I was going to have to take you to the hospital and have them check your pulse.”
“I could use something to drink,” he said. “How about you?”
“Absolutely. All that screaming has left me a little parched.”
He flinched, inhaling a sharp breath through his nose. I knew exactly what he was thinking. Sex. The man had sex on the brain. It made me feel sexy and wanted. Definitely not something I was used to feeling. We made our way to one of the little shops outdoors and ordered a couple of root beer floats before finding a place to sit.
“This was fun,” he finally agreed.
“Good. I was beginning to worry a little. Have you been here before?”
“Yes, a few times when I was much younger. My mom would bring me and my brother here on occasion. We didn’t usually ride all the rollercoasters in one visit though.”
I smiled. “You bought the full-day pass. Can’t let it go to waste.”
“What about you? Is this somewhere you spent a lot of time with your dad?”
I slowly nodded. “It is. Usually on the weekends. He would bring me here for a ride or two and then we always got a corndog followed by an ice cream.”
“I bet those are some fond memories.”
“Aren’t your memories fond?” I questioned.
He shrugged. “I guess. Usually, my mom would bring us here when my dad deployed. She said it was to take our mind off what was happening, but I think it was really for her.”
“I imagine it would be hard to be a military wife.”
“I think the hard part was him being who he was,” he said. “They were married for more than thirty years, but I never got the feeling they really loved one another. They didn’t act like it.”
“I think some people are just like that,” I mused.
“Were your parents?”
I slowly shook my head. “I don’t know. I don’t really remember. My dad never remarried, so I am guessing he loved her a lot. He changed after she died. That, I do remember. He didn’t laugh as much, and he didn’t smile as much.”
“I’m sorry,” he said in a soft voice. “I lost my mom about five years ago. I can’t imagine losing a mom at that young age. We weren’t exactly close, but it was a loss.”
I had wanted to ask him about his mom, especially since he talked about her in the past tense. I stopped myself from pushing. It was none of my business, and if he wasn’t ready to talk about it, I wasn’t going to pick the scab off a festering wound.
“I’m sorry. Death is sad no matter the situation.”
He nodded but said nothing more on the matter. “Is this another one of those things you do often? To decompress?”
I laughed. “No, definitely not. I don’t know if this is really decompressing. The fun does rejuvenate me a little though. It’s exhausting but it feels good to scream and just kind of let loose. Don’t you agree?”
He smirked. “I suppose. There are other activities that can lead to screaming and letting loose.”
He was so different than he had been before our outing on the boat. I was convinced I was getting to see the man behind the mask. “Yes, I suppose there are.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, looking away.
“For what?”
“I’m being an ass.”
“I don’t think you are,” I assured him.
“I don’t normally talk like I’m a horny teen,” he said with smirk.
I used my straw to stir the float. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I don’t mind.”
“I’ll try and curb it.”
I nudged him with my shoulder. “I think I like it. It’s fun. I know you aren’t being serious.” I popped out my bottom lip. “But I think I like it. It makes me feel like I’m a teen again.”
“Then I won’t stop,” he said in a husky voice that sent goosebumps spreading over my body.
I sipped on my float and watched people mill about. I was always fascinated by people. “Dang,” I muttered when a young couple that was clearly very enamored with one another passed in front of us.
“Is this the part where we yell at them to get a room?” he joked.
“Something like that.”
We finished our drinks but neither of us made a move to get up. “I have to go out of town tomorrow morning.”
I turned to look at him. “Oh?”
He nodded. “I should only be gone for the week. When I agreed to our little deal last night, the meetings slipped my mind.