by Ashlee Price
I close my eyes and hear laughter all around me, lively chatter, excited screams in the distance. I smell churros and corn dogs. I breathe the scent in, along with the exhilaration, the wonder in the air.
I open my eyes and smile.
Yup. It still feels like the first time.
I hear the click of a camera and turn my head. I catch Steff flashing away.
Come to think of it, this is my first time being here with a man.
Only Steff isn't just any man.
As usual, he looks like a runway model in his pale pink shirt. Frankly, I don't know how he can pull off that color so well.
The V neck runs just deep enough to give a glimpse of his pale chest. The sleeves bunch up inside his elbows. Half the hem is tucked into the waistband of his dark jeans, held up by a thick leather belt with a shiny buckle, while the other half hangs loose.
Seriously, what kind of man goes to Disneyland looking like he just stepped out of an issue of GQ? What kind of man goes to an amusement park wearing knee-high leather boots?
He's wearing a bowler hat, too, which casts a shadow over his features. And sunglasses. Well, that's not unusual. A lot of people have shades on. But his rectangular Gucci ones seem to suit him perfectly. It's almost bothering me how I can't decide whether he looks hotter with his sunglasses on or without them.
I exhale.
I had sex with this hunk?
I clasp a hand over my mouth, afraid I might have just said that out loud. Thankfully, as I glance around, it doesn't seem like I did. But I still blush.
How could I have had sex with Steff? And how can I not remember all of it?
I remember us kissing, and then I was on the floor, and then his mouth was on my...
I clasp my hand even tighter. Fire burns brighter in my cheeks as heat engulfs my body.
What on earth am I doing? Why am I thinking about that right now?
Suddenly, Steff grabs my hand and starts walking.
"Let's go," he says.
I stare at his hand firmly gripping mine and stop.
"Whoa." I pull my hand away. "Why are we holding hands?"
He turns to me. "Well, it would be bad if we got separated, right?"
I guess he does have a point.
"Besides..." Steff offers me his hand. "We know each other well enough now. We shouldn't have any problem doing this much, right?"
I frown. I know very well what he means by knowing each other well enough.
"Didn't you say you'd forget about it?" I ask him.
Steff scratches his head. "My bad."
I sigh. Well, it's not like I've forgotten about it, either. And I was drunk.
I take his hand. "Only because I don't want you to get lost or abducted."
Steff chuckles. Then he pulls my arm as he continues walking.
"Whoa! Slow down," I tell him.
But he doesn't listen.
He's just like those children, with the same smile on his face.
A smile forms on my lips, too.
I walk faster so that I'm beside him.
"So which ride do you want to try first?"
~
"Maybe we shouldn't have tried that one," I tell Steff as I glance over my shoulder to see how wet my shirt is.
We both ended up getting wet on Splash Mountain. Thankfully, most of the water went on my hair and just a little dripped down to dampen the back of my shirt.
As I look at Steff, though, I realize that he wasn't so lucky.
As he wipes his sunglasses, water drips from his hair to his face. He shakes his head like a wet dog and the blond strands whip back and forth.
I swallow.
Then I notice his soaked shirt. The thin fabric has turned translucent and I can see the outline of his muscles. And his nipples.
My jaw drops.
Hot.
Is this body really the one that was pressed against mine?
A gasp behind me jolts me back to reality.
I frown. Steff looks so sexy with his damp clothes on that he might as well be naked. And others are taking notice.
I take the sweater that's wrapped around my waist and drape it around his shoulders. Then I pull his arm.
"Where are we going?" Steff asks. "Aren't we going on another ride?"
"We'll get you a new shirt first," I answer as I drag him in the direction of the shops. "A dry one."
"But..."
"We can try the rest of the rides after."
~
Well, we didn't get to try all of the rides. Still, by sunset, I've lost track of how many we've been on.
I take off my shoes and rub my feet as we sit on a bench.
Too many, probably.
"Are you alright?" Steff asks me.
I nod and glance at him. "You?"
Steff pushes his sunglasses up to the top of his head and gazes up at the fiery sky. He turns to me with a wide smile.
"I don't think I've had this much fun in a while."
My heart skips a beat. I look away and put my shoe back on.
"Wow. You're even more childish than I thought."
"Huh?"
"Not in a bad way, though! I think the happiest people are those who haven't fully grown up. Then again, maybe I'm just saying that because I haven't grown up."
To my surprise, Steff pinches my cheek.
"Ouch!" I yelp.
"I hope you never do," he says with a grin.
I feel my cheeks turn the same color as the sky.
I tear my gaze away. "Only someone childish would say that."
Steff chuckles. "It's okay. I think the most interesting women are those who can act sweet and innocent like a little girl and fierce and sultry like a woman at the same time. Not everyone can manage that."
I pause. Did he just call me a woman? And interesting? And sultry?
Suddenly, I hear footsteps running towards us. I face forward and see a woman in her thirties stop in front of the bench. She places her hands on her knees as she catches her breath.
"Can we help you?" I ask her.
She looks at Steff. "You... Could you please help us?"
Steff points a finger at his chest. "Me?"
The woman nods. She takes out an ID from her pocket. It has the park's name on it.
"I'm on the staff here at the park. I'm in charge of the parade."
Right. There's a parade right before the park closes.
"The guy who was supposed to be Prince Charming just had an accident and we need someone to fill in for him," the woman goes on. "I've been running around the park for the past hour looking for someone who might fit the bill."
I narrow my eyes at her. "Don't you have an understudy or something?"
"Yes, but he's out sick." She scratches the back of her head. "Never rains but it pours, right? But we can't let that rain on the parade. The Cinderella float is a big part of it."
And I guess Cinderella wouldn't be Cinderella without her Prince Charming.
"So you want me to be the prince?" Steff asks.
"Please." The woman puts her hands together. "It'll be fun. And I'll give you gift shop coupons, too."
Steff looks down at his lap. "I'm not sure..."
Not sure? He doesn't usually shy from the spotlight, and he usually jumps at an opportunity to help out.
"Please?" the woman begs.
Steff sighs. "Fine. If it's okay with Jess."
He turns to me and so does the woman. She looks like she's about to cry.
Why me?
"Yeah, it's fine," I answer. "Go and be the star of that parade."
"Thank you!"
The woman gives me a hug. Then she drags Steff away.
"Follow me. Thankfully, you won't need much makeup because you already look the part. We'll just have to put on your robe and..."
Her voice trails off as they disappear from sight. I sigh and look up at the sky.
It's steadily getting darker.
I get up and stretch my legs.
&
nbsp; Well, I guess I'll look for a good spot to watch the parade.
~
The parade is even more magical than I remember it, I think as I gaze up at the colorful, brightly lit floats from the sidewalk of Main Street.
There are more floats. They're grander. The characters look more lifelike than before.
And Steff is probably the most lifelike of them all.
Strange. He's just wearing a borrowed costume, yet it seems to suit him perfectly. Maybe they did some last-minute adjustments?
It's not just his costume, though. There's something about the way he's standing there, about the way he carries his shoulders and sticks out his chin, about the way he waves and nods at the crowd.
He really is like a prince.
As he smiles, I can hear the women scream. Some of them look like they're about to swoon. The flashes of dozens of cameras fire away.
I frown.
Can a guy like that really be at my side?
Wait. Does this mean I want him to be at my side?
I suddenly remember Lisbeth's accusation about me having a crush on Steff. Back then, I denied it. Now, I don't know.
Do I?
True, for the longest time, I had a crush on Josh. But after that talk with Marianne, I'm pretty sure that's over. So is Steff my new crush now?
I slap my forehead.
Well, I did have sex with him.
I blush as I remember.
Damn it, Jess. Stop remembering it already.
Okay. So what if I have a crush on Steff? Nothing will change, right?
Unless I want it to.
Do I want it to?
I'm so deep in thought that I barely notice the parade ending, or even the fireworks. Steff sits beside me just as the final ones light up the sky.
"What's wrong?" he asks. "Didn't you enjoy the parade?"
His thigh touches mine and my heart flutters.
I move away subtly. "I... I did."
He sweeps his hair aside. "What did you think of my performance?"
I look away and fight the blush threatening to coat my cheeks.
"It was... good. Being Prince Charming suits you."
"Really? I don't particularly like him, though. He's too... charming and not much else."
I narrow my eyes at him. "You just think you're more charming, don't you?"
Steff winks. "Of course."
I snort. "And I bet you loved having all those women go weak at the knees for you. It's a wonder Cinderella managed to keep standing."
"Well, I helped by keeping my arm around her waist," he says.
The pang of jealousy that hits me takes me by surprise.
"But hey, I was just a substitute."
A substitute, huh?
I glance at him. Is that what he is to me? A substitute for Josh? Yeah. Maybe that's it.
"Yeah. It's not like you're a real prince," I tell him.
For a moment, Steff falls silent. Then he chuckles.
"You're right. But if I were a real prince, I know who I'd ask to be my princess."
With eyes wide, I turn my head to find that Steff's face is just inches from mine.
I stand up. "You're teasing me again, aren't you? There's no way I'd pass for a princess. And I don't want to. Aren't princesses vain and snobbish and lazy?"
Steff stands beside me. "I think you can be any kind of princess you want to be."
I snort. "Just stop with the princess thing already."
"Okay."
Just then, the sky grows dark. The fireworks show is over.
"I guess that concludes our date," Steff says.
My eyes grow wide. "Date? Since when were we on a date?"
He turns to me with a grin. "Just kidding. But you did have fun, didn't you?"
I nod.
"So did I. Oh, and by the way, now we're even."
My eyebrows crease. "What?"
"We're even," Steff repeats. "I did you a favor. You treated me to Disneyland. We're even."
So he was just doing me a favor, was he? Why do I feel so annoyed?
He pats my shoulder. "Now we can put that incident behind us."
Incident?
I brush his hand off and cross my arms over my chest. "That goes without saying. In fact, it's already behind me."
Steff grins. "Good."
I grit my teeth.
There's no way I can have a crush on this guy.
Chapter 10
Steff
Why do I get the feeling Jess is mad at me?
She's been a little cold ever since we came back from Disneyland. At first, I thought she was simply tired from the excursion, so I left her alone. Then she started going to work earlier than usual so that we didn't see each other. I didn't even have a chance to make breakfast for her. She said that she had to work harder because she was saving up for something. And then, on the evenings when she didn't have a gig, she'd have her earphones on during dinner and afterwards she'd go straight to her room to work on her song. Sure, I'd hear her playing her guitar, so she wasn't lying about what she was doing in there-but she used to do it in the living room.
So what changed? Why is she avoiding me?
Is she really mad at me?
Right now, Jess is folding laundry on the couch, so I have a golden opportunity to find out.
I sit beside her and grab a shirt from the pile.
She turns to me with a puzzled look. "What are you doing?"
"Helping you," I answer. "You have more clothes than I do, don't you?"
"Yeah, right." She folds the sweater in front of her. "You have just as many clothes as I do."
Good. She's talking to me.
Then again, we have been having conversations, just not like the ones we used to have.
Like the ones we used to have.
What did we used to talk about?
"What do you want for dinner tomorrow night?" I ask her.
Crap. I sound like a boring husband.
Jess shrugs. "Whatever."
"You want steak again?"
Another shrug.
"Those pajamas look good on you," I tell her for a change of topic. "They're the ones you bought at Disneyland, right?"
Jess nods.
Suddenly, I remember something.
I stand up. "By the way, I had those pictures I took at Disneyland printed today. Want to see them?"
"It's fine." She grabs another piece of clothing from the pile.
I go and get them anyway, then sit back down on the couch and move closer to her.
"Look." I move close to her. "Some of them turned out really good. I especially like this picture of us with..."
To my shock, Jess slaps my hand away. The pictures scatter on the coffee table and the couch and the floor.
"I don't want to see them, okay?!?"
She gathers the clothes on the table. "I'll do this some other time. I'm tired. I'm going to bed."
I watch her as she disappears into her room. The door slams shut.
I sigh and slowly pick up the pictures.
So Jess is mad at me. The question is: Why?
~
"Is something wrong?" I ask Jess as I help her wash the dishes the next evening.
"No," she answers as she rinses a saucer. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I was just tired."
"You seem to be tired a lot lately. Is it that time of the month?"
That would explain her temper.
Jess doesn't answer. She just moves on to the next saucer.
"Or maybe you're coming down with something." I use the soap-soaked sponge on a glass. "Don't worry. If you do get sick, I'll take care of you."
"I'm fine."
There it is again. That 'I'm fine' that doesn't really mean 'I'm fine'.
Then I get an idea. If I want Jess to act like her usual self, maybe I should act like my usual self.
I whisper in her ear. "You know, I read that having sex improves your immune system."
I expect her to turn to me with
a glare, but to my surprise, the saucer falls from her hand just as she's putting it on the rack.
Fuck.
Jess quickly bends down to pick up the pieces, but I grab her arm.
"Don't touch them with your bare hands," I tell her. "You might cut your fingers and then you won't be able to play."
She scowls at me and walks off.
Now I've done it.
I go after her. "Jess!"
She keeps walking.
"I'm sorry. I was just trying to cheer you up."
She glances over her shoulder. "So sex is a joke to you, is it?"
My eyebrows arch. What?
She faces forward. "I'm going to bed."
"Jess, wait!"
I manage to grab her arm before she reaches the door to her bedroom, but I pull too hard and she stumbles backwards. Her back slams against my chest, I fall backwards to the floor, and she lands right in front of me between my legs.
"Are you okay?" I ask her.
Jess doesn't answer, nor does she move. She just sits there between my legs.
Between my legs.
When she finally moves, she has a hard time getting up, so I decide to help her by putting my hands on her sides to give her a push. My fingertips end up grazing the curves of her breasts.
Jess lets out a squeal as she falls back down. Her arms cross over her chest.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to..."
I don't finish, because I realize her lower back is pressing against my crotch again. My gaze falls on the tattoo on her neck peeking out from her hair.
I still don't know what it means, but I'm as captivated by it now as I was the first time I saw it.
Without thinking, I press my lips against the ink.
Jess whirls around, hissing at me. Her hair whips against my face and her hand lands near my crotch, her knuckles brushing against the bulge I didn't even realize was there.
Fuck.
"Jess."
She stands up.
I grab her arm.
She pulls it away and turns to me with her hands on her hips.
"This is all a joke to you, isn't it?"
My eyebrows crease. "What? Jess, just calm down and..."
"You calm down!" She points at my erection. "You're unbelievable, doing that... showing that in front of me."
Huh?
"You're disgusting!"
Jess marches off to her bedroom. This time, I don't stop her.
I slap my forehead and sigh.
