Her breathing faltered. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know.”
When it was Duncan’s turn to go, he drew his fist back and released what she suspected was only a portion of his kinetic energy into the bag. But the entire machine still freaked out. The numbers went all over the place and changed colors. She thought he might’ve broken it before a big number and the words “new high score” appeared.
Retta’s lips parted.
The woman who managed the game looked Duncan up and down. “Congratulations. You can choose anything from the top shelf.”
Duncan got the parrot and strode back to her with it. He looked so powerful. Like an action hero at the end of a movie, leaving a site seconds before an explosion went off behind him. He even carried the five-foot stuffed toy over his shoulder as one might carry a well-worn leather jacket.
“Thank you,” she said as she accepted the surprisingly heavy plush animal and cleared her mind of the oddly specific visuals of him as a leading man.
They agreed to scope out the thrill rides visible in the distance. Along the way, they paused to watch different machines spin, sway, and plunge.
“You need help?” Duncan asked after she’d shifted the bird from one arm to the other a dozen times.
“Please,” she said, heaving the toy toward him.
He looked the part of a boyfriend holding her stuffed animal. If she reached for his hand, it would complete the picture. Was this how he was like? He caught her studying him and raised his brows.
She hesitated for a moment then said, “I was wondering what your dating life looks like. When you’re not fake dating someone, of course.”
He smiled. “It’s regular. Fun. I’m not big on anything too serious.”
She made a contemplative sound, refusing to ask what the “fun” he spoke of entailed. Oh, she could easily guess, but hearing it from his mouth might be her undoing.
“And you? How’s your love life when you’re not fake dating someone?” he asked. “Of course.”
Awkwardness clawed up Retta’s back. Though she’d literally started this line of questioning, she felt the same way when certain family members discussed her singledom like she was a subject in a research study.
“Well, I’m the one who solicited you to be my fake boyfriend, so I’d say not good.”
Before he could comment on her statement, she pointed up. “Let’s try this one.”
She and Duncan stopped in front of a thrill ride where the screams of the people on it were the loudest. Roller coasters were not her favorite thing, but they always left her exhilarated.
“I’m down,” he said.
After fifteen minutes of waiting, they were escorted to adjacent seats. She jostled the over-the-shoulder restraints a few times to make sure it was secure and let out a long breath.
Turning to Duncan, she expected to find him pumped and excited, but he looked almost gray.
“You okay?” she asked.
He looked at her. “Yeah, just nervous.”
Though Retta knew fear wasn’t limited to certain kinds of people, seeing Duncan anxious heightened her nerves. “We can get off.” She was already looking around for help.
He shook his head. “I’m good. But you never know with these things.”
“Why would you say that now?” she asked, tightening her grip around the handles on the seat.
The robotic voice reciting the rules of the ride now sounded ominous as their carriers began a slow ascent. Her heartbeat went right along with it.
The moment their chairs pitched forward, Duncan and Retta’s hands instinctively found each other’s. Without her glasses, she couldn’t clearly see the parking lot below or the buildings in the distance, and it inspired her to chant a prayer.
Duncan laughed nervously a moment before their chairs went absolutely still.
