“Was he a gentleman?” I ask, rolling my teeth between my lips to keep from laughing.
“Ugh.” Her eyes roll again, even more dramatically this time. “He spent the whole day picking his nose. It took all I could do not to gag the entire time.”
“Well,” I clasp her hand, forcing it into the crook in my arm and turn her back toward the fair, “I promise not to pick my nose, and I’m honored to be your very first real date.”
I can see her eyeing me skeptically from my periphery, but I don’t acknowledge it.
“Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll even get a goodnight kiss for my trouble.”
She chuckles, but the husky sound lets me know that she may not be completely opposed to the chance.
We start with chili dogs and tater tots, topping the meal off with a funnel cake—county fair staples—before I introduce Frankie to my subpar abilities on the games.
“I figured you’d be good at sports,” Frankie whispers when yet another perfectly aimed basketball bounces off the rim.
“These things are rigged,” I tell her.
“Yet you still keep playing.”
She grins when I hand more tickets to the man working the basketball throw.
“I’m better at football, but I saw the way you were eyeing that unicorn.”
Her eyes flash to the white and rainbow decorated stuffed toy hanging from the gridwork at the side of the game.
“Aww.” She flutters her eyelashes as she draws her hands up to her chest. “And you’re going to go broke trying to win it for me?”
“Do you want it or not?” I ask, but there isn’t an ounce of irritation in my voice. Hell, I’ll spend every last dollar I have if it means I get to hear her sweet laugh every time I miss.
“Not really,” she finally answers. “I’m a little old for stuffed animals.”
So much for the romantic gesture.
I throw and miss my last shot, but before I can offer up more money, she grabs my hand and pulls me away.
“Maybe you’d have better luck with the ring toss.”
“Those are games for babies,” I murmur.
“Yet, that little boy just won a dragon.” She points to the snot-nosed, freckle-faced kid waving his new toy around like he just won a million dollars.
He hands it to a little girl in a stroller, and we both watch as she clutches it to her chest with a wide, toothless grin.
“Seems he’s better at wooing than I am.”
“Are you trying to woo me, Zeke Benson?”
Her perfect smile hasn’t left her face since we walked into the gates and man do I feel like a king keeping it there.
“I’m doing my bes—”
“Zeke?”
Frankie tips her head to the side so she can see past my shoulder, but I already know who’s approaching us. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get around this damn fair without running into someone from school.
I hold Frankie’s gaze for a long moment before sighing and facing those approaching us.
“Hey, man.” Paul, a guy from school claps me on the back. “How’s your summer been? Haven’t seen you at all since school let out.”
“From the looks of it, he’s got a very good reason to have kept to himself,” Jason, another buddy says as he notices Frankie’s hand in mine. He nudges me with his shoulder. “Introduce us, jackass.”
A small smile touches Frankie’s lips, but it’s nothing like the way her face was lit up a few moments before our interruption. She’s no more interested in these guys than I am.
“Frankie, these are a couple of guys from school. Jason and Paul, this is Frankie. She’s visiting her grandmother this summer.”
“I’m Cheryl,” a girl from the junior class interrupts, holding her hand out to Frankie before Paul can clasp her hand, no doubt he planned on kissing her knuckles. I don’t know what’s worse, Paul trying to hit on her or this girl standing between us.
“Frankie,” she says as they shake hands.
“This is Suzanne and Tricia,” Cheryl says as two more girls join us.
I don’t step closer to Frankie like I want to. The action would speak too loudly in this group, but keeping my distance only gives Cheryl exactly what she’s looking for. She doesn’t touch me, but she slides so close to my chest, I doubt a single piece of paper would fit between us. Cheryl has been vying for my attention for years, but her older brother is one of my closest friends and that makes her off-limits, not that I’m attracted to her, anyway.
“Wanna ride the Ferris wheel with me?”
She bites her bottom lip, doing her best to act sexy, and I’m an asshole for not mentioning the speck of pepper lodged in her teeth.
“No,” I state simply. “Frankie and I were about to hit the haunted house.”
Frankie’s eyes widen, but Paul distracts me again with another clap on my shoulder. “Come on, girls. Let the man enjoy his date.”