Especially as Chase blows spit balls away from his face and calls out after her.
“Baby ... come back. I vote this is how we tell the kids I met their mother.”
Chapter Nine
Noah
We’ve been from one end of this festival to the other, proof of that being the cutest pink tint on the end of Goldie’s cold nose. Not that the cold has slowed her down any. I’ve never witnessed someone so invested in homemade bath bombs.
Truth be told, I didn’t actually know what they were until she gave me a lengthy explanation about the importance of self-care. I swear I was interested; I only laughed because Chase equated baths to dirty body soup.
The thought makes me chuckle to myself again as I watch her browse a rack of bracelets with her sister.
“All right,” Chase breathes out as he comes to stand next to me, holding a bag with a goldfish inside. “This shindig’s ending in thirty, so ...”
My eyes fix to the fish. “Where did you get that?”
His forehead wrinkles like I’m the weird one for asking.
“I ... won it. Little-known fact about me, Noah: A water gun in a clown’s mouth is my Olympic gold. Nobody’s better.”
Right as he says it, two elementary school–age girls walk by and side-eye him, to which he raises his voice.
“I’m especially not losing to cheaters who let their parents help them aim. Not today, playas.”
I shake my head, staring at his profile. “Stop talking. For the love of god. Please.”
Goldie shivers as she approaches, also eyeing the fish but choosing not to address it. Which makes me smile as I reach out, for the millionth time today, and pull her body close to mine, enjoying the heat that melts between us. It’s not just the feeling that I like, it’s the security of having her within arm’s reach. Especially after Evie’s news today.
I didn’t like it. I may never let her leave my house.
“What’s next?” I say to her upturned face. “The event’s ending in about thirty minutes.”
“Ferris wheel?” Chase throws out, staring at Evie, who pretends to vomit.
Goldie shakes her head. “Too cold.”
“Cannolis?” Evie tosses out as Chase grins with a dirty joke written all over his face, making her scowl again. “Don’t speak, cretin.”
He pretends to lock his lips and put the key in his pocket.
Goldie sighs, still staring up at me, so I whisper, “My place? Just the two of us ...”
She nods, biting her bottom lip before snuggling closer. God, I might keep her. The scent of her hair wafts upward, making me dizzy on her as I lean down for a kiss, but Chase claps his hands together, interrupting the moment.
“House of Mirrors?” He shifts between all of us excitedly, sloshing his fish. “We have to ... It’s a staple of a carnival, like gamja hot dogs and cotton candy.”
“I do love a Korean corn dog,” Goldie says as she looks up at me, buying into his unknowing cockblock.
But Evie’s face is deadpanned as she stares at Chase. “How are you the most unrelatable relatable person I’ve ever met? It’s astonishing.”
He grins and hands her his fish. “His name is Knievie. Like Evel Knievel, but Evie—”
“Yeah,” she cuts in, shaking her head. “I got it.”
She groans as she walks past him and takes the damn fish before grabbing Goldie with her other hand, dragging her away from me. “You’re going in with me.”
Goldie mouths “Sorry” over her shoulder as she’s whisked away a few steps ahead, making my eyes shift to Chase, who just winks at me. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, baby.”
