Lewis presses a kiss on her pouty lips. “No, but I can give you better things than that.”

Yvette drops her arms by her sides and leans against Lewis.

Parker rubs the back of his neck, averting his gaze. “So, have you guys been here long?”

“Only about twenty minutes,” Lewis replies. “We were thinking about going on a ride next.”

“Nice,” Parker cheers.

Oh boy.

Parker hugs an arm around me. “What do you think?”

I chew my bottom lip. “Which ride are you going on?”

“Lewis and I were debating between the pirate ship and the tilt-a-whirl,” Yvette says. “Pirate ship is the closest.”

“We could do both,” Parker says. “Pirate ship first?”

Yvette bats her lashes. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

Parker shifts his stance. “Awesome.”

Lewis takes Yvette by the hand, leading us away from the sideshow booth. “Let’s go then.”

Parker keeps his arm around me, forcing me forward. My anxiety is low as we walk the aisle of sideshow games. However, we’re now blasted with the shrieks and whirs of fast moving rides.

When my feet scuff into the ground, Parker’s force lessens. We stop and he points out something resembling a pirate ship that moves, forward and back, on an axis.

“That’s the ride,” he says.

My knees buckle. “It goes up so high.”

“It looks worse than it is. It’s pretty tame compared to the other rides.”

My teeth grit. “If you say so.”

Parker clutches my hand. “Are you up for it?”

Fear stains my eyes. “Do you not feel how sweaty my palms are?”

Parker laughs. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

I look up at the ride and swallow hard. “At least it doesn’t go completely upside down.”

Parker squeezes my hand. “Is that a yes?”

I shiver, sending it up Parker’s arm. “It’ll check my quota of going on a carnival ride.”

“That’s the spirit,” Parker cheers. “Plus, you’ll be with Lewis.”

Yvette lifts on the balls of her feet, waving us over. “Come on you two. Let’s get in on the next round.”

Parker steps forward, but my feet stay planted in place.

He jerks forward, clumsily regaining his balance. He turns to me with a wry smile. “I thought you were ready.”

I shiver, holding onto his hand. “I’m sorry.”