K. Bromberg - Crashed

“Do men have penises?” She laughs with mock abhorrence. “Of course I’m in on it!”

I just sit in the car with my mouth hanging open, as I look around and my mind tries to process this. Tries to process how the man that swears he isn’t romantic is a hopeless romantic at heart. “How … what?” I try to spit out the questions my head is forming, but they’re not coming out.

“Colton thought you deserved a real date—a night out to thank you for hanging with him through everything so he asked for a little help.” She shrugs. “I agreed with him, so here we are.”

Tears well in my eyes as I breathe in deeply, still trying to comprehend that I’m sitting at the same carnival seven months later. While I sit stunned, Haddie reaches behind my seat and produces a box larger than a shoebox.

I laugh. “Do you have a whole store back there?”

“Nope. This is the last thing.” She places the box in my hand and I cough out a nervous laugh, not because I’m actually nervous, but because of my dislike for the unknown and my need for control.

Colton knows me so well.

I sit there and stare at the rectangular gray box and can’t help the soft smile that graces my lips as I recall something Colton told me a long time ago— sometimes not being in control can be extremely liberating .

“Jesus, woman, open the damn box already, will you? The suspense is killing me!” Haddie says beside me, her body vibrating with anticipation.

I let out a deep breath and crack open the top like something is going to jump out at me. And when I lift the top off, an envelope sits atop some black and white checkered tissue paper, my name written on it. I lift it up and slide the paper out of it.

Ryles-

I know you’re probably wondering what in the hell is going on, so let me try and explain. You always put everyone else first—me, the boys, the stray dog on the corner—so I thought it was time to switch places and let you be the one front and center. So with the help of others, I’ve put together a bit of a scavenger hunt for you. In order to get to the prize, you have to follow and answer all of the clues.

Good luck.

Here’s your first clue: The carnival is the place I knew you were so much more than I’d ever expected. I knew sitting atop the Ferris wheel with you that no matter how hard I was fighting it, I couldn’t do casual with you and that you deserved so much more than that from me. So the first item is waiting for you at the first ride we went on.

Love,

Colton

I wipe away the tears that slide down my cheeks without messing the makeup I’d just put on, but it’s damn near impossible. Haddie reaches over and squeezes my forearm to help steady my trembling hands. I look over at her trying to comprehend what it took for Colton to organize all of this, as well as put the words he has a hard time expressing verbally to paper.

“Get your ass out of the car and go find your man before I have a heart attack from the anticipation,” she says as she pushes my shoulder toward my open car door.

I slide out of the car, my heart pounding and head trying to understand that he cares enough about me to do this. I walk up to the gated entry to find a single turnstile unlocked. I walk through it and into the eerily deserted carnival, my pace starting to quicken with each step as memories flood back to me. Stuffed dogs, stolen kisses, and cotton candy. Dares to a bad boy who had already captured my heart even though I didn’t want to admit it just yet. Fears and firsts and a shy, lopsided grin on his magnificent face.

I reach the ride section and head for the Tilt-A-Whirl. I let out a gasp as Shane and Connor step out of the shadowed ticket booth with huge grins on their faces and a box in their hands.

My hand presses to my chest from utter shock and absolute adoration at Colton for including my boys in his scavenger hunt. For allowing them to help him do something nice for me. “You guys!” I exclaim as I jog over to where they stand and take in the mischievous looks in their eyes. “You kept this from me?” I step forward and hug both of them tightly as we all laugh.

“We were sworn to secrecy,” Shane says, blushing.

“Colton said we wouldn’t get in trouble for lying to you either,” Connor adds, shaking his head.

“No.” I laugh, completely overwhelmed by everything. “You’d never get in trouble for something like this.”

Shane clears his throat and I look over to him. “We have your next clue.”

“Oh, okay,” I say with a laugh, my nerves returning.

“You have to answer this question right in order to get the next clue, okay?” I nod. “When you see this item, which Con is going to hold up, what one word answer comes to your mind?”

Connor holds up a yellow, rubber ducky and I erupt into a fit of giggles, fresh tears appear at the corners of my eyes. I shake my head trying to staunch my laughter but can’t when I say, “Quack!”

And more recollections hit of shouting and hurt cutting through the morning chill on the front lawn of the Palisades house to a hotel room in Florida and my menagerie of animals I threw at Colton when trying to preserve my heart from misconceived truths. Of being so stubborn I didn’t really listen, didn’t hear what he was telling me.

But I’m listening now. He’s not the only one who’s learned during our time together.

Connor and Shane let out a little cheer and they hand me another envelope in which I hurriedly tear open. It says: The memories this next clue remind me of are burned in my mind just as much as the ink of my tattoos. And you were sexy as fuck. Damn! “In case you need a little sweetener after I dirty you up.” Where exactly would you buy that?

Everything below the waist tightens at the memory of Colton and cotton candy and I smile at the thought and then feel weird thinking those thoughts near the boys. “Are you guys going to be okay?” I ask them immediately.

They roll their eyes. “We’re not here alone,” Shane says. “Now go figure out the clues!”

“Okay,” I say as my excitement mounts. I kiss both boys on the top of their heads and jog through the fair looking everywhere for a vendor cart that has cotton candy on it. And with every step, I look for and expect to find Colton and his impish grin waiting to surprise me.

But there’s nothing.

I start to get panicked at the quiet calm of the grounds. After a bit of wandering I turn a corner and look up to see a lone funnel of cotton candy hanging from a stand. As I get closer I cry out when I see Ricky and Jackson standing in aprons and smiles.

“I can’t wait any longer!” Ricky says, fidgeting behind the counter and handing me another box as both Jax and I laugh at his excitement to be a part of this.

I set the box down and open it to find an auction paddle that says: Go back to where it all began. Where I learned defiance can be pretty damn sexy.

I shake my head again, feeling like I’m having an out of body experience as I say goodbye to them. I walk as fast I can out to the parking lot, to where Haddie is sitting behind the wheel, eyebrows raised and fingers drumming in anticipation.

I slide into the car to her repeating “Tell me, tell me.” Over and over. I tell her to drive where the date auction charity gala took place and then fill her in on the two clues I’d received at the carnival. She’s bouncing in her seat with enthusiasm while I sit here wide-eyed and shocked at Colton’s sweet surprise.

“Well shit, that bonk on the head at the race in Florida sure as fuck helped him in the romance department.” She laughs. “I think it might become a mandatory thing for the penis-poking gender!”