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“Shall we?”
I grinned at him before leading the way into the carnival. My eyes widened as I looked around in wonder. The sun had almost set, so most of the stalls had their lights on, and so did the different rides, lighting up the area in a rainbow of colors. My eyes flitted from a cotton candy stand to a stall showcasing things made from wood to a claw-foot game to an archery one as I tried to figure out what I wanted to do first.
“How about we grab some snacks before deciding what we wanna do?” Scott asked, and I nodded, glad I didn’t need to decide because frankly, I was just a tiny bit overwhelmed from all the things Iwantedto do.
“Hot dogs or cotton candy?” Scott asked me with a raised eyebrow.
“What kind of choice is that?” I stared at him like he was crazy, and he grinned.
“How about we get hot dogs for now, and then we’ll see about the cotton candy later?”
“Sounds good.”
So we got some hot dogs and ate them as we looked around at all the stalls. My eyes fell on the wood stall again, and once I was done, I pointed it out to Scott. “I wanna check that place out.”
“Come on, then.” Scott dumped his wrapper and tissues before taking my hand again.
The wood stall was manned by a buff-looking guy with a shaved head and beard. I’d have been intimidated by his looks if it weren’t for the bright smile on his face as he greeted the customers.
“Hello, there! Take a look around. Do you see something you’d like?” the guy said as he waved his hand over his wares.
There was everything from wooden pens to pen holders to baskets full of toys showcased around. Though the thing that caught my attention was a couple of hollow wind chimes hanging above us. I fell in love with them as soon as I heard the sound they made.
I tapped one of the chimes, and it tinkled softly as the chimes hit each other. The wood had been painted in different colors of the rainbow, and since there were six chimes, it ended up looking like the pride flag, or maybe that was the intention. Whatever it might be, I knew I needed to have this beauty.
“This is beautiful. How much is it?”
The man smiled at my choice and gave me a thumbs up. “That’s one of my favorite pieces. It’s thirty dollars per piece, and that’s the last one I have in stock.”
“Let me get it,” Scott offered as he pulled out his wallet, and I frowned.
“I can get it, Scott.”
“I know you can, Lu. How about you treat me to something else later? We’ll be putting it inourhouse anyway.”
I huffed but relented, knowing he wouldn’t let me win. Even though I trusted Scott implicitly, I didn’t want him to be buying me stuff because that’s whathedid in the beginning, too. He bought me gifts and treats, and I stupidly thought that he did it because he cared for me. IknewScott did it because he really did care about me, but my brain kept insisting that he didn’t. And I knew not to believe those thoughts, but they made me uneasy nonetheless.
“Hey, you can pay me back if it bothers you so much.” Scott’s soft voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I realized we’d already walked away from the stall, with a paper bag in Scott’s hand that probably held the wind chime.
I sighed before rubbing my face. I didn't want to ruin this date with the dark thoughts or with a reminder of my past, but I also didn’t want Scott to think he’d upset me. “No, it’s okay. It’s just...well, he bought me a lot of stuff in the beginning...and I know you’re nothing like him, I really do, but sometimes, it's hard to bring my brain and my heart on the same wavelength.”
He squeezed the hand he was still holding mine as he spoke. “I understand, sweetheart. It’s okay. Though I will consider a batch of your choco chip cookies as fair payment for the chimes. How’s that sound?”
I grinned as I squeezed his hand back, thanking him silently for not making an issue of it. “That sounds reasonable.”
Scott chuckled and leaned down to press a soft kiss against my temple, making my heart flutter. We checked out a few booths, though we didn’t buy anything else. I eyed the claw machine as we passed by it for the third time, and Scott smiled as he followed my gaze. “Want me to win something for you?”
“How aboutIwin something foryou?”
“Yeah?”
I grinned as I led the way to the machine. I fed it a dollar as I examined the pickings.
“How about that panda? It looks like a negative image of Tressa.” Scott pointed at a small stuffed panda with black circles around his eyes, and I grinned as I positioned the claw over it and adjusted it before pressing the release button. The claw almost grabbed the panda before retreating, and I squinted at it as I tried to position it just right and pressed the release button again. The claw descended again, and I fisted the air and shoutedyes!as it grabbed the panda perfectly and brought it over to the channel. I grabbed it and turned toward Scott with a grin as I offered him the win.
“Wow,” Scott said, looking mighty amazed as he grabbed the panda and hugged it to his chest as if it was the best thing anyone had ever given him. “That was fucking impressive.”
I bowed in thanks, and he laughed before pulling me in a warm hug and pressing a kiss against the top of my head. “Thanks for winning me the panda. I’m gonna treasure it forever.”
