It was a perfect October evening, late sunshine in the crisp, cool air, and the carnival was in town. The sisters were excited as they drove to the fairgrounds. It had been a long week, but the weekend was here now, and they were ready for some fun.
They bought tickets and passed through the gate. The lights, sounds, and smells of the carnival and the crowd surrounded them.
Zoey, the older, had straight black hair, hazel eyes, and full lips. Her cream-colored sweater and black leggings accentuated her curvy figure and the sway of her hips as she walked.
Jade was shorter, with more delicate features. Her light red hair was tied into two buns on top. She was wearing denim shorts, a white tank top that left her belly bare, navy plaid overshirt, and low hiking boots.
They walked up and down the arcades, waving to people they knew and sometimes stopping to talk. Sometimes they held hands, sometimes arm-in-arm, laughing and flowing with the rhythm of the evening. They rode the Whirligig and the Ferris wheel with its view over the town and got some food from the vendors. In the livestock area and petting zoo they looked at the horses and prize cows, and fed the sheep, goats, ducks, and an enormous, wooly llama. Zoey squealed when one over-eager goat jumped on her to get its handful of feed and Jade laughed with delight.
"Now, Billy," said a deep voice behind them. They turned to see a rancher striding over. He was tall, with broad shoulders, blue jeans, and a khaki shirt. He put his hand on the goat's horns and pushed it back over the low fence. The goat bleated in indignation. "They don't mean no harm," he said, "sometimes they just need a firm hand to make them behave. You girls enjoying the show?"
"Yes," they giggled.
"Good. Well, have a good night." He nodded and walked off.
They stopped to watch a sideshow, a magician in a tuxedo and top hat who pulled a flower from his sleeve for a girl in the front row, only to have it turn with a poof into a white bird that fluttered away into the tent as the audience clapped. Then he presented his assistant, a stunningly beautiful woman in a short black dress festooned with sequins, accented by black over-the-elbow gloves and high heeled shoes. She waved and blew kisses to the audience, then he helped her step gracefully into a red upright cabinet. He closed the door, spun the cabinet around and, with a shout of "Abracadabra!", there was a flash, the sides of the cabinet fell away--and it was empty! The audience clapped and cheered.
Up next was a sword swallower, a beautiful woman dressed in an elaborate burlesque costume, a jeweled headdress, tight yellow corset that showed plenty of cleavage, a skirt of large dark red feathers, and black fishnet stockings. She paced across the stage, holding up a bright silver sword for the audience to see. In the middle of the stage, she held the sword along her outstretched right arm, the point towards her. Smiling, she opened her mouth wide--wider than the sisters would have expected--tilting her head up as she slid the sword smoothly down her throat. When the hilt reached her lips, she spread her arms wide and bowed. The audience applauded enthusiastically as she pulled the sword out and bowed again.
The sisters moved on. They wandered along the midway, sharing cotton candy and passing the game stalls--Dunking Booth, Ring Toss, Ring the Bell, Duck Pond. Behind them, in the sideshow performers' area, the magician entered his trailer to find his "assistant" lying on her side on his bed, now wearing only her black panties and the black sequined pasties she wore underneath her dress. The dress itself was lying on the floor next to her high heeled shoes. "Good show tonight, darling," she said, smiling. He smiled back. "You were magnificent, my dear." He crossed to her, leaning down to give her a deep kiss. She helped him remove his cape and tuxedo, and they fell together, him kissing her face and breasts as he thrust into her and she bit his neck with passion.
Nearby, in another trailer, the rancher had come over, the petting zoo having closed for the night. The sword swallower was there too, now on her knees, and she was practicing her skill on an entirely different object. The rancher's head was leaned back as she took him in and out; he was grunting softly. Outside, the carnival swirled on.
"Hey, ladies, step right up and try your luck!"
The voice seemed to cut through the noise, clearly calling to them. It came from the Beanbag Toss booth. The barker was smiling at them broadly. He was handsome with brown hair and was wearing a pinstripe shirt with a light blue vest and bowler hat. He held a cane, which he used to gesture to them. They stepped over, giggling.
"Want to try? One beanbag in the hole wins!" he said. There were beanbags lying on the rail, and a line of three wooden boards angled against the back wall. Each board was painted green and had five holes cut in it, outlined in yellow. The center hole in each had a white circle painted around it. Hanging all over the booth was an array of stuffed animals and other funfair prizes.
"What do we have to do?" asked Jade, coyly.
"Just get one beanbag in any hole to win. The center hole gets you an extra prize!" he said with a flourish.
