Chain Reaction 2.7: Big Kid

     Claire and I go out on another date, but this time Dad didn't give me much money. So, we decide to go hang out at the park. The town named it 'The Garden of Eden' since, well, the town is named Eden.
     There's no one here except us, so we do something we've always wanted to do: play in the fountain.
     Claire giggles. "This is crazy! My socks are soaked!"
     Well, maybe it's what I have always wanted to do.
     "Yeah, but haven't you always wanted to do this but your parents told you you couldn't?" I ask.
     "I should've taken off my shoes."

     I start singing in a goofy way to no particular tune as I run in place:

Oh! My socks are wet; my shoes are wet,
But I don't really care!
My jeans are soaked up to my knees...

     "Uh..." I can't think of how to finish it.
     "And I've got nothing else to wear!" Claire finishes.
     I crack up laughing. Claire is awesome.

     She makes me get out of the thing, and I tell her we need another picture. The one from the other night got messed up when I tried to print it, and it came out all fuzzy. Click. This one is better.

     Then, we go have a seat to talk since one of the things to do on a date is 'sit and talk with your date.' I look up at the treetops. "Look at how the sun is setting right behind them like that. It makes them look like they're on fire."
     Claire's voice sounds mischievous as she says, "Then we should go and put it out!" As she says 'out,' she reaches back behind her in order to splash a whole ton of water on my back.
     "Hey!" I cry out, kidding around. I move to splash her right back. She's wearing a white shirt after all...
     "No!" she squeals and runs off.
     "No fair!" I call out.
     She stops behind some kind of flowery bush and grins at me through the leaves and stuff. "Who says it has to be 'fair,' monkey boy?"
      I stand up and pretend to growl at her as I say, "I am going to pick you up and throw you into this fountain!" With no other warning than that, I spring towards her, wishing I could run through the bush.
     "No!" she squeals again, giggling, and she dashes away.
     I'm faster than her, but she still manages to outmaneuver me each time I think I've got her cornered. Well, until this last time, but when I do catch her, I forget all about the plan to throw her into the fountain. I decide it's a better idea to kiss her 'til neither of us can breathe.
     Then, I get hungry.

     Claire still fears I'm really going to toss her into the fountain, so she steers clear of me while I cook us up some burgers.

      She even sits caddy-corner from me when we sit down to eat, watching me warily.

     I can't help but grin and ask, "Did you really expect me to throw you into the fountain?"
     "I can never tell. It could be that you changed your mind at the last second but that maybe you're regretting not doing it after all." She takes a bite of her burger.
      I sit here and imagine Claire with her shirt wet and sticking to her, and I'm suddenly glad I'm sitting down.
     I shrug like it's no big deal. "Maybe I am." Then, I casually sit here and eat, trying to get that picture out of my head. Oh, I can bring it back up later, but for now, it needs to go.
    She finishes eating before I do, and she get up to 'wander around,' which really means make sure I'm not going to catch her. I don't mind and help myself to a second burger. I still need to sit here a minute.

     Then, I decide a little childish prank is in order.
     Claire shows up on the other side of the fountain. "Hey, Ethan, I found a-" She pauses. "What did you just do?"
      I look off into the distance and say in an innocent voice, "Nothing. What do you mean what did I just do?" I look at the fountain like I'm seeing what I've done for the first time. "Oh, look! Bubbles!" Maybe I should become an actor.
      She rolls her eyes and turns to walk away.

     Bubbles! Buuuubbbbllleeessss! Bubbles bubbles bubbles! Bubbles everywhere! I could never pop all these bubbles!
     I hear Claire's voice with my splashing happiness. "Ethan, sometimes, you are nothing but a big kid."
     "I know how to have fun! I'm having fun! This is fun!" I scoop up some bubbles in my hands and walk towards her. I want to put them on the top of her head like a crown.
     "What are you doing?" she asks in alarm. Then, I can tell from looking at her eyes that she's figured it out. "No! Ethan!" She starts fighting me off, making me accidentally drop most of my bubbles. "I don't want to be frizz-head! You have no idea!"
     "What are you talking about? Your hair is never frizzy." I grab her waist. That part of her shirt gets wet.
     "Yes, because I won't let it! Ethan, please don't dump water on my head."
     She sounds really irritated, and I don't like that. So, I tell her very nicely, "Okay." I have to kiss her again, so I do. I try for my latest new goal: getting my fingers up underneath her shorts. I manage to slip one finger under the hem, pushing outward to her hip, before she realizes what I'm doing.
     "Your hands are cold," she says as an excuse.
     I think of the perfect thing to say. "Well, maybe you should warm them up."
     "Ugh. Ethan!" she growls when I try again.
     I chuckle. Even though I don't totally like it when she is, she's still so cute when she gets mad. "Well, at least I'm not acting like a kid," I point out playfully. As a kid, I never would've wanted to do this, so it's true.
     She tells me she thinks I need to go jump into the fountain to cool off. I smile and let her go. Then, she takes me to show me what she found. The sides of her shirt stick to her.

     She found a wishing well. I make a wish. I just want to be happy.

     What? Of course I'm happy!

     I take Claire home and tell her I'll call her tomorrow. She smiles, all her previous bad mood gone. I think I seriously love her. She may call me a big kid, but I'm not when I think about that.


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