Wes. He had the look of a man on a mission. He zoomed after the devil-child and a few of other cars that tried to bump into our car, but Wes expertly maneuvered us and we escaped unscathed. After 15 agonizing minutes, it was over. I breathed out a relief and tried to calm my hammering heart. I looked at Wes and was surprised to see a happy, relaxed expression on his face. He turned to me, flashed a dimpled smile and took my hand again.

"Come on. Let's go for another ride." Wes pulled me behind him and I followed him, feeling excited and relaxed for once.

We played everything and Wes won a few huge teddies. I even won a respectable-sized stuffed unicorn. It was getting crowded and people were lining up to go on the rides. Wes was not finished, so he made me go to the car to put all the stuffed toys in it. After that he pulled me towards the haunted house. My eyes widen. No, no. No way. No ghosts for me.

"Come on Addy. It'll be fun. You can't be scared of a haunted house in a fair?!" Wes said incredulously. I stared at him, feeling embarrassed. In the end I relented and Wes happily pulled me with him to stand in line. I prayed for the line to be long. But, to my dismay, the line was a short one. I cursed my luck and followed him into the haunted house.

The haunted house was a dingy, creepy-looking tent. It was green, grey and had splotches of red paint all over it. There were also posters and creepy-looking mannequins. Wes pulled me behind him as I found myself gripping his t-shirt with my other hand as we entered the tent.

It was dark inside and there was an eerie jewelry box music playing in the background. The interior was in semi-darkness and there were cobwebs and hanging portraits of old creepy-looking people. Suddenly there were whisperings behind me. I whipped my head around and gasped in fear. Shit, shit, shit! I hate haunted houses! I couldn't believe I let him talk me into doing this. Wes kept walking and I practically glued myself to his back. I tightened my hold on his t-shirt when I herd the sound of girls giggling right by my ear. My head whipped around and suddenly a head of a woman with long hair flew down from the ceiling. I was so shocked that I let out a bloodcurdling scream so loud I think the tent almost collapsed. I jumped and grabbed Wes in front of me. He had turned to me and holding my shoulders, trying to calm me down.

"Hey, it's a prop. See, it's not real. It's a dummy. Okay, come here." Wes said as he pulled me to his side. Scared out of my brains I wrapped my arms around Wes' torso, my eyes wild, trying to dare any ghost to jump out. Wes put his arm around my shoulder and we walked side by side in the darken room. I was reminded of the creepy guy who I met at the park when I was a kid.

Every time something jumped out, I jumped as well and screamed. I buried my face in Wes' chest, clearly forgetting who I was with. I was a lumpy shivering wreck when we finally walked out of the haunted house.

Once out, I just stood there, trembling, my arms tight around Wes. He did not say or do anything. He just kept his arm around my shoulder and let me have my moment to calm down. Stupid haunted house! I swore under my breath and after a while I was calm enough to gather my wits. I took a deep breath and was finally lucid enough to be aware of my surroundings. Just then I realized I was holding onto Wes like I was about to break him in half. Realizing what I was doing, I quickly extricated myself from him. I stepped away and cleared my throat.

I could feel Wes looking at me in amusement. I ignored him and walked away quickly. Away from Wes and his teasing smile. Darn it, why does he have to smile so much today! And at my expense. Stupid haunted house. Stupid Wes.

I walked away faster as I felt my cheeks became hotter and hotter as I recalled how tightly I was holding onto Wes. Argh! And to scream like I saw an actual ghost! I suck so much, it's not even funny. Suddenly, my stomach growled. I stopped and my eyes darted beside me, trying to see if Wes heard it. He had no expression on his face. Or at least he was trying to kill that smile from his lips. Idiot. I am an idiot.

"Hey, it's passed lunch time. I'm famished. Let's go get something to eat." Wes said suddenly and took my hand again. I wanted to resist, but my tummy rumbled again and I saw an unmistakeable teasing smile on his lips. Crap. I am an embarrassment.

We went to the car and Wes drove up to a nice-looking diner. We went into the diner. It was only a quarter full since it had been hours since lunch time. Wes chose a table near the window. A waitress came and took our order. I ordered the Chicken sandwich while Wes chose the cheeseburger. When the waitress left, there was a cry. I frowned while I watched Wes' face became drained of blood. Suddenly, we were overcome by a thick, strong scent of Chanel No5. A blond avalanche suddenly descended upon us. Or rather, upon Wes.

"Baby! I finally found you!" The blond woman cried as she grabbed Wes and hugged the life out of him. I stared at the woman, almost not noticing a girl with gorgeous red hair standing beside her. Wes looked like he was suffocating as he stared at me and silently pleading for me to help him. I just looked on helplessly, not sure how to help him.

She finally let him go. The blond, who looked like a slightly older version of Bella Hadid, stood up straight but did not let Wes go. She had a hand protectively draped on his shoulder.

"Where have you been Wesley? I texted you about coming over to Leyla's and seeing how you're getting on. Why didn't you wait for me last night? Thalisa and I waited for you for hours. Your father was so angry when I told him you were not around. That reminds me. Give him a call this Saturday." 'Bella Hadid said as she tried to get into the seat next to Wes. Her daughter, Thalisa I presumed, sat beside me.

"Look, why are you here? I told you I don't want to see you. Can't the two of you get a life and f**ing leave me alone?! " Wes said exasperatedly.

"Language, Wesley! " The blond said then turned towards me. She looked me up and down, as if sizing me up as a threat. When she figured out I pose zero threat to her, the blond smiled and offered her hand for me to shake.

"Hello, are you Wesley's friend? I'm his mother, Alana Grayson. -" Alana said but Wes cut her off.

"Step mother. You're just my stepmother. And this is not my friend. " Wes said with the icy tone I knew so well. It stung that he said I wasn't a friend. I looked down at my hands.

"What?! She's not? Then who is she Wesley? " Alana asked as she flipped her long blond hair.

"This is Addison. She's my girlfriend." Wes said seriously and suddenly took my hand. He squeezed my hand as he looked at me, a small smile on his lips. I just stared at him as he took my hand to his lips and kissed it.

Alana and Thalisa just stared at me and Wes wordlessly. I smiled nervously, unsure of what to do. Why the heck did Wes say that?! I had a feeling this will not end well...