OO-RAH!

Chapter 12

"So you're telling me you've never been on a Ferris Wheel before?" I asked Chase as we waited in line to ride the illuminated Ferris Wheel. The dozens of red, blue, yellow, and green lights flashed, flickered, and twinkled in it's programmed patterns as it slowly made it's way around. 

"Never really had the opportunity to. Everywhere I lived was either really boring or really poor and lame. My dad and I never really had a lot of money so we didn't go out much. Going to see a movie was rare." he explains. Sometimes I forgot that Chase had a rough childhood, with a deadbeat father and no mother. You'd never have guess because he was always polite, smiling, and in a rather good mood most of the time. At least, when he was with me and his grandparents. 

"Well consider this your lucky night." I say, teasingly poking his chest with my finger. He used his hand to press mine to his sternum and smiled down at me. His skin was warm through his cotton shirt and his hand was even warmer. I feel my ears getting hot as I start to lose myself in his eyes and soft smile. 

"I actually considered the first day we met my lucky night." he says, his voice low enough that it was only audible to me. 

"And why's that?" I ask, even though I already know the answer. I slip my hand away from his chest as I notice the line moving and take a few steps forward. Chase grabs my wrist and turns me around when we stop.

"Because if I didn't meet you, I wouldn't have had something fight for or come home to." he said. I felt my heart pick up a little bit but fade right away. It was almost like every romantic thing he said only reminded my that he was leaving. I wanted nothing more than to just lay in his arms for days on end. But life's a bitch when it comes to that. 

Before I knew it, we were taking our seat in the Ferris Wheel car, gradually being lifted into the air. Chase and I sat side by side, his arm wrapped around my shoulder. As we ascended into the air, the fair below us got smaller and smaller. The view of the lights flashing and glowing on all the rides, game booths, and food stands lit up the area nicely. All kinds of different people could be spotted everywhere. Couples, parents with children, high school friend groups, and the occasional older couple slowly walking hand in hand. The air seemed to get cooler the higher we got, a gentle breeze soothing my skin from the July heat. 

"Hey." Chase says as he squeezes his arm around my shoulders to get my attention. "I got you something." he says. I cock my eyebrow at him as he reaches for something in his back pocket. "Don't worry, it's a gift. Something to remember me by. Close your eyes and face the other way." he says. I hesitate a moment before doing as I was instructed. I felt his arms move above my head, and not long after something cold wrapped around my neck. I open my eyes and look down to find a silver pendant resting on my chest. I hold it up to my eyes so I can look at it. It was a piece of unpolished steel that was just a little bigger than the size of a quarter. On the front, there was a message engraved into the metal that read "Roses are red, cammies are green, I'm in love with a U.S. Marine", and on the back was the United States Marine Corps emblem with Chase's initials etched at the bottom. I turned back around to face Chase, completely unaware of the tear that was running down my cheek. He reached out and swiped it away with his thumb, but let his hand stay there and hold my face. 

"It's beautiful. I love it. Thank you, so much." I say with a smile. I really did love it. It was something that I'd wear everyday, and wasn't too fancy. 

"I'm glad you love you. I wanted to get you something to remind you I'll always be with you no matter what." he said. I look back down at the pendant in my hands and let out a soft cry. He brought my forehead to his lips and let them linger there for a while, letting sparks tinkle the spot where his warm lips touched my skin. 

"You didn't have to get me this. I know you'll always be with me." I say. 

"I know. I just felt that a beautiful woman should have a beautiful gift." he says. He winks at me and makes me giggle. I scoot closer to him and hold his hand of the arm that was draped over my shoulders. We sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the view on the slow moving Ferris Wheel. "You know, for all this hype you put up for this thing, I was expecting a whole lot more than just going up and down in a circle." Chase jokes. I laugh a little and sit up. 

"Oh really? What were you expecting?" I ask, poking his chest. 

"I don't know. Maybe, shooting targets with water guns as we passed by, throwing water balloons down at people." he starts to list off. Each one sounding more fun than the next. 

"There's games for that. This is supposed to be relaxing." I say matter of factually. 

"Well then when get off this thing we're going to that shooting game over my the cotton candy machine." he says. I bust out laughing, finding his boredom and disappointment humorous. 

"Alright. I have been wanting to see your so called skills in action." I heckle. He raises his eyebrows at my and pretends to be offended. 

"You don't believe me?" he dramatizes. I shake my head with a smirk. "You think you could do better?" he asks. 

"Oh I know I won't be able to beat a Marine, but I can do just as good." I say. I has a look on his face like he's having a hard time believing me. 

"Oh really? And what makes you think that?" he asks me. Just then, the Ferris Wheel stopped and it was time for us to step out of our car. I rose up from the seat and opened the door before answering Chase. 

"You know, for a guy that grew up all over the South, you don't really know much about Southern women." I tease. I walk out of the car with Chase right behind me. As soon as we were no long on metal ramp that lead us away from the ride, Chase lifted me off the ground and tossed me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I laughed and screamed in surprise and we wiggled around to escape, but his hold was too strong. People gave us looks as we passed by, some smiled and laughed, others glared and rolled their eyes, and even a few kids asked their parents to do that with them. I didn't bother worrying about their looks. I was too busy enjoying my time with Chase. They'd do the same if their significant others were leaving to go fight over seas. 

"To the Slingers Booth!" Chase shouted as he moved quickly with me on his shoulder. As chase made his to the booth, we passed Billie-Mae and Daisy sitting down on a bench, enjoying popcorn and lemonade. They waved at me and gave me thumbs up as we passed by, and I waved back. I'll never understand why they go through so much just to make sure I'm happy, but whatever their reasons are, I'll be sure to return the gestures one day.