"Since Sammy's doing his own thing" Michael started out of the blue as they both waited in the small line for the carousel, "would you mind if I head off?"
"What?" Elizabeth asked in surprise, turning to him with a frown. She'd been watching the polished mirrors on the wooden canopy of the carousel, enjoying their swirling, distorted reflections, feeling quite happy in their comfortable silence.
She hadn't been thinking about anything much but obviously Michael had been using their lack of conversation as thinking time.
She couldn't honestly say she liked what she was hearing.
"Do you mind if I head off?" Michael repeated, sliding his hands in his jean pockets and glancing over his shoulder briefly.
Despite the alluring smell of cotton candy being carried in the air and the happy carnival music, her shoulders slumped a little. She had heard him clearly despite the loud music and his repetition served only to solidify her disappointment.
That wasn't cool. He was straight up just going to leave her? How long had he been thinking it over? Had he been intending to leave her alone even when they'd been buying tickets?
They'd only just joined the line for crying out loud.
"We bought tickets...?"
He shrugged and smiled, "well, yeah but you don't need me to ride the carousel..."
"It was your idea to ride it"
She had suggested they just enjoy the sights and head home, feeling disappointed that she'd not seen Dwayne or the boys. She'd bumped into Marko the other night, she had hoped it would happen again but with the crowds and the people, it felt unlikely. Her brother had protested, however, pretty much insisting they hang out and check out the rides.
Michael laughed and shrugged again, "yeah but I was thinking and since Sammy's gone solo..maybe it wouldn't be a big deal if I do, too?"
Seriously?
"Sammy went solo but left the two of us together"
"Yeah"
She bit her lip.
Seriously? Did he not see that he was stranding her? Sammy going off by himself was fine because they were still a twosome. If Michael left, she would be alone.
"What..Michael?" she said with a frown and a shake of her head.
She could see it.
He had made up his mind.
He really was just going to leave her alone, "...seriously?"
"It's really not that big a deal, Liz" he looked behind him again, as if he had a really pressing engagement that she was keeping him from.
"You want to find Star" she said and he shrugged again.
His easy motions were close to infuriating.
"Michael..." she carried on "..you're really just going to leave me alone?"
"I've spent all day with you?"
She shook her head and glanced at the carousel again.
He hadn't spent any time with them at the beach, not really, but she'd defended him when Sammy complained. She'd had his back and now he was going off after not even fifteen minutes of hanging out with her.
She wasn't hardhearted or needy, she would never deliberately stop him from having fun and she did get it. She understood him wanting to spend time with Star, she really did but just leaving her high and dry on the boardwalk was a new low.
It was a really cold move.
Even Paul had said it could be dangerous, that there were some areas she shouldn't be alone in.
Did Michael even care?
There was a titter from the couple behind them and Elizabeth felt embarrassed. Were they listening in? Did they think she and Michael were a couple? Were they just giggling to themselves?
"Come on" he laughed lightly as if it was was big deal, "I always spend time with you guys"
"You haven't spent time with us for a few nights, actually" she reminded him easily enough, channeling her younger brother. She wanted to push him on it but she didn't want to make a scene, either.
The thing was, yes they had gone to the boardwalk together yesterday but she didn't spend time with him. He'd left her to hang with Star pretty sharpish.
But that wasn't the point. Spending time with a girl wasn't a big deal, what sucked and what hurt was his total disregard for her feelings.
He'd always been the epitome of the protective, caring big brother and now he was just up and leaving?
"Uh, yesterday?" he reminded, his thoughts obviously very different from her own.
His happy expression turned into a surprised, bemused 'I can't believe I'm dealing with this' grimace.
"Come on, Liz. You sound like Sammy. It's not a big deal..look, I'm heading out, 'kay?"
He took a step to the side.
She sighed and shook her head in disappointment.
She didn't care that he wasn't hanging out with them, that wasn't the problem. He was literally leaving her alone, what did he expect her to do? Didn't he care about how she would get home?
It wasn't a big deal to him, sure, he was bound to find Star.
He always seemed to.
She opened her mouth to protest but sighed instead.
It was clear that his mind was firmly made up, his stupid glasses were back on his face. She'd talk it through with Sammy later but she wasn't going to have a spat with her brother on a crowded boardwalk.
She felt self conscious enough as it was.
"See you at home, I guess?" she was annoyed and disappointed and struggled to keep her voice neutral.
It hurt. She was being ditched.
He was ditching her on the busy boardwalk.
She thought of Dwayne and his words yesterday and sighed again.
She heard the couple behind her giggle again and she shook her head. Were they giggling at her? Or something else? It was hard not to take their whispers personally and she found that she hated the night.
She hadn't seen Dwayne, she hadn't seen Marko or Paul or David and both her brothers had left...or were in the process of leaving, anyway.
What a cruddy night, she thought.
"Thanks" he carelessly pressed his carousel ticket into her hand as he glanced into the crowd behind him, "you're the best. Be safe, OK?" and with no other words said, he slid out of the line and joined the crowds.
The couple behind her giggled again.
He hitched his leather jacked once and was gone in a moment.
Great.
The carousel had slowed and as people were filing off, others were stepping up. The line that had stretched before her was now rapidly distancing itself from her. She looked away from the giggling couple as they nudged past her to jump on the ride.
Elizabeth felt very self-conscious and looked down at the two tickets in her hand.
She wasn't going to hop on by herself, though she had walked forward with the crowd. It was embarrassing, sitting alone while every other rider was chilling with family or friends or significant others.
Maybe she should just go home?
The day was fun, the evening was obviously a bust. At least Michael had paid for the ticket, she herself wasn't out of pocket.
Shaking her head a little, feeling disappointed and also stupid for holding out hope of bumping into Dwayne again, she moved to step away from the almost empty line before a deep "hey.." drew her attention upwards.
Her face broke into a wide smile.
It was him.
"...hi?" she replied, biting her lip a little.
God, she felt happy and relieved and just...she smiled again.
He had no idea how perfect his timing was, how welcome he was and she took a step closer.
Dwayne was stood on the carousel, walking very easily in the opposite direction as it turned slowly.
He exuded confidence and for a second, she couldn't believe he was choosing to spend time with her. The boardwalk was filled with pretty girls, girls with more confidence and better looks than hers but here he was.
"The bell's gonna chime in a second.." he warned with a small grin of his own.
He held his hand down and out to her and with another relived smile and a nod, she took it and let him pull her up.
As her feet touched the painted gold and white floor of the carousel, a bell chimed loudly, sharply ringing from the middle column. After a small lurch, the speed began to increase. She yelped and stumbled, grabbing onto Dwayne's extended arms. She fell into him, into his protective embrace, flushing when he steadied her with all the ease and grace in the world.
Aware of her proximity to him, she let go, praying she wasn't as red as she thought she was.
"You OK there?" he chuckled down at her as he gave her arm a brief, comforting squeeze, letting his hand travel down the length of her pale skin.
The move was so simple, so innocent yet wonderfully straight forward and, as he gripped her hand lightly, she could feel the lingering trail of tingles his touch had sent, dancing straight down the length of her arm.
He was so casual and it was disarming.
She had thought of him as cold and aloof but he was none of those things.
As she nodded, he moved ahead of her, still grasping her hand gently. He led them to an old but well kept red and gold chariot being pulled by two unoccupied, dancing horses.
He released her hand and she immediately missed the contact.
"After you?" he offered, holding out his hand before him.
"Thanks" she murmured, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she scooted past him and into the chariot.
It was incredibly sweet, made with thick polished wood and covered in decorations.
He slid into the chariot alongside her, glancing at a loved up couple sitting behind them. She briefly followed his eyes and saw that the couple were holding hands awkwardly across their horses.
It was a very cute sight. They looked uncomfortable sure, but it was cute.
She looked back to Dwayne who was sitting comfortably beside her.
He was wearing an over sized leather jacket patched with leopard material and graffiti and she averted her eyes when she began to take in his chiseled stomach, his abs. Covered with necklaces and chains and because of the way the his jacket hung, she hadn't realized he was shirtless.
She bit her lip and coughed a little, pushing her hair back behind her ear once more.
He was..she had never met a man like him.
"Do you work here?" she asked him with a smile, pushing her wandering thoughts away, "loading the carousel, making sure ticket holders get on?"
"Funny" he said with a head shake, "actually..we were riding, this is Star's favorite ride. I saw you guys-"
Translation: I saw your brother ditch you, she thought.
"-and thought you could use company"
Nodding with a smile, Elizabeth thanked him, "thanks for saving me. Really. The boardwalk is so cool but I don't know. I feel really self-conscious being alone here.."
"Easy to feel lonely and self-conscious when you are alone, especially in a huge crowd" Dwayne agreed with a small smile, "why did your brother leave?"
"To find Star" she replied, knowing that was the reason even though he didn't outright say it.
Dwayne laughed a little, "sucks to be him. She's around here" he waved his hand a little, gesturing to the general area beyond the carousel.
Elizabeth laughed lightly with him.
Served Michael right.
"Do you need a ride home tonight, too?"
God, his voice was so deep..."I wouldn't want you to think I was just using you as a taxi..."
He grinned widely for the first time and she felt her heart leap.
It was such a change, his whole face seemed to brighten with it.
"Well, I'd be honored if you were"
She laughed a little at that, shaking her head in pleasant denial.
She was glad Dwayne had found her.
Her night suddenly felt complete.
She knew that if she were to go home now, she would go home happy. She was surprised, pleasantly so, to find she didn't feel particularly awkward or uncomfortable sat with him. It felt natural, as if she'd known him a long time instead of just one night.
She'd wanted to see him again but it surprised her just how easy it was to be with him. Usually first, second or even third meetings were kind of awkward, sort of hesitant, confusing, trying to figure each other out but she didn't feel like that at all.
"Seriously though, I'll get you home safe, Elizabeth" Dwayne assured, spreading out a little.
The chariot was rocking back and forth smoothly, the mechanism obviously well taken care of.
It was very soothing.
She nodded in appreciation, "you really are a life saver"
"Mhmm" he agreed easily, his face quiet and serious once more, "you know this is the oldest ride in Santa Carla?" he told her, seeming to notice how she was unconsciously moving her fingers around the gilded decorations inside the chariot.
"Really? How old?" she asked, looking down at the artfully shaped wood she had been feeling before turning to face him.
"Victorian.." he said and smiled when her face lit up, "you like history?"
"I love it. It's the one subject I genuinely like..I mean, hobby level like" she beamed, "I could read history books forever but ask equation and I'm out.."
Dwayne watched her, seemingly enjoying her enthusiasm and she found herself wanting to tell him more about her love of history.
That look in his eyes, she liked it. She didn't feel like a geek or a nerd she felt...listened to?
"You're not into math?"
"Terrible at math" she held up her hands, "I'm the worst. It's not that I don't like it, math just doesn't like me. Numbers and symbols and signs just mean nothing to me.."
"So you can learn dates and historical figures but you're out at numbers?" Dwayne asked and she nodded.
"Pretty much"
"They're the same thing!" he told her, grinning a little and she perked up even more at the sight, "you learn the dates of famous battles the same way you learn the equation of pi"
She shook her head and laughed, "no way. Totally different things. Besides, pie is to be eaten..."
She had actually been in advanced history and English literature classes back in school in Arizona but had been failing math miserably. Sam had teased her pretty hard about it until Lucy stepped in and told him off. Elizabeth was kind of sensitive about her academic failures whereas Sam didn't really care either way.
A pass was a pass, a fail was a fail. As long as he looked good doing what he was doing, he didn't care and he usually had few things to lord over Elizabeth.
The tables had turned when Sam found himself crying over potentially graduating a year late, however. Their new school in Santa Carla was reluctant to accept some of their credits and paired with a late transfer request - something Lucy felt horrible about, despite it being out of her control - it was looking increasingly likely that both Elizabeth and Sam would have to repeat eleventh grade.
It wasn't something she was excited about.
Dwayne politely chuckled at her poor joke and she turned her body a little more, angling herself towards him.
"OK. History good, math bad. I get it...if that's the case, you should check out the library. The basement has an archive section...it's literally never used, so you could spend hours reading and just looking at the photos" Dwayne informed her.
"You like history, too?" she asked him, appreciating how he knew about the library's archive section. Most people didn't, they often stuck to the books on display, rarely going deep into the bowls of the building or utilizing everything it had to offer.
At least, that's how it had been back in Arizona.
"Yeah, the guys and I are pretty into history" he said with a light vagueness.
"Really?" she was grinning.
"What?"
"Nothing" she laughed a little.
"What?" he asked again.
"You guys just don't seem the type" she was smiling widely and felt butterflies in her stomach.
"Judging books by their covers?" Dwayne asked with raised eyebrows and a grin.
He turned his body to face her, mimicking the movement she had made. His arm was resting on the back of the chariot, his hand close to her shoulders.
"Leather clad books with motorbikes and cigarettes" she was still smiling.
Just a little lower and his fingers would graze her shoulder.
She shifted a little.
"There's much more to us than that" he assured her.
"Uh-huh" she said, skeptically and laughed.
"Well, maybe not to Paul" he told her lowly, coming forward to murmur to her as if he was telling a close, private secret.
He straightened up as easily and smoothly as he had leaned in and she blinked, looking away from his lips.
They had been so close...
The bell chimed again and the ride began to slow, the chariot taking a few shuddering moves before stopping fully.
"I'm sure you much deeper than you appear" Elizabeth promised Dwayne seriously, trying to suppress her smile, trying to maintain eye contact despite wanting to roam his entire body.
She was flirting, she realized as the butterflies continued their dance in her stomach.
She was full on flirting.
It was the same as last night, that same delightful, promising feeling.
"Way, way deeper. Want to crack open some books, get to know the real us?" he offered and smiled when she shrugged her shoulders with an ambivalent, 'eh'.
It took all her willpower to sound so uninterested.
"OK. Let's go for a walk, get some dinner. Get to know the real me?" he tried again and unable to keep her blush down she nodded.
That sounded incredibly agreeable.
He grinned at her and she felt more butterflies explode in her stomach.
He slid out of the chariot, his movements fluid and graceful before once more offering his hand and helping her out.
He was such a gentleman.
Elizabeth allowed Dwayne to lead the way, praying as she walked that she wouldn't stumble and eat ground when she stepped off the slow moving carousel.
She needn't have worried. As Dwayne stepped off, lithe and strong, he easily kept pace with the slowly turning carousel and, with his hands on her hips for the most painfully fleeting moment, he helped her jump down, too.
She couldn't even mumble her thanks this time.
She felt thrilled when his strong hands met her hips, disappointment when they left.
She took a breath.
It was a new, exciting feeling for her.
The boardwalk was, as usual, alive with energy and a thrumming atmosphere but it felt even more powerful now that she was walking beside him again. Everything felt new, fast and overwhelmingly amazing.
"When is this place not busy?" Elizabeth asked Dwayne, wanting to hear his voice.
"Winter" he told her, amusement glittering in his eyes.
"Wow...you really are just a regular fountain of knowledge" she laughed, looking up at him as they came to a stop.
"I try. So, are you hungry?" he asked her and, as if her stomach knew the question had been asked, it rumbled loudly.
"Oh my God" she half groaned and laughed, clutching her stomach in embarrassment.
That had never happened before, of course it would happen now.
Dwayne laughed lightly along with her and it was almost musical, "I'm just going to take that as a yes"
How easy it was to hang out with him, she thought, embarrassment already gone.
"Let's head over there" he raised his hand to point her in the direction of a small, kitsch looking diner. There was no offer or question in his voice, rather it was a decision that he had made.
She kind of liked it. He exuded power and she couldn't deny that it was attractive.
The crowd seemed to move around them rather than trying to push through and it was easy to follow the line of his hand.
She moved towards the diner he had singled out and, as he moved ahead to open the door for her, he briefly touched the small of her back.
She looked up at him as he held open the door for her and she realized that she just couldn't stop smiling.
His touches...they were addictive.
It was stupid, it was cliche.
Everything was happening so fast but if felt so real, too, so honest and sincere.
When Dwayne had touched her, even for that fleeting moment, she felt something. Something she had never felt before and she knew with absolute certainty that she would kiss him before the night was over.
"Anywhere particular?" she asked Dwayne, her voice a little thick, trying not to focus on her thoughts.
She had never been so forward thinking about a guy.
"Last booth on the right" he said and she paused, stopping to look back at him.
"That was incredibly specific"
"You did ask" he replied and with an agreeable nod, she walked down to his suggested booth.
Originally she had assumed he wanted the privacy but when she slid into her seat, the red leather clean and smooth, she looked out the window and saw they had a perfect view of the glittering sea and flashing lights of the roller coaster.
"See?" he said with a grin, also sliding in to sit opposite her, "when it comes to Santa Carla I really am a fountain of knowledge"
He cracked open a menu and displayed it on the table between them so they could both read.