Birthday Girl Ch. 03

"It's a surprise," I lied not knowing what else to do.

"Ooooh I like surprises!" she exclaimed clapping her hands.

Putting the car into gear we set off talking about the day and all the inconsequential things that happened during the week. I found out she performed the task of X-raying a patient as well as interpreting the images and giving a report and diagnosis. This week she got a patient with a leg broken in five different places and another with a fractured skull. In the evenings she was being trained on the MRI scanner. I learned there was MRI and something called fMRI or functional MRI which is what she eventually wanted to specialize in. Basically it involved scanning people's heads and watching for differing brain activities while under various stimuli, like which part of the brain lights up while watching porn. That's what I figured anyway, no way was I going to tell her that, not yet.

As we were talking I was aimlessly driving around the outskirts of the city and if she noticed we were wandering around without a specific destination she didn't mention it. By now I was praying something would come up, because if I passed that same street a third time she would definitely notice. Up ahead my prayers were answered. At least I hope so. It was a gamble but I was running out of options and desperate to try anything.

Pulling into the parking lot my damsel looked around and faced me with a questioning look.

"An amusement park?" she asked with one eyebrow arched.

Crap. Me and my big plans.

"Uhhmmmm..... I thought it would be fun. Obviously bad idea," I backtracked, "We can go somewhere else." I started engaging reverse.

"No no, that's not what I meant. I just wasn't expecting it, I've never been taken to an amusement park for a date before. You're right, let's go, it'll be fun." She said opening the car door.

"You sure?" I asked, still doubtful.

"Positive. C'mon" she stepped out and shut the door.

I joined her and we walked side by side to the humongous multi-colored gates, distant screams being heard from children and adults alike from the various rides inside. Walking to the entrance I was hit with an idea. It was off the top of my head and the probability of it working was low but I had to try it. As we reached the barriers I asked her to wait while I fetched the tickets. I walked over to the ticketing booth and purchased two tickets although I was careful not to let my damsel see me. Hiding the tickets I walked back,

"Hey, they need proof that we are over eighteen to gain access to some of the rides. You got your drivers license or something with you?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course," she fished out the card from her purse and handed it to me.

I took a look at it, smiled triumphantly and handed it back to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked confused.

"Nothing at all, Melissa." I dragged out the last word.

She groaned and stomped her foot, "No fair, you tricked me!

"That was fair and square melly welly," I teased her.

"Grrrrrr..........." she growled pretending to be angry then conceded, "Ok, you got me, well played. And don't call me melly welly."

"Whatever you say...................... melly welly." That got me a roll of the eyes as we continued in.

Finally I knew her name! It had been an itch that had been bugging me since that night at the club and I finally got to scratch it. I would have patted myself on the back if I had been alone, sometimes the old noggin upstairs earns its keep. Melissa. It fit her. I was afraid of something matronly like Martha. No one wants to call out Martha in bed, sounds like you are calling the head nurse at a hospital, the no nonsense fat ones that can shut you up with a stare.

The park was massive with different rides and activities littered everywhere. Roller coasters, Ferris wheels, teacups, archery stands, bumper cars, you name it and they had it. Delicious smells were wafting in from the food stalls which had countless varieties of treats. Kids were running around waving their candy floss as their parents followed them trying to catch them in exasperation. It was complete mayhem.

"Wow," Melissa exclaimed.

"I know, right? How do you decide where to start?" I said still looking around like a meerkat.

"Roller coaster" I heard from beside me.

I looked at her and cocked an eyebrow.

"Might as well start with the scariest," she said with a shrug.

"Are you scared of heights?" I enquired as we made our way towards The Lightning Bolt, as it was called.

"A little bit," she confessed, "I've never actually been on one, I always made an excuse to get out of it. When I was five there was an accident I saw about on the news. I remember the coaster had come off the rails and the results were not pretty. I guess since then it just stuck with me. "

"And you're willingly volunteering to go this time? We don't have to do it, we can pick another ride." I offered.

"No, that was when I was young, I want to know what I missed out on, I don't want to be held back by something I saw on TV when I was little, and what better time than now, when I'm already trying out new things." She said looking pointedly at me. I really hoped she meant me.

"To new beginnings," I said as we got settled into our seats. We got the first row.

"To new beginnings." She replied adjusting her dress so it wouldn't cause any embarrassing exposures during the ride.

The coaster started climbing and on the way up to the drop I looked at her and saw she was terrified, her hands gripping the bars until her knuckles had turned white. I reached out and put my hand on top of hers. She turned to face me and I smiled comfortingly at her, patting her hand in reassurance. She visibly relaxed and returned a small smile of her own as we reached the top. We teetered on the edge for a second, taking in the whole landscape in front of us before the weight was pulled out of under us. Then the screams began. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight as she screamed, her hair blowing whipping around behind her. Gradually her screams turned into a delightful laughter as she started enjoying herself. We raised our hands and screamed and shouted just like everyone else behind us.

The ride ended much sooner than I would have wanted it to, I was really enjoying hearing her laugh with abandon. We got off and she kept a hold on my arm for support though she was still laughing lightly.

"I never would have thought I would enjoy that so much! I can't believe I missed that my whole life!" she exclaimed, still giddy.

"Give me a second," I told her and rushed off to a nearby booth.

Returning I handed her a brown envelope.

"What is this?"

"Open it," I replied.

Tearing off the seal she reached inside and pulled out a photo. It showed her in mid-flight, hair flying around, her mouth open in a silent scream and an expression of pure joy on her face. I was next to her, her hand gripping mine, and I was looking at her with a smile on my face, oblivious to the two hundred feet drop in front.

"Where did you...........?" she asked looking up at me then looking back at the photo fondly.

"They capture them when the coaster drops, and you can buy them if you want," I replied, pleased she liked it so much.

"Can I keep it?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course. I got it for you, your first roller coaster ride, immortalized" I said.

She gave me a look I couldn't place. "Thanks," she said quietly as she put away the photo in her purse.

We wandered around for a bit before I heard a squeal from her.

"Ooooh bumper cars! Can we, can we, oh pleeease can we?" she begged tugging at my sleeve. She looked like my six year old cousin when she really wanted something.

I laughed, "You like them that much huh?"

"My favorite. When I was young my dad always used to take me on them and we used to kick everyone's asses at it. Sometimes we used to stay on until the attendant had to force us out to give others a chance," She said with a smile, "One time I actually broke the car."

"How is that even possible? It's a bumper car."

"It was old and past its time, but my dad kept telling me it was because I was the best driver around. I liked his version better." She reminisced.

"Bet you can't beat me," I said smugly.

She snapped out of her memories. "You're on buster!"

I got a blue car and she chose a yellow one. She looked adorable sitting in a tiny yellow car in her blue dress grinning like an idiot. However her smile turned deadly as soon as the buzzer sounded and she was on me like white on rice. Shit, she wasn't kidding, she was good. She came at me head on and smacked me backwards before I could swerve.

"That's one!" I heard her shouting as she sped away holding one finger in the air.

Oh it was on!

I ignored everyone else and followed her like a hound on a scent. She weaved in and out of cars like a pro but I finally caught up and rammed her from behind and quickly turned around and hauled ass as fast as I could. "You're it!"

"I'm going to get you, you yellow bellied, lily livered bottom dwelling little scum!" I heard from behind.

I dodged her attack and passed between two other cars but she was a second too late and rammed into both of them trying to get to me. I pointed at her and laughed but cut it short at the look she was giving me.

Run dickhead, run! My brain told me and I wasn't about to argue. I managed to lose her between the other cars but out of nowhere she blindsided me and rammed me at full speed from the side. It took me a few seconds to recover from that and I saw her running and cackling like a witch. Oh, she was gonna get it now.

I used all my skill and prowess and maneuvered her into a corner. She was trapped. She fervently looked around for an escape but to no avail. I had her. I advanced on her slowly, relishing my upcoming victory, already gloating in my head. I started singing the theme song from Bad Boys II replacing bad boys with bad girls instead. Then she did something I didn't expect. She left the steering wheel, put her palms together and between her knees and pouted and looked at me with big puppy dog eyes.

I faltered. She stuck out her lower lip and cocked her head to the side. I was paralyzed. It would be a crime punishable by death if I even thought of ramming her. All violence must cease immediately. Who would even dare think of harming this lovely creature in front of me. Blasphemy I say!

Then the buzzer rang. In a flash the puppy dog eyes and pouty lips were gone. She stuck her tongue out at me and started waving her arms in the victory dance and sang, "I won, I won, I won!"

Shit. I fell for the oldest trick in the book. She might as well have pointed behind me and shouted Monkey! If word of this got out I would have to pack up and immigrate to the jungles of Congo and live among the gorillas there.

"Ha! That was for the drivers license stunt u pulled!" she told me as we got out.

"I'll get you back, just you wait you fraud." I told her with mock menace.

"You gonna get back at wittle ol' me?" She made the same puppy dog face again.

"You're evil........"

She continued to tease me about being a softy but the truth was if she ever pulled that face, even if I knew she was faking it, I wouldn't be able to go through with whatever I may have planned against her. But I wasn't going to let her know that, no need to give away free ammo. For now, I had to regain my lost honor, I just had to.

Next we went on the Banana Boat. It was a giant boat shaped like a banana, hence the creative name, that kept swinging higher and higher until it completely turned over. A swing on steroids. As we were strapping ourselves into the seats Melissa got a troubled look.

"I don't think this was a very good idea," she said pausing in the middle of securing her belt.

I looked over at her, "Why? Do you get sick on rides like these?"

"No it's not that, it's just........." she hesitated.

"What?" Now I was curious.

"This ride goes upside down and........" she gestured at her dress.

"Oh......"

"Yeah........ Oh," she repeated mockingly.

"I have an idea," I said unbuckling my belt and pulling it out of my jeans.

"You exposing yourself with me isn't going to help."

"Ha ha, very funny. Now put your legs together tightly." I instructed her.

She did as I told her and I looped the belt around the lower hem her dress and legs just above her knees and secured the buckle tightly.

"There, all good," I said examining my handiwork.

"Did you just give me a chastity belt?" she asked incredulously.

"It's either this or you flash the whole park, your choice."

"Fine, but don't think this means I'm saving myself for you," she teased.

"Oh gee, and here I was waiting with bated breath," I said sardonically.

The boat lurched forward slowly. "Here we go," I stated.

She clung to my arm the entire time. A piece of advice, don't go on a banana boat unless you have a really strong stomach. We managed to keep our food down but only barely. The belt did its job of preserving my date's modesty ensuring she could concentrate on not barfing.

"Never again," said Melissa as we stepped off the boat. I agreed.

We had some water to soothe our tummies and decided to lay off the rides for a while, our bowels were too sensitive at the moment. Strolling around the various stalls we stopped wherever the fancy struck her. We passed by the archery stand I suddenly stopped. Melissa walked on for two steps before she realized she was talking to thin air. She turned back and I jerked my head at the archery stall and wriggled my eyebrows.

"Brian, do you like losing?" she asked shaking her head. I liked the way my name rolled off her lips.

"Who said I'm going to lose?"

"If you ever get to see the inside of my room you'll notice it's filled with stuffed toys. I won all of them myself from stalls like this one when I was young. You really don't want to challenge me, why don't you choose something else?" she gave me an out.

My hand eye co-ordination was pathetic. If I threw a ball there was a high chance I'd even miss the ground. But my manly ego wouldn't let me back down. Me man, me strong!

"Is melly welly scared?" I asked in a sing song voice.

Something shifted in her eyes and I knew I was screwed.

"Alright Brian, let's do it. But, let's make this more interesting shall we?" she asked innocently.

I knew a trap when I saw one and this one was six feet deep and filled with rusty metal spikes wrapped in barbed wire that had been set ablaze. I was going to regret this.

"Sure," I said confidently.

"We get five shots each. Whoever gets the most hits wins. If I lose I'll do whatever you want, but if I win I pick out the prize and you have to display it in your house for everyone to see. Deal?"

"Aaaaaaaaanything I want?" I asked wriggling my eyebrows suggestively.

She narrowed her eyes, took a step towards me and leaned in, her mouth inches from my ear.

"Anything," she whispered seductively and blew softly into my ear before pulling away.

Needless to say my capacity to speak went straight out of the window. If you had asked me my name right then I would probably have said hippopotamus. I shook my head to clear it.

"You're going down!" I said and turned to see what stuffed animals were eligible to be won. Nothing bad, a few teddy bears, a giraffe, a zebra. I could explain those away if I lost, no problem.

The attendant handed me a bow and five arrows. Alright, cue Eye of the Tiger. I was like Rocky, determined, focused and unbeatable. I made a show of stretching my shoulders and testing the tightness of the string on the bow and checking the sharpness of the arrow point. Melissa stood leaning on a pole with her arms crossed and an amused look on her face.

"Get ready to lose," I told her with a sideways glance.

She snorted, "Yeah sure, if you say so."

I took aim and fired the first shot. It flew six feet above the target and disappeared in the field behind. She covered her mouth with her hand and looked away. The stuffed animals were starting to look ominous now. No, I couldn't lose my head now, too much depended on it.

"That was a warm up, getting used to the bow you know, now I'll make the corrections and wham! Bull's-eye." I said to her.

She just nodded. Why did it look like she didn't believe me?

The second shot went three feet to the right. The third arrow never left the bow, somehow the string twanged but the arrow stayed where it was, stuck between my index finger and thumb. Melissa was snorting continuously trying to stifle her laughter. Focus, damn it, focus. The fourth arrow almost hit the attendant.

"Hey watch it!" he screamed as the arrow whizzed past his left ear and embedded itself on the wall behind him still quivering. He checked to see if his ear was still intact.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

By now Melissa was bent over clutching her ribs with one hand and one hand still over her mouth. The last one. I had to make this one count. For honor, for glory, for freedom!

Till today I still don't know how it happened. I released the arrow and it disappeared. Confused I searched around but couldn't find it anywhere. Even Melissa was equally confused and had stopped snorting for a second to see what was going on. I looked at the attendant and he was pissed off. He pointed a single finger to a spot behind me. We turned around and found the arrow had lodged itself in back of a wooden wheelbarrow fifty feet away. How the bloody hell had the arrow gone backwards? This defied every law of physics I had ever learned about in school. There was some voodoo shit going on here.

From my right I heard an eruption of laughter. Melissa had finally cracked and couldn't hold it in anymore. She clung on to me as she couldn't stand upright while laughing so hard. I looked up at the sky. Why me? Seriously, why me? Melissa's laughter finally slowed to a chuckle after ten minutes and she stood up straight wiping away the tears in her eyes. She looked at me and I hung my head in shame.

"Aaaawww....." she said nudging me, "hey.........." She called out softly.

I looked up at her and she reached up around me and gave me a loud sloppy kiss on my cheek.

"Mmmmwwwwwaaahhhhhhhhh......." Then wiped away the lipstick with her thumb

"Happy?" she asked.

I turned my other cheek to face her expectantly. She smacked my arm and went to pick up her bow. It was worth a shot.

"Watch." She said simply.

In ten seconds all five arrows were within three inches of the centre of the red spot. Who the hell trained her? Robin Hood? Gorillas of Congo here I come. Hey if Mowgli could do it how hard could it be? Now, where to find a loincloth................

"And now, for your prize." She said with a smirk.

She directed the attendant to her pick as I was wallowing in self-pity asking myself how much worse it could get. She handed me my 'prize'. I just had to ask didn't I?

A bright pink unicorn with a rainbow colored horn and tail full of glitter. She ruffled my hair as I stared at the abomination in my hands. Where did she even find this? All I saw were bears, giraffes and zebras. And I had to put this up on display? A pink unicorn? Really?

"Remember, it has to be in full display, where everyone can see it. And don't even think about cheating, I'm going to send Jenna to your place to check up on it for me when you least expect it."

I looked up at her in horror. "J....J.....Jenna? Mercy, please, I beg of you! Anything but that!" I pleaded. An image of Nick and Jenna rolling on the floor in hysterics flashed across my mind. "Please!" I begged with renewed vigor.

Tapping a perfectly manicured finger on her chin she pretended to consider my plea.

"Tell you what, I'll let you off this time, you don't have to put it up but I'm not letting you throw it away. You're going to keep it. And in exchange for my selfless generosity you have to promise never to call me melly welly again."