Jet skiing is my favorite. I lose track of time or my fears as Gavin and I fly across the water. He tries to splash me with his wake and I laugh as I chase after him.
After a while, I notice that I’m almost out of gas and we both reluctantly head back to the dock.
“Still think that you’re cursed?” Gavin asks as we turn in the life vests and head back to his Jeep.
“Yep,” I say simply, but I’m starting to have doubts.
Surely if bad luck was going to hit me, it would be when we were a hundred feet up in the air or racing across the water. Nothing happened though. Is that just a fluke?
We climb back into his Jeep and head farther down the road.
“Where are we going?” I ask when I notice that we’re headed away from Destiny Falls and toward the center of Maple Bend.
“I thought that we would grab a bite to eat,” he says easily and I relax.
Then I see the Ferris wheel and the other lights from the carnival, and my stomach drops.
“Just let me kill you,” I tell him as he parks, and he laughs.
“Come on, chicken!”
I follow him up to the front entrance. He pays for our tickets and then drags me through the crowd to a stage.
“What’s this?” I ask him as he hands someone some money and they pass him a clipboard.
“It’s a hot dog eating contest.”
“What?” I ask as he grabs my hand and tugs me up onstage.
“You don’t have to compete, but I thought that it could be fun.”
“You want me to shove hot dogs down my throat? Think of the choking hazard!” I hiss at him, and some teenage boys next to me laugh and elbow each other.
I roll my eyes at them, and Gavin hands me a bib. I reluctantly tie mine on as he does the same.
An announcer grabs the mic and my face heats as he goes over the rules and the clock is set to a minute.
“It’s just sixty seconds. What could go wrong?” Gavin asks, and I glare at him.
“On your marks, get set, go!” the announcer yells, and I grab a hot dog and take a bite.
Gavin grins at me as he grabs one and we have to be the only two in this competition who aren’t trying to win.
I laugh as he grabs a second one, and I reach for one too. We make it through one and a half each and are officially declared the losers.
I laugh as Gavin grabs my hand and drags me off the stage and farther into the carnival. I can tell that he wants to ask me if I still believe that I’m cursed, but instead he leads me over to the Ferris wheel and helps me on.
I expect him to ask at some point on the ride, but instead, he turns to me and kisses me. I close my eyes, getting lost in him and the sounds and scents of the carnival.
The ride stops and Gavin pulls back from me. We’re both slightly out of breath, our lips red and swollen. I take his hand this time and we wander around, checking out some of the arts and crafts booths before we ride some more rides.
Gavin buys us popcorn, cotton candy, and an elephant ear, and we sit at one of the picnic tables and watch the kids and families walk by.
“Are you ready for the last activity?” he asks and I turn to him.
“Bring it on,” I tell him, and he grins at me.