Southern Summer

Chapter Six

We arrived at the fair grounds and I stared out the window in amazement. There was a local fair back home, but this was huge. Aaron paid for both of us to get in, and we got wristbands that alowed us to go on all of the rides. He had been silent for the rest of the drive to the fair, and I was starting to feel bad about what I had said.

We walked along the main path of the fair, I looked at all of the food stands offering every kind of food imaginable, fried.

"So whaddaya wanna do first?" Aaron asked. He kept the tip of his hat pointed down, looking at the ground.

I shrugged, "Do you like fair games?" I asked as we approached the rows of games.

Aaron smiled a little, "I'm up for anything," he said.

We walked up to one of the stands. The back wall had rows of balloons attatched to it. Above the balloons was a row of huge stuffed animals. The object of the game was to hit the balloons with darts. You had to hit five balloons in five shots to get a prize.

"How you doin' tonight Aaron?" asked the guy who was working at the game.

Aaron broke into a grin, "I'm doin' just fine Bo, how are you?"

I was begining to think Aaron knew just about everybody in this town.

"Oh I'm good," Bo said then he looked at me, "And who might this pretty young lady be?"

Aaron smiled over at me, "This is Cara Evans, she's staying with Tilly this summer."

I smiled at Bo and said, "Hi."

Aaron paid the man and recieved five darts. I watched as he swayed his forearm back and forth slightly and let the first dart fly. There was a pop and a smile played at his lips. He kept his face pointed towards the back wall but looked at me out of the corner of his eye. Pop!

I couldn't help but laugh, "You should probably look where you're throwing," I said.

Aaron grinned and looked back at the board. Pop! Three out of five, he was getting close. I played with the charms on my bracelet as he threw the fourth dart. Thunk. He missed. He turned to me and shrugged.

"Bet I can do better," I said. I couldn't help it, I was a competitive person.

His dimples falshed and he motioned for me to come to the booth. I got five darts and threw the first one. Pop! I wasted no time in throwing the second and third darts, which both hit their marks.

I glanced over at Aaron, who had taken a seat on the booth next to me.

"Nervous?" I asked.

He grinned, "Not even a little," he said confidently.

I threw the fourth dart, pop! I looked over at Aaron to see his reaction. His eyebrows were raised slightly. A satisfied smile came to my lips as I turned back to the board. Just one more. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Aaron slip of his hat and run his fingers through his brown curls. That was not fair. I swallowed, trying to focus.

Aaron slapped his hat back on his head, "You should probably look where you're throwing," he teased, eyes twinkeling.

I rolled my eyes and threw the last dart. Thunk. Aaron smirked and hopped off the booth and paid for five more darts. It took him three more tries but he finally won. I picked out a huge stuffed panda bear.

"Umm thanks," I said quietly. I wasn't really the stuffed animal type, but it was sweet of him to win it for me.

"Lets go put it back in the truck so we don't have to carry it around all night," Aaron said.