Kathleen ~ Van McCann

17

Van and I eventually pull away from the kiss after a few minutes. He rests his forehead on mine and sighs. "Oh, Kat. I don't think you know what you do to me," he chuckles in a low voice. "You're a wonderful kisser, ya know?"

"Not as good as you," I say with a smile. I've never kissed someone before, and this was most definitely not what I was expecting my first kiss to be like. Not that I'm complaining or anything. It was perfect. I just figured it would end up being in a dumb game of 'truth or dare' or something.

"Aw, come on. You know that's not true," he says.

I giggle and shake my head. "Yes it is," I tell him. "I'm sure you've had a lot more practice than I have."

"Oh yeah? What's that supposed to mean?" He chuckles.

"It means that this was my first kiss," I say.

"No way. I don't believe it. You're way too good at this for it to be your first time. And way too pretty for other guys not to be hitting you up all the time," he says, a little shocked.

I bite my bottom lip and snuggle into Van's side. "I promise you, I haven't kissed anyone except for you," I say. "You know, you promised to sing to me today."

"I do remember that, actually. You think I can do that for ya now?" He asks.

"Yeah. Sing me something," I say. Van's voice is something I could listen to on repeat for days and days without getting tired of hearing.

"Okay," he says. "I'll sing you 'Broken Army.' I don't think you've heard it before, but it's one of my favorites."

I nod my head and look him in the eyes as he begins to sing. I'm still being held by him on his lap. "I can tell by your grin that you're lying through your fringe again," he starts. The volume of his voice is a little quieter than his usual volume, probably so he doesn't disturb any of the other carts. Or maybe it's just because he's so close to me.

In the middle of the song, the Ferris wheel starts turning again. Van continues singing as we go around. He moves hand to the back of my head and played with my hair.

"We've been having doubts, you know," he finishes. "How was that?"

"That was amazing," I tell him, honestly. Even though he had to sing a little quieter than he normally does, there was just as much emotion in his voice.

Van kisses the tip of my nose and smiles. "I'm glad you liked it," he says. "That was one of the first songs I've ever written. If someone told my younger self I'd be singing it to the most beautiful girl in the world tonight, I probably wouldn't believe them."

I bury my head into Van's chest so he wouldn't be able to see the blush that's creeping up onto my cheeks. "Stop calling me beautiful," I say, my voice mumbling when I speak into his shirt.

He lifts me up and looks at me with a smile. "What'd ya say? I couldn't hear a word you just said," he tells me.

"I said, stop calling me beautiful," I say.

"Sorry, beautiful. No can do," he says.

I smile, defeated, and sit up a little more on Van's lap until our cart stops at the bottom of the wheel. We both get off and he takes my hand in his.

•~~~~~

We play a few more games before sitting down at a table with a milkshake with two straws. "Here, I'll toss you this cherry," he says, taking one of the cherries from the top of the dessert.

"You better have good aim," I say, jokingly.

"Believe me, I have some practice," he smiles. "Now, open your mouth."

"Gosh, you're so demanding," I tell him, but open my mouth nonetheless.

He tosses the cherry and it misses my mouth, hitting under my eye instead. "What was that about you having good aim?" I ask with a chuckle.

"It's not my fault you have a small mouth," he says, reaching across the table with a napkin to wipe my cheek.

"What do you say we head back to my place? I'm sure the lids are out at a bar right now, so we won't be distracted by any drunk Bondys," Van suggests.

"Ok," I say. We both stand up and he walks over to me after throwing away the milkshake cup. He leads me to his car. "Ya know, I hope drunk Bondy is there. He's funny," I joke.

"You'll be seeing a lot of that, don't you worry," Van ensures me. He holds open the door of the car for me and I get in. I guess you could say I'm used to him opening doors for me. I've kind of accepted my fate that that's just how it's going to be. 

He shuts my door and gets into his side of the car. "Ready?" He asks.

I press the on button on the radio and 'The Killers' come on. "Yup," I say.

•~~~~~

Van and I arrive back at his apartment and we walk inside. "Can I get you a drink?" He asks, walking over to the kitchen and grabbing two glasses from the cabinet.

"I'm only twenty," I tell him, although I have always wanted to have some wine.

"So what?" He asks. "It's just a year. I won't tell anyone. When's your birthday anyway?"

"November eleventh," I say.

"See? You have less than two months to go. The law practically doesn't apply to you anymore," he says, trying to convince me.

"Fine," I give in. "But just a little."

He nods his head with a smile, clearly happy that I agreed to have a drink with him. The cap of the red wine pops off and Van pours some into each cup, filling them a little more than half way.

"We can go up to my room," he says, carrying the two glasses in both of his hands. I nod my head and follow him up the stairs.