One Road

Chapter 12

Jake leads me from the car, his hands on either side of my waist as he steers us gently. The ground goes from being gravely stones to being soft grass under my feet. One of my trainers catches on something, almost sending me flying, but Jake holds me tightly and helps me stay up. His grip loosens again and he carries on leading me.

Slowly, more noises start to appear. Cheerful music plays in the background, coins clink quietly and voices fly through the air to us. I frown slightly.

"Where exactly are we?" I ask.

"You'll see in a second." He replies easily, turning me slightly more to the left and walking me down. "Alright," he says distractedly, finally letting go of me and standing still. "Close your eyes and I'll undo the blind fold."

I do as he says, feeling him unknotting the thick material and pulling it off my head carefully. He leans forward, his lips close to my ear as he speaks.

"Open your eyes." Jake whispers, his breath stirs my hair slightly and causes goose bumps to rise along my skin.

I open my eyes slowly, momentarily thrown at where I am, a feeling of nausea rising in my stomach. But then my eye sight clears and I look around in wonder, pushing the sick feeling down.

We stand in between rows of striped red and white stalls, all with different games and all sorts of cuddly prizes. The scent of food comes from stalls of burgers, hot dogs, chips. The overly sugary smell of candy floss also reaches my nose.

From here I can see the top of the slow turning Ferris wheel, even the small but fast roller coaster near it. There's the constant sound of laughter and smiling faces of everyone there, children, parents, teenagers. All having the time of their lives.

Jake looks at me expectantly, bouncing on the balls of his feet anxiously with a nervous grin flitting around his mouth. His shoulders are tense.
"What'd you think?"

"Wow, Jake..." I whisper. My stomach is filled with surprised bubbles, a much more pleasant feeling than the overwhelming nausea I felt not that long ago. "This is so cool."

He grins, relief obvious on his face as he stows his hands into his pockets. He's still bouncing on the balls of his feet though now his body language is a lot more relaxed. "I'm glad you like it," He says. "Now m'lady, would you care to play on a stall with me?" He stops bouncing and holds out his hand to me.

I smile slightly uneasily but take I his hand slowly. I nod.

"Yeah, let's go play something."

***

About 15 minutes later, I'm holding a huge fluffy pink bear in my arms, peering over it as best as I can. My feet keep catching on things, because I can't see where I'm going due to the massive ball of pink fluff blocking most of my eye sight.

Jake sniggers at me slightly, wrapping his arm around my waist and taking the big bear from my tired arms. "You want something to eat? Burger or chips or something?"

My stomach growls loudly, and I finally notice just how hungry I am. It feels like there's some monster clawing around my stomach, roaring loudly. I laugh awkwardly.

"Yeah, I'm starving."

"Great, let's get some food."

He leads me over to one of the food stalls and orders a burger, a cup of coke and French fries for himself. I'm just about to open my mouth to order when he steps in for me.

"A hotdog, French fries and a lemonade for the lady please. Extra tomato ketchup on the hotdog."

I blink in surprise. "How did you know I was going to order that?"

He smiles sheepishly. "Well, I just know what you like."

"Have you been stalking me?" I ask jokingly, taking the food the woman was handing to me.

"Pfft, noo." He grins sheepishly and takes a sip of his coke. We stay in silence while we walk through the crowds, eating our food comfortably.

"Hey," I say quietly, turning to look at Jake. "Thanks for bringing me here, I'm really having fun."

He smiles, his eyes getting brighter as he does so, which doesn't make it easy for me to smile back.

"I'm glad you're having fun."

I grin suddenly. "I bet I can beat you at the basketball stand."

"Oooh, you're on."

Let's just say, I might have beaten him slightly. But seriously, all modesty out of the window:
I smashed him.

We decide not to go on the roller coaster considering all the food we've eaten, including all the popcorn and candy floss. That would have been incredibly messy. Instead, we line up to go on the Ferris wheel, something much slower which will (most likely) not make us sick.

After lining up for such a long time, we manage to get on and sit down with the bar put down in front of us loosely. The bear couldn't be fitted in, so it sits next to the control box looking very big and very fluffy.

Jake's arm is warm against mine, something I hadn't noticed before. He has intense body heat, in a really comfortable, cuddly sort of way. Not feverish and ill. I look over the side as we reach the top of the wheel, laughing nervously about just how high up we are.

He squeezes my hand gently and smiles when I look around at him. "It's okay, you're not going to fall."

"Yeah I know. Or at least I hope so." I add jokingly. We start descending slowly and I yawn tiredly, my eye lids growing heavier by the second.
My eyes close sleepily and I lean my head on Jake's shoulder. He's so comfortable and warm. So soft.
He puts his arm around my shoulders gently.

I'm barely aware of getting to the bottom or the wheel, or of him picking me up in bridal style gently and lifting me out. I hardly hear the 'Ooh's and 'Aww's we get from this, and I don't really notice when Jake bends down to pick up the bear before carrying us both back to the car.

The inside is warm because he put the roof up before we left, and he puts me down in the passenger's seat gently. I lean my head on the door tiredly, struggling to keep my eyes open in the comfortable warmth.

Later he carries me to my door and when it opens my Mum lets him in. He's somehow managing to drag the bear and carry me up the stairs as I lean my head weakly against the base of his throat.

Jake puts me down in my bed and tucks me in, setting the bear down by my desk chair.

"I'm sorry." I manage to mumble.

Jake looks at me in surprise. "For what?"

"For you having to carry me."

He just smiles. "Are you kidding? I've dreamt about carrying you home after taking you somewhere and spending time with you all my life. I just wanted to hold you close. Don't apologise at all."

I remember smiling tiredly and laughing slightly. "You're crazy."

"Yeah, but the good kind."

And then he winks and shuts the door behind him with a gentle click, leaving me in the welcoming darkness.

And tonight. Tonight. Is the first night I find myself dreaming peacefully of Jake, instead of someone else.