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He stops closer with a sympathetic smile. “It’s okay. But, you know, they’re waiting.”
“I just wish I didn’t have to do this,” I whisper. “I wish he wanted to sit this one out with me.”
Parker nudges his shoulder toward the ride. “He’s going on this ride with her, regardless if we tag along or not. Do you want to let them go alone?”
I press my lips into a line and shake my head.
Still holding my hand, Parker uses his other hand to pat my arm. “How about you use some of your Kikki confidence?”
“Kikki dances and sings in her kitchen. She doesn’t get suspended into the air.”
Parker winks. “I think she does now.”
My mind flashes back to falling through the air and dropping into the water. I grow a smile, thinking about balancing and moving Parker’s skateboard. His friends’ cheers ring in my ears, like after they celebrated my achievements.
I squeeze Parker’s hand and step forward. “Okay. We can do this.”
Parker’s pace increases, probably in case I chicken out again. He buys our ride tickets and swiftly weaves us through the line to catch up with Lewis and Yvette.
“What was the hold up?” Lewis asks.
“Oh, you know, Kylie had to tell me how handsome I am,” Parker jokes.
Lewis laughs. “Umm, yeah, I’m sure.”
I silently chuckle, sharing a look with Lewis.
The line moves swiftly, and we shuffle onto the ride.
“What the heck?” I utter.
Inside the pirate ship are bench seats.
Bench seats.
How is this safe? This thing lifts into the air!
Yvette latches onto my hand, dragging me into the row. “Come on, Kylie. We girls gotta stick together.”
I sit next to her and gulp. “Aren’t you scared?”
“This is manufactured scary,” Yvette says. “Not like a freaking cliff at a lake. That’s the real world where you could literally die.”
I blink at her, remembering horror news articles about carnival rides malfunctioning with people on them. Ugh. Why am I thinking about that while aboard one?
“You can stop playing it up now, Kikki,” Parker says playfully. “You don’t have to act scared to make everyone else feel better.”
I fake a laugh as a long guard rail is pulled over our row. It lands above our laps, and leaves ample room for us to slip out. Umm. This doesn’t come close to landing on my safety-meter. Then the music blares, competing with the whirring noises of the machinery firing up.
Parker nudges me. “Doesn’t the music help boost your confidence?”
I’m too spooked to reply. Instead, inside my head I play one of my favorite songs from my baking playlist. Simultaneously, I pray I get out of this without any injuries.
As the ride whooshes through the air, a scream shoots out of me. On the incline, my stomach rises into my throat. Searching for safety, I lean into Parker. He awes, and reaches his arm across my front, acting as a second brace.
The ride descends backwards, and Yvie’s scream wipes out the sound of mine. I lock my neck and shoulders, staring at our collective hands gripping the steel bar. Yvie’s hand creeps over Parker’s hand, and she claws at his fingers for support.
If I wasn’t scared stiff, I’d make an effort to look past Yvie and find Lewis. Can he see that his girlfriend is holding Parker’s hand?
