Page 14 of Perfectly Imperfect Us
The crowd clapped and whistled and I joined in, seeing the girl who’d been extremely outgoing in my chair earlier today. I could see how she’d win the crown. Beautiful, able to talk to anyone, and carried herself with grace.
Something brushed my hand, a pinkie finger sliding around to hold my pinkie finger. I whipped my head over to Ryder, but he just looked up at the stage like he wasn’t making a move on me in broad daylight in front of our whole town. I looked around slyly, but no one seemed to notice, probably because our hands were down at our sides, wedged between us where no one could see. I felt my face flush and I almost missed the moment where last year’s Poppy Queen put the crown on Annabella’s head.
“My mom is so disappointed I wasn’t born a girl so she could see me become Poppy Queen,” Ryder said so quietly I could barely hear him above the cheering.
I mentally stumbled over the idea of a mother being ashamed of having a boy, a boy as successful and handsome as Ryder. Annabella started crying as she walked up to the microphone, her mascara staying in place because I’d used waterproof on every girl as a precaution. It was her big moment. It couldn’t be ruined by a lazy mascara choice.
My heart ached, thinking of Ryder believing he was some sort of disappointment just because he wasn’t born a girl. I squeezed his pinkie and he squeezed back. Annabella gave a short speech, and when she exited the stage, the rest of the crowd started to shuffle back to the rides and games that lit up the darkening evening sky.
With a quick glance over his shoulder at me, Ryder let go of my pinkie and stepped back. A cold breeze kicked in and a line of goose bumps broke out on my arms. Our friends gathered around and as a pack we started moving toward the spin ride where it goes faster and faster and pins you up against the wall. I hated that thing more than I hated waterproof makeup sliding away with the first drop of water.
I leaned into Ryder as we walked, seeing his serious face, an expression that didn’t belong at a carnival. Even his frown was gorgeous, but I liked his smile the best.
“Let’s go ride the Ferris wheel, huh?”
He slid his gaze over to me, those pale blue eyes assessing, showing so much more going on behind the scenes than he appeared to anyone not looking so close. I was guilty of it too. Took one look at that pretty face and struck blind to the rest.
He grabbed my hand and we veered left, hustling to the metal gate set up in front of the Ferris wheel. My heart was in my throat, the excitement of running off with a boy making me feel like a teenager. The operator waved us on right away, the line having yet to form again after the Poppy Queen announcement.
I slid into the metal bucket seat and Ryder followed, sitting so close the entire side of my body touched his, a fact I remained hyperaware of as the lap bar clicked shut and the big wheel lurched us backward and up.
“This is much better than that vomit machine,” Ryder’s voice whispered softly, his face so close he didn’t need to speak louder for me to catch it.
I shouldn’t be feeling all the things rushing through my body and into my brain, forming ideas and wants and dreams that shouldn’t be there either. Suddenly Ryder wasn’t a guy I knew from high school or a top fashion model. He was just a man, sitting on the Ferris wheel with me, making me ache for a simple kiss up at the top where no one could see us and break whatever spell I was under.
“I, uh, bet you could get all kinds of great pictures from the top.” I fiddled with my skirt, not quite knowing what to do with my hands.
The seat lurched again and we rose higher in the air, the wind picking up. Ryder shifted next to me and I glanced over. He unbuttoned his flannel shirt as I watched, mesmerized as a line of white T-shirt revealed itself with each button. He took the flannel off and handed it to me, the material still warm from his body.
“Here. Put this on. You’re cold,” he said simply.
When I didn’t move quick enough, he pulled it from my hands and draped it over my shoulders, waiting for me to slide my arms into the sleeves. I did, my brain screaming at me that this gesture meant something more than Ryder being a gentleman. The scent of some expensive cologne wafted up to my nose and nearly made me groan out loud. I wrapped it around me tight and gave him a shaky smile.
“Thank you.”
He shifted away and brought up his camera. “Stay just like that.”
The shutter went off as he took a picture of me with the entire town of Nickel Bay lit up in lights behind me. I felt my cheeks go hot and hoped my hair wasn’t flying away in the wind like a dandelion. A giggle popped out as the thought went through my head that an international model who’d been on the cover of every major magazine was now takingmypicture like I was something fascinating.
“That’s perfect,” Ryder muttered, clicking away.
He finally put the camera down, but continued to stare at me.
“It’s my hair, isn’t it?” I deadpanned. “It just sucks up the moisture and goes crazy.”
Ryder huffed out a laugh. “No, it’s not your hair. I mean, your hair is great, but what I mean is—it’s you. You’re beautiful.”
Just as the bucket swung to the top, Ryder leaned in and I found myself doing the same lean, like gravity was pulling us together despite the ridiculous idea of Ryder Steele and Ava Mendez being an item in this lifetime or the next. My heart lodged in my throat and I held my breath. Ryder’s eyes flicked down to my mouth as my teeth caught my lower lip. A flash of commotion below us caught my eye, and in a move I would play over and over in my mind all night and regret horribly, I looked away from Ryder, breaking the moment.
“The weasels are loose!” I pointed down below where Jim Sully ran after his weasel, the leash dragging along the ground as the tiny animal darted around shrieking townsfolk.
Our seat lowered in time to see Dom trying to corner his own weasel up against the kissing booth. Teens went running, having decided a kiss wasn’t worth dealing with a crazed weasel off the leash. The poor thing froze, stared Dom right in the eyes, and then dashed between his legs, escaping easily to chase after Jim’s weasel.
Ryder laughed, the sound almost making me glad I’d broken our moment, making me wish I could get him to laugh like that all the time. We both leaned right, watching the chase until we lost them in the crowd and the sounds of the carnival.
Ryder looked over at me, our faces only inches apart. His fingers twisted in some strands of my hair, pushing them behind my ear again, but this time, he let his fingers drag down the shell of my ear. Thankfully, I had his large flannel on and he couldn’t see the way his touch made me shiver.
The lap bar clanked as the operator opened it, the sound causing us to jump apart. The ride was over and those in line waited on us to climb out. Ryder gestured for me to go first, so I did, climbing out less than gracefully. I waited for Ryder and gulped in the night air, needing it to cool off my face as soon as possible.
