Page 14 of Finding Romance (Romances in the Building #2)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Piper

It’s just starting to get dark. When Kasen turns onto a side road, I look up and see a lit-up sign for a local amusement park and then I see the rides in the distance.

“An amusement park?” I ask, looking around. I haven’t been to an amusement park in ages.

“Yep,” he replies as he finds us a parking spot.

We get out and he holds out his hand for me. I accept it and we walk up to the ticket booth.

“How’s it open still? I thought they closed for the season last month?” I ask as I look around us.

“They open for Halloween events. This is the first one,” he explains as he pays for our admissions and we go inside the park. I look around us and realize most people are dressed up in costumes.

Kasen stops at a vendor selling costumes and points to them. “Pick one,” he insists.

I look through them and grin when I see matching elf ears. I point to them and I’m surprised when he grins back at me and asks the kid running the stand for them. He pays and we put them on.

“Do you like roller coasters?” he asks.

“I do, but I also like all those games where you win the giant stuffed animals,” I say as I look around us.

“Rides first,” he insists and places his hand on my back as he guides me through the maze of pathways to a roller-coaster line. I can’t help but notice that Kasen is always on alert. He’s constantly scanning the crowds and I wonder as we get in line why he even brought me here.

“Why’d you choose an amusement park?” I ask as he stands behind me, still scanning everyone in our area.

“I read something in a book this week and I thought it’d be a good idea to come to this. It’s hard to have practiced conversation in a place like this,” he points out as he glances down at me.

“Oh,” I reply, not sure what else to say.

He’s right. This place is filled with distractions and I’m not sure going on this ride is a good idea.

I may have a little PTSD from a ride I went on as a kid.

We got stuck going up the big hill and it took thirty minutes to get the ride going again.

But I decide to be brave. That was years ago and I’m an adult now. I can most definitely handle this.

I tap my foot as we stand there. Suddenly, Kasen’s big hand is on my shoulder. I freeze.

“You nervous, little escape artist?” he whispers in my ear and I shiver from the feel of his hot breath on my skin.

“A little,” I admit as I steal a glance up at the ride and immediately regret it.

His arm wraps around my front and pulls me back against him. “I got you. Nothing bad will happen,” he promises. I want to believe him. But the mind is a crazy place and I swear I feel my blood pressure climbing as we stand there.

I try to focus my attention in front of us, which doesn’t help because four teenage boys are standing there having a conversation that I wish I could ignore.

“I bet you puke, bro,” one says to a much taller one.

“Fuck off, Jake. I’ll be fine. It’s Aiden that we have to worry about,” he says, hooking his thumb to point at their friend.

“Me? No way. I’ve ridden this thing like ten times. It’s a piece of cake. Except…” He leans in toward them and I feel myself leaning in too. “This one time, a kid threw up and it flew back and hit everyone in the face. It was disgusting.”

“Ewww!” the three other boys say in unison.

“Damn, bro, that’s gross,” the tall one says.

“It was. But my mom bought us T-shirts and the park manager felt bad and gave us one of those lightning passes, so that was cool,” the kid says with a shrug.

The quiet kid perks up at that mention. “I got stuck on the one over there last summer.” He points to the tallest roller coaster. “We didn’t get park passes, but we did have to have one of those fire trucks with the ladders hoist us each down.”

“Whoa! That’s cool,” the short kid says.

I feel myself tremble as I remember getting stuck. Kasen’s arm tightens around me and he presses his warm lips to the shell of my ear. “Ignore them. Nothing bad will happen,” he assures me.

“What if we get stuck?” I whisper.

“Then, we’ll have more time to talk,” he offers.

I look up and wince. “What if we get stuck upside down?” I ask, motioning to the one loop in the roller coaster.

He looks up and then tightens his grip on me. He presses his lips to the back of my head and I suddenly am not thinking about the roller coaster. I’m thinking about how badly I want Kasen Saddler to kiss me, again.

The line moves and I realize we are next to get in a car. It’s a row of four and we get stuck next to the short and tall kid from in front of us.

The u-shaped harness comes down over us and clicks into place. Kasen reaches over and gives mine a little shake and then does the same to his. I can tell he’s satisfied when he drops his hand over mine, which is death-gripping the seat.

“This is supposed to be fun,” he says.

“Is now a bad time to tell you that I got stuck on a roller coaster once and I might have PTSD?” I state as I begin to shake a bit.

“Fuck. Seriously?” he asks.

I nod.

“Piper, why didn’t you say something?” he asks, and I can tell he feels bad.

“I…it’s silly. It was like ten years ago. I should be over that. This is probably a good thing, right?” I squeak as we lunge forward.

“Uh, I’m not a psychologist, but when was the last time you tried to overcome your PTSD?” he inquires.

I don’t answer as I look at the giant hill in front of us.

“Piper!” Kasen says loudly.

“Today,” I say quietly.

“Fuck. OK, it’ll be OK. Maybe, uh, close your eyes,” he suggests. I try that but then my other senses take over. I hear the metal clicking as we begin to ascend the first hill. I can hear people around us talking excitedly.

And then, the short kid speaks. “Holy shit! This is so tall! What do you think would happen if we got stuck up here?”

“For the love of…can you guys cool it? My girlfriend here is afraid of heights,” Kasen growls.

“Well, riding this is a stupid thing to do, then, isn’t it?” the tall kid sneers. But I’m still stuck on the fact that he just called me his girlfriend. Girlfriend? Did he mean that? No. No, there’s no way. He’s probably just making that up to get his point across.

“I’ve killed people for talking less smack than you,” Kasen growls.

My eyes fly open and I look over at Kasen in horror. The kid’s face is white and he shrinks away from Kasen, muttering something about “crazy adults” to his friend.

“Kasen!” I chastise. “Seriously?”

He looks over at me. “What? The kid was out of line. I don’t need some punk-ass little shit making you feel more nervous.”

“Be nice! They are just kids,” I state as I look over at the boys, but they are both glaring at us. So, I start to look ahead when I realize we are at the precipice and about to go downhill, and fast.

“Oh, shit!” I scream as we fly down the track.

“It’s OK!” Kasen yells. But it is definitely not OK. How can this be OK? Why do people like these rides?

“It’s not OK! I hate this!” I scream.

“It’s almost over!” he yells.

“It is so not almost over!” I retort.

And then it happens. A kid in front of us throws up. This is officially the worst date of my life. Now, I’m covered in vomit, having a panic attack, and I’m two seconds away from peeing my pants out of total fear.

“Shit,” Kasen mutters in disgust.

“Gross! Bro, you totally cursed us with that story!” the tall kid screams.

“I’m going to be sick!” the short kid yells and then he vomits on the people behind us.

Twenty seconds later, we pull back into the station and the safety bars pop up. Staff are there ready to clean the ride. I’m thankful it only hit my shoulder and it appears Kasen is also mostly unscathed.

Kasen takes me by the hand and drags me out of the area and into a nearby shop where he promptly purchases us T-shirts and sweatshirts, dumping our dirty ones in a plastic bag. Once we are changed and cleaned up, he buys us sodas and parks us on a bench.

“That was…well, I think I’m over the original PTSD, but I have a whole new one unlocked now,” I grumble, breaking the silence.

He groans. “I’m sorry. Fuck. This was supposed to be about getting you out of your comfort zone, not traumatizing you,” he mutters.

I start giggling and I can’t stop. I keep laughing until I’m doubled over and tears stream down my cheeks. Kasen starts laughing as well.

“Well, I’m definitely out of my comfort zone. Did I pass this test?” I ask as I finally pull myself together.

“With flying colors,” he says as he wipes away a tear under his eye.

“Can we, uh, maybe play some games or something? Like, no more rides?” I ask.

He stands and I grip his outstretched hand as he hoists me up and wraps his arms around me, giving me a giant hug. “Thank you for making me laugh. I haven’t laughed that hard in a very long time,” he murmurs against the top of my head.

“You’re welcome. Now, come on, I want a giant stuffed animal,” I state as I drag him toward the games.

* * *

Three hours and two teddy bears and a giant stuffed squid later, we’re back at one-eleven Hearts Lane. We’re standing at Kasen’s apartment door. And I’m anxious for another goodnight kiss.

“So,” I say as I toe the old carpet in the hallway.

“You want to come in. I can keep these at my place if you like,” he says as he holds up an armful of stuffed animals.

I giggle. “That would be great if you don’t mind,” I say.

Kasen unlocks his door and motions with a teddy bear for me to go inside. I step into his living room and he shuts the door, tossing the stuffed animals onto a nearby chair.

I stand in front of the sofa awkwardly, not sure what I should do.

“Want a drink?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say. Liquid courage might help here.

“Have a seat,” he says and he goes into his kitchen.

I sit down on the edge of the sofa. I vaguely remember one high school date where we ended up back at the guy’s house and he kissed me and then tried to grope my boobs, and it was so weird and uncomfortable.

He never called again after that night. Maybe I suck at making out.