Manage Me

The minute my feet were on the ground again, I snuggled my way into Jack’s arms. His scent was intoxicating, my nose filling with it as I inhaled deeply, my face buried in his chest. He seemed startled for a moment, but still squeezed me tight. I hadn’t lied when I told Jack the night had been wonderful. It was actually perfect. And that scared me. Because I didn’t know if I could ever go back to just being his maid after this. He made me feel special. The things he said and did made me feel like I was actually worth something for once. And with every passing moment I found myself falling more and more and I knew I was about to pass the point of no return if I didn’t do something to stop it.

I moved away from him when I heard the attendant clear his throat. Blushing, I realized there were people waiting to take our seat, so I grasped Jack’s hand again and pulled him down the exit ramp. I didn’t let go when we came to a stop, Jack peering down at me with a smile.

“Where to next, m’lady?” He mock bowed, bringing my hand that was already clasped in his to his lips. I giggled, glancing around.

Truth be told, I knew this place like the back of my hand. From the age of seven I had been coming here every summer with my parents. When they got divorced, the tradition ended, but by then I was 14 and trusted enough to come with my friends. Even though the last time I had been here was nearly three years ago, the summer before Kade was born, not much had changed in the way of the layout. That made it fairly easy to find what I was looking for.

“There.” I pointed at the trailer that housed the ring toss game. “I’m going to win you a bear.”

“You think so, huh?” He laughed as we made our way over. I nodded. “Shouldn’t I be winning you a bear? I am the man after all.” He puffed out his chest, winking at me playfully, and I couldn’t help but giggle.

“That’s sexist, you know.”

“Just as long as it’s some kind of sex.” He winked again and I rolled my eyes.

“I bet you couldn’t even get close to winning a prize.” I challenged as we approached the counter. He grinned.

“What do I get when I win?”

“You won’t, so it doesn’t really matter.” I shrugged.

“Oh ye of little faith.” He chastised. “If I win I get the rest of your questions.”

“No way!” I cried. I liked holding the questions over him way too much to give them up. Especially because I knew it drove him crazy that he wouldn’t get to ask any until I used mine up.

“Fine.” He sighed. “I get half.”

“You can’t evenly split five in half.” I argued earning a sarcastic eye roll from Jack. He knew I was just trying to find a way to keep my questions and he wasn’t having any of it.

“Then we’ll round up. You get three and I get three.”

I thought about it for a moment. I supposed it could be worse. He could have asked for another kiss or date. And as much as I wanted both of those things, I wasn’t sure they should happen. Risking three questions seemed like a much better alternative to anything else he could come up with in that crazy brain of his.

“Deal.”

I stuck my hand out. Jack shook it, smiling, and turned to the man behind the counter, exchanging a $5 bill for a set of rings. He handed them to me, an impish grin on his face.

“Ladies first.”

“You’re going down, Barakat.” I smirked, snatching them away. “Oh. And when I win you have to clean up after me for a week. And you have to wear the rubber gloves.”

He just nodded and continued to smile at me. I turned my attention to the task at hand, refusing to let him psych me out. Jack had no idea who he was dealing with when it came to this game.

Basically, all I needed to do was get these five rings on the neck of any of the ten milk bottles arranged like bowling pins. It looked simple enough, but then again, all carnival games did. The trick was in the way you threw the ring. Too much spin or speed and it would never find a purchase. Too much height or not enough power and it would fall short. I had mastered this game years ago. Even rusty I knew I could beat Jack. After all, I hadn’t lost a game to anyone since I was 13. Jack Barakat was not going to ruin my flawless record.

Without even having to think about it, I had thrown my first three rings, all of them swinging onto a bottle neck with ease. I glanced over at Jack, smirking again, but he didn’t look fazed at all. I frowned and threw my fourth ring. It nearly missed, but managed to tip onto a bottle as well, bringing a grin back to my face.

One ring left.

It flew out of my hand. I watched with a smug grin that quickly disappeared as it missed by mere centimeters. I took a deep breath, and shook the disappointment away. Considering how most people failed to get even one ring on, after a three year hiatus I considered four rings a fucking miracle, even though I didn’t win a bear. There was no possible way Jack could beat me.

“Good luck.” I beamed at him sweetly as he handed over another $5 and was given his own set of rings.

“Lucks got nothing to do with it, babe.” He replied cheekily.

I didn’t bother to respond. He would be eating his words soon enough. People always underestimated this game. I’d spent two hours here one day when I was 12 and had gotten lost. Out of everyone who tried, only one person won. It was some teenage boy and he immediately became my idol. It was after him that I’d decided to try my hand at it. I’d lost spectacularly of course, but he saw me start crying and came over to me, pressing the small bear he’d won into my arms. He taught me the tricks to winning while we waited for my parents, using up all of his money to let me practice until I could get all five rings on one single bottle without even batting an eyelash. And that was the day I started to fall in love with Matthew Barnes.

The chiming of a ring hitting a bottle jarred me from my memories. My eyes refocused, expecting to see the ring lying next to the bottle, having missed it. Instead, I found it hanging perfectly around the neck. I peeked at Jack, not wanting to act like I was surprised or worried, and caught his smirk. I quickly turned away, shaking my head to clear it.

Beginner’s luck.

But then his next ring somehow found its way onto a bottle as well, as did the third. I started feeling slightly nervous. I honestly had not banked on Jack beating me. I knew he would use his questions wisely should he win them. He’d think hard about them in order to figure out how to get the most information out of me that he could. This was not something I was prepared for. I bit my lip as I watched him throw his second to last ring. It hit dead on, swinging around and around as it hung on the bottle. I looked at Jack nervously. His face was calm, borderline bored. Like he did this in his spare time and it no longer held any difficulty or amusement for him. His last ring went soaring, my eyes locked onto it, and hit the edge of the lip of one of the bottles. I let out a sigh of relief, which was quickly sucked back in as the ring bounced off and landed around the neck of a different bottle.

How the fuck does that even happen?!

Jack let out a whoop and turned to me with a triumphant smile. The attendant held out a bear, almost identical to the one I’d be given all those years ago. I gaped at Jack who was still glowing as if he’d won the lottery. He laughed loudly, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and tugging me away from the game.

“Turns out being a champ at beer pong can win you more than eternal glory.” He whispered in my ear, slipping the teddy bear into my hands. “Now…about those three questions…”