Page 39 of Panther's Magpie
The first thing I hear when I get out of the car is the sound of carnival games and music. The bells and whistles paired with the singing are like a sensory overload but in the best possible way.
“Come on,” Rain says as she loops her arm through mine.
“Are you sure it’s okay that I’m here?”
“All the guys from the club are here. It’s fine, trust me.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from telling her that I find it hard to trust. Especially people that I really don’t know.
The smell of fried food hits me, making my stomach rumble.
“God, I love fried food,” I groan.
“Me too. Here’s what I was thinking: we get a little bit of everything and share.”
“I’d be game for that.”
We make our way to the first food truck and place our order. Then we go to another, then a third. When we finally sit down, I can’t help but laugh at our spread. We have Mexican street corn,a corn dog, nachos, fries, fried pickles, fried Oreos, and a funnel cake.
“Did we go a little overboard?” I ask.
“Nah, besides, if we have food babies after this, who gives a fuck? We have no one to impress.”
Looking down, I grab a chip and pop it into my mouth. I want to tell her that she’s wrong, but I don’t. That would just lead to questions about what’s happening between Panther and me, and I can’t exactly answer that when I don’t know myself.
Things between us are…complicated.
Neither of us has acted on anything, but the heated looks tell me it’s only a matter of time. Well, that and the fact that I have a freaking crush on the guy that keeps growing day by day.
“Does this happen every year?” I ask.
I can’t help but moan as I pop a fried pickle covered in ranch dressing into my mouth. So, so good.
“It does. We have one each fall and spring.”
“That’s awesome. I don’t remember this from when I lived in the area.”
“We started a few years ago, so I’m not surprised.”
After we’ve eaten too much food, we walk around. I laugh when Rain dunks one of the brothers in the dunk tank, then laugh even harder when she shoves a pie in another guy’s face.
As she waits in line for another lemonade, I look around and smile. Everyone looks so happy and carefree. Parents are smiling as their kids laugh with excitement. Just watching everyone heals a part of my soul that my parents unknowingly damaged.
They might have paid for everything, but we never did anything together. They never spent time with me or took me with them. They don’t know me like these parents know their kids, and it makes my heart ache. Then again, I guess I really don’t know them either.
“This is great, right?” Rain asks as she comes up next to me.
“I love it.”
Movement out of the corner of my eye makes me turn my head. My breath catches as I watch Panther tip his head back and laugh with his brothers. He looks so happy, carefree even. It looks good on him.
Almost as if he feels me staring, he looks right at me. His smile grows, making my heart race. I fight the urge to straighten my shirt as I watch him break away from his brothers and walk my way.
“I’ll be right back. I see someone I know,” Rain says.
“Okay,” I say without looking away from the man who is moving my way.
“Hey, I didn’t know you were coming,” he says as he comes to a stop next to me, shoving his hands into his pockets.
