Again

Chapter 12

Kayla stood in the middle of Zac's room for what felt like an eternity.  She wasn't sure what her brain or her body were doing, or why they were betraying her at the moment.  She thought to herself, "Get it together, Kayla.  He always kisses you.  It's what you guys do.  Do NOT let this get to you.  He hasn't even been single for 24 hours.  Do NOT do this to yourself, again! "
She took a deep breath, and made her way out of his room and into her own.  She went into her closet and grabbed a sweatshirt and switched her flip flops for a pair of red Chuck Taylor's.  She walked out and stood in front of the mirror on her dresser.  She grabbed the spray bottle, and moistened her hair, then combed the water through her tresses.  She grabbed her curl gel and pumped a glob into her hand.  She rubbed them quickly together before turning her head upside down and running the gel down the length of her hair before scrunching at the ends.  She turned herself upright and adjusted her long curly hair until it fell just right.  She looked at herself in the mirror, and opened up one of the top drawers.  She pulled out her makeup compact and lightly brushed some powder onto her face.  She applied some quick eye liner and mascara before grabbing a tube of lipstick.  She paused for a moment, deciding against it and pulled her chapstick from her pocket instead.  She looked in the mirror again, "It's not a date, Kayla!" she thought to herself.  She quickly put away all of her supplies, before grabbing her sweatshirt from the chair next to her closet and made her way to the living room to wait for Zac.

Fifteen minutes later, Zac emerged into the living room with his aviator sunglasses on his face, looking down at his phone.  He flipped it closed and looked up at Kayla sitting on the couch.  She wore a pair of dark blue jean shorts, a long loose, black tank top and a pair of red converse.  She was beautiful, effortlessly, to him.  
"You ready?" he asked her as he pushed his phone into his pocket.  
"Yeah, you wanna drive or should I?" she asked, getting off the couch.
"I will," he replied.  "Let me just get my keys, be right back."  He turned around quickly, leaving his signature scent lingering and intoxicating Kayla's senses.
"Cut it out!" she thought to herself, shaking her head and trying to compose herself.  
Zac returned, dangling his keys in front of him, "Let's go," he said as he reached for the front door.  He held it open as Kayla walked past him, and onto the porch.  He closed it and turned to lock up.  Once he was done, he turned around and faced Kayla.
"You look really pretty," he said with a smile before moving past her and making his way towards his truck.   He hit the key remote and unlocked the doors, then proceeded to open the passenger door for Kayla to get in.  She hopped into the passenger seat, and he closed her door before rounding the front of the truck and getting into his own seat.

The drive to the carnival grounds was quick and quiet.  Kayla and Zac had always been comfortable in silence before, but Kayla couldn't control her mind from it's racing thoughts.  She wanted to bring Kate up and not, all at the same time.  Before Kayla was able to work up the nerve to speak, Zac announced they'd arrived.  He found a spot in the dirt parking lot.  They got out and began the trek to the entrance.  Once inside, Kayla felt like a kid all over again.  They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening riding every ride they could stomach, since they'd also been pigging out on anything fried they could get their hands on, in between rides.  They played every carnival game they could until Zac had finally won her a giant teddy bear.  They stood in line for the ferris wheel last, both agreeing that the view would be much better once the stars were out.  They reached the top as Zac watched Kayla marvel at the sky around them and the view of the small city they called "home".  He felt so incredibly thankful at that moment for all of the things he had in his life.  He realized in that moment that Kayla was one of the best things that had ever happened to him.  She turned her head towards him, a huge smile on her face, and caught him staring at her.
"What?!" she said self consciously.
Zac chuckled, "Nothing," he began, "You're like a little kid up here."
"I know," Kayla said, sitting back in her seat against the metal pod that was holding them, "I can't help it, it's so pretty up here!" she said, smiling once again.
"Yeah, it is," Zac said softly.  She looked over at him; his face was flushed and his eyes shone with excitement she hadn't seen in a long time.  Kayla could feel herself falling in love with him all over again.  She broke the stare between the two of them and turned her head back towards the sky.  The rest of the descent was quiet.
"You ready to go?" Kayla asked once they'd exited the gated portion of the ferris wheel.  She removed the sweatshirt she'd brought from around her waist and slipped it over her head.
"You wanna leave?" Zac asked, almost sounding sad.
"Well.... it kinda looks like they're shutting everything down," Kayla replied as she looked around at the rides beginning to be closed up for the night. 
Zac looked down at his watch, it was after 11 pm and the sign at the entrance had specified that closing time was 11:00, "Oh shit, I didn't realize it was so late," he said, "Um, yeah lets go.  But, are you ready to go home or are you not tired yet?" he asked.
"Why?" Kayla asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at him.  Zac grinned at her.
"Because, Kayla dear," he began, wrapping his arm around her as they made their way towards the exit, "I have weed, remember?"
Kayla looked over at him and smiled.  They continued walking in silence back to Zac's truck.