Kathleen ~ Van McCann

16

Van easily pops twelve balloons with his darts, meaning he gets a big prize. "I told you I'd win ya something. Which one do you want?" He asks.

"Surprise me. I'm sure you have great stuffed animal taste as well," I say.

He nods his head. "Okay, we'll take the blue cat," Van tells the worker. The worker grabs the four foot stuffed animal from the top shelf and hands it to Van. We both thank the worker before walking off.

"Here you are," he hands me the cat, which I gladly accept. "A cat for Kat."

"Thank you," I smile. I hold the stuffed animal under my left arm and hold Van's hand with my right hand.

"You have to name it now," he reminds me. "My dolphin's name is October. You know why?"

"Because it's October?" I guess.

"Well, yeah. Because I met you in October. October 20 to be exact," he says. How cute is that? I can't believe he actually remembers the day we met. Sure, it was just a few days ago, but it's still cute.

"I like that. It's cute," I say, looking up at Van.

He looks down at me with a cheesy grin. "You're cuter," he says, making me blush.

"Shut up," I say. "You're cheesy, ya know?"

He nudges my shoulder. "That's the goal," he says. "So, what's your cat's name?"

I think for a second before saying, "Butterfly. Because Cocoon was the first song I heard by you... and because I like butterflies."

"I like it. I've never heard of a cat called Butterfly," he smiles.

"I've never heard of a dolphin called October," I say.

"Fair enough. What do you say we go put Butterfly and October in the car and then go on the ferris wheel?" He suggests.

"Okay," I say. "I've never been on a Ferris wheel. They look scary."

Van chuckles. "Scary?" He asks.

I nod my head. "Don't you see how high they go?" I point at the top of the Ferris wheel, which towered above almost all the other rides.

"I guess you have a point. But, they're not scary, I promise. And I'll be with you the whole time," he comforts me, making me smile.

"As long as you promise not to shake the cart," I say.

He puts his hand holding the stuffed animal up in surrender. "I would never," he says.

We reach Van's car and throw the stuffed animals in the back seat before walking back to get in line for the Ferris wheel.

Thankfully, the line wasn't too long. I look up at the top of the Ferris wheel, partially in awe that I'd be up that high, and partially confused as how I let Van convince me to get on this thing.

I look down at Van and he's looking at me with a smile. "Ya know, we can skip this if you don't want to go on," he tells me.

"No, I wanna go on... as long as you go with me," I say. Going on a Ferris wheel is scary, but I couldn't imagine going on my own cart.

"Of course. I'll be right by your side. Don't you worry," he tells me, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close. "I would never let anything bad happen to you."

•~~~~~

I few minutes later, it's our turn to get on. Van lets me get on first and then he comes on and sits next to me. The cart slowly starts moving and stopping occasionally to fill up the empty carts.

We stop at the very top and I look down. You really could see everything from up here. It was rather amazing. "Look!" I exclaim, turning to Van. "It's so beautiful up here."

"I'm glad you like it. Not as scary as you thought?" Van says.

"Not at all," I say. I move closer to Van, just enjoying being next to him.

He wraps both of his arms around me and rests his head next to mine, taking a deep breath in. "I want to ask you something," he says. He seems a little nervous.

"What's that?" I ask, turning my head to face him.

He runs his hand through his hair and sighs. "Okay... wow... wow, you look so gorgeous right now," he sidetracks a little.

I blush and look down, as I always do when someone compliments me. "I'm sorry, I'll ask the question now. No matter what you say, I'm not going to be mad at you, okay?" He says.

I nod my head. "Van, you can ask me anything. Don't be worried," I reassure him.

He nods his head and rubs his hand through his hair once again. I'm assuming that's something he does a lot when he's anxious. It's kind of cute, in my opinion.

"Okay, Kat, I know I haven't known you for more than a few days, and this might seem kinda rushed and all..." he starts and then grabs both of my hands and looks me in the eyes. "I don't even know why I'm so nervous. I think you already know what I'm going to ask... Kat, will you be my girlfriend?" He finally says the question.

I bite my lip and nod my head eagerly. "Of course, Van. Of course, I'll be your girlfriend. I was hoping you'd ask that," I chuckle.

"Oh, good. I was hoping you'd say that," he says. He pulls me into a hug and then lifts me onto his lap. "Do you know how nice it feels to call you mine?"

"Yup. Just as nice as it feels to call you mine," I say with a grin on my face.

Our peaceful time together is interrupted by a worker yelling up to us. "Hey, everyone on the Ferris wheel!" He gets everyone's attention. "We're having a few problems down here, so you're going to be stuck where you are for a few. There's nothing to worry about, though," he yells.

Van looks at me and shrugs his shoulders. "I could stay up here all night with you, beautiful," he tells me.

His compliment makes me blush. He has called me beautiful before, but I still can't help it. He places his fingers softly on the bottom of my chin and lifts it up so we're looking in each other's eyes.

Van rests one hand on my cheek and the other on my lower back. We stay like that for a moment before he slowly leans in, touching his lips to mine.

I kiss back, letting him know I wanted it, causing him to kiss with a little more passion. I crawl my way on to his lap which makes the cart rock a little due to the weight shift. I let out a little squeal.

I feel Van's lips form into a smile. He moves his hand from my cheek to the back of my head. "You're okay. I got you," he reassures me in between our kisses.

And I knew he was telling the truth. I felt completely comfortable and safe with Van. He would never put me in any kind of danger, I know it.