31 Days

10 - Prize

Warning(s): none

I gasped. "Baby, look!"

My boyfriend followed my pointed finger to the giant teddy bears hanging over a rope ladder challenge.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, his eyes going wide.

"I think I need it, Ryan!" I said excitedly, already envisioning what it'd look like in our bedroom.

He laughed. "I think we do too, Laina!"

I grinned and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the challenge. I was incredibly stoked, I'd never been to a fair before. I just hadn't had the chance. Ryan promised me when he first asked me out to take me to the best fair one day, and today was that day. And it was living up to promise so far.

"Hey, folks! Wanna test your luck? Just climb that ladder and hit the buzzer at the top, and you'll go home with one of our Jumbo Bears!"

I bounced on the balls of my feet excitedly. "Yes please!"

Ryan laughed. "We'll give it a shot!"

He handed over a bill and the booth operator nodded and gestured to the game. "Go right ahead, miss!"

I turned to Ryan, who nodded, and ran to the base of the rope ladder. It was titled at an angle under 45 degrees, I couldn't tell the measure exactly, and the surrounding area was like a bounce house. What could be so hard about this? I thought. You just have to climb to the top and hit the buzzer! Easy peasy!

I began to climb and quickly found out that it was not as easily as I'd thought. The ladder twisted freely and even the smallest bit of uneven weight on one side caused the ladder to flip and dump me on my back or side onto the bouncy padding underneath the ladder. Ryan continued to hand over dollar bills as I continued to try to climb the ladder to hit the buzzer.

When my back hit the bouncy material for the thirteenth time, I groaned and lay there.

"It's not working, babe!" I complained.

I could hear Ryan's laugh as I stared up into the blue, cloudless sky. I sat up slowly, but didn't move. Ryan was handing the operator another dollar.

I frowned. "Ryan, I told you, it's not working."

He only smiled. "Let me try."

I raised my eyebrows, then shrugged and moved off the landing pad. "Good luck, baby."

He briefly kissed my cheek. "Thanks, love."

Butterflies swirled in my stomach like they did every time he called me "love" as I watched him approach the ladder.

I immediately noticed that he grabbed the ropes on the sides, not the rungs. Huh, I thought. Okay. I was even more surprised when he put his feet there too. Will that even work?

Turns out, it did, or at least mostly. He got nearly all the way up and had just stretched out his hand to touch the buzzer when he flipped. I sighed, resigned to the fact that we wouldn't be bringing home a bear. Ryan climbed off the landing pad, his face still determined and hopeful.

"It's ok, Ry, we don't need the bear," I said, somewhat disheartened.

"Ah, but I'm not done just yet," Ryan said as he pulled out another dollar.

"Ry, it's okay, really."

He shook his head, then handed the bill to the operator. "One more attempt."

The operator shrugged. He was making money, so what did it matter if we'd spent ten minutes trying?

Ryan kissed my forehead. "Start thinking of names for our bear, we're not leaving the fairgrounds until he has a name."

Before I could protest, he scrambled onto the landing pad and began to climb, using the same technique he had before. I wasn't too hopeful, after all, the odds of us winning a jumbo bear were against us. And yet, I watched with bated breath. He climbed like a pro, shimmying his way to the top. He got all the way to the very top before he reached out his hand to hit the buzzer. I crossed my fingers and leaned forward.

The buzzer went off just as Ryan began to flip. My jaw dropped. He'd done it! Granted, I hadn't doubted his skill, but I had known to not get my hopes too high. And yet, he'd done it! We'd won the prize!

He sat up from where he landed with a smile and quickly got up and ran to me, scooping me in a hug.

"You did it!"

"All for you, my love," Ryan said, causing my heart to flutter.

I kissed his lips gently and quickly, making both of us smile. The operator cleared his throat and we turned to see him standing there with a hook.

"Which bear would you two lovebirds like?"

Ryan looked to me. "Your choice."

I smiled and pointed to the closest one, which was a pure white with red paws. "That one!"

The operator make quick work of getting the bear down, and as he handed it to me, he congratulated us.

"Enjoy your day, you two!"

"Thank you!" We chirped in unison as I hugged the bear tightly, happier than a kid in a candy shop.

As we walked away, I kissed Ryan again. "Thank you, Ryan!"

He grinned and kissed me back. "I love you, Laina."

"I love you more, Ryan."

"Did you pick a name yet?"

"Yes!" I grinned. "Meet James!"

Ryan smiled, knowing I had used his middle name. "Perfect."

I wrapped an arm around his waist and hugged him tightly, and he reciprocated.

"Now, how bout we find some funnel cake for you to try, love?"

A/N: another wholesome romance? Who am I and what have I done with the Rori who loves angst?

I'm kidding, I really enjoyed writing this, and I hope you all enjoyed reading this! (Also I realized all of my sections thus far have been in third person so I thought we'd change it up a little hehe)

You are loved! <3