“And you’re still mine tonight, remember?”
I draw back, staring into her eyes. There’s something dancing in them I can’t read. So instead, I press my lips gently to hers, just as I did earlier, just like I wanted to do yesterday in that darkened office.
Then I pick up the hammer, turning it over in my hands, getting used to the weight of it. In previous years, we’ve always gone through a few rounds, taking it in turns to hit the target, watching the puck move higher each time as we find the groove of the swing. Dylan is right. He does always win.
Not tonight, though. Tonight, I’m done with games.
I shoot a final look at Serena. Her gaze is locked on me, and like always it feels as though she’s seeing more than the version of myself I put out to the world. More than the man who likes to joke and play. She’s seeing me. All of me. There’s a flicker of something electric and charged between us.
I turn away, focusing on the target as I move the hammer over my shoulder and bring it down hard. The impact vibrates through my arms, the puck shoots up, the crowd gasps. The bell rings.
“Jeez, Chase, where did that come from?” Dylan asks.
Jake is taking the hammer from my hands, shaking his head. “Didn’t know you had it in you.”
I laugh, but I’m already stepping back to Serena. “Thanks,” I say, pulling her to my side where it’s starting to feel like she belongs.
“For what?” she asks
“For being here. I’m starting to think you bring out the best in me.”
When we return to the others, Flic raises her brows in amusement. “Jealous much, Chase?”
“What did I miss?” Harper asks.
Flic looks at me. “Oh, only Chase going full Hulk on the crowd, pulling Serena away from Rob and Lamar.”
Mama reaches my side, squeezing my arm. “You leave my boy alone,” she says, before adding a wink. “Chase never did like to share.”
Jake and Dylan crack up with laughter, but I just shrug.Was it jealousy?All I know is that in that moment, I wanted Serena by my side.
“So, Mad, what’s next?” I ask, setting off another explosion of laughter and a heckle from Jake about my not-so-subtle change of subject.
“Will you win me one of those dragons?” she asks, hopping from foot to foot as she points at the ring toss and the huge stuffed dragon toys dangling from the net surround.
I make a mock sad face. “Oh Mad, I’m sorry. Ring toss isn’t my game. But it is Serena’s.”
Mad’s face lights up. “Will you win me a dragon please, Serena?” she asks, turning to Serena and holding out her hand.
“Of course.” Serena’s smile is soft as she accepts Mad’s hand and they head over to the next game booth.
Then just as I’m thinking the attention is off me and my “Hulk move” as Flic called it, Madison turns back, her voice loudas she looks between me and Serena. “Are you sure you’re not really boyfriend and girlfriend?”
Every eye turns to us. The silence hits like we’re both center field under the Friday night lights with nowhere to run. I know I should deny it, but the words catch somewhere behind my ribs, and I can’t force them out.
Serena leans down and tickles Madison’s side. “We’re just friends, I promise. Now who put you up to saying that?” she asks, eyeing the Sullivans as Jake bursts out laughing.
He raises his hand. “Just had to check.”
“You owe me a candy bar,” Mad declares happily.
“And you all need to stop bribing my daughter with candy to do your dirty work,” Izzy adds, laughing with the others. But all I can think about is that this thing between me and Serena ends tonight, and how that feels all kinds of wrong.
I’m still the same person. Serena is still the same person. All the reasons we can never work are still there, and I only have to look at the way Serena smiles down at Mad to see it. I’ve always known Serena is the full package for someone else. But what if I was wrong?
It’s the end of the night and the fair is winding down. The crowds are thinning, and the game booths are closing. Dylan and Izzy have gone back to the ranch, a tired Mad in Dylan’s arms. Mama and Flic are buying fudge, and Harper and Jake are somewhere in the line behind us. There’s just one more thing to do. Ride the Ferris wheel. Serena’s smile widens as she looks up at the ride. The glow of white bulbs is bright against the dark night, casting a halo over her hair.
“Next,” the ride operator calls as we make it to the front of the line, both of us grinning with childlike excitement.