“Well? Where to?” I looked up and down the road. “There’s a hotel.”
She slapped at my arm. “We are not going to a hotel. I have other plans.”
I groaned. “But you’ve kind of got me in a bad way here.”
“Take a deep breath and then release slowly. That’s what I did. I’m feeling much better.”
“I know exactly what will make me feel better,” I told her.
“Come on, mister. We’ll take my car.”
“To your place?” I teased, knowing it was off the table. I had to try though.
“To Belmont Park,” she announced.
I stopped walking. “What? Really? You want me to ride rollercoasters?”
“Yep and other things,” she said with a playful smile.
I caught up to her and leaned down to whisper close to her. “You? You want me to ride you?”
Her answer was a sharp intake of breath. I had never been the kind of guy that flirted and talked like that. With her, I didn’t feel like I had to hide what I wanted. I wanted her. I felt safe talking like that with her because I knew she knew I was playing. She wasn’t going to ask or expect anything more from me. It was freeing.
Chapter 18
Evie
My stomach felt funny. It had nothing to do with the breakfast. It was him. He made me feel all wet and gooey. He’d been so flirtatious. It was fun. With any other man, I probably would have dumped my orange juice in his lap. With him, I wanted to climb onto the table and beg him to have his way with me.
“I’m paying,” he insisted when we got to the ticket booth.
“No, this is my idea.”
“I’m paying,” he said again and left zero room for argument. He handed a credit card over and bought the passes that gave us unlimited rides.
“I was thinking we could visit some of the attractions first. Let our breakfast settle a bit before we go on anything that will give us the milkshake treatment.”
He smirked. “Yeah, I’m not sure why we had a big breakfast if this is what you had in mind.”
“Because there is plenty to see and explore while we let our breakfasts settle,” I told him. “I suppose I should have asked if you were afraid of heights?”
He gave me a look. “I’m not afraid of heights.”
“What about rollercoasters?”
He shrugged. “It’s been a while since I got turned upside down, but I’m not afraid of the things.”
“Good, because I love rollercoasters.”
He didn’t look like he shared that same opinion, but I was hoping he would have fun. It was a risk to bring a grown man to a theme park, especially one that was so serious. We spent the next hour and a half roaming the park and checking out the many attractions. I felt like my stomach was ready for a rollercoaster.
“Are you serious about this?” he asked when we got in line.
“Are you backing out on me?” I teased.
He slowly shook his head. “Nope.”
When it was our turn, we climbed into our seats and waited to be locked in. He seemed nervous. It was strange to see a big, burly man like him nervous. “All good?” I asked.
“Evie, I’m fine.”
I wondered if it was possible to truly not enjoy a rollercoaster. The element of fear was what made it exciting. When the ride started to move, I looked over at him. He looked as if he were sitting in the backseat of a taxi. There was zero emotion. He didn’t look scared, but he also didn’t look like he was enjoying himself. I was not ready to give up on him yet.
When the ride was over, with very little reaction from him, I decided to up the ante. “How about the big one?” I asked.
He looked at me. “I’m not sure you can handle another one.”
“Oh, I can handle it. I’m just getting started.”
He smiled and shrugged. “Okay. But if you are going to toss your cookies, you have to aim the other way.”
I rolled my eyes. “I am not going to toss my cookies.”
It was several rides later before the man started to thaw a bit and let himself go. He seemed to be enjoying himself and was having a good time. “I think you broke my eardrums on that one,” he commented as we walked away from the coaster.
I laughed. “That one gets me. I can handle being upside down, but backwards kind of freaks me out.”
He put an arm around my shoulders. “That was fun.”