They loaded up into the rollercoaster cart, as the lines were much shorter than Daphne was used to. Asher intertwined their fingers together again. Daphne’s heart skipped a beat. He’s very comfortable with grabbing my hand. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a man want to hold my hand as much as Asher.

  “Promise me,” he murmured into her ear, sending shivers down her spine at his proximity. “That if I scream, you won’t judge me.”

  She turned to look at him, and they were nearly close enough to kiss. Her heart jumped in her chest. She tried to focus on his eyes, and saw the flecks of green in them as the sun peeked through the clouds, lighting up his eyes.

  “I promise I won’t judge you as long as you don’t judge me if I scream,” she whispered.

  “I promise,” he replied, his eyes fixating on her lips.

  She felt her face heating up, and turned away from him. I have it bad for this man. And he’s got it equally bad for me.

  The ride started, and the car started climbing the incline. Asher’s hand started gripping her’s tighter and tighter. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. There was a little bit of perspiration dotting his brow. She cocked her head a little to the side as the coaster flew down the incline. Other passengers whooped and cheered at the acceleration. Asher closed his eyes and released some of the tightness he had been putting around her fingers.

  Don’t tell me…he’s afraid of rollercoasters?

  They started up an even steeper incline, and the tightness of his hand interlocking hers increased again. They reached the peak, and her breath felt like it was being ripped from her as they descended, for a variety of reasons.

  I shouldn’t assume. Her heart was pounding wildly. But if he genuinely is comforted by squeezing my hand…

  She could have sworn her heart was going to fly right out of her mouth as the coaster dropped them off another incline.

  The ride only sted a few minutes total, and she took stock of Asher as they got back onto the ground. He looked a touch pale, and his hair was tussled wildly all over the pce.

  “Are you alright?” she asked him, raising her eyebrows.

  He looked at her and smiled wanly. “I’m alright,” he replied. “Are you ready for another one?”

  She frowned, inspecting him closely. “Are you ready for another one?” she asked back. “You don’t look so great.”

  “I’m fine,” Asher replied, his smile widening, but still looking forced.

  “I don’t believe you,” Daphne said, looking sideways at him.

  “No, no,” Asher insisted, grasping her shoulders and spinning her towards the next rollercoaster. “We came here to ride the coasters.”

  “Alright,” Daphne replied, sneering a bit at his actions. “But you let me know if it becomes too much.”

  “Fine, fine,” Asher conceded, all but confirming Daphne’s suspicions were correct.

  They got on the next rollercoaster, and just as they crested the first slope, Daphne’s hand was being crushed again.

  She ughed a little, amused by his insistence in hiding his discomfort. Why did I never take the time to do things like this in the past? I wonder if I had gone to an amusement park with Gary if I would have seen the side I didn’t like about him sooner rather than ter.

  Her heart soared in her throat as the coaster started down the incline that nearly looked straight down.

  She couldn’t breathe, and she screamed a little, then looked over at Asher, who was smiling a little at her.

  They rode a couple of additional coasters, including one that had a loop, which had made both Daphne and Asher scream a bit. Though the paleness of his cheeks hadn’t fully gone away, he at least seemed to be enjoying himself.

  They stopped by one of the food stands, though there were only a couple of them open. She’d grabbed a picnic table for them to sit at, as he’d waited for the food they’d ordered.

  Daphne sighed at her past self, the heavy weight of her past, and her regrets pushing her shoulders down. What if I hadn’t gotten a second chance? I would have died without having had so much fun on a date. She looked up at Asher, who was walking over to her, a grin on his face. I would have died without having the opportunity to experience having such a fun time with this man. Without getting to experience what it feels like to go on a date with someone who likes me as much as Asher does.

  He pced the corn dog she ordered in front of her. The cheesy fries they’d opted to share were pced between them.

  She gently touched the corn dog’s outer shell to see how hot it was. It burned her fingers a little. Too hot to eat. She pulled her hand away quickly.

  “Are you having fun?” Asher asked, his voice warm.

  She looked up at him, the food steaming between the two of them. “I’m having a lot more fun than I expected to,” she admitted.

  He chuckled a little, the goofy grin he had been sporting on the way to their table blooming across his face. “Good,” he said. “I’m really gd to hear that.”

  “What about you?” she asked, picking up her corn dog. “Are you having fun?”

  “Yes, I am,” he replied. “Especially since I came here with you.”

  Daphne let out a small breath, a smile brightening her own face at his words. It’s impossible to not smile around him.

  “I feel the same,” she replied after swallowing her bite.

  I feel like he’s leading into something with this date. She scrutinized him closely. I hope we finally make things official today.

  “Did you ever get to go to an amusement park as a kid?” he asked.

  Daphne shook her head. “No,” she replied. “There are five kids in my family, and I think it probably would have been very difficult for my parents to keep track of us.” She shook her head, smirking. “It wasn’t that uncommon for one of us to get left behind somewhere, and it was most often me,” she said, frowning a little.

  “Wow, I didn’t realize there were five of you,” Asher replied. “I only remember four.”

  Daphne nodded. “There were four of us for the longest time. It would have been the summer that we met at the merry-go-round that my mother got pregnant with Vio.”

  Asher nodded. “So, she’s quite a bit younger than you, too.”

  Daphne nodded. “Almost nine years,” she said. Their fingers met for a brief moment, both of them grabbing for fries. “Go ahead,” Asher said, pulling his hand back, and gesturing towards the carton.

  “Sorry,” Daphne said, her face heating up.

  It’s not like he hasn’t touched my hand before. Why am I still blushing?

  Before long, the food was gone, and Asher cleaned up the use cartons and napkins. “Since we just ate, should we take it easy on the next few rides?” Daphne asked, walking up to him.

  He captured her hand once more, her heart fluttering at the contact. “That sounds good to me,” he said. “Let me know if it’s too much.”

  “Same to you,” she said. “How about that one next?” Daphne asked, pointing at a ride that shot up into the air, before pausing and dropping nearly down to the level where people could get on and off.

  Daphne heard Asher loudly swallow, and she looked over at him, one eyebrow raised. “Sure,” he replied, his voice tight, and losing some of the warmth that it typically had in it.

  “You don’t sound as though you are super into that ride,” Daphne replied, frowning a little. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay with it?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Asher replied, reassuring her with a dismissive wave of his hand.

  “Alright,” Daphne replied, linking her arm through his, her heart jumping a little in her chest. “But let me know if you end up changing your mind.”

  “I will,” Asher promised with a tight lipped smile.

  They boarded the ride, and Asher wove their fingers together again, and gently squeezed her hand. She looked over at him and smiled.

  “I really like holding your hand,” he told her. “It’s reassuring.”

  Daphne giggled a little, her heart expanding in her chest. “Really?”

  “Really,” he said with a lopsided smile.

  The ride began, slowly lifting them upwards towards the top, bouncing up and down as they went. When the ride dropped quickly, Asher squeezed her hand firmly.

  Daphne narrowed her eyes, looking at their interwoven hands. He’s afraid.

  They reached the top of the tower, and the ride dropped rapidly, and Asher let out an ear piecing shriek.

  Daphne did her best to turn away from him because she couldn’t hold back a giggle, in spite of how tightly he was squeezing her hand and fingers.

  I promised not to judge him, and here I am, ughing. Her stomach twisted a little. It’s hard not to, though. He’s just so adorable.

  The ride dropped them a few more times, and Asher did not let out any more sound. He kept squeezing her hand though. She looked over at him, and noticed that he was gritting his teeth. Simultaneously, it also seemed as though he had a slight smile on his face.

  Or maybe he’s just a masochist?

  Finally, the ride ended, and Daphne looked at their hands again, and noticed that Asher’s knuckles had bnched of all their usual color. One way or another, he was literally white knuckling it on this ride. No wonder he asked me not to judge him.

  He let go of her hands as they got off the ride, and as soon as they were in a less crowded spot, she leaned close to him and asked, “Are you afraid of heights?”

  She saw his Adam’s apple bob up and down a few times. He looked down at her, a slight smile on his face. “You caught me,” he murmured.

  “You know I don’t mind not going on the rides that make you scared, right?” she asked, raising her eyebrows and narrowing her eyes.

  She couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty for ughing at him while they had been up in the air. It may have been because he was cute, but I shouldn’t have done that.

  He shook his head at her comment, his smile widening. “Are you enjoying yourself?” he asked.

  She grimaced a little. “Honestly, I am,” she admitted.

  “Then I’m fine,” he said, taking her hand again. “I want to enjoy the rides you enjoy.”

  She sighed, narrowing her eyes at him even more. “If it makes your experience a miserable one, I don’t want you forcing yourself to ride the ones I’m enjoying.”

  Asher frowned a bit. “It doesn’t make any experience miserable, though,” he said. “I’m enjoying myself because I get to be with you, and see what you enjoy.”

  Daphne gred at him, and then gently jabbed her elbow into him. “Fine,” she muttered. “But let me know if it ever becomes too much for you. I don’t want you to have a bad time just so I can have a good time.”

  “I promise I’ll let you know,” he replied with a chuckle.

  They rode a couple more rides before Daphne noticed that Asher had gone pale, and this time, she insisted that they take a break by going to the gift shop.

  They found a stand with animal ear headbands, with ears from all of the animals that were a part of the characters for the theme park. Daphne picked up a headband that had enormous elephant ears and put it on her head. The weight of the ears pulled the headband down, nearly over her eyes, which set Asher off into a tizzy of ughter.

  “Why manufacture it if it’s barely useable?” Daphne asked, giggling as she pulled the headband off her face.

  Asher picked up a pair that had giraffe ossi-cones on it and put it on. Daphne giggled at him, the yellow of the headband in stark contrast to his hair. “You look more like a bee than a giraffe,” she told him.

  Asher started buzzing at her and gently poked her arm with one of his fingers. “I stung you,” he said, grinning.

  Daphne chuckled before picking up a pair of bck cat ears on a headband. She put them on, and Asher let out a dramatic gasp.

  “Oh, Daph, that’s so you,” he told her as she studied herself in the mirror.

  “You think so?” she asked, as she turned to look at him, with a smile on her face. His warm eyes were twinkling at her, and she noticed that the tips of his ears were darkening.

  “I do,” he murmured, while picking up a headband with grey floppy dog ears. He put it onto his head.

  Daphne swore that cupid had just shot her right in the heart with an arrow. “Adorable,” she said out loud, without thinking. Her face started to burn as she realized what she had said.

  Asher looked at the stack of the headbands on the table. “You think so?” he asked, mirroring the words she’d said only moments ago. She noticed that his face even looked pinker than usual.

  “Absolutely adorable,” she replied, “And very Asher-like.” His name was pleasurable to say aloud.

  “Should we get these?” he asked, meeting her eyes.

  Daphne grinned at him. “We should,” she said. “I can buy them.”

  “Absolutely not,” Asher replied, his face turning serious as he snatched the headband off her head, somehow managing to not pull her hair while he was at it.

  He started walking to the cashier, and Daphne followed closely behind him. “What do you mean ‘absolutely not’?” she asked. “You’ve paid for everything else on all of the other dates we’ve gone, and this one. It’s time for me to pay for at least something, no?”

  “Do you know how much trouble I would be in if my father found that I let a woman pay for anything before the sixth date?” he asked as he inserted his card to pay for the headbands.

  “Specifically, the sixth date?” Daphne asked, a giggle growing in her chest.

  “Specifically, the sixth date,” Asher confirmed. “You can start paying for things after two more dates.”

  Daphne’s heart fluttered. Even if we aren’t official yet, things are at least going well based on that comment alone.

  “Besides,” Asher added. “I’m about to inherit my father’s business.” He handed her the cat ear headband, and put the dog ear one back on his own head as they stepped out into the park.

  Daphne ughed a little bit and sighed. “That’s a good point,” she conceded.

  She looked up at the sky and felt her heart sink in her chest. The sun was low on the horizon, signaling that the park would likely be closing soon, and their time together would be drawing to a close. I don’t want this day to ever end.

  “Looks like it will be closing time soon,” Asher observed, echoing Daphne’s thoughts. “You alright if we ride one ride that I like?”

  Daphne let out an almost silent chuckle. “Of course,” she replied.

  He caught her hand and then began leading her towards the Ferris wheel. The operator switched on the warm, white lights as they got closer.

  “The Ferris wheel?” she asked. “Height is still involved, isn’t it?”

  He nodded. “It’s one I’m still nervous on for sure,” he agreed. “But it’s a little less scary since it’s far more enclosed than any of the other rides we’ve been on today.”

  Daphne nodded. “That’s fair,” she agreed.

  The area was deserted. “This is a st call type of ride, folks,” the operator said as they got close.

  “Perfect,” Asher replied. “That works great for us.”

  The operator grunted at Asher’s words, and stopped the ride, allowing them to get on.

  Daphne sat down on the bench across from Asher, her heart thrumming wildly in her chest. This feels different than all of the other rides. She looked into Asher’s eyes, which were barely illuminated from the lights outside their car.

  The ride up was quiet, and Daphne could tell that Asher was feeling nervous. By the time they made it to the top, all of the people below looked like they were toy sized.

  “Are you okay?” Daphne asked him, studying his face closely.

  “Y-yeah, I’m…” he looked as though he was choking a little, and Daphne reached across the space between them and grabbed his face to force him to look at her.

  “Look at me,” she commanded him. “Focus only on me.”

  A beat ter, his eyes still were searching Daphne’s, but she noticed that the tension in his body was starting to ease.

  “I want to ask you something,” he whispered, his voice shaking a little.

  “What’s that?” she asked, her heart skipping a beat.

  Is this it?

  “I want to make things official,” he murmured. “I was hoping you would be willing to be my girlfriend.”

  Daphne’s heart jumped in her chest at his words, and she was nearly surprised enough to let go of his face but held it tightly once she had stabilized her emotions again.

  “I’d love to,” she whispered back.

  His eyes drifted to her lips, and she was mesmerized, being pulled into Asher’s gaze and his being.

  He kissed her deeply. Her hands found their way to his hair, and his found their way to her waist, pulling her in closer. She felt his togue touch her lips, and she parted them, allowing him entrance to explore her mouth. She had to hold back a groan as all of her senses were overwhelmed with his taste, the scent of wood and undry, and his very being. He kissed her like she’d never been kissed before.