Page 123 of You Found Me
“Okay, bye!” and with that, he grabs his mom’s hand, pulling her away.
Emmy looks at me, with pity in those big, brown eyes. “It was really sweet of him to offer. Even if it was a blow to your pride.”
I belt out a laugh. “Yeah, I don’t know how I’ll ever recover. Especially since I still haven’t won you anything.”
“It’s okay, Spence. I don’t need anything. How about I win you something from that booth over there?”
I follow where she’s pointing and notice the target gallery balloons. “You know they dull the darts and under-inflate the balloons, right? There’s no way you can win.”
“Oh ye of little faith. Wanna bet on it?” she asks with a smirk.
“What are we betting?”
“Do you want to try your hand atit with me?
“I feel like I’ve already embarrassed myself to the point of no return, so why not.”
“Aww, poor wittle Spencer,” she jokes.
“You’re going to be in the same boat in a few minutes once we do this.”
Shrugging, Emmaline grins. “I guess we’ll see.”
“How about this, whoever gets the most balloons popped, wins. They give you three darts per ticket, so we can do two tickets to have six tries. Sound good?”
“Works for me,” I agree. “What are the stakes?”
She pauses, thinking, before saying, “I’m not sure. Maybe something to be cashed in at a later date? But if it’s something the other isn’t sure about or uncomfortable with, we talk and decide whether to go through with it.”
I stick my hand out to shake hers and when she does, I pull her closer, kissing her. “Deal.”
Ten minutes later I realize I’ve been hustled. I popped one measly balloon while she hit the balloonsevery single time.She doesn’t gloat about the fact that she won the bet. Not even as she picks her prizes out. Emmy points toward a stuffed polar bear wearing a light blue scarf and matching hat and then to a penguin in a winter coat. Both are incredibly cute.
“Here,” she says while handing me the bear, “this one’s for you. That way you never forget this night.”
“Gee, thanks.”
She winks. “You’re welcome. Do you wanna go on a little drive around town before heading home? There’s a couple of things I want to show you.”
“I’d love to.”
Chapter 39
Spencer
After a bathroom break and a trip to a concession stand to grab large hot chocolates, we start making our way toward the outskirts of town in my truck.
Though if I was the one leading her away from the festival and streetlights into poorly lit areas, she would be making jokes about me trying to murder her. Emmy’s listened to and watched one too many true crime podcasts and videos.
“I know it seems like we’re going nowhere, but I promise we are.”
A few minutes later, I notice we’re on the other side of the wildflower meadow the town is known for. I pass it each time I head out toward the city. There’s a soft light coming from the moon, the sky full of stars, and the streetlights across the way.
I notice a lone dilapidated picnic table underneath a massive willow tree, about the length of a football field away. And the way Emmy lights up at seeing both, tells me this is exactly where she wanted to take me.
“You’ll have to drive on the little pathway so you don’t crush the flowers. It’s wider than it looks.”
As soon as we get close enough to the table to park, she grabs the two blankets she threw in from her car, jumps out withoutletting me open her door. Emmy actually rushes to my side to open my door before pulling me out and over to the table.
