Page 30 of Melt His Heart

“Carson!” I warn, swatting at his arm, “Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing you.” He says.

We make our way through the gates after Carson hands the attendant our tickets. I look up at Carson as he’s looking at the map, our fingers laced together.

“We should play a few games first, then rides! Does that sound good?” He looks so happy right now, and I love that this happiness is shared with me.

“Yeah, sounds perfect,” I mumble.

“Great.”

“And Julian…Let me know if it’s too much, ok?” He looks down at me with a small smile.

“I will.”

“Ok, let’s go! I wanna win you something.” He laughs.

The first game we approach is throwing darts. I guess you have to throw a certain amount at these balloons to get one prize. Carson approaches the booth. He asks the attendant for a few tries, they exchange a few bills, and Carson picks up the darts.

I noticed he becomes so different in competitive situations, it makes him even more attractive. I can’t help but stare at him.

“Carson…you can let go of me to play, you know,” I say.

But he just pulls me closer.

“Watch this.” He says before picking the darts up and flicking each directly hitting his mark every single time until he’s all out of darts. Am I seriously getting turned on from a stupid dart game?

“What prize would you like? You got enough balloons for pretty much all of these.” The attendant says, gesturing toward the prize wall, which has a ton of stuffed toys. But my eyes light up at a big bear with a bow around its neck.

“Can he have the bear, the big one with the bow?” I turn to Carson, my eyes wide.

“Carson, that thing is huge! Maybe we’ll get the smaller one!”

“It’s fine, I’ll run back to the car and put it away.” He grins, “I know you want it. Don’t decline my gift, it’s disrespectful.” He laughs, and he’s right, it is, but still, he’s so much.

I mean, I really do love the bear, and the fact that he won it for me feels so nice. Has anyone ever won anything for me?

It’s usually the other way around.

The attendant hands us the bear, and it’s so soft, I nuzzle into it. Carson is smiling at me, and I roll my eyes, “What?” I deadpan.

“You’re too cute. ” He ruffles my hair.

“Can you stop! You’re gonna ruin my hair.” I push his hand away.

After putting my huge bear away, we head back into the fair. Carson plays a few more games, and I realize this man is just good at every game, probably every sport. He won basketball, the darts again, and some game where you roll a ball into a hole. I swear it’s the hockey wrists. We had to get a little bag to hold all the prizes he’s collected.

“Now you can say I’ve given you the most plushies anyone ever has too.” He gives me a cocky grin.

“Ohm please,” I roll my eyes.

“Let’s get on some rides!” I nod as he pulls me along lightly.

“Which one do you wanna do first? Are you scared of heights?” He teases.

“Actually, I’m not.”

“Oh, I am.” He laughs.

“You’re joking.” I squint up at him.