Unknown: Hey, it’s Greyson. Thought you should have my number, too.
I fight back a grin, feeling stupidly happy, but I can’t completely ignore the scars on my hand as I send him a reply text.
Chapter 5
Greyson
“Aw, man.” Jenna sticks out her lip at the empty bag of cotton candy she’s holding. “I’m tapped out.”
We’re at the carnival, wandering past the booths. The air smells like candy apples and funnel cakes, neon lights flash against the night sky, and dings and laughter flow around us.
“That’s okay,” Ari says, dragging his fingers through his long black hair. He’s got on a leather jacket, even though it’s seventy degrees out, and seems a little exhausted. “You’ve had so much already you have a sugar high.”
Jenna shakes her head and her pout deepens. “I could eat at least two more bags.”
“Fine, you can eat two more bags, but only if I get to stop on the way home and buy a six pack of energy drinks,” he challenges with his arms crossed and I wonder if keeping up with Jenna’s nonstop energy caused his exhaustion.
Jenna crinkles her nose. “No way. You act like a yo-yo when you drink too many of those.”
“A yo-yo?” I ask, laughing. “What does that even mean?”
She shoots Ari a conniving grin then says, “It means he’s all over the place, like a crazy madman who can’t sit still. Up and down and up and down. It drives me absolutely crazy.”
“Well, I feel the exact same way when you eat too much sugar,” he retorts with a smirk.
I laugh. The two of them have been going back and forth the entire night. I’m starting to realize it’s their thing. They’re really good together, though, and I find myself wishing I had someone to be that way with. With the guys I’ve dated in the past, I never felt connected enough.
“You look good tonight,” Jenna says to me as she balls up the bag and chucks in into a nearby trash bin. “Do you have a hot date or something?” When I hesitate, her eyes light up. “You so do, don’t you?”
“It’s not a date,” I clarify as we head toward the rides, pushing past a group of people who are either high on sugar or just really fucking happy to be at a carnival. “I just told someone I’d meet him here to hang out.”
“Is it that guy you took all those pictures of?” she asks, slipping her fingers through Ari’s.
I shrug, dodging around a couple making out in front of a balloon game. “Maybe.”
Her lips curve to a grin. “I knew it.” She trades a knowing look with Ari. “Didn’t I tell you that the other day? That he was going to end up with the guy in all his pictures?”
Ari sighs a here-we-go-again sigh. “Yeah, you told me, but it doesn’t mean you’re a psychic.”
“It so does, too.” She sticks out her tongue then jerks on his arm. “Come on. You promised me you wouldn’t be a baby this time and you’d ride the Zipper with me.”
Ari’s skin pales. “You know I hate super fast rides.” He swallows hard as his gaze finds the spinning ride tucked in the far back corner. “And ones that go high.”
“You promised me,” she reminds him.
He heaves a heavy sigh. “All right.” He glances at me. “Greyson, you coming?”
Wanting to wait until Seth texts me, I shake my head. “I think I’m going to chill here for a while.”
“And wait for the guy!” Jenna singsongs as she skips off toward the Zipper, towing a reluctant Ari behind her.
I lean against the side of a booth and watch people pass by to kill time. When ten minutes pass, I start to grow restless and wish I had my camera here. There’s so many people around and with the crazy lighting going on, it’d make for some awesome pictures.
As more time passes, I turn to my camera phone and as discreetly as I can, sneak a picture of a guy and a girl making out on a booth kitty-corner from where I’m standing. I find it amazing to watch them, completely losing themselves in a sea of people, entirely oblivious to everything going on around them.
After I get the right shot, I put my phone away, starting to regret my decision to stay off the rides. While Seth and I didn’t necessarily set a specific time to meet up, it’s getting late. With how hot and cold he’s been, I wouldn’t be surprised if he stood me up.
As if he can read my doubtful thoughts, the phone suddenly vibrates. I dig it out and Seth’s name flashes across the glowing screen.
Seth: Where r u?
I glance at the spinning ride beside me then message him back.
Me: By the Tilt-A-Whirl
Seth. A fast ride. Interesting. I thought you a take it slow, Ferris Wheel date kind of guy.
Me: Ha, ha. I never said I was solely a take it slow, Ferris Wheel kind of guy. I like fast rides, too.
“So, the Tilt-A-Whirl, huh?” Seth suddenly appears by my side.
He looks good in jeans and boots topped with a jacket over a button down shirt, making my grey thermal shirt and jeans that Jenna called my “dressed up look” seem plain and ordinary.
I blatantly check him out for a moment or two before I shove my phone into my pocket and skim the growing crowd. “Where’s your friend? I thought you had to stay with her.”
“Callie? She got on the Zipper with the guy she has a crush on.” He considers something thoughtfully as he rolls his sleeves up. “She’s starting to handle being around guys better than she thinks. I’m more of her security blanket than anything.”
We start walking past the games and food booths, heading nowhere in particular.
“Can I ask why she’s so afraid of guys?” I ask. “Or is that too personal?”
He wavers. “I can’t get into the details, but I’ll say it’s because something really bad happened to her when she was young.”
“Poor girl. You must really care about her, though. To take care of her like that.”
“I feel like she’s the sister I never had.” He swings around the couple making out on the bench and then returns to my side. “Do you have any sisters?”
I shake my head. “I’m an only child.”
“Me, too.” He frowns, appearing unhappy about this. “Doesn’t it suck, having all the attention on you twenty-four seven?”
I shrug, kicking at the dirt. “I really don’t mind it. My parents are actually pretty cool, albeit a little weird and eccentric.”
He angles his head to the side. “What do you mean by weird and eccentric?”
“Well, my mom is a nonpracticing psychic/tarot card reader whose hobbies include making pot brownies on the weekend for her yoga club. And my father is an herbalist who spends a lot of time with my mom, her pot brownies, and the yoga club.”
He snorts a laugh, his eyes crinkling around the corners. “They actually sound pretty fun. I bet you had a blast growing up.”
“It was definitely interesting. I mean, I had access to pot brownies and can even make them myself. I know how to cleanse my aura and what herbs are best to take when you’re sick. But I don’t know,” I pause, stuffing my hands into my back pockets. “Sometimes it felt like I was more of the parent than the child.”
He stares at the sky, looking as if he’s contemplating his next words. When he meets my gaze again, he seems nervous. “Does she… Do your parents know that you’re…”
“That I’m gay?” I finish for him.
Relief washes over his face as he nods. “Yeah.”
“Yeah, I told them when I was fourteen. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.” Stepping around a bench, I make a left toward a ticket booth. “What about you?
“My mom knows,” he says tightly, staring out at the quiet street next to the fairgrounds.
“What about your dad?” I ask as I dig my wallet out of my pocket.
“He’s been out of the picture for a while.”
“Fuck. Sorry, man.” I feel like an ass for bringing it up.
He shrugs me off. “It’s fine. He was kind of an asshole, anyway, so I really don’t care.”