Alpha Billionaire Series
Loving the One I Should Hate Chapter 14

GRANT

I leaned on a concrete pillar at the end of the parking lot, arms crossed across my chest, legs crossed at the ankle, waiting for Mandy. She said she was going to be here. Things would have been easier if she let me pick her up, but for some reason that made her "You can't come here," she said.

nervous.

"Why? Are you embarrassed for your mother to meet me?"

"Um, no... ah... this is hard to explain, Grant."

"So tell me in person. I can swing by and get you."

"No, I'll come there."

"I have a better idea. Meet me in town," I said.

"You know it's the Melon Festival, right?" she asked.

"Why do you think I wanted to come pick you up? You like festivals, right? I want to see this thing, but I'm not going by myself."

"You really want to take me to the Melon Festival? Like a date?"

Was she giggling?

"Yes, Mandy, like a date. Don't you want to go to the Melon Festival?"

"Of course, I do, fine. I'll meet you there. I have to get some work done this morning. I'll see you right before lunch."

We had agreed on a time. And now I waited. If I were the suspicious type, I would think she didn't want to be seen with me. Keeping her connection to me on the downlow. But I wasn't suspicious. Whatever it was growing between us it was new, and it was intense. I caught her scent, citrus and floral, as she wrapped her arms around me from behind and tried to cover my eyes with her hands. All she managed was to press her breasts against my back and mar my sunglasses with fingerprints.

I took the glasses off as I swung around to face her. I captured her smiling mouth with my lips before she managed to get any words out. She was soft and warm, and better than anything else I could possibly think of. I pulled her in closer and deepened the kiss. I didn't want to let her go, and I didn't care that I was kissing her rather dramatically in public.

She really had done something to me. I wasn't a public display of affection kind of guy. Holding hands, and maybe a peck on the cheek was more than enough for other people to witness. But with Mandy, I wanted to touch her constantly, wanted to demonstrate how I felt about her, and didn't care who saw.

With her, I finally understood that part in some movies when the guy did some ridiculously grand gesture that was the equivalent of shouting from the rooftops. That's how Mandy made me feel. That's how I knew this was serious.

She smiled up at me when I broke the kiss. Her hand was in mine, and she dragged me into the festival.

"So, what's this Melon Festival all about?" I asked.

"Seriously? It's about melons. And not the kind on my chest."

I laughed as she quickly grabbed herself and then let go and acted as if she hadn't just done that.

I was jealous, I wanted to test her melons. I knew them to be ripe and soft, and perfect under my tongue.

"It's somewhere between a county fair, and an art fair. Have you ever been to a county fair?" she asked.

I shook my head. "You mean with all the animals and the fairway of rides? No, I can't say that's something that I experienced."

"Are you missing out on all the deep-fried food you could think of, usually on a stick, cotton candy? And don't forget the games. Ring toss, knocking over bowling pins, winning stuffed animals and goldfish. You never did any of that?" "Those games are rip-offs, and the goldfish usually die before you can get it home," I pointed out.

"Hey, I thought you said you didn't do county fairs," she protested.

"I haven't, but they have that kind of thing at boardwalk attractions. And I pay attention to general concepts I've seen in movies. Now, I have always been interested in the livestock. Can you really get up close to cows and horses?" "At the county fair, sure. But they don't have that here. You really like cows? You said something about them when we went to Ferme de Fromage."

"I've never been up close and personal with a cow. It seems like if I'm going to do the small down bordering on country thing, I should get to meet a cow or a goat."

"How about a frog?" She stopped and the next thing I knew she was handing me the largest frog I've ever seen.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't slimy. I had always thought frogs would be glistening with slime.

Maybe what was so appealing about Mandy was that she forced me beyond my depth of comfort. This community involvement and interaction had never been in my vocabulary before. I was business, acquisitions and mergers, product to market, stocks, and following the market. With Mandy I didn't think about any of that, I looked at the blue sky and wondered why I had never noticed that color before?

"Here." I held the frog back out to its keeper.

"I like him," she announced.

"For what? As a pet? For dinner?"

She smacked me lightly on the arm. "For the race. I'm going to bet on him."

I was so focused on Mandy I hadn't been paying attention. We were in the meet and greet area for the frogs before the next frog race started. She placed her bet, and she cheered enthusiastically for our large friend. She gave that frog all of her emotional energy, her hair bounced, and her smile lit up her face as she jumped and pumped her arms to encourage her choice for the champion.

He was a big frog with long legs, and he probably could have completed the course in a single jump, but I got the impression he was not motivated. I leaned in to kiss the frown from her face.

"Sorry, he lost. I can buy you a better-quality giant teddy bear than what you would have won."

"You will not. That's not the same as winning one. It doesn't matter if it's..."

"Demented looking," I finished for her.

"They are kind of weird looking, aren't they?"

Her hand was back in mine, and she took me to the area where the food trucks and festival food vendors were all set up. In Chicago, the gourmet food truck was a prolific trend with their specialty foods. They were sought after, with people following their schedules posted online. Here the gourmet food trucks had minimal lines, while the carnival-style deep-fried food-on-a-stick vendors had the longest lines.

I expected Mandy to check the chalkboard menus before making her selection, but she was a woman who knew what she wanted. Unfortunately, what she wanted was at the other end of the longest line.

"Corn dogs?" I asked.

"Corn dogs and fried pickles."

I grimaced. This was not my culinary expectation for the day.

Mandy laughed, "That face!"

"What's wrong with my face?"

"You really haven't done anything like this before, have you? I mean you look like you are in pain. Is this so far beneath you that you can't have a corn dog?"

"No, Mandy, it's not that," I drawled. It was that, but I didn't want it to be. I didn't want to not fit into her world. At the moment it was a struggle. If I could fit into her world, I could guide her on fitting into mine. I picked up both of her hands in mine and turned her to face me. "Maybe it is that, but I don't want it to be. I want to experience what makes you happy, and if that means corn dogs and fried pickles on a stick, then count me in."

She stepped into me and slid her arms around my neck. "You are pretty fabulous; do you know that?"

I laughed. It was hard to keep eye contact with her, the intensity of my feelings was almost too much.

"You make me want to try new things. That makes you the fabulous one."

Those new things meant that our lunch on a stick also included chocolate-dipped cheesecake, on a stick. Festival food was going to do horrible things for my cholesterol and give me heartburn.

Damn, I hadn't had to take a Nexium since I got to the lake and met Mandy. This place was good for my health. She was good for my health.

We strolled looking at various artisan vendor booths. Many insisted on getting melon ice cream in cantaloupe and honeydew. I didn't need more food, but I was willing to accept licks from hers since she was willing to share.

"No, I'm not going to do that," I said as Mandy stopped in front of a melon eating contest tent. Apparently, they were running contests every hour and the next one started in ten minutes."

"You filled me up with all that fried stuff," I complained.

"Exactly, now you need some fruit for balance. Come on, Grant, it will be a laugh."

"You won't be laughing when I puke."

She looked up at me with her large eyes, and I felt every resolve I had melt away. Fuck the power she had over me. I shook my head all the way to the table where I had to sign up. I wouldn't be doing any of this if I really didn't want to. But I certainly wouldn't have volunteered without coaxing.

The end of the eating contest couldn't come fast enough. I put in an effort, but the feeling of washing my face afterward was amazing.

"You taste like melon," Mandy said after kissing my cheek.

"I feel like I bathed in it. I'm sticky," I growled to show my displeasure at the turn of events.

Mandy just laughed and giggled. It made my chest swell with pride to have her be tickled at my attempt at being intimidating.

"Hello Mandy, how is your mother doing? Is she here today?"

Mandy froze as a woman separated herself from a gaggle of older women and stopped in front of us and began talking.

"Mom's doing pretty good. She's still pretty tired, but she has more good days than low ones. Today was just bad timing," Mandy explained. "And how are you holding up? I'm so sorry about your father."

Mandy's smile dropped noticeably. It was obvious she was still hurting and raw from her father's passing.

"I'm holding in there, thanks for asking."

I squeezed her hand. She had my support, she wasn't alone.

"Do tell your mother I was asking after her."

"I will Mrs. Johnson. You have a good day."

Mandy started to walk away, thinking they were done, but Mrs. Johnson clearly wasn't done with us.

"I'm sorry I didn't get your name?"

She didn't need my name; she was there to offer condolences to Mandy and check on her mother. "Grant Carpenter," I extended my hand.

"And you are?" she asked as she shook my hand.

I cast my gaze down at Mandy and smiled. "I'm Mandy's boyfriend."