One Enchanted Summer

Chapter 17

CHAPTER

SEVENTEEN

Grayson

Abby ended up not getting the part. I tried to stay out of it, but Nick said he liked the other girl more and I happily agreed. I hope Abby finds a good job, I have no hard feelings for her, but it could be a little weird if we worked together. Quinn acted like it wasn’t a big deal, but I think she was hiding something from me. She acted kind of strange after, and our relationship is so new I don’t want to do anything to strain it. It’s almost July, so we’ve been dating for a little over a month. She said she loved me. I was shocked at first. I’d been having those feelings for a little while too, but was way too scared to say anything, or even admit it to myself. It seemed too soon. I didn’t want to scare her away, especially when she’s only here for the summer. I don’t know what that means for us, but the heart doesn’t think that way. I’m not thinking about the end of summer or her leaving. I’m just thinking about how it feels whenever I’m with her.

I planned a special date for Quinn today, and I’m practically bouncing with excitement about it. It’s a random day off for me, so she asked for the morning off so we could spend the day in the park. What she doesn’t know is that I planned something extra special. I bounce on the balls of my feet while I wait. I spot her almost instantly as she walks through the crowd. Her soft brown hair is loose and hanging below her shoulders. She’s wearing workout shorts and a white tank top. She smiles when she sees me, and it makes my stomach flip. That smile does more to me than jumping off buildings does.

“Hello!” she declares as she stretches up on tiptoes to kiss me.

“You look great,” I tell her.

She blushes and looks at her outfit, “Yeah, okay.”

I laugh because she really does look great. I love how put together she looks even in casual clothes.

I check my watch and grab her hand. “Come on, we’ve got somewhere to be.”

She’s confused as I lead her through the park. “Where do we need to be?”

“You’ll see,” I smirk back at her.

We make it to Ireland and I smile at the familiar part of the park. I love the Ireland area. It’s so green, and each building is made to look like a castle. Random, wild sheep walk around, and most of them are friendly enough to let you pet them. As expected, Quinn’s face lights up.

“Sheep!” she squeals in delight.

“I know you said you haven’t been to Ireland yet,” I reply. “It’s one of my favorites.”

“This is incredible,” she says as she reaches out to pet a sheep. It bleats at her and she giggles.

We walk past a few brightly painted shops and turn the corner to follow the cobblestone path towards a large castle. The stone is made to look old and weathered but still elegant. Flowers line the pathway, and we pass a sign that points to the leprechaun ride.

“I’ve never ridden that before!” Quinn says excitedly. She pulls my hand to try and lead me that way but I resist.

“We can do that after,” I reply.

“After what?” she asks.

“You’ll see.”

I know curiosity is driving her crazy. She doesn’t seem to like surprises. My friend meets us out front and we follow her along a small path that leads to the side of the castle. We enter through a side door and I have to stop myself from laughing at the utter confusion on Quinn’s face.

“Are you going to lock me up in here?” she jokes.

“Only if you’re into that,” I reply playfully. She smacks my arm, and I see my friend chuckle in front of us. She opens one of the big wooden doors, and we enter to see a dressing room. There are different dresses, wigs, wands, and wings inside, and mirrors and lockers on one wall.

“You said you always wanted to be a princess,” I motion around the room. “So I pulled a few strings, and you get to be a fairy princess today.”

Quinn’s mouth falls open in shock. She spins around the room, looking at everything and then back at me. “Are you serious?!”

Her reaction is even better than I imagined. She’s absolutely ecstatic. She’s happier than a kid on Christmas. She runs her hands along the dresses. “I can’t believe this!” She turns and throws her arms around my neck.

“This is the best thing anyone has ever done for me,” she says and I can feel the honest vulnerability in her voice.

Quinn quickly changes and gets her makeup put on. She wears a dark red wig, and I’m not going to lie, I like it on her. Her dress is sparkling green and flows around her to the floor. She does a little spin while looking in the mirror and turns and catches the grin I absolutely cannot hide.

“Thank you, Grayson. This is magical,” she laughs and adds, “literally!”

I hold out a pair of wings, and she slides her arms through them.

“How do I look?” she asks.

“Gorgeous,” I assure her.

“Agreed,” my friend says, and I realize I had forgotten she was there. “Now you just need a wand,” she tells her, handing Quinn a wand. She spends a few minutes training her on how to talk, pose and the rules of being a professional. The park is very strict with its princesses. You have to act and speak exactly as that specific princess would. In this case, it means Quinn has to speak in an extra high, bubbly voice and walk on her tiptoes as if she’s ready to take flight at any moment.

Quinn was born to be a princess. I’ve been watching in awe for hours now. I keep thinking she’ll get tired of it and want to go on a ride or something, but she is still as happy and enthusiastic as when she first started. She only took a brief pause to tell me that I didn’t have to sit here and watch her all day. But I honestly meant it when I said I was happy. I love watching her interact with each kid. She gets down on their level and speaks to them as if each one of them is truly special to her. She poses for pictures, signs autographs, and makes a wish for each and every one of them. Then, there are the enchantment adults who come through the lines, and some of them are just as excited as the kids. They know she’s not an actual princess, but they still act like it, and Quinn just plays along. She treats them just as kindly as everyone else in line. She never breaks character, and she never makes any sign of discontent. I lost my cool when a man in line decided he wanted to be a little too friendly with my fairy princess. His hand was getting lower and lower as they posed for pictures, and I was just about to not-so-kindly escort him away when Quinn did a fancy twirl, waved her wand, and said, “My wish is for you to learn some manners.” Her voice was bubbly and friendly, but for the first time that day, I saw a little fire in her eyes. A smile was still plastered on her face as she motioned for him to move along.

When it was time for a break, Quinn looked honestly surprised. “I could do this all day!” she gushed.

“You’ve been doing it for a while,” I replied, showing her the time.

“Well, you know what they say,” she laughs.

“Time flies when you’re having fun?”

“I was going to say time flies when you’re wearing wings.”

I laugh and watch her smile in response. It’s one of those moments where I can physically see the love on her face. I catch her sometimes looking at me like that. It’s in the small moments when she makes me laugh or when I open the car door for her. She gives me this look, and it hits me in the gut. She really does love me. It’s kind of surreal. I’ve never expected that I could fall for someone this quickly. It’s so cliche to say that I started liking her the second I saw her, but it really felt that way. I mean, she’s gorgeous, of course, but it almost felt like she was somehow filling in my own cracks. I don’t know; this kind of love is crazy.

“Do you want to keep going?” I ask.

“Can I?” It’s obvious she still wants to.

“Of course. We can be here all day if you want.”

It doesn’t end up being all day, but we stay as long as possible. Princesses clock out at 5:00, and Quinn stays until the last minute. Then she takes a long walk back to the dressing room so she can wave and sneak in a few more pictures and autographs. That’s not technically allowed, but she doesn’t work here, so who’s going to stop her? Certainly not me. I’ve always had a good time with kids. I love hanging out and playing with them. I can’t wait until I have nieces and nephews of my own that I can spoil and rough house with. I dream of having my own kids, too, one day. I want it all; I want tea parties with my girls and wrestling with my boys. I want to show my daughters how strong and capable they are. They can jump off buildings and do backflips just as well as any man. Even with my love for kids, Quinn somehow seems to match my admiration for them, if not surpassing it entirely. She was enamored with each kid she talked to today. For a split second, I could imagine a future for her as a mom. That thought is completely absurd, and I quickly shake it from my head.

“Thank you so much for this, Grayson,” Quinn says to me when she’s back in her shorts and tank top. Her face still has some of the princess sparkles on it, and I kiss one on her cheek. She blushes and I love that I have the ability to do that to her.

“You were a perfect princess,” I reply.

“I really was, though, right? I was meant to do that job!”

I laugh at her enthusiasm. “Princesses might be more humble,” I joke.

She rolls her eyes, “You really don’t know anything about princesses.”

We wander through Ireland towards the leprechaun ride, just as I promised. She pauses to pet a passing sheep, and asks me to take a picture of her with it. I love the pure joy splashed on her face when she smiles. We reach the ride, and she gasps at the line. World of Enchantment does a great job with their lines. They are always on theme and keep you entertained while you wait. This one is a long rainbow hallway with little drawings along the way. Trees, lakes, and villages are painted in the rainbow, and there are small leprechauns hiding throughout for you to find. Quinn searches the walls eagerly, and I point one of the leprechauns out to her. It quickly turns into a race as we scour the walls, trying to find one before the other does. I use my height to my advantage and stand in front of her, trying to block her view. She laughs as she struggles to get around me. When we reach the end of the line, I found two more than her. Quinn argues that it’s not fair because I’ve been here before so I challenge her to a re-match next time. She’s competitive, and I like it.

The leprechaun ride is one of those classic boat rides. I hold out my hand to guide Quinn in, and she smiles at me. We both know she doesn’t need any help getting into a boat that we just watched a five-year-old hop out of. But I want any and every excuse possible to touch her. The boat floats slowly through a room with lots of rolling green hills and fake sheep munching on grass. Behind one of the sheep, you see a little leprechaun pop his head up, look around, and then hide again. We continue into another room to see a group of animatronic people laughing and hitting their mugs together in cheers. On the other side of the boat is a crowd of people doing some sort of Irish jig, and the leprechaun is hidden in the crowd. The boat winds through more hills and a few castles. You can spot the leprechaun inside one of the castles. The end is my favorite part, though, the whole room is filled with color and light. It feels as if you are traveling inside a rainbow. They have some sort of misty fog in the air that reflects the color right in front of you. It feels magical. When I look over at Quinn, I know she feels the same. She reaches out with her hand as if she could catch the color in the air, and she smiles.

“This is amazing,” she says quietly, almost reverently.

The rainbow clears, and we spot the leprechaun doing three or four cartwheels on his way to a pot of gold. It’s one of those silly rides that’s a classic.

“Was it everything you imagined it would be?” I ask as we exit the ride.

“It was cute. The rainbow at the end was really cool.”

“Yeah, that was one of my brother’s favorite rides growing up. We knew where the leprechauns were, but it was still a competition to see who could spot them first.”

We walk for a minute to get away from the crowd of the ride. The air has cooled a bit as the sun starts to set.

“So, when do I get to meet your brother?” Quinn asks with a playful bump against my shoulder.

“You want to meet Grady?” I ask.

She stops walking now and looks up at me with a smile I don’t understand on her face. “Wait,” she says. “Your brother’s name is Grady? How have we never talked about this? You must always just say your brother because I would definitely remember that. Why would your parents name you so similar?”

“Oh yeah, it’s a whole name thing. We all start with G. My dad is Greg, and my mom is Gabby. So they decided they needed to keep it going and named me Grayson and my brother Grady. Even our cat is named Ginger.”

“Oh my god,” she laughs. “That’s amazing.”

I shrug and glance at my watch. “If you want to meet him, I think he’s just finishing his last show.”

She nods, and I catch her biting her lip when she does. That means she’s nervous. She likes time to prepare for things.

“Or we can go another day,” I offer.

“No, I want to meet him,” she replies as she determinately starts walking back through Europe.

Grady is just finishing up the Greek mythology show. He plays Apollo and is quite good at it. At one point, he does a beautiful interpretive dance to wake up the sun. He’s good at what he does. While he is more of a dancer, and I enjoy doing stunt work, we both appreciate each other’s talents. Grady spots us just as they are taking their final bows and makes his way towards us. He’s wearing a toga costume that still shows off his body, and Quinn looks at me with wide eyes.

“Are abs just in your genes?” she quips.

“Hey, I’ve got at least two more than him.”

One loud laugh pours out of her before she clamps her mouth shut as Grady reaches us.

“He’s worried you’re going to like this more, isn’t he,” Grady says, gesturing at his body.

Quinn can’t contain the chuckle this time. It sounds nervous as she looks between us.

“You must be Quinn. I’ve heard so much about you. Really, so much,” Grady says with a dramatic emphasis. I roll my eyes, but Quinn looks absolutely delighted. She grins up at me as Grady pulls her into a hug.

“So much, huh?” she directs towards me.

“He never said it was good,” I reply.

She smacks my arm, and I laugh. She’s fun to mess with, but I can’t even think of one bad thing I could possibly say about her.

“What have you guys been doing?” Grady asks.

“I got to be a princess today!” Quinn answers, her voice full of so much excitement that I know exactly how much she loved it.

“Oh yeah, I forgot that was today,” Grady says to me. “How was it?”

“Good,” I say at the same time Quinn declares, “Amazing!”

Grady chuckles. “Well done,” he says to me.

“Did you eat?” he asks.

“Nope, you hungry?” I answer.

“Come eat with us. I want to hear all the embarrassing stories about Grayson!” Quinn adds.

Dinner is about what I expected from Grady and Quinn. She grills him for embarrassing stories about me growing up. He’s a good sport and doesn’t tell her anything too horrible. He does share the time that I was doing flips during a talent show, and my shorts fell down. Quinn got a good laugh out of that one. When Grady told her about the time I was performing and somehow my shoe came off and hit a girl in the face, she laughed so hard water came out of her nose.

“I don’t understand why you’re still performing! After all that I would have quit and never done anything ever again,” she says.

“That’s easy; he loves it,” Grady says before I can answer. He’s right. That’s exactly it. I’ve always loved it.

“Hey, a buddy of mine reached out asking if you were still doing stunts. Apparently, he’s working on some film crew, and they need a stuntman for a movie,” Grady tells me.

It feels like my heart is suddenly in my head. I’ve always thought about being a stuntman in a movie, but I never knew how I would be able to get into that business. It’s hard enough to get to where I am now. But suddenly, I’m filled with thoughts of what-if? I can’t stop the instant hope that I feel.

“What did you tell him?” I ask.

“I said yes, of course. I told him you were working here and at the top of your game. He said he’s going to pop by sometime and see you.”

My heart is racing. Could this actually happen? It doesn’t feel real. I look at Grady as if this could be some lousy prank, but he’s dead serious.

“When?”

He shrugs and takes an unbothered bite of his food.

“Grady! How am I going to know when he’s here?” I ask, suddenly feeling anxious. “I need to know if there’s someone in the crowd I’m trying to impress.” I find myself growing annoyed at his casualness. Quinn must notice, because she gently places her hand on my leg and squeezes it in comfort.

“Hey, you always impress the crowd,” she says.

“Yeah, man, it’s not a big deal. I know he’ll like you,” Grady adds.

It is a big deal, though, this could be a massive opportunity for me.