Chapter 16

I hopped off onto my pony and got onto my dad's just as he was about to get off and chase after Nick.

"I've got him Nick! Run!" I said as I messed up my dad's hair.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to be on my side," my dad said as he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me onto his lap. Then he began tickling me on the side.

"No! Don't tickle me!" I cried as I laughed.

The kid eventually stopped the carousel. Nick hopped off and quickly got outside of the gate.

He quickly pulled out his camera and took a picture of Kevin and Lily. Then he put it away.

"Hey Kevin! You can't get me! Na na na boo boo!" Nick taunted, as if he were 3 years old again.

Both my dad and I started laughing at him.

I hopped off my dad's lap and then got off the carousel. My dad followed closely behind me. Then I turned around and tapped him.

"Tag. You're it," I said, then I took off running.

Before Nick even knew what was going on Kevin ran up to him and tagged him. "You're it."

Then Kevin ran after Lily as she climbed into the jungle gym.

Nick ran after both of them yelling, "You can run! But you can't hide!"

I maneuvered myself through the tunnels and found a little spot to hide in.

'How the heck do these kids make their way through these things?' Kevin thought as he tried to move around in the tunnels. Then he laughed as he realized that all the fans and the media thought he was always the serious one, never doing anything remotely fun, yet here he was 28 years old and running through a jungle gym.

Nick saw where Lily had gone, so he figured it was easiest to get her.

Nick climbed through the tunnels and saw Lily's foot. He quietly snuck up to her and then tapped her on the shoulder. "You're it! And no tag backs!"

I screamed as I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder.

Nick laughed and then took off again.

After Nick crawled away, I made my way through the tunnels searching for my dad. Then I saw him trying to get out by going down the slide and into the sea of balls.

Kevin was going to get himself out of these small tunnels, so he headed for the nearest slide. He didn't know where Lily or Nick had disappeared to, but he knew they were close because of Lily's scream.

Kevin slid down the slide and into the pit of balls.

Nick laughed as he took a picture of Kevin go into the balls. He looked like an overgrown kid.

I ran to the slide and slid down right into the pit of balls.

Kevin turned around and saw Lily right behind him.

I lunged forward and tackled him. "You're it!"

"Oh no, you're not getting away that easily," my dad said as he laughed.

I tried to get away from him quickly, but I slipped on a ball and fell backwards right into his arms. Then he began tickling me mercilessly.

Nick smiled as he watched Kevin with Lily. He took a couple of pictures and then she just stood there watching them. He had never seen Kevin so happy before. Sure he was happy when he was around the guys and Kristin, but this was different.

"Please, no more," I said as I laughed. By this time I was crying.

Kevin was laughing just as hard as Lily was. He continued to tickle her just so he could hear her laugh.

"Stop!" I cried.

"Say uncle," he said.

"Uncle! Uncle!" I cried.

"All right," he said as he stopped tickling me.

Then we just laid there in the pit of balls. Both of us smiling as I rested my head on my dad's arm.

"Excuse me. But I'm going to have to ask you to get out. This jungle gym is for children 12 years and younger," the guy said, emphasizing the word children.

"Sorry," my dad said as we sat up.

He helped me up and then we slowly made our way out.

After we walked away both of us began to laugh.

We sat down at the table and Nick was already digging into the pizza. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked up at us.

"Sorry, I was hungry," he said.

"It's okay Nick. I understand," I said as I slide into the booth.

My dad got me a plate and then one for himself.

"Uh Kev, here," Nick said as he handed Kevin a comb.

"That bad, huh?" my dad asked.

Both Nick and I looked at him and then laughed.

"All right, I'll fix it," he said.

Once he did fix his hair, we just sat there eating our pizza. All of us were digging into our food, I guess I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I began eating.

Once I finished I just sat there watching my dad and Nick eat. I couldn't believe how content I felt. Like I had known my dad all my life. There was an immediate connection between him and me. I loved him the instant he walked in the door. And I loved him more after he said that he loved me. It just felt so right being with him. He was my daddy and I was his little girl. There was nothing more to it.

"Lily," my dad said.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Do you want to go play a video game?" my dad asked.

"Sure," I said as I smiled at him.

I think my face was stuck in a permanent smile. Nothing or no one could change the mood that I was in. For once things were just perfect, just how I used to imagine them being.

We got out and went over to the games.

"Can I play this?" I asked as I stood in front of Skee Ball.

"Yeah, I love this game," my dad said.

He gave me a couple of tokens and then both of us started to play.

"I'll be at the video games," Nick said as he took off.

We played over and over again collecting tickets.

After we had used all of our tokens we grabbed our tickets and then went to find Nick. He was shooting hoops in the basket.

Once he finished he was all out of tokens.

Both my dad and Nick handed me their tickets.

"What?" I asked.

"Here," they said.

"Maybe you can get a stuffed animal or something," my dad said.

"Thank you," I said.

"No problem," Nick said.

We walked up to the ticket counter and I looked at everything they had. We gave my tickets to the guy and he put it on the machine to count how many tickets there were. Once he told me how many I had, I looked around at everything.

"I want that," I said as I pointed to a blow up alien.

The guy got it out and gave him to me.

"Thank you guys," I said.

"You're welcome sweetie," my dad said.

We were ready to leave when I saw a little photo booth. I wanted a picture of my dad and me to remember forever.

I took his hand in mine. "Dad."

"Yeah," he said.

"Can we take a picture?" I asked.

"Sure," he said excitedly.

We walked over and got in. Nick put in the money while we smiled at the camera.

"Okay, Nick come in," I said.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said.

He climbed in and all three of us were squished. Nick tried to sit down, but his butt just ended up in my face.

All three of us began laughing and then the flash went off.

We got out and I grabbed the piece of paper. It was the cutest picture ever.

"My very first picture of my dad and my new friend Nick," I said.

"Wow! Baby got back," my dad said as he looked at the picture.

I busted out laughing.

"Yeah, you know it!" Nick said as he showed off his butt.

Then we walked to the car and got in. It was 5 o'clock.

"So where to?" Nick asked.

"I don't know, what do you think Lily?" my dad asked.

"I don't care," I replied.

"Is it okay if we go back to the hotel? Maybe we can watch a movie," suggested my dad.

"Sure," I said.

"Hey! And then we can play video games!" Nick said excitedly.

Both my dad and I just laughed.

We arrived at the hotel and my dad and Nick got out, putting on their hats and sunglasses again. I was really curious as to why they continued to do that. Especially since it was starting to get dark.

Then we walked into the biggest hotel I had ever seen. Inside the place was gorgeous, like it was just for the rich and famous. As you walked in there were guys that opened the door for you. And there was a waterfall to greet you. It was decorated beautifully with plants, flowers, and beautiful lights. I knew it had to be very expensive to stay here.

Kevin watched as Lily's eyes light up as she gazed at the hotel.

We got onto the elevator and then we went up to the 11th floor. We walked into a room and my dad turned on a couple of lights.

The room was enormous, in fact it was bigger than the apartment I had just lived in.

"What do you want to watch?" my dad asked as he sat down on the couch.

Nick grabbed a pillow and then laid on the floor. I walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Oh, let's watch Big Daddy," I said as we watched the t.v. guide on t.v..

"Sure thing," my dad said as he changed the channel.

"Come here," my dad said as he patted the seat next to him.

I scooted over on the couch and leaned against him while he put his arm around me.

It felt so good to be in my dad's arms. At least for that second, I knew that he wasn't going to leave me.

I didn't really care about watching the movie. I just wanted to remember this moment forever. I closed my eyes as I breathed in the smell of his cologne. I began to get sleepy as he hugged me tighter.

Kevin didn't care much for the movie, he just held Lily close to him. He couldn't believe that he had missed holding her all these years. He never got to hold her when she was baby, a toddler, a little girl, or as a little kid. But he was going to make up for that now. He kissed the top of his baby's head and then closed his eyes.