“What the hell are you doing?” I whisper-yell, mortified.

He laughs. “What, you don’t like Titanic? Did I embarrass you?”

“Oh, I don’t know, you brought me out in my pajamas and now you’re yelling like a crazy person. What do you think?”

Kip laughs harder, shaking his head. “You care too much about what others think. Do you know any of these people? Are you ever going to see them again?”

“I could have sisters down there,” I say, the thought hitting me with more influence than I expected. Suddenly the urge to scan the crowd for familiar letters overwhelms me.

“And so what even if you do? Come on.” He turns to face me, taking my hands in his. “Scream. Just let it all out.”

“What?” I shake my head. “No, absolutely not.”

“Do it. You’re going to tell me nothing makes you want to scream? Not your schoolwork, your sisters, the pressure to win in May? Nothing?”

I bite my lip, thinking of the one person who does make me want to let out my frustration. I imagine the conversation I’ll have to have with Erin tomorrow, detailing every minute of tonight – playing into her game whether I want to or not.

“See? You know you want to. Just do it.”

“I don’t know what to yell.”

“Doesn’t have to be words,” he says. “Watch.” He tilts his head back and lets out another loud scream, this time his voice reverberates off the other carts and bounces back, the echoes filling the space between us. More people look, but he just smiles. “See? Easy. Now your turn.”

I shift uncomfortably, take a deep breath, open my mouth, and let out a small, pathetic yelp. Kip rolls his eyes. “Not even close. You have to really open your chest and your throat. Let it rip through you, give it purpose. Think about how much you hold onto, about everything you’re dealing with right now, and just let it out.”

I let out a frustrated sigh, but close my eyes and focus on his words. I think of Erin, of my lack of major, of the ESPN reports saying there’s no way I’ll win in Vegas. I press my lips together and then scream again, this time letting it flow from the source. It feels like I drag out the air forever, my chest heaving when I finally finish. I open my eyes and see Kip still smiling, though it’s a more contemplative smile now.

“Feel better?”

I nod. “Yeah, actually.” I don’t even care to look down and see who’s staring up at us. I know there are eyes turned toward the sky, wondering what the hell is going on, but Kip’s right – I don’t know these people. Why do I care?

“Who knew screaming could feel so good?”

“You haven’t had the right kind of sex if you’re just realizing this now,” Kip says, winking. I shove him playfully and turn back toward the water, breathing in the fresh air as it rolls across the waves and up to our little part of the sky.

The wheel moves again, taking us up a little higher. I’m still looking out at the water when Kip moves the hair that’s fallen from my bun away from my neck and replaces it with his lips, making my eyes flutter shut at the touch.

“What are you doing?” I whisper, barely audible as I turn toward him.

He pulls my chin up so that my eyes meet his, our blue pools reflecting the lights of the wheel. Gently, he pulls my lips to his, hovering for just a moment with our mouths centimeters apart before finally breaking the space. A spark shoots through the kiss straight to my stomach before trailing its way between my hips. I know I should pull away, I should stop this right now, but this is part of the game. If he’s going to fall for me, we’re going to have to kiss… we’re going to have to do more than kiss. If it has to be this way, I should at least try to enjoy this part.

Even though I know this is what will break me in the end – the memory of this kiss. The memory of his hands on my waist and weaved into my hair, of the groans escaping between his parted lips as he moves to kiss my neck again, of the faint tremble in his legs that mirrors my own.

Eventually it’s these things that will break me, but right now they’re what make me feel alive.

The ride moves us up another notch, making us second from the top. Kip pulls me onto him, my hips straddling his as his hands wrap around my hips. He rocks into me, his tongue darting into my mouth at the same time. The combination is too much and I moan, unable to fight the current.

“Holy hell, that was sexy,” Kip says against my lips before pressing his hips up against mine again. I can feel every inch of his hard on through his thin sweat pants rubbing me where I want to feel him most. I moan again and Kip smiles in satisfaction, trailing his tongue down my neck and across my collar bone. Unable to control them any longer, my hands release the grip I had on Kip’s hair and dive toward the band of his pants. When I dip a finger just beneath it, he inhales stiffly and pulls my mouth back to his, sucking my bottom lip between his teeth. Every touch feels amplified, every sense awakened. I hear his breaths in my ear, feel his body against mine. I take in his blue eyes and inhale the smell of the ocean mixed with his body wash as I taste his skin, his tongue, his lips.

Suddenly, the wheel begins moving again, taking us down quicker than we anticipated. I jump off his lap and run my fingers through my hair, praying my flushed cheeks won’t be visible in the pier light. Kip tucks his length in the band of his pants and grabs the bag of stuffed animals. “I think I’ll need to carry these.” He pulls the bag onto his lap to cover his erection and we both laugh as we step out of the cart. The heavyset redhead smiles knowingly and gives us a wink as we exit, which just makes us laugh harder.

By the time we reach the beach, we both have tears in our eyes. “Well,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. “I definitely feel like a high schooler after that.”

Kip smiles and then pulls me into him, kissing me so softly I should be swooning but instead I feel my panties dampen more.

“Stay the night with me,” he says. “We can rent paddleboards in the morning.”

I shake my head against his lips, my stomach tying in knots again. I’m getting too caught up, mixing up what I want and feel with what reality is. I know this is all part of it, but I’m failing at keeping my emotions and my body reactions separate. Kiss him? Yes. Like him? Fine. But feel anything past that? Absolutely not. I need to put distance between us, and fast.

“I can’t, all my sisters know I’m out with you on a first date. I can’t just not come home,” I say. “I may have gone out in my sweats and screamed at the top of a Ferris wheel tonight, but I’m not ready to brave the walk of shame into my sorority house yet.”

“Didn’t that kind of already happen after the poker game?”

I glare at him. “That was different, I didn’t stay the night with you. I was just out all night.”

“Can’t you pretend that you’re out all night tonight?” His blue eyes are pleading with mine, but I give him a pointed look and shake my head. “Fine,” he concedes, pulling me closer. His hands grip at my skin like he wants to be inside me, like any tiny space between us is too much. “Paddleboarding though?”

I sigh. “Are you going to keep annoying me if I don’t do it tomorrow?”

“Obviously. Besides, we need to start figuring out your tournament schedule. I’m serious about helping you with poker this semester.”

I roll my eyes, but I know he’s right. I haven’t even looked into other tournaments since the underground one two weeks ago and May is going to be here faster than I think. I need to get my head in the game, but right now it’s too focused on the one I’m playing with Kip. “Yes, I’ll come back in the morning. But I need to go tonight.” For many, many reasons.

“Deal,” he agrees, moving in to press his lips against mine once more. They’re barely there before they’re gone again and we’re walking down the beach. Kip calls the same cab from earlier and tells him to meet us where he dropped us. When he ends the call, he turns to face me. “Oh, one more question.”