Page 74 of Better Than Revenge
I laughed.
“I did win ring toss, though, and got a little goldfish in a bag.”
“An actual goldfish?”
“Yes, I ended up having her for three years. She was a hardy thing. I cried when she died.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too. You think I can convince your mom to let me have a goldfish?”
“Ask her for a cat,” I said, as if Mom didn’t listen to this podcast and would realize I was trying to use my grandma to get the cat I always wanted.
“I’ll try.” She smirked, seeming to know my motivation.
“So you won a goldfish and had to carry it around the rest of the night?”
“They gave me a ticket, and I collected the goldfish at the end of the date.”
“Smart. That way you had two free hands for all the hand-holding I assume was happening.”
“There was some hand-holding,” she said.
“Did he make his move at the top of the Ferris wheel?”
“He was still waiting for me to make the move after my rejection.And the top of the Ferris wheel should’ve been my number one choice. But instead, it happened more unexpectedly.”
“I like unexpected.”
“We were walking through the big tent where all the FFA kids had their animals on display in pens. The whole tent smelled like…well, it smelled like a place where a hundred farm animals were being housed.”
“Romantic,” I teased.
“In the far back corner was a petting zoo. Three or four lambs and three or four goats comingled with a handful of kids.”
“I recently did goat yoga. Goats can be both adorable and big jerks at the same time.”
“Goat yoga? What’s that?”
“It’s yoga in a field while goats use you as their playground.”
“Sounds…counterintuitive.”
“It was actually surprisingly relaxing,” I said. “I take it your petting zoo didn’t involve yoga poses.”
“No yoga poses, but a goat did use me as his playground. I was standing there minding my own business trying to pet one of the lambs when a goat headbutted me from the side, knocking me right into Andrew’s arms.”
“Do you think Andrew bribed that goat with feed?”
“I wouldn’t rule it out. Because there I was, wrapped up in Andrew, saved from landing on the urine-soaked ground. He pulled me up to my feet, and I think he was about to ask me if I was okay when I pushed onto my toes and kissed him.”
“What did he do?”
“He was surprised at first. He went still, but then his hands went around my waist and he kissed me back.”
“Did all the children in the petting zoo yellGross!at the top of their lungs?”
“I’m not sure what anyone else did. I was in the moment. Everything else vanished, the noise, the people, the animals. It was just him and me, kissing like we were alone.”