Road Trip With the Enemy

Chapter Sixteen

I hurry out of the car, excitement filling my veins. "Liv!" Ashtrid calls. I don't turn around. Instead, I hurry to the gates and pay for my ticket. The man gives me a neon green wristband that I put on.

"God, are you that excited? It's just a fair," Ashtrid tells me.

"Shut it, Asteroid," I say.

The man who took the money for the ticket gives us a smile. "You two make a cute couple," he says.

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend," I say at the same time Ashtrid tells him that I'm not his girlfriend.

The man raises an eyebrow. "Right," he says, drawing out the word. "Have a nice night," he says. We walk through the gates, and I look up at the choices of rides and games.

I fiddle with the strap of my purse. "Ooh, what should we do first?" I ask Ashtrid.

He smiles a real smile. Two for two. "How about we go to the spaceship one?"

I look up at him and squeal, "Race you there!" I take off running, searching for the ride.

"Olivia!" Ashtrid yells. When I find it, Ashtrid ends up catching up and jumping in front of me.

I frown. "Hey!" I exclaim. He sticks his tongue out, and I do the same.

"Four more!" the guy says. Ashtrid and I show him our wristbands and get on. Turn down for what, is playing and people huddle to their spots.

Ashtrid and I take our spots and lay against the board. Ashtrid nudges me, so I nudge him back. "Ow, she's hitting me!" Ashtrid yells.

My jaw drops. "You hit me first!" I exclaim.

An older lady beside me mutters, "Teenagers."

I grin and look up at Ashtrid. He is looking ahead. The woman in the circle thing goes over the rules then counts down. When the ride starts, I can't help but slide my feet up. I won't fall, I know that much, but I know that I won't be able to sit up.

I try it anyway for the fun, and I see Ashtrid doing his own thing, which is trying to flip. His eyes meet mine, and he gives me a grin then slides his feet up as high as he can. "Show off!" I call over the music, which was louder. He laughs.

When the ride is over, I have to grab Ashtrid's hand to steady myself. "You okay there?" Ashtrid says, not letting go of my hand.

I nod. "Yeah, I always get dizzy after that ride," I tell him. As I go to let go of his hand, Ashtrid laces his fingers through mine. I look at him, but he isn't looking at me.

Instead, he says, "Bumper cars?" Then, he looks down at me.

I nod. "You're a mindreader," I reply, trying to get my blush to go away. Thank God he can't see it in the dark spaceship.

We make our way over to the depressing long line. Ashtrid bites his lip then looks at me. "Wanna come back to this?" he asks.

I shrug. "Sure." Ashtrid bumps his hips with mine as we walk, never letting go of my hand. "Ooh, can we go to the Scrambler?" I ask.

Ashtrid nods the lets go of my hand. "Yeah," he replies.

I smile. "Hey, can I have a piggy back ride?" I ask, batting my eyelashes. Ashtrid stares at me for a moment then rolls his eyes. Without answering me, he bends down, and I jump on his back. "Onward!" I say.
*****
When we nearly ride all of the rides, Ashtrid and I get a snowcone and sit on the bench. "I'm having fun," Ashtrid says, taking a bite of his blue snowcone.

"The famous Ashtrid has fun?" I ask, feigning shock.

Ashtrid scowls. "Yes, of a matter of fact, he does." I grin and take a bite of my red, blue, and green snowcone. Ashtrid eyes my snowcone. "Give me a bite," he says.

I shake my head. "No way, José," I say.

He pouts, and it is the cutest thing ever. Wait, what? I sigh and lean over. He takes a bite of mine, and I take a bite of his. When we both lean back, our eyes meet.

"Wanna ride the Farris Wheel?" Ashtrid asks.

"Yeah," I say, taking one last bite of my snowcone. We throw ours in the trash then make our way to it. The line is not as I expected it to be, so we got on quicker.

Ashtrid and I situate ourselves on it, and to be honest, I am terrified of heights. I have no clue why I even got on this. When it reaches the top, I scoot closer to Ashtrid. His minty scent fills my nostrils.

"Scared, princess?" he asks.

I look up at him. "Maybe?" I ask instead of state, looking down. Ashtrid throws his arm around my shoulders pulling me closer. I look up at him, and before I can react, his lips crash onto mine.

My stomach fills with butterflies, and I find myself kissing him back. Our kiss is cut short when the Farris Wheel starts moving again. I let out a startled noise and pull away. Ashtrid laughs then when the ride comes to an end, we get off.

Ashtrid takes my hand. "Come on, princess. Let's get a motel for the night."