To Professor, with Love (Forbidden Men #2)(63)

“Oh, my God. Look. They do actually sell cotton candy at carnivals. I thought that might just be one of those movie clichés.”

I felt like a dog walker who was being drug around by my overeager pet when she took off, hurrying toward the food stand, her hand tugging me along behind her. I laughed and hurried to keep pace. She was so freaking adorable, letting her inner child free. As she ordered a ball of big pink sugary fluff, I got a Coke because I knew she’d need a drink soon.

“Oh, funky.” She smacked her lips together after the first taste and scrunched up her nose. “I didn’t realize it would melt like that as soon as it hit my tongue. But, wow, it really is pure sugar, whipped into a fluffy ball, isn’t it?”

“Here.” I handed over the drink and she gave me a grateful thank you before snatching it away and sucking down half the contents.

She nursed the cotton candy a lot slower after that, and together, we browsed the carnival stands, watching a short sock puppet show before another vendor called out to us, coaxing us to try his ball throw.

Aspen nudged me in the ribs. “Come on, Mr. Quarterback,” she teased. “Why don’t you show us what you got?”

“Hey, you’re the champion ball thrower now; you’ve had an entire day of practice. Why don’t you try it?”

“Ooh.” The vendor eyed us with relish. “I smell a challenge. You two want to go head to head?”

So, we did the ball throw. I kicked her ass, of course, and she called me a sore winner. I just shrugged and told her I’d go easy on her here whenever she decided to go easy on grading my essays.

She murmured, “Touché,” and then rolled her eyes, laughing.

When the vendor congratulated me and thrust a blue stuffed bunny with floppy pink ears into my chest, I stared at him as if he’d lost his mind.

Aspen held her belly and laughed harder. “Aww. You two look so cute together. And look, his fur’s almost the same color as your eyes. I think it’s a match made in heaven.”

“Okay, smartass. You better take this thing because I’m sure as hell not carrying it around.”

When I pushed it at her, she looked at it as if it had rabies. “But...I’ve never had a stuffed animal before.”

Her arms fumbled to keep it from falling to the ground when I let go of it.

“Never too old to start,” I said, feeling smug that I’d managed to give her the bunny without being sappy about it.

She still looked completely flustered. “But what do I do with it?”

“Hell if I know. Toss it on your bed like all those throw pillows you have.”

“Well...” she still acted undecided, but I could see the yearning in her eyes. The girl wanted her stuffed animal. Finally, she relented with a quiet, heartfelt, “Thank you.” She blinked and I swore to God, if she dropped a single tear, I was going to drag her to the first quiet, shadowy nook and kiss her senseless.

But, really, what kind of heartless parents didn’t give their kid a stuffed animal? Even my freak show of a mother had tossed a dirty, dog-mauled teddy bear with an ear torn off at me one year for Christmas.

Needing to steer us away from anything emotional, I tugged on her hand. “That’s it. Time to take you on the rides and see how sturdy your stomach is.”

“Oh, I don’t... No, that’s okay.” Eyes widening, expression instantly leery, she shook her head and resisted my lead.

“What? You’re not scared, are you? Don’t worry. We’ll start out easy. How about the Ferris wheel?”

“The Ferris wheel?” Her eyes bulged even wider. “But that’s the biggest, tallest thing in the entire park.”

“Oh, come on. You have to try it out at least once.”

It was surprisingly easy to talk her into it; I think she secretly wanted to go but was nervous.

After buying tickets, we got into line behind a bunch of kids. We were by far the oldest two people waiting to board.

Leaning toward me, Aspen murmured, “This is silly. Let’s just go.”

“Nope. You’re not chickening out on me.” I tightened my grip on her hand, keeping her close as I stared up at the Ferris wheel as it slowed to let a pair of giggling girls off.

Her back immediately stiffened, and I saw some of her professor-self sprout on her features. It was kind of hot. “I am not chickening out. I’m—”

“Chickening out.” I grinned smugly, daring her to contradict me.

“Fine,” she snapped, turning to face the ride. “Let’s go on the Ferris wheel ride, then.”

“Good,” I spit back. “Because it’s our turn to load.”

“What?” Her fingers squeezed around mine as she whimpered. “Oh, God. Noel, wait.”

Pulling her along, I helped her into the seat the guy was holding open for us before I hopped up beside her. She looked so nervous, her fingers wrapped around the safety bar until the bones in her knuckles tried to poke through her skin.

Needing to distract her, I bumped my elbow into hers. “You know, the first kiss I ever had happened on the top of a Ferris wheel.”

Aspen turned wide eyes to me. “What was it like?”

I bunched up the features on my face as if to say meh. “Wet and sloppy. We were both pretty clumsy, but then, we were only eight.” I winced. “And her parents saw the whole thing. They dragged her off as soon as we landed, chastising her for going anywhere near the nasty Gamble boy." With a sigh, I shrugged. "She never talked to me at school again."