He let a beat pass then he opened his eyes. “You remember what the other tattoo is?”
I nodded, not wanting to say her name. Then, hating to be a coward, I forced myself. “It’s the day that Corinne died.”
He sat up and gestured to the older tattoo. “This was the day I died.” He thrust the newer tattoo toward me. “And this was the day I started living again.”
I furrowed my brow, not understanding. The dates were only two digits apart. Was it the day they’d buried her? The day Mennezzo was first charged?
“They’re both December, but they’re different years,” he said, interpreting my confusion. Another beat passed, as he seemed to wait for me to figure it out. When I didn’t, he went on. “The new one was the day I met you.”
My breath caught.
Before I could say anything, though, JC had stood and was holding his hand out toward me. “Come on.”
I couldn’t think. My head was spinning, and my heart felt light and tight all at the same time. Instinct put my hand in his, and he tugged me to my feet. “Where are we going?” And did you really say what you just said?
“They’re closing up.” He nodded toward the carousel.
I didn’t want to move my eyes from him, but I glanced over. Just as I did, the ride’s lights flicked off. “The party must be over.”
“I’d say the party’s just beginning.” JC waggled his eyebrows. “We’re sneaking on.” Still clutching my hand, he pulled me with him toward the glass enclosure.
I nearly tripped over myself to keep up. “Sneaking on to do what? We can’t ride it. Even if we could figure out how to make it go, someone would notice.”
He dismissed my concern. “We don’t have to actually ride. We can just walk around.”
“Why?”
“For fun.”
It wasn’t something I’d ever do on my own, but I suddenly wanted to be impulsive and free. Wanted to be impulsive and free with JC.
He led me in an arc, as if he meant to take me to the boardwalk, then at the last minute, doubled back to the edge of the glass structure that housed the carousel. He leaned against the wall and nodded toward the ride operator who was chatting with two of the lingering event guests on the other side of the enclosure, his back toward us.
“He’s not even paying attention. Let’s go.” JC moved stealthily ahead of me, reaching over the fence to release the mechanism that opened the gate. Once inside, he gestured for me to follow, keeping his eyes pinned on the operator as I slipped in. Slowly, so that the metal wouldn’t clank, he closed the gate behind us then crept onto the dark carousel, weaving through the animals until he was out of the operator’s sight as well as mine.
I hesitated for only a moment. Then either adrenaline or the fear of being left alone pushed me forward. I leapt onto the platform and followed the path JC had taken. As I rounded the curve, I noticed the garage-style glass doors at the back of the enclosure had already been shut for the night.
My pulse was already racing, but it ticked up another notch. “What if we get locked in here?” I whisper-shouted when I spotted JC in front of me. He didn’t answer or turn around. “Justin?”
He spun toward me, but instead of answering, he closed the distance between us in two strides, and, without any preface or preamble, wrapped an arm around my waist, tangled his other hand in my hair, and kissed me.
I stood stunned for a moment, while his mouth pressed soft against mine, asking. It only took a second before I answered, throwing my arms around his neck and parting my lips. Instantly the kiss grew deeper, but not so deep that I lost myself. Not so deep that I was consumed. Just deep enough that I could taste what he wanted to offer me, what he wanted to give me completely.
And for the first time since he’d come back into my life, I could imagine myself taking it all. One day soon, even.
But for now, in a dark pocket of shadow, among the wide-eyed horses and brightly painted chariots, he just held me and kissed me. Kissed me until time stilled and I was aware of only us. Kissed me until my lips felt swollen and bruised. Kissed me until I was reeling and dizzy and out of breath.
There, wrapped in each other on the platform, we never moved an inch, and yet my head spun faster than the horses ever had. The memory of my last trip on the carousel was eclipsed by the present moment. This was now, undoubtedly, the best ride of my life.
***
The carousel operator found us eventually.
He abruptly interrupted our kiss then cursed and shouted as we sprinted across the park, bumbling and giggling, drunk on each other.
We walked for a bit after that, stopping at an all-night diner for some pie and ice cream before hailing a cab back to Manhattan.