Fire Burning

Ocean Lights

When we met downstairs again, everyone was in various stages of dressed-up chaos. Addie had glitter on her cheekbones, and Duke had on mismatched socks and a graphic tee that said Too Hot to Haunt. Jeremy gave him a once-over and shook his head.

Jeremy, Ari, and I were riding together. Everyone else piled into Addie’s van, arguing about music before they even pulled away from the curb.

In the car, I sat between Ari and Jeremy again.

Jeremy glanced over. “We didn’t lose you after this morning, did we?”

I leaned into both of them. “Not even close.”

We parked at the edge of the fairgrounds, the air buzzing with lights and laughter and the sharp scent of fried everything. The sun was dipping low, casting gold across the horizon.

I reached for their hands.

Both of them.

Jeremy grinned. “You’re trouble.”

Ari raised a brow. “The good kind.”

We walked the fair together, weaving through booths and rides. We played a few rigged games, watched Duke scream on the spinning ride, and got cornered by a guy trying to sell us glow-in-the-dark necklaces. Jeremy bought me one. Ari tied it around my neck like a collar and smirked.

I felt like I was glowing from the inside out.

Eventually, I pointed at the ring toss booth.

“Winner gets a kiss,” I said.

Jeremy raised both brows. “From who?”

I smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Jeremy missed. Ari landed the ring. I kissed him slow. Then turned and kissed Jeremy just as deep.

Their eyes were fire.

We moved through it all—the haunted house where Ari kept whispering filthy things in my ear under the guise of fear, the food stalls where Jeremy fed me bites of cotton candy and licked the sugar off his fingers. We got matching wristbands. Took blurry pictures in a photo booth.

And then we reached the Ferris wheel.

Jeremy leaned in. “Last ride. You ready?”

I nodded.

Ari smirked. “Hope you’re not afraid of heights.”

We climbed in, just the three of us.

I sat between them.

And the moment the wheel started turning, everything around us slowed.

Jeremy’s hand found my thigh. Ari brushed his fingers along my jaw.

Then came the kiss.

One of them first, then the other. My head tilted between them, breath catching. My hands tangled in their shirts, their mouths devouring mine in turns.

Jeremy kissed my neck while Ari pulled me into his lap. The heat crackled between us—mouths, hands, breath. One behind, one in front, like they were taking turns showing me how far they could go without crossing a line.

But I didn’t care about lines.

I was lost in the way they touched me.

The cart rocked gently.

We didn’t stop.

I gasped when Ari bit softly at my shoulder, when Jeremy whispered in my ear, “Do you have any idea how crazy you make us?”