Page 50 of No Mistakes

I nod, taking the appraisal before starting the engine.

We drive in silence for a while. But it’s not awkward. Her knee bounces gently, and her fingers toy with the straw. I don’t look at her much, I can’t, or I won’t stop. I focus on the road instead. On what’s waiting, less than twenty-two minutes away.

She speaks, her voice quieter then earlier. “Where are we going?”

I tilt my head slightly and give her a look that says,‘Trust me.’

And she does. I know it in the way she doesn’t ask again. Her hand lifts to the stereo. “Can I-?”

I nod before she has the chance to finish, because she never has to ask me to do anything.

Music fills the space. It’s different to what we were listening to on the drive from Providence. This music is soft. Slow. Romantic in a way.

Her gaze shifts to me, and I’m positive she thinks I can’t feel it, but I do. She’s watching the way my hands grip the wheel, my veins exposed, knuckles flexing every time I make a turn. Her eyes are hot on my skin.

And even though I’m not supposed to know what she’s thinking, I can guess.

I can guess because I’ve thought the same things. About what her hands would look like on me. About the sounds she’d make if I pulled over and dragged her onto my lap. About the taste of her lips after she’s been teasing me for hours with that mouth.

But I keep driving, pushing all those thoughts away, because tonight isn’t about taking. It’s about giving her something no one else has. Something soft, something real.

She shifts in her seat, crossing one leg over the other, and I swear I hear her breath catch. I risk a glance. Her eyes are on the road, but her cheeks are pink, lips slightly parted like she’s trying not to imagine the things I’m imagining.

As the music plays and the miles slip away, lights start to glow in the distance. Neon signs flicker in the night, faint but growing stronger the closer we get. I look towards her, to see her brows furrowed, confused. Her eyes scan the dark until-

She sees it. I hear her breath leave her chest as she leans forward.

“No,” she whispers. “Is that-?”

I don’t answer, but I hear the hope in her voice as I pull into the gravel lot slowly, tires crunching as I park in the space right by the gates.

Mandy unbuckles from the seat before I even have the chance to turn the engine off. She twists towards me, stunned. “Is this a fairground?”

I nod, letting a smile appear.

“Shut up,” she says. “You’re joking.”

I stare at her, letting the moment sink in.

She shakes her head, like she doesn’t understand why. “But… how did you know?”

I give her a look, one that says‘how do you think?’

She blinks, and I watch as the moment hits her. Her lips part. “Wait. You… you heard me and Eva?” She covers her face, groaning. “Oh my god. You were there?”

I smile, nodding slowly because yeah, I was. And I’ll be her shadow in the dark forever, if it means I could make all her dreams come true.

She lowers her hands slowly, a laugh bubbling up in her chest like she doesn’t know what to do with it. “You seriously planned all ofthis, just for me?”

I nod, this moment burning into my mind forever.

She doesn’t say anything as she looks out the window, admiring everything around us. She just reaches over the console, placing her hand over mine.

The moment we step past the gates, her eyes widen. She slows to a stop, spinning slowly in place as the lights flash around us. The smell of popcorn, sugar, and gasoline from the generators fills the air. Laughter echoes from the bumper cars, and I’m pretty sure I hear someone screaming from the top of the Ferris wheel.

I watch Mandy as she takes everything in, and her eyes meet mine. I see something flash across her face, recognition, disbelief, affection, all wrapped in awe.

“You’re a sneaky, silent, beautiful bastard,” she mutters under her breath, and I hold back a laugh.