She Was Lost But Now She's Found

The Fair

The closer Keefe and Sophie got to their destination, the more Keefe twitched. Sophie could tell he was getting excited, but she could practically feel the anxiety rolling off of him as well.

She only cracked and asked if he was okay when he tapped the steering wheel so hard it honked.

"Totally great, Foster. Why?" He answered too quickly for Sophie to believe a word he said. Plus, his voice had shifted up an octave.

"You just honked." She pointed out. "And we're alone on the road?"

"Oh yeah, sorry." He laughed nervously and turned on the rodeo-wait....radio.

They sat in silence for the rest of the ride, and only the radio kept it from being awkward.

"Aha!" Keefe shouted. "We're here!" Immediately he was back to his old self, the anxiety melting away. "Come on Foster!" He got out of the car and ran to her side to open her door, before grabbing her hand and running toward the entrance.

"Let's go, let's go!We can do the spinny rides first, then food, then the easy rides, like the swings and Ferris wheel." He rushed out. "And sweets after, maybe a moonlit walk." He winked at the last part.

Sophie laughed, glad to see his boyishness was back in full force. "Lead the way Carnival Master."

"Hmm, Carnival Master? I was thinking more like Lord Hunkyhair. Or Keefe Optimus Maximus! The greatest and the best." He exclaimed, making a beeline for the ticket booth.

"Hi! What do we have here today?" He asked the lady working the booth.

She giggled and blushed. "Bracelets are $20,  but it's two for thirty." She winked at Keefe and twirled her hair around her finger. She looked quite stupid in Sophie's opinion.

"I'll take two bracelets then!" He gestured Sophie over and threw his arm around her shoulders, and she looked up at him, confused. He looked down and mouthed that he would explain.

Keefe paid and led her over to a bench where they sat and pinned the bracelets on.

"What was that girl doing?" Sophie asked. "She looked ridiculous!"

Keefe doubled over laughing. "She was flirting with me, Foster!" He exclaimed.

"She was....flirting?" She repeated, confused.

"Yeah, like you see someone attractive and you kinda give hints that you like them."

"Hints like what?" She was trying-and failing-to imagine "flirting" as anything other than acting like a bubbly idiot.

"Well, like complimenting someone, or smiling a lot, or teasing them, or asking them if they want to hang out and stuff. There's also touching them," he added. "But, like their arm or shoulder or hand, possibly hair. Anywhere else is usually weird and intrusive."

"Hmmm, so like what you do with me?" She reasoned. Still somehow not making the connection!!!

Keefe laughed nervously and blushed. "I supposed you could say that."

Sophie totally missed the slight hurt that flashed across Keefe's face as his hints flew right over her oblivious head.

"Fried oreos?" She asked, pulling him towards the food stands.

Keefe sighed. "Fried oreos," he confirmed.

The two got their food and moved on to the rides. The day flew past, and before Sophie knew it, they were on the Ferris Wheel as the sun was setting.

"Wow," Sophie breathed as they reached the top. There was an explosion of color across the horizon in all directions: reds, yellows, blues, purples, pinks, she could've named a thousand colors in that moment. She couldn't form the words to describe the emotions welling up inside her, from wonder, from wistfulness, from sadness. It was, simply put, breathtaking.

"Let's do this again tomorrow." She said excitedly as their cart reached the bottom again.

Keefe beamed down at her and gently grabbed her hand. "Of course."

Sophie giggled and bumped his shoulder lightly. "Come on I'm tired."

"You sleep?" Keefe teased.

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Hi! This was totally cut short, I'm sorry, but I wanted to know, do you want me to continue with the carnival or move on? I didn't really know what to do for it...so feedback would be appreciated!