I’ll take a walk with Arabella

It’ll be the subject for another time. For now, all you wanted to do was to be with Arabella. The visual suggestion was enough even to get a small erection… so after a small farewell exchange, you’re going in your ways to find yourselves alone.

However, on your way out, one of the circus staff stopped you. He looked around 19, maybe younger. Cleaned, shaved with cut hair that made him look like he was raised in the city. Perhaps Vegas proper or the interior districts of Yorkshire.

He smiled and then stared briefly at Arabella. “We are doing some pyrotechnics a little bit, so don’t be alarmed by loud noises or sudden flashes,” he stammered throughout his speech.

“When’s the next show?” Arabella blurts out.

The boy thinks for a moment. “End of August,” he laughs slightly. “So it’s going to be a while, but we make sure we’re, uhm, entitled. No, I am not entitled. “

“Acquainted? Accustomed? Adiquint?” You offered alternatives, and he snapped his fingers in applause, but you aren’t sure which of your words he liked.

Arabella politely nodded. But you had one more question for him: “Where would a good place be to see your practice?”

He smiled. “If I had to guess, the cliff outside of town. We had contractor patrols that stayed up there once.” The kid's smile faltered, looking at you closer. “You’re a contractor, right?”

“Yes,” you said, raising your eyebrow slightly.

“You hear what happened to the last batch?”

“No.”

“Oh,” the boy worked out a strangled laugh that failed to break the tension. “Never mind. It’s not my place to say anything. Welcome aboard. My name’s Fawkes.”

Arabella giggled. “Easy to remember.”

In response, the boy blushed hard and stammered something else but couldn’t piece together a coherent sentence. “Well, cya later.”

Further down the road, about three blocks away from the tent, Arabella tries to say something but is quick to stop herself before or even begins. She thinks and then picks up a different subject. “That boy was kind of cute.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll take the compliment where I can,” she purrs. “One that’s both innocent and free, at least.”

Your walk continues silently, but you pressure her when you pass the town's gate. “What did you want to say before that?”

Arabella is hesitant but doesn’t deny you the thoughts in her head. “What do you think happened to the last contractors? I’m sorry. I didn’t want to ruin our time together with serious conversation.”

“No different than the other stuff I’ve dealt with,” you say. The confidence you suggest you have isn’t there, however. Arabella is almost possible to gauge, though. Did she notice?

“I’m glad you think that,” she says. “I always worry about you whenever you go out, and group contracts seem more worrisome.”

You shrug. The ground below you becomes dirt and rock, and the incline also becomes notable. In the dark, you find yourself looking harder at the ground to avoid the creatures of night. There’s a click, and a beam of light emits the earth. Arabella took your light from your belt so smoothly you didn’t even notice. “Scarlet’s the crew lead, so maybe I’ll have her give me the easy stuff.”

Arabella laughs. Her flashlight moves as she cuts the dead space between you and her. “I like the sound of that,” your shoulders touch, and her free hand grabs yours.

Behind you, the world thumps, and a flash of light makes the whole dessert more than vague shapes. There’s no crackle or additional colors—just a loud boom.

“Fireworks?” Arabella’s voice cracks.

“Fireworks,” you confirm. “Some big ones are just noise with one flash.”

Arabella flipped the flashlight off and put it back where she found it, just as smoothly as when she had taken it. You stare at her in the dark. “Haven’t you seen fireworks?”

“Just small stuff,” she says. “Firecracker belts? Smoke stuff and the sticks that sparkle.”

In the near distance, there’s a soft thump. A small fireball shoots upward and then explodes in a spectacular fashion. This time, the air crackles as green and red sparks fly in all directions; a smoky trail is left behind. “Where have you seen them?” Arabella asks.

“Just around, I suppose. No place in particular has had them. Sometimes it’s more the people you’re with than the show that’s put on,” you think for a moment. “I used to work with an outfit in Oklahoma, and the company's partners celebrated it. I was invited to their house, and we had a party. Good time.”

“Just a good time?” Arabella says, and another firework goes off; this time, it’s blue and white. “How do we make this memorable?”

A playful smirk starts itself on your lips. “How would you make it memorable?”

She giggles. “Mmmaster’s so nice to me. Letting me pick and choose… which head is master thinking with?”