Page 11 of Bad Seed
“Thank you again,” I say, bowing my head so he won’t see the rising disappointment. Why did I think a man like that would want to spend two seconds with me?
Aubry’s gazing around the grounds, paying me no mind. He’s probably already found someone to play with his cat before he plays with hers.
“If you hadn’t have saved my life I’d be—”
“Do you want to go on the Ferris wheel?” he bursts out suddenly.
“Huh?”
“The Ferris wheel?” Aubry launches off the bench in a near-manic state. “Do you want to get on it together?”
A teeny tiny part of my brain wonders what the hell just happened. But, as he slips his fingers under my palm, takes me by the hand, and pulls me to my feet, every thought flees my mind. Except for one.
Holy shit, I want to scale that mountain.
“M’kay,” I mumble.
With a burst of energy, he pulls me toward the rides. The eggplants slap into my thigh as he extends his out like it’s guiding him. All the while, I stare transfixed at his ass damn near bursting out of his jeans.
Ooh, if this is heaven, don’t shock me back to life.
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CHAPTER SIX
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SADIE
“Here ya go, little lady.” The ride worker older than my dad holds the already open door to the Ferris wheel bucket. Trying to not breathe in the onion stench, I start to slide inside when he suddenly dodges in front, blocking me in. “You all by yourself? Don’t you know it’s cold up there? How’s about I—”
“Move.”
The menacing growl snaps from a shadow that’s more bear than man. In an instant, the sleazy man scuttles away, head damn near tipped to the ground. “Of course, sir. No problem.”
Aubry stares at him, his eyes black under the brim of his cap. I try to not breathe a sigh of relief but it’s hard to not feel like he just saved me again. Still glaring at the man, Aubry reaches forward.
His palm. It’s on my back.
Not just any part. No, it’s on the small of my back. Guiding me to my seat like some gentleman who’s also about to tear a man limb from limb. I do my best to elegantly slide into a tight Ferris wheel bucket while trying to not hyperventilate.
His hand is huge!
I sit down and watch my thighs spread. Aubry collapses beside me and the bucket tips to the left. It sends me careening toward him. At the last second, I grab onto a bar and try to hold myself up. His head swivels, the brim of his cap brushing over the top of my head.
“Tight fit,” he mumbles.
I can handle whatever you’ve got.
“Yeah,” I mutter instead, tempted to let go and fall into his lap. Maybe graze that eggplant he’s packing in his pants.
“Here.” With a grimace, he worms a half an inch away. There’s absolutely no room between my center-of-mass hips and his snatched ones but he grips onto the top of the bucket and stares out at the fairgrounds.
The ride shifts, lifting us into the air for the next passengers to get on. Three kids, laughing and shaking, pile in. I keep watching them while waiting for Aubry to give any hint as to why he asked me here. We keep moving up, waiting for the ride to fill. It’d be romantic—if the air didn’t smell like llama poop, the music wasn’t Ode to Exhausted Baby, and it looked like my date wanted to jump out of the bucket and break his legs.
“Is this your first time?” I ask, my mouth needing to fill the silence.
Goosebumps rise on the back of his neck, and he finally looks at me. “On a Ferris wheel?”
