You kicked at the gravel, cursing yourself for being stupid enough to go on this damn date. You'd been stood up, again, leaving you all alone in the middle of a carnival.

The fairgrounds were crowded with people, mainly couples. Gross. You contemplated walking back to your car and heading home, maybe picking up a bottle of red on the way and drinking your feelings while drowning in your own tears. But it seemed as if the universe had something else in mind.

You eyed the ticket booth, an urge to go on a couple of rides overcoming your senses. You were already there, so why not hit up the spinning strawberries?

Before you knew it, your feet had brought you to the kiosk as your hands fished a twenty out of your purse and slammed it on the counter.

"Budding the line?" a low voice chuckled, pulling you from your trance and causing you to look up. Holy shit.

He was gorgeous. Tall, dark and handsome. His chocolate curls were a mess on his head, framing his face perfectly. His honey eyes were crinkled at the corners as he flashed you his pearly whites, head tilted downward to meet your questioning gaze.

"Oh, fuck, I didn't even realize," you muttered, taking your money off the counter, "Sorry, you go ahead."

"We'll take thirty," he smiled at the employee, placing his own green bill on the desk and averting his gaze back to you.

You pointed between your bodies, unsure if you'd heard him correctly.

"We?" you asked, earning a smug nod from him. "No, actually that's okay, I think I'm just gonna head out, sorry," you mumbled, taken aback by his spontaneity. He opened his mouth to respond, but you turned on your heel and scurried away before he could explain himself and beg you to stay.

You weren't usually opposed to gorgeous young men, but you were, however, in a mood.

Being sure to disappear into the crowd, you made your way to another ticket booth at the other end of the park, only almost tripping over your strappy sandals once. You purchased ten tickets rather than your originally planned twenty and hastily stuffed the change back in your purse, tousling your loose curls. With a huff of satisfaction, you straightened out your hoodie and headed for the rides.

Thoughts of the mystery man slipped your mind as you boarded the Scrambler, desperate for a thrill. It was a little different riding by yourself. You noticed that you were thrown around a little more, and you were a bit colder than usual. It was still fun, nonetheless.

The ride went in a circle, giving you a sped-up view of your blurry surroundings. From what you could see, the Cliff-Hanger had people thirty feet in the air, and bumper cars seemed to be pretty popular. A rush had come, causing a lineup at the gate for the ride you were on. People stood all around the enclosure, waiting and watching as you continuously flew by. The ride slowed before speeding back up, leaving you very close to the lineup for a split second. Your heart dropped at the sight in front of you. It was him.

He stood aside from the line, a toothy grin plastered on his face as he studied your features. His large arms were crossed over his hard chest, the fluffy mess of curls gracing the top of his head. He was still alone. Why was he alone?

And just like that, the ride took you away. It did a few more laps, but was less enjoyable as you spent your time trying to find his chestnut eyes.

It came to a stop and you hopped off, fighting the dizzy feeling in your head as you stumbled toward the exit and desperately searched for his broad frame. But he was gone.

You sighed in frustration, frantically brushing your fingers through your tangled locks. You escaped the crowd in search of fresh air as you found yourself standing at the entrance to the bumper cars. Of course.

There he was, speeding around the rink in a small red car. A massive smile was stretched across his cheeks as he rammed into a blue two-seater. He pointed to a green car across the ride, yelling out to the little boy driving a bumper car beside him.

"Let's get that one, we can sandwich them!" he shouted, hitting the gas and taking off toward the poor couple he and this random kid were teaming up on. You couldn't help giggling at his childishness, watching intently as he and the little boy shook up the green car.

Your feet had a mind of their own once again, leading you to the entrance as you handed the ticket guy two pieces of cardboard. A whistle sounded and the current session ended, and you prayed Mr. Gorgeous has paid for two as you climbed into a purple car. Your wish was granted as all hell broke loose, people of all sorts zooming around and bumping into each other.

You craned your neck, scanning the arena-like area for a familiar head of curls. He and the kid were back at it, following each other around and shaking innocent people up.

You pressed the pedal to the metal and raced across the floor, catching him by surprise as you rammed into the side of his car.

"Hey!" he called out in shock, turning his wheel and gunning for you as you shot him a coy smile. He became preoccupied with you as your cars pushed against each other, battling for dominance as your smiles grew wider.

You noticed his large hands gripping the wheel, a silver feather ring on his finger accompanied by a dark tattoo of a bird. His long-sleeve shirt was bunched up his forearms, showing off another tattoo of a guitar that sparked your interest.

Someone came at you, hard, breaking your gaze and sweeping you to the other end of the little room. It wasn't long before he was lost in the sea of thrill-seekers, nowhere to be found when the whistle blew again.

You unbuckled the seatbelt and hopped to your feet, eyes darting around as you found the exit. He was missing, yet again.

A half hour passed as you did another lap around the park, unsure of what to do with yourself. No one had ever left you so intrigued and aching to find out more, but unfortunately you felt shit out of luck as your energy depleted along with your ticket supply.

You looked up from your toes, scanning the area as flashing lights stung your eyes. The Ferris wheel was completely illuminated, designs being created by the large lightbulbs coating the trusses of the structure.

You walked toward the lineup, which moved quickly considering the speed of the ride. Reapplying your chapstick, you took a deep breath as you stepped forward, handing the worker two tickets.

"It's just you?" she asked loudly, earning a nod from you as you climbed the few stairs and boarded the cart.

"No, she's with me!" a voice called, causing you to snap your head around and watch in disbelief. He was racing up to the entrance, throwing his tickets at her with a cheeky grin before sliding in next to you.

A blush erupted in your cheeks as you stared into his eyes once again, unsure of what to do or say. The ride began moving, rocking the cart a bit as he took a deep breath.

"Fancy seeing you here," he chuckled, adjusting the silver watch wrapped around his thick wrist.

"You don't say," you laughed, taking note of his windswept hair and wild eyes.

"I'm Shawn," he smirked, holding out a hand for you to shake. You accepted, introducing yourself with a giggle as his warm hand clasped your small one.

"This is beautiful," you breathed, breaking eye contact as you eyed the Toronto skyline in the distance.

"Uh, yeah," he said shakily, rubbing his palms on his jeans.

"Afraid of heights?" you asked, raising your brow at him.

"Just a bit," he chuckled.

"Shawn, you're telling me you're afraid of heights, but you voluntarily followed some random girl you don't know onto a freaking Ferris wheel?"

He gave you a small nod, cheeks rosy with embarrassment.

A loud screech pulled you from your thoughts, the ride coming to a halt as you approached the top. The cart swung a little, worry erupting in your stomach as you noticed Shawn squeeze his eyes shut.

"Hey, we're fine," you reassured, subconsciously placing your hand on his warm thigh. He turned a deeper shade of pink, uncomfortably shifting under your touch and causing you to smirk.

"Rides stuck, it'll be a few minutes!" the employee shouted, confirming Shawn's fears and leading your stomach to twist.

"Alright, uh, talk to me," you spoke, turning to him in your seat and rubbing his thigh to calm his nerves. "Why are you here alone? Look at me."

"Uh, alone? Oh, I uh, I'm here with my sister, but her friend came with us and they kinda ditched. I promised I'd stick around," he smiled, looking into your eyes. "But why is someone as beautiful as you here alone?"

You blushed, looking away. "I, um, I got stood up," you babbled, meeting his concerned eyes and looking down at his frowning lips.

"You're kidding," he breathed, placing his hand over yours and simultaneously running his fingers over your knuckles.

"No," you chuckled, feeling a little awkward and vulnerable.

"I thought you had a date, that's why you left at the ticket booth. But then I kept seeing you by yourself and I wasn't so sure," he said softly, dipping his head to meet your gaze.

"Sorry about that," you breathed, "I uh, I got a little nervous."

"Didn't mean to make you nervous," he smiled.

"You do," you shot back, smirking in his direction. He licked his lips and it drove you wild.

"Are you nervous now?" he asked lowly, leaning a little closer. You could feel his minty breath on your lips and it made you shudder.

You nodded at a loss for words.

"How about now?" he whispered, peeling your hand from his leg and interlacing your fingers with his.

"Bit better," you breathed.

"Good," he smiled, leaning back again. You felt cold without him so close, but appreciative to have his hand in yours.

The ride creaked, moving again as Shawn released a breath of relief.

"Worried you'd be stuck here with me all night?" you asked, pulling a laugh from his throat.

"Who said I'm not gonna be stuck with you all night anyway?" he smirked, causing your stomach to twirl as heat spread between your thighs.

"Whatever, Shawn," you laughed, "you don't even know me."

"I want to," he spoke instantly, a loose curl draping down over forehead as his tongue darted out out his mouth and licked his lips.

You neared the bottom of the ride, collecting yourself as the employee prompted you to come out.

"One more," Shawn spoke, handing her a few tickets with a wide smile.

"Again? After our near-death experience?" you giggled.

"Not ready to give you up yet," he grinned, giving your hand a gentle squeeze. "I don't understand how someone could stand you up. Where'd you meet?"

"Tinder," you groaned, turning a deep shade of red with your confession.

"Honey, you don't need to be on Tinder," he giggled, throwing his head back and exposing his long neck.

"It's tough to meet people," you argued, giving his forearm a little shove.

"You meet people everywhere," he smiled, his eyes glowing in the fluorescent light. "Like, on a Ferris wheel, for example."

"You mean at a ticket booth," you corrected, leaning a bit closer to admire his features.

You looked at the skyline again, holding Shawn's hand as you sat atop the ride. His thigh was pressed against yours as he leaned in a little, breath fanning over your face.

"What are you doing?" you turned to him and whispered, his lips inches from yours.

"Do you want me to stop?" he spoke lowly, slowly moving closer to your mouth. You gulped.

"No," you whispered, soon met with his lips on yours. He pressed them against your mouth softly, and they felt warm and smooth and perfectly fitting. You kissed him back, parting your lips to taste him. He was sweet and minty, exactly as you'd imagined. You felt his teeth as he smiled against your plump lips, allowing you to swallow his chuckle.

"That's why I wanted another ride," he said softly, resting his forehead against yours.

"You're lucky I still have a few tickets left," you smirked, pressing your lips to his once again.