AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"You're special," she mumbled. "Pain in the butt special."
"What was that?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering if you were going to teach me or eye my butt some more."
I opened my mouth and closed it as she gave me a knowing smile. My cheeks were on fire, and I loved it. It was official—flirting with Noah was ten times more fun than arguing with her.
"Loosen your grip, Pastel," I said once I recovered. "Top hand's too tight."
"I'm sure you say that to all the girls."
I laughed. "That makes absolutely no sense."
"Sure you say that, too," she teased as she readjusted her hands. "Like that?"
"Just like that." I nodded as she looked me in the eye and smiled.
"I'm not going to say it," Noah promised before looking back at our target. "But god, do I want to."
"Kind of want you to, too," I agreed under my breath.
I didn’t know what we were doing, where we thought this was going, but whatever road we were on, I didn't want it to end. Winning that bear for her seemed like a decent enough way to ensure whatever this was drawn out longer. So, I made that my night's mission. Whatever it took.
"It's fine," Noah said. She'd sat out the last three rounds, watching from the sideline as I once again missed half my shots.
"There's got to be some trick to this," I grumbled while studying the plastic gun. There was no way I was missing this much.
"I can get something like that at a grocery store for half the price you've paid on tickets." Noah waved her hand, trying to sound chill. I'd seen her eyes when she saw that bear, though. I was going to get her that bear.
I craned my head up to the night sky and took a deep breath. The stars were almost as bright as the lights from the rides, a light chill in the night air. The drop in temperature was probably the only reason I hadn’t overheated with frustration.
"One more," I told the teen. He shrugged, amused at my anger, and reset the balloons for me. I missed half the shots again and groaned before dropping the gun on the table.
"I'll be back," I promised under my breath. My gaze burned into that lavender bear before I stormed away from the table.
"You know…" Noah hurried to join me. "You're not as good at that as I'd thought you'd be after the whole, your grip's too tight, just like that, thing."
She was trying to get me to smile, and it worked. "It's rigged."
"Says every sore loser. See, that's your problem, Sage."
"Oh?"
"You don't know how to lose. You've spent your whole life winning. You haven't gotten used to losing."
I scoffed. "My whole life winning? Yeah, if only that were true."
"Please, indulge me," she dared. "When have you not been a winner?"
"I had a burnout-induced breakdown a few months before you got hired," I word-vomited. "Had to take a month off to recover."
Noah stopped walking, and it took me a second to notice before I stopped, too. I turned to her, the crowd parting around us. The lights from the rides bounced off her glasses, giving them a glow I wished I could capture with oil paints. I was itching to take a photo of her for reference. We weren't at the 'taking random photos of each other stage' in our relationship yet. One day, maybe. Hopefully.
"Wow, that's…" she tried, staring at me.
"Dramatic? Sad?"
Pathetic. Weak.
