The drive-in is old,but charming. It’s perfect, giving us privacy. Three screens frame the large parking lot, a small concession shack lit up with neon pinks and blues completing the perimeter. Driving into the lot, he buys our tickets at the gate. We’re late, twenty minutes past the start time, but neither of us cares.
I’m here for him.
He lets me pick the movie. I choose a horror film, our shared favorite genre. He parks and tells me to wait, swiftlyjogging off. He returns only minutes later, arms overflowing with snacks.
I quirk a brow at the sheer amount of candy, but he just shrugs.
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I got one of everything.”
I laugh, fishing through the pile on his lap and settling on a box of Sour Patch Kids.
“Solid choice,” he says. “Those are my favorite, too.”
“We can share,” I offer, removing the plastic bag and attempting to pull it open.
And it does… open, that is. But it rips. And small, rainbow-colored candy people fly everywhere. Sugar falls down like rain upon us both.
We both burst into laughter, my eyes watering. It takes me a minute to catch my breath.
“I’m so sorry.” I gasp, still giggling.
But he shakes his head, eyes warm, “It’s okay, Trouble. Nothing a trip to the car wash can’t fix.”
Then he leans in, slow and deliberate in his movements. His lips brush the skin just below my jaw. “Mmm,” he hums. Then his tongue licks slowly up my neck. “You had some sugar just—there.”
My skin prickles, goosebumps dotting the skin on my arms, my neck. I shiver at the contact.
He pulls back like nothing happened, smirking as he settles back into his seat. He’s such a tease. “Much better.”
The movie begins to play, but I catch myself watching him more than the screen. He startles at one of the jump scares and tries his best to hide it, but I can’t help but tease him. He really is easy to catch off guard. It’s charming.
I’m so glad I’m here, with him. In this perfect, stolen moment. As the movie comes to a close and the credits roll, I hold my breath, waiting for him to say the words I’m hoping to hear. That he’ll invite me over. I’m not ready for this night to end.
25
THEO
Idebate my next move, the answer already sitting heavy in my chest. I know what I truly want, but I also know what Ishoulddo. Walk her to her car, say goodnight, and end this here before it moves too fast. Before we cross another line we can’t uncross.
I’m not sure either of us is ready.
But I want to spend more time with her. A couple of hours at the drive-in is not enough. I can feel it. She’s waiting for me, too. To offer it up, or to end our night here. She’s letting me take the lead. Letting me be the maker of bad decisions.
“Do you want to go back to my house? I can make us dinner, I’m a half-decent cook. No pressure, though.”
My voice sounds steadier than I feel inside. Normally, I don’t mind being the one to decide. But there are still wounds I carry. Ones that Evelyn carved into my heart. No one sees those, no one is supposed to. I’m a man. I’m supposed to be strong, resilient. But damn did she do a number on me..
Scars like that take time to heal, to fade.
The smile on her face, though, tells me I made the rightchoice. “Absolutely. Also, you keep surprising me. Handsomeandyou can cook? Marry me?”
Well, I certainly don’t hate the idea. Maybe one day. She’s pretty damn amazing. And I’d be lucky, hell, I’d behonoredto spend my life with someone like her.
I buckle up, making sure she does the same, and head for home. Anticipation runs through me, feeling like electricity in my veins. The whole drive, my nerves are on edge, my stomach twisting. Threatening to make me head for her car instead, end this night here before it can go any further.
But if I’m being honest, that line I keep pretending we haven’t crossed? It’s miles behind us now. There is no reality in which this could come to light and I wouldn’t be persecuted in the court of public opinion.
And they wouldn’t be wrong to do so.
