Only Us (Justin Fields)

|34| Rigged

Jillian

Since we were in New York and it's the beginning of summer Justin suggested we go to Coney Island. A bit of a tourist trap but it would be weird to come to New York and leave not had been to Coney Island at least once. So I agree to spend the day out there walking around, doing whatever it is our hearts desired.

"I've never been to a fair or theme park before" I confess as we walk the strip. We had been on some rides already which Justin was surprisingly sacred of and surprisingly I wasn't.

"Seriously? Not a single one of your families went" he questions still shaking from the last ride we went on.

"Oh no, they went. Just without me. They had less people staring at them, one less mouth to feed or kid to lose. I'm from Florida so there was Disney World and all those theme parks so it's not like the opportunities weren't there. I just wasn't a part of the puzzle. Plus I wouldn't have been any good at the carnival games. Those kinds of trivial tasks were never my thing" I shrug.

"But it's entertaining! No one plays to be good at carnival games. We play because it's fun" he claims.

"How is that fun" I question.

He just smiles before rolling his eyes. A look I've gotten to know all too well. His hand grabs mine before he takes off. I follow behind as I try not to bump into people. It was quite crowded but Justin was able to weave in and out of people.

We come up to a little stand with a bunch of jars stacked up in a pyramid like shape. It was wider on the bottom before it comes to a point about 10 rows up. I watch as a kid throws a ball trying to knock them down but they didn't even budge. Any normal bottles would be spread out across the floor by now.

"It's rigged" I notice.

"Not the point" Justin insists. His hand still holding mine.

He pays the man and the stand operator hands us three balls. Justin places one of the balls in my free hand and smiles. "Remember. We practiced for this" he reminds me.

"I wasn't practicing. I just wanted to hang out with you and learn how to throw a football" I defend.

"And now is a great time to use what you learned" he smiles.

I let out a sigh because I knew we weren't leaving until I threw this ball. And I've been eyeing a corn dog for half an hour now and if I have to do this to get that I'll do it.

My arm raises as I take a step to the stand. The ball sails out my hand hitting the top jar. Much to my surprise it topples over causing the other jars to shake.

"Oh" I gasp nearly jumping up from excitement. I wasn't expecting to make contact let alone knock it over.

"Not bad Lilly" he praises. My face gets warm as I try to hide my smile. "Try again" he encourages handing me another ball.

I throw the second one a little harder but I hit it in the middle this time. Only they didn't even move. They must be weighted or something. The top one fell so easily but they probably did that on purpose to get people to keep paying and keep trying.

"May I" he asks holding up the last ball.

"It's all yours" I assure him.

He tosses the ball up and down a few times before taking a step away from the stand. I figured if you wanted to knock them over you would get closer but one of us is a college quarterback here and it's not me. So I trust whatever process he had.

He takes one step and absolutely chucks the ball. I mean he looked like he wanted to hurt the bottles. He hits the bottom jars causing them to get sent to the back of the stand. The rest of the jars tumble down in a loud display causing quite a few heads to turn. Sand comes pouring out as I try not to roll my eyes. Of course.

"You got quite an arm there" the stand operated says as he nervously watches his hard work come crashing down.

"I know a thing or two about throwing a ball" Justin says bashfully.

"Well you would be the first today to knock them all down. You can choose a prize from the top row" he tells us.

Justin turns to me and nods his head to the stand. He wanted me to pick the prize because he knew whatever it was he would just give to me anyway. I look around at the options before I smile. "That one" I say pointing to the one I want.

The guy gets the giant stuffed lion down and hands it to me. Justin laughs as I can barely hold in my excitement. I don't express my emotions often but this was actually really cute. After he takes my picture with the lion despite my protest he agrees to feed me to make up for it. So we find a bench and I eat my corn dog as happy as ever.

"What made you get the lion" he wonders.

"We watched that movie and I really liked the lions. I don't know much about Disney movies but it's my favorite one. Plus they're interesting animals" I confess.

"Tell me about them" he encourages. 

"They're the most feared animals and yet they sleep more than anything. In fact they eat more than any other cat so what little time they spend awake they are the most feared predators. Sometimes they even prefer to hunt at night and during storms to stay hidden, they're super smart about their hunts. And they're prideful, very loyal to their pack. A pride can get up to 40 lions and the mother lions even help nurse other cubs. Plus they're super resourceful. They've learned to adapt to the hot environment in Africa and can even get water from local plants when resources go dry.

... I'm sorry. I'm rambling again aren't I" I ask. I don't talk a lot but when I find something I like I don't really stop.

"Please don't stop. I asked because I wanted to hear you. I love listening to you talk" he assures me. My face gets hot again as a let out a sigh.

"You remind me of a male lion. A big mane and a loud roar. Many people follow you, like the king of the jungle" I say.

"And that made you want the lion" he questions.

I nod too shy to say it out loud. "What do you want to name him" he asks keeping us from getting into uncomfortable territory.

"How about Mandela" I say.

"Like Nelson Mandela" he wonders.

"Yeah. He was the leading advocate to end apartheid in Africa and the first democratic president. It seems like a good name for a strong lion" I admit.

"It's perfect" he assures me.

We play a few more games and try a few more foods before the sun set. To kick off the start of summer they set off fireworks and I have to admit they were stunning. As we sit on a bench looking up at the sky I feel his leg against mine. He moves closer until our body's were touching one another. I feel his arm wrap around me slowly, like he was scared. And to be honest I wasn't sure what to do either. It felt right but at the same time it was a little unusual. What does it mean? What does it change?

Instead of moving away or bringing my attention to it I just rest my head on his shoulder. A second later his arm secured around my side as I continue to watch the fireworks. Only now they were just as explosive as my beating heart.