Not wanting to lose a minute, I hurried back into the room.
Everyone stood, watching and waiting.
Keyton handed my heels to Emily.
Please don’t tell me they’re going to say I can’t go out there.
I ran my hands along the fuzzy pajama Wonder Woman legs. “Are we good to go?”
“If you’re sure about this.” Holden set down his phone. “We can stay for a while if you’d like, in case you need some back-up.”
Keyton stepped forward. “Once they see the SUV go, everyone will assume Bay’s gone. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He held out his hand. “Trust me.”
I stared into his eyes and slid my hand into his. “I’ll be fine, Holden.” I couldn’t rip my eyes away from Keyton.
The pads of his fingers ran over the inside of my wrist. His eyes told me everything I needed to know. I could trust him. He wouldn’t leave my side. And I’d regret leaving without spending this time with him.
We walked toward the door. I called out over my shoulder. “I’ve got my phone, Holden. It will be okay.”
Without waiting for a response, we were out the door, Keyton leading the way.
Eric and Holden stayed behind. The doors to the green room closed behind us.
Excitement and nervousness were in an on-stage scuffle in my stomach.
Keyton walked through the event space with his head held high, no worries about what might be on the other side of the door.
It wasn’t until that moment that it hit me how far I’d veered from the path of the life I’d had before. The anticipation of a shitshow on the other side of a door wasn’t a given for most people, not even people who were famous like Keyton.
The sounds from outside got louder as we got closer. Shoving the doors open, he grinned and looked back at me.
I gripped his hand tighter, covering it with my other. It felt like I was sitting in the car pulling into an amusement park parking lot, gripping the seats and bouncing around, ready to have some fun—finally.
Outside on the lawn there were lights flashing and laughter and screams filling the air. The rest of the gang stood close by.
He whispered close to my ear. “I let them know you were staying. I hope that’s okay.”
The hair on my arms jumped to attention at his close talking and familiar scent. “It’ll be fun. I’m sure you want to hang out with your friends too.”
“And you.” He still hadn’t dropped my hand and I hadn’t dropped his. His friends were right there though and it could invite questions, ones I wasn’t prepared to answer.
Besides the rides, there was a full carnival set up, complete with rigged games and junk food galore. A fried food fantasy ran through my head.
Marisa showcased my outfit with her hand. “You’re the coziest Wonder Woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Warm too. And I’ve got pockets.” I extracted my hand from his and stuck both mine in my pockets.
He stood beside me in a way that felt more like a declaration, one to rival me pulling my hand from his. My whole life was one big plan that I didn’t feel clued into half the time. There were no plans for what any of this meant beyond tonight, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy it, that I couldn’t savor every moment, no matter what the morning sun brought.
“What do you want to do first?”
Colorful lights, laughter and childhood flashbacks were in every corner of this place. “Anything. Everything.”
With a whole group of friends, kind of like the ones I’d never had in high school, we ran through the carnival.
No money was needed for rides or the games, and the lime green lanyard was our VIP drinks package. We stood in line for the Gravatron, where our backs were stuck to the wall while Welcome to the Jungle blasted at top volume.
We raced from one attraction to another, everyone telling jokes and stories to keep us entertained while we waited for our turn on the next near-vomit-inducing ride. My cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling, although my disguise hid a lot of it. It also let me watch Keyton without feeling like everyone could see.
I didn’t have to hide my smile when partygoers asked if I’d take a picture of them with him and the rest of the guys. It was nice being on the other side of the camera for once.
I could see his ease with who he was now, how easily he laughed, how much his friends cared about him, and he cared about them.
Tears welled in my eyes, but I blinked them back, willing myself not to get emotional. He’d finally found a family with a bond not even six years and cross-country moves could dampen. He’d finally found some peace.
We sat beside each other with our arms over our heads on the rollercoaster. Locked in a small car beside him, I rested my head on his shoulder, soaking up every moment.
He dropped his head down on top of mine. A gentle weight. Words said without opening our mouths.
I missed you so much.
A yearning I hadn’t even let myself recognize slammed into me like two Mack trucks driving toward each other at sixty miles per hour. I missed him. I missed being with him, laughing with him, knowing him.
My feet were no longer in rebellion, but my legs were. Still, I didn’t want to stop. It was one of the few times I’d been on my own, not tucked inside four walls, in so long I could barely remember the last time.
The food stand with beignets and crepes would be the death of me, and I shouldn’t have ridden the Tilt-A-Whirl after ingesting what had to be a pound of powered sugar and Nutella.
All of us collapsed onto benches, Keyton beside me, a little sweaty and a lot happy.
It was the happiest I’d been in a long time.
I didn’t want the night to end. I didn’t want my time with him to end, but in the light of day would everything feel as magical as it did tonight?
16
Keyton
Bay had to be tired. She’d been on the verge of passing out in the green room when I’d gone back to check on her, scared she’d left already. As tired as she’d looked, I hadn’t wanted the night to end with a handshake and a ‘thank you for coming’.
So I’d asked her to come out with me, expecting one of her handlers to jump in to say no, but she’d jumped in first.
Watching her enjoy herself without the weight of who she’d become tapped into a piece of me that longed to give her the world, longed to give her something no one else could. But tonight was one night.
A night for her to hang out with my friends and nearly deafen me with screams on the can drop ride. A night to be close to her.
Running around the transformed farm grounds with Bay, Knox, LJ and Marisa, and Berk and Jules felt like some alternate universe where we’d all grown up together. Here, we were eighteen again, hanging out at a fall fair, laughing and being goofy together without a care in the world.
It was a past I’d wished I’d had, but my true past had brought me to this moment.
The rotor of the helicopter across the farm sent shivers down my spine. My muscles tightened and I fought against the roiling acid in my stomach.
Bay jumped up and down and squeezed my arm. “A helicopter ride maze? Can someone explain what the hell that is?” Her eyes widened behind her mask.
Marisa tugged her forward. “Who knows? Let’s find out.”