Out of Time 01 - Out of Time

it along. In the close quarters, her tiny movement forced her hips up against Simon. She thought she heard him groan, but the bustle of conversation and the thrumming of the train made it impossible to tell.
    “Sorry.”
    He shook his head. “What?” he asked loudly.
    She started to push herself up on her tiptoes to move closer to his ear, when the car abruptly lurched. She threw her arms around him to steady herself and felt his hand press firmly against her back. She was only inches from his face now. The sharp rise and fall of his chest pressed against hers. His lips were so tantalizingly close. Full and masculine, seemingly waiting to be kissed. She looked up into his eyes. They were dark and intense. They lingered with hers before dipping down to her mouth, then back again. An unspoken question hovered between them. Her heart was about to answer when the car jerked violently and started its swift deceleration.
    Once again, their moment was gone and reality crashed back in. People shouldered for the door, each having to be the first one out. Simon glared at a large sweaty man and his wife who shoved their way past them.
    Elizabeth reluctantly eased her arms down from Simon’s shoulders. That was the second time she’d been in his arms, not that she was counting. Okay, she was counting. And each time to have someone ruin it when they were so close. Not that there was anything to ruin. Was there?
    The crowd pushed up against her and when the doors opened she was swept away with them. She lost sight of Simon the moment her feet hit the platform. She struggled back to him, but it was no use. Caught in the tide, she edged her way to a large stanchion. Wriggling her shoulders and giving a few people a good elbow in the ribs, she managed to grab hold of the pillar. She stepped up onto the lip and scanned the crowd for Simon.
    He was being swept along as she had been, but was fighting it all the way.
    “Simon! Over here! Simon!”
    His head jerked around, and he saw her. His expression both frustrated and relieved. He forced his way through the crowd, which was finally thinning.
    “What the devil?” he ground out.
    “Pretty enthusiastic bunch, aren’t they?”
    “Ill-mannered, rude—”
    “They’re not that bad. And anyway,” she said with a gleam in her eye. “We’re here.”
    His face was flat. “Hooray.”
    “Oh, come on sourpuss. This is gonna be fun. You’re gonna love it. Trust me,” she said and held out her hand.
    He looked at her hand suspiciously. Finally, he took it and sighed. “All right, I’ll come, but I’m not going to enjoy it.”
    But he did enjoy it. Walking among the throng, holding Elizabeth’s hand, he felt like he belonged. He wasn’t apart from life now, but a part of it. He glanced down at her hand resting in his. It really was so small, his fingers seemed to engulf it completely. And he liked the feeling. The constant, subtle reminder that he wasn’t alone.
    Surf Avenue swarmed with tens of thousands of people. Cars tried vainly to weave their way between the pedestrians. Simon pulled Elizabeth onto the crowded sidewalk, and she gawked at the scene.
    Barkers sang out their outrageous promises of the fantastic to lure the unsuspecting to their attractions. The roaring sound of the roller coasters rumbled like thunder, and the smell of garlic and cooking meat drifted through the crowd, tempting each passerby.
    “This is amazing!” Elizabeth cried.
    “It is quite a spectacle,” he admitted.
    “Ooo, the Cyclone!” she squealed and pulled Simon down the street.
    They passed by Nathan’s Famous Redhot stand, where people stood ten deep waiting for the best dog in town. They walked past the bilious entrance to Luna Park, which was one of the three existing self-contained amusements parks. Coney Island was a controlled sort of chaos. Luna Park, Steeplechase Park and the Bowery were separate entities. Mixed in between them were independent rides. Coasters and spinning cup machines, rides of every variety, all owned and operated apart from the big parks. The world famous Cyclone was the most majestic of them all.
    The ride was a behemoth, a figure eight design with a ridiculously steep drop. The cars screeched overhead, flying past the street below at over seventy miles an hour.
    Elizabeth looked up into the bright sunlight shining off the wood and steel giant. “This is gonna be great.”
    “You aren’t seriously considering going on that deathtrap?”
    “You bet yer