Love and Conspiracy

Mike’s shocked face immediately showed a slight sign of embarrassment once he realized that I was the one that Billie was going out with. However, after Billie’s slip up of where we were heading, Tre had automatically invited himself to come along. Once there was no way of getting out of that one, I suggested that Mike and Clarissa come along, as well. He happened to like the idea well enough.

~~~

“The fair, the fair, the fair!” Tre chanted excitedly from the back seat. I shook my head with a smile on my face.

“Sorry,” Billie lowly mumbled so only I could hear. I let out a light laugh.

“Do they even have fairs anymore? I haven’t been to one since I was like five or six.”

“Are you crazy?! We go every year! How can you live without it?” Tre replied, “The rides... the food... the girls… What’s not to love?” Billie sighed, obviously irritated that our alone time was ruined, but even so, he still was smiling.

Once we arrived to the overflowed parking lot, we waited a few minutes before Mike arrived with Clarissa by his side. Her blonde, petite figure looked so small next to him, but they still looked cute together nonetheless. Before I was allowed another thought, Tre grabbed onto my wrist and pulled me towards the entrance with him. Luckily, I didn’t have to run all that far in order to keep up with him.

Proceeding through the entrance was like walking into a little wonderland. The lights of the rides lit up the sky like a miniature sun; the screams and laughs from people of all ages filling the air; and the smell of deep-fried everything, cotton candy, and popcorn lingered around us. Tre was already picking out our first ride within a few steps into the place.

“Bumper cars? Aren’t we a little too old for that?” Clarissa joked as Tre made his way in line.

“Not me,” I mumbled to Billie, “I’m still technically a child.”

“You know, you make me feel creepy when you say that,” Billie teased, causing me to laugh.

~~~

For the following hour, we all continued to go on the rides that Tre wanted until he finally came across a girl that he decided was much more interesting. By that time, Billie and I slowed down from the group so we could finally be on our own for a bit. Once they were far enough ahead of us, he let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s about time,” he laughed, wrapping his arm around my waist, “I thought we’d never be alone.”

“What’s your hurry? We’ve got the whole night ahead of us,” I answered nonchalantly.

“Oh really?” he pushed, causing me to playfully hit him.

“Get your mind out of the gutter!” I said with a laugh. However, my thoughts were thrown right in the same place. A wide smile spread across his face.

“Want some cotton candy?” he abruptly changed the subject. I stared at him in disbelief
before realizing he was serious.
“Sure,” I answered, giggling. I felt like a little girl hanging out with her crush for the first time. The butterflies just refused to go away.

~~~

After waiting in line for what seemed like ages, we finally got our bright pink ball of fluff.

“It’s been so long since I’ve even had cotton candy,” I mentioned, pulling a piece off.

“You really have been deprived of life these past few years, haven’t you?” Billie joked with a chuckle. Though it was true, I didn’t take it personally.

“Shut up!” I replied while pushing a piece of cotton candy in his mouth. His goofy grin started to grow as he continued laughing.

“No need to worry. I’ll be your savior!” he said dramatically, pulling me close to him again.

“Yeah, yeah whatever you say!” I answered sarcastically with a laugh. We continued to saunter around until I caught glimpse of Tre ahead. “Uh oh, I think Tre’s looking for us,” I mumbled.

“Where?” Billie shot his head up. I pointed in the direction of the clueless child. It was obvious that he was trying to look for a face he recognized.

“I guess our alone time is over now.”

“Like hell it is!” he said before grabbing my hand and leading me out of the aisle way that we were standing in. Once we were out of sight, we stopped for a moment.

“You aren’t really planning on hiding from him are you?” I questioned.

“Are you kidding?” he looked at me like I was crazy for asking, “Of course I am! He’s not part of our date!” After staring at him with a serious face, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Oh? Well, it looks like he’s pretty good at the seeking part,” I said, motioning towards Tre who had caught sign of us. Before saying anything else, we were off running again.

We finally stopped at the gate of the Ferris Wheel. Billie quickly fumbled the tickets out of his pocket, throwing them towards the ticket taker. Once we had settled into our seat, we were both out of breath.

“You’re ridiculous!” I said, unable to control my laughter.

“What?” he asked in an innocent voice. I shook my head.

“You’re just as bad as Tre!”

“I told you. I’m gonna make up for all the lack of living you’ve had!”

“And by doing that, you’re starting off by playing hide and seek?” I pushed as my laughter slowly came to a stop. The ride had already begun to lift us up in the air.

“Yup,” he answered with a chuckle, putting his arm around my shoulders. We sat in a comfortable silence as the ride continued to go around and around. It wasn’t until we came to a complete stop at the top of the wheel before I spoke.

“So is this your smooth move to get the girls falling for you?” I teased. He shrugged.

“Every now and then, sure,” he answered with a smile, “Is it working on you?”

“Nope!” I replied quickly, trying my best to hide the smile forming on my face. I could feel him look over at me.

“Really? Not even with the cotton candy or the risk-taking?”

“Mmm, nope not really,” I said casually. He looked back out at the view.

“Damn, that’s usually what gets them,” he paused, “Well, how about this?” He swiftly leaned in, putting his hand on my face and kissed me. The sugar from the cotton candy still lingered on his lips. Without pulling away, we continued to make out until we forgot what we were talking about.

In fact, we got so lost in the moment that we didn’t even realize that the ride had ended before the ticket taker enthusiastically cleared his throat to get our attention. After slowly pulling apart, we both looked up to see Tre, Mike, and Clarissa standing before us with wide eyes. I could immediately feel my face flame up with embarrassment as we made our way off the ride.

“Well, looks like you two had a nice time,” Mike joked to break the ice between us all.

“Yup, I think it’s safe to say so,” Billie said with a large smile. He obviously wasn’t about to keep any more secrets. “Didn’t you think so?” he directed towards me.

“Oh, uh… yeah!” I answered awkwardly. Billie chuckled as he interlocked his hand with mine.

“How about you guys? Did you all have a good time?” he quickly asked them back. I mentally thanked him for pushing the attention away from us.

“It was alright until you decided to ditch me!” Tre said, pouting.

“Yeah… You’re just gonna have to get used to it,” Billie replied sarcastically with a chuckle.

“Hey! You know what would make this night even better?” Clarissa changed topics abruptly. Once we all looked over, Tre finished the thought for her.

“Alcohol!”