Page 27 of Summer Haze & Tokyo Craze

The further we walk, the wider my grin gets as I take pictures of the castle and its surrounding park, marvel at the cute rides and shops, and finally find an area that didn’t even exist the last time I was here.

Despite the horrendous wait times for all the rides, it's not that crowded here. Sure, there are still plenty of kids, strollers, and lots of people not watching where they're going, but that seems to be a global phenomenon at these parks. I’m just glad I don’t have to stop every two meters because someone walks in front of me without looking.

We finally reach the carousel behind the castle when something in the corner of my eyes catches my attention.

"Stop," I say, coming to a halt and turning sharply. "There’s a princess." I grin and walk right over to where a crowd has already formed.

It's Sleeping Beauty in all her beautifully dressed glory, surrounded by a crowd of people who all want a picture with her. It takes me a minute to realize how exactly they’re managing it, because I can’t see a queue.

People just gather around her, and it looks like she picks the next person to take a photo with her right out of the crowd. Interesting.

And there’s not a chance for me to get one, seeing as there are at least five rows of people in front of me.

"You should go there," Adam suggests.

"I'm good," I reply, but I still take out my phone to snap a picture from afar just to send to Lucy, because she adores Sleeping Beauty. "Maybe if we run into her again later.”

The sun is still glaring and we walk into another shop to escape the bright light for a moment. Instantly, my eyes scan the goods – maybe I can find another ridiculous accessory to push onto Adam. There are notebooks – boring – keychains – boring - and then… hell yeah!

With a wide grin, I grab two plush toys and walk over to the register, but before I can pay, Adam swipes his card over the machine.

"Hey, I had that," I scold him, startled by his sudden appearance, but he shakes his head.

"You had the headbands, it's my turn."

My shoulders sag and I shake my head at him. Can’t really argue with that.

"Alright," I shrug and hand him one of the plush toys wordlessly.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" He turns it in his hand, tapping at the little clip on the underside and I grin. He's so adorably clueless. One of the cashiers is watching us with a grin as I take it from his hand and clip it onto his shirt so the little chameleon plush sits on his shoulder.

"Now you've got a little companion,” I say cheerfully.

"That's cute and ridiculous," he remarks, but the smile on his lips reveals that he secretly likes it.

"Here, help me put on mine." I hand him the little fish, and he obliges. Big mistake. Suddenly, he’s very damn close. Almost too damn close. I can feel his breath against my hair and I can see each little crinkle in the corner of his eye and the few grey hairs starting to speckle through the black ones.

Calm down, Lily. Breathe through it.

Finally, he is done and I’m not sure whether to mourn or be happy about the distance between us.

"Wonderful,” I say nervously as he gives the fish a little pat to test If it will hold. “Let's keep going."

I don’t wait for an answer before I turn around and walk off, my hand shaking with nervousness and heavy breaths falling from my lips as soon as my back is facing him.

What the fuck.

Breathe, Lily.

My whole body is tense as we continue to walk through the park – although now I’m paying attention to have a bit more distance between the two of us. No more accidental shoulder bumping, because I apparently can't be trusted with body contact to this man.

Fuck.

I never thought I’d walk through this park with a man. I mean, yes, it's a prime date spot for the locals and that was even the case ten years ago when I was here for the first time.

I just never saw myself doing it. All my prior boyfriends were more into superheroes, not princes and princesses. Theyprobably would have come along if I asked them, but I don't know. They didn't seem like they would enjoy their time here.

But right now with Adam? Being here as friends is actually fun. Although it’s obvious that he’s never been to this amusement park chain before.

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