Wrap Your Arms Around My Neck So Tight

The car ride to the fair was seemingly short, and filled with small conversation. Once we were close to the fair, you could see the tops of some of the taller rides. I sat up super straight in my seat, and smiled like a kid on Christmas. I saw Jonathan smirk a little, before pulling into a parking spot.

We both exited the car, and walked up to one of the many ticket booths lining the entrance. There was no line, so we were able to walk directly up to the lady selling wristbands. She asked us how many we needed and he quickly answered two. When she told us it would be $30, Jonathan and I both reached for our wallets. Before I even had a chance to open mine, he was handing me my wristband.

“Again?” I asked as he helped me put my wristband on.

“I told you before, a gentleman never makes a woman pay,” he said as we walked around aimlessly.

“That’s true,” I said as we approached the line for the Tilt-A-Whirl, ”But I get to buy all of the cotton candy and junk food now.”

“We’ll see about that,” he said as we got on the ride, “Lets just make sure we don’t get sick from it.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” I said laughing as the ride started.

After the ride, we rode tons of other rides. Most of them involved the classic violent carnival spinning. After we stepped off the ride that you stand up and spin on, we were both walking rather crookedly.

“I think we should take a break for a while,” I said almost tripping and falling.
“Whoa, be careful,” Jonathan said grabbing my hand to stable me, “And I agree. How about we play some games or something?”

“That sounds super fun,” I said not letting his hand go.

The first game we walked up to was the one where you have make the ping-pong balls into the little cups of colored water. We both bought a round and started trying to make the balls into the cups.

“Dang it,” I said as my final ball bounced off the rim.
“YES!” Jonathan shouted as his final ball actually made it into one of the cups.

I stared in shock, considering hardly anyone won at those games. The bored looking attendant stood from his chair and made his way over to us.

“Which prize would you like sir?” He asked handing a few balls to another customer.

“Uhm, how about the red moose?” Jonathan said pointing to the medium sized stuffed animal.

The attendant just nodded, and grabbed the moose down the hook. As soon as he handed it to Jonathan, Jonathan passed it off for me.

“Awh Jonathan!” I said hugging him, “Thank you! I love Moose’s!”

“No problem Isabelle. I saw you eyeing it earlier,” he said grabbing my hand and leading me away from the booth.

“I say we get cotton candy now!” I said pulling him to where the long-ish line was.

“Only if it’s blue,” he said following me.

“Why of course!” I said erupting into a fit of giggles.

Once we ordered our cotton candy, we made our way to an empty bench and sat on it. After eating the spun sugar in silence for a minute or two, Jonathan spoke up.

“So Isabelle, lets get to know each other,” he said grabbing another piece of cotton candy, “I mean, I know we know each other, but lets learn more.”

“Okay, sounds like a deal,” I said crossing my legs, “I’m Isabelle Paige Burns, and my birthday is July 23rd. I was born and raised in Colorado, and my parents divorced when I was 12. I want to be a photographer when I ‘grow up’, especially for music. Oh and my favorite TV show of the moment is iCarly. Your turn.”

“Alright,” Jonathan said, “I’m Jonathan Samuel Cook, and was born and raised in Texas. I love singing and being a part of my church. And my favorite TV show right now is probably South Park.”

“Wicked show,” I said smiling, “The real place is so boring though. Especially to drive through.”

We both laughed a little before getting up and walking around aimlessly. Our hands remained interlocked, and I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. I probably had a goofy smile on my face, but I didn’t care. As we drew closer to the Ferris wheel, I could feel Jonathan start to lead me towards it.

“Come on, lets ride it,” he said sounding like a little kid.

“Uh-I-“ I said stuttering, “I’m kind of, sort of, really afraid of heights.”

“It’ll be okay, I promise,” he said squeezing my hand, “I’ll be right by you the whole time.”

Any other time, I would’ve told the person they were crazy for even trying to get me to ride one of those things. But the way Jonathan said it, and the look in his eyes, made me decide to give it a chance. I merely nodded and he pulled us towards the almost non-existent line.

The lady promptly sat us in one of the bucket seats, and told us not to rock back and forth in it. I reassured her that she wouldn’t have a problem, earning a slight laugh from Jonathan.
As soon as we started moving, I clamped my eyes shut. I felt Jonathan slide his arm around my shoulder and I buried my face into his chest. He rubbed my shoulder reassuringly, and told me everything was going to be okay.

“Isabelle, open your eyes,” he said once we came to a stop.

“But aren’t we at the top?” I said not wanting to move.

“Yes, but trust me, it’ll be worth it.”

“You better not be lying,” I said before cracking my eye open.

The sight before me was absolutely breathtaking. The sun was just beginning to set, and the rays were streaking across the summer sky beautifully. All the clouds in the sky had a orange and pink tint to them, just adding to the overall beauty of the scene.

“Wow,” was all I managed to say before looking at Jonathan, “This is beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you,” he said pushing a few stray hairs from my face.

Before I could even comprehend what was happening, I felt his lips pressed against mine. I felt the butterflies in my stomach go crazy, and basically melted into the kiss. The ride jerked to a start, causing us to pull away. Both of us blushed a little and I leaned back into him.

“Hey Isabelle,” Jonathan asked as we stopped yet again.

“Yeah?”

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

“Of course,” I said leaning up and capturing him in a quick peck.

----

The rest of the night was almost as incredible as the beginning. After we got off of the Ferris wheel, we decided to go get some dinner at the local Diner. The whole dinner was filled with us goofing off, and sharing random stories from our lives.

After dinner was over, it was around 10 PM, and we were both absolutely beat. The ride back to my house was basically silent, minus the soft sound of the radio playing some random Top 40 Hit. When we actually got to my house, Jonathan walked me up to my door to bid me goodnight.

“I had fun tonight,” he said rocking back and forth on his heels.

“Me too,” I said playing with the hem of my shirt.

“I should probably let you go inside and get some sleep,” he said pulling me into a hug.

“Yeah,” I said biting my lip, “Night Jonathan.”

“Goodnight Isabelle,” he said before giving me a quick peck, “I’ll call you after Church tomorrow.”

“Okay, sounds good,” I said hugging him before placing my keys in my front door.

After I was inside, I quietly made my way upstairs. After I changed into my sweats and a t-shirt, I grabbed my phone out of bag to charge. I noticed the ball flashing red, signaling I had a text, and opened it.

Goodnight beautiful <3—Jonathan

I smiled a little, before closing my phone and placing it on my nightstand. I snuggled into my blankets, and decided that calling Miranda could wait until the morning. I hugged my new red moose, and was instantly out like a light.