Catching Whitney by Amy Hale Read Free Book Online Page A

mouth lifts in a small smirk, and I once again have to hide a blush. We did a lot of things the last time we hung out, and the last half of them were not things friends do to one another.
    “Yeah, we did. The bar and the pancakes were pretty fun.” I purposely leave out the rest.
    “Yes,” he says in a quieter voice.
    We finish our meals in silence as we people watch. Excitable children and patient parents make their way through the ever-growing crowds. The ticket booth line has grown considerably since we sat down for lunch.
    Aidan turns toward me. “Do you enjoy the rides?”
    “I do. Most of them anyway. There’s a few I’m not too crazy about.”
    “Which rides scare you?”
    “Scared? Me? No, it’s not that. I just prefer my head stay above my feet. It’s a personal preference.”
    He laughs. “I see. So you aren’t opposed to some less spinny rides?”
    “If it doesn’t dump me upside down, I’m good.”
    He picks up his trash, then holds his hand out for mine. I hand him my plate, and he tosses them both in the nearby bin. “Well, Miss Dawson, looks like it’s time to continue the tour. Where do we go next?”
    I look around and consider our next stop. “I guess we could take a ride on the Ferris Wheel. You can see most of the grounds from there, and I could point out anything that looks interesting.”
    He smiles. “Sure, sounds like a good idea.”
    We stand in line for our tickets, and Aidan refuses to let me pay for mine. In fact, buys a large roll of them. “I can use the leftovers when I bring Caleb here tomorrow.”
    I nod. That makes perfect sense. “Where is Caleb today?”
    Aidan tears off the tickets we’ll need as we walk to the Ferris Wheel. “He’s with Rebecca. She promised to take him to the museum today.”
    He doesn’t offer any more information, like who Rebecca is, so I work to tamp down my disappointment. It’s not like it’s my business, so I can’t understand why it bothers me so much to hear her name again.
    The line for the ride is relatively short, so it’s not long before we are seated in a bright yellow cart and moving our way up the wheel. The space is a little snug, so no matter how much I try, I can’t seem to avoid my thigh touching his. The heat this one little touch causes is enough to set my jeans on fire. My brain files away the idea that someone should make flame-retardant panties. Now there’s a thought that belongs in a vault of things that should never be said in front of Aidan.
    We reach the top, and I can’t stop the stupid grin that forms on my face. I love it up here. The views are amazing, the sky is a gorgeous shade of blue, and there’s a light breeze blowing past us. It’s kind of cool, but feels good just the same.
    I notice Aidan looking around, and I decide to break the silence. “See anything you’d like to explore further?”
    He smirks, then presses his lips together. I can only imagine what he was planning to say. He twists his torso a bit to face me fully. “I see a lot that I’d like to explore.” He stretches his neck out a bit as we start to move again and looks around me at some of the booths on the midway. “A few games might be fun.”
    I smile. “You realize those are all pretty much impossible to win, right?”
    His smile widens, and there is a gleam in his eye that makes me wonder what he’s up to. “Sure, but if it were easy, then it wouldn’t be worth the effort.”
    I’m no longer sure we’re still talking about midway games.

As I stand in front of the dart game, I focus my aim and pray I don’t mortally wound someone. It’s not that I can’t throw in a straight line. I can, to an extent. But something about these darts feel a little kamikaze. No matter how hard I try to throw them at the correct target, they tend to veer off in random directions. I’m wondering if they are purposefully designed to be difficult. I start thinking about the science behind such a manipulation and get distracted.
    Aidan