Chapter 39

Sunny smiles at the nervous boy who hands her the tickets.

I pull her under my arm while we continue walking between food carts and kiddie games. She traces the ink on my forearm and I watch the dimming sky and vibrant lights from the rides reflected on her skin. She's luminous.

"Is there anything you wanna do first? What's your favorite ride?" She asks.

I haven't been here since I was a kid and back then I enjoyed the teacups but there's no way I'll fit in them now.

"You pick something."

Her smile makes me anxious.

Because I chose this place last minute and I never thought out the fact that I'd actually have to get on these fucking rides.

She squints observing all the options surrounding us until one catches her eye and she pulls me behind her as she rushes over to the tall contraption.

"Step right up folks." A man with a big gut in stretched out suspenders waves us over, "The grand prize is this here long neck giraffe or two free meals to a Grandma Tally's diner."

We're not from here so neither of us know about this diner but Sunniva's smiles is so eager you'd think it was a five star restaurant.

"So what do you say big man? You ring the bell and win your lady a nice meal?" He says, handing me the large hammer.

Before I take it Sunniva rushes in front of me and grabs the hammer from the short man.

"I would like the big giraffe please." She says to the surprised man.

He looks at me when she speaks but I'm just as clueless. She looses her footing as the hammer sways to the back and I hold it up so she doesn't fall over. Without meaning to it tips forward hitting the platform and bright lights rush up the machine.

"Shit!" The short chubby man jumps back.

We watch the splint rise and hear the chime of the bell. Sunniva stares at the bright machine in bewilderment. She then turns to me with the biggest smile on her face.

"That did not just happen!" She shrieks and throws her hands up in the air.

The hammer flies back again and almost hits the instructor before I reach for it.

"Fudge, I'm sorry." Sunny grimaces.

The short man glares at her as he walks behind the machine. When he returns his face is hidden behind the neck of the stuffed animal. Sunny smiles at the man as he hands over her prize but he doesn't return it.

"3 tickets." He grumbles and I reach into my pocket to hand the small pink paper to the small pink man.

"Thank you sir, have a great night." Sunniva waves and he grunts in response.

I pull her away from the grumpy man when I see her face fall.

"I think we were his first customers." I explain, watching him flick the tickets into the empty black box.

"Oh." Sunny bites her lip.

I chuckle at her guilty expression.

"What do you want to do next?"

"I don't know." She frowns looking around, "I'm a little thirsty, can we get those snow cones?" She asks, pointing at the small van lined with tiny sparkling lights.

When we get there the woman inside smiles at Sunny, "What can I do for you darlin?"

"Can I get 2 strawberry cone- wait." She stops to looks up at me, "Is strawberry okay?" She asks and I shrug.

"2 strawberries coming right up sugar." The woman announces and moves out of view.

"This is really nice, Leo. I'm glad you knew about this place." She says.

"I wasn't sure if it was still here to be honest, it's been a while."

"I wish Finridge had these." She sighs.

"2 strawberry snow cones." The blonde woman announces when she reappears in the window.

"Thank you ma'am." Sunny says as I take the cups from the woman's hands and lay money on the counter.

"I don't know if your lady's gonna manage with any more wins." The woman laughs, watching Sunny struggle with the cone and the large stuffed animal in her hands.

I reach for the giraffe and Sunny sighs in relief and waves goodbye to the blonde woman.

"Your mom must've really loved you if she drove all this way every year." Sunny comments.

"She loved this shit more than we did. I think she just needed to use her kids as an excuse to use the kiddie rides." I say, making her laugh.

"She sounds great."

"She was I guess." I shrug, the pit in my gut's tightening up but I fight through it.

"Is this for her?" She whispers, caressing my index finger. I turn my hand over examining the L engraved in my skin.

"Yeah, it was my first tattoo." The day I turned eighteen I walked into the parlor demanding a tattoo but I didn't have a clue what I wanted.

"Jameson, the guy who did it said they don't always have to mean shit but the first one should."

She smiles sheepishly up at me and slips her hand into mine. I've come to realize this is her way of telling me I don't have to continue talking.

It happened fourteen years ago I shouldn't still be a little bitch about it.

We walk around aimlessly while she finishes her cone and when she disposed of it something catches her attention.

"Can we go to the flower garden?" She asks already pulling us towards it.

The elderly women on their way out examine Sunny and I. I watch their faces turn from delight into terror when their eyes roam my body especially the ink on my arms. I'm used to this but it's usually because people know my last name. I'm annoyed at their gawking and I hope Sunniva doesn't feel embarrassed to be walking next to me.

"It's rude to stare." She says and her tone shocks me. This must me Miss Wallace because I've never heard Sunniva sound this indifferent before.

The old woman are just as surprised and scoff at her with their hands dramatically clutching their chests as they scurry off.

Sunny shakes her head at them and I chuckle lightly at her look of disapproval. Definitely Miss Wallace.

We walk between the garden and I watch her face light up as she reads the names of the different flowers we pass by.

"What do you think of this one? I've been meaning to buy a little plant for my room." She holds up a plant up to my face

"Sunny this shit looks dead already."

"It's not dead it just has hanging leaves." She defends, shaking her head.

"You sure? Cause the leaves are yellow." I tease her, flicking the leaves.

"Leo!" She scolds, holding the dead plant to her chest, "Its a phil-oden-dron and it's pretty." She reads the sticker.

"You're pretty." I say not thinking the insult through and she looks at me in surprise.

"Thank you."

I pull the withering plant from her arms, "You want a dead plant? I'll get it for you." I say before turning toward the elderly couple in dirty denim overalls.

"Leo, you don't have to." She pulls my arm to get back my attention.

"It's a date right? I'm supposed to pay for shit."

"It doesn't have to be that way. We can make it our own." She frowns, pulling her lifeless plant back into her arms.

"Okay, so what?" I bite.

"Well I'll get you something too. What do you want?"

"An answer." Is the first thing that comes to mind.

"Okay..." She eyes me suspiciously, "What's the question?"

My confidence fizzles when she looks up expectedly.

Why am I so nervous? I'm Leo fucking Woo. This shit shouldn't make me more nervous than the ring I get into to get beat up for dollars.

"Luther says I'm supposed to ask you on the 3rd date if you don't... like me enough."

Fucking idiot.

"Ask me what?" Her voice sounds so far away.

"If you... if you'd want to be my girlfriend or whatever."

I lift my pathetic face from the ground to look at the surprise on hers.

"Shit, was I supposed to wait for the 3rd da-" My words are swallowed back into my mouth when she reaches her hand behind my neck to pull me down to her lips.

I clutch her side not being able to lift her into my arms fully because of this fucking plant.

She smiles against my lips and I can't help but do the same. Her lips are cold and sweet.

"I'd love to be your girlfriend Leo."

"Yeah?"

"Of course I would." She smiles, clutching my neck.

My back feels strained at this angle but I don't want to pull away. She's stronger than I thought.

"Sunny you've got quite a tight grip there." I wheeze out.

"Oh sorry." She gasps, finally letting me go.

She bites her lip trying to contain her smile but it doesn't help much. I'm grinning like a fool as well. I can't believe how happy she is right now and it's because of me. The realization feels like a drug as it seeps in.

"I don't think we'll get around easily with these." She says, holding up the deceased plant and pointing to the large giraffe stuffed under my arm.

"You wanna dump it in my car?"

"Maybe we should just go... you're too big for the rides I wanna go on and I don't want to do anything alone." Her words immediately fill me with dread.

"You want to leave?"

"Can we go to your place?" She ask shyly.

"My place?"

She nods in response playing with the button on her jersey.

"Y-yeah." I try to ignore the explicit images of Sunniva popping into my brain.

Can we go to your place? Really?

"Okay well I'll just pay for this before we go." She says, holding up her plant and walks away slowly.

I try to even out my breathes to calm myself the fuck down because I don't want to freak her out. I know that's not what she meant when she asked to go to my place. Especially considering how shaken up she was yesterday. She's not ready, she's a fucking virgin.

"Leo?" Her voice breaks me from my internal crisis and I follow after her.

The elderly couple are so taken with her, like everyone else I guess, that they hold us in conversation for over ten minutes. Well more Sunny than me, I'm just nodding most of the time trying not to let my agitation surface.

"Anyway." The woman laughs, handing Sunny a little brown sachets, "Here you go and please don't forget to visit our store next time you kids come into town." She says.

Sunniva smiles, waving at the woman as she finally pulls us away.

"Aren't they so lovely?" She sighs, placing her hand in mine.

I hum in response grateful that we're finally leaving.

"I had a really great time, Leo." I look down at her now and my chest swells with pride.

I'm relieved she's happy, I thought this nostalgic choice of location would creep her out but I know Sunny better than that.

As we walk under the entrance post I look up like I did as a kid to see the glowing bulbs that light up the sign. Something about revisiting this place makes me feel peace. It feels like my mom's still here and she's tugging at my arm excitedly rushing to the nearest ride.

"I heard you should name your plants." She speaks, "What does it look like to you?"

"You're asking me to name your dead plant, Sunny?"

"It's not dead." She frowns.

"Okay okay." I chuckle.