Probably half an hour goes by, and we’re still talking. He hasn’t explicitly accepted my apology from earlier, but think things are going well. I listen to his stories and I ask questions in an effort to let him see another side of me, the side that’s not a selfish asshole punk kid.
“Thank you for coming over,” he says after a while. “I’d love to go get Richard’s fishing poles later on.”
“That’d be great,” I say. “Just come over anytime.”
“Thank you,” he says, offering me a small smile.
Now is my chance. “One more thing,” I say. I’m nervous as hell now.
He had been walking back to the door but now he stops and turns to me. “Yes?”
“I noticed the county fair is in town,” I say. “I thought it would be fun to invite Bayleigh to go with me. Would that be okay with you?”
He studies me for a long moment, and just when I’m sure he’s going to tell me to pound sand, he shrugs. “If she wants to go, she can go.”
“Thank you, sir,” I say quickly. I don’t even try to hide my grin because I know I can’t.
“Mhm,” he says. “Don’t keep her out too late.”
* * *
The Salt Gap county fair is exactly what I’d expected, which is to say it’s not at all like the carnivals back at home. This one has a rodeo and patrol cops on horseback and big jacked up trucks everywhere you look. It’s a lot cheaper here in Texas. I pay for Bayleigh and I to get into the fair and she grins the whole time, which makes me wonder if a guy has ever paid for her before.
Bayleigh is cute as hell tonight and it’s hard to keep my hands off her. We walk next to each other as we make our way through crowds and venders and people selling cotton candy and beer. I want to grab her hand but I’m not sure if that would be a welcome gesture right now. We reach the end of a line of booths selling weird country stuff like cowboy boots and big metal signs. This is definitely not like California.
There’s a group of teenagers in front of us, all wearing some kind of cowboy attire. Literally every one of them has a cowboy hat and boots, but the girls are kinda slutty with it, pairing their boots with cut off shorts. Bayleigh looks over at me, doing a once over on my jeans and black T-shirt.
“I’m surprised they let us in,” she says. “We’re not exactly the time of people who come here.”
I take her hand under the pretense of guiding her around a group of people who are in our way, but really I just want to feel her palm in mine. “Speak for yourself. I’m wearing my genuine leather chaps under these jeans.”
“Really?” she says, eyes widening.
I laugh. “Better watch out. Your gullible is showing.”
She rolls her eyes at me but she doesn’t let go of my hand. We head toward the carnival games and look for something to play.
“This stuff is totally rigged,” she says, lifting an eyebrow when I stop at a booth.
“Yeah, I know,” I say, handing some cash to the guy at the ring toss game. “But it’s fun.”
We play a lot of games and we suck at all of them. At one point, I’m seriously trying to knock over these damn wooden bottles in a triangle and even though I hit them, they don’t fall over. Totally rigged. Still, Bayleigh laughs at my attempts, and I feel like getting a laugh out of her is better than winning some stupid game.
Another carnie guy waves me over, promising me that his games are easy enough that I can win something for mysweetie. I look over at Bayleigh. “What do you say…sweetie?” I grin. “Want me to win you something?”
“Only if you let me win you something,” she says, snatching the cash from my hand.
Oh man, I like this girl.
The carnie at this booth was right. It’s a balloon wall and you get five darts for a dollar. All you have to do is pop a balloon with your dart and you win. I win a cheap stuffed sponge creature that’s clearly a knockoff of Spongebob Squarepants.
“Way to go!” the carnie bellows as he hands me the toy.
Bayleigh claps for me. I bow down as I accept her clapping and then present the toy to her. “For you, princess.”
“Oooh,” she says, batting her eyelashes. “Thank you, noble knight.”
With her remaining darts, she pops a yellow balloon. To the carnie, she asks, “What’s the most embarrassing thing I can get?”
