“What?”
“You’re getting wet,” he said.
“What? No. What are you going to do?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re not getting me wet.”
“Oh, yes I am.” He parked in front of the arcade.
“Fine.”
We walked inside. There was a glass counter display filled with plastic
ticket prizes, and a young man sat on a stool behind the counter.
Jake paid and led me outside to a patio seating area. It was lined off with bushes where we could see the rides stretching out in front of us. “I’m not doing anything dangerous tonight.”
“Go-karts,” Jake said.
He hopped up out of his seat and grabbed me up. There was really only one reason to go to Golf Land, and everybody knew it. They had a track that ran around the entire golf course. The go-karts were waiting in a long line behind a metal barrier. On the front gate leading out to the track, there was a sign that said, “Be Right Back.”
“Well, what is that supposed to mean?” I asked. “There’s only one person here.” I turned around to see Jake holding a phone to his ear.
“Yeah, can you come start up the go-karts.” He paused. “Yeah, come around back, and I’ll meet you at the door.” He pecked me on the cheek. “I will be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m sorry.” He walked off, leaving me wondering until I heard him walk up behind me.
“God, how do you do that?” I asked.
“Do what?” He wrapped his arms around me and pressed his lips to my neck.
“You know exactly what you’re doing.” I reached back and smacked him away. “You’re trying to get me excited so I’ll lose the race, but it won’t work. I’m going to whoop you good.”
“I never said we were racing.”
“Oh, we’re racing.” I pushed past the gate, onto the track where cars lined up in a row in front of us. Jake ran up to the one at the head of the line. He opened the hatch on the back, pulled something out of his pocket, and used it to start the go-karts.
“You got him to give you the key?” I asked.
“That way, we have more privacy.” He stood up and started the second go-kart in the line.
“Have you ever been on this track before?” I motioned to the long, winding trail of pavement that circled around the other side of the park and back again. It was lined with tires that they used as a buffer to keep the go-karts from flying off the track.
“No.” He got in the first kart and pulled on a helmet that was laying on the back. Once I had my helmet on, I pulled up to the starting line.
“On your mark!” he said.
I gave him the finger and drove off. “Ha!”
My kart flew straight into the wall of tires. I backed up and hit the wall behind me. I jolted forward, straight into the wall ahead. I flipped the wheel to the left and pounded the gas. Suddenly, I was flying down the track. One wrong movement would send me flying.
Jake was already nearing the finish line. He waved at me when I entered a castle tunnel at the back end of the park. He was past the finish line when I got out of the tunnel.
I rounded the bend, and he disappeared. Then, I heard him. He was right behind me. When he pulled up beside me, he was holding the wheel with one hand, waving with the other. I wanted to ram right into him. Instead, I maintained my speed and focused on the oncoming left turn, right next to the front lobby.
He dropped his speed to keep up with me and rode beside me. “Hey, how’s it going over there?”
I slammed on the gas and rounded the corner. He sped up just before we got to the finish line, and I gunned it. Our front bumpers vied for position. Then, he slammed on the gas and threw his car onto the runway.