Chapter 4

We walked outside and toward his electric blue 2017 Ford F-250, which I still haven't been able to drive. He opens the door for me, helps me in and shuts the door. He gets in and starts the engine.

"So when are you going to let me drive your truck?" I asked and did not expect a real answer since I normally don't get one.

"Hmm....today" he said with a straight face.

"Really!?" I asked in total shock.

"Yeah, if you want to"

"Yes please! Wait why after all these months are you now saying yes?" I asked.

"Because I trust you and figured a first date was a good occasion to mark" he smiled.

We pulled out onto the busy Seattle street and drove for a while. He had me pull over at a gas station so we could switch places. He didn't want to ruin the surprise by me driving. I heard one of my favorite songs, 'Friends in low places' by Garth Brooks, come on and turned it up. I started singing and Bo joined it. After that we talked about anything and everything.

I had a text from Rose and as I replied I heard gravel beneath the wheels, looked up and saw "Evergreen State Fair".

"Now this is a date" I said giggling.

"Not too corny?" He asked.

"No its amazing!" I said.

We got out and headed toward the gates, he got us wristbands for the rides.

"Am I going to pay for anything?" I asked him.

"No little lady, your money stays right in your purse, my treat today" he said.

"You gotta let me pay for something" I begged.

"No, it's my treat" he said.

We headed towards the rides and first up was my favorite, the Zipper. We hit just about all the rides after a few hours and it felt so good to let go and just have fun.

"Are you hungry?" He asked and my stomach growled in response.

"Say no more, what sounds good?" We laughed as he asked.

"Chili cheese fries, pizza, corn dogs or BBQ?" I rattled off and he looked at me kind of shocked.

"What? Is there something on my face?" I said putting my hands on my cheeks.

"No no no, I'm just surprised at your list"

"What can I say, I love fair food and it's not around all the time" I laughed.

"Very true. Let's get a few things and share, sound good?" He said.

"Sounds great cowboy, now let's go" I pulled him by the hand. He blushed a little. So we got the food and talked as we ate. We laughed and learned a lot about each other.

"I think it's time for funnel cake" I said getting up and moving quickly before he could object. I soon sat down with a strawberry funnel cake in hand.

"I thought I said that I was paying today" he said shaking his head.

"Then you obviously don't know me that well" I said smiling.

All he could do was laugh and we ate until there was nothing left. After we finished we got up and walked around to see what was being sold. We found a lot of home made trinkets, hot tubs, animals, jewelry and so much more. Something on one of the jewelry booths caught my eye. A golden oval pendant lay with the necklaces but this one seemed to shine. I picked it up and looked at it closer, it was a locket. On the outside was a small delicate crystal blue flower surrounded by filigree, silver flakes throughout the black filigree. It was dazzling and I couldn't take my eyes off of it. It looked heavy but it was as light as air.

"Why don't you get it?" Bo said behind me. I jumped and he laughed.

"Don't do that! You scared me" I laughed.

"You were staring at that pretty intensely"

"Its so pretty" I said holding it up.

He looked at the price tag and handed the lady at the booth twenty dollars.

"Oh! You didn't have to do that. Here let me pay you back" I tried to get money out but his hand on mine to stop me.

"No, it's a gift. And I want to pay today" he smiled.

"Aw, thank you Bo" I got on my tippy toes and kissed him on the cheek. His face turned pink and I couldn't help but giggle. I put on the necklace and continued our walk.

After a few hours we decided to play some games. I tried my hand at throwing darts and won a picture. From there we went down the game booths. I don't remember the last time I had so much fun. As we walked I felt Bo's fingers intertwine with mine. This time I blushed and smiled at him.

Bo found the milk container game, where you try to knock them over with a ball. It only took him two tries to knock all the containers off and he told me to pick any one of the stuffed animals. I saw a hippo in the corner and pointed at it. The gentlemen at the booth handed it to me and it was half my size. I couldn't help but laugh.

Bo found another game and I went to the ladies room. I left my stuffed hippo with him so it wouldn't get wet.

On my way back to Bo I had a feeling I was being watched, so I turned around but nothing out of the ordinary. When I turned back around I managed to bump into someone and trip on a wire. Before I fell too far I was caught and put me back upright.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" I said and just stared at the guy who just saved my butt, literally.

He was very tall, he had a muscular body like a football player, medium short jet black hair and piercing emerald eyes. He was very handsome and my breath seemed to catch in my throat. He had a black t-shirt on and blue jeans. There was something familiar in his eyes but also scary. I realized I was staring and shook my head.

"I'm sorry.... um... Thank you for that. I'm Marina" I held out my hand.

He looked at my hand for a second. Then shook it.

"Erik. No problem. Just watch where your going from now on" he said kind of coldly. His hand was soft and sort of chilly. He let go of my hand and walked away.