It all started with a simple, if a bit odd, question. "Hey, Trey, you wanna come to the amusement park with me after work? I got two tickets and the guy I wanted to go with had to cancel, so it'd be a waste if I went alone..." Scott asked me casually at lunch. At the time, I thought nothing of it and simply accepted, but as I was sitting in his car after work, being driven to the nearby amusement park, I got to thinking. I pondered just what exactly was going on here... coworkers don't to to amusement parks together, right? That's more a thing with a date, right? But then, there was no reason for me to wonder about that, because surely Scott was just being friendly.

At least, that was what I thought at first. But then, we shared an ice cream cone right from the start... but Scott only had change for one, so obviously we had to share, right? And when the two of us rode the roller coaster while sitting side-by-side, that was just him being considerate since I had never ridden a roller coaster before and was still nervous, right? I was sure that the only reason I was even thinking about all this was that I'm still a bit confused as to just what he is to me, whether he's a friend or something more. But that's not something I can just share with him, so I'll just keep it locked up inside—it's not ideal, but I suppose that's just the way it has to be.

But now, the two of us are standing in front of the park's dark ride, a sort of river ride with small, two-seater boats that ride along a gentle water flow. Every once in a while, a display with animatronics and a voice-over will show some sort of mundane story about bears preparing for winter or something like that, but apart from that, there are long stretches where the boats will simply ride along in darkness. "Aw, look, 'Mr. & Mrs. Bear Prepare For Winter'! I loved that ride when I was a kid! C'mon, Trey, we got to ride this one," Scott says, an almost childish glee audible in his voice. I can't say no to that, can I? Of course not, that's not even an option when he's that enthusiastic.

So here I am, sitting in a small boat together with Scott, feeling somewhat embarrassed at the look on the ride attendant's face as he watches us drift into the tunnel. We must look like a right bunch of fruits, and given the feelings I think I might have for him, that might not even be too far from the truth. For a while, nothing much happens as we simply ride the ride, drifting past some animatronic displays. All the while, Scott has this bright smile on his face that does make me really happy to see too. Something about the way he smiles just makes him look so pretty, and I wish I could muster up the courage to confess that to him.

However, after the second display, we find ourselves drifting into an extended section of darkness. Before long, I can hardly see anything, barely able to make out Scott's form right next to me. And it is here where he makes a strange comment, saying "Hey, did you know that these dark rides aren't just for kids? In fact, there's a sort of tradition amongst teenagers and other couples to ride these dark rides and get up to some rather intimate stuff in the darkness. Where nobody can see you... why, I'm sure there's quite a lot of people that felt free to finally show their affection in a way they didn't dare to in public. Sounds nice, doesn't it?"

I'm in shock. There's no way he just randomly said that for no reason. So does that mean... Scott knows? This is an opportunity I might never get again. And even if this is so sudden and I'm not mentally prepared, I have to at least do something, even if it's just a little gesture. So after a deep breath, under the cover of darkness, and secure in the knowledge that he wants me to do this, I