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“No, but that’s because the opportunity hasn’t presenteditself,” she shrugs. “He is always with his friends, and I am always with you.”
“I will have you know,” I counter, “that when he came over for dinner earlier, nothing happened. It was a very innocent night.”
“Yeah, about that,” she says with a hint of curiosity. “You told me he flirted with you, but was there really no touching, no brush against your shoulder, no footsie under the table…nothing?”
I shake my head and she laughs. “Stop, Elle. I know you. And I know that dinner was probably torture, which means in your own way you gave in. It may not have been a touch, but it could have been something as innocent as a smile that said game on.”
I swallow and hate that she’s right. It had been torture. My body hummed with the memory of his touch whenever he looked at me.
“I didn’t do anything,” I say as innocently as I can. “I even skipped out on dessert so I could come here.”
She arches her brow. “And did you tell him you were coming here?”
“I may have,” I drawl.
“Exactly!” She laughs. “Like I said,” she looks over at Jake and Cruz, “game on.”
Shit. Was Jenica right? Was my subconscious driving me because it knew what I wanted…what I still wanted?
“Come on,” she points to the entrance for The Coaster as my mind continues its downward spiral. “Let’s get our adrenaline fix, then head to the Gravitron. Travis is running it tonight and promised to give us a longer ride if we stopped by.”
“Alright.” I hand her the bag and she tosses it in the trash, then reaches for my hand. Nothing like a little speed to clear the mind.
***
Thirty-minutes later, we make our way toward the Gravitron. As we approach the back of the line, Jenica nudges my shoulder and nods ahead. Cruz and Jake are near the front and seeing him gives me butterflies.
Once the ride has come to a stop and all riders have exited, the attendant unsnaps the rope and everyone in line starts to shuffle forward. I watch as Cruz and Jake climb the stairs, then disappear inside, and once Jenica and I hit the stairs, the line attendant snaps the rope behind us.
As we make our way inside, Jenica knocks on the door to the operator booth, and flashes her brother a thumbs up. He smiles and returns it with his own, then she grabs my hand and we hurry to find a spot, using the floor lights to guide the way.
It’s dark and the music blaring, but we manage to find the last two vacant spots on the other side of the ride. I take my place along the wall and Jenica settles into one on my left, and when I turn to my right, I see Cruz.
He lifts his hand and gives me a short wave, then leans in and speaks directly into my ear so I can hear him over the music. “Hi.”
I lean in and reply, my own voice elevated. “How was dessert?”
“It wasn’t you.”
He pulls back and grins, flashing his trademark sexy smile, and my cheeks flush with heat. It’s the same warmth he stirred when he made the whole nipple comment in the kitchen earlier.
Clearing my throat to push it aside, I lean in again. “Did you have a good visit with your dad?”
“I did,” he nods. “What have you been up to?”
“We were going to watch the band but came here instead.”
“Well I’m glad you did.” He places his arm flat against thewall, pinky touching mine, as the door lowers and lights dim.
Jenica’s brother greets the riders over the speaker. When he’s done racing through the safety rules, he presses the start button and we begin to move as the song changes from Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” to Def Leppard’s “Animal.”
Jenica grips my left hand and I look over at her, beaming, then face forward as the ride gets faster.
Once it hits its top speed, the centrifugal force pointing outward from the center sends the panels under each rider, rolling up. Jenica’s lifts, pulling her hand from mine, and when I turn to Cruz his panel does the same. It takes a few more seconds, but eventually mine does as well.
The pressure of the force holding me down has always been a strange, but exhilarating feeling, and when I see some of the riders spinning around so they are pinned upside down, I look over at Jenica, knowing she is about to do the same.
Watching her spin around, I start to copy her, but when I feel Cruz’s hand on mine, I stop and look over. He’s staring at me intently as the lights change from red to green, and once they change again to yellow, he squeezes my hand twice.
