His eyes flashed before he pulled me to him and kissed me hard on the mouth. He released me but it took a minute for my eyes to open because -- oh my -- the man knew how to kiss. When I did finally look at him he was watching me with a tender look on his face. He reached for my hand and linked our fingers.
"Shall we?"
I smiled in reply and for the next hour we rode practically every ride. The rides were broken down when the fair moved from location to location and I must say that I felt scared for our safety. Being with Trace though, feeling his solid strength next to me, helped to alleviate some of my fears. After the rides we tried our hands at some of the games. Trace was remarkably good at the shooting games and when he handed me the large stuffed bear I felt tears prickling the back of my eyes.
We were making our way through the crowds when we saw a little girl. Her face was scrunched up as tears streamed down her face. It only took a second to realize what happened. Her doll was swimming in a puddle of mud. Her parents were trying to console her but she was heart-broken, and remembering that age, I understood her pain. Trace looked down at me and though he didn't say anything, I knew what he wanted, and I felt my heart trip in my chest at his compassion. I handed my doll to him as a smile touched his lips. He ran his finger down my cheek as his eyes held mine and then he turned and started for the little girl. I saw the silent question that he directed at her parents and when they smiled and nodded he knelt down next to her. I couldn't hear him but I saw the smile that spread over the little girl's face as she wrapped her arms around the bear. He stood then and turned back to me. I met him halfway and wrapped my arms around his waist. His arms came around me as he pressed a kiss to my head. His lips brushed over my ear when he asked, "Are you hungry?"
I looked up at him and smiled.
"Yes."
He took my hand and led me towards the concession stands but my thoughts were on him. His reaction to that little girl had been a gut-instinct and that gesture of kindness was completely in contradiction to his reputation. His behavior both that day and the day before only confirmed for me what I had already suspected. The image he allowed everyone to see was just that, an image. The real Trace Montgomery was far more complicated and I feared that underneath his seemingly put together and beautiful outer package existed a damaged soul.
We reached one of the food trucks and he stopped and looked at me with the most charming expression on his face.
"Tell me, Ember, what's it gonna be: chili dogs or funnel cakes for dinner?"
I couldn't help the smile as I replied, "Can't we have both?"
He pulled me closer before he said, "I was hoping you would say that."
The following night Lena extended the olive branch and invited me to go out with her and Todd. I was touched by her invitation until we reached the little hole-in-the-wall club and realized we were only there because of a back-room poker-game. As soon as we arrived, Todd disappeared and stayed gone for quite a while. Could Lena not see that her boyfriend was a loser? Was this how all of her dates went? Did she not see that the love of her life didn't seem all that eager to spend time with her? Or, to be fair, he liked gambling more than he liked her. Since I didn't know the answers to those questions, I asked.
"Does he usually leave you alone?"
"Just stop, Ember. At least I'm dating."
"I'm not judging you, Lena, but it seems to me that you sitting here alone hardly qualifies as a date."
Her eyes narrowed at me as she leaned over the table. I knew she was thinking how absurd it was of me to be giving relationship advice to her when I lacked experience but it didn't take a shrink to see that Todd was all wrong for her.
"I don't claim to be an expert but I do know that Todd's taking you out and leaving you so he can gamble is not a healthy relationship."
"Whatever."
I leaned back in my chair in an attempt to reign in my temper that was stirring to life. I couldn't reason with her since she absolutely refused to open her fucking eyes. My dad's warning played in my head and, damn, if the man wasn't right. I wanted to leave but I felt bad leaving her here, alone, in not-so-safe a place. What kind of guy brought his girlfriend to a place like this only to leave her alone to fend for herself? A gambling jackass, that's who. I didn't voice any of this to Lena and instead just sat in silence.
My phone buzzed -- signaling an incoming text -- and I saw it was Trace, my mind shifted gears as a smile touched my lips. I was falling -- hard -- for the man that Trace was allowing me to see.
Are you free tonight?
Yes, I'm at Pulse but I'm ready to go.
Pulse? By yourself?
No, Lena and Todd are here.
I'm on my way. Stay with your friend.