"Maybe..." I slant my neck back, tipping my head up at the ride. "But it goes so high up."
Pink and yellow lights dance across his face as he glances at the ride and then looks me in the eyes. "How about we share a cage?"
"I don't think that's such a good idea," I say. "In fact, I think it's a very bad idea."
"What's that supposed to mean?" The corners of his lips quirk as his gaze darkens. "Don't you trust me?"
"Yes, I trust you," I say. "But I don't want to end up throwing up on you."
"You'll be okay," he assures me, nudging his shoulder into mine and then he winks at me. There's something different about him tonight; he's freer and I think he might be flirting with me. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you. In fact, you can hold my hand the entire time."
Where was he during my twelfth birthday? Probably playing hide-and-seek with the rest of the kids.
"Alright, I'll ride with you," I say with hesitance. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
"Warning taken and rejected." He interlocks his fingers through mine as he jerks me forward with the moving line.
"I'm sitting this one out," Luke calls out as he drifts over to the bench with his attention on his phone. "I got some stuff I got to take care of."
"Where's Seth?" I ask, glancing around at the booths, the games, and the trailers with food, trying not to make a big deal that Kayden's holding my hand.
But it's all I notice.
"He went to meet up with someone." Kayden steps forward and I move my feet with him. "He said to tell you that he would catch up with us in a little bit and to relax and have fun."
I scrunch my nose at the ride. "And this qualifies as fun?"
"Oh yeah." He tugs me toward the guy running the ride, who's dressed in a blue polo shirt, old jeans, and a trucker's hat. "You'll have a blast."
I show the guy the stamp on my hand and then Kayden puts his arm in front of me to show him the stamp on his. As he pulls back, his hand unintentionally grazes my boob and I blink at the tingling sensation it elicits.
The ticket guy unlocks the gate for us and we walk up the ramp. Kayden lets go of my hand so I can hop into the cage. Once I'm in the seat with my feet planted firmly on the bottom, he joins me. Without any preparation, the ticket guy slams the door shut and locks the cage from the outside. There are padded bars on the inside that push against my shoulders and secure me back into the seat. It's a tight fit and Kayden's leg is pressed against mine; scorching hot through my clothes.
He angles forward, meeting my eyes and a slow smile spreads across his face. "It's snug in here."
I nod my head and it bumps against the back of the seat. "Too snug. If it flings off the hinges, it'll be crushed into a ball when it hits the ground and smash us right along with it."
"Stop psyching yourself out," he says in a carefree tone, then jerks his shoulders forward and rocks the cage.
"Don't," I beg, my fingers tightening around the bars. "Pretty please. Can't we just stay stationary?"
He shakes his head as the ride progresses forward and halts so the cage in front of us lines up with the ramp. "Now what would be the fun in that?"
"It would be fun because I would be able to hold in all that candy corn I ate," I say innocently.
He stops rocking the cage. "Oh, come on, Callie. It won't be fun if we don't rock it. In fact, the more we rock it, the better it'll feel." His voice drops to a deep whisper. "We can rock it nice and slow or really, really fast."
