Chapter 208

Gavin’s POV

I hated that I was doing this, but the happy look on Judy’s face was almost worth it. She was oddly beautiful when she smiled; it felt like it was a rarity to see, but I’ve seen it a lot today. Doing her favorite things, eating her favorite foods, relaxing, and having fun… it was actually kind of nice. I never got to do this kind of thing before.

When I was a kid, I stayed with my aunt for a weekend while my mother went on a drinking binge and my father was too busy with his work to really care about his son. My aunt was the one who took me to the theme park with her children and husband. It was the worst experience of my life, and I ended up spending the rest of the time in the car while they enjoyed themselves. All I wanted to do was go home… but I was stuck there. I never went back, and I never spent any time with my aunt again.

I don’t even have any contact with her now.

I never thought I would go back to one of these things… whether it’s a theme park or a fair… I thought I would never catch myself stepping foot through the gates of anything with rides and games. But here I was, standing in line for a roller coaster while Judy stood excitedly by my side.

The smile lighting up her face was almost worth it though, so I bit my tongue and waited until the line started to die down. Of course, I could use my Lycan power to get us to the front row, which I had told her countless times when we waited in line for the other rides. But she said that waiting in line was half the fun because then we got to people-watch and sightsee while waiting.

She pointed out a few funny-looking people to me as we stood in line, and I couldn’t help but laugh along with her.

Once we reached the top of the line, my heart was admittedly beating fast against my chest. It wasn’t like me to admit that I was afraid, and I won’t admit it now. I kept a brave face as we walked towards our section and sat down. The attendant fastened our belts and lowered the lap bars. These seats were small and barely sat my large form. Judy looked so small beside me, but she had a bright smile on her face as she readied herself for the ride to start.

I must have looked tense but I felt her small hand on my bicep, drawing my attention to her.

“You hadn’t breathed since we reached the front of the line,” she told me, her tone soft and compassionate. “It’s going to be okay. Just breathe.”

I hadn’t realized she noticed, and I was embarrassed having been caught. I didn’t want to tell her I was afraid… I was afraid of getting sick all over her and embarrassing myself again, and I was afraid of the large drop that was about to come. I didn’t do well with stuff like this.

I forced a smile, but even she saw that it didn’t reach my eyes.

She kept her eyes locked on mine and I saw a soft smile spreading out across her lips, making me melt even further. I found myself relaxing in the seat that wasn’t made for my large frame and my muscles loosening as well.

The rollercoaster started to move forward after the coaster and safety announcements. I immediately tensed again, but Judy didn’t make me feel bad about it. She wrapped an arm around mine and rested her head on my shoulder.

A strange sense of calm washed over me at that moment and I immiedalty started to relax, almost forgetting that I was in a death trap.

“Thanks for doing this,” Judy said, peeking up at me through her long lashes. “This means a lot.”

Her words left me feeling a sense of pride swelling in my chest and I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face.

She licked her bottom lip, drawing my eyes to her beautifully plump lips and all I could think about at that moment was leaning in and pressing my mouth against hers. But then the coaster started to move upward and I found my grip on the lap bar tightening to a point where my knuckles were turning white.

“When we reach the top, put your arms up,” she told me.

Like hell I was. I wasn’t going to let go of this bar even if it saved my life.

The second we were on the top of the slope, I could see all of the city just as we could on the carisoul. It was a gorgeous view, but knowing we were going to drop down made my stomach twist with nerves. It was odd seeing Judy so brave and secure. It was almost impressive.

She lifted her arms in the sky and the sun setting rays cascaded down on her features, lighting up her gorgeous and happy face as she breathed in the cooling air.

Before I knew what I was doing, my eyes never left her face, I was loosening my grip on the lap bar and lifting my arms as well, wanting to bask in her happiness and share in her joy. My heart swelled with something I couldn’t quite name.

I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it though because soon we were dropping. Judy screamed and I found myself screaming as well as we went down and around. The coaster did some loops at a pace so fast that if I were to blink, I would have missed it.

My stomach was surprisingly calm during the ride, only the fluttering of my heart could be felt I classified as nervous about trying something completely new.

Judy laughed as we went around and around and I found a smile tugging at my own lips, a spreading across mine.

By the time the coaster slowed, we were both breathless and chuckling.

Judy’s face was flushed, and her hair was a complete mess.

The attendant unbuckled us and helped us out of the cat. I took Jud’s hand and helped her out of the car. As we walked away from the coaster and towards a more secluded area so we could reflect on how incredible that was, I noticed Judy’s disheveled appearance.

It made me smile.

We finally reached a couple of benches right around the area where they started to play live music. There were a ton of people gathering around, waiting and watching for the performance. Thankfully, we reached a bench area where we were able to sit down and rest for a few minutes.

Judy’s eyes were fixed on the band setting up their equipment when I brushed a strand of fallen hair out of her face and tried to fix the mess of hair on her head, my fingers lingering on her for a moment too long.

She turned to look at me, her expression softened slightly as she stared around my face.

“Are you having fun?” She asked me, assessing my every feature.

I nodded, for once in my life. I was actually telling the honest truth.

“I am,” I admitted. “It’s unexpected.”

She beamed at my words.

“It certainly was,” she said softly, touching my hand gently. “Thank you again.”

As the sun set around us officially and the area, we were in lit up in festive lighting, she leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder and inhaling deeply as if she was committing my scent to memory, or making she was just basking in the familiar scent of the fair.

As the band played music, people started to dance with one another and the festival became even more intense. It was interesting to watch people lose themselves to the music.

Seeing Judy see slightly as she too watched the people, gave me an idea.

Without much warning, I took her hand and pulled her other feet. She gasped at the sudden motion as I pulled towards the dancing crowd and started to twirl her around. After she got her footing, she burst out laughing and started to dance as well. I felt a little ridiculous, I had to admit, but it was strange because at this moment…. I didn’t care.

Having her this close to me, her body pressed against mine, her laughter filling my ears, her hips swaying and my hands passively on them… it was nice, and I didn’t want it to end.

As the music started to slow, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her even close to my body so she could feel every inch of my rock-hard abs and solid chest. I also wanted her to feel something else, which she knew without me having to tell her.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her head on my chest, sighing contently. Something inside of me stirred at that moment and I found myself holding her tighter, almost possessively. She wasn’t mine to possess, but still, my body wasn’t thinking the same thing as my mind was.

“Gavin?”

My entire body froze at the sound of my name and the familiarity it brought me. Judy’s body tense too, as if she could sense something not right. I looked up and my eyes narrowed.

“Mom…”