Taking a Chance

"A carnival? You brought me to a carnival?" You blurt out excitedly. All he can do is laugh. You smile widely at him and hug him tightly.

"I told you I would get you smiling again" he says with an easy smile."Everyone loves the carnival"

For the first time in a long time you don't know what to say. You don't know how you can thank him other than dragging him on every ride imaginable. Yes, that's exactly what you're going to do.

Jeremy very rarely went out in public without wearing some sort of disguise and you understand completely why. Despite being an actor, a celebrity, he still wants to get on with his life and doesn't want to stop living because there is a bus load of fans following him.

Even behind the sunglasses you can tell he's enjoying himself, even if he had almost lost his disguise on the rollercoaster. You have done nothing but laugh since he picked you up and you wish this night didn't have to end.

You are walking alongside Jeremy when a vendor calls him over.

"For two dollars you get three balls to win a prize for your lovely lady" the vendor happily delivers his prices."Come on, your wife wants this big pink teddy bear"

You can feel Jeremy stiffen, giving you an apologetic look. It's not the impression he was trying to give and you can tell he's feeling a little awkward about it.

"Alright. Give me six" Jeremy smiles and peels off a five.

You watch with interest as he throws the first two and misses.

"Shit" he says and throws another, knocking off the six cans in total.

When the balls are spent he is handed a pathetic looking puppy dog.

"I guess it's better than nothing" he says, handing you the stuffed animal.

"Thank you."You laugh as he goes on about how sure he is the game was a set-up.

"You hungry?" He asks as you's pass a burger truck.

"A little" you reply and suddenly you feel starving as he tells you to grab one of the old picnic benches.

He fetches the food, two hamburgers and fries and sets them down and retrieves the two bottles of coke from his back pocket. You both happily dig into the greasy meal, a satisfied moan escapes his lips.

"Mmm"he moans. "This is fucking good"

"Don't tell me you've never had burger and fries before" You raise your eyebrow and laugh.

"I've been on this crazy diet for the last four months and it's driving me insane. I can't look at food without thinking instant orgasm"

You giggle and shake your head.

"I can't believe you just said that"

"What?" He looks up at you, playful"That I just said this burger is like an instant orgasm? It feels like it. First taste of real food I've had in weeks and don't tell anyone you saw me eat this"

"I promise" You laugh and pop another fry into your mouth. They are greasy and exactly what everyone wants at the carnival.

After eating the decision is made to go on the bumper-cars and then over to the ghost train. Kids run past you's, excited to go to the next ride and you can't help but laugh at the two kids who are trying to drag their parents on the Tornado, a ride that spins in the air at a massive speed.

"When do you go back home?" You ask as you join the line for the ghost train.

"In a few weeks" He replies."Going home is always the hardest part"

You were about to ask why when you's are directed to the next vacant car.
Throughout the whole ride you both giggle and laugh, teasing each other at the plastic mummies and spooky ghouls and you say something about a similarity about your mother which sends Jeremy over the edge. That chuckle, that sound goes through you and you realise you're blushing.

He leads you to another ride, but makes a stop at the cotton candy stall.

"You know that stuffs bad for you" You say in all seriousness.

"So's a lot of things, but I do them anyway" he grins and you feel as if you're going to melt into a puddle.

Your heart is racing, just the way he's looking at you is taking your breath away. You need to calm down because you are completely overreacting.
After a few more rides, you both agree that it's time to head home.

Jeremy yawns as he pulls up outside your condo and rubs his tired eyes. The last few days had been extremely busy for him and taking you out after just arriving in L.A must make him want to sleep for a week. You don't feel as exhausted as you did this morning, but that's maybe because you feel like you are a child again.

"Thank you for tonight." You say as you lean over and kiss his cheek.
He gives you a lazy smile in return.

"My pleasure" he says, inbetween yawns.

"Are you going to make it back to your hotel?" You ask. You don't want him driving if he's likely to fall asleep at the wheel.

"It's about ten- twenty minutes away. I'll be fine." He replies with a wave of his hand.

"I don't know how to repay you" You admit.

The whole night he had refused point blank to let you pay for anything, not for a ride or a soda, nothing. At one point you had tried to slip some money into his pocket, but he had grabbed you and made you put it into your purse.

"Don't worry about it. It was my way of getting that pretty face of yours smiling again"

Wow. Your face is beetroot red and you're glad the interior light is switched off.

"My face won't be so pretty tomorrow when I get up for work" You laugh.

"Neither will mine" he says running his hand over his jaw."I guess I'll just need to buy some antiwrinkle cream."

"You don't need it"you say with a shake of your head."Some women like the mature look"

"As long as they aren't running at me in wedding dresses I'll live"

You give him a curious glance. Wedding dresses? You will need to remember to ask him about that because he's already said about meeting up again in a few days. You get out of the car and are about to close the door when the craziest thought pops into your head.

"How about you come over one night and I'll cook you a real dinner. It's my way of thanking you for tonight"

Jeremy ponders over it and gives you that smile again.

"Why not"

You abandon your shoes by the front door and head straight to your room. You are so happy you feel as if you are floating on cloud nine. It's been a while since anyone had made you truly smile or laugh and Jeremy had accomplished that. Signing into your laptop, you browse the internet for inspiration for this dinner he's going to eat. You know you need to pull off something really nice.
As you read through the various recipes, you have no idea where to start.