Chapter 43
“Can you see them?” Laura asked, craning her neck to follow their car.
“Yeah, they’re in that blue one near the top. See? It just stopped. I can’t see them that well, though, they’re too high up,” he grumbled, backing up slightly to see if the view was better.
Lucky had his back to them and was talking to Elizabeth, so they couldn’t really see anything. The wheel turned again, stopping with them at the top.
“Ooh, I can see them now,” Laura said excitedly. She still felt badly about spying on her son, but she was having too much fun at the moment to care. “Luke, look! I think he’s going to kiss her!”
Luke moved over to where his wife was standing and grinned. “Well, whaddya know? The Cowboy’s actually going to make a move! Hey, that means I win, right?”
Laura laughed and shook her head. “No, the terms of the bet were the first person to admit their feelings, remember?”
“Oh, and kissing the girl doesn’t accomplish that?”
She shrugged. “Hey, I didn’t make the rules on this one, I’m just trying to abide by them. People kiss sometimes for strange reasons, so that’s not always accurate. Anyway, he hasn’t done anything yet, so don’t start counting my money!”
They anxiously watched for another minute, as Lucky seemed to be getting closer and closer to Liz. Suddenly, he whipped his head around and looked right at them.
“Uh-oh, busted!” Luke muttered. Laura immediately looked away from the ferris wheel, feeling totally humiliated that they had been caught.
“Now what? When they get off that ride, he’s going to come after us, and he’s NOT going to be happy!”
“You’re right, baby. Let’s get the hell out of here!” He grabbed her hand and they rushed out of the park, jumped into her car, and peeled out of the parking lot.
~*~
“I don’t believe this!” Lucky said angrily. How could his parents follow them like that? Were they really that interested in his love life, or lack thereof? He sighed and sat back in the seat, running a hand nervously through his hair. As much as he had wanted to kiss Elizabeth, the moment was gone, and he wasn’t sure if it would ever come back. A few minutes later, it was their turn to get off the ride. Lucky had seen his parents run out of the park, and knew that he’d have to wait until he got home to yell at them.
“Well, do you want to ride anything else?” he asked, turning to look at Liz for the first time since their “almost-kiss”.
She could see the disappointment in his eyes, and felt a little of her own. She was still cursing herself for saying anything when she saw his parents on the ground. She should have just waited until they got off the ride, but she had just been so shocked, the words left her mouth before she knew what she was doing.
She smiled slightly. “Something tells me you want to go home and kill your parents before they have a chance to leave town!”
Lucky laughed. “Since when do you know me so well?”
“Hey, I’m your wife, remember? It’s my business to know you!” she said playfully as they left the park. She turned to look back at the ferris wheel, which had started up again, and sighed. ‘Oh well,’ she thought, ‘no use in dwelling on the could-have-beens. Might as well forget about it and move on.’
Lucky noticed how she stole one last glance at the ride. He smiled to himself, thinking maybe there was still a chance. He just had to make sure that the next time something was about to happen, his parents were far away!
~*~
“Do you think it’s too late to change our names and flee the country?” Luke asked jokingly as he and Laura entered their house.
She laughed and shook her head. “Very funny! We’re just going to have to act like grown-ups for once and face him. Even though we were far away, I could practically feel the daggers he was shooting at us from that ferris wheel!”
“Oh, come on, you know how much I hate being a grown-up! Why don’t I run, and you can stay here and face his wrath? He’ll be easier on you anyway, since I’m sure he’s figured out that it was my idea.”
“Don’t be so paranoid, Luke!” she said, hitting him playfully as they sat down on the couch to wait for their son.
“You’re right. I’m sure by now, he’s driving her home and kissing her good-night, so he’ll probably be too happy by the time he gets here to even remember what happened at the carnival!”
She looked at him skeptically. “You really think so?”
Luke nodded. “Sure, if he really wanted to kiss her up there on that wheel, he’ll find a way to do it sometime before the night is over. I may have lost the first bet, but I”ll be damned if I’m going to lose this one!”
~*~
They drove in silence back to Elizabeth’s house, both of them thinking about what had almost happened, unsure how they felt about the implications. They ahd spent the entire semester hating each other and arguing over everything. How was it that all of a sudden, they were almost kissing?
Liz let out a small sigh as she looked out the window at the passing landscape.
“You okay?” Lucky asked softly, glancing over at her.
“Hm? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired, I guess,” she muttered, still looking out the window. A few minutes later they were at her house. She didn’t want to go inside yet, but knew that she couldn’t sit in Lucky’s car all night.
They both got out of the car, and Lucky walked her to the door. She tried to suppress a smile at the gesture, since usually when he drove her home, he just waited in the car until she was safely inside before driving away.
When they reached the door, Elizabeth turned around and smiled nervously, not sure what to expect. Lucky took a step closer to her and met her eyes. She felt like she was going to drown in his gaze, and was sure that he would be able to hear how hard her heart was beating. He reached up and gently cupped his hand underneath her chin, tilting her face up to his.
“I guess this is where we say good-night,” he whispered, not sure why he was even speaking. He felt like he had left his body and was watching the entire scene play out from a distance.
Liz smiled, her eyes never leaving his. “I guess so.” He brought his other hand up to caress her cheek, and moved closer to her. Their lips were mere inches apart when he spoke again.
“Um, Elizabeth? Is that you rubbing my leg?” he asked nervously.
“What!?” she asked as they both looked down. Gatsby looked up at both of them as he wound himself around Lucky’s legs and meowed. They both chuckled.
“Damn cat,” Liz muttered, meeting Lucky’s eyes again. Determined not to let the moment be ruined again, he pulled her close, trying to ignore the cat that was still purring against his legs. She smiled up at him and closed her eyes. Just then, the door flew open.
“Gat-!” Audrey began to yell, then stopped wehn she saw Lucky and Elizabeth standing there. “Oh, I’m sorry, I was just looking for..” she looked down and saw Gatsby at Lucky’s feet and chuckled. “...him.” She scooped up the cat and retreated quickly into the house, hoping she hadn’t interrupted anything.
Lucky sighed. ‘I give up!’ he thought as he stepped back and ran his hand through his hair. “I better get going, before my parents escape.”
Liz giggled. Even though they hadn’t kissed, she stil felt giddy from being so close to him. “Yeah, I guess you should Go easy on them, though. I don’t think they meant any harm.”
“Well, I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll try to keep an open mind. I guess I’ll see you around. I’ll stop in at Kelly’s this weekend and say hi,” he said, backing off of the porch reluctantly.
“Okay, I’ll see you then,” Liz said, waving as he got into the Caddy. She turned and went into the house as he drove off.
~*~
Lucky slammed the door behind him as he entered his house. Luke and Laura, who were still sitting on the couch, jumped at the sudden noise, then exchanged worried glances.
“Uh-oh, now we’re gonna get it,” Luke whispered.
“So, you two have nothing better to do than follow me around all day?” Lucky asked angrily.
Luke chuckled. “Hey, we just went to the carnival, what makes you think we were following you?”
Lucky rolled his eyes. “Oh, give me a break, Dad. You knw that’s where I was taking Elizabeth tonight! Don’t try to say that it was just a coincidence, because I know you beter than that! And Mom, I expect this kind of thing from him, but you?”
Laura shrugged guiltily. “He promised me cotton candy, how could I refuse?”
“Argh!” Lucky growled as he spun around and stormed up to his room. He just didn’t have the energy to deal with them anymore.
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