Scarlett Bound

Chapter 19

We spend the day going from one ride to the next. With the passes I bought we are able to cut to the front of the line. I feel bad for all the little kids that we get to jump in front of. The puppy dog eyes they give us make me want to go to the back of the line and wait.

“We’ve been on everything at least once. What do you want to do now?” Devin asks as he hands me our bag of cotton candy. In his hand is a large chunk of the fluffy blue sweetness. As he chomps down on it, he leaves little bits of blue sugar on his lips.

“Blue lipstick looks good on you.” I laugh and take a small piece of pink. Then I very elegantly place it in my mouth so I don't end up wearing it like Devin. He licks up the leftover sugar and I follow his tongue as it moves over those full lips. His tongue may be blue but it’s still sexy as hell. “I vote we get our faces painted then ride the carousel again. I want to ride the unicorn this time.”

“I want to do the ferris wheel again too. During the golden hour so I can get a picture of you. It’ll look beautiful.”

“Want to get any other photos?” I ask as I lick off the sticky residue on my fingers. In order for the two of us to talk we have to speak so loudly, we are almost yelling at one another. The road is full of people going from place to place. We are having to weave around families and squeeze between people when we can’t find another way around.

“Really? You wouldn’t mind?” The surprise in his voice has me taken aback. 

“Of course not! You’ve been carrying your camera around all day. It seems silly to only get one photo.” I yank off a piece of the cotton candy in his hand and take a bite of it. “Besides, weren't you the guy who said you can make anywhere a photoshoot?” 

“I did say that.” He chuckles. “I’m glad to hear that you're paying attention to my oh so wise words. I’d love to just follow you around with my camera and get random shots of you. See what I get by the end of the day. If you don’t mind, of course.” Rolling my eyes, I point to the line for the face painting. We get in and continue our conversation.

“I already told you I don't. You can take all the photos you want of me. Why are you so surprised by that?” Curiously gets the best of me and I find myself asking him.

“Remember the whole ex-girlfriend thing?” He brings up rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. “They all got sick of it. At first, they were all for it but then they got tired of me always wanting to turn everything into a photo session. It was another one of the reasons they got annoyed with me bringing my camera everywhere.”

“Well, as you can see I am not like any of your model ex’s,” I say gesturing at my body then going in for another piece of cotton candy from the bag. “I’ve known you since we were kids. Not only that but I’ve been one of your models since you first discovered your love of photography. Seeing you without your camera is weird for me. As you said, it’s a part of you.”

Those big brown eyes look into mine. He stares at me so long it starts to make me nervous. I look down at my sparkly green toenails and admire the specks of glitter shimmering in the sun. Devin puts his hand under my chin and lifts my head up. I get lost in their gentle brown depths.

“You’re right, you’re nothing like my model ex’s.” He pauses and I bite my lip uncomfortably. I knew that but it sucks hearing the words from him. “You’re a million times better than any of them ever were or ever could be.” 

He tugs my bottom lip free from in between my teeth. Then rubs his thumb across it gently making the air rush out of me. Everything around us fades away. The sound of all the people walking and talking. Screams of children riding on roller coasters. The metal of the rides clanking as they begin taking off. It all disappears leaving the two of us in our own little world.

My heart races as he strokes my lip and his eyes follow the movement. I’m transported back to when I was a teenager. Desperately longing for Devin to kiss me. I want to remember what having his lips pressed against mine felt like. How his tongue felt caressing mine. When our breaths felt like they were one. 

Heat rushes to my cheeks. My chest rises and falls rapidly. Without thinking I take a step closer to him and place my hand on his chest. Underneath my palm, I feel the fast beating of his heart. He leans forward and pressed his forehead to mine. I close my eyes and hold my breath. Waiting to see what he does next. Excited and terrified at the same time I don't move an inch. All I do is take in the amazing feeling of having him so close to me again.

“Looks like it’s our turn.” He tells me softly and inches his forehead away from mine. I finally open my eyes. For a second, I have no idea what he’s talking about. All I do is look up at him wanting to jump him in front of all of these families. “Don’t look at me like that Letty. I know what that look means and having to stop myself is hard enough.”

“Right. Sorry.” I clear my throat and work on composing myself. 

“Do you guys know which design you’d like?” The older woman asks as she walks over to us. She’s just finished cleaning up after the last person she painted. A little girl who wanted to look like a fairy princess. She left with the biggest smile on her face with her dark crazy curls bouncing around which each step she took. 

“You should go with this one Letty,” Devin says pointing at an example painting of a fox. “Because you’re so foxy.” He ends cheesily.

Laughing I go up to the board to look at all the options. If he gets to choose mine then I definitely get to choose his for him. I come across the perfect one for him in the second row. It’s painted on a little girl's face in the example but it’ll be perfect for him.

“And you should go with this one,” I point to the bunny, “because even though you look all tough on the inside you’re nothing but sweet and fluffy on the inside.” 

“I’m going to rock that bunny. You wait and see.” He laughs. We walk over to the empty chair waiting for us and I get the pleasure of going first. I close my eyes and let the woman work her magic. Cool paint glides across my skin as she brushes it on. 

She makes polite conversation with us while she works. Asking us about how our day is going and which rides we’ve been on. She notices Devin’s camera and asks him about it. You can hear the excitement in his voice as he tells her about some of his past jobs and about me being his current model.

“That is so sweet that you’re using your girlfriend as your model. How long have the two of you been together?” I start to correct her but Devin answers before I get the chance.

“Since high school. We actually broke up about five years ago when I had to leave for work. It was the worst decision I ever made but I recently moved back and we started right where we left off. I guess you could say I’m bound to Scarlett. I just couldn't let her go.” He winks at me and lost for words I stare at him mouth gaping. A fly would have the perfect opportunity to zip right in. Trying to come up with something to say my mouth opens then closes a few times but I can’t find any words to respond.

“That is so sweet.” She coos at the two of us. A strand of her greying blonde hair whips free from her bun and she tucks it behind her ear. Using a small paintbrush she adds my whiskers. 

“Like I said, he’s all sweet and fluffy on the inside.” He gives me a gentle smile that makes me heart stutter.

“You're all done, dear. Have a look and let me know what you think.” I walk over to the mirror they have set up to take a look. Grinning, I let her know how perfect it is. She quickly cleans off her brushes and Devin takes a seat. As she paints his face I sneak a photo of him. 

When she’s all done with turning Devin into a sweet bunny he pays and gives her a generous tip. With our newly painted faces, we head to the carousel. I know he was just messing around about us being together but I can almost pretend that we really are a couple out enjoying a day at the fair together. 

“Can I call you foxy mama for the rest of the day?” Devin asks with a grin.

“Only if I get to call you bunny boy?” I retort with an overly exaggerated smile. Laughing, we skip to the front of the line. We watch as the families and kids finish their turns. Parents on the sidelines take photos and wave to their children with big smiles of their own on their faces.

The carousel begins to slow as the ride comes to an end. When it comes to a stop, workers and parents help the smaller children off of the different animals. Once everyone is off, they unlock the gate for us to get on. With a quick flash of our bracelets, we are waved through. I walk as fast as I can without running to get to the unicorn.

“Happy that you got your unicorn, foxy mama,” Devin asks as he hops onto the camel next to me.

“Indeed I am, bunny boy.” The two of us giggle like little kids as we buckle ourselves onto our animals. Then we patiently wait for everyone else to choose their animals and get buckled in. When there's no more room left, the workers go around checking the belts to make sure we are all safe. Soon after we slowly start to move. 

I let out a little cheer of excitement. As my unicorn starts it’s makeshift gallop I hold onto the golden pole and enjoy the ride. The music from the ride surrounds me transporting me to a place of wonder. 

I glance over at Devin hoping that he’s enjoying himself too. Of all the rides I could have wanted to go on of course I choose one that is for the youngest kids here. I couldn't resist. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve loved riding on carousels. They make me believe that magic could actually exist in the world.

Instead of seeing Devin’s face as I expected, I see his camera set up and aimed at me. Even if he was unhappy with my choice of ride, I know that he’s happy now. The camera in his hand added with that smile on his face tells me all I need to know. I flash him a smile and go back to my little world where fairies dance to the music with their little fox and bunny friends. 

All too soon the ride slows down signaling it’s coming to an end. I feel my lips tilt down into a frown. I’m sure I look like a kid who’s mom just told her she can’t have a cookie. Unbuckling myself, I jump off of my unicorn and offer to hold onto Devin’s camera so he can get down. I wouldn't want him to drop it by accident. It’s a lot heavier than it looks and I cradle it to my chest to make sure I keep it safe.

“I chose this one so you get to choose what we do next.” I carefully pass him back his camera as he thinks about where he wants to go.

“How about we do the hurricane again.”

“You got it.”

“You lead and I’ll follow behind.” He lifts up his camera letting me know he's going to be taking some shots as we go. I give him a little salute and lead the way. 

That’s how the next few hours ago. As the sun starts to lower and the day cools we go back and forth choosing what we do. Sometimes we’ll choose a ride and others we pick one of the games to play. While we enjoy the fair Devin takes photos of me when he can. 

By the time we head to the ferris wheel to get the sunset photo Devin wants we’ve acquired a small collection of stuffed animals. We cut across the fairgrounds that have emptied out quite a bit now. The majority of people left are teenagers hanging out with their friends and the odd family.

“Would you be able to stop us at the top for a minute?” Devin asks the attendant at the gate. 

“No problem, man.” He gives the two of us a sly knowing smirk. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Devin thanks him and we wait for our turn to get on. When we’re in our seats the attendant closes and locks up the gate.

“Take a picture with me while we wait for him to load up the rest of the seats.” I pull out my phone and the two of us have a mini selfie session. By the time we’re done, I think I took fifty photos. I’ll have to sort through all those later.

“Did you have fun today, foxy mama?” Devin asks, making me laugh. I relax into the seat and watch as the world slowly goes by.

“Tons. Thanks for getting me out of the house, again. I’d probably be at home working on some project for Mixed if you hadn’t given me a call.” The wheel comes to a stop leaving us at the very top. I take in the endless golden sky streaked with light pinks and blues reminding me of cotton candy. Glancing over my shoulder, I see Devin with his camera aimed at me. 

When he’s done he lowers the camera leaving his face unobstructed. The setting sun shines down on him making him glow. With the wait my heart is aching and the thoughts racing through my head I know where Devin and I are headed. I don’t know if I’m ready for it but I do know one thing. Whatever happens, will not end with my heart being broken again. No matter what.