𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 | 𝐛. 𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐳

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 - 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞 | 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧

I HOLD THE BALL WITH MY LEFT HAND, shaking out my right. I toss the ball to my right hand and take my stance. I raise my arm, and twist my body, throwing the ball. It soars forward, smashing into a bottle, shattering it. The ball collides with the metal playing behind it and makes a loud thud noise. The glass hits the ground in a shattering sound and I smile. The crowd surrounding the game cheers, applauding or whistling to me. I look back at Lennon and she nods, smiling. I reach into the bucket and grab another ball. I exhale and and narrow my eyes, staring at the display of bottles. I raise my arm and throw the ball. The glass cracks and a piece falls to the ground, but the bottle remains mostly in tact.
      "Nope, gotta completely demolish the bottle to win, bud." The man says, taking another drag on his cigarette.
      I nod, licking my bottom lip. I click my tongue and look at the bottles.
      "That's just fine. I've still got twenty-three shots." I say.
      I turn around and walk back to Lennon. I grab the hat from her hand and smile, nodding.
      "This cap's gonna give me some luck, I just know it." I say.
      She smiles and nods. I return to the marker, pulling the hat on. I adjust it until it's comfortable and smile. I reach into the bucket and grab another ball. I twist and throw the ball, shattering the bottle. I nod and grab another ball, exhaling. I throw it, shattering another bottle. I spin around, smiling at Lennon. She taps the hat and I nod.
      "Congrats. First person I've seen do that. You can take a small prize of your choice or you can keep playing with the balls you've got for a bigger prize." He says.
      I approach Lennon and raise an eyebrow, smiling at her.
      "What do you think I should do?" I ask, my hands naturally finding their way to her waist.
      She smiles and looks back at the game display, furrowing her brows.
      "Keep playing. You've secured a prize, now you just gotta see if you want a bigger prize." She says.
      I nod, kissing her cheek again. I return to the marker and grab a ball, throwing it. After the first prize was won, I had twenty one balls remaining. After that, I earned an upgrade in prize with fifteen remaining, upgrading to a medium size prize. After that, I earned another upgrade to a medium to large prize with nine balls left, and earned a large prize with three balls remaining. Kenny takes the last three and earns his son a small tiger stuffed animal, which he adores. I walk to Lennon, taking her hand, pulling her to the display. I take my flannel from her and wrap my arm around her, smiling.
      "Which prize do you want?" I ask, looking up at the large prizes.
      She raises an eyebrow and smiles, shaking her head at me.
      "Oh, so you're gonna be that guy. The guy who wins the prize for the girl at the Fair so she can carry it around and feel like a million bucks?" She asks.
      I roll my eyes and nod, smiling at her, my hand finding it's way around her waist.
      "Of course I'm gonna be that guy. I mean, today's been the greatest day. I want it to be even better, if that's even possible." I say. "Now hurry up and tell me which prize you want!"
      She smiles and leans into me, staring up at the large prizes, eyebrows furrowed.
      "The large blue teddy bear, please." She says, her hands wrapping around my abdomen.
      I nod, smiling at her, my arm wrapping around her.
      "We'll take that one, please," I say, nodding to the game attendant.
      He climbs up and grabs it, handing it over to her. She smiles and we walk back into the open area, meeting up with the rest of the guys.
      "Is that Lennon Davis? From Sports Central Viewing?" Someone asks.
      Lennon goes rigid in my arms and purses her lips together.
      "And that's Benny Rodriguez with her!" The person exclaims.
      "Take this bear for me please," Lennon says, holding the bear out to Yeah-Yeah.
      "No, that's your bear, Lennon. You carry it." Yeah-Yeah says.
      "Hey, look, it's Benny Rodriguez from the L.A. Dodgers!" Someone exclaims.
      "Yeah-Yeah, take the bear." I say, shoving it towards him. "We'll be back."
      I grab Lennon's hand and look around, spotting people starting to approach us.
      "Run!" I exclaim, laughing as we run from the viewers.
      Lennon's laughter is contagious, wild and carefree. We weave through groups of people, diving out of the way of more viewers. We hide in between two old buildings of the fairgrounds and exhale sharply. Lennon's back is pressed to the wall behind her and I stand in front of her.
      "I didn't think they would recognize us." She says, smiling.
      I smile, shaking my head. The small space we hide in is dark, but bright enough that I can still see her face.
      "I didn't think they would either. I thought we hid well enough." I say.
      She nods, quiet. I reach up and remove my hat. I lean down, pressing my lips to hers. My hands are pressed to the wall behind her, one beside her head, the other near her waist. The hand beside her waist wraps around her . Pulling her into me. I'm acutely aware of our knees grazing against each other and her hair grazing against my neck. The moment is quiet and peaceful and perfect, just us. I back away, smiling at her.
      "I love you, Lennon." I say, kissing her again. "I really, really love you."
      She smiles and rests her head against my chest, wrapping her arms around my upper torso.
      "I love you too, Benny." She whispers, her fingers grazing my back.