Where Do We Go From Here?

Tony arrived five minutes after I left Ronnie’s room. I walked to his car with an impish grin on my face while tucking away my car keys.

“Don’t forget to bring me here after we’re done doing whatever you had in mind.” I reminded.

“Got it.” He said with a joking salute. “Mission cheer-up-Verity is in motion.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “So does this count as our first date?” I asked.

“No ma’am. This is strictly about business.” He answered with a serious face.

I laughed. “Not to sound whiny or anything, but when do you plan on taking me on this first date? A girl can only wait for so long.”

“Eager, aren’t we?” Tony teased.

“No, just curious.”

“I’m still planning it. So it might be a while.” Tony smiled a toothy grin before he pulled out of the parking lot.

"You're still planning it?" I asked skeptically.

Tony sighed. "I have one chance to blow your mind with this first date, so I don't want to come up short and disappoint you."

I smiled while simultaneously blushing at the thought that Tony was trying to impress me. It was utterly adorable.

We drove through the light traffic until Tony pulled into San Diego’s all year round carnival. It’s a small portion just off from South Pier that’s filled with carnival rides and other fun attractions. I remember only coming here a handful of times, and even then that wasn’t since I was still in Junior High. Callie never really liked thrill and since I didn’t have a lot of friends other than Callie, I didn’t go.

“This will cheer me up?” I asked skeptically.

From what little I remembered of this place, I could only recall the very creaky Ferris Wheel and the rigged games that made it nearly impossible for you to win at. The only good memory I could retract was the cheese pizza. It somehow was a perfect combination of gooey and stringy that it made it bearable to pay the $10 entrance fee.

“It’ll help for the experience.” Tony assured me while hoping out of the car, only to rush to my door and open it for me.

“Wow, chivalry. That’s very kind of you sir.” I commented while a proud smile stretched across his face.

“After you, milady.” He replied with a slight bow.

Rolling my eyes, I quickly gathered my wallet and phone from my backpack and shoved them into my pockets before proceeding to walk to the ticket booth. Carna-Palooza—the name of the carnival, which happens to change quite frequently since some new big shot buys it out every year and changes the name altogether—liked to kick it old school. It had a small bank of ticket tellers set up by the gate, in which you pay them for a single raffle before taking it to the gate keeper where they strap a band around your wrist.

“I’m paying.” Tony insisted as I reached the ticket booth.

I wanted to argue back that I was capable of paying for my entrance, but I decided to withhold on him since he was trying his best to cheer me up.

“Fine.”

Paying for the both of us, Tony then grasped my hand in his and walked to the large man who held the wrist bands. Strapped and ready to go, Tony first pulled me towards the Spin-out. I vaguely recalled this ride since I never rode it, but from the glimpses that I did catch from it, I knew that it was best to ride it on an empty stomach.

“I don’t know…” I said with hesitancy.

Tony smiled down at me. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of this.” He commented.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m not scared.”

Tugging on my hand, Tony said “Then let’s get in line.”

Carna-Palooza isn’t like Disneyland where it’s constantly packed. However, the place did attract a pretty large crowd, especially during the Summer season when the amount of tourists almost outweighs the natives. As of now though, since Summer has officially ended and the beginnings of Autumn are slowly creeping in, Carna-Palooza’s crowd had died down a bit, leaving there to only be a few eager families, some tourists still on vacation, and groups of rebellious teenagers who decided to skip school.

Boarding the Spin-out, I felt a clench in my stomach. I realized that it was the sensation of butterflies building up in my stomach. Tony held my hand the entire time, even when we were securely strapped into the ride. His right hand clasped around my left, assuring me that I was alright. The ride started shortly after Tony asked if I was ready. I clenched my eyes closed as I felt the ride pick up, spinning us slowly at first before picking up speed.

“Open your eyes!” I heard Tony shout; his voice happy and enthusiastic.

I opened them slowly to the sight of everything blurring together. The lights, the sun, the sky, the other rides, and even the people meshed together in one big color palette that made me laugh. I turned my head to face Tony, the only thing that seemed to hold focus on this ride. I saw the familiar flicker in his eyes. He leaned over slowly, slightly held back since we were strapped in, before his lips lightly grazed mines for a brief moment. I wasn’t sure if it was the kiss or the ride itself, but there was a bubbly laughter that followed shortly after. Once the ride finished, I couldn’t contain the smile forming on my face. I was in a fit of laughter as I wobbled back to the ground.

“I gotta hand it to you, that was fun.” I smiled while leaning into his frame.

With a playfully smug tone, Tony said “I know.”

“What’s next?” I asked after rolling my eyes at him.

“Face paint.” He announced.

“Really?”

“I’m serious. Face painting can cheer up anyone.” He vowed.

Shrugging my shoulder, I said “Okay, face paint it is.”

Grabbing my hand, Tony led me to the booths that lined alongside where the games were. Face painting was at the end, next to the Henna and temporary tattoos booth. There wasn’t a long line, so the wait was only around 5 minutes. The woman in charge of the booth seemed to be in her thirties. She had blonde hair with a few dreadlocks in them that were wrapped in a very colorful beanie. Her eyes were blue, almost purple and she had a nose piercing in her left nostril.

With a kind smile crossing her face, she asked “Now what can I do for you two?”

I glanced at Tony, allowing him to take the lead. “I’m trying to cheer up my girlfriend here” Tony began, making my face flush at his use of the word ‘girlfriend’. “And I was wondering if you could help us pick out the perfect animal to paint our face as.” He finished while throwing me a quick wink.

“Let’s see…” The woman began as she flipped through her binders that held pictures of her past clients. “For you young man, I’d be glad to turn your face into this.” She turned the binder around for us to see, revealing the face of a monkey.

Tony smiled. “Sounds wonderful.”

“As for you…” The woman said as she turned her attention back to the binder, flipping through the pages until I saw her eyes light up. “This would go great with your eyes.” She turned it around to reveal the face of a tiger.

“That looks really cool.” I commented.

The woman had a pleased smile on her face before saying “So, who would like to go first.”

“I’ll go.” I volunteered.

Notes

I'm feeling like a ball of blah, so I hope this chapter turned out okay.

Let me know what you think :)

And as always thank you for reading and commenting guys. You are all magnificent people that make me smile when I read your feedback <3