A prompt from Meowser Hotchner after I destroyed her with the last chapter. Enjoy xx Mariah

Ages:

Jim — 25
Melinda — 21

It was a scorching hot day: the perfect for a day at the fair. The sky was dotted with a few candy-floss clouds. The entrance could be seen in the distance and faint music can be heard from beyond the tall gates with the occasional happy scream suddenly piercing the air.

"I've never been to a fair or carnival," Melinda said as they got out of the car, walking toward the entrance. "My mom never had any free time. She was always working a night shift at the hospital."

"What? How have you never been to a fair?" Jim asked, his arm winding around her waist.

"Plus my mom hated leaving the house for any reason," she explained and looked over at him. "I always begged to be taken to the local one, but it always ended in me being sent to my room and when I got older I just didn't see the interest to go to the crappy one in my town."

"Well, this is the state fair. It's much better than a small town one," he laughed and kissed her cheek.

The closer they got to the entrance, the more massive structures of the rides could be seen. There were three roller coasters, the Ferris wheel, a helter-skelter, a zero gravity, a tilt-a-whirl, and a few other little things for little kids.

Then the food came into view and there was the usual: corn dogs, pretzels, gyros, cotton candy, funnel cake, and other things. The line at the entrance was long, younger children stand by their parents jumping for joy.

Jim looked at his wife and smiled. "Excited?" He asked.

"A little," she said, looking inside her purse. "They aren't gonna check my bag right?" She made sure she'd packed water and some snacks in case the prices were expensive. "But I've always wanted to go to a fair or carnival and here we are."

"I don't think they will. It shouldn't be that long of a wait," he said as they crossed the street toward the entrance. They picked a shorter line and were through the gate in a few minutes. "What should we do first?"

"Well, it's only three o'clock, so let's go on some rides." She said, fidgeting with her wristband. "I have always hated wristbands like this."

"Me too," Jim said as they walked down the gravel path. "What kind of ride would you like to go on first?"

"How about a big roller coaster?" She suggested and pointed to the blue one with the shortest line. "That one looks fun."

"So you've never been on a roller coaster either?" He asked, ushering her toward the lines. He couldn't imagine his childhood without all of the carnivals and state fairs that his parents had taken him and his older brother to.

"Nope," she said, maneuvering herself through the crowd to wait in the line.

"Then I am glad I could be the one to introduce you to this," he said as the ride jet off and a few girls screamed. He grinned excitedly, looking at her. "We are going to sit in the first cart."

"Don't get your heart set on it. Someone will probably beat us to it." She pulled her phone out and turned it around to capture a picture of them. "Hey, smile. We should document this." The flash shuttered just as he smiled and she looked to see it was a good enough picture. "Thank you."

"Here they have the lines up there that you can sit and wait for what cart you want," he explained and pointed up ahead. "The first one isn't too long."

"Fine. We can sit upfront," she said, pulling on his hand as they went to wait in that line.

"Oh yes, you're the best. My brother was always too scared," he laughed and then nudged her side as he

pointed at another ride. "We should ride that one next."

"The Ring of Fire?" She asked, squinting to read the sign from so far away. "I don't really like being upside down."

"Okay, that's fine then." He said as they inched closer to the ride. "What would you like to do?"

"How about the tunnel of love? I'll make out with you like we're in high school on it," she said, leaning into him.

"Okay," he chuckled, leaning down to briefly press a kiss to her lips. "I can agree to that."

The couple in front of them piled into the cart and strapped in and they inched forward. They're next and then the ride took off.

"I am kind of nervous," she said, squeezing his side.

"Don't be. Nothing bad is going to happen. I'll be right next to you," he said, smiling at her as he rubbed her back reassuringly. "Just squeeze my hand and scream your head off because that's having fun."

"Alright," she laughed and took his hand. "I trust you."

The ride pulled up and everyone exited quickly. The gates opened and she set her purse down in a bin, having put his sunglasses and wallet in her purse also. He pulled her into the first cart and they buckled in.

"You ready?" He asked as the attendant came by. The teen attendant pulled on their straps, making sure they were both strapped in properly. "I remember my first roller coaster. I was seven."

"I guess so," she laughed, squeezing his hand.

The attendant gave his coworker by the control board the go sign and the ride started to move. The ride slowly climbed to the top of the steep hill and Melinda squeezed his hand so tightly.

"I don't really like heights too much either," she muttered, closing her eyes. "I didn't realize this would be this high."

"You'll be fine. Just squeeze my hand," he reassured her. "I'm right here." They reached the top, the ride stopped for a moment and they looked straight at the ground before zooming down the track. "It'll be over before you know it."

Everyone started to scream as the cart twisted, turned, and looped upside down three times before pulling back in and stopping.

After it was over, they stumbled out of the cart.

"That was so awesome!" She said, double high-fiving him as she bent down to grab her purse from the bin.

He took his sunglasses, deciding to leave his wallet in there for safekeeping and hand her the messenger bag which she slid over her head.

"I'm glad you liked it," he said and met her with a kiss. "I'm glad I could be the person you spend your first day at the fair with."

"Come on," she said, pulling him down the ramp. "Let's go find another one!"

In the haze of the evening, Jim could feel his Grandview Fire Dept. shirt clinging to his back, damp with sweat. Melinda, however, looked beautiful even when sweating; her skin became more like polished stone. He was white like his mother right down to his blue eyes and black hair. Sweating made him look like he needed someone to dunk him in an ice bath fast, anything to put out the fire in his cheeks.

"I told you to put sunscreen on," she scolded him and wiped the sweat off of his cheeks. "Want to go back to the hotel?"

"No. We can play one more game," he said, smiling down at her. "Your pick. I'm going to go get some water."

"Here," she said, digging in her bag and pulling out her water bottle. "Don't buy anything that you absolutely don't need. It's probably a small fortune and a tiny bottle. It's probably still cold."

"Ice?" He asked, reaching for the metal bottle.

"A little. Most of it's melted," she said, shrugging.

He unscrewed the cap and tipped it back. Drinking free cold water in this heat felt like the greatest luxury on earth. The ice clicked against the metal, his fingers sliding on the condensation before they regained their grip.

He felt the chill run down his throat and his head made an involuntary shake. A numbness crept into his brain the way it did when he was a kid drinking too much slurpee, too fast. It's the reverse of the wintertime when all he wanted was to feel the heat of good coffee come through a thick clay mug.

When the bottle was drained he took the ice between his molars and bit down hard, feeling it melt into cold pools on his palate.

"Thirsty?" She laughed, taking it back. She put it in her bag and locked her arm in his "That's been half full all day."

"A little," he said while chomping down on the ice. "Thanks for always being prepared."

They started to walk down the walkway to the entrance and exit.

"Make one in and win a prize," promised the barker who hung off the basketball game.

"What about this one?" She asked, looking to.

"Basketball?" He said, looking at the game. "Sure. I play with the guys at the station and used to play in high school."

"You should try and win me something, Jim," she whispered in his ear like she'd imagine someone in high school had done to him before.

"Why don't you let your girl try first?" the barker said, tossing her a ball. "Five dollars a shot."

"I'm not very good at basketball for five dollars a shot," she laughed and twirled the ball in her hands slowly while looking at her husband. She'd barely passed gym her freshman year because she had to make a free throw to pass. "Maybe you should just do it."

"Just give it a try," he said, nudging her side as he gave the barker ten dollars for them both to have a shot. "Here. I'll help you," he whispered in her ear as he stood behind her. He lifted her right hand and placed it underneath the ball. "This hand stays here," he took her left hand and placed it on the left side of the ball to guide it. "This hand goes here. Now push upwards with your right hand and aim for the backboard with your left and it should go in."

"Okay, Mr. pro athlete." She joked and took a second to aim. "I got a D in gym freshman year because it took my three tries to make the free throw."

"You've got this, babe. I know you can do it," he gave her a kiss to her cheek for good luck and winked at her.

"Shut up," she laughed and aimed again, just making sure she didn't move too much. She gave the ball a nice toss and it swirled around the rim before popping out.

"So close," the barker said, fishing out another and tossing it to Jim.

Jim got into position and threw the ball toward the basket. It bounced off the rim and got stuck between the backboard and rim.

"Only one more try," the barker said, knocking that one out and tossing one back to Melinda. "You only need one to win anything. Wanna give it another try?"

"Sure," she said and assumed the position again. Jim paid for one more try for her, not wanting to try again as he came behind her despite seeing that she'd put her hands on the ball right. "What? Is my hand in the wrong place?"

"No," he whispered and gave her hips a squeeze. "Just wanted to say good luck."

She tossed the ball up with a flick of the wrist and looked up at him with a shrug of her shoulders as it sunk in the hoop.

"You did it!" Jim said, squeezing her from behind. "See I told you, you could do it."

"Now take your pick for your prize, little lady. What about this?" The barker said, pulling down a large stuffed bunny.

She would've said yes if she wasn't over twenty. "It's very soft, but I think I'll just take that bundle of bracelets," she said pointing to the purple, green and blue bracelets.

"Here you go," the barker said and tossed them to her.

"You can do the honors," she laughed and handed them to him.

"Your first and definitely not last carnival prize, my love." He said and slid the plastic beads down her wrist. "Now let's get out of here and back to the hotel."

"Mmmm... yes I need a shower." She whispered, wrapping her arm around his back and squeezing him close. "Wanna join me for a little celebration?"

"I'd love to, my little basketball champ." He winked and pressed a kiss to her cheek.