Chapter 5b

nick helped emma in and got in on his side. "so where are we going?" she asked as they headed off.

"well bj said theres a fair going on downtown so i thought we would stop there. then after that....well thats a surprise."

she laughed,"i like surprises." she looked down and saw ajs black cowboy hat resting by her feet. she picked it up,"how come this is in here?"

he blushed,"aj wanted me to wear it but it looked weird on me."

"aw, im sure you looked cute with it on."

nick made a face and shook his head. she laughed,"can i wear it?"

he smiled and nodded. she took her hair out of the ponytail and put the cowboy hat on,"okay, how do i look?"

nick glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and smiled,"perfect."

she blushed and smiled,"thanks."

they reached the fairground about 15 minutes later. nick got out and went around to get emmas door for her.

she smiled and got out taking his hand,"thanks."

he nodded and paid their way in. "so what do you want to do first?"

she looked around, taking everything in,"um...the midway. we can do rides later."

"okay, that works." he led her in the direction of the midway. about halfway there emma stopped and tugged on his hand. he turned around and came over to her.

"do you want some cotton candy?" she asked reaching into her pocket.

"no thanks, but ill pay for yours."

"you dont have too..."

he nodded and paid for the cotton candy and handed it to her. she took it and smiled,"thank you."

he smiled,"your welcome." they continued up to the midway. once they reached the entrance nicks eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store.

she couldnt help but laugh as he led her over to the basketball game. he paid for the three basketballs and made every shot. he leaned down and whispered to emma,"whats your favorite color?"

she blushed and shivered slightly at the feel of his breath on her neck,"green."

nick made a face,"aw, they dont have green. is white okay?" she nodded and the attendant handed her a huge stuffed teddy bear.

"thank you. thank you nick."

he smiled and kissed her on the cheek,"can i taste that?” he asked pointing to the cotton candy.

she nodded and fed him some. he smiled,"thank you. now come on. we got more games to play." he grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him.

they ended up spending about two hours at the fair. both in the midway and on rides. so far no one had recognized nick and if they had, they hadnt approached him which made him very happy.

"now where?" emma asked as they left the fairgrounds.

he smiled,"you'll see."

"dont i get a hint?"

"um...im almost positive you'll enjoy it..."

she frowned as she thought which made nick smile. 10 minutes later they pulled up to the beach. nick got out and helped emma out.

"the beach...?"

nick nodded and got a blanket out of the trunk,"i thought you might want to watch the sunset."

she smiled and took his hand,"i like this surprise."

he led her down near the water and set up the blanket. they sat down together and emma rested her head on his shoulder. he blushed and put his arm around her,"did you have fun?"

she nodded,"its the funnest date ive ever been on. thank you." she kissed him lightly on the cheek and set her head back down on his shoulder. he blushed a little more and pulled her closer. the two of them watched the sunset in silence. emma glanced at nick out of the corner of her eye and caught him watching her,"...what...?"

"huh? nothing," he said.

"....okay..."

"...emma...can i...nevermind," he said and looked away.

"no, what?" emma asked gently turning his face back to her.

"um...can i...um...can i kiss you...?"

she blushed, a little surprised he had asked, and nodded. he leaned forward and kissed her softly. she sighed and closed her eyes. a few minutes later nick pulled away and looked down nervously.

emma opened her eyes and smiled,"and that was the best kiss ive ever had."

nick laughed slightly before leaning in and kissing her again.