“The haunted house!” Caleb announced.

Archer groaned. “I hate haunted houses!”

“Why?”

“I don’t like being scared.”

Caleb laughed. “Come on, you big baby. I’ll protect you!”

Archer hated every minute of it. The haunted house was comprised of the same narrow, pitch-black hallways he remembered from when he was a kid, but now they were even more cramped and panic-inducing. Every jump-scare sent his heart crashing through his rib cage, even though he knew they were coming, and he clung to Caleb with his eyes screwed shut when the man in the Michael Myers mask started following them. Still, he had to admit, once safe in the sunshine again, the adrenaline coursing through his veins was kind of fun.

“What’s next?” Caleb wondered, blinking in the bright light.

“The Ferris wheel!” Archer decided.

This time it was Caleb’s turn to groan. “Nooo, I’m afraid of heights.”

“I believe the phrase I’m looking for is ‘Come on, you big baby. I’ll protect you.’” Archer tugged Caleb toward the line up.

But once they got to the gate, Caleb looked up with huge eyes. “No. There’s no way. I can’t!”

“Okay,” Archer sighed. “Let’s go do something else, then. I don’t really want to go by myself…”

“I’ll go with you, Archer.”

They turned at the deep voice. It was Mateo.

Archer’s heart fluttered at the idea of being high above the crowd with Mateo. “Oh. Okay, thanks.”

“Well, maybe I—” Caleb looked up again. “Okay, I can do it.”

“Are you sure? You look a little pale—” Mateo said.

“It’s fine. Let’s go.”

Caleb marched them into line, and they were able to get on when the wheel was next loaded. Archer sat in the middle of the narrow bench. The seats were designed to fit three people, but Archer and Mateo were both rather broad, and the three grown men were a snug fit. Once again, Archer was very aware of Mateo’s body pressed to his.

Caleb flinched when the worker shut the restraining bar across them, and he gripped Archer’s hand.

“Are you sure about this?” Archer asked. “You can still get off.”

Caleb shook his head, lips forming a hard line.

“Get off.” Mateo snickered under his breath.

Archer looked at him, eyebrows raised.

“Sorry.” Mateo frowned. “I’ve been around Dominik too long.”

Archer turned back to Caleb. “You’re absolutely sure?”

Caleb squeezed his hand tighter, eyes closed. “I’m sure.”

“Okay.” Archer patted the back of his hand. “Here we go.”

Caleb shrieked when the chair heaved forward, then took a deep breath. “Okay, this isn’t so bad—” He cut himself off with another shriek when the chair lurched to a halt and began rocking back and forth. “What’s wrong? Why did we stop? Is it broken? Are we trapped?”