Mia was past nervous and into bloody terrified. Sure, it had all gone swimmingly last time, but that was months ago. The owner of the park had added an entire new section since then! She knew she'd want to go on all the new rides and drag Diego along as well, and oh my god that rollercoaster was huge. Still, she might as well start small.
"Carousel?"
"Sure. Gotta admit, Kitten, that's a pleasant surprise. Not like you to go on something that won't make you barf up your lunch."
"Yeah, well that comes later. Come on."
The carousel was a tiny thing all prettily painted in cutesy colours, so it was no surprise that it was mostly children in the line. Diego eyed up the scrawny one just behind him. Boy, was that kid about to get a heck of a shock.
"Psst. Hey, kid. Get in front of us."
"What? You sure, mister?"
"There's only one seat. Me and the Kitten are getting on together."
"But what about your girlfriend?"
"Hey, it was the Kitten's idea. Get going, kid ."
Mia watched the little scamp (God, she felt old saying that) hop onto the ride.
"He's cute, isn't he?"
"Yeah."
"Think we'll ever have one like him?"
"Maybe someday, Kitten."
"Oops, it's our turn. Come on."
Mia hopped onto her horse like some kind of professional (it's called owning a motorbike, darling. I was young once too, you know) and clung on to the pole that attached it to the ride. As the carousel slowly started its journey round, Mia couldn't help but smile as she remembered last time.
"Diegooo!"
"Grab my hand, Kitten. You'll be OK."
"Thank you, Diego."
"Hey, it's like I told you. Kittens need looking after. Especially my Kitten. I promise, I will never let you go."
"Diego... That's so sweet..."
"You're still slipping. Here, hang on..."
That may have been cute the first time round, but Mia had no desire to repeat that little incident. Maybe it hadn't gone as swimmingly as she first remembered.
She flinched a little as she waited for history to repeat itself.
But it didn't.