*Thank you to
Thewinedarksea
for editing this story for me*
Clammy metal dug into my feet as I ascended the narrow metal staircase that folded upwards on itself for seventy feet. I looked out and saw the rest of the water park spread out before me. We were almost to the top of the largest water slide in the park.
Jacob and his girlfriend were in front of our group, chatting away and flirting with each other in that gag-inducing, loving way. They couldn't keep their hands off each other. Jacob had decreed that we all go down the scariest slide. He also demanded that he be the first of us to take the plunge, which was a nearly vertical pipe that stretched to the ground and tapered off like a "j".
Brandon and his girlfriend were in the middle of our group, followed by the two stags, Ramon and me. We finally made it to the last stretch of stairs that led up to the top platform. I couldn't see the slide platform yet, only the panty-clad asses of my friend's girlfriends, which I tried not to stare at, but failed. I at least tried to hide my gaze, unlike Ramon. Like clockwork, every minute, I would hear the clack of metal as the slide's drop doors were thrown open, and then there would be a scream that faded down into the pipe.
A moment later, we rose one more step. Looking forward to the drop was unnerving, so I looked off into the distance and enjoyed the view. In any direction I looked, I could see the mountains at a distance. They were at that distance where the brown of the mountain merged with the blue of the sky on the horizon to create a perfect blending of earth and sky. The water park was located on the desert outskirts in between two cities where they hadn't yet developed enough to fully touch. I saw clouds gathering around the mountains to the east and thought they added to the skyline perfectly.
"Dude what are you doing? Trying to back out?" Ramon said. I snapped back to my immediate predicament and saw that Ramon stood at the top of the platform with several open stairs between us. I could sense the looks I was getting from all the people behind me so I hurried up to close the gap. A couple of minutes later, I watched as Jacob stepped into the tube. The worker asked if he was ready and when Jacob said yes, he pressed a button, and the bottom fell out from under him.
I watched as each of my friends disappeared, and then the young lifeguard motioned for me to step forward. My time was up. I willed my feet forward into what reminded me of those pneumatic tubes they used to send stuff back and forth in large office buildings. The plastic door revolved shut, and the lifeguard gave me the thumbs up. I went to make the gesture back, but before I could finish, he pressed the button, and the floor dropped out from under me.
Many rides scare me. I have a fear of heights, and being flipped and flung aren't my go-to ideas for fun. While I might be the target audience for terror-inducing ride designers, I had never been one to scream on a ride. I have always experienced my terror in polite silence. Not this time. I screamed the whole way down. The slide launched me down faster than I thought was possible. After about ten seconds, I slid into the curved ending. The abrupt relief at having my weight supported again was ruined when the dark tunnel opened, and I was shot out into the air. The sunlight stung my eyes like I had been in the tunnel for hours and not seconds. I flailed around briefly in the air and then smacked into the water and sank. When I finally emerged, my shaggy, dark hair clung to my face and blocked out my vision. A lifeguard had to help guide me out.
My waiting friends laughed at how I had almost drowned. This wouldn't be the first or last time I questioned my choice of friends. I was glad we had saved the slide for last and we're almost done for the day because I couldn't wait for it to be over. The girls decided to go sunbathe for a bit while we went to the snack shop to get something to eat and drink. As we walked towards the food shops I checked out the girls and women around me. Being nineteen left me open to checking out the older high school girls frolicking around and enjoy the voluptuous mothers. Like how a starved man would eat anything, I had varied tastes since I had never been with a girl. It wasn't for lack of trying, but I just wasn't good at talking to girls.
We entered the snack bar and ice-cream shop and sat down. I noticed a cute blonde girl working the ice-cream counter. Ramon followed my gaze and smiled when he saw her. "I bet I can get her number." We all encouraged him to go for it, especially me, but not because I believed he had a chance. As Ramon walked up to the cute girl, I noticed she had a light tan but still seemed too pale to be working at a water park.
He leaned over the counter to talk to her. She leaned forward on the counter and I caught a glimpse of her cleavage through her partially unbuttoned blue polo shirt. Ramon leaned forward and started to whisper in her ear. I hoped that she wouldn't fall for his dumb lines. I shook my head in disbelief when I saw a smile light up her face, and she started to whisper back to Ramon. She turned around to grab Ramon his ice cream cone and bent over into a cabinet. Ramon took this opportunity to look back at us and grab the counter and start to violently hump against it in the direction of the poor girl. He was in the middle of adding spanking to his depravity when she started to turn around; he stopped mid-thrust.
She had only been bending over to grab some ammunition because when she turned around, she started to throw handfuls of rainbow sprinkles at Ramon. "Hey girl, what's your problem!" he shouted as the sugar rainbows pelted his body. We laughed at how this may be his worse strikeout yet. Since he was still wet many of the sprinkles clung to him and left little dissolving rainbows all over his body. Ramon slumped down in his chair, trying to wipe the sprinkles off but just smearing them around his body. He muttered to himself about her horrible customer service.
Once we were done teasing Ramon about his rejection, I got up to get some food from the snack counter. There was a small line of people in front of me and I kept on glancing over to look at the cute blonde girl. The way she genuinely smiled when she helped a customer warmed my impression of her even more. I found myself smiling too, and pretending like each of her smiles were just for me. I wanted nothing more than to approach her, but my mind kept coming up with excuses not to. I doubted she would give me the time of day thanks to whatever perverted things Ramon had whispered in her ear. Also, the only thing I could think to say would be that someone who works with something so cold she sure was hot. Like that would work, I thought, but that was all I had.
I was next in line and taking the last step to the counter when the girl at the register excused herself and asked the girl at the ice cream counter to watch her register. I tried my best not to stare at the beautiful rainbow-slinging girl as she walked towards me. I failed. I tried to study the menu but couldn't help but notice the graceful way she walked to the register. I wouldn't have been surprised if she was an athlete or dancer. When she got closer I saw that her name tag said Amanda and had a heart next to it.
"Hi, what can I get for you?" Amanda said in a welcoming voice that made me think that maybe I might have a chance, but before I could say anything she added, "Hopefully, you don't want anything with sprinkles on it." Her smile took on a more mischievous look.
There goes my chances
. I decided to just order my food before I did something stupid and ended up being a double rainbow with Ramon.
"Look, I'm sorry about my friend and whatever he said. He is kind of like the mascot of the group." To my surprise, she laughed. Her laugh was the kind of laugh that infects you and makes you want to do whatever it takes to hear it again. She laughed in a carefree way that drew looks from some of the people around us, including my friends. Her light blue eyes that had moments ago seemed icy were now a cheery sky blue.
"I forgive you for your mascot's behavior, so what do you want?"
"Can I have a hot dog with—"
