Henry grabbed Marley’s arm. “No, wait. We’ll go to the carnival. Okay, Marley?”
Marley pulled her arm out of his grasp. “No, it’s not okay. I’ll just go with Trevor. He’ll be happy to go with me and he won’t just do it because he feels obligated. He’ll go because he actually likes spending time with me.”
“Whatever, Marley. I don’t care what you do, but don’t come crying to me when you see him for who he really is.”
Marley left to go sit in her car. She typed a text to Trevor:
Want to go to the carnival with me?
Seconds later Trevor responded:
When?
Tonight. Pick me up @ 6?
Sounds good to me 
C u then.
That would show Henry, Marley thought. She felt a little guilty. Though she would enjoy Trevor’s company, the main reason why she had asked him was to get under Henry’s skin. It was wrong, but Marley was angry, which brought out her bad side.
Trevor picked Marley up for the carnival a little before six. He smelled nice. His cologne was light but manly. They talked a bit during the car ride, but mostly, Marley looked at Trevor. His face was so mellow, so sweet. Trevor face was clean shaved, without a trace of stubble. Henry had a more rugged look, a dark colored facial hair speckled his face. While Henry was sexy, Trevor was cute. Though, there was something about Trevor that Marley was attracted to. He may not have been a sex god like Henry, but there was still something that made Trevor almost bewitching to Marley.
Finally, Trevor pulled into the gravel parking lot. When she got out of the car, Marley bounced up and down like a little kid. At the gate of the carnival, a wild grin appeared on Marley’s face. “I need a picture for Instagram.” Marley said, pulling out her cellphone for a selfie with Trevor. They had only just entered the fairground. Still, Marley wasted no time filling social media with pictures. It would annoy Henry to no end, Marley thought smugly. So, maybe she wasn’t hanging out with Trevor for all the right reasons. Truthfully, her primary goal was to irritate Henry, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t have a good time with Trevor at the same time. Maybe it was a little selfish and maybe it was a little childish, but Marley’s little scheme made her feel a million times better.
Marley was having a wonderful time with Trevor. They rode ride, ate carnival food, and enjoyed the open air. Quickly, Marley forgot all about Henry. Her anger had faded and the only thing she wanted to do was have fun with Trevor. At dusk, when the stars began creeping into the sky and the deep blue sky began to become black, Marley realized how romantic it all was. That’s when she did it. She pulled Trevor into a kiss. She didn’t know what possessed her to do it, but she couldn’t say that she hated the feeling of the kiss.
In fact, the kiss was perfect. Trevor’s kisses weren’t anything like Henry’s. They were less abrasive, but sloppier. It was obvious that Henry had more experience with kissing girls, but with Trevor, the kiss felt special. Marley felt like she did when she’d had her first kiss; it felt awkward and strange, but also liberating, beautiful. Marley was as giddy as a school girl, but then, Trevor pulled away. Suddenly, Marley realized the gravity of what she had done. She had cheated on Henry. Marley had initiated that kiss, knowing that it was wrong. Though, nothing about her kiss with Trevor had felt wrong. It was just an impromptu kiss. It meant nothing, Marley told herself. The evening had been romantic and one thing led to another; so, the kiss was just mistake, a beautiful mistake, but a mistake all the same.
“We can’t, Marley. You have a boyfriend.” Trevor said, looking down at the ground. “I want to, but you’re with Henry. I won’t ruin your relationship with him.”
“I don’t want to talk about Henry, Trevor. Let’s just enjoy this night together.” Marley couldn’t get her mind off the kiss. She didn’t want to think about Henry. She used to spend hours thinking about him, but now, thinking about him did nothing for Marley. When did Henry slip to the back burner? Marley wondered. When did everything change?
“Okay,” Trevor nodded. “But only as friends.”
“Why?” Marley asked, suddenly not caring that she was still with Henry. “Why can’t we be something more?”
“You know why.” Trevor said grimly. “You have a boyfriend. I told you that. Besides, you’d regret this tomorrow. You’re only doing this because you’re mad at Henry and that’s not a good reason.”
“Please, I just need you this one night. I need someone to hold me and love me.”
“Marley, that’s wouldn’t be fair to Henry or me. I’m not the kind of person who cheats on his girlfriend or gets involved with a girl who’s already taken. I’ve watched my mom screw around on my dad enough time to know that it isn’t right. It just causes unnecessary conflict and I’ve had enough of that.”
“I’m sorry, Trevor. I didn’t mean to put you in that position. It’s just that you get me in a way that Henry never can. I like Henry, but we’re just having some problems right”
“Please, Marley. I don’t want to talk about Henry with you. Not right now.” Trevor said, exasperated, but then he said with more enthusiasm, “Come on, I’ll go win you a stuffed animal at the ring toss game.” Then, he gave a self-deprecating smile. “Actually, you may be better off winning it for yourself. I’m not all that athletic.”
“I can’t believe that.” Marley said gazing at his muscles. They weren’t huge, but they were definitely there.
“I do a little swimming and some stuff at the gym sometimes, but if I have to throw something or God forbid, catch something, I’m screwed.”
Marley figured that Trevor was just being humble, but then she saw him in action. It was bad. For a moment, Marley thought that Trevor was purposely tossing the rings badly to prove his point, but as the game went on, Marley saw Trevor play with a deeply focused expression on his face, trying hard to at least get one ring near any of the bottles. Unfortunately, Trevor failed terribly. Still, he kept at it. At one point, he asked Marley, practically begged her, to play the game, but Marley declined because, to be honest, she was having fun watching Trevor ardently trying to win a toy (if only the smallest one).
After about seven tries, the carnival worker manning the station gave Trevor a little stuffed bear, pitying the uncoordinated fool. Trevor waved the little pink stuffed bear in the air proudly, even though he hadn’t actually won it. Marley couldn’t help but laugh at Trevor. Even when he failed miserably, he was cute. When Henry failed, he acted like an arrogant jerk, but Trevor took failure gracefully.