Our seats were right in the middle of the center rows and amongst a few people who already settled in for the movie. Oliver simply flashed a smile, politely excusing us as we stepped and squeezed by everyone’s knees and thanked them quietly as we went. As we sat down in our seats, placing the drinks in the designated cup holders, Oliver leaned in close.
“Let me know if this gets a little too intense. It’s supposed to be kind of gory. Don’t want you feeling uncomfortable,” he whispered.
“That’s very sweet of you,” I whispered back, noticing the lights dimming around us. I smiled a little. “But I think I can handle it.”
“I’ll leave my hand here just in case.” For a moment his eyes dropped to my lips before he settled back into his seat, leaving his arm resting on the armrest between us as he looked at the screen.
I should’ve felt flattered he even looked at me that way. But instead, I felt nauseous. And not in the way someone should feel when it comes to dating or liking a guy. This was more like that daunting feeling before a speech when all you wanted to do was run the other way.
Maybe if I told him I was going to the bathroom—
An explosion on the screen lit up the room while the speakers let out a boom so loud it vibrated deep within my chest, sending a jolt through my body.
Oliver chuckled. “Are you sure you don’t need to hold my hand?”
I laughed nervously but shook my head and slowly slid down in my seat.
It didn’t take long for the movie to get straight into the plot — a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde retelling with long car chases and a sex scene that popped up out of the blue.
I shifted in my seat, subtly scanning the room while everyone watched the main characters fornicating. The lack of music in the scene made it even more awkward to watch, at least for me. The fact everyone else was just staring at the screen with a blank expression was impressive. Or they just had great poker faces when it came to watching sex scenes. Sort of like reading a sex scene in a book.
Movement on my left brought my eyes to Oliver — well more to what I could see from the corner of my eye without him noticing I was watching. His arm remained on the armrest, but he seemed to be sitting much closer than before. And then he shifted a little closer again, thinking I hadn’t noticed until his shoulder was inches from brushing against mine.
I shifted in my seat, crossing my left leg over my right, and straightening my shoulders. Playing it off as getting comfortable after sitting in the same position for too long. It gave me a little more room as I leaned the other way.
“Popcorn?” Oliver whispered, offering me the bucket.
I opened my mouth to respond, but the audio of the leading lady reaching her climax cut me off. I smiled tightly back at Oliver. “No thanks.”
He half smiled, his eyes lingering before he sat back again and tossed several pieces of popcorn into his mouth. A knowing glint in his eye made me wonder if I had missed something.
By the end of the film, all that was on my mind was that I desperately needed to use the bathroom, but with the foyer packed, and a long line to the bathrooms already, I decided to hold on until I got back to my apartment. Which left me half paying attention to anything Oliver said as he drove me home. Thankfully, as we pulled up to the curb just outside the apartment, he didn’t mention anything about Lana’s Café being so close to where I lived. Either because he was being polite and didn’t want to bring up my little white lie about being stuck in traffic, or because he genuinely hadn’t realized. I was leaning more toward the latter. He was too busy talking about how good the movie had been to notice.
Did we see the same movie?
I nodded politely in agreement, trying to find a moment to cut in so I could leave the car. My bladder was ready to burst.
“I had a great time,” he smiled, turning in his seat to face me, one arm draped over the steering wheel.
“Me too—” I didn’t get the chance to return a smile. I barely had the chance to register what was happening as he leaned in close. His eyes closed, directing his lips to mine while his hand cupped my cheek.
Oh god.
I pulled back and he paused, leaning over me while I pressed myself into the seat. We were confused for different reasons.
He removed his hand from my face and sat back, his eyes on the road ahead as he processed what happened. The silence was deafening.
Oliver pulled his hand through his hair. The hurt of the rejection slowly formed on his face. “Okay…”
I blinked and slowly sat away from the back of the seat.
He frowned. “I just thought, considering I paid for everything...”
He offered to pay for everything; I didn’t realize he expected me to kiss him in return. “I don’t want to rush into anything, Oliver.”
His eyes flicked to mine, studying my face for a moment, and I tensed at the seriousness in them. I wasn’t ready for a confrontation — I needed the bathroom. But then his face softened, and he sighed.
“Yeah, no, I totally understand," he smiled, though it looked a little defeated.
