An idea takes hold. “Do you want to help me get rid of another thing on my list?”
He lifts my hand and places a kiss on the back of it. “For you? Anything.”
Chapter 19
Nate
Hayleigh drives us out of town and towards the countryside, a smile on her face the whole way, and I can’t help but glance at her every so often. She’s so beautiful like this, carefree and happy.
She gives me a side glance, smiling. “What are you looking at? It’s a little creepy you staring like that.”
“Oh, nothing, you have a bogey that’s all.” I shrug and look away.
When I look back, she’s covertly checking her nose in the mirror, and I can’t help but snigger. She gives me a cutting look. “Hilarious, Nate. We’re almost there.”
She points out of the window to a sign at the side of the road, which reads:
Vardi’s Travelling Circus
My brow furrows. “I thought you were scared of clowns?”
A squeak leaves her lips, and I’m not sure if she’s agreeing with me or frightened.
She turns off the road and parks in a space and jumps out of the car. I climb out after her, but she stands still, flapping her hands about.
“Hayleigh?”
She plants her hands on her hips, her smile too wide as she says. “I’ve got this. I can do this. I want to do this.”
I walk around the car and step directly in front of her. “You don’t have to do this, you know. We can always do something else.”
She looks behind me to the large, erected tent and back at my face. “I love that you’re here with me and giving me an out, but I have to do this. It’s on my list to do something out of my comfort zone, and besides, it might be fun.”
Or it could be terrifying.
She links her arm through mine, and we walk towards the tent, buying two tickets at the booth. I tap Hayleigh’s hand. “Did you know Cole is terrified of clowns, too?”
She shakes her head. “No, I didn’t know that, but there’s no surprise in it; those fuckers are scary.”
I burst out laughing and direct her towards the stand that’s selling food and drinks. “What makes them so scary to you?” I place an order for two hot dogs and a bottle of water each while Hayleigh stands twiddling her hair.
Hayleigh hums. “I think it’s the mouth. There's something freaky about those huge mouths they have and the way they say,‘hello little girl’,it’s creepy.”
“That’s oddly specific.” I look down at our tickets. “We’re front row, what are the chances of that?”
She grimaces. “Oh, goody.”
We take our seats, and a few minutes later, the lights dim. Hayleigh’s hand flies to where mine rests on the arm of the chair. The announcer’s voice booms through the tent.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Vardi’s Travelling Circus. Buckle up and welcome to the stage, Bungee’s Bumbling Bozo’s!” The crowd goes wild as six face-painted clowns rush out from a flap in the tent wall.
Hayleigh’s fingernails dig into my hand, so I place my other hand over hers and squeeze gently. “It’s okay, they’re over there, we’re over here.” She nods in response, but her eyes are firmly fixed on the clowns.
We watch their act and slowly but surely, Hayleigh relaxes ever so slightly, her nails no longer digging into my hand. The clowns dive about the place, falling over each other and whacking each other on the head. The crowd laughs, but then I look towards Hayleigh to make sure she’s okay.
Her eyes widen ever so slightly, and I close my eyes as I say. “There’s a clown right next to me, isn’t there?” Hayleigh nods in response.
I don’t want to look like a punie wuss in front of her, so I face forward, where I come face to face with one of the clowns. His painted laughing face with yellow teeth stretched wide. I nod once.
