He frowned. “What do you mean?”
I turned and walked away.
Chapter 29
Sanders
Once again I watched Roxy’s retreating form. I went to chase after her when a hand stopped me.
“Give her a minute,” Gretchen LaRoe said.
“I thought you weren’t getting involved,” I said.
She bit into the sucker in her mouth. It cracked loudly. “Not unless I’m asked.”
I thought of what Roxy said before she walked away. I squinted in suspicion. “What is she going to do?”
Gretchen raised an auburn brow and shrugged with a secretive smile. “Nothing more ridiculous than this.” She gestured to the pants that were currently strangling my legs into numbness.
Suddenly, the music playing over the loudspeaker screeched to a stop and a monotone voice filled the air.Sanders Olsson, please meet your party at the Big Jump.
I glanced to Gretchen, wide-eyed. “Better hurry,” she said.
I walked as fast as these horrible torture-device pants would allow. Once I started looking, it was easy to find the Big Jump. Probably because it was a one-hundred-and-fifty-foot bungee jump rig that reached farther into the sky than any other attraction at the fair. By the time I reached the front of the line, the sun was already down. The bright lights of the traveling fair clicked on loudly and drenched us in light. I caught sight of Roxy’s pale face as a man strapped her into a harness with a thick green bungee. My heart dropped into my stomach.
“Roxy!” I called.
She looked up to me. “Hi, Sanders.”
The man checked the harness by tugging on it. My own eyes studied every hook and latch to make sure they were in place. Her body shook as she gripped the edge of a red, boxy cage designed to lift her into the sky.
“What are you doing?” I asked her.
I reached for her but she couldn’t seem to let go of the flimsy metal walls.
“I’m showing you that I’m not afraid. I’m grand-gesturingyou.”
Despite how terrified she looked, I couldn’t help my smile. “I didn’t think you were the type,” I said coyly.
“And I didn’t think you would ever paint yourself into leather pants,” she teased despite her quaking.
“Roxy, trust me, you don’t have to do this.”
“Yes. I do. I am tired of being afraid all the time. I want to show you that I’m literally and figuratively ready to leap. This would have been far more dramatic if you showed up like you were supposed to. Instead of on a motorcycle.” She shook her head with a laugh. “What were you even thinking?”
Pushing forward, I finally managed to grab her hands. They were ice cold and clammy. “I wanted to show you that I could be what you need me to be. I wanted to show you that I could be a biker. I dunno. It was Jack’s idea. He could be fucking with me, now that I think about it.” I shook my head to stay focused. “I’m serious about us. I’m not running anymore either. You can run and I will chase you. That sounded a lot more stalker-like than I meant it to.”
She huffed out a nervous laugh.
“I can be here and provide for you. I can give you whatever you need,” I said. I’d have to figure out the logistics but I never wanted her to feel alone.
“I don’t want you to do that. I just want you. You’re the one that I want.”
“You’re the one that I want,” I repeated back to her.
“Alright, now or never,” the bungee jump operator said stepping in between us and starting to close the door. “Going up with her or not?”
“Yes,” I said and jumped in before they could close the door. There was another ride operator in the cage, checking his phone, not at all listening to us.
