Amusement of Love

Roni wanted to push him away out of fear, but she heard Trish’s voice in the back of her head, telling her to make the leap. She moved her face and her lips caught his for a split second before she hugged him. Her face was in his chest and she heard Matt chuckle softly. “What are you laughing at?” She mumbled.

“How cute you are,” he smiled, kissing the top of her head. “What changed your mind?”

“The thing Trish said to me.” Roni pulled away, pushing her stray hairs away from her face. “She told me to try and move forward. To move forward…with you…”

Matt’s eyes got wide, “Wait…like…”

She realized how it sounded and she shook her head, with her hands in front of her in defense, “N–no! She meant to stop living in the past. I–I don’t try to, but i–it’s hard for me to forget…”

He put his pointer finger to her lips, seeing her start to tear up, “Hey, we don’t have to talk about this now. Let’s get back to the game and then go on some rides. Kay?”

Roni nodded, grabbing the rest of her rings and started throwing them again. She was eyeing the large pink teddy bear for Hannah and the medium red panda for Matt. “So, I was thinking of the pink teddy bear for Hannah. What do you think?”

Matt’s eyes lit up, “She’d love it! She loves pink, so it would fit perfectly in her room’s theme.”

“Great!” She threw one more ring, hitting the middle bottle once again. “Yes! One giant pink bear, please.” She grinned. “And the red panda, please.”

“Who’s the panda for?” Matt asked as he continued to throw his final couple rings. “I’ll take the small buck, please.”

Roni turned to him with a smile and held the stuffed animal out, “You.” Her cheeks flushed softly as she batted her eyes.

“You didn’t have to win me anything.”

“I know, but I wanted to. You won me this cutie, so I wanted to return the favor. Are you bringing the buck home?”

He kissed her on the cheek, “Well, thank you. You are so sweet. And yes, I am bringing Bucky home. I give the smaller ones to our dog as toys. But I will make sure he doesn’t get the cutie.” He put the panda up to his face with a smile.

Roni giggled and hugged her octopi. “Shall we go find the tea cups and get some dessert? And then rides?”

“Yes, and I have the perfect spot for our stuffies. I have a designated holder.” He mentioned as they headed over to the tea cup ride.

“Oh? And who or what is that?”

“Another one of my best friends who doesn’t like rides. He usually hangs out with me at the games and keeps everything safe when Seth, Grahm and I go on rides. His name is Cam and he actually loves to hang out by the tea cups with a sketch book. He’s shy around girls, so don’t be alarmed if he doesn’t look at you right away.”

“So he comes just to hold your stuff?” She asked.

“No, he comes to have some fun. Games, food, and the smaller spinny rides. Just no roller coasters for him.”

“Ah, I can get down with that. Sometimes I don’t want to ride all the coasters, so some kid rides are fun.” Roni took her hair out of the messy bun she had it in and she watched Matt’s expression. “What?”

His cheeks flushed, “N–nothing. Just didn’t notice how long your hair was…or that you look um…really cute with it down…”

“…thanks, Matt…” she kissed him on the cheek and started heading towards the kids area of rides. She looked behind her with a smile, “You comin’?”

Matt cleared his throat nervously, “Uh…yeah! Just got really um…distracted.” He jogged after with a stuffed animal in each hand and a giant smile on his face.

They got to the kiddie area and Matt saw Cam sitting at a bench doodling while snacking on a pretzel. He pointed him out to Roni and they headed in his direction. “Hi there,” she said with a smile. Cam didn’t answer. He didn’t even look up from his sketch book. “Hello?”

Matt tapped him on the shoulder, making sure not to frighten him. “Hey, Cam. How’s the doodling coming?” He used his hands to speak. Roni’s face went dark red and she looked down at her feet feeling stupid.

Cam looked up seeing his best friend and smiled gleefully. He showed him the picture he was doodling before signing, “It’s coming along beautifully.” A smile was on his face and his attention turned to Roni. “Who’s she?”

“She’s with me. She’s a um…close friend.”

Cam gave Matt an interested look, “You like her, don’t you.” Matt didn’t respond. “I know you, Matthew. You can’t hide your crushes from me. What’s her name?”

“Veronica.” He smiled.

Cam snickered and flipped to a fresh page in his book. He grabbed his pencil again and started drawing. Matt was too busy staring at Roni to realize what his best friend was drawing. “So, Roni, this is Cam. Cam, say hi.” He tapped his shoulder to get his attention. Cam smiled softly with a small wave and went back to drawing.

Roni gave a small wave back and glanced to Matt, “What’s he drawing?” She asked as she readjusted the large pink bear she held to her chest.

“A character for his comic I’m sure.” He smiled. He sat down next to him and tried to peak, but Cam was too quick. “Hey! I wanna see!” Cam shook his head after he stared at Matt’s lips as they moved. “Please?”

“No. It’s a surprise.” Cam said. Roni tilted her head. He spoke normally. “Am I watching the stuffies for you two?”

“Yes please. But first, we are getting some ice cream.” Matt eyed Roni with a grin, “My treat.”

“No. I told you I was paying for dessert!” She playfully argued. He shook his head, taking her hand and dragging her to the closest ice cream stand. “Matthew, please? I want to at least pay for something.”

“Nope. You need to be treated like the princess you are.” He blushed, “I mean…” he panicked to find an answer.

Roni giggled and kissed him on the cheek again, “I’m no princess, but I’m glad someone thinks I am.” She paused, “I have a question about your friend Cam.”

Matt raised his brows, “Okay, shoot.”

“He can talk perfectly, yet he can’t hear me. What happened?”

“Nothing happened. Cam was born deaf, but he was given hearing aids when he was two, so he could learn how to speak well and hear everything around him. When he feels it’s too loud, like here, he leaves them at home so he won’t lose them.”

“Oooooh…that makes a lot more sense. I was worried for a second there. I mean…I am still worried about him, even if we did ju–” her rambling was cut off by soft lips touching her own. She froze wanting to pull back, but her heart told her to stay.

He pulled away, scratching the back of his head, “I’m sorry…I can’t stand how cute you are…” he chuckled. He gently pushed her hair from her face, putting it behind her ear. His eyes locked onto hers as he saw the fear in them. He pulled his hand away, “I’m making things worse…aren’t I…” he lowered his gaze.

“No!” She answered a little loud. “I’m just…not used to any of this…it’s me more than it is you, Matt.” She wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug, “I know you aren’t trying to push. I appreciate that.”

His lips touched the top of her head, “You’re just so…perfect. I can’t help it…” he admitted. He rested his chin on the top of her head, “I want to treat you like the queen that you are, Veronica.”

She pulled away, kissing him on the lips, “Thank you.” She smiled as she blushed and she walked over to the ice cream line they never got to. “So I’m a queen now? That was fast.” She teased.

Matt ran after her with a grin. He put his hand into hers and whispered, “Tell me when I end up going too far, kay? I don’t know your past, but I want to make sure I’m doing everything right.” He kissed her cheek, “You’ve always been a queen. But if I’m your prince charming, you gotta start off as a princess with me.”

She giggled with a nod and fixed her hand so it was intertwined with his. “I think I can handle that. And when we go on our first official date, I will explain everything. Kay?”

“Alright.” 

The line was moving slow and just before they got to the front of the line, Trish and the others spotted them. Roni let go of Matt’s hand and shoved her hands in her back pockets. “There you two are! Cam said you were getting ice cream.” Seth mentioned.

“Uh…yeah.” Matt replied as he and Roni got to the stand. “Hold on a second.” He turned to the guy, “One chocolate cone please.” He turned to Roni, who seemed nervous.

“One swirl cone please…” she squeaked.

Matt handed the girl cash and told her to keep the rest. She let them know it would be right up and took the next person’s order. Trish eyed her best friend with raised brows. “Roni…I know that look.” She shook her head frantically, lowering her gaze. “I’m gonna steal her for a second. Don’t eat her cone.” She grabbed her best friend by the arm, dragging her to a random bench nearby. “Spill, now.” 

“…Trish…” Roni paused, biting her lower lip. “We…um…kissed…twice…on the lips…” She anticipated a shrill scream of excitement, but nothing. “Trish?”

“Veronica Marie!” She shouted with a large grin. “I cannot believe you did that! So that’s why you’re all nervous.”

“Well…no…I don’t want his friends knowing…I didn’t want you knowing either…it’s just so new…and we don’t know where it’s going…and we aren’t really a thing…”

“Is he taking you on a date?”

“Well yeah, but…”

“You’re a thing.”

Roni sighed, “Can we just pretend he and I aren’t a thing yet? I took your advice and jumped off the cliff. I don’t want to ruin this, if it does go anywhere. He thinks I’m…perfect…” she trailed off with a smile. “And he takes my ticks into consideration.”

“He better, cuz if he didn’t I’d give him a piece of my mind.” Trish commented.

Roni chuckled, “And that is why I love you.” She saw the boys coming over with the ice cream in hand. Matt had a smile on his face handing her the swirled cone, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Shall we go back by Cam?” She nodded as she licked her cone.

Seth raised his brows, observing them, “What the heck is going on between you two? Are you two dating or not?”

Matt shook his head, “No, I’m just being polite. Just a big misunderstanding, Seth.” He glanced down to Roni who had a relieved expression on her face. He smiled, happy she was comfortable. Seth glared at them and Grahm glared at him. He let it go with a sigh. They headed back over to Cam and Matt snuck a kiss on the cheek before anyone saw.

Roni blushed, “Thank you for catching that.”

“Of course. I’m over observant when I am interested in someone. I won’t say anything until you’re ready.” He smiled.

She smiled back, licking her cone and getting ice cream on her nose. She giggled and wiped it up with the back of her hand. “What ride do you guys wanna go on next?” She asked the group.

“Hmmm…what about The Extreme Abyss?” Lucas suggested.

“Isn’t that the one that is pitch black through the whole thing, even when you get on the ride?”

“It is, and it’s super fun! You never know what’s coming! Plus, things jump out at you as holograms!” Trish exclaimed.

“I’m down for it.” Seth shrugged.

Grahm nodded in agreement. Matt glanced at his secret princess and she gave a nod. He smiled, “Alright, I guess we are going on The Extreme Abyss after ice cream.”