"Jaxon, your hair looks fine. Stop checking your reflection every time you pass a car!" Kit yelled at him.

She walked, her feet kicking up dust in the dirt parking lot. She paused when she couldn't hear footsteps behind her. She turned to find her cousin leaning close to a car, fixing his hair.

"Jaxon!" she called.

He ignored her as he finished adjusting his hair, then hurried to catch up with her.

"This is your fault. You dragged me out of the house before I was ready," he said.

His long legs quickly closed the distance between them and they continued walking through the cars. They could smell fried food and sugar and hear the tinny carnival ride music and loud voices before they left the parking lot. As the tall, colorful rides and pop up tents came into view, Kit picked up the pace, dragging Jaxon along with her.

"Calm down," he said, protesting any movement above a cool saunter. "If you act too eager, people will think you are actually excited about this archaic pasttime."

"State fairs are not archaic. They are a staple in American history," she said.

"With history is where they should stay."

She gave him an incredulous look. "How can you dislike state fairs?" she asked. "There are rides and food. It's the perfect recipe for a good time."

"It sounds more like the recipe for a night of vomiting."

She continued to pull him along. "You're just pissy because I made you get ready in less than an hour."

"I was still in my pj's when you barged into my house."

"It was four in the afternoon."

He answered with a scowl.

"Are you always so moody?" she asked as they got in line for tickets.

"Yes. It reinforces my elusive and brooding persona."

She let out a loud laugh.

"Laugh all you want. It won't change the fact all the girls love me," he said.

"And here I thought you had to be on the football team to get the girls to pay attention to you."

"You would be wrong. The swim team gives the football team some serious competition," he said.

"The swim team needs better marketing then. I thought Edison had the corner market on girls."

"Is that why you're interested in him?" he asked.

She smirked at his sly turn of conversation. "We're still talking about you," she said.

Jaxon shook his head, "It might seem like Eddie gets all the girls but there is a lot to be said for being a little more reserved. It adds some mystery."

"I assume you are talking about yourself," Kit said.

Jaxon gave a casual shrug. They continued their slow crawl towards the ticket window.

"Enough about me. Why are you still hanging around with Eddie? What are you thinking?"

"Currently? I'm thinking of cotton candy and how many times I can go on the flippy ride before I puke," she said. She pointed to a tall ride with metal cages flipping around as the whole structure turned.

"Kit, I'm serious," he said.

"I know. You explained how it adds to your hot, brooding persona."

"But..."

"Next in line," the ticket booth worker called out.

Kit skipped up to the window. "Good evening! Can I please have two wrist bands?" she said, sliding money over the counter.

"You can't avoid this," Jaxon said.

"Here you go. Enjoy your night," the ticket window worker said. The worker slid two neon orange wrist bands to Kit. She took them and headed for the entrance.

"Here," she said, handing Jaxon his.

"I'm not going in until you at least admit how stupid you are being," he said. He crossed his arms defiantly and planted his feet.

"Okay," she shrugged. She kept moving for the entrance, wrapping the wrist band around her arm.

"Kit, stop." Jaxon grabbed her around her upper arm and stopped her. "Look, I know I'm being the annoying, protective cousin and you don't want to hear it. But for my own peace of mind, I need to know that you know exactly who you are dealing with," he said.

She relented at the concern in his voice. "You don't have to worry about me," she told him.

"That's easy for you to say," he said. "Look, I like Eddie as a friend, we get along, but he is a big flirt. I don't want you caught up with that. I've seen girls cry over him and I don't want you to get your heart broken."

She gave him a sardonic smile. "My hearts already broken," she said. "Edison can't make it worse."

His shoulders fell. "Kit Kat, I just don't want to see you get hurt."

A big smile returned to her face at the mention of her childhood nickname.

"I won't, Jax," she said. "You don't have to worry. I know exactly who Edison is. I'm just having fun." She didn't let him say anything else as she dragged him through the entrance into the fair.

The air within the fairgrounds was electric with the bustle of the crowd and pulse of music. Kit got swept up in excitement and let the crowd carry her down an aisle with the smell of food pouring out of every tent. Her eyes jumped excitedly between the tents as she caught glimpses of cooks serving food.

"The rides are this way," Jaxon said.

He tugged on her arm and led her in the opposite direction. The tents gave way to a large open field packed with rides and game booths.

"Jaxon!" a girl called out. She motioned for him and Kit to join the group she was standing with. As they joined the group, Kit spotted Edison buried among the cheerleaders and the football team.

"This is my cousin, Kit," Jaxon said, pulling her attention away from Edison. "Kit, this is Neil. He's on the swim team with me."

"It's nice to meet you!" Kit said, flashing Neil a bright smile.

"You don't need an introduction," Neil said, with a shy smile. He was tall and lean like Jaxon, his hair so blonde it almost looked white.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" she questioned, as Jaxon was pulled away by a girl.

"Definitely a good thing," he said, ducking his head, shyly.

"I'm glad you think so," she laughed. Her laugh was warm and infectious and a grin spread across Neil's face as his shoulders relaxed.

"I do," he said.

"Jaxon grumbles so much sometimes I worry I'm not welcome here," she said.

"Jaxon just likes to grumble about everything. You should hear him at swim practice," Neil said, more animatedly.

"You should have heard him this afternoon. I showed up at his house..."

"Who are you talking about?" Jaxon asked, rejoining their conversation.

"You," she said.

"That's never good. Whatever she told you, Neil, it's false," he said.

Neil chuckled.

"We were just talking about how much you complain," she said. She reached out to pinch his cheek but he swatted her hand away.

"Don't," he warned.

"Come on, Jax. Lighten up!"

"Yeah. Come on, Jax," Neil said, joining in with Kit's mocking.

She smiled. "We're at a state fair. You have your choice of fried food," she said.

"And rides," Neil added.

"Yes, rides! Speaking of, can we get moving?" she asked. She looked around the group and found everyone seemed content to waste time standing around.

"I spent twenty dollars on this thing," she said, holding up her wristband. "I want to get my money's worth out it."

"Then let's ride some rides," Neil said. He offered her his arm.

She smiled and looped her arm through his.

"Which one first?" she asked.

"The Ring Around," he said, leading her away from the group. "It's sort of a tradition."

Kit caught Edison watching her as she passed and she smiled but kept moving. Their departure was the nudge the group needed to move and everyone followed after them.

The Ring Around fit its name. It had small cars that spun on individual saucers that were attached to a spinning platform that rose and fell. It was dizzying and fun but lacking in excitement.

The group moved from the Ring Around to the bumper cars to the Anti-Gravity and back to the bumper cars. After riding the bumper cars three times, Kit had lost Neil and all interest. As the group got back in line for the bumper cars again, she decided to slip away and venture out on her own.

Her sights were set on the ride that towered over the rest. It was tall and ancient looking with rust creeping in at the edges. It had a large, single arm with small cages attached to it that spun as the large arm moved up and down. There wasn't any line and Kit walked right onto the ride. She was buckling in her shoulder straps when someone approached.

"Is this seat taken?" Edison asked.

She looked up with a surprised smile and shook her head.

"It's all yours," she said.

He took the seat and began buckling in. "Are you avoiding me?" he asked.

She gave him a confused glance.

"Neil?" he clarified.

"He's nice," she said.

"I agree, but you haven't shown any interest in him before."

"I only met him tonight."

"Because you're avoiding me."

She shook her head and chuckled. "I'm not avoiding you."

The ride attendant came by, pulling on their shoulder straps to make sure they were secure and lowering the door to their cage.

"I think you are," he argued.

"You were surrounded by a crowd of people. You looked busy, so I talked to Neil."

Loud music began to play as the ride began to move. Kit grabbed the handles on her shoulder straps and felt her adrenaline kick in.

"A crowd hasn't kept you from talking to me before," Edison argued.

She didn't respond as the arm of the ride began to move up and down and their cage began to spin. She lost all sense of direction as she was tossed back and forth and all around. She let out a laughing scream as her stomach flip-flopped and her hair fell into her face.

"Let's go again!" she shouted, as the ride ended and the world righted itself again. She dragged Edison on the ride three more times before he said he was done.

"Where to next?" she said. Her eyes searched the crowd. As the sky had darkened, the lights from the rides had turned on, giving the night air a fantastical feel.

"You never answered my question," he said.

"I'm not avoiding you now," she said.

"But you were before?"

"Did it bruise your ego so much that you weren't the first person I sought out?" she mockingly asked.

"I was surrounded by girls," he countered.

"Exactly. You were hanging out with your friends and I didn't want to get in the way. Life's too short to have people pissed at you."

"This is about Amanda?"

She gave him a small smile. "I figured I would give her some space."

Speaking of the devil, Amanda's high voice reached them from across the way as she called out to Edison. Kit gave him a knowing look as the rest of the group joined them.

"What are you doing over here?" Amanda asked Edison, her hand dancing along his arm.

"We rode Kamikaze," he said, nodding at the tall ride behind them.

"You rode Kamikaze?" one of the girls asked.

"That's disgusting," another said. "I've heard people puke in it all the time and they don't even clean it out."

"I would never go on that," Amanda said. "So gross. Whatever. Who wants food?"

Neil found Kit as everyone headed towards the food stalls and kept her company as they walked among the vendors. All the food options sounded greasy and mildly disgusting and Kit wanted to try them all. Her plate of fried food earned her disgusted looks from most of the girls as she joined the group in the dining area. There were round tables with plastic covers and white chairs. There was a small stage on one side of the area covered in instruments.

Jaxon gave Kit's plate of food a wary look as he joined her and Neil. "Do I even want to know what you are eating?" he asked.

"There were too many options to just choose one," she said.

"And they all look like they will clog your arteries," he said.

"The fried Oreo wasn't too bad," Neil offered.

"You tried some?" Jaxon asked.

"I made him," Kit boasted. "And next we have the fried Twinkie."

"Isn't that redundant?" Jaxon asked.

"Who cares? Take a bite," she said.

Jaxon pressed his lips shut tight. Kit didn't have much luck getting him to try anything but Neil happily participated.

They had tried everything on the plate at least once when a group of four people got up on the stage and started to grab instruments. Guitar strums and random drum beats filled the air before they began to play. The song was upbeat with a hint of country and Kit smiled as she moved her head to the beat.

From the looks of the players, with their denim shirts and large hats, they looked like a small hometown band but they had energy as they played, trying to get the crowd involved. By the second song, a few kids had made their way to the open space between the tables and the stage and were dancing.

Kit looked around the tables to see no one in the group seemed to have noticed the music. Most of them were looking at their phones. When the band called everyone to the dance floor before they started their third song, Kit was out of her seat and tugging Jaxon and Neil towards the dance floor. She caught Edison's gaze as she passed and he stood and followed.

Edison's movement was enough to get the attention of the rest of the table. Slowly, most of them followed, creating a border along the dance floor but not joining the dancing. Jaxon dug in his feet when they reached the edge of the dance space, crossed his arms and refused to even nod his head along to the beat when Kit tried to get him to dance. She could tell Neil thought about joining her, but his unsure glance at the rest of the group kept him on the sideline as she joined the kids and a few couples on the dance floor.

The band responded to their growth in audience and picked up the speed of the music, playing a country reel. When Kit slowed down enough to catch sight of the group along the edge, she saw some people were moving their heads to the beat, some of the cheerleaders had their phones out filming, and Amanda had sidled up to Edison. She seemed to be straining to make her words heard over the music, but it didn't matter if Edison could hear her, because all his attention was on Kit. Kit threw him a sparkling smile before she bounced away.

"How is everyone doing tonight?" the lead singer asked as they finished the song. Kit let out a loud whoop as the crowd cheered. "Thanks for hanging out with us. Our next song is one you all know and is sure to get you on the dance floor."

They started to play and the crowd cheered as they recognized a country version of the Electric Slide. The cheer squad let out squeals of delight as they rushed to join the dance floor. Kit danced along the edge of the group, making her way to the stoic looking Jaxon, who remained on the sideline with his arms crossed and a bored expression.

"Jax, come on!" she said.

She tugged on his arm but his feet remained firmly planted. She gave up the fight and joined the group as they did the grapevine and rocked back and forth.

Kit couldn't make her feet stay on the ground as she bounced and spun along with the moves. She almost lost her balance coming out of a spin but someone steadied her with a hand on her waist. She looked up to find Edison and beamed.

"You decided to join the dance, Mr. Reigns," she said with a southern twang.

"May I have this dance?" he asked.

"Show me what you got."

Instead of joining the line of dancers, Edison stayed in front of her, mirroring her moves like a partner. He took her hand and moved sideways with her, twirling her as they went. When she went to move backwards, he moved forwards, his arm around her waist, pulling her close as they moved in sync. On the last few notes of the song, he spun her around before dipping her. When he pulled her back up, she was laughing, hot and out of breath.

"Woohoo! That's was amazing!" the lead singer said. The crowd cheered. "I don't think I've ever seen such enthusiastic dancing. I think you folks deserve a little break. We're going to slow things down to give you a chance to catch your breath."

As the first notes of the next song began, Edison pulled her close, one arm around her waist, the other finding her hand. She smiled and rested her hand on his shoulder as they began to move in a small circle, both of them trying to catch their breath.

"You surprised me, Mr. Reigns," she finally said when her breathing had returned to normal.

He grinned. "I'm glad to hear it," he said.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?"

"Truthfully?"

"No. Lie to me!"

"A professional dance teacher saw me dancing when I was three and made me his protege."

Kit's head went back as her bright laugh danced along with the music. When she returned her gaze to Edison, there was a look in his eyes that quieted her laughter. It was serious wonderment.

"Who are you, Kit St James?" he asked.

"It's Kittery, actually," she corrected lightly. "I spoke with my parents and apparently they've been lying to me all these years."

He laughed and his hold on her waist tightened. "Alright then, Miss Kittery. Are you done avoiding me?"

"But..." Kit's eyes darted around the dance floor, searching for Amanda. She found her dancing with Drew, her eyes on them.

"Ding, ding, ding. I'm sorry but your excuses are not valid after eight pm," Edison said.

Kit smiled up at him. "Good," she said. "I was getting tired of Jaxon's brooding."

He chuckled as they both turned to find Jaxon looking mildly bored on the sidelines as one of the cheerleaders tried to engage him in conversation. The song ended and Edison's hold dropped away as they applauded the band.

"Want to see the best view of Lighthouse Point?" he asked.

Kit slipped her hand into his and said, "I thought you'd never ask."

**********************************************************************

Heyo snickerdoodle!

I have a problem. 😬 I've had a crush on the same guy for a really long time. I mean really long, like since middle school long time! And it's for a good reason, he's cute! Can dance like no one else and has great style! There's one main problem with it ever working out...

He's dead.

That's right, I have been in love with Fred Astaire since the 8th grade when I got sick and watched his movies! He's one of the best tap dancers that ever lived and for real looks like the classiest guy ever. So I'm truly crushed it never worked out between us. 🙈

Famous person crush?

Theories on who caused Kit's broken heart?

Come on, you have to admit he is adorable! Bask in his amazingness!