The Funny Thing about Love: Feel Good Sweet Romance stories

by Laura Burton

  “Sounds like a good plan to me.” He reached down to take my hand as we walked down the main walkway, glancing at the booths as we passed by.

  We passed several stands that were selling toys, trinkets and souvenirs that children would love. I couldn’t really focus on any of it as I thought about how it felt to hold Charlie’s hand.

  It took us a few minutes to make it to the first barn. We walked through, admiring all the kittens and full grown cats. Canines were next and then barnyard animals. The children were full of smiles as they showed off their animals, answering all the questions we had.

  The last few barns had photography, sewing projects and the biggest vegetables I had ever seen. We made it to the last table in the building and I couldn’t stop staring.

  “I bet you are getting some ideas,” Charlie whispered to me as I looked at a tomato that was bigger than my head.

  “I wouldn’t know where to start,” I laughed, turning my head to look at him. Our faces were inches apart, and I held my breath.

  I don’t know how long we stood there looking into each other’s eyes, but it was enough for my heart to jump out of my chest and land in my throat. For a moment, I thought Charlie leaned forward, and I prepared to kiss him. I wanted to.

  But then it didn’t happen.

  In fact, I’m not sure what caused us to look away.

  “Want to get something to eat?” Charlie asked as we made it out of the barn. “Or do you want to go on some rides?”

  I swung our hands a little as I thought about it and then looked at him. “I think I want to do a few rides first.”

  Charlie nodded. “That sounds like a good plan to me. Are you up for the scarier ones?”

  “Are you going to ride them?”

  “Yes, but not without you.”

  “If you’re going to be there, then I’ll go.” Normally, I wasn’t much for thrill rides but they’d be fun to try with Charlie there.

  We made it to the booths but had to pass the food area before getting to the rides. All the smells hit me at once and my stomach growled.

  “On second thought,” I laughed. “Some of these smells are too good to pass by.”

  Charlie chuckled. He looked around at the different stands before his eyes settled on me. “What would you like?”

  “All of it.”

  He laughed again.

  “You can’t go to the fair without getting a corn dog and funnel cake. I know there are probably some unique combinations out there, and maybe I’ll try them later. We’re having dinner here, right?” I looked up at his face as I stepped closer to him.

  “We can if you want to,” Charlie smiled.

  “Great!” I grinned and looked back at the food stands. “Then corn dogs and funnel cakes to start.”

  “You find us a place to sit and I’ll get the food. Do you want anything to drink?” he asked, putting his free hand on my arm. He rubbed it a little and the goosebumps I felt nearly made me shiver.

  “Whatever you have is fine with me. And ketchup only on my corn dog.” I reached up with my free hand to brush some hair back from my face.

  “No mustard?”

  “No mustard. Not one drop.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He hesitated a moment, and I wondered if he thought about kissing me again.

  “I better go find us a table,” I whispered after several seconds of silence.

  Charlie nodded, letting his hands drop away from me. He looked into my eyes once more before he turned to walk off to the closest stand that had what we wanted.

  I took a deep breath, watching him walk away. There was a heaviness in my heart when I pulled my eyes off of him and looked for a table. All I wanted in that moment was for him to be back at my side, his hand in mine.

  Chapter 8

  Mary

  “We should go on that one again,” Charlie laughed as we walked through the exit gate of the hammer ride.

  “We’ve already been on it five times,” I laughed. I glanced at my watch. “We’ve been riding rides for the last four hours. I’m surprised you’re still going, especially after our dinner.”

  “I could go all night,” he joked, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

  “You might be on your own,” I teased.

  “Aww. Getting tired?” he asked.

  We walked away from the large ride that felt like it was slinging everyone into the air and then dropping them straight back to earth. It was a fun ride, but I could only handle it so many times before my system said, nope, no more.

  “I should have worn better shoes,” I said with a shrug. “Tennis shoes and pants.”

  “I can see where that would be more beneficial now. You would still be as pretty if you dressed… like me,” Charlie said.

  “I appreciate that, but it doesn’t help now,” I laughed. “And it’s getting dark. I might turn into a pumpkin soon.”

  Charlie chuckled lightly and pulled me in closer as we continued to walk. “Pick one last ride, anything you want, and then I’ll take you home.”

  “Anything I want?”

  “Anything.”

  “The Ferris wheel.”

  Charlie’s body went ridged for a second, but he didn’t say anything as he led the way toward the tall structure. I looked up at him and wondered what happened.

  We got in line and had to wait one turn before we were the next in line. Charlie’s arm had slipped off of my shoulders, but his hand took mine as we were told to take the next cart.

  I walked up to it and climbed into the bucket, surprised it was one of the older wheels. Charlie got in beside me before the tenant pulled the bar so it would latch across our lap. He double checked a few things before he left to go to the next one.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “You got awfully quiet and stiffened up when I mentioned the Ferris wheel,” I whispered.

  “Not a big fan of heights,” he answered.

  “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Because I told you to pick anything and I want you to be happy,” Charlie said honestly. He turned his head to look at me and I gave him a smile.

  I didn’t say anything as the ride moved. My arm went around his shoulders, pulling him closer as if I had some way of making him feel better.

  The ride went around a few times with Charlie doing his best to seem interested. He kept his focus forward and didn’t look down once.

  It didn’t help that the teenagers ahead of us made jokes of their own. They had no idea that the man beside me was about to break out in a cold sweat.

  When we stopped at the top, Charlie took a deep breath.

  “It’s okay,” I whispered. “They are letting people off. We’re not stuck.”

  He nodded and turned his head to look at me. “I probably seem like a real wimp.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so. We’re all scared of something. If anyone says they aren’t, they’re lying.”

  He gave me a weak smile as the ride moved again. It took only a few more minutes before it was our turn to get off the ride, and I don’t think I’d seen anyone move faster than Charlie did when the latch was undone on our cart.

  I climbed out and joined Charlie outside the gate.

  “You could have told me you don’t like heights. I wouldn’t have made you go on the Ferris wheel,” I told him.

  Charlie shrugged. “I wanted to do something you wanted.”

  “But you didn’t have fun and…”

  “And neither did you,” he sighed.

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t have to. Let me make it up to you?”

  I looked at him curiously. “What did you have in mind?”

  “A sweet treat?”

  I laughed. “You don’t think we’ve eaten enough for one day?”

  “Never,” Charlie chuckled. He gently took my hand and led me over to the food stand that had ice cream, cotton candy, caramel apples and a variety of deep-fried tre
ats.

  After we each got an ice cream cone, we walked toward the games. The lights and sounds made a smile reappear on my face.

  “This reminds me of being a little girl,” I whispered.

  “Let’s play some,” Charlie suggested.

  “I’ve never been any good.” I looked at him a moment and then licked some ice cream off my cone.

  “I don’t think anyone is good at carnival games,” he chuckled, leaning a bit closer. He whispered into my ear, “I don’t know if you know this but they’re all rigged.”

  I gasped. “Say it isn’t so.”

  Charlie nodded with a serious look on his face. A second later, we both laughed.

  “I might play a game or two.” I figured it couldn’t hurt to lose a few bucks throwing a ball at a milk jug that would never fall over.

  “That’s the spirit.” Charlie looked excitedly at the big area of games.

  There were two rows with games on the outside and a bank of games in the middle. I don’t know if I had ever seen so many, but they had everything from ring tosses to duck hunting.

  “Which one are you going to try first?” I asked, eating some of my ice cream.

  “I thought maybe we could find one together,” he suggested. His ice cream was gone, and he tossed his napkin in the nearby trash.

  “I think you should pick something and let me watch a professional at work,” I said with a big grin.

  “Okay,” Charlie chuckled. “Do you want me to see me shoot basketballs or shoot fake wildlife?”

  “Hmm.” I looked between the two games. They were similar as far as needing to get as many as possible within a time frame. “I think the basketball one to start.”

  Charlie nodded his head and led the way over to the game. He pulled out some money and paid the tenant. I stood off to the side, finishing up my ice cream as Charlie got ready.

  The buzzer sounded, and he began throwing the basketballs at lightening speed. I didn’t expect him to be very good with sports. Something about him told me he was more interested in reading and debating topics. It was a pleasant surprise to see him making nearly all the baskets.

  When the buzzer went off again, Charlie stopped and looked at his score. He smacked his hand against the ledge of the game.

  “I was so close,” he complained.

  “So close to what? I thought you did a great job.”

  He pointed to the number he needed to get the largest prize, and I chuckled. “Do you really need a giant teddy bear?”

  “It’s not for me,” he said with a smile, catching my eye.

  I blushed a little and felt compelled to tell him I didn’t need a teddy bear the same height as me. I didn’t though because the gesture was sweet and if he won it, I would take it home and find a place to put it.

  “Oh… well… you can always try again, I suggested.” I gave him a bit of a shrug, not sure if he wanted to try.

  “I might after I try some other games,” he answered.

  “You win one of these prizes,” the man behind the counter said. He motioned toward a wall with medium-sized stuffed animals and other knickknacks.

  “Does anything there call out to you?” Charlie asked me.

  “I like the flamingo,” I said, pointing to the bright pink bird near the top.

  “The flamingo, please,” Charlie said with a smile.

  The tenant grabbed a hook and snagged the bird from its spot on the wall. He handed it over to Charlie, who then turned to me.

  I reached out to grab it, but then stopped. “My hands are a bit sticky from the ice cream. Hold on to her for me while I go wash my hands?”

  “Of course,” Charlie said with a nod. “I’ll be right over there by the ring toss.”

  He motioned with his head, and I glanced in the direction. I smiled, seeing more flamingos of different shades of pink hanging above the game. My eyes looked back at Charlie for a moment before I went to the restroom, not that far from the start of the game area.

  I quickly used the facilities and washed my hands as fast as I could. At the sink, I looked at myself in the mirror and took in how the makeup had faded a little. It must have wiped off throughout all the eating and rides. I wasn’t wearing a lot, but I wanted to look nice. I wanted Charlie to notice me and not regret being seen in public with someone as plain as me.

  “You’re not plain,” I whispered to myself. I pulled out my lip gloss, reapplied it, and then headed out the door—determined to keep my confidence high.

  As I approached the ring toss game, I saw two girls who were definitely not plain standing in front of Charlie. One was twirling her hair with a foot kicked back, laughing at everything he said. The smile on his face confused me. I didn’t know him well enough to know what it meant.

  “There you are!” Charlie exclaimed as I approached. I gave him a smile and looked at the two girls who were studying me. I felt like I was back in high school.

  “Now if you ladies will excuse us, we have some rings to toss,” Charlie said, dismissing the two.

  I watched them leave before looking back at the game. A feeling of dread hit my stomach, and I didn’t know if I could shake it.

  Chapter 9

  Mary

  “I had a lot of fun today,” I said as Charlie walked me to my door.

  “Me too,” he replied.

  “Except the Ferris wheel,” I reminded with a soft chuckle.

  “That wasn’t so bad. You were there.” Charlie smiled as we stopped together on my doorstep.

  I smiled back, staring into his eyes. I wondered again if he wanted to kiss me, but let my eyes go down to my keys in my hand.

  “Well, I should go in…” I said, turning toward the door.

  “I hope you’ll say yes again,” Charlie said. “Let me take you out for a nice meal or something.”

  I looked over my shoulder and gave him a small smile. I finally nodded, not feeling 100% sure it was a good idea. “Yeah, maybe we can do that.”

  Charlie must not have noticed as he smiled and gave me a nod. “I hope you have a good rest of your evening.”

  “You too,” I said, unlocking my door. I stepped inside and turned to look at him. Charlie had taken the two steps down to the sidewalk and looked back at me. I waved before closing the door and locking it behind me. I left my purse and keys on the table before I headed toward my bedroom.

  I knew how I was feeling and how much fun the entire day had been. It was perfect, beyond that even. But I told myself I couldn’t get involved with a student.

  “But was he even technically a student?” I asked myself as I kicked off my flats.

  After I got changed into some pjs and cleaned up, I went back to the living room. I flopped down on the couch and pulled my blanket around me. With the TV on, I tried to find something to watch, but all I could think about was Charlie.

  “You need to end things before they go too far,” I argued with myself. “But why? He’s sweet. He has a job. He has a car and an apartment. He paid you a lot of money to teach him to cook, so he has money.”

  I slouched down on my couch until I was on my back and pulled the blanket over my head. I wanted to hide from the world so I didn’t have to think about him or how I was feeling anymore.

  The truth was, I didn’t know if I was ready to feel this way. The last time I liked a boy, he broke my heart into a million pieces. I swore never again.

  “But Charlie is different,” I groaned against the pillow as I rolled onto my side. I desperately wanted to believe he was different, but I thought the same thing the last time I let my heart call the shots.

  I returned to my back and flung the blanket off of my head. “Don’t think about it for the rest of the night,” I scolded. “Don’t think about Charlie, or crushes, or that four-letter world that starts with an L. You’re going to watch a movie and not ruin the entire day with your what ifs. You had a good day—one of the best you’ve had in a while.”

  My verbal lashing was enough for me to turn back to
the television and find a movie being aired on a random cable channel.

  The only problem was, no matter what was happening on the screen, my mind still thought about him. I had to figure out a way to put some distance between us.

  I woke up the next morning not feeling any better. I knew I needed a second opinion, so I texted my best friend April. We made plans to have brunch at our favorite restaurant downtown.

  I managed to shower and get ready within half an hour. I was on the road a few minutes later, excited and eager to see my best friend. It felt like ages since we’d last seen one another.

  When I reached the restaurant, I found a parking spot and then made my way to the front door. I searched for April the entire time, hoping she was there so we could dive into food and talking about what had been going on. I was itching for her advice on what to do about Charlie.

  “Hey,” I greeted as soon as I saw April. She was standing just inside the entrance, waiting for her turn to give her name to the hostess.

  “Hey, girl! Long time no see!” She wrapped her arms around me and we hugged for a second. “I just got here so I don’t know how long we’ll have to wait.”

  “That’s okay,” I replied, waving it off.

  I stood quietly beside April as we waited for the next group of people to give their name and how many were needing a seat. When it was our turn, April said her name and held up two fingers.

  “You’re in luck. We have a table ready for you,” the hostess said with a smile. “Most groups are four or more so we’re limited.”

  “Great,” I said with a smile.

  We followed the other hostess and were seated near the back but next to a window. I thanked her and took my menu after sitting down.

  “So…” April said once we were alone. I glanced at her, but she was looking at her menu.

  “So,” I repeated.

  “What’s going on?” April asked. She picked up her water glass and took a sip.

  “What do you mean? I can’t want to have brunch on a random Sunday?” I asked.

  “You’ve been really busy lately and out of the blue, you’re free for brunch,” April pointed out. “And you seem… preoccupied.”