Cuddle Application

12 - All's Fair in Love and War

"Why do you say sort of?" Oliver asks.

"Well, my mom thought my dad was a brainless jock, so she didn't give him a lot of attention during high school." Oliver laughs at this. "But he chased her around like a lovesick puppy, just begging for her attention."

"To no avail," Oliver smiles.

I laugh. "She wasn't interested until the summer before college, when she signed up to be a lifeguard at the lake and he pretended to drown so she'd save him."

"Oh wow," Oliver laughs. "That's quite an extreme approach."

The smell of hot dogs and fried desserts wafts through the air as we get closer. Oliver and I step into the sand, prepared to walk around the lake to get to the side housing the carnival rides.

"It worked, though," I continue. "Now they've been married for nearly twenty years."

I look at his face. He's smiling, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

I'm about to ask about his parents when he grabs my hand, pulling me into a run. "Sky, look! Balloons!"

Laughing, I run with him down the beach, a slight breeze teases the lake, pushing the water up in soft waves. They slide up and greet our feet. Droplets of water fly up onto my legs as I run.

Oliver turns his head and looks back at me. The smile is back, paired with a twinkle in his eyes.

By the time Oliver and I reach the balloon vendor, my hair is in knots behind me and our faces are flushed.

"Two, please," Oliver says to the man, pulling out his wallet and handing over a dollar. I inspect the balloons. They're various animals, a floating zoo in the sky.

"I want the tiger," I say, pointing.

"The lion and the tiger," Oliver requests, and to me he whispers, "and bear, oh my."

I laugh as he takes the balloons. "You got pretty excited there."

We start walking away, stepping near to the entrance of the fair. The sun's gotten hotter, beating down, and I'm thankful for the slight breeze.

"About the balloons?" He asks, handing me mine. I curl the string around my fingers and nod. "Oh yeah, I'm a big balloon guy."

"Oh, so like a fetish?" I smile.

"A balloon fetish, yes." Then his face gets more serious. "Actually me and my mom used to go to the fair every summer, and the first thing we'd do is get balloons. Kind of a tradition I suppose."

There's a line to the ticket booth and we get in it. I notice a few people from school that I don't plan on talking to mingling a few groups in front of us. I suddenly feel a little weird being in such a public place.

It could easily look like Oliver and I were on a date, which wasn't the case. I didn't usually care what people thought, but I wasn't exactly trying to start a bunch of rumors.

My phone buzzes from the pocket of the romper. I ignore it and turn back to Oliver. "And, what, you're too old for the fair now?"