St. James

CHAPTER 8

DAY OF LA COUNTY FAIR!

True to my word I had sweet talked my dad into letting me go to the fair with Brian...after much begging and convincing that I would be fine and able to manage on my own with the guys "Honestly dear she's 16, let her have some fun. She's more than proven herself responsible and mature to us. Brian is a good kid, he will keep her safe" mom said after coming to my aid. So here I was the morning of the fair taking my time getting ready for my all day date with Brian and the guys. I chose to wear my white denim short shorts with the frayed edges along with my American flag tube top and French braided my hair down my back before carefully applying my makeup. The guys wanted to leave early to give us time to get there and get good parking before the gates open so I had to make sure I was ready by 7:30. By 7:20 I was sitting on the front porch steps waiting for Matt to pull up in the huge conversion van his parents had helped him buy last year; sure enough five minutes later he was pulling up in front of my house with his girlfriend Zoe riding shot gun. The sliding door opened on the side and Brian hopped out with a huge smile on his face hidden only behind dark sunglasses "Come on gorgeous!" he hollered out happily as I jumped up. Even in a simple white t-shirt and blue jean shorts he was making me eyeball him happily as I came through the gate and leaned up to kiss his cheek "Morning" I said softly to him with a smile before climbing in the van.

Zack and his girlfriend occupied the first bench seat and Jimmy and Allie were in the middle one leaving Brian and I to the back "We figured you two horny dogs would like the back anyways" Matt laughed as I scooted towards the back, Brian slammed the door shut then crawled back after me before flopping down on the seat next to me with a grin. "Everyone ready?" Matt hollered out happily which lead Jimmy to let out a loud "WHOOP!" making me laugh as Brian pulled me into his side. We set off towards the highway with music blaring, windows open letting in warm, late summer ocean breezes. Jimmy turned to face me with a big grin on his face and tugged the end of my braid to gain my attention "So Georgia, are you taking care of my sticks?" he laughed "Yes actually I am, they're propped on my shelf above my desk. I take them down and polish them every day" I joked back with a wink at him. Jimmy laughed and leaned over the seat enough to grab my face and kiss my forehead heartily "I'm so glad I have you Georgia" Jimmy said with a sweet smile as he sat back down next to Allie. "Not as glad as I am" Brian whispered in my ear while squeezing me tight into his side.

Soon enough we were pulling into a huge parking lot by an even larger fairground, a massive Ferris wheel loomed over the main gates among other rides poking their noses up in the air. We all piled out of the van and stretched our limbs before heading up to the main entrance, all of us holding hands with our partners. Again Brian stopped me from paying for my own admission by giving me a hard scowl while somehow pinning both my hands with just his one hand while he dropped money on the counter, the lady behind the counter stamped our hands and slapped bracelets on our wrists then we were free to enter the fairgrounds. Brian pulled me into his side and laced his fingers through mine "Stop trying to pay for shit woman" he growled quietly in my ear before kissing my temple while we waited for the rest of the group to come through the gates. I decided I wasn't going to argue about the money thing until it was time and kept silent for the time being as we stood around in a group of eight deciding which way to head first. "Let's see if I can make that bell ring" Matt stated with a cocky smirk as we started walking towards the game where you have to swing a heavy mallet and try to make the gong slide up the chute and hit the bell at the top "Duh of course you can dude, your arms are the size of my head!" Jimmy laughed as he put his free arm around my shoulders and pulled me in to his side. Of course Matt made the bell chime out and laughed as Zoe squealed in delight over the pink teddy bear the guy handed her. "Any other takers? Come on gentlemen! Show your ladies your strength!" the carny barked at Jimmy, Zack and Brian. Jimmy shook his head and said no way in hell was he going to embarrass himself this early in the day, Zacky tried but didn't quite make the gong hit the bell; still his girlfriend received a small bear for his efforts. Brian slid his hand from mine and shot me a wink as he grabbed the mallet and with seemingly effortless ease made the gong connect with the bell loudly "Damn" I whispered under my breath. Jimmy hugged me back into his side and giggled under his breath "Did that get your panties wet Georgia?" he teased making me blush violently and shove him away with a laugh "JIMMY! OH MY GAWD!" I exclaimed in my heavy southern accent. Jimmy cackled as Brian's arms came around my shoulders from the back and held a huge purple teddy bear with a shiny plastic heart for a nose in front of me.