A Pirate's Crush

24. I Ain't Soft!

I could hear city activity getting louder with each step.

Okay, Jean. Be cool. Be confident. And be yourself. It's just the commander. Just the... handsome... sweet commander... whom you're on a date with...

Ergh... not helping. Just take breaths. Deep—

"I think we're here, Jean."

His voice snapped me out of my thoughts as we turned the corner.

...whoa. Yeah, we've definitely arrived. Jeez, how lost in my thoughts was I? It felt like we had a couple more blocks to go, but suddenly one more step and we were here.

Regardless, it was quite a spectacle, and makes me wonder how we never heard about this until today. This block appeared to be the corner of the fair, and the entirety of the two branching streets onward were completely cut off from cars and other vehicles, and on the sides of both roads were long lines of tents as far as the eye could see. Paintings, pottery, sculptures, jewelry, facepainting, I think I even saw some metalworks further down the road... and that's just from what I can see here. Music resonated in the distance amidst the cacophony of chatter. Hard to tell if it was live or recorded music, but it gave everything a lighthearted vibe. Dozens upon dozens of patrons perused the displays, moving like a big river. And I could barely make out the smell of food as well, most prominently the aroma of meat on a grill which made my mouth water. All of this under a perfect, cloudless blue sky with the faintest hint of a sunset.

A lot of stuff to keep me distracted, and there's still butterflies in my stomach.

"Are you okay, Jean?" the commander asked.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm good," I said. "Why?"

"You've been pretty quiet since we left," he asked. "Is something wrong?"

Shoot, I didn't say a word on the way here, did I? I didn't think that giving myself a mental pep talk would translate to dead silence on the outside.

Ugh... off to a great start, Jean.

...alright, I shouldn't get ahead of myself. The evening's young, and there's a whole fair to explore yet.

Still, I should give him some reassurance. Can't have him thinking I'm mad at him already.

"Sorry 'bout that," I said. "I've got some stuff on my mind, but nothing ya need to worry about."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded. "Positive. I want this to be as worry-free as possible. Just you, me, and whatever we find at this fair."

Tch... coming from the girl who had a panic attack asking him out.

Nevertheless, he smiled.

"Sounds good to me," he said. "Looks like there's plenty to see."

"I'll say. We're gonna be here for a while," I said.

So much to do... and I get the commander all to myself. I still can't believe it!

Hngh... there go my butterflies again. It's alright, Jean. Just be cool and relax. There's so much to do. This'll be a great time!

...I hope.

No! It will! We had fun last time we hung out, and this'll be no different! Besides, I'm actually interested to see what this fair has to offer.

Okay, enough worrying. Let's get moving.

"There's a nice smell coming down this street," I said, pointing. "Why don't we head that way? We can check out the displays on the way."