He pulls me back until my shoulder is up against his chest, his arms still wrapped around me. I turn my head and smile at him. I’ve got the urge to kiss him, but I can’t do it. What happened earlier was probably just a fluke––the heat of the moment after my little tantrum over the blonde girl. No, I need to just play it safe.
“Well, ladies, what would you like to watch first?” asks Alex.
“I’ll defer to Lily. I told her she could choose,” I reply.
“In that case, I pick, drum roll please,Paranormal Activity!” Lily exclaims.
I groan.
“Don’t worry, Pix, I’ll protect you.” Alex’s breath tickles my ear. I close my eyes, lost in the sensation. Then he squeezes me tightly around my middle, and I almost moan in response to being so closely pressed into his body.
From the kitchen, Hank says, “Go ahead and start up the movie, I’ll make us some popcorn. Who wants butter?”
“Me!” yells Lily.
I remain quiet.
“Don’t you like a little butter on your popcorn, Stella?” Alex is still practically whispering in my ear. It’s giving me chills. The good kind.
“If you want it, sure,” I say, shrugging.
“Well, I’m fine either way. I really want to know ifyouwant butter.”
I agree to the butter, surprising myself a little bit. My mom would die on the spot if she knew I was going to have butter on my popcorn. But Alex wants butter, so we’ll have butter. If I gain a little weight, I’ll have cut back on things next week.
“We’ll have some butter on our popcorn, Hank,” yells Alex.
“Coming right up.”
Alex lifts me up off of his lap and sets me down so he can start the movie. I mean, he literally lifts me up. He didn’t even grunt in pain when he did it. I’m shocked. He returns to the seat, and we’re both squeezed onto the love seat side by side now. He reaches his big arm over my shoulders and scoots me closer. I rest my head on that spot between his shoulder and his chest. My head fits there perfectly. He smiles down at me, and I look up and smile back. It’s so cozy, I snuggle up even closer to him. From this spot, I can smell him. My gosh, he smells amazing. I inhale deeply.
“Are you sniffing me, Pixie?” whispers Alex.
“Maybe. You smell good.”
He leans his head down and inhales deeply. “You do too, Pix. You smell like sweetness and summer.”
The previews start, and I curl closer to Alex. I hate the previews as much as the actual movie because they preview even scarier movies than we’re about to watch. I should resign myself to burying my face into Alex’s chest. I hate being scared. Alex wraps his arm around me tighter.
“Pixie? If you really hate these movies, we can watch something else. I don't want you to be scared,” he whispers.
“No, it’s okay. I just have to get used to the idea. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, but if you change your mind, just say the word and I’ll turn it off,” Alex assures. “Or we can go into my room.”
A shiver runs through my entire body. Go to his room? Alone? I’m not ready for that. So, I promise him that I’ll alert him if I can’t take it anymore. As the movie plays, I find I can’t get close enough to Alex. This stupid movie’s the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. It seems to be based on a true story about a couple that thought their house was haunted and they filmed the evidence at night. I swear I’m going to cry I’m so scared. I bury my face into Alex’s chest so hard I’m sure I’m leaving bruises. At some point in the film, I actually climbed back into his lap. Without thinking, I wrap my arms around his neck and snuggle in close. He must not mind because he hasn’t asked me to move. He keeps asking me if I want him to stop the film. I just say “No” each time.
Honestly, I have no idea how the movie ended because, by that time, my hands were covering my ears and my face was plastered into his neck.
“You’re shaking. It’s over now, Pixie. It’s okay.”
“I just really hate horror movies.” I breathe slowly, calming my body. As I do, I heat up at when I realize where his hands are. One of them is resting on my lower back and the other one… well, it’s on my bottom. Lifting my head, I look back at the other sofa. “Where are Lily and Hank?”
“Oh, they went to his bedroom about thirty minutes ago.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me? We could have stopped watching.”
“I did tell you, but you were intent on staying on my lap, apparently,” he says, smirking.
