Where We Left Off (8 page)

Chapter 14

The wind blew aggressively against both of them, but his body blocked the majority of it from her.  At every turn or increase of speed she grabbed him even harder.  The harder she grabbed him, the faster he went.  He wasn’t too careless in obeying the traffic laws, but he really enjoyed the way it felt –her arms wrapped around him, gripping his chest, and her body pressed into his close enough to feel when she would breathe and when she held her breath.  He enjoyed that almost more than the ride itself. 

At that point they were far from going just around the corner.  He had no idea where they were headed, and neither did she, so for a while they just rode.  The longer and the farther out they got, though,
something
about that ride was different the way he tightened his jaw while riding or in the rhythm of his breathing.  This ride wouldn’t let him stop, wouldn’t let him pull to the side or slow down when he really didn’t have to.  Even the road that he had traveled many times before didn’t quite feel the same. 
He
didn’t quite feel the same.  It wasn’t the distance, the weather, or the absence of traffic that allowed him to feel like it was just them; it seemed the longer they rode and the harder she held him, that
it was her
.  She was becoming that difference.   He found himself starting to be okay with the way he felt, and even more so the way she was making him feel.  He was never one that ‘felt’ easily or believed in this whole love and caring thing, or even the idea of an evolving infatuation. Whatever this was that was beginning with her, however, he liked it. From the look in her eyes, filled with the reflection of the over passing clouds and blue sky, so did she. 

They passed over one of the most beautiful bridges in the state.  It wasn’t much, but the yellow architectural lines that formed into waved pyramid shapes down its center always seemed to focus him. What focused him even more was at the bridges highest peak: all there was left to see was the blue sky and the clouds that filled it. 

It became obvious to both of them that there was a romance developing between them, unexpected but undeniable.  Sydney clenched Mason’s chest, trying to convince herself that what she was feeling at that moment wasn’t right.  It was far too soon, and after all, she knew his type.  However, through the fear and the deep swallowed breaths that accompanied her nerves and uncertainty she was also
hopeful.

The once brightened sky had become consumed by the fading colors of night, and like a moth to a flame, the two hadn’t left each other since that initial spark.

As the day progressed, they made as much out of it as they possibly could.  They stopped at the mall and walked around for a bit. After leaving there, they pulled alongside the road when they spotted a small lake.  They didn’t stay long, and the reason for them stopping had little to do with the lake itself.  It was just another excuse to slow down a day that neither of them wanted to end.  He felt the warmth of her hand graze his palm and interlace with his fingers as she walked up from behind him.  And although she couldn’t see it, his smile was content.  He was at a loss for words at how natural this felt –walking with her, laughing with her, and just talking.  He had never let himself get this far before.  He never allowed anyone to get this close. Regardless, here they were, a day unplanned full of moments that were at one point foreign to him. 

They walked along the stone bridge lining the side of the road and stared down at the evening reflection shimmering across the water.   Neither of them said a word, they just listened as the passing cars whisked behind them and the winds delicately pushed the water to the lake’s edge.  Mason, leaning forward against the side of the bridge, nervously moved his eyes from the water and looked off in the opposite direction.  A part of him was still trying to figure all of it out what he was really doing
,
and Sydney could tell. 

She rested her hand on top of his and pulled his attention back to her.  “Let’s go,” she suggested, warming him with her smile. 

Heading back from the lake, Mason noticed a carnival not too far off of the highway ahead of him.  It was almost impossible to miss even at a distance, with its spinning Ferris wheel and bright lights.  He couldn’t ask her if she wanted to go because he was riding too fast.  As he got closer, though, he thought,
why not? It’ll be fun
.  He turned off the highway and Sydney hadn’t even noticed the detour from home.   Her eyes were closed with her head resting on his back until he slowly approached the carnival and she heard the crunching of the gravel as he pulled into the parking area. 

When she looked up and saw where they were, her eyes filled with a childlike excitement.  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been to a carnival, and Mason hadn’t been since he was a child.  In a way, he was just now starting to see all of the fun things he was missing out on when actually spending time with someone. 

The smell of funnel cake and popcorn was alluring leading into the carnival.  They walked hand in hand like high school sweethearts, with barely inches between them.  Mason had stopped along the way at a food vendor and picked up a cotton candy for her and something to drink.  Riding for long periods of time tended to make him very thirsty.  They walked through the carnival, through crowds of mostly young high school kids nervously rushing to the flying saucer ride.  Families with smaller kids were sitting in a pavilion listening to a live band play, eating funnel cakes and hot dogs. 
This is really nice,
he thought.  There were moments where they caught a single smile from each other, filled with pure enjoyment from just being together.  More than that, it was the moments where they caught themselves staring with no intentions on ever turning away that made them both wonder if this would be the first night of many together. 

Laughter from the Ferris wheel and the merry-go-round along with the acoustics of carnival music set a playful tone.  They walked past a number of stands where stuffed animals hung from the corners of the tents and lined the ground.

“Winner winner chicken dinner!” one of the game hosts yelled out.

“Win the lady a prize!” said another as they passed.

Mason looked over his shoulder, intrigued by King of the Hammer.  It was a strength game where
contestants swung a hammer against a block to try to ring the bell at the
top. 
Sydney hadn’t noticed that Mason stopped and was still walking until she realized he was no longer beside her.

“What are you doing?” she asked, noticing him standing and staring at the game. 

The wheels in his head were turning, trying to figure out the trick to the game. 
There has to be one,
he thought. He stood back and watched a number of people swing the hammer as hard as they could, trying to ring the bell at the top. 

His arms were folded and his chin rested between his thumb and index finger. “There’s a certain way you have to hit it,” he hinted to her.

He looked at Sydney as though he had it all figured out.  He was as sure as could be when he got in line to swing the hammer. 

Sydney stood back with a smirk, betting the odds. 
No one ever wins this game,
she said to herself. 

He picked up the hammer and struck the scale, shooting the ball straight up.  They both stood and watched as it climbed and climbed.  The look in his eye was sure he had it, but at its peak the ball had fallen short of ringing the bell.   Sydney laughed, turning away.  He was so sure he would reach it but she knew the entire time that he wouldn’t.  Although he wasn’t the big winner, he did hit it pretty high compared to some of the others.  The young boy running the game reached behind the booth and pulled out a stuffed puppy that was small enough to fit in his hand.  He snickered a little, handing that small stuffed animal to such a massive man.  Mason took it and handed it to Sydney, laughing off his embarrassment. 

“Now you have something to remember me by,” he said.

She fell into him with laughter, taking the stuffed animal from him

“It’s soooooo cute. 
Thank you
Mason.”

She moved in closer to him, almost kissing him, but caught herself before he noticed.  She didn’t want to give him the wrong impression, and she quickly reminded herself of the type of guy he really was.

She watched him walk a few steps in front of her.  For those brief moments her thoughts began to consume her, and more so, her doubts began to consume her.  There was no reason a man would spend his entire day with a woman unless he expected something from her in return.  Not that she would even consider giving him anything more than a light kiss on the cheek, but he would definitely want more.  So far Mason had paid for brunch, lunch, dinner, taken her on an unexpected trip to a lake, and now he’d won her a stuffed animal at the carnival. 
He has to want something
, she thought.  All of it was too good to be true without a price

They walked through the carnival, played a few more games, and within the hour were headed back to the parking lot.  Mason threw his leg over the motorcycle, waiting for her to hop on the back, but she didn’t, get on at first. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing a saddened the look on her face. 

She shook her head with a tight smile. “Nothing,” she assured him. 

She pushed her hair behind her ear, looking as if she really wanted to say something but was afraid to.

“Look, something’s wrong.”  He stood up and leaned against his motorcycle.  “What it is?”

“It’s really nothing, it’s just that…” she paused, “I am having, and have had, a really great time with you tonight and please don’t take this the wrong way when I ask you but …I know this isn’t you!  I mean you’re a nice guy, but I knew from the moment I met you at Jackson’s wedding what you are about.”

As true as her statement began, Mason was still curious where her question was going.

“Look, what I’m really asking is what happens from here?  When tonight is over, when I go home to my house, instead of yours?”

He laughed.

“So I’m assuming when you say you know what I’m about, you mean that all I’m interested in is sex?”

“I’d love to be wrong.”

He climbed back onto the motorcycle.  “You have a really interesting way of asking me out on a second date,” he joked.

“That’s not what I’m doing,” she argued.

“No – that’s what
I’m
doing.  When tonight is over and tomorrow arrives, that’s what I’ll be doing: asking you out on a second, third, fourth date.  I know you don’t know a lot about me and until tonight I obviously didn’t either. So why don’t we just see where it goes from here.” He laughed, holding out his helmet to her. “And I promise I’ll pretend I’m not only interested in sex.” 

             
She laughed, taking the helmet from him.

She struggled, yelling directions to him through the helmet and over the loud exhaust, but finally they pulled up in front of her house.  Some of her neighbors were looking out of the window, clearly annoyed by the sound of the motorcycle, so he turned it off for a few minutes.  It was a one-way street with cars parked along both sides.  The trees stretched from one side of the street to the other, almost meeting in the middle.  The leaves that had already fallen stretched like a blanket from one end to the other. 

Sydney climbed off and handed Mason his helmet.  Her smile made it evident that she had really enjoyed herself. Even as she said goodnight, she’d done so with a smile as wide as could be.  She walked up the front steps onto her porch and opened her screen door. 

             
“That was a long corner, by the way,” she joked, turning back towards him and holding the door open.

             
He laughed.

He didn’t want this to be the last time he saw her, but he also didn’t want to seem predictable. 

“You said your car isn’t running, right?”

“Yeah,” she answered curiously.

“If you aren’t busy I can come by in the morning and take a look at it.” 

She smiled as she responded,  “I’d like that.”

She watched the leaves on the street separate as he rode through them to the stop sign at the corner, and could see him looking back at her through his side view mirror.  She slid her key slowly into the doorknob, lifting her head to see him one more time.  No amount of darkness could dim her smile.  As soon as she placed one foot in the doorway, he pulled off.   She closed the door behind her and leaned back against it, listening to him echo through the streets as he made his way out of her neighborhood. 

Mason took the first exit to the interstate.  Street lights lit his path as his thoughts wandered. He couldn’t find words to fully express his feelings, but his face alone said it all; he really liked this girl. 

By the time Mason got home he was completely exhausted.  He threw the keys onto the dresser and sprawled himself across the bed.  His eyebrows squinted curiously as he noticed a piece of paper folded like a pyramid with his name on it sitting beside the lamp on the nightstand.  He reached for it, turned on his back, and read.