Part Ninety-Seven

We didn’t speak as we walked down the hall and out of the building towards the car. We didn’t speak when we got in the car and I started to drive away. Katiya was looking at me intently and I glanced at her.

“I’m sorry about that,” I said.

“She’s still got it bad for you,” she replied.

“No, she just thinks I’ve moved on already,” I said.

“Haven’t you? It’s good to move forward unless you want to go back,” she said.

“Madison and I are done. There’s no going back,” I said.

“Do you have plans for the rest of the day?” she asked me.

“No, I think it’s going to be a long ass day without Kalen,” I said.

“How do you feel about Coney Island?” she asked me.

“Actually I’ve never been to Coney Island,” I said.

“What? That’s a travesty! We have to fix that immediately,” she said and I laughed at the seriousness in her voice.

We arrived at Luna Park on Coney Island and I looked at the lines when Katiya smiled mischievously at me and pulled out two day passes. She grabbed a baseball cap from the back seat, placed it on my head and pulled a small backpack over her back.

“There’s a place for your phone and wallet,” she said and I handed them over.

“What if I had said no?” I asked her.

“No to Coney Island? Are you insane? Who says no to a day with me?” she asked me and I smiled as we headed to the entrance.

“Does this mean you’re in charge today?” I asked her.

“Absolutely!”

She grabbed my hand and we bypassed the queues and she went straight for the first ride. I looked up at the roller coaster, Cyclone, and I looked back at her.

“You want to ride that?” I asked her.

“Don’t tell me big, strong Kage Hawthorne is afraid of a rollercoaster,” she said.

“Really? You really want to challenge me to rides?” I asked her.

“If you behave I’ll buy you dinner,” she said and I laughed as we sat down in the front seat and Katiya strapped herself in.

The first upward ride was slow and I knew that the first fall was upon us and suddenly the air swooshed past my head and Katiya gripped my arm as she screamed. “Hold on pig!” I laughed so much that I could barely hold on to the rail in front of me.

“Did you call me a pig?” I asked her.

“Did you hold on?” she asked me.

“Real smooth, Katiya, what’s next?” I asked her.

She pulled me to the Luna 360 and I could feel my heart sinking right into my stomach as people screamed where they were swinging upside down and came rushing back again. She was insane.

“After that I’m going to need a drink,” I said and she laughed.

We sat down facing the crowd. I felt almost too tall for the seat but once the ride started the floor fell away and suddenly all I saw was air as we swung like a pendulum, right way up, upside down, and I could hear Katiya screaming next to me.

My legs felt a little shaky and my heart was hammering in my chest as we got down on solid ground again and she leaned forward as if to catch her breath. I had taken off my baseball cap and put it in her bag otherwise it would’ve been lost long ago.

“Kage! Kage! Can I get a picture?” a boy of around twelve asked as he pulled his father towards us.

“Sure, what’s your name buddy?” I asked.

“Sorry, he’s a huge fan,” his father said.

“It’s not a problem,” I said.

“I’m Sean and I’m the biggest fan ever!” he said.

I knelt down with my one knee on the ground and put my hand on his shoulder as he stood next to me and we both smiled as his father took the picture of us. Katiya was standing to one side and smiling as she watched us.

“Ask your dad for his email address and I’ll send you guys some tickets for our next home game,” I said.

“Really?” he shouted as I wrote down his father’s email address.

“Sure thing, my biggest fan deserves some free tickets don’t you think?” I asked him.

“You’re the best ever!” he said and suddenly he hugged me.

“Thank you,” the father said.

“Enjoy,” I said as Katiya and I walked away from them.

“Are you really going to send him tickets?” she asked me.

“Of course, you heard him, he’s my biggest fan ever,” I said and she laughed.

We had walked to Paul’s Daughter and sat down at a table the moment another couple had vacated their seat and ordered beer, hotdogs and fries as we watched people walking on the boardwalk. The sun was beginning to set and I had been stopped a lot for pictures and autographs.

“Do you ever get tired of it?” Katiya asked me as our food and beer arrived.

“Sometimes, but we’re also dependent on our fans. It doesn’t happen that often that I’m stopped by people,” I said.

“It’s crazy because you’re such a regular guy that I sometimes forget that you’re actually a celebrity here,” she said.

“Please don’t say celebrity,” I said.

Our last ride was the Rainbow Wheel and we sat across from each other as the night sky was lit with all the brilliant lights from the rides and from Luna Park itself. The ride was nice and slow after the adrenaline rushing rides we had done all afternoon.

“Thank you Katiya, I had fun today,” I said to her as she smiled at me.

“It was absolutely my pleasure,” she said.

“I’m going to bring the team here, listen to Nicholas and Mason scream like little girls,” I said.

“Alexei hates heights, we’ll force him on the rollercoaster,” she said and I laughed at that idea.

We were back to staring at each other again and I knew what I was about to do was insane, stupid too, but I leaned forward anyway and she met me halfway. We were kissing slowly as she moved to sit beside me, her hands on the back of my neck and she lightly bit my bottom lip.

“I think this just got complicated,” she whispered when we broke apart.

“I think so too,” I said as I realized that the ride had stopped and people were staring at us.