Unexpected

12

ETHAN POV

We sped away in my car towards the next location and I felt the nerves melting into a pool of excitement. Dinner had gone better than I could have imagined. Emma laughed the whole time, even as she complained she was going to explode from eating so much. She looked incredibly beautiful, like she belonged with the rest of the art pinned on the wall. I chuckled to myself, remembering the fiery red burn on her cheeks when she thought I was going to kiss her.

"Whats so funny?" She asked, turning to face me. Her hair was blowing around like crazy from the wind bellowing into the car, she still looked perfect. I had the urge to roll the windows up and park somewhere remote and just kiss her for hours.

"Nothing." I lied. "Just excited about the next spot." I placed my hand on her thigh and gripped it slightly, causing a dull ache at the pit of my stomach. She did unexplainable things to me.

"I'm assuming you're not going to tell me where we're going" She rolled the window up and smoothed her hair down before turning to me again and giving me a sarcastic smile. We'd be there soon enough, she could wait a little longer.

I shook my head and laughed, "patience is a virtue, Emma."

—

"Oh my god!" Her raspy voice attempted what sounded like a squeal. She was nearly bouncing out of her seat when I turned the corner and revealed a glimpse of where we were going.

I laughed to myself, her excitement brought the hugest smile to my face. I quickly found parking, knowing Emma couldn't stay confined in the seat much longer. The second the car was in park she bolted out, swinging the car door open before flinging it shut.

"Hey I was supposed to do that." I said slinging an arm around her shoulder. I couldn't help, but remember the way Grayson had done the same. A pang of jealousy hit my gut, but I brushed it aside now knowing how ridiculous I was to flip out on my brother.

"Sorry" she said breathlessly "I've never been to a carnival before."

She leaned into my arm and I welcomed the weight, pleased with how perfectly we fit. The closer we got to the entrance to more I could feel the excitement wanting to burst through Emma's skin. Once again, I was happy with myself. Everything was going according to plan.

We finally reached the ticket booth and I had to stop an eager Emma from pulling out her wallet in attempts to pay. This was a date, I reminded her and it only felt right to treat her.

"What do you wanna do first?" I asked as we walked aimlessly through the throng of bodies crowding the carnival.

"Mmm, I dunno. Maybe a roller coaster?"

"After all that food we ate, I don't think that's such a good idea." I steered her towards something a bit less stomach churning, like the basketball toss. "I'm gonna win you something big." I told her, as she picked the orange ball up testing its weight in her hand.

She raised an eyebrow at me, but said nothing. I handed the carny a 20 dollar bill. I needed all the chances I could get.

"I want that one" she pointed to the obnoxiously large panda bear sitting at the top of the shelves. Of course she wanted the hardest prize to win. If that's what she wanted, that's what she would get.

After getting in as many shots as I could, I proudly handed her the bear.

She attempted another squeal, a strange sound coming from her usual monotone voice. I truly had never seen someone look happier. She was gassing me up so much as I flexed my bicep and mimicked my throwing pose. She never had to know about the extra twenty I slid the worker to get her prize.