Fall For You

(28)

"The beach?" Alex asks. "You brought me to the beach?"

A wave of worry crashes over me. If Alex doesn't like the beach, and this is where I decided to bring him, then I've just taken a huge step backwards in the bet.

"Do you not like the beach?" I ask, trying to cover my panic with teasing, as I switch off the car. 

"No, I do. Beaches are nice." He says quickly, not wanting to offend me, I'm sure. "I just don't particularly like the fact that sand always manages to get itself everywhere."

I let out a laugh. "It's a good thing that we're not going to the beach then."

"We're not?" Alex asks. "I don't want to ruin what you've got planned. If the beach is apart of that then I--"

"Alex," I say, cutting off his rambling. "We're not going to the beach. It's not what I had planned. Don't worry."

"Oh," Alex breathes out a sigh of relief. "So, where are we going?"

"We're going to the pier," I tell him. "More specifically, because I know you need specifics, we're going to Pacific Park."

"No way!" Alex exclaims but I can't tell if excitement or horror at going to an amusement park. "Gem, I haven't been to Pacific Park since I was a kid. I love that place."

"What are you waiting for then?" I ask. "Let's go."

I believe I just scored another point. One step closer to winning this thing.

Alex and I climb out of the car and I lock it behind us, not that there's anything valuable in there but I still don't want anyone to steal it. You never know with some of the people in California.

"Have you ever been here?" Alex asks. As we walk towards the entrance, his hand gently brushes against mine.

"Actually, no," I say. "I've seen this place in movies and thought it looked decent though."

"You're going to love it," Alex grins. "Do you like rollercoasters?"

"I haven't been on a rollercoaster since I was a kid," I admit.

It was Summer. I was eleven. My dad was at work and my mum had the day off. She took me to the local showgrounds. I was so excited. Girls-Day-Out, she had called it. At the time, I thought it was the best day of my life. It's hard to think now, when the memories of her have been destroyed because she left. A few years after that day, she left me and Dad.

It's hard to have any good memories of her when they're overshadowed by one really bad one.

But I know that I loved the rollercoasters. Loved the adrenaline rush when the rollercoaster track curved or went downhill.

"Gemma?" Alex's voice pulls me from the memory I had been wrapped up in for a second longer than I should have been.

"Yeah. I love them," I reply. Alex smiles gently, but I know he's wondering what I was just thinking.

I clear my throat. "We should get our tickets."

"Right," Alex says, and we step into the very short cue. It's a weekday, so not many people are at the park. It doesn't take long to get our tickets.

When we step through the gate, the park is immediately overwhelming. I don't even know where to start.

"We should start with the rides," Alex says. "If we play games with prizes, we'll have to carry it around with us all day."

"How do you know that you'll win something?" I ask, cheekily.

"I'm a professional at all of these games," Alex replies, puffing out his chest.

"Besides, they can't be that hard, can they?"

"Maybe. I guess we'll have to see," I challenge him. "But after we go on some rollercoasters."

Alex looks around for a second before looking back at me, a sly grin taking over his face. "I know just the one to start with."

"Lead the way."