“How about this game?” Kathy asked.  She and Lance had just arrived at the amusement park and were strolling along the midway.

Lance stopped and looked at where Kathy had gestured.  Players had to try to make a basket in three tries.  “Are you kidding me?” he asked incredulously.  “You know I suck at basketball.”

“Who’s playing basketball?” she countered.  “All you have to do is throw the ball into the hoop.  How hard can that be?  No one’s guarding you.  There aren’t any one-on-ones or fast breaks.  You don’t even have to run down a court.”

“Okay, okay!”  Lance threw his hands up in surrender.  “I’ll try it…but only if you do it, too.”

“Sure.”

They placed their money on the counter.  The attendant plucked up the dollar bills and set three basketballs down in front of each of them.

Lance looked over at Kathy expectantly.  “Well?”

“You first,” she offered.

He took a deep breath and picked up a ball.  Spinning it in his fingers, he eyed the basket.  You can do this, he said inwardly.  You won’t make a fool of yourself.  Just hit the rim and you won’t look completely hopeless.  Hoping for the best, he set up and released the ball.  He heard a loud clanging noise as the ball bounced off the front of the hoop.

“Uh…Lance?” Kathy began, trying to hold in a giggle.  “You might do better if you don’t squint or cringe while you’re shooting the ball.”

“Oh…uh…thanks.”  He tried again, and then one last time.  Both attempts had come close, but nothing fell.

“That was pretty good,” Kathy complimented, nodding her head approvingly.

“Thanks.”  He grinned widely and shrugged.  “Your turn.”  He stepped back to watch.

Kathy eyed the basket, then took one step backward.  She dribbled the ball a bit, then shot.  It flew right through the net.  She looked back at Lance, whose jaw had dropped slightly in surprise.  “Beginner’s luck, I guess,” she murmured, then turned back toward the basket with a small grin on her face.  She proceeded to repeat her success twice more.

“Here you go, lady,” the attendant said while handing over a stuffed dog.  “You’re pretty good.”

“Thanks,” Kathy accepted, then turned back to Lance.

“‘Beginner’s luck,’ my foot,” he muttered good-naturedly.

“Okay, so maybe I’ve shot around a few times,” Kathy admitted.

“Well, you’re pretty good for only shooting around ‘a few times.’”

Kathy grinned widely.  “Thanks.  I’m hoping to beat Justin at his own game soon.”

Lance laughed out loud.  “That shouldn’t be a problem.  I think he’s still a little sore about losing that pool game to you and Jen.”

“Tough cookies for him, then.”  She then looked down at the white dog she was holding.  “Here, this is for you.”

Lance grinned and accepted the gift.  “Thanks,” he replied as their hands brushed.  “But now I have to win you one.”

“You don’t have to…” Kathy tried to say.  But it would be nice if you did…

“Sure I do.  It’s only fair.”  He took her hand, and together, they sauntered further down the midway.

Kathy smiled down at their joined hands.  It’s really happening.  This is incredible.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Lance jerking on her arm.  “Okay, here.  I can do this.”  They were standing in front of a dart game where a player had one chance to pop a balloon.  “I may not be able to shoot baskets, but I can throw darts at balloons.”

Smirking, Kathy decided to tease him a little.  “Yeah, right, buddy boy.  If you can’t even get a basketball in a hoop, what makes you think you can hit a balloon with a dart?”

Lance narrowed his eyes at her.  “Oh, yeah?  Watch and learn, disbeliever.”  He threw down two quarters and picked up a dart.  Concentrating on the board, he said under his breath, “Keep your eyes on the blue balloon.”  He took aim and let the dart fly.  Hearing a loud pop, he turned to Kathy with a knowing look on his face.  “So…what do you say to that?”

“Impressive,” she declared.  When Lance only raised an eyebrow in question, she laughed.  “Okay,” she conceded, “so you’re good at darts.”

Lance flashed a grin at her.  “Thanks.”  When the attendant handed him his prize, he immediately offered it to Kathy.  “Now we’re even.”

Kathy smiled at the stuffed baby unicorn he held in his hands.  “How sweet.”  Taking it from him, their hands brushed yet again.  This time, though, they quickly looked up into each other’s eyes, then looked away.  With a tiny smile on her lips, Kathy asked, “Why don’t we go on some rides now?”

“Okay.”  Hesitating a bit, Lance reached over to take Kathy’s hand.  Wrapping his fingers around hers, they stood for a minute, smiling shyly at each other.  Soon, they began to walk, fingers still linked.

After a bit of walking, they reached the rides.  “What should we try first?” Lance questioned as they looked around.

“Hmm…well, I like taking fairly tame rides at first to get me warmed up for the bigger rides,” Kathy explained.

“All right, then how about the Ferris wheel?  Not too wild early on, right?” he suggested.

“Sounds good to me.  Let’s go.”

They got in line for the giant wheel.  As they waited, they talked about what the others might be doing that night.

“Didn’t Jennifer look great in her dress?” Kathy sighed, her lips set in a dreamy smile.

“Oh, definitely,” Lance agreed.  “Jen and JC make a great couple.”  And so would we.

Kathy nodded.  “They are so cute together, and they love each other so much.  I swear, I don’t think they’ve ever gotten into a fight.”

“That’s because they’re too busy using their mouths for other things.”  They laughed together at Lance’s remark.

“Well, they’re happy.  But anyway, I wonder where the others went tonight,” Kathy thought out loud.

“My guess is they went to a club with lots of girls around.  If I know Joey, he’s probably mackin’ on some girl right this minute.”  Lance grinned at the thought.

“Like when is he not mackin’ on some girl?”

“That’s true…but speaking of the guys, did you notice how quiet Justin was tonight?”

“Actually, now that you mention it, yeah, he did seem kinda out of it tonight before everyone left,” Kathy reflected.  “Isn’t he usually the first one to suggest clubbing on a Friday night?”

“Yeah.  Sometimes, he’s so quick to suggest it that he mentions it Thursday morning.”

Kathy chuckled, knowing full well that Lance wasn’t exaggerating.  “So he didn’t seem too into clubbing tonight, right?”

“No,” Lance said with a frown.  “He seemed…distracted…like he had something heavier on his mind.”

“I wonder what it could have been.”

“Who knows?  But if anyone can figure it out, Jen can.  We should talk to her about it.  Maybe she’ll be able to find out what’s bothering him.”  Lance and Kathy fell into silence, thinking about what might be affecting their friend.

“Next!”  The attendant was holding the next seat open, and looking up quickly, Kathy realized she and Lance were next.

“Hey, it’s us,” she said, grabbing his hand.  “Let’s go.”

They climbed into the seat and pulled the bar down over their laps.  A few seconds later, they were up in the night sky.

Kathy was looking out over the sights when she noticed Lance gazing at her.  She turned back towards him and smiled.  “Lance?  Why do you keep looking at me?”

Shaking his head quickly, he realized he was caught.  “Oh, sorry…I didn’t know I was staring.”  He blushed deeply.

Kathy took a deep breath, then reached out slowly to take his hand.  “It’s okay,” she said in a low voice.  “It’s kind of flattering, actually.”

Lance raised his eyes to look into hers.  They smiled at each other, and he tightened his fingers around hers.  Feeling more and more comfortable together, they settled back into the seat as the wheel kept moving.  They sat in silence until the wheel stopped while they were at the top.

“Hey,” Kathy said, looking out over the nearby water, “check out that ship.”

Squinting to see what she saw, Lance said, “Oh, yeah, I see it.  It’s one of those dinner cruises.  They’re pretty cool to take at night.”

“Hold on.  Are you sure it’s a dinner cruise?  It doesn’t look like there are people on it.”

“If it’s not, then what could it be?  I mean, look, it’s all lit up fancy and stuff.”

“Sure, but I would think a dinner cruise would have people on board.”

Both Lance and Kathy leaned forward to get a better look.  “You know what?” Lance began.  “I think you’re right.  It doesn’t look like there’s anyone on the thing.”

“No…wait…” Kathy said, “I think I see someone standing on the top deck…oh…make that two people…”

“Hold on one sec,” Lance interjected.  “Two people on a big ship like that?”  He thought back to what JC had said while they were at the flower shop earlier that day.

--

“I’m taking her someplace out of the way,” JC mentioned, “and we’ll definitely be spending some time alone.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” Lance asked.

“Oh, I’ve taken care of it,” JC replied mysteriously.  “There won’t be people around, that’s for sure.”

--

Jennifer likes sailing, Lance thought to himself.  “I wonder…”

“What do you wonder?” Kathy asked.

“Oh.”  Lance didn’t know he had spoken aloud.  “Well, JC had said something about where he might be taking Jennifer…and I thought he might have mentioned…oh, never mind.”

“Wait a minute,” Kathy said, trying to catch up with Lance’s thoughts.  “You think that might be them out there?”

“You never know…”

They both leaned out again, hoping to catch a glimpse of the couple on the ship, but the Ferris wheel began to move, lowering them from sight.

“Guess we won’t find out now,” Lance said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Oh, it’s not that big a deal anyway,” Kathy answered.  “So, how did you get so good at darts?”  They laughed together and relaxed in their seat again, lapsing into friendly conversation.

**

Kathy and Lance had been all over the park, riding all the slower-paced rides.  They had chased each other on the bumper cars, laughed wildly on the Tilt-A-Whirl, and walked through the Fun House.  After getting a couple of sodas, they collapsed onto a bench, still giggling at acting like kids again.

“I think I have whiplash,” Lance said while rubbing his neck.  “Did you have to run into me so hard?”

“Hey, if you can’t take it, don’t dish it out.  I believe you hit me just as hard as I hit you.”

“I did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

Kathy laughed as she countered, “You did, too.  How did you get your license anyway?”

“Ha, ha, very funny.”

“I thought so.”

Lance looked over at Kathy as she laughed.  Her eyes light up while she’s laughing, he thought.  She’s so pretty…but how can I tell her that?

“Lance?” Kathy asked, noticing his silence.  “Is something wrong?”

“Huh?  Oh…” He snapped back to reality.  “No, nothing’s wrong.  Just thinking about something.”

“Yeah?  What?”

“Nothing, really.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he said, then stood and extended his hand to her.  “Come on, let’s walk around some more.”

She placed her hand in his, and they wandered off, enjoying their time together.

**

Later on that evening, Kathy and Lance had gotten comfortable enough with each other to walk along the boardwalk with their arms linked.  They shared quiet jokes as they walked, and Kathy rested her head on Lance’s shoulder.

Sighing quietly, Kathy thought, This is the way it should be, Lance…you and me, having fun together.

Lance held his shoulder still, not wanting to bother her.  It should always be this way, Kathy…you and me, spending time together.

After taking a few more steps, they both noticed the large white track that stood before them.  Kathy raised her head from Lance’s shoulder and suggested they ride the roller coaster.

“Are you sure?  Have you warmed up enough?” Lance asked.

“I wouldn’t have said anything if I wasn’t okay,” she assured him, then decided to tease him a little again.  “Unless you’re not warmed up enough for it…”

“Me?  Come on…I’m always ready for a roller coaster.”

“Okay, then let’s go…I’ll race ya!”  Kathy took off before Lance realized what she was saying.  They ran off, laughing the entire way.

Kathy, with her small head start, reached the line a few steps before Lance.  “Ha!  I won!”

“Oh, like that was really fair,” he muttered.

She just laughed.  “I think it was very fair…I do have shorter legs than you do…”

“Yeah, well…” She doesn’t have to know I let her win…

The line moved quickly, and soon, Lance and Kathy were sitting side by side in the roller coaster car, the bars across their laps, holding them in place.  As the coaster began to move, he reached over and took her hand.  “Kathy?”

“Yeah?” she replied, still looking at her hand in his.

Okay, I’m just going to come out and say it.  “I think…I really like you.”

Kathy’s face lit up at his words.  “I really like you, too, Lance.”

The coaster made its ascent slowly.  In the meanwhile, the two just looked into each other’s eyes.  Near the top of the hill, Lance took a deep breath and asked, “I’d like to kiss you, if you don’t mind…”

Are you kidding?  Like I would mind.  “Um, sure…”

They slowly leaned in towards each other as the coaster rolled over the peak of the hill.  Just as the coaster began falling, Lance touched his lips softly to Kathy’s.  She felt her heart race, but she couldn’t tell if it was from his kiss or the coaster’s drop.  She concluded it was from both.

They pulled apart as the coaster reached the bottom of the hill.  “Wow,” Kathy gasped.

“No kidding,” Lance murmured with a small smile.  “What a rush.”

They looked into each other’s eyes again knowingly.  After sharing smiles, they sat back in their seats and let the screams from the other riders express their excitement.