“Of course, I was planning on it anyway darlin’.” He winked at me. “Right.” He said loud
enough for everyone to hear. “Ready to go?” There was another chorus of yeses, and we headed down the long driveway to the main road. I focused on my breathing and the feeling of Mason’s hand in mine, his thumb was stroking the back of my hand, and while I felt apprehensive, I knew I wasn’t going to have a panic attack. Mason somehow knew to leave me alone and not talk to me, only asking occasionally if I was okay, to which I nodded my head. It was only about a twenty-minute drive to Burnet, and we were there before I knew it.
Mason parked the minivan into a field adjacent to where the fair and rodeo was being held. We all piled out and headed over to the kiosk to pay the entry fee. I dug around in my bag for my purse, but Mason put his hand on mine stopping me. “I’m paying sweetheart.” He told me bending down and kissing me on the nose.
“No Mason, I should be paying for you, you drove everyone,” I told him.
“I pay for my girl when we’re out.” He said, not taking no for an answer and quickly handing the money over. I saw the girl in the kiosk do a double take when she looked up to take his money, she was looking at him like she wanted to devour him. She tried to engage him in conversation, but he stepped back and wrapped his arm around my waist. This, however, didn’t stop her and she continued to flirt and give him the eye, I might as well have been invisible. Mason ignored her advances while still managing to be polite. I, however, wanted to scratch her eyes out! We moved away letting Savannah and the others pay.
“Does that happen a lot?” I asked him.
He looked at me puzzled. “Does what happen a lot?”
“That girl at the kiosk, I think she’d have dropped her knickers right there and then if you’d asked her to!”
He turned back towards the kiosk, and the girl gave him a wave. He ignored her and turned back to face me. “Libby, are you jealous?” He asked, a cocky grin forming on his lips.
I folded my arms across my chest, willing my face not to flush with embarrassment. “No! She was just… overbearing that’s all.” I pouted, dropping my eyes from his.
He laughed. “I never even noticed her Lib. I’m not interested in anyone except you.” He lifted my chin with his finger. “I love that you were jealous, though, but trust me you have nothing to worry about baby.” He stroked my face with his fingers.
“I love it when you call me baby,” I whispered, my eyes widening as I realised that I’d voiced my thoughts out loud. My cheeks flushed again, and I dropped my head to his chest, mortified.
He chuckled “I’ll have to remember that baby.” He said, emphasising the word baby and circling his arms around me. I inhaled deeply, taking in his scent. It was his usual smell of soap and aftershave, but it was addictive.
“Put her down Mason.” I heard Jack shout from behind us. I rolled my eyes and pulled out of Mason’s embrace. “Come on, let’s get in there,” Jack said leading the way. Mason laughed and grabbed my hand pulling me along to follow the others.
Once inside I stood and looked around, there were three arenas, two of which were open and hosting various animal shows with the third, the much larger of the three, enclosed with tiered seating all around. Posters advertised monster truck racing at various times throughout the day, along with the rodeo that would be happening tonight. Surrounding the arenas were rows and rows of stalls, selling food, drink, clothing and everything in between. There was a stage off to the left where a band was playing live music, and behind the arenas, I could make out some fairground rides and a large Ferris wheel. “What shall we do first?” I asked excitedly. “What about the rides? Sav, what do you want to do?”
“The rides look good to me. Come on.” She grabbed the hand that Mason wasn’t holding and pulled me from his grip. I looked over my shoulder as she pulled me towards the rides, Mason was laughing, and he nodded for me to go with Savannah. “Don’t worry, lover boy’s coming,” Savannah said rolling her eyes.
“Save the Ferris wheel for me, sweetheart,” Mason called out. I waved my free hand his way and flashed him a grin.
When Savannah finally stopped pulling me along, we were far enough away from our group to not be heard. “You okay Sav?” I asked her.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Liar.”
She gave me a short laugh. “You know me too well. There’s nothing I can do about it. I’ve just got to get on with it and get over him.”
“If it’s any consolation, it won’t last. She’s not right for him.”
“Doesn’t matter Lib, if it’s not Averi it will be someone else. Just not me, unfortunately.” She shrugged her shoulders in defeat. I linked my arm through hers and pulled her towards me.
“I’m sorry Sav.”
“Me too Lib.” She took a deep breath as if pulling herself together. “I’m not going to let him ruin today, come on, what shall we go on first?”
She obviously wanted to change the subject, and I couldn’t blame her. “That one,” I said excitedly, pointing to a huge ride lit up with hundreds of white lights. We stood and watched it, listening to its riders screams as it threw them upside down and round and round.
I felt someone come up behind me. “You’re not going on that, are you?” Mason breathed in my ear, his lips brushing my neck. I leaned back against him, still watching the ride.
“Not scared are you Mason?” I teased him. “A big strong cowboy, afraid of a fairground ride.” I turned and smirked up at him.
“I’m not the one trembling baby.” He whispered against my lips.
“I’m not trembling because of the ride,” I whispered back, my eyes never leaving his.